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Posts Tagged ‘vdi’

Download The VMworld 2009 Presentation on IO DRS

A common question from those that did not get to attend VMware Partner Exchange 2010 has been “So, tell me about what you saw that you can’t tell everyone about!” Unfortunately, like Maverick in the movie Top Gun said, “It’s classified. I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.”

On the other hand, more and more information is starting to surface on the web. I can neither confirm or deny that all features and version numbers will be available or released as reported, but the TechTarget folks have put together a couple of good summary articles for those who interested in a little more information on a possible future roadmap of VMware vSphere and VMware View. Check the following articles for a round up of general speculation and reaction during and after the PEX 2010 conference. Most of the sources used are credible. (That last comment will make more sense to you after you follow the links)

VMware to add memory compression, I-O resource management to next vSphere

“The next release of VMware’s vSphere will add memory compression, I/O resource management and better VMotion performance, according to attendees of last week’s VMware Partner Exchange in Las Vegas. If the company architects these features as promised, they could improve performance and resource utilization of VMware environments.”

VMware vies for virtual desktop dominance with View 4.5

“The upcoming version of VMware’s VDI software will better integrate its desktop and server virtualization software and expand the role of its ThinApp application virtualization software, all in an effort to extend its server virtualization dominance to the desktop.”

The above quotes are just the opening paragraphs of each TechTarget article. Read the rest for the details.

To use another quote from the movie Top Gun, Read the rest of this entry »

What a week in Las Vegas at VMware Partner Exchange 2010! For all those that complained just 4 months ago that VMworld 2009 was disappointing because the announcements were few and far between, all I can say is, based on what I watched, experienced, and touched this week at PEX 2010, VMware should grab your attention again soon! Unfortunately, so much of what was discussed falls under the VMware Partner NDA that I’ll have to ask VM /ETC readers to wait for the technology to become public. We’ll have plenty to discuss when it does.

For now I’ll quickly wrap up my week and drop some hints about VMware’s future direction based on my understanding about what I saw during the PTAB meetings, the Keynotes, and the Hands On and Self Paced Labs. I’m also linking to some reactions from others to support my impressions.

The official VMware News Release for Partner Exchange can be found at this link:

VMware Partner Exchange 2010 Kicks Off With Record-breaking 2,600+ Attendees, 55 Sponsors and 45 Countries Represented

PTAB: Cloud Infrastructure and Virtual Desktops

I knew what was on the Partner Technical Advisory Board meeting agenda before I arrived, but I have to admit I was still pleasantly surprised. In short, the two day meeting was split by topics. We talked about virtual servers on Day 1 and virtual desktops on Day 2.

The server discussions included everything from possible future enhancements to the vStorage API to details about Project Redwood architecture. Discussions included a mix of vSphere roadmap possibilities and potential directions of VMware in the private and hosted cloud. VMware is serious about Platform as a Service, Infrastructure as a Service, and Software as a Service, and the slides presented to the PTAB committee revealed a considerable strategy to make it happen. I’ll just say it is a lot clearer to me where exactly Zimbra and SpringSource fit into VMware’s future plans.

Switching to the second day and to the topic of virtual desktops,

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As promised a few weeks ago, you can now download the latest version of VMware’s VDI solution, VMware View 4. The download can be found here, and the Release Notes explain What’s New and other helpful information about Getting Started. View 4 is available for trial with a 60 day license – plenty of time to work out the deployment and pilot a group of users. Be sure to upgrade to vSphere 4 Update 1 to take full advantage of View 4.

I thought I’d be a little different and offer a quick overview of View 4′s Features, the new PCoIP protocol, some key deployment requirements, and a high level architecture diagram for those about to implement. I’m pasting information found in the View Architecture Planning Guide and the View Administrator’s Guide, so get a copy of those documents to prepare as completely as possible. Check out all the available literature on the VMware View documentation page.

View 4 Features

It helps to stop and remember what VMware’s VDI can do for the enterprise and not just focus on what’s new from in the latest release. This is more sales than engineering, but the list summarizes the whole package of benefits and shows that the VDI solution covers a lot of desktop and user management concerns:
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Although VMware announced VMware View 4 earlier this week, the latest release of VMware’s VDI platform will not be available for download until November 19. Described as a “marketing announcement” on the pre release call I attended, this weeks news coincides with the availability of new documentation, videos, and information for those preparing to implement/upgrade as soon as the bits are generally available. This information can be obtained from the new VMware View 4 web site now.

Here is a gallery of View 4 screen shots for those that can’t wait until the 19th. These images were forwarded to bloggers by VMware after last week’s call. A few of the images show the configuration options for choosing the new PCoIP (PC over IP)  protocol when connecting with virtual desktops.
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After talking with NetApp at their booth on the VMworld 2009 Solutions Exchange floor I came to the conclusion that the Rapid Cloning Utility (RCU) does way more for VDI implementations then the tool’s name implies. Available for free to customers that already own NetApp’s file and volume cloning  features, RCU can create automated and customized virtual desktops more quickly and with better storage efficiency while still integrating the administrative convenience and control available in vCenter and VMware View. RCU has been elevated in my mind as a “must use” tool for VDI implementation using NetApp storage.

I went to their booth with a purpose. It was obvious to me that RCU would automate the mass creation of virtual desktops by cloning a volume that contained a template desktop image. Although that’s a great time saver available when you deploy a solution based on NetApp storage,
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There was a lot of excitement when Google announced it’s intent to develop the Chrome operating system (Chrome OS). Almost immediately journalists, analysts, and bloggers began speculating if Google’s future OS offering could pose a threat to Microsoft’s dominance on the desktop. VMware quickly added clout to Google’s plans by promising to support Google OS. VMware also expressed interest in the Chrome OS being used to develop specialized applications as virtual appliances. However, the most compelling question and use for the new Linux based OS to me would be if the Chrome OS could become relevant in connecting to VDI solutions. I feel that Google’s immediate traction and ultimate success with an OS relies on it’s ability to install VDI clients – not as a Microsoft desktop replacement, whether physical or virtual.

VDI has gained momentum. VMware, Citrix, and Microsoft all boast about the availability of an enterprise ready virtual desktop management solution. Storage technologies such as thin provisioning, deduplication, and rapid cloning are being perfected and optimized and will lower the total cost of ownership for VDI. 64 bit Hardware with virtualization assist technologies on host servers has enabled record setting ratios of supported users. It seems that OS licensing models formerly based on physical hardware are slowly morphing to support virtualized environments. But, in my opinion, there is still a major hurdle to the enterprise’s wide spread acceptance of VDI on a platform other than Windows.

Is enterprise business really ready to migrate the majority of their user applications and data to Linux, the web, or even the Cloud? For Chrome OS to challenge Microsoft for seats in the enterprise Read the rest of this entry »

Citrix has opened the Citrix Synergy 2009 Conference in Las Vegas, NV this week with a flurry of press releases announcing new products that provide innovative methods for delivering corporate published applications. Adopting a model similar to satellite TV providers, Citrix Receiver, Dazzle, and Merchandising Server provide end users the ability to choose their own applications, and then those applications are available not only on the desktop but from any device, anywhere.

This model offers the potential to lift a huge burden from the IT department when provisioning both physical and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). At the same time, on demand self service applications also introduce software as a service provided by a company store delivery concept. For example, the IT department can build a standard desktop image or template virtual machine (VM) that consists of just the operating system and basic enterprise applications like anti virus and asset monitoring software. Then, based on familiar and easy to use TV programing -like subscription options, the end user has the control to choose which applications are delivered to their desktop via the combination of Citrix Reciever and Dazzle. These same applications or virtual desktops are also made available from the home PC or the iPhone without compromising administrative centralized security and control. New application choices and version updates are continuously provided via the “company store.”

Apparently, all of these new Citrix products are free. Reciever and Merchandising Server are available today. According to the Citrix press releases “both Receiver and Merchandising Server require infrastructure products from the Citrix Delivery Center product family to complete their operations.”

The following is a summary of links to the official Citrix announcements with some key quotes from each.
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