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Category Archives: Horizon View

The ABCs of Deploying VMware Horizon View 5.2 with Microsoft Lync 2013

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Tony Huynh, Product Management End-User Computing

It gives me great pleasure to announce that the VMware Horizon View 5.2 Microsoft Lync 2013 VDI Client Installation/Configuration Guide is now publicly available.

The document provides a step-by-step guide on how to deploy a Microsoft Lync 2013 client on a VMware Horizon View desktop along with a Lync VDI plugin on a Windows client.  By doing so, customers can leverage the power of the Lync VDI plugin to make rich voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) and videoconferencing calls without negatively affecting the datacenter server or network.

The document will help partners and customers understand and avoid some common mistakes when deploying the Microsoft Lync 2013 client and Lync VDI plugin with Horizon View desktops.

Some common pitfalls when deploying the Lync 2013 client and Lync VDI plugin include:

  • Knowing what is and is not supported
  • Downloading/installing the correct software
  • Misconfiguration of Lync 2013 server and client and Lync VDI plugin
  • Windows client misconfiguration

Follow up questions

If you have additional questions regarding the deployment of the Lync 2013 client and Lync VDI plugin with Horizon View 5.2 desktops, please post your questions to our community page.

Useful Links

Lync client qualified devices

Deploying Lync VDI Plugin

Lync VDI Troubleshooting

Lync VDI plugin (32-bit) download

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The Convergence of IT and Communications

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by Geoffrey Murase, Solutions Marketing, End-User Computing

This past week I had the opportunity to attend the International Avaya User Group (IAUG) conference in Orlando, Florida.  The name of the conference was aptly titled “Converge2013” and brought together almost 3,000 users and partners of Avaya unified communications and networking gear.  VMware was one of the sponsors of the event and we met many Avaya customers who came by our exhibitor booth.

It was interesting to see that a few “old school” telephony administrators didn’t know who VMware was.  VMwho?  Historically, the IT department handled all of the servers, networking, and applications while the telephony administrator managed the phone system.  However, as adoption of Voice over IP has become more prevalent, there has been a convergence of these roles.  On the virtualization front, communications applications can be seen as just another app and deployed as a virtual machine in the datacenter.  In addition, on the end-user front, as softphones increasingly are used both at the office desk and on mobile devices, desktop virtualization can simplify management and security of communications.

VMware has worked closely with Avaya to enable scalable deployments of softphones without taxing the datacenter.  Using a custom developed plug-in, client devices can communicate point to point after an initial communications session is established.  Coding and decoding of real-time media is handled by the endpoint instead of at the datacenter which helps reduce latency and enable highly scalable deployments.  A webinar recording is available on YouTube that gives all of the details for this joint Avaya VMware solution.

While desktop virtualization in the unified communications space is a relatively new concept, many Avaya customers I spoke to are interested in using it for specific use cases.  Probably the most popular use case is for contact centers.  Contact center agents only require access to a limited application set and don’t install custom applications on their endpoints.  Furthermore, the contact center function is often outsourced or is located offshore.  This use case is ideal for desktop virtualization which provides the security, ease of scalability, and ease of management outsourcing and offshoring require.  A new VMware white paper is available that highlights how businesses can leverage desktop virtualization for their offshoring and outsourcing initiatives.

No doubt some telephony administrators are resistant to change as having ownership of the communications system ensures job security for them.  However, these people will be left behind as the convergence of IT and communications continues unabated.

Were you at IAUG as well?  Let us know on Facebook and Twitter!

 

Giving PCs New Purpose

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By: Courtney Burry, Director of Product Marketing, End User Computing, VMware

Simplifying desktop management is still a very compelling reason for organizations across the globe to make the move to desktop virtualization. And not surprisingly, many organizations seem to make this move when faced with an upcoming or imminent PC refresh. Why? Because they can take the money that would typically go into buying a whole new fleet of PCs and instead invest this money into virtual desktop infrastructure. PCs can be repurposed to run as thin clients and given a new lease on life-usually with better performance. And IT organizations can focus on improving data security, supporting workplace mobility and driving down the day to day costs of desktop management.

Information Age highlighted a great example of this with Hertz-the global car rental company, earlier this week. Faced with the need to improve operational efficiencies, Hertz had the choice of refreshing its fleet of 4000 PCs and laptops spread across over 1,000 sites across Europe or moving to desktop virtualization.

By moving to desktop virtualization with VMware® Horizon View™, Hertz has been able to improve PCI compliance and security, reduce operational costs (help desk incidents alone have dropped by 33%) and simplify technical infrastructure.

Not surprisingly, Hertz expects to save a lot of hardware investments in the coming years by extending desktop lifecycles from three to five years up to 10 years with the use of Dell Wyse thin clients.

Western Wayne-a school district out in Pennsylvania, is another really good case in point. The district received a “classrooms for the future” grant a couple of years back. Instead of putting the money into new laptops-the IT department opted to build out their virtual desktop infrastructure and move to thin clients. And while the district spent a good chunk of their grant on getting their virtual desktop project off the ground in year one-by year two they were seeing real savings. In fact-they were even able to take some of these savings and offer up funding to the art and music departments for new technology purchases.

Now if you can’t repurpose PCs that you own in the process of moving to VDI- certain organizations have also shown that you can repurpose the PCs of your partners instead…

Facing significant budget cuts, the Iowa Workforce and Development Agency, one of Iowa’s largest state agencies-was actually asked to close over half of its 55 offices. Still intent on providing agency services-it partnered with other organizations that had PCs on hand for public use-including other state agencies, public libraries, National Guard Offices and colleges and leveraged virtual desktops to drive down costs by $6.5M, enhance security and reach more people than ever before. And it didn’t matter that partner PCs were older since the PCs were repurposed to run as thin clients. Today the agency has over 1500 virtual desktops running across all 99 counties in the state.

Looking to replace your fleet of desktops, laptops or tablets this year? You may just want to take a look at desktop virtualization and repurpose those PCs instead. :)

Are you considering desktop virtualization?  Tell us all about it on Twitter and Facebook!

 

 

 

SMBs Prefer Horizon View Over Other VDI Solutions – Two Years in a Row

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By Courtney Burry, Director, Desktop Product Marketing, VMware

I’m excited to share that a recent study conducted by Spiceworks with small and midsized businesses (SMBs) revealed that VMware Horizon View is the solution of choice over the competition for a second year in a row.

By an almost 2-to-1 margin, Horizon View remains the top choice with the number of VDI agents deployed increasing from 53 percent in December 2011 to 57 percent in February 2013. The three leading VDI solutions found among SMBs were VMware Horizon View (57 percent), Citrix Virtual Desktop (31 percent) and NComputing vSpace Client (6 percent).

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School Testing: The Next Generation

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by Geoffrey Murase, Solutions Marketing for End-User Computing

When I was in elementary school, each year, we were administered a standardized test called the “California Test of Basic Skills” or CTBS.  This test involved using “number 2” pencils and filling out a form with boxes from A to E.  I remember thinking that if I didn’t know the answer, I should guess “C” because it’s in the middle.  Today, I can’t remember the last time I actually used a pencil.  However, many schools still use this antiquated way of administering standardized tests to students.

This is all about to change in the next couple of years.  According to the San Jose Mercury News, California, as one of 45 of the 50 states in the U.S. participating, will move toward a broad state-led program called the “Common Core State Standards Initiative.”  This initiative requires the standardization of testing across states by the 2014-2015 school year to ensure consistent performance assessments.  Quoting the article:

“Multiple-choice, fill-in-the-bubble tests alone simply cannot do the job anymore, and it’s time for California to move forward with assessments that measure the real-world skills our students need to be ready for a career and for college,” said California School Superintendent Tom Torlakson.

These next generation assessments will be computer-based and Pearson TestNav™ is a leading test delivery platform in K-12 schools that delivers over 4 million tests annually.  VMware is pleased to announce that our VMware® Horizon View™ desktop virtualization solution has received “TestNav Qualified” certification, ensuring that TestNav tests administered using Horizon View are delivered securely, error-free, and with a good user experience.  In fact, many schools have already deployed the TestNav platform with Horizon View and achieved great results:

“We’ve had tremendous success using VMware Horizon View for Pearson TestNav. Testing season brings a lot of stress to not only students but the staff as well. VMware Horizon View allows IT departments to facilitate these tests in a high availability environment, which is extremely comforting.”

- Brooks Moore, DCS Technology Help Desk Manager, Aledo Independent School District

“Using VMware Horizon View with the Pearson TestNav test delivery system ensures that our tests are administered in a secure environment that preserves the integrity of the results. Test environments are booted directly to our computer labs and if any attempt is made to escape out of the test, the test taker is locked out of the test. We initially rolled out VMware virtual desktops on a small scale in the Summer of 2012 but with the success that we’ve had, we now plan on rolling it out to all computer labs within our district.”

- Chad Branum, Executive Director of Technology, Coppell Independent School District

The good news is that these next generation assessments will hopefully give educators a clearer, more consistent understanding of how students are performing so that they can take corrective action where needed.  The bad news is that guessing “C” may no longer be an option for students in the coming years.

For more information about VMware and education, visit our website at: http://www.vmware.com/solutions/education/index.html

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NetApp has now introduced its VMware AlwaysOn Point of Care™ reference architecture built for healthcare

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by Monty Zarrouk, Product Marketing at NetApp

How will this improve patient care?

VMware® AlwaysOn Point of Care™ architecture helps solve customers’ problems by providing ready access to patient information from any terminal or mobile device. This allows clinicians to make informed decisions regarding treatment plans while protecting the confidentiality of patient information. Providing access to clinical applications in a virtual environment, healthcare providers maintain continued access to their desktop as they move from patient to patient, floor to floor, or building to building. Just like any sector, technology dictates a successful organization. And healthcare is no different. Medicine is changing, and a virtual desktop can mean all the difference in a patient’s outcomes.

Why did NetApp introduce VMware AlwaysOn Point of Care for healthcare?

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VDI Becomes A Reality for Hospitals

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by Steve Poitras, Solutions Architect, Nutanix

There are two things I normally notice when I visit the doctor – 1) a massive stack of paper medical records and 2) long visit times…

The need…

I’ve always been huge fan of adopting and evolving the IT services utilized in the medical industry.  Here we have an industry who is pushing the forefront of technology for the analysis and treatment of patients – but plagued by archaic IT and paper based records.

In comes the consumerization effect…

The Consumerization of IT has been a big trend for businesses in the last years, essentially giving the “end-user” the ability to have flexibility over devices.  When it comes down to it there are a few key things people care about:

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Always On. Always Available

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by by Pam Takahama, Director of Solutions Marketing, Riverbed Technology

Healthcare turning to VDI to improve patient care

I recently took my daughter to the doctor for an earache, and chuckled when the pediatrician reached into his lab coat for what I thought was an iPad to write up a prescription only to realize it was, ahem, a good ole’ fashioned pad of paper! Spending another 45 minutes filling the prescription had me wondering how far the healthcare industry has come in the last 10 years. Notwithstanding the isolated throwback to the pencil and paper era, the reality is that the healthcare industry is reinventing itself, and in the process reshaping our experiences, and reorienting our expectations from how care is managed, to how it is paid for, to how it is delivered.

Many healthcare organizations are working to embrace innovative solutions like virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) to improve patient care and provide clinicians 24/7 access to their most current patient data and resources — even during unplanned downtime.

Recently, Riverbed and VMware announced a joint solution that integrates Stingray Traffic Manager application delivery controller (ADC) with the VMware® Horizon View™ AlwaysOn™ Desktop solution. The joint solution ensures end users have continual access to a secure virtual desktop no matter what device they use and no matter where they are.

Moreover, this tested and validated solution augments VMware’s latest announcement with a leading electronic medical records (EMR) software provider for a virtual clinical desktop. Designed for the cloud from the ground up, Stingray™ Traffic Manager will improve overall performance for clinical desktops by delivering around-the-clock access to data and applications even if a primary site fails or is compromised by other unplanned events, all while meeting industry compliance regulations. Customers will be able to quickly modernize their computing environment and provide a highly available cloud-based desktop.

Rx for AlwaysOn Desktop

As healthcare organizations seek to deliver robust and proven desktop solutions to improve how care is managed and delivered, they should consider the advantages that Stingray Traffic Manager offers to help lower costs while ensuring high availability and securing computing endpoints:

Accelerate virtual desktop performance. Offloads performance-draining tasks such as SSL and compression accelerating services, increasing capacity and optimizing implementations. Also, administrators can cache commonly requested content and optimize VDI traffic delivery, enabling healthcare clinicians to gain fast and easy access to their applications and data.

Provide 24/7 access to virtual desktops. By intelligently shaping and directing traffic and avoiding failed or degraded servers, Stingray Traffic Manager ensures users are always routed to the closest available site based on the end user’s geo-location, including continent and country, IP address, and site availability.

Secure virtual desktops. Helps to preserve and maintain a highly secure virtual desktop environment by configuring the solution to admit certain traffic types only, and operating as a deny-all gateway. These capabilities ensure full control over how traffic is internally routed. Additionally, high-performance inspection interrogates any part of a request or response before applying global filtering or scrubbing policies.

Gain better control of VDI environment. Easily manage how users interact with the applications and the infrastructure that they depend on. Administrators can also use Stingray Traffic Manager to shape, prioritize, and route traffic; drain infrastructure resources prior to maintenance; and, upgrade user sessions across application while preserving user performance.

So the next time I’m at the pediatrician’s office and he whips out a pad of paper again, I may have to bring new meaning to an old adage and tell him that “an Apple” a day may help keep the paperwork away.  Click here to learn more about the joint VMware and Riverbed AlwaysOn solution.

 

Achieving Epic Status

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by F5 News

Healthcare providers face a unique challenge: continuously deliver quality patient care that is both effective and affordable. Today, this depends largely on technology – from diagnostic systems to patient record systems accessible by health care professionals dispersed amongst hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies.

Today these organizations increasingly rely on new software solutions from companies like Epic Software to manage every aspect of patient care. Epic infrastructures are the gold standard today, assisting health care organizations around the world to improve patient care through accessible and reliable health care systems.

It is critical that such applications are supported by an equally accessible and reliable IT infrastructure. To assure a high level of quality from top to bottom, Epic carefully certifies IT infrastructure providers that support a disaster-resilient, highly available, secure and increasingly mobile deployment.

Because of its focus on quality, resilience and affordability it has become a great honor to achieve full target platform status with EPIC. And that’s what happened recently with VMware® Horizon View™ – the first desktop virtualization solution to have achieved this status. Using VMware’s AlwaysOn™ Desktop for Healthcare reference architecture, F5 partnered with VMware for this historic launch.

VMware and F5 have long been offering joint solutions targeting desktop virtualization with a focus on resiliency, scalability, availability, security and performance. Together, along with partners such as NetApp and EMC, these joint reference architectures are the basis for secure, fast and available virtualization infrastructures capable of meeting the most demanding standards, such as that of Epic Software.

F5 is also establishing and documenting jointly with Epic a set of best practices for application delivery, designed to improve the scalability and availability of the most common HTTP, SSL, and FTP Epic components. F5 will be providing these best practices both as technical documentation as well as an iApp, to streamline deployment of these critical healthcare systems.

We’re excited about this announcement and extend a hearty congratulations to VMware on this notable achievement.

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VMware Horizon View 5.2 Performance and Best Practices, and A Performance Deep-Dive on Hardware-Accelerated 3D Graphics

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By Banit Agrawal, Senior Performance Engineer, VMware

VMware Horizon View 5.2 simplifies desktop and application management while increasing security and control and delivers a personalized high fidelity experience for end-users across sessions and devices. It enables higher availability and agility of desktop services unmatched by traditional PCs while reducing the total cost of desktop ownership and end-users can enjoy new levels of productivity and the freedom to access desktops from more devices and locations while giving IT greater policy control.

Recently, we published two whitepapers to provide a performance deep-dive on Horizon View 5.2 performance and hardware accelerated 3D graphics (vSGA) feature.

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