VMTN Blog

VMware Project Northstar (formerly Thinstall) Beta 2 release is now available. If you're a little fuzzy on application virtualization, here is our description:

VMware application virtualization (powered by Thinstall) technology lets you deploy applications without conflicts quicker then ever before. Application virtualization extends the reach of desktop virtualization from the operating system to the application layer and simplifies the delivery of applications. See how application virtualization is enabling organizations to ease their Vista migrations while reducing application conflicts, deployment costs, and empowering a mobile workforce.

Go to the Project Northstar Beta Portal for more information. New features in Beta 2 include:

• Application Link: allows administrators to dynamically link Thinstall packages to one another, making it possible to create separate packages for interdependent components (such as Java or .NET) and use them across multiple Thinstall packages.

• Application Sync: allows customers to execute updates to virtual applications through a secure Internet connection, increasing application portability while reducing security and patch risks to offline and out-of-network machines.

Edwin Friesen over at thinstallguru.com is looking at this release. In this post Preview VMware Project NorthStar Beta 2 | Edwin Friesen - Application Delivery Blog he gives great step-by-step screen shots of the user interface.

Edwin just posted a little test drive of the new Application Link. Link: Project NorthStar Beta 2; Application Link | Edwin Friesen - Application Delivery Blog.

I did a lot of testing with Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 (before SoftGrid) and figured out that linkíng virtual applications works very well for Microsoft Office plugins but when you want to use it for middleware applications such as Oracle, DotNet Framework or Java it is not so terrific. In the mean time VMware-Thinstall (Project NorthStar) is also building a powerfull solution to create an ‘Application Link’ between two virtual applications. I did some research and tried to package a Thinstalled application which is build on DotNet Framework 2.0. ... The result is great!!

You can download the beta today. The beta portal has a beta license key, release notes, community discussion, and more.

Interested in learning more about application virtualization, VMware's recent acquisition Thinstall, aka Project Northstar, and how it interacts with desktop virtualization in general? Our desktop team has just launched two new information sources that you may want to check out.

Product manager Ed Albanese has kicked off the new VMware Application Virtualization Blog with his first article: Are you wondering what lies ahead for Thinstall? This is a set of frequently asked questions about  the Thinstall product, where you can get more information, and this:

*How will Thinstall and VDI work together? *
In a nutshell, Thinstall makes VDI better. We love that this is the case and that customers can make their VDI environments better immediately - without any additional requirements. Customers who combine VDI and Thinstall will be able to:

• Create fewer desktop images by separating applications and desktops. This is a huge time-savings for administrators!
• Reduce storage costs. One of the very coolest features of Thinstall technology is its ability to stream applications directly into memory - without requiring a local cache - so that VDI images can be kept clean and small, yet easily configurable.
• Improve application compatibility. One of VDI ‘s trademark strengths is that it allows administrators to take the current image, as it is now, and place it onto a server for access anywhere. Many of our customers struggle with application deployment into their current image - and Thinstall helps tremendously in reducing that complexity. By avoiding application compatibility challenges, administrators get the applications they need our to the end-users, on demand, without an expensive compatibility testing matrix.
• Deliver desktops and applications independently. VMware's vision is to enable our customers to deliver desktops as a service for their end-users. It's a compelling vision, and Thinstall technology helps accelerate this vision. Customers who combine VDI and Thinstall will be able to acheive a significantly more agile deployment model for both OS and applications.

 

We've also started a new weekly podcast series* here at VMware on our podcast page. The initial set of programs will be about topics in desktop virtualization, and this first one is a great introduction to application virtualization (aka Project Northstar) and how it relates to VDI.

I've listened to lots of podcasts that are too long, too short, too scripted, or too noisy, and this one is none of the above. Tune in to hear three smart guys from VMware -- Tyler Rohrer, Henrik Rosendahl, and Ed Albanese -- chat about application virtualization, why you might want to use it, and how it relates to desktop virtualization.

Download MP3 * (12 MB)

--
* I know, there's no feed, so it isn't officially a podcast, but we're working on that. In the meantime, check back every Tuesday-ish for new episodes.

EMC's Chuck Hollis on VDI. Link: Chuck's Blog: VDI -- The Red Hot Discussion.

I've never seen anything like this in the industry. ... Just when you thought the server-oriented ESX party was raging, over the last 6-12 months the VDI discussion has become extremely interesting, especially to larger organizations who are seeing the potential to save money, deliver better user experiences, improve security and so on.

If you've been around the industry for any length of time, periodically the thin client discussion comes around.   Please, set aside your cynicism for just a moment -- this time it's different.

Previously, it's been an IT-driven thing.  All the benefits accrued to IT, and few (if any) to the knowledge workers who had to use the stuff.  There were some nasty compromises that limited thin-client effectiveness.

With VDI, users get clear benefits. 

It's a full experience with no compromises - an XP Pro desktop is an XP Pro desktop -- it's very hard to detect any meaningul differences. They get the ability to potentially work on any device (home, office, etc.) and get a full and consistent desktop experience -- no schlepping files around, etc. ...

Don't over-optimize the environment for cost savings.  I've talked to more than a few IT organizations that were trying to get the very last pennies out of cost savings, at the expense of an improved user experience. ...

 

And, surprisingly, many of the policies around desktop usage might be re-thought at the same time.  Like access from outside the firewall, for example.  Or supporting consultants and other business partners using internal applications.  A lot can potentially change here -- and for the good.

Quite humbly, I've never seen anything like this before ...

He also talks about some of the case studies on our site from a storage guy's perspective. A good read, as is his whole blog. Also check out the VMware Communities VDI Community for more discussion.

VMware Virtual Desktop Manager 2.0 Demo [via VMblog]

VMware VDI on NetApp, 100 clients; 13 mins; 10 GB used [via RTFM]

More VDI videos on YouTube.

Bonus link: Sinbad, Fusion fan. "That's what I like about it -- quickness, so I can get back to my Mac."

VMware Desktop Manager 2.0 has been released, and the reaction is good. (There is also an updated section on Virtual Desktop Infrastructure that may be useful to you. For questions and comments, see the new VDM Community at VMware Communities.)

From VMware's Warren Ponder at the Virtual Desktop Blog. Link: VMware VDI - Virtual Desktop Manager 2 Released

VDM 2 was not a rebranding exercise of slapping a VMware VDM 2 logo on some legacy product. It was a completely new product built from the Propero technology acquired in 2005 with the vision of virtual desktop management in mind. Rather than taking the high road and fastest time to market a conscious decision was made to build a solid foundation from which the future of virtual desktop management could safely rest.

Doug Brown over at dabcc.com was a beta tester and gives his verdict -- thumbs up -- along with a detailed description of what's inside the virtual box. Link: VMware Releases Desktop Virtualization (VDI) Solution - VDM 2.0 - Overview and Much More!

First and foremost this release is not vaporware, it is not full of a bunch of features that do not work as described, it is real and from my testing all the features work and work very well, of course that does not mean it is everything to everybody ...

[Doug gives a rundown of the components and concepts, not just a cut-and-paste job.]

In the coming days I will release a more detailed analysis about my experiences throughout the beta and the RTM but for now please feel free to download it and give it a try yourself.  BUT, I will say that I've been very impressed with VDM.  The only problem is the VDM client does NOT support 64-bit workstations but of course there are ways to workaround that issue, which I will document in the coming days too. ;)

Brian Madden also likes the fact that it's actually shipping, but also points out that the major weakness of VDI is that it's not Presentation Server, er, XenApp (and I'd argue that isn't a bad thing).  Link: VMware releases VDM2, the new version of their VDI product. What will the impact be?

And of course there's strength in the fact that VDM2 is an actual released product. (Download a 60-day eval) Citrix's XenDesktop, which is shaping up to be another dominating force in the VDI space is still months away best case.

Eric Sloof was also in on the VDM beta. Link: The launch of the Virtual Desktop Manager 2

When Capgemini Outsourcing had obtained an outsourcing contract from office Furniture group Ahrend last September, it has taken over management of the office ICT environment and the service desk. As the senior system administrator at Ahrend I created a VDI pool with desktops. During the transition of all the hardware from the Ahrend Datacenter in Nieuwegein to the Capgemini datacenter in Amsterdam,  the Ahrend ICT colleagues could easily move to the Capgemini office without losing their old desktop. There are two things I really like about VDM2; the first one is the automatic provisioning and the second one is USB support. VDM2 really made the transition to Capgemini run a lot smoother.

From Massimo Re Ferre':  Why Desktop Virtualization is not as easy as Server Virtualization. He brings up a number of barriers to thin client computing that have remained true over the years. I do think that this is the psychological one is the most important -- ever since Apple II's and IBM PC's began sneaking into corporations, they've been my personal computer. Even if the end user experience with thin client computing is fine, it still feels like the IT department is taking power away from me, the end user. All that being said, however, everything I hear says full steam ahead for VDI deployments.

- End-user Experience. There is a big difference between virtualizing a server and virtualizing a desktop from an end-user perspective. You, as a CIO / Sys Admin, can virtualize a server or even the whole server farm and no one at your company would even notice it. It's just your own decision to do that or not to. In a desktop virtualization scenario, as soon as you start deploying the first thin client you are opening it up to the whole company. Immediately you have exposed your decision to dozens / hundreds / thousands of  other individuals that, for good reasons or political reasons, will start to challenge you. Good reasons might be technical limitations that you have to compromise with as of today, limitations for which a thin client can sometimes hardly cope, in terms of local device attachment support / multimedia video performance / flexibility / off-line capabilities etc etc, with a standard desktop deployment. I can assure you that no single "average end-user" would ever realize that their mail system in the back is now running on a vm whereas yesterday it was physical; however even the more "IT-candid end-user" would understand that he / she is using Outlook from a "little box where I cannot even attach my iPOD anymore" as opposed to the PC he / she was used to! And there is when political problems start.

A clarification about VECD licensing from Warren Ponder at the Virtual Desktop Blog. Warren is referring to Rich Brambley's posting over at VM /ETC about The hidden cost of VDI - VECD. Note that in all of yesterday's sound-and-fury from Microsoft, they did reduce the VECD license cost from $78 to $23 dollars.

Link: VMware Communities: Virtual Desktop Blog: VMware VDI - Understanding VECD Licensing.

The initial white paper released explaining VECD created more confusion than clarity. I know I read it many times and each time, I came away with a new interpretation. Fortunately I have some close contacts at Microsoft I was able to sync up with, back in September, at VMworld. VECD was top of the list to get clarified. Who better to hear it from the horses mouth. At VMworld Microsoft was handing out a recently completed license brief that had yet to be published on the Microsoft web site.

This license brief as well as my conversation with the owner at Microsoft, went a long way in clarify things for me. Unfortunately, I failed to share it had posted when it did. I recommend, Anyone interested in better understanding VECD should read this license brief. It covers VECD for SA and VECD. The document is titled Licensing Vista for Use with Virtual Machine Technologies and can be found on the Volume Licensing Briefs site.

From Warren Ponder: Virtual Desktop Blog: VMware VDI - VDM 2.0 Beta now live.

VDM 2.0 is a new product. Over the last few months the team has been hard at work so we can deliver on the design goals we set for this release of the broker. At this stage we are really focused on simplicity and scaleabilty.

One of the biggest changes for the initial release from the original Propero technology is we have ported to Windows. This release is only supported on Windows 2003. ...

In the coming weeks I wil be sharing more on the architecture and available features. Anyone thats interested in participating in the beta can find the registration page this URL - VDM 2.0 Press Release

Two interesting posts from Warren on the Virtual Desktop Blog:

VDI - Cardinal Healthcare - Webinar.

One of the most innovative things I feel they accomplished was in how they executed their client side strategy. After evaluating different alternatives from PC’s to thin clients. They decided to go with low-end PC’s. Because VDI was new at the time, Justin’s team had to create their own custom image. The image is PXE booted from the network by each of the client end points. In essence this enabled them to create their own low cost unmanaged client end point. When a device is powered on it downloads its image from the network. Once the boot process is complete, the user is given a chooser created by Justin’s team for selecting the environment they need. Once the user has made their selection, a connection is established to their hosted virtual desktop. Simple, clean and affective.

Warren's post on using the new Longhorn Terminal Services feature RemoteApp engendered some lively discussion, including some illuminating comments from the CTO of Provision Networks. VDI + RemoteApp = Match made in heaven

One of the features I have been waiting to see from 2008 server and the Terminal Services team is RemoteApp. RemoteApp is a new feature that introduces usability concepts that have been around for a while, but have really started to take off even more, as the desktop environment continues to change.

So what is the concept? A RemoteApp application accessed from a Terminal Server displays as if it was another application loaded on the user’s local desktop. This concept is nothing new really. On the Terminal Services front there have always been seamless windows from Citrix. Sun’s SGD product had the concept of the integrated client that took the seamless windows concept a step further by integrating the applications into the start menu and desktop. On the virtualization front, its similar to the Unity feature of the VMware Fusion product for MAC.

And a highlight from the comment of Peter Ghostine, CTO of Provision Networks:

One of the reasons why many IT organizations are favoring VDI over TS is because VDI mainly revolves around hosting a "standard" Windows desktop OS. Therefore, no special TS know-how is required. And it's not just about TS know-how, but also about the myriad apps out there that just won't work out of the box on TS without drastic steps to mitigate multi-user conflicts. There are many use-cases that I've documented over the years.

Brian Madden wrote a previous paper on VDI (VMware Desktop Infrastructure -- using virtual desktops on virtual infrastructure) and SBC (server-based computing, using a terminal server or Citrix Presentation Server), where he laid out nicely the advantages and disadvantages of both approaches. He also has the clearest explanation of the Citrix Ardence vDisk and streaming technology that I have seen.

In the real world, no single approach is right for every situation, and now Brian follows up with an article talking about how he sees the two blending in your organization and sees it as sort of an 80-20 split:

How to address the  "other" 20%

VDI is not the be-all end-all to application delivery. Terminal Server-based SBC is a good foundation. ... This means that VDI technology is useful in any scenario where you have power users or users who need strange, non-terminal-server-compatible applications, but where the users still need the flexibility associated with traditional SBC environments. (Examples include connecting to applications from anywhere, over slow connections, etc.)

Massimo re Ferre' then makes a good comment on the article from a real-world perspective -- yes, 80% of apps could be delivered with SBC, but why aren't they, and can VDI help?

Scott Lowe has published two recent articles around VDI: one a review of Leostream Connection Broker:

It may be that some of the other CBs out there also work as well as Leostream; I don’t know since I haven’t had the opportunity to work with all of them (note to vendors:  I will delete blatant marketing pitches in the comments).  I do know that the Leostream product works well thus far.

It took me a little bit of time to get accustomed to how the Leostream broker works (different terminology, I suppose), but once I understood how it works I found it pretty easy to make it do what I wanted it to do.  The pieces are all interconnected, though, so allow me to walk through a set of steps in the event you find yourself using the Leostream product in the future.

and another on using Login Consultants' Flex Profile Kit, which

allows administrators to selectively save portions of a user’s profile to a simple file, which can then be reapplied at next logon. ... Using this functionality, we can mimic the effect of a roaming profile without having to modify any user objects in Active Directory (and thus limiting the impact to hosted desktops only).

MIchel Roth of Login Consultants runs the very fine thincomputing.net blog, by the way.

Martijn Lohmeijer's VDI project is progressing again, and this time he's getting a demo of the Wyse S10.

And the VMTN VDI Forum keeps going strong as well, with two of the longest threads in the world: VDI Resources and Connection Brokers Summary.

Brian Madden on VDI and Ardence. Link: When to use VDI, when to use server-based computing, and how the Citrix Ardence dynamic desktop fits into all this.

VDI, or Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, is quickly entering the buzzword danger zone. At the most basic level, VDI technology is a new method for delivering desktops to users. Of course users have been using desktops for years, at first running locally on their own PCs, and more recently by accessing remote server-based computing (SBC) desktops running on Microsoft terminal servers or Citrix Presentation Servers.

Now that various VDI technologies have hit the market, peoples’ reactions are all over the place. Some people are talking about how VDI will replace or compete with SBC and traditional technologies. In this article I’ll explain why this isn’t the case, and how all three technologies (VDI, SBC, and traditional desktops) can be used together to provide a holistic desktop delivery solution for a company of any size.

I’ll also explore the technology that makes VDI a reality and discuss some of the roadblocks that may be encountered along the way. I’ll talk about the emergence and importance of a concept known as the “dynamic desktop,” and why this is needed for a “true” VDI solution.

Finally I’ll provide a quick overview of Citrix’s Ardence solution and describe how it can enable organizations to truly realize the “on demand” desktop, whether it’s VDI-based or traditional PC-based.

[via thincomputing.net, VMblog, and virtualization.info]

From VMware Forum regular Massimo re Ferre', a comparison table of the various "connection broker" options for Virtual Desktop Infrastructure. The connection broker is the software 'traffic cop' that controls session access to the server-side virtual desktops or other shared resources. Link: Brokering technologies for client consolidation.

This page is intended to be a summary for the various brokering technologies available for the VMware VDI initiative. At least this was the initial intent.

As soon as I started working on this summary two things became clear:

1. while the idea of the connection broker was initially associated to the VMware VDI initiative, the concept and values of these brokers (or "infrastructure access" packages) has expanded a bit to encompass other client consolidation models such as the more traditional "Terminal Services" model as well as the niche "PC Blades" model. Shared Services (i.e. TS / Citrix deployments are just not death and certainly hosted desktop can't be a good fit for everything either). Not to mention that these connection brokers are or will be able to broker virtual machines hosted also on non-VMware type of hypervisors.

2. connection brokering is only one piece of the functionality that these "infrastructure access" packages provide. Session brokering is the simple concept of redirecting an end-user to an available OS/application image (either from a pool or his/her own end-user image). As you can see below these packages (at least some of those) provides much more than that. That's  the reason for which referring to them as "connection brokers" is kind of limited.
   

So in a nutshell: what started to be the "VDI connection brokers" are now brokering other things than simply VDI vm's as well as these "VDI connection brokers" are doing more than "simply brokering".

[via run-virtual]

I've posted about others running VDI with Sun Ray thin clients back to virtual desktops hosted on Sun servers, but here's another story from the trenches. I would be happy to post about people using other hardware, since I know they are doing it, but the Sun fans seem to be the ones blogging about it. Check out the VMTN VDI Forum for more real-world stories.

Link: Unix Admin Corner: Sun Ray, x4600, VMware ESX stories from the trenches.

What we determined was that we could run 80 users on a single 4600. Our (5)4600's have 64GB of Ram and 8 dual core CPU's. Each 4600 has 8 4GB FCAL ports attached to a 27TB file Server. For each VM session, we have allocate 2GB of RAM and 70GB of Disk. On the five 4600's we are provided 450 simultaneous XP VM's. The XP VM are served out to the Sun Ray's via the uttsc windows connector. The cost savings over a FAT client is 70%.

[via Tarry] .

Patrick Rouse: Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Overview.

In the past few years there has been and continues to be a lot industry buzz around virtualization. At this point most are familiar with the concept of server virtualization and consolidation using VMware ESX or Microsoft Virtual Server. Additionally, many have been successful using application virtualization and streaming technologies like Microsoft Softricity Softgrid to address application compatibility, version control and deployment issues.

VDI is VMware’s designation for the hosting and virtualization of a individual Client OS like Windows XP Professional, Windows Vista or Linux on VMware ESX. The intent is to be able to deploy, secure and manage enterprise desktops in the data center.

For those used to managing server based computing environments, consisting of Windows Terminal Servers and Citrix, managing VDI is definitely similar task. The difference is that instead of managing numerous centralized, multi-user server operating systems, one would be managing potentially hundreds, or thousands of centralized, virtualized single user operating systems.

[via thincomputing.net]

Scott Wallick posts at ITopinions.com about VDI: Living in an ever more virtual world.

I attended VMworld 2006 a couple of weeks ago, and perhaps the single most revolutionary thing that I saw was actually the most retro thing I saw - the return to the Terminal.

Using a combination of VMware’s VI3 infrastructure and VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure), there is a small quiet movement towards returning to computing via a (anything but dumb) terminal. All that is old is new again!
Why, you may ask? Number one on the VDI hit list is security. If the access point to a computing environment is inherently “dumb” (as in not intelligent, also as in not where the computing power or data are), then a user who removes the local access unit cannot take sensitive information with them (à la the V.A. debacle).

Also high on the list of reasons of why go to what is commonly referred to as “Thin Computing” is disaster recovery (DR). Because each session is virtual (which in VMware-land is simply a file containing the data related to a session), the file can be backed up, replicated and otherwise copied, migrated or archive.

And Sun's Warren Ponder also is keeping busy post-VMworld with their VDI solution. He's writing a new white paper that will be ready in a few weeks, but in the meantime part one is here. Link: Sun Desktop Virtualization Solution White Paper - Part2

Ok, I am getting overwhelmed with requests now after VMworld and Sun's Immersion Week. This is a good thing trust me, I am not complaining. We have been secretly working on some sauce for VDI based solutions. It is a long story actually, and I will not go into it now. If we ever come across each other in person just ask and I will give you the whole story. It really was secret, even my really really good buddy thinguy did not even completely know :) I felt bad because he just found out this past week at Sun's Immersion Week what we had been working on. I usually share everything but I really did keep forgetting to tell him with everything that is going on.

We started talking about the VI Access Kit openly at VMworld. Simply put, the VI Access Kit is the glue between Sun Desktop Infrastructure Products and VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure. It introduces the ability to automate virtual desktop lifecyle management for virtual desktop environments. We introduce a concept we call a factory which dynamically creates the virtual desktops on the fly based a few different variables. It also handles the pooling and recycling of virtual desktops as well.

Sun's Warren Ponder was at VMworld and had so much traffic his voice gave out by day 2:

The big buzz was unquestionably desktop virtualization. Diane Greene - President of VMware made it very clear in Tuesdays  keynote that desktop virtualization is happening now and taking off. I strongly recommend you visit VMware's website and  look at the presentation from the keynote.

The feedback from existing Sun customers and the ones that had no idea we offered compelling desktop solutions, was very clear. WOW you guys are doing some really cool stuff. Of course, I am slightly biased and agree we are doing some cool stuff. We also have some work to do too make it better in my opinion. There was only a small handful of people that had requirements that we could not meet and I actually recommended they consider another solution. We are  not going to be the best fit for everyone and this is OK. I did find it ironic though, one of them kept coming back with more questions.

I have a pretty good idea of what  others are doing with their solutions. Most of which, I have started calling a "Desktop on a Desktop". Guess what? The customers are as well! Customers are smart, they are not stupid and I knew it was only a matter of time before they bushwhacked through most of the hype around some of the other solutions out there. Several people made it very clear our solution is the only solution that provides a seemless user experience and appears to be the most streamlined. I try to be fair, we know where our gaps are and I really make an effort not to hide them. I make it clear where we feel we need to improve and listen closely to customers about where they would like to see our solution improve.

Andrew Dugdell of Dugie's Pensieve checked out a VDI solution from Wyse, Leo Stream, and VMware. First Impressions of VDI with Wyse and Leo Stream:

• You need some flavour of a VMware Server product with Virtual Center
• You need the LeoStream Server Software (called the Connection Broker) to "Round Robin" the connections to available Desktop VMs, and to create new desktop VMs when the existing pool is full.
• The connection broker setup was straight forward, done via a browser
• There were a variety of options/policies for defining what VMs a user could connect to
• Your WYSE terminals will naturally need to support VDI, so we used the S10-VDI

Once everything was together, it all just worked.  You powered up a thin client, connected to a workstation hosted within a VM, and could use and abuse the workstation as you saw fit.

I think that was everything?  I was pretty happy with everything I just saw.