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.
