VMware View

When to use VDI, when to use server-based computing

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]