Virtual Desktops Increasing Access, Increasing Productivity and Reducing Service Costs UCSD, Princeton University, Duke University, Yale University, University of Iowa Overview of Desktop Virtualization Min Yao, UC San Diego Mark McCahill, Duke University
Virtual desktop growing trend In 2009, Gartner reported there were 500,000+ hosted desktop units globally and predicted that the number of virtual desktops would grow to 49 million units (40%+ PC Market) worldwide by 2013* According to a survey of 500 small and medium organizations in Dec. 2011 by Spiceworks, 61% of small and medium organizations either have implemented VDI or will deploy it in 2012* IP Pathway, a data center solution provider, listed desktop virtualization as Top 4 IT trend in 2012 Our survey of CSG member organizations indicated that about 75% of CSG member organizations, who responded to the survey, have either deployed VDI or plan to do it within 12 months. Using virtual desktops is a growing trend * http://www.cio.com/article/487109/hosted_virtual_desktop_market_to_cross_65_billion_in_2013 http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/smb/desktop_virtualization_spiceworks.pdf http://www.ippathways.com/resources/documents/2012%20it%20trends_whitepaper.pdf 6/14/2012 Overview of VDI 2
Virtual desktop vs. VDI Traditional definition and distinction: Virtual desktop, sometimes called desktop virtualization, is a concept that separates a personal computer desktop environment from a physical machine using the client server model of computing.* Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), initially coined by VMware, is the physical structure that consists of the hardware and software systems to provide and support desktop virtualization.* However, for the sake of our discussion, we use the two terms interchangeably in our presentations and panel discussion to refer to virtual desktop solutions. * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/desktop_virtualization 6/14/2012 Overview of VDI 3
Types of virtual desktops Client hosted Bare metal (bypass host OS) hypervisor (Type 1) OS hosted (Type 2) Server hosted (the focus of our discussion) Shared desktop (RDSH), cf terminal service Personal physical desktop on the server (BladePC) Personal virtual desktop (VDI) 6/14/2012 Overview of VDI 4
General benefits of VDI simpler provisioning of new desktops reduced downtime in the event of client hardware failures lower cost of deploying new applications desktop image management capabilities longer refresh cycle for client desktop infrastructure (saving $$$) increased data security secure remote access to an enterprise desktop environment 6/14/2012 Overview of VDI 5
General risks and challenges of VDI potential security risks if the network is not properly managed challenges in setting up and maintaining drivers for printers and other peripherals difficulty in running certain complex applications (e.g., Adobe Creative Suite) increased downtime in the event of network failures relying on public Internet when making connection away from campus complexity of deployment and management 6/14/2012 Overview of VDI 6
Popular VDI solutions Citrix XenDesktop Citrix VDI in a Box Microsoft VDI with RemoteFX VMware VMware View Quest vworkspace Red Hat Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Virtual Bridges VERDE Apache VCL open source (Mark begins the presentation) 6/14/2012 Overview of VDI 7
Citrix XenDesktop Version 5.5 Released in August, 2011 Formerly known as MetaFrame/Presentation Server Key features Server can host personal, pooled and dedicated virtual desktops Client/local can host Type 1 (direct hypervisor) and real time stream OS on VHD Citrix HDX technologies support VoIP, 3D rendering Supports shared GPU on VDI clients for running programs like Adobe Photoshop or AutoCAD Support BYO mobile devices Citrix s ICA protocol handles limited bandwidth better than MS RDP protocol Scale well Key drawback Complex setup and configuration Higher license cost Licensing model: Express (free), VDI, Enterprise, and Platinum 6/14/2012 Overview of VDI 8
Citrix VDI in a Box Version 5.0.1 Released in January, 2011 Key features Turn key solution (appliance box approach) Lower TCO than Citrix XenDesktop High availability (load balance grid/raid approach) Including some Citrix HDX features Scalable by adding Citrix boxes (theoretically supports up to 1 billion client devices) Drawbacks Limited features compared with XenDesktop Fewer configuration options than XenDesktop License model: $160 per concurrent user perpetual or annual license (cost per negotiation) 6/14/2012 Overview of VDI 9
Microsoft VDI Version 2008R2 RFX Released in February 2012 MS VDI evolved from Terminal Services (multiple sessions on the same server) With the release of Windows 2008 R2 in October 2009, TS was renamed RDS Windows 2008 R2 SP1 released in February 2012 added RemoteFX to MS VDI suite Key features USB redirection HD video and 3D over RDP (RemoteFX) Support both session and dedicated virtual desktops Support both client (RD) and Web based connection Lower license cost (about $7 per user) Drawback Weak central management tool (Windows System Center) License Model: MS VDI Standard Suite (Hyper V server, System Center VM Manager, System Center Operations Manager, MS Desktop Optimization Pack). MS Premium VDI Suite (in addition to MS Standard VDI, add session based desktop and MS application virtualization for RDS) 6/14/2012 Overview of VDI 10
VMware View 5.0 VMware View 5.0 was released in Aug 2011 Grown from server virtualization technology, initially named VMware VDM and named View in 2008 Key features Excellent central management system Local Mode offers online virtual desktops and seamless sync with server once online Support popular endpoint devices (zero clients, Android, Mac, ipad, etc.) Drawback Doesn t handle limited bandwidth well License model View Enterprise: vsphere Desktop and vcenter Desktop, View Manager View Premium: adds View Composer for linked clones, single disk image provisioning, View Persona Manager (user profile management), vshield (anti virus), Client with Local Mode, ThinApp, and Clients for thin and zero clients and other endpoint devices 6/14/2012 Overview of VDI 11
Quest vworkpace Version 7.5 vworkspace 7.5 was released in Jan 2012 Founded in 2004, formerly Provision Networks was acquired by Quest in 2007 Key features Experience Optimized Protocol (EOP) extends MS RDP and provides excellent VDI client experience over limited bandwidth on WANs License model Desktop edition: VDI only Enterprise: RDS and VDI Premier: RDS and VDI, including Quest Foglight based Monitoring 6/14/2012 Overview of VDI 12
Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization (RHEV) for Desktops Version 3.0 RHEV version 3 was released in January 2012 Key features Open source solution (no license fee) Use Kernel based virtual machine (KVM) method Use SPICE protocol to compete with RDP and ICA Rapid provisioning of virtual desktops Support multi monitors on clients Support full HD 1920x1080 display Portal for self provisioning virtual desktops Drawback unknown yet License model license is free but requires RH service subscription 6/14/2012 Overview of VDI 13
Apache VCL Version 2.2.1 key features Windows & Linux images Client access via Remote Desktop, VNC, ssh, X Web based reservation system oriented to course/lab use bulk pre provisioning easily shibboleth enabled provisioning via» xcat management of blade server hardware» VMware ESXi Developed at NCSU in 2004 Apache project in 2008 http://vcl.ncsu.edu/ https://cwiki.apache.org/vcl/ 6/14/2012 Overview of VDI 14
VERDE (Virtual Enterprise Remote Desktop Environment) Vendor: Virtual Bridges (based in Texas) Key features On prem, cloud, and hybrid architectures Distributed connection brokering to least busy server Active directory integration for AUTHN/AUTHZ KVM based hypervisor; client display protocols: RDP, NX, SPICE support for branch office remote server clusters Supports disconnected managed endpoints to enforce use of centrally managed gold master image 6/14/2012 Overview of VDI 15
A comparison of Popular VDI features Citrix XenDesktop Version 5.5 (Aug 2011) Citrix VDI in a Box Version 5.0.1 (Jan 2011) Microsoft VDI Version 2008R2 RFX (Feb 2012) Quest vworkspace Version 7.5 (Jan 2012) VMware View Version 5.0 (Aug 2011) 6/14/2012 Overview of VDI 16
A comparison of VDI features Citrix XenDesktop Citrix VDI in a Box Microsoft VDI Quest vworkspace Vmware View Audio bi directional over WAN Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes USB support of client USB devices Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Webcam support over LAN Yes Yes Yes Yes No Auto adjust image quality based on bandwidth Yes Yes No No Yes GPU virtualization shared with multiple vdesktops No No Yes Yes No 32 bit color support Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Dual monitor support Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Full HD support (1920X1200) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Support AD group policies managing client vdesktop Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Two factor authentication RSA secure ID Yes No Yes Yes Yes Two factor authentication SMS passcode support Yes No No No No Two factor authentication Full radius/ias support Yes No Yes Yes No 6/14/2012 Overview of VDI 17
A comparison of VDI features Citrix XenDesktop Citrix VDI in a Box Microsoft VDI Quest vworkspace Vmware View Integrated with AD Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Multi AD support (same forest & 2 way trust) Yes No Yes Yes Yes Guest VM OS support Winidows 7 SP1 32 &64 bit Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Guest VM OS support Winidows 8 32 bit and 64 bit No No No No No Guest VM OS support Windows XP 32 bit Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Guest VM OS support Windows Vista 64 bit Yes No Yes Yes No Guest VM OS support MAC OS X No No No No No Guest VM OS support Linux OS No No No Yes No Support IPv6 Yes No Yes No No 6/14/2012 Overview of VDI 18
Network requirements for VDI Expect problems if >100 200 ms latency Large scale computer lab replacement scenarios will stress your wireless network Bandwidth requirements track quality of screen bitmap compression QoS enhancements: Cisco and Citrix working on separate data streams so portions of the VDI traffic can be prioritized 6/14/2012 Overview of VDI 19
Further readings on VDI Berger, Gunnar, April 17, 2012, The Reality of Virtual Desktops http://blogs.gartner.com/gunnar berger/the reality of virtual desktops 2/ Spruijt, Ruben, February 2012, VDI Smackdown 6/14/2012 Overview of VDI 20