VMware: Microsoft Doesn't Get Virtualization

VMware introduced its new connection broker for its recommended virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) Monday at the VMworld exhibition in San Francisco. On Wednesday, the leading virtualization vendor laid out its vision for building that VDI solution through its updated Virtual Desktop Manager (VDM) software, claiming that the connection broker can be used to create a server-hosted virtual desktop infrastructure that beats virtual environments based on a Windows terminal server hands down.

Richard Garthsagen, VMware's senior product manager of Enterprise Desktop Solutions, led a well-attended breakout session Wednesday afternoon at San Francisco's Moscone Center. According to Garthsagen, virtual desktop infrastructures built around VDM successfully deal with common issues with Windows terminal server virtualized environments, such as problems with load balance and challenges to resource control.

At the same time, the VMware solution is much less costly than the construction of "blade PCs," which Garthsagen characterized as "very stable, but very expensive."

"VDI is the best of both worlds in terms of load balancing, control and cost," he said.

Garthsagen said the advantages of creating a virtual desktop environment built around VMware's connection broker include a familiar end-user experience, security and control over isolated user environments, the control and flexibility gained from centralized data and applications, and lower costs associated with shared central resources such as memory.

Virtual Desktop Manager 2.0 connects remote clients to centralized desktops that can be accessed securely from almost anywhere and from many different hardware platforms. To build a VDI solution, Garthsagen said customers will need VDM to manage and secure the connections from a robust platform like VMware's VI3 to those remote clients.

Solution providers will want to integrate VDM with an active directory to manage user authentication and VMware's Virtual Center to power the virtualization itself, he said.

"VDM is an enterprise-class connection broker designed to meet the security and scalability needs of small and large deployments," Garthsagen said.