Desktop Virtualization: VDI, Session/Presentation Virtualization, Client-hosted Virtualization Client Hypervisors
Barb Goldworm Lead Analyst, Experture
Copyright © 2004-2010 Experture and Robert Frances Group, all rights reserved
Thin and Zero Client Providers
Thin Client Providers CTXS and VMW: Risks,Valuation
Virtualization Adoption 2010 Server Virtualization Platforms in Use Summary Trends Next Virtualization Priorities Desktop Virtualization Plans Table 1 - Types of Desktop and Application Virtualization Definitions
Table 2 - Vendor Map of Enabling Technologies Table 3 - Relative Benefits of Virtual Desktop Types Table 4 - Relative Costs of Virtual Desktop Types Executive Summary Components of VDI
Benefits of Desktop Virtualization Obstacles to Adoption
Use Cases
Competitive Landscape Questions
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Wyse Wyse is the inventor of the thin client and is the market leader today in thin and zero clients, providing access to both internal desktops/applications and public/private/hybrid cloud computing. They have rebranded themselves from thin client to what they now call Cloud Client Computing (3c), bridging desktop virtualization, cloud and unified communications. The company offers both desktop and mobile thin clients, which run on Windows, Linux. and Wyse ThinOS /Zero and connect to Microsoft Windows Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI Suite) and Remote Desktop Services (RDS), Citrix XenDesktop (and XenApp) through the Citrix Receiver, and VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) sessions running VMware View for presentation virtualization and VDI access. They also offer streamed clients accessing Citrix Provisioning Server and Wyse WSM, as well as cloud access to Google, Amazon, etc. including PocketCloud for mobile devices. The company’s zero clients refer to their products which perform without an operating system on the local device. (Wyse Zero) They have introduced zero clients including the Xenith for Citrix, and the P20 for VMware PCoIP and have plans for Microsoft support for RemoteFX. Both thin and zero clients have been validated with Cisco Virtualization Experience Infrastructure (VXI). Wyse has shipped over 20M devices and have over 200M users.
Hewlett-Packard + Neoware HP has been #1 in thin clients in previous years, but is currently number 2 according to IDC in 2010. Their product portfolio also included thin clients from their 2007 acquisition of Neoware, who was another leading provider of thin clients. HP offers a broad range of both thin and zero clients, including terminal and streaming architectures with support for Citrix ICA and HDX and VMware PCoIP and planned support for MS RemoteFX. HP has a strong emphasis on remote management and security options, along with a broad range of options for varying user display features and power options. HP clients also provide access to the HP PC Blade product line.
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Virtualization Adoption 2010 In production more than 24 months
Storage Virtualization
In production 12- 24 months In production 6-12 months
Application Virtualization
In production 6 months or less Planning to implement in less than 6 months
Desktop Virtualization
Planning to implement in 6-12 months Planning to implement, later than 12 months
Server Virtualization
No plans 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Source: FOCUS Interop Survey Sept 2010
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Desktop Virtualization (DV) is the next top priority in virtualization. Recent FOCUS data shows that 40% of organizations have now begun to implement desktop virtualization in production, with 35% in the planning stages. Citrix,VMware and now MS all have significant offerings, along with Quest Software from their Provision Networks acquisition and Red Hat with their Qumranet acquisition. The previous market hype was too early, as there were issues with initial attempts at implementation and many early POCs were not successful. Those issues have how been addressed clearing the way for adoption.
The market has now moved beyond the hype, with many successful POCs in 2010, which will result in major deployments in 2011 (and more POCs in 2011). The adoption curve for DV will be different from that of server virtualization (SV), since it does not have the huge and immediate ROI of server consolidation. However, the overall benefits are significant, including TCO reduction when ongoing OpEx costs are included, based on the reduction in management costs. Many POCs were completed successfully in 2010, which will result in major rollouts in 2011, and more POCs are now being started.
Most of the past barriers to widespread adoption of desktop virtualization have now been overcome. Past barriers included: huge, costly storage requirements, poor user experience with (graphics, in particular), difficulty/lack of personalization, inability to address mobile/offline use, and licensing/cost issues. There are now major improvements in each.
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Presentation/Session virtualization: Session or presentation virtualization is the longest used technology under the desktop virtualization umbrella. It was often originally called Server Based Computing, and is also sometimes called server-side application virtualization. The first availability of presentation virtualization was Terminal Services which was included in Windows NT, and Citrix WinFrame/MetaFrame/Presentation Server, 15 years ago, and it achieved success largely in delivering applications to task workers (e.g. in Call Centers). It allowed users to connect over a network via a remote display protocol to access an application running on a server, in TS or Presentation Server. It was a strong solution for tightly controlled applications, requiring no customization for individual users.
MS has continued to improve TS into what is now Remote Desktop Services (RDS), and uses the remote desktop protocol (RDP), now improved in release 7 in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008. Citrix improved on RDP early on, with its ICA protocol, which solved many of RDP’s limitations. Citrix has continued to improve offerings, and now sells XenApp and HDX on top of ICA, which improves graphics capabilities. Citrix owns this market with XenApp, while Microsoft carries the low-end with its RDS and RDP protocol.
Although some perceive that session virtualization is the old technology and should be replaced by VDI, we (and many others) believe that there are use cases where Session virtualization is superior, and others where VDI should be used. Session virtualization offers a higher consolidation ratio (number of users running on a server), and thus is more cost effective for those use cases where it is appropriate (e.g. task workers, call centers, etc.). However, for users requiring the flexibility of a full (and customizable) desktop,VDI is a better fit.
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After
Before
User Personalization User Virtualization
User Profile Applications Operating System Hardware
Applications Application Virtualization
Operating System HW Virtualization Hardware
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Experton Group AG
8
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What Is Desktop Virtualization? Desktop Virtualization today has evolved to be a broad term for the use of various virtualization technologies to improve the delivery and management of desktops and applications to a wide range of client access devices. Originally used to mean client hosted desktop virtualization (such as VMware Workstation), then often equated with VDI (such as View and XenDesktop), DV is now generally used as the umbrella term which includes VDI, session/presentation virtualization (such as XenApp), client hosted desktop virtualization, managed client hosted DV, and sometimes PC/ workstation blades. What are the Benefits? DV technologies enable central management of desktops and, when used well, can improve user satisfaction. DV offers the following benefits: 1) reduced PC support costs (PC administrators can manage larger number of desktops); 2) extended lifespan of desktop hardware (key element of ROI is how imminent next PC refresh); 3) improved security (especially related to allowing authorized third parties access to the corporate network); 4) reduced risk of theft/loss of data, 5) improved data protection through centrally controlled backup of user data 5) improved availability and mobility for user workforce through access to desktop/applications from anywhere How Does the ROI of Desktop Virtualization Compare to Server Virtualization? The ROI on desktop virtualization is not as easy to quantify, and based more on OpEx than CapEx. The ROI for server virtualization comes from reduced hardware costs, space needs, and reduced power and cooling—all discrete costs. Most of the benefit of desktop virtualization is less discrete and tied to reducing the desktop management burden, and thus ROI is tied to how much support costs are actually reduced over time. What Are the Obstacles to Adoption? Obstacles include: 1) initial capital outlay required for back office servers and storage, virtualization software licenses, and potential network upgrades; 2) ensuring a good user experience requires implementing new protocols, offline capabilities and new user virtualization/personalization technologies; 3); desktop software licensing issues still exist; and 4). Organizational issues including resistance to change and politics (turf wars). 8/23/11
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VMware and Citrix are providing offline working features for their VDI solution – are there first user experiences? Is it working properly? ◦ The approaches provided by each vendor are very different.VMware has taken their original “experimental offline VDI” capability and evolved it into “local mode” which uses the same basis as VM Workstation which is a type 2 client hypervisor. It allows check-in/check-out capability for working offline, and transfers the VM disk files (VMDKs, etc.) to the local client. It works reasonably well, but is based on the older type 2 hypervisor technology. (VMware says this was intentional, because users don’t have to insert a hypervisor underneath their OS, and can run on older hardware). ◦ Citrix has released their type 1 client hypervisor, called XenClient, as the way to run offline. It is available as a free download, based on open source code. It is more forward thinking, but is an early release, and still needs time to mature. It has management utilities, but these need to be better integrated into XenDesktop management. 8/23/11
Barb Goldworm has spent over twenty-five years in the computer industry, in various senior management marketing, sales, technical and industry analyst positions with Novell, StorageTek, IBM and several successful startup ventures, as well as her own analyst and consulting practice.
Barb has been a frequent speaker at industry conferences worldwide, and created and chaired the 2000 premier of the Networld+Interop track on Networked Storage.
Barb has written regular columns for industry publications including ComputerWorld and NetworkWorld. She currently writes a byline column for ComputerWorld's Storage Networking World Online, as well as frequent white papers on business and technical aspects of storage and storage networking.
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