A Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) application suite runs on top of a hypervisor on Intel x86 hardware platforms, allowing IT departments to host and manage user desktops on virtual machines (VM) in the data center. Users access server-hosted virtual desktops from a device using a remote display protocol.
More companies are deploying VDI because of:
VDI decouples the user's desktop computing environment from the hardware. The virtual desktop is hosted on a server VM and delivered across the network using a remote display protocol. The end device no longer stores the user's applications or data, which are housed in centralized storage in the data center.
End-user devices can be:
Applications can be installed and shared from the server or virtual applications can be provided. This technology can be referred to as Remote Desktop Services (RDS) or Remote Desktop Session Host (RDSH).
Key applications are virtualized and made available to users based on their role. These applications are then delivered to the end user and can appear as part of their device's installed applications.
A Windows or Linux desktop OS that can include installed applications and/or virtualized applications. The end user has defined control over what they can modify on the virtual desktop. This use case is the definition of VDI. Virtual desktops can be assigned to specific users or can be randomly assigned.
A Windows server OS desktop is shared by multiple users in sessions. Each user appears to have a virtual desktop with a customized interface that looks like a desktop OS.
It is likely that you will deploy two or more of the delivery mechanisms in your environment. Combining your knowledge of delivery mechanisms with your user types is important for user adoption and satisfaction. There are three general-purpose user types that help you understand which type of delivery mechanism might be appropriate:
Learn more about Cisco products and solutions related to Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI).