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What is Desktop Virtualization?
Desktop Virtualization offers new and powerful opportunities for IT to deliver and manage corporate desktops and to respond to
various user needs in a flexible way. Virtualized desktops can be either client-hosted, such as Microsoft Virtual PC, or
centralized on servers in the data center—often referred to as a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI).
Client-Hosted Desktop Virtualization
Client-hosted desktop virtualization creates a separate OS environment on the desktop, allowing non-compatible legacy or
line-of-business applications to operate within their native environment on top of a more current desktop operating system,
or enabling two IT environments (for example, personal and corporate) to run concurrently on the same physical device.
As a leading client-hosted desktop virtualization technology, Microsoft Virtual PC has been in the market for over five years.
Virtual PC lets you create separate virtual machines on your Windows desktop, each virtualizing an independent operating system.
You can also run multiple virtual machines at once on a single physical desktop and switch between them as easily as switching
applications—instantly, with a mouse click.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is an emerging architectural model where client operating systems run in server-based
virtual machines (VMs) in the data center and interact with users' client devices such as PCs or thin clients. Similar to
terminal services remote desktop, VDI provides IT with the ability to centralize a user's desktop; instead of a server session,
however, a full client environment is virtualized within a server-based hypervisor. With VDI, the user can get a rich and
individualized desktop experience with full admin control over desktop and applications. However, this architecture, while
flexible, requires significantly more server hardware resources than terminal services remote desktop approaches.
VDI is best suited for contract and offshore workers, for users who need access to their work environment from anywhere,
including from a non-company owned PC, as well as enterprise customers with a centralized desktop strategy for office workers.
Microsoft VDI is a desktop delivery solution which allows customers to centralize the storage, execution, and management of a
Windows desktop in the data center. It is a complete, end-to-end Microsoft virtualization solution, enabling Windows Vista
Enterprise and other desktop environments to run and be managed in virtual machines on a centralized server. Key benefits of
VDI are:
better enablement of flexible work scenarios such as work from home and hot-desking
increased data security and compliance
easy and efficient management of the desktop OS and applications
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