Difference between VDI and VIC

[vmwarechap]

Guys,

I am trying to understand the difference between VDI and VI Client (VIC)

I know, in VDI, there is a component called VDM which is a connection broker, used to connect to AD and get a VM to the user.

Why, would I need all this ? I can use a Vi client connect to the same VM. What are the pros/cons of using the Vi client and VDM client.

I am sure, there is a difference, but I am not sure about it. I know, Vmware is a great company, and they will come out with a product, which makes sense.

Mod- I think, since this is a difference between the 2, I have posted this under Stratergy- Planning and not under VDI section.

Thanks

[patrickds]

VI Client is a graphical interface to manage your Virtual Center or ESX hosts.

Having lots of users connect to VMs using the VIC would have a serious impact on performance, and a lot of overhead on the host.

The console from VIC is best only used when really necessary, all the rest is best done using RDP or VNC on the guest.

VDM is a broker, which manages users connecting to VMs in a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure.

Basically, you can have each user connect with RDP to his/her own Virtual Desktop.

With a couple of hundred users and VMs, managing this might become somewhat difficult.

The broker (in this case VDM, but can be a 3rd party broker as wel), can be used to simplify this management.

You let the user connect to the broker using a Remote Desktop Client, and the broker decides which VM to present to this user, based on policies you have set.

You can also create templates for a certain policy, and the broker can deploy a VM from this template when a user connects who is configured in that policy, so you don't have to keep all VMs running all the time.

[TomHowarth]

vmwarechap, how dare you post a VDI question in the Strategy and Planning Section, only joking. this is the most appropiate section for it in my humble opinion.

To put it quite simply VIC is a VMware tool for remotely accessing VMhosts. it is is used for management and is an inappropiate tool for standard users to utilised to access a guest.

VDI is a marketing term (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) which is used to explain the delivery of VM hosted XP/Vista desktop replacements to standard users via RDP. this enables the reduction of investment on the desktop as there will be no requirement to keep up with the jones on brand new Desktop hardware.

at its base minimum VDI does not require a Broker as it could be a 1-to-1 connection. brokers are used when you want higher functions such as portability of resource, ie creating a pool of similarly configuered deviced for pool use with now dedication.

have read some of the papers contained in the link below for a more in-depth veiw of VDI.

sufice to say VIC is a product VDI is a concept. but the VIC client is not a suitable delivery mechanism for Virtual Desktops.

Tom Howarth

VMware Communities User Moderator