I am setting up VMWare view in a test environment, and am having bit of trouble grasping the concept here. I am not using vmware view composer, offline mode, or thinapp.
I have a windows XP VM that I added to VMWare view, and made a client entitled to use that Desktop. When the user uses the vmview client or the vmview web interface to connect, it uses RDP to connect. Is having a special web interface/ client gui the only benefit here? What does this offer that simply connecting to the VM via RDP does not? I must be missing something in the concept here. To me this seems to have a big downside, that being that the client requires windows as well, so a user needs a licensed copy of windows on their station just to run another licensed copy of windows in a VM.
Reading into the docs a bit more it is becoming more clear,
Please correct me if I am wrong: Without the composer installed on a vCenter server, View just simplifies/centralizes what could already be done via VI Client and RDP?
The View Connection server serves as a RDP connection broker. With view client, user will be assigned a free desktop from a pool automatically.
The connection broker also allows you to utilize the USB redirection and the thinprint universal print driver
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Actually, I have the same concern. I am testing View also and I am missing something. It does not seem beneficial to have a computer installed with Windows only to use an agent to view another windows computer.
If however I had a computer and it booted something such as Ubuntu, and the browser could attach to the view VComputer, then I would have something.
So, does VMware have something that a PC can boot with then attach to a virtual computer?
The more I mess with it the more I understand the benefits.
If you look at the HCL for View, you will see a whole number of thin client PC's, many running Windows CE ( http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php?action=search&deviceCategory=vdm&productId=2&advancedORbasic=advanced&maxDisplayRows=50&key=&release[]=-1&datePosted=-1&partnerId[]=-1 )
Others running Win XPe (havn't heard of this, guessing its embedded). I am assuming the licensing costs for Win CE is low and included in the cost of these thinapp's.
With VMWare view and view composer, you can have one parent VM, and set up a pool of 100 VM's linked to that parent. You can configure it so that when a user logs off, the VM is automatically restored back to the original parent image.
So, while you will probably be paying a little more in licensing still (extra license required for parent which isn't going to be used for anything other than provisioning, client licenses for WinCE), you can buy much cheaper hardware and have a consisitant Desktop expirience across the board, without consuming much additional disk space.
If you have an application with only 3 licenses that does not support network licensing, you could essentially have the same outcome as network licenses by creating a pool of 3 VM's with that software, any 3 people could use that at a given time.
Some benefits I saw:
1. Zero-touch Desktops - With a device like the Wyse V10L you can take it out of the box and use it as-is. DHCP option 188 provides the thin client with the connection broker to connect to and other centralized config possibilities (like an FTP server with a config file) can give the WYSE thin client all other needed settings automatically such as screen resolution and so forth. If a user or someone near them can plug in a power cable, an ethernet cable, a keyboard/mouse combo, and hit their power button... Their PC is ready to go.
2. Automatic Desktop Deployment - Since you can tell VDM to pre-provision X PC's per pool, there will always be, say, 3 new accounting PC's ready to go... All but one might be in a suspended state. When a new user grabs one another is automatically deployed. YOU DO NOTHING.
3. Centrallized Software Deployment/OS upgrade - With the linked clone technology you can switch out the base clone and all users get the updates at once and still have their own data intact.
4. Freshly Built Desktops Everytime - How many times does a fresh rebuild fix issue and/or simply help performance? You could do this everytime. Even without linked clones you can have the VM deleted each time on logofff and new ones are already ready to go.
5. RAID & Backup Protection - Its not as good as many solutions but I know way too many environments where desktop data never gets backed up. At least this way its RAID protected on your SAN with Global Hot Spares and so forth. Even permenantly checked out Offline VDI sessions can be backed up periodically (requires end user to click a button)...
6. Easy DR Integration - DR is so much easier if your key desktops also come over with your other important data. Saves tons of time.
7. Security Benefits - No issue now with stolen desktops/thin clients. Less issue with stolen laptops. All data is centrally located, etc.
Those are just what come to mind at the moment...Im sure I missed many.
