One of the problems created by the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing a significant number of employees to work from home. It is expected that remote work is here to stay for the long term; therefore, IT managers are looking at managing a dispersed IT infrastructure while keeping costs down. One method is to use a virtual desktop infrastructure or VDI.
Managing The New Distributed Environment
Historically, IT supported an on-premise workforce with a combination of local hardware and storage while utilizing appropriate cloud services. Moving the workforce off-premise means that new solutions are needed for standard management practices such as backup and recovery, data security, software, and infrastructure updates. For some companies, this also means providing access to Windows-based services such as Office 365 remotely by both Windows and non-Windows clients.
A virtual desktop infrastructure (VI) provides the answer to these issues. Implementing a VDI means providing a centralized set of application and desktop services accessible through a thin clientOpens a new window . Since no data is stored on the client, a lost or stolen device such as a laptop is no longer a data security threat. Further, both disaster recovery and business continuity processes are no longer dependent upon remote (i.e., user) hardware, software or data.
Learn More: Windows Virtual Desktop vs. Citrix Virtual Apps: Which One Is Right for You?Â
VDI Implementations: What You Need to Know
There are a few variations of VDI implementations, and IT managers should understand their advantages and disadvantages.
Part of a comprehensive VDI solution is handling remote worker desktops. Does the solution execute the desktop software remotely on a server or locally on the client? Remote execution concentrates the need for CPU, memory and storage resources on the server, meaning that clients can be relatively low-powered. On the other hand, if the software executes locally on the client, client machines may require specific high-performance hardware in addition to software licenses. Managing multiple distributed client machine software can be a management nightmare, so avoid this option unless you have a robust software management process.
Another variation is whether or not IT will allow continuous access by clients. If access is continuous (i.e., a user typically logs on and remains on for an extended period), then the server must maintain state information about the server-to-client connection throughout the session, perhaps leading to excessive data storage or memory use. This may be a significant problem for networks of several thousands of clients. Alternatively, the VDI implementation may force intermittent connections, perhaps forcing users to disconnect after a certain length of time so that the server can reclaim storage and memory used.
Whichever solution you choose will require a special configuration of your host server software. This will need a separate segment, partition or virtual machine, depending upon the operating system(s) you use. Another term for this separation is implementing a hypervisorOpens a new window .
Using VDI, IT teams can provide access to applications and desktop images as services and deliver these through the internet. Workers can then connect to their desktop images using almost any device from virtually any location.
Learn More: Biggest Technology Mistakes During the Rush to Remote Work (Plus How to Avoid Them)Â
Some common situations for using a VDI include:
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- Situations where high data security is paramount since all data remains at the server and clients store no data locally.
- Where branch offices or remote environments have no local tech support available, allowing remote tech support personnel to connect via thin clients.
- Worker access to Windows services is required, but some or all workers do not have Windows-based desktop or laptop computers.
- Access by workers using tablets or smartphones is necessary.
Another category of VDI implementation is providing it as a cloud-based service. This form of software as a service (SaaS) is available through cloud services providers. This alternative sometimes includes hosting your data and applications on one or more cloud servers, thus introducing desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) technology. This model’s advantage is that the service provider can manage diverse and changing software license fees, data store needs, and network bandwidth requirements, usually for a monthly fee.
Learn More: Microsoft Virtual Desktop Release Brings New Desktop-as-a-Service Options
How To Choose Your VDI Solution
Most IT team’s important choices fall into three categories — features and functionality, user configuration options, and performance.
First, features and functionality. Do you use Windows desktops or others such as Linux exclusively? Do you require advanced features such as bi-directional copy-paste? Do you have a requirement that users may connect to the company’s Active Directory? If any of these are true, then ensure that your VDI solution can handle these requirements easily. Beware of any price changes or additional fees involved, and don’t forget to review your infrastructure plans that may include future changes. For example, some departments may be considering expanding their workers’ client hardware choices or rolling out new cloud-based applications with functions that require special client hardware or software options.
Second, some VDI solutions permit your IT software support to expand what classes of clients will be supported. Will you allow users to utilize their own personal devices (sometimes called bring-your-own-device, or BYOD)? Do you have a requirement that restricts clients to a browser-based interface to their desktops and applications? Also, will users be limited to a few default, unchangeable desktops, or will you allow them to customize their own? These choices will affect server resource usage such as CPU and storage and may also affect network bandwidth.
Third is performance. This category touches all resources across your IT footprint, including CPU, memory, storage, network, and cloud. Do you foresee the need to scale out certain applications due to a growth in the number of clients? If so, this will affect network performance and server capacity. Are there current or future performance-based requirements for applications? For example, some applications may be graphics-intensive, which may require additional CPU and/or memory requirements wherever the applications are running. Finally, will you need redundant resources for disaster recovery or business continuity considerations? Mission-critical applications may require that you roll out additional VDI-related resources at your secondary site or disaster recovery sites, in addition to resources at your cloud service providers.
Learn More: What Is Disaster Recovery? Definition, Cloud and On-Premise, Benefits and Best PracticesÂ
Prepare for Your Solution
Most VDI implementations depend upon network performance, so plan ahead, including any current plans you have for network scaling. Staff education in potential issues may also be needed. While some tools such as Office desktop applications may not require an immediate response to user inputs, mission-critical applications may suffer from network problems such as long latency. It is also an excellent idea to re-visit capacity planning for all resources. VDI solutions will contribute significantly to resource usage, and scaling up your user base or scaling out across multiple cloud-based applications complicates the calculations.
There are many popular VDI Solutions in the marketplace, including offerings from Amazon AWSOpens a new window , IBM CloudOpens a new window , Cisco VXIOpens a new window and MicrosoftOpens a new window Teams for VDIOpens a new window . Use the criteria detailed above to ensure that any potential solution will meet all your current and future needs.
Do you think VDI is a must-have solution for distributed work environments? Comment below or let us know on LinkedInOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , or FacebookOpens a new window . We’d love to hear from you!