Marketing description

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is an alternative desktop delivery model that allows users to access desktops running in the datacenter. Unlike Terminal Services, in VDI each user gets access to a personal desktop from any authorized device, thereby improving desktop flexibility. IT departments can take advantage of all the benefits of centralization, including centralized management of desktop workloads and improved business continuity.

Key selling points

• A scalable, stable, and high-performance hypervisor
• An integrated management suite
• Application virtualization technology
• A desktop delivery mechanism
• Effective licensing mechanism

Product features

• Application virtualization technology
  Application virtualization technology enables dynamic delivery of applications to the user's virtual desktop, instead of installation of applications as part of the virtual desktop image. This ability helps reduce the memory footprint of the virtual desktops, and also improves application management. Depending on whether the application is executed locally or remotely, customers can deploy either Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 or Microsoft Terminal Services RemoteApp.
• A desktop delivery mechanism
  A desktop delivery mechanism manages the connections between a user's device and the remote desktops that are running on the server. It also helps dynamically provision remote desktops by combining a pristine golden desktop image with a user's profile and personal settings at runtime, and delivering a personalized desktop to the end user. Citrix XenDesktop delivers a rich remote desktop experience and adds value to Microsoft VDI technology.
• Effective licensing mechanism
  In order to provide an effective licensing mechanism that enables customers to license remote copies of Windows, Microsoft has created Windows Virtual Enterprise Centralized Desktop. This subscription-based license allows organizations to install unlimited copies of Windows Vista (or a downgraded operating system) within the data center.