What is the difference between VDI and desktop virtualization?
VDI Vs VM: What Are the Differences, and How Are They Related? Show
Virtualization technologies have been around for several years, but they have gained traction among organizations as demand for affordable, scalable and secure IT infrastructures soars. Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) and virtual machine (VM) are industry terms most often used in virtualization. A VM is a virtualized computing environment functioning as a traditional physical computer with its own CPU, memory, storage, and network interface. VDI, on the other hand, leverages VMs to provision and manage virtual desktops and applications. What is the difference between VDI, desktop virtualization, and virtual machines?When considering the various technologies that comprise enterprise virtual desktops, many terms and technologies are mentioned and described, regardless of the solution used. Three of those technologies and terms include:
Let’s define these and see how they fit in the solutions to deliver virtual desktops to end-users. Why is understanding the differences important?As we will see in the guide to follow, the terms listed above are all related and interconnected in the world of virtual desktops. However, understanding the different technologies is essential to know when designing, architecting, and using virtual desktops to empower remote end-users. Choosing the right technologies is extremely important in ensuring the best solutions for remote work environments. There are different implications and dependencies assumed with each of the terms listed as organizations dive into the world of virtual desktops. Understanding what relates, how the various technologies work, and the different nuances can steer businesses in selecting the right solutions for various use cases. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)The acronym VDI comes from Virtual Desktop Infrastructure. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is a term that describes the infrastructure dedicated to run virtual desktops in an enterprise environment. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) uses virtual machines to provide virtual desktops to end-users connecting from many different devices. These can include PC, Mac, Linux, tablet, or mobile devices. VMware vSphere provides a common hypervisor platform for VDI The concept of VDI is relatively simple. A user connects the VDI environment and is given a desktop by the VDI broker out of a pool of available desktops. However, to make this relatively simple concept come to life, some rather complicated software and hardware requirements need to be satisfied to provide a seamless end-user experience for effective delivery of virtual desktops to remote users. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) relies on a software layer that brokers the connections from end-users to the VDI environment remote to the user. It is essential to understand with VDI, the virtual environment used to carry out business-critical operations is not running locally on an end-user device. The VDI broker and virtual machines compromising the VDI environment all reside in an on-premises or cloud data center. VMware Horizon and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktop are modern examples of VDI solutions that organizations are using today. VMware Horizon VDI The locality of infrastructure and data in a VDI solution has many advantages in lifecycle management, performance, and security as business-critical data does not leave the confines of the sanctioned data center environment. Additionally, the virtual machine environment is adjacent to backend resources needed for business applications. What are the benefits of Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) brings about many advantages both for organizations and end-users. What are these?
VMware NSX-T provides a robust micro-segmentation platform for VDI
Types of VDI implementationsThere are generally two different VDI implementations that allow organizations to effectively provide virtual desktop resources to remote employees. These include:
Traditionally, on-premises VDI is the more common implementation between the two different types of VDI environments. With on-premises VDI, organizations typically provision, configure and manage their own physical VDI infrastructure in an on-premises data center. What does a typical on-premises VDI implementation include?
Creating an automated desktop pool in VMware Horizon 9. Desktop pools – The desktop pool is the group of desktop workstations used as the target for end-users connecting to the VDI environment. 10. Entitlements and assigning users to desktop pools – Users are “entitled” to the target desktop pools. The entitlement provides the permissions and assignment required so the connection broker “knows” where to place the user. Increasingly popular today are cloud-based options for Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). Cloud SaaS VDI solutions, like other cloud SaaS solutions, such as G Suite and Microsoft Office 365, abstract the underlying hardware and physical infrastructure and allow organizations to consume the VDI solution. This abstraction enables businesses to instantly provision VDI environments without the usual complexities of purchasing, provisioning, configuring, and managing VDI infrastructure. One of the popular offerings in this space is the Microsoft Windows Virtual Desktop solution on Azure. Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) is a desktop and app virtualization service that runs on the Microsoft Azure cloud and is an “as-a-Service” offering that allows organizations to quickly provision a VDI environment for their users with the infrastructure residing in Microsoft Azure datacenters. Windows Virtual Desktop provides excellent features, including:
As you can see below, you can start with Windows Virtual Desktop for free and with the click of a button. Windows Virtual Desktops VDI-as-a-Service Difference between VDI and VMWhat is VDI?VDI or Virtual Desktop Infrastructure is a technology used to create a virtualized environment in which the hardware is segmented into different virtual desktops. These virtual desktops are hosted on a central server. Hence, we can say that VM is a part of the technology that creates complete VDI. Recommend Reading: All about VDI, its components, and working. What are VMs?A VM or virtual machine is a software machine created when computing resources are segmented into multiple virtual desktops through a hypervisor. The hypervisor segments the physical hardware into different VMs. One of the applications of virtual machines is to run a virtual desktop. What are the types of VDI?VDI is of two types: Persistent VDI In this type of VDI, data and settings remain saved even when the users log out of the virtual desktops. Hence, it will benefit you if you don’t require to change the settings every day. However, as it saves all the data, it may require a good amount of storage space, which may cost you more. Non Persistent VDI In this type of VDI, data and settings are restored to default when you log out of the system. When you log into the system, you will see the default settings every time. It will be beneficial when there is a huge workforce and employees keep on changing the systems regularly. It does not retain your data, and hence it requires less storage space. Non-persistent VDI may become less expensive for you. Read More about Persistent vs Non Persistent VDI. What are the types of VMs?Process Virtual Machines Such VMs are also known as Application Virtual Machines because they allow a single process or application to run independently of the host computer. For example, developers always look for simulators (like a Java Virtual Machine) to test and compile their codes without disturbing the host computer. System Virtual Machines These are the exact replica of the entire computer system. In other words, by dividing the hardware resources of the host computer, you can create multiple guest computers. You can split the hardware by installing the hypervisor and create various VMs. These VMs can have an entirely different OS called guest OS. These guest OS are entirely isolated, and your work on the guest OS does not affect the host OS. How is VDI created?VDI is a much broader technical term, and it is used regularly in the virtualization space. You can create a VDI in an on-premise environment or a cloud hosted environment. On-premise VDI In this, virtual desktops are created from on-premise data centers. Hence, you may need bulky hardware and physical computers to set this up in the office. You and your IT team have to manage all the IT infra in the office. Cloud VDI In cloud VDI, virtual desktops are created by a third-party VDI provider on their cloud servers. The provider manages the creation and deployment of the virtual desktops. How are VMs created?VMs are created by installing the hypervisor in the host computers. Hypervisors are of two types: Type 1 Hypervisor It is created straight on the host computer’s hardware (also called bare-metal) by installing hypervisor software like VMware ESXi. You can install this hypervisor on computers having any CPU, RAM, or storage configurations. Type 2 Hypervisor You can install Type-2 hypervisor on an OS like Windows or macOS, also called Host OS. With this Host OS, you can create multiple guest OS. Host OS allows all the guest OS to use the system resources in a shared manner. What are the applications of VDI?VDI is a virtualization technology, and it has served companies very well during the COVID-19 pandemic. VDI is projected to grow continuously at 17% CAGR between 2020 and 2026.
What are the applications of VM?VM is a component of VDI, and you can use it in more specific domains of testing, development, and virtualization. Some of the use cases are:
|