What is VDI?
Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) deals with creating and managing desktop environments and applications that allow employees to access services from remote locations.
It's a desktop virtualization technology in which an operating system, like Microsoft Windows, operates the same data center it manages.
Using VDI, users can remotely connect to their desktop operating system environment through a central server without physically accessing the system.
Types of VDI
Virtual desktop infrastructure can be of two types.
- Persistent VDI: With this kind, users receive a reserved VDI during each login. They connect to the same desktop every time, even after resetting the connection. Users can have personal settings such as stored passwords, shortcuts, and screensavers. They can also save files to the desktop remotely. Persistent desktops provide benefits like customization of virtual desktops, usability, and simple desktop management.
- Non-persistent VDI: Users connect to a desktop every time, and no changes are saved. This is usually simpler and cheaper as it's unnecessary to maintain customized desktops between sessions. This type of VDI benefits organizations with workers who perform a limited set of repetitive tasks and don't need a customized desktop. It offers easy management since the IT team has few master images to maintain and secure. The operating system is also separate from the user data, reducing storage costs.
Benefits of VDI
VDI, as a platform, offers several benefits to its users.
- Flexibility: Since little actual computing takes place, the IT team can extend the life span of obsolete PCs by reusing them as VDI endpoints. When buying new devices, organizations can cut costs and buy less powerful, more cost-efficient end-user computing devices.
- Better security: As all data lies in the data center, VDI provides substantial security benefits. Someone trying to steal the data from a VDI user laptop will be unsuccessful as the data is not saved.
- User experience: With VDI providing a centralized, standardized desktop, users grow accustomed to a consistent workspace. The user experience remains the same regardless of where the user accesses the VDI.
- Scalability: When an organization temporarily expands, it can grow its VDI environment. For example, seasonal call center agent contractors. By letting the seasonal employees access the virtual desktop and its respective services, these contractors can fully function within minutes. Without VDI, they would have to wait for days or weeks to procure endpoint devices and configure them.
- Mobility: The ability of VDI to support remote and mobile workers is a huge benefit. A significant percentage of the workforce is now mobile. Regardless of their field, remote users can now work as efficiently as someone on-site.
VDI use cases
Below are a few of the use cases that best suit VDI.
- Remote work: As it's easy to deploy and update virtual desktops from a data center, many companies have started opting for it for their remote employees.
- Using a personal device: For businesses that allow or require employees to bring their devices, VDI is an ideal solution. VDI facilitates device usage as processing is performed on a centralized server. There is much better security because data lies in the server instead of being retained on individual devices.
- Task or shift work: Non-persistent VDI is suitable for organizations that perform limited tasks on the same software.
Best practices to implement VDI
When implementing VDI, it's important to consider infrastructure as well. Apart from that, follow these best practices.
- Prepare the network: VDI performance is also related to network performance. It's good to know the peak usage hours and anticipate spikes to ensure sufficient network capacity.
- Capacity planning: Avoid under-provisioning. Plan with the help of a performance monitoring tool to understand the resources each virtual desktop consumes.
- Know end users' needs: Understand the audience. Find out if they need to customize their desktops or if they are task workers who need general desktops. Try to get the end users' requirements.
- Run VDI beforehand: Most virtualization providers offer testing tools that let users run a test VDI deployment so that the organization can provision resources correctly.
VDI vs. DaaS
Virtual desktop infrastructure and desktop-as-a-service are the principal mechanisms for delivering a virtual desktop to the user. The difference between the two mechanisms lies in infrastructure ownership.
In VDI, businesses locally create and manage virtualization and virtual desktops. Companies are responsible for maintaining all virtual desktop images. Implementing VDI means the organization completely controls the virtual desktop environment. This benefits businesses with a firm security policy. However, some small businesses may find buying, installing, and maintaining VDI servers and software expensive.
DaaS, or desktop-as-a-service, is a third-party provider that creates and manages the virtualization environment and virtual desktops. It also includes apps and support. Instead of the organization, the third-party provider owns and creates VDI servers and controls the virtual desktop images. In simple terms, businesses rent virtual desktops from providers who make them available to the users.
It's normally presented as a cloud service. DaaS is generally preferred for companies with restricted IT capabilities where deploying VDI is undesirable.
Learn more about different DaaS providers and step away from building physical infrastructure.
Sagar Joshi
Sagar Joshi is a former content marketing specialist at G2 in India. He is an engineer with a keen interest in data analytics and cybersecurity. He writes about topics related to them. You can find him reading books, learning a new language, or playing pool in his free time.
