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Gartner delivers the technology-related insight necessary for our clients to make the right decisions, every day.

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Server-hosted Virtual Desktops

Agenda• Project background• Evaluation criteria• Product assessments• Conclusion

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Project Background

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Project Background• Five month Burton Group project• Goal: identify enterprise-class server-hosted

virtual desktop (SHVD) evaluation criteria• Input sources: analysts, clients, and vendors• Outcome

- 45 page report detailing SHVD selection criteria- Notes that differentiate “features” from “marketing

checkboxes”- Three 25 page product profiles (Citrix, VMware, Quest),

more on the way (Microsoft, Oracle)

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Evaluation Criteria

5


• Evaluation Criteria Structure- Selecting a SHVD solution typically entails a long term

(3-5 years or more) commitment in order to realize a true return on investment (ROI)

- Features should be assessed by grouping into three buckets:• Required: absolute necessities• Preferred: important features that result in better experience,

operational management, and improved TCO• Optional: use-case driven features needed in select

deployment scenarios

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• Evaluation Criteria- User experience- Service advertising and connection brokerage- Business continuity- Network- Storage- Back-end virtual infrastructure- Management- Security- Guest OS support- Licensing- Product support- Third-party vendor support

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Product Assessments

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XenDesktop 4 SP1 Platinum

9

Required

Preferred

Optional

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

XenDesktop 4 SP1 Platinum Scorecard

Citrix XenDesktop 4 SP1 Platinum

Bottom Line Assessment• XenDesktop 4.0 SP1 meets all requirements for

large-scale enterprise deployments• Suitable for small-scale to large enterprise

deployments• Complete core feature set• Leads in security and user experience features

10


Strengths• Complete core feature set• Flexible desktop and application delivery• Supports multiple virtualization platforms• Strong User Experience feature set• Diverse endpoint OS compatibility• Rich supporting ecosystem• Strong WAN performance

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Weaknesses• No security hardening guidelines• Deployment and management complexity• Management console scalability: 5,000 desktops• Config file and virtual desktop image integrity

checks

12

VMware View 4.5 Premier

13

Required

Preferred

Optional

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

View 4.5 Premier scorecard


Bottom Line Assessment• View 4.5 meets all requirements for large-scale

enterprise deployments• Suitable for small-scale to large enterprise

deployments• Rich integration with VMware product portfolio

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Strengths• Rich integration with VMware vSphere

infrastructure• Solid core feature base• Centralized management• Best-in-class management scalability: 10,000

desktops• Simple deployment• Active Directory integration

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VMware View 4.5 PremierWeaknesses• No security hardening guidelines• Endpoint security health assessment integration• USB device access restrictions• No user application self-service• PCoIP immaturity (no integration with Riverbed

accelerators, for example)• Low-bandwidth WAN support• Supports only VMware-based back ends• No XenApp integration

16

Quest vWorkspace 7.1 Enterprise

17

Required

Preferred

Optional

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Quest vWorkspace 7.1 Enterprise Edition Scorecard


Bottom Line Assessment• Not a solution for the large enterprise

- No enterprise management integration- No administrative change logging (i.e., audit trail)- Short support lifecycle

• Well suited for small and medium enterprises- Rich Windows integration- Broad endpoint support

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Strengths• Supports multiple virtualization back end platforms• Ease-of-deployment• Strong user experience feature set• Diverse endpoint compatibility

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Weaknesses• No security hardening guidelines• No admin change logging• No published management APIs or SNMP

support• Product support limited to 2 years• No third party ISV certification program• No support for disconnected virtual desktops• No support for common smart phones, tablets,

and netbooks

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Microsoft VDI Suite Premium

21

Required

Preferred

Optional

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Microsoft VDI Suite Premium Scorecard


Bottom Line Assessment• Not a solution for the large enterprise

- Limited scalability (designed to scale to hundreds of desktops)

- Microsoft recommends its joint solution with Citrix for larger scalability requirements

- No concurrent user or named user licensing model

• Well suited for small and medium enterprises- Rich Windows integration- Simple deployment and management- Broad endpoint support

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Strengths• Rich Windows platform integration• Management capabilities• Value• Strong supporting vendor ecosystem

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Weaknesses• Scalability

- For scale beyond hundreds of desktops, Microsoft recommends its joint solution with Citrix

• Required management consoles• Integration with storage array provisioning

features• Low-bandwidth/high-latency WAN support• Disconnected virtual desktop support

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http://www.microsoft.com/virtualization/en/us/partner-profile-citrix.aspx#Joint-Solution

Comparison

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Required

Preferred

Optional

0% 10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Microsoft VDI SuiteQuest vWorkspace 7.1VMware View 4.5Citrix XenDesktop 4 SP1

Required FeaturesUser Experience

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Feature Citrix XenDesktop 4 SP1 Plat.


Quest vWorkspace 7.1 Ent.


Ability to connect from mainstream client operating systems

Windows XP (Pro, Home) Vista (Home, Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate); Windows 7 (Starter, Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate – 32-bit and 64-bit); Mac OS/X (Tiger 10.4 and Leopard 10.5, Snow Leopard 10.6); Java (Java 2, Standard Edition Version 1.4.x or 1.5.x), and other less common client OSs

Windows XP (Pro, Home) Vista (Home, Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate); Windows 7 (Starter, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate – 32-bit and 64-bit).Mac OS X 10.4.9 or later (supports RDP 6 only).Microsoft does not offer a RDP client for Linux, but numerous third-party alternatives such as rdesktop are available.

Windows XP (Pro and Home) and Vista (Home, Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate); Windows 7 (Starter, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate [32-bit and 64-bit]); Mac OS X 10.5.5 or later.Linux: Ubuntu 8.04, 9.04, and 9.10; Debian 4.5 or later; Fedora 10; and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) Desktop 5.

Windows XP (Pro Service Pack 1 [SP1] and higher, and Home SP2 and higher), Vista (Home, Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate), Windows 7 (Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate), and Apple Mac OS X (Leopard 10.5 and higher). Note that the Mac OS X client only supports the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP).

http://www.rdesktop.org/

Required FeaturesUser Experience (continued)

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Ability to connect from mainstream thin/zero clients

Widespread support including 10Zig, Atrust, Devon IT, HP, IBM, Igel, Dell, Centerm, VXL, and Wyse.See the Citrix Ready Products Guide for a list of supported devices.

Widespread support for RDP is available from many thin-client vendors including 10Zig, Devon IT, HP and Wyse. Microsoft does not publish a list of supported devices.

0ZiG Technology, Devon IT, HP, IGEL Technology, Thinspace, Thinware, and Wyse Technology. See “Quest vWorkspace—Thin Client support” supported devices.

Wyse, HP, Dell, Fujitsu, IGEL, ClearCube, and several others. See the VMware Compatibility Guide for all supported devices.

Dynamically adjusts for changes in endpoint monitor configuration

HDX Plug-n-Play Multi-Monitor Support detects end point monitor changes and updates the virtual desktop configuration to correspond.

Supports changes in resolution, screen orientation and number of physical monitors.

Supports changes in resolution, screen orientation and number of physical monitors

Provided via PCoIP’s “Auto Display Scaling” feature.

http://www.10zig.com/thinclient/6000-series.php

http://www.devonit.com/hardware/tc2-thin-client/technical-specifications

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF06a/12454-12454-321959-338927-3640407-3719118.html

http://www.wyse.com/products/hardware/thinclients/index.asp

http://blogs.inside.quest.com/provision/2010/03/15/provision-networks-and-thin-client-support/




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Offers a universal printer driver

Yes Windows Server 2008 R2 RDS include Easy Print - an XML Paper Specification (XPS) based “driver-less” print solution for client devices. Easy Print is supported on Windows XP SP3 and newer platforms.

Supported on Windows clients using RD Easy Print only

Result of ThinPrint OEM.

Dynamically adjusts for changes in endpoint printer configuration

Yes Yes Yes Yes


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Masks the impact of network latency on user-initiated actions

Multiple latency reduction techniques including: SpeedScreen Image Acceleration, HDX Browser Accel, HDX Media Stream, Mouse Click Feedback and Local text echo.

No. Lacks capabilities for dynamically handling network latency issues (e.g., local echo or dynamic color depth changes), but does offer multimedia redirection including specific optimization for Windows live services that can reduce some latency effects.

Client for Windows provides local feedback of text entry. The Experience Optimized Protocol (EOP) Xtream protocol minimizes the impact of network latency on WAN connections.

Provided via PCoIP’s “Progressive Build” feature.


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Supports multiple monitors connected to the client endpoint

Up to eight monitors with 24-bit color. Maximum total screen resolution across all monitors must not exceed 56MB.

Users can have up to four monitors with a total maximum resolution of 4096 x 2048 and 32-bit color (16 monitors in a Windows 7/Windows Server 2008 environment).

RDP 5/6-based connections support up to 4 monitors with a total max resolution of 4,096 x 2,048, 32-bit color.RDP 7 supports up to 16 monitors, each with a maximum screen resolution of 4,096 x 2,048. Multi-monitor for Mac OS X not supported.

Up to 1920x1200 32-bit color for four monitors.


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Supports common universal serial bus (USB) devices

Supports USB mass storage, human interface devices (HIDs), printers, scanners, and isochronous devices.

Supports USB mass storage, human interface devices (HIDs), printers, scanners, and isochronous transfers.



Supports persistent virtual desktops

Yes Yes Yes Yes

Supports shared non-persistent virtual desktops

Yes Yes Yes Images are managed using the VMware View Composer interface.


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Supports playback of multimedia content

WMV, WMA, AC3, MP3, MPG-1, MPG-2, and MPG-4-part2, Adobe Flash, QuickTime, and Microsoft Silverlight remoting are supported..

Multimedia content redirection can offload Windows Media Player multimedia content and Aero Glass effects from virtual desktop to endpoint to improve multimedia performance and reduce server load. All other multimedia graphics (e.g., DirectX, Direct2D, Direct3D, Silverlight, Flash, etc.) are rendered on the virtual desktop using physical server resources.

WMV, WMA, AC3, MP3, MPG-1, MPG-2, and MPG-4 Part 2, Adobe Flash, QuickTime, and Microsoft Silverlight remoting are supported.

WMV, WMA, AC3, MP3, MPG-1, MPG-2, and MPG-4-part2, Adobe Flash, QuickTime, and Microsoft Silverlight remoting are supported.


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Audio/video resource utilization tuning and control

Policy based control of default settings for multi-media compression level, bandwidth allocation, and video frame rate. With autonomic adjustment in response to changes in latency and bandwidth.

Audio and video compression settings, are configurable through group policy objects (GPO)

Supports policy-based multi-level audio and video compression setting, both bit-rate and compression.

Resource tuning for all connection protocols is configurable in the vdm_client.adm Windows GPT. PCoIP settings are configurable in the pcoip.adm GPT.

Required FeaturesService Advertisement and Connection Brokerage

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Broker runs on a mainstream x86 server OS

The Desktop Delivery controller can be installed Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 Standard or Enterprise, Windows Server 2003 R2 (x86 and x64). Windows 2008 Server is not supported.

Supports Windows Server 2008 R2

The broker is supported on Windows Server 2003 Service Pack (SP) 2, Windows Server 2003 R2 (x86 and x64), Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2008 R2 (x86 and x64).

The View Connection Server can be installed on Windows Server 2003 SP2 Standard or Enterprise (32-bit or 64-bit) and Windows Server 2008 (32-bit or 64-bit) server OSs.


35





Broker scales to support 5,000 concurrent connections per server instance

DDC scalability is determined by the number of sessions being launched at the same time rather than the total connection count. 5,000 concurrent connections per broker is supported. Citrix best practice is to assign multiple servers to this role to support high availability. See Delivering 5000 Desktops with Citrix XenDesktop 4.

No. Microsoft does not publish scalability data for the Remote Desktop Connection Broker. For scalability into the thousands, Microsoft recommends the combined Microsoft/Citrix offering.

A single connection broker can support up to 2,000 connections. Multiple connection brokers can be deployed in parallel to provide redundancy and to provide scale-out to 25,000 nodes in a single farm.

Scalability to 10,000 nodes supported via clustering five View Connection Servers. 2,000 connections per node are supported using RDP or PCoIP. A metadata store is maintained on each individual server, and Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) replication is used to ensure the metadata for up to 10,000 desktops is maintained across all cluster nodes. For more information on View Connection Server, see the “VMware View Architecture Planning Guide” for more info.



https://support.quest.com/Search/SolutionDetail.aspx?id=SOL64491&category=Solutions&SKB=1

http://www.vmware.com/pdf/view401_architecture_planning.pdf

http://www.vmware.com/pdf/view401_architecture_planning.pdf


36





Connects users to SHVDs and PC blades

ICA/HDX and RDP is supported for for both VM and Blade PC environments.

RDS connects users to SHVDs and blade PCs using RDP.

EOP and RDP are supported for both virtual machine (VM) and blade PC environments.

PCoIP support for blade PCs requires a Teradici host card in the blade. Blade PC IHV solutions such as HP Remote Graphics Software (RGS) are also supported.Provides a

web-based connection interface

Citrix Web Interface IIS 6.0 (32-bit)IIS 7.0 (32-bit and 64-bit)Apache Tomcat 6.0.x on RHEL 5.3 AP (x86).

Remote Desktop Web Access requires Windows Server 2008 R2.

Web Access runs on IIS 6.0 or later. Optimized to work with IE 7+ running ActiveX. Browsers without ActiveX will function, but some features will not be available (e.g., Windows client detection and auto-install).

Clients connect to the web-based VMware View Portal to download, install, or update the View software client.

http://www.teradici.com/pcoip/pcoip-products/add-on-products.php

http://www.teradici.com/pcoip/pcoip-products/add-on-products.php

http://h20331.www2.hp.com/hpsub/cache/286504-0-0-225-121.html

http://h20331.www2.hp.com/hpsub/cache/286504-0-0-225-121.html


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Supports a standard (industry or de facto) remote display protocol

ICA/HDX and RDP support for both VM and Blade PC environments.

RDP Quest EOP and Microsoft RDP are supported by default.

RDP and PCoIP are supported by default.

Enables session reconnection from both current or new endpoints

Yes Yes Yes Inactive session time-outs can be set to shut down idle desktops (default is 10 hours).

Required FeaturesBusiness Continuity

38





No single point of failure

No SPoF in access infrastructure, SHVD infrastructure, or support services. Critical services are monitored using a “heartbeat”. In the event of service failure an election will be called to ensure that service is maintained at all times.

No SPoF exists in access infrastructure for all SHVD delivery components.

No SPoF is in access infrastructure. The SHVD infrastructure is not dependent on application delivery controllers (ADCs) or virtual infrastructure for providing failover of critical services.However, vWorkspace is dependent on availability of its management database (Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008) for normal operation.

View Administrator uses LDAP replication and network load balancing to provide resiliency. Scalability to five replica servers is supported. The VMware-recommended deployment involves running the View Administrator server in a virtual machine (VM) to take advantage of the underlying virtual infrastructure HA capabilities.

Required FeaturesBusiness Continuity (continued)

39





Failure detection, isolation, and recovery

Infrastructure servers perform functional validation checks to monitor operation of critical services and take action to isolate or recover failing component. Additional failure detection and recovery provided by the requisite virtual infrastructure back-end.

The native Windows Server Failover Cluster (WSFC) logic provides service-level monitoring for the RDS gateway, thus providing automated recovery from a service failure. Server-level monitoring and automated recovery is also provided via Microsoft System Center Operations Manager, which is also included in the VDI Suite Platinum Edition.

Failure detection and recovery provided by the virtual infrastructure back end. In addition, both the vWorkspace Client and Web Access Gateway seamlessly roll over to alternate connection brokers after a predetermined time-out in the event of connection-broker failure.

Failure detection and recovery provided by the requisite vSphere virtual infrastructure back end. The System Health Dashboard feature in the View Administrator interface displays virtual desktop faults in real time. Failure notifications can also be exported to third-party enterprise management tools such as Microsoft SCOM.

Required FeaturesNetwork

40





Integrates with enterprise application delivery controllers

ADCs from BlueCoat, Cisco, Citrix, Expand, F5, Juniper, and Radware integrate with XenDesktop infrastructure.

ADCs from Citrix, F5, Cisco Systems, and Juniper are supported.

No. ADCs will interoperate with vWorkspace, but Quest does not publish a list of supported devices.

Cisco Systems, Citrix Systems, and F5 Networks ADCs officially support VMware.

Required FeaturesNetwork (continued)

41





Supports workplace productivity activities at reasonable bandwidth/latency

XenDesktop 4.0 supports typical knowledge worker tasks at under 200Kbps bandwidth and latency in excess of 100 ms.

Microsoft VDI Suite supports typical knowledge worker tasks at under 200Kbps bandwidth and 100 ms latency.

Quest EOP supports typical knowledge worker tasks at under 200 Kbps bandwidth. Latency up to 160 ms is supported when the EOP Xtreme (WAN acceleration) feature is used and sufficient bandwidth is available. Without EOP Xtreme, RDP suffers when latency is > 30 ms.

View 4.5 with PCoIP supports typical knowledge worker tasks at less than 200 Kbps bandwidth and latency up to 100 ms.











42





Offers dynamic traffic prioritization

Prioritizes real-time traffic (screen, mouse, keyboard, and multimedia) ahead of file and print traffic, with autonomic adjustment in response to changes in latency and bandwidth.

Tuning of bandwidth allocation (virtual channel prioritization) between display traffic and all other traffic (e.g., print, disk, clipboard and USB) is possible.

Tuning of bandwidth allocation (virtual channel prioritization) between display traffic and all other traffic (e.g., print, disk, clipboard, and USB) is possible.

Granular traffic (e.g., voice, file, human interface device, or print) prioritization is available via PCoIP’s virtual channels option.


43





Integrates with VPN appliances

Citrix, F5, Juniper all support or fully integrate with XenDesktop

Cisco and Juniper appliances, among others, are supported.

Juniper Secure Access integration is supported. Other third-party VPN appliances will interoperate with vWorkspace, but Quest does not publish a specific list.

Cisco and Juniper Networks appliances, among others, are supported.

Provides a secure remote access gateway

Citrix provides physical and virtual remote access gateway appliances as well as a Windows Server (2003 and 2008) based remote access gateway.

Via Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Gateway (RDG).

Quest provides vWorkspace Secure-IT SSL VPN gateway.

Implemented using the View Administrator “Security Server” installation option.

Required FeaturesStorage

44





Integrates with third-party array storage provisioning features

XenServer and Hyper-V integrate with storage arrays from Compellent, EMC, Hitachi Data Systems, HP, NetApp and others through StorageLink component of Citrix Essentials for Hyper-V and Citrix Essentials for XenServer. StorageLink is included with XenDesktop, but has a separate interface.

No. Requires third-party solutions such as Citrix Essentials for Hyper-V.

Provides direct support for vendor storage array provisioning technologies such as NetApp FlexClone volumes with Data ONTAP 7.3.1 or later.

NetApp (using the integrated NetApp Rapid Cloning Utility [RCU] in VMware View Administrator) and EMC (using the Celerra plug-in for vCenter), among others.

Required FeaturesStorage (continued)

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Integrates with server virtualization platform storage provisioning features

Thin-provisioned virtual disks are supported through the StorageLink component of Citrix Essentials for Hyper-V and Citrix Essentials for XenServer. vSphere support for is provided by VMware vCenter Server.

Provides direct support for Microsoft Hyper-V differencing disks.

Provides direct support for VMware Linked Clones (with vCenter Server 2.5 or later and ESX 3.5 or later) and Microsoft Hyper-V differencing disks.

vSphere thin-provisioned virtual disks and linked cloning are supported.

Required FeaturesBack End Virtual Infrastructure

46





Hypervisor support for memory overcommit

The supported VMware VI 3.x and vSphere 4.x hypervisors offer memory overcommit.

Via Dynamic Memory in Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1.

The supported VMware Infrastructure (VI) 3.x and vSphere 4.x hypervisors offer memory overcommit.

The supported VMware Infrastructure (VI) 3.x and vSphere 4.x hypervisors offer memory overcommit.

Support for 8:1 virtual CPU (vCPU) to physical CPU (pCPU) core oversubscription

VMware vSphere 4.x hypervisor offers 20:1 oversubscription.Microsoft Hyper-V offers 8:1 oversubscription

8:1 vCPU oversubscription is supported. Microsoft supports up to 512 vCPUs per Hyper-V host and up to 64 logical processors (physical processors x cores x threads) per host. Up to 384 VMs are supported per physical host.

VMware vSphere 4.x hypervisor offers 20:1 oversubscription. Microsoft Hyper-V offers 8:1 oversubscription.Oversubscription is not applicable to Parallels Virtuozzo Containers.

20:1 oversubscription is supported.

Required FeaturesManagement

47





Management server runs on a mainstream x86 server OS

Supports Windows Server 2003 SP 2 and Windows Server 2003 R2

Windows Server 2008 R2

Supports Windows Server 2003 SP 2 and Windows Server 2003 R2 as well as Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

The View Connection Server can be installed on Windows Server 2003 SP2 Standard or Enterprise (32-bit or 64-bit) and Windows Server 2008 (32-bit or 64-bit) server OSs.

Required FeaturesManagement (continued)

48





Integration with enterprise management solutions

Includes XenDesktop SDK; Windows PowerShell commandlets; SNMP support offered through Citrix EdgeSight and workflow automation and run book automation through Workflow Studio; XenDesktop includes support for Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008.

Microsoft VDI Suites include use rights for System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM), System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) and System Center Operations Manager (SCOM). SNMP and WMI providers enable integration with third-party enterprise management solutions.

No. Support for Microsoft Systems Center Operations Manager (SCOM) 2007 R2 is under development.

View 4.5 includes a Microsoft SCOM management pack, Windows PowerShell commandlets, tools to harvest the View 4.5 relational database and export to comma-separated values (CSV)-formatted files, and a new application event stream.


49





Management console supports up to 5,000 virtual desktops

Scalability to 5,000 is supported.

No. Microsoft recommends its joint solution with Citrix for scalability beyond hundreds of desktops.

Scalability to 5,000 is supported.

Scalability to 10,000 managed virtual desktops is supported.

Management console supports multiple concurrent users

No fixed limit, console responsiveness may be reduced if a larger number of searches are conducted at the same time.

There is no fixed limit to the number of concurrent administrators.

No fixed limit to number of concurrent administrators. Quest has tested internally with 10 concurrent administrators.

No logical limit exists, but VMware has tested internally with several dozen concurrent administrators.




50





Policy-based management

The XenDesktop policy engine manages session configuration. Four Windows Active Directory Group Policy Templates (GPTs) manage virtual desktop and endpoint configuration FarmGUID.adm, icaclient.adm, icaclient_usb.adm, vda_usb.adm.

The Microsoft VDI Suite leverages Windows Group Policy Objects (GPOs) for centralized management of virtual desktops.

vWorkspace makes limited use of rules-based policies to apply administrator defined settings (e.g., session time zone assignment can be made based on AD group membership, organizational unit [OU] assignment, client device name, or IP address).

View 4.5 Manager offers a policy engine in addition to five Windows AD GPTs.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee791756(WS.10).aspx

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee791756(WS.10).aspx


51





Includes user, virtual desktop, and endpoint search capabilities

Yes Yes Yes View Administrator includes a search tool.

Supports streamed and locally installed virtual applications

Locally installed applications are supported within XenDesktop. Streamed (and hosted) applications are supported through Citrix XenApp included in XenDesktop Enterprise and Platinum.

App-V streamed applications can be deployed to virtual desktops, physical desktops, or published to server-based computing (SBC). Applications can also be hosted separately from the SHVD image with Microsoft RemoteApp.

Microsoft App-V streamed applications can be deployed to either virtual or physical desktops.

VMware ThinApp included in VMware View Premier. ThinApp management is included in the View Administrator interface.


52





Flexible management of virtual desktop OS and application updates

Locally installed application and OS updates are supported within XenDesktop. Streamed (and hosted) applications are supported through Citrix XenApp which is included in XenDesktop Enterprise and Platinum

OS and application updates to persistent desktops can be made using SCCM to install MSI files or by leveraging Microsoft App-V. Updates to non-persistent desktops can be made using Microsoft App-V.

OS and application updates to persistent desktops can be made by using conventional distributed desktop management systems by using vWorkspace to install Microsoft Installer (MSI) files, or by leveraging Microsoft App-V.Updates to non-persistent desktops can be made using Microsoft App-V.

Provided via VMware Update Manager.


53





Command-line interface and scripting support

Scripting is supported through the Citrix Desktop Delivery Controller PowerShell SDK.

Comprehensive scriptable interfaces are documented in the Remote Desktop Services reference and SCVMM scripting guide.

No Provided via “Command Line Tool for View Manager.”

Solution installation does not require vendor professional services

Yes Yes Yes Yes

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa383494(v=VS.85).aspx

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa383494(v=VS.85).aspx

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc764259.aspx


http://www.vmware.com/pdf/viewmanager_cl_tool.pdf

http://www.vmware.com/pdf/viewmanager_cl_tool.pdf

Required FeaturesSecurity

54





Directory services integration

XenDesktop integrates with AD to manage virtual desktop access and perform management authentication. AD is also used as the primary mechanism to identify XenDesktop Desktop Delivery Controllers (DDC) through a dedicated OU. It is possible to deploy XenDesktop without creating a dedicated OU by hard coding the FQDN of each DDC into the registry.

VDI Suite manages objects using Active Directory users group's and organizational units (OU), and for the assignment of delegated administration rights.

vWorkspace manages objects using Active Directory (AD) users groups and OUs

Offers clean AD integration by leveraging AD Application Mode (ADAM) on Windows Server 2003 domains and AD Lightweight Directory Services (LDS) on Windows Server 2008 domains.

Required FeaturesSecurity (continued)

55





Role-based access controls (RBACs)

XenDesktop supports pre-built and custom user roles.

RBACs and administrative delegation are assignable using Remote Desktop Services Manager permissions.

Supports customer role creation with granular control of permissions on all roles.

Delegated administration and pre-defined roles (e.g., administrator or helpdesk) were added in View 4.5.





56





Client and management traffic is secured

SSL/TLS and ICA/HDX Encryption (up to 128-bit) for client traffic. Supports SSL/TLS for XML based management traffic, but not Citrix Independent Management Architecture (IMA) traffic.

All client and management traffic can be optionally secured using SSL or TLS encryption for the Web management service and IPsec for ODBC communications.

RDP and EOP client communication can be secured using SSL or TLS encryption. Management traffic between the data collector and connection broker and among the data collector, administrative console, and back-end virtual infrastructure can be encrypted using SSL.

Via Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS).


57





Security logging and auditing of administrative actions

All configuration changes are logged. Feature added in SP 1.

System Center Operations Manager includes audit collection services to gather and report on administrative actions.

No Event logging capabilities were updated in View 4.5 to provide an audit trail for all administrative actions.

Supports standard remote access authentication protocols

Supports PAP, CHAP, MS-CHAP v1, and MSCHAP v2 protocols.

Kerberos-based credential pass-through is supported for AD domain remote clients. X.509 certification for access via the Remote Desktop Gateway using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) for Web Access.

Supports X.509 certification for access via Secure-IT along with SSL and TLS for Web Access. Kerberos-based credential pass-through is supported for AD domain-joined remote clients.

Delegated to AD, RSA SecurID, smart card (but not with PCoIP on Windows Vista or Windows 7), or Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate.

Required FeaturesGuest OS Support

58





Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit) and Windows XP (32-bit) guest

Yes Yes Yes Yes - Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit) support was added in View 4.5.

Required FeaturesLicensing

59





Offers a choice of the following models: Concurrent

user Named

user

Concurrent Licensing offered only with XenDesktop 4.0 VDI Edition

No. Microsoft VDI Suites are licensed per-device.

Concurrent user (i.e., number of concurrent connections) is the default licensing model. Named users are counted as concurrent users.

Concurrent user is the default licensing model. Named users (for local virtual desktops) are counted as concurrent users.

Required FeaturesProduct Support

60





Three-year minimum of market

General support is available for four years from the product release date. Citrix recently updated policy to include all “non-sale” products (e.g., the ICA clients, Web Interface and Secure Gateway).

Mainstream support is available for five years from the product release date.

No. General support is available for 12 months after the product release date.

General support is available for three years from the product release date.

One-year minimum of extended support

Satisfied by general support. Citrix provides a minimum of 12 month’s notice for “End of Maintenance.”

Extended support is available for five years following the end of general support.

12 months of extended support is offered following expiration of general support

VMware defines extended support as “technical guidance,” which is available for two years following the end of general support.

Required FeaturesProduct Support (continued)

61





Published support lifecycle dates at product launch

Support lifecycle dates are published on the “Product Matrix” web page.

Support lifecycle information for each of the point products that comprise the VDI Suite is available at the web page “Lifecycle information for Microsoft Server products.”

No. Quest has published the vWorkspace product life cycle for previous product releases, but has not yet published the full life cycle for vWorkspace 7.1

Support lifecycle dates are published on the “VMware Enterprise Desktop Support” webpage.

http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifeselectserv



https://support.quest.com/search/PLC.aspx?id=PL206

http://www.vmware.com/support/policies/enterprise-desktop/lifecycle.html

http://www.vmware.com/support/policies/enterprise-desktop/lifecycle.html

Required FeaturesThird Party Vendor Support

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Certification program for third-party application vendors

See the “Citrix Ready Program Guide“ for details. Certified products are listed in the “Citrix Ready Product Listing”.

See the Microsoft Windows 7 Compatibility Center site and Windows Server Developer Center for program details.

No. A technology partner alliance program is under development.

See the VMware site “VMware Ready for Applications”

Certification program for thin client vendors

As above. Microsoft provides guidelines for vendors looking to develop thin-client hardware, and offers a certification program for vendors that ship the Windows 7 Embedded OS.

Certified devices are listed in “Quest vWorkspace—Thin Client support.”

See the “VMware Ready Hardware Certification Program.” Certified vendors are listed in the VMware Compatibility Guide.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/compatibility/windows-7/default.aspx

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/compatibility/windows-7/default.aspx

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsserver/cc148992.aspx

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsserver/cc148992.aspx

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms927795.aspx




Required FeaturesThird Party Vendor Support (continued)

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Public user forum for discussion of application support issues

See the Citrix “XenDesktop” Forum and the Citrix “XenDesktop Developer Network”. A community verified program is also available “Citrix Ready Community Verified.

The Microsoft Forums site is available for discussion of all Microsoft products.

No. The Quest My SupportLink site (registration required) is available for support of all Quest products but does not provide a discussion forum.

See the VMware community “VMware View (with View Manager)” and the “ThinApp Community Portal.”

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/windowsserver2008r2rds/threads

https://support.quest.com/MySupportLink/MySupportLink.aspx

https://support.quest.com/MySupportLink/MySupportLink.aspx

http://communities.vmware.com/community/vmtn/entdesk/view

http://communities.vmware.com/community/vmtn/entdesk/view

http://communities.vmware.com/thinap.jspa

http://communities.vmware.com/thinap.jspa

Conclusion

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Conclusion

• VMware View 4.5 and Citrix XenDesktop 4 SP1 are the only enterprise-ready SHVD platforms

• Quest vWorkspace and Microsoft VDI are suitable for small business and department-level deployments

• Third party add-ons may be deployed to satisfy existing feature shortcomings

• Management scalability meets today’s requirements, but more work remains

• You know what you need better than anyone!

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Additional Information• Server-hosted Virtual Desktops

http://www.burtongroup.com/Client/Research/Document.aspx?cid=1874 • Server-hosted Virtual Desktop Profile: VMware View 4.0.1

http://www.burtongroup.com/Client/Research/Document.aspx?cid=2079 • Server-hosted Virtual Desktop Profile: Citrix XenDesktop 4 Platinum SP1

http://www.burtongroup.com/Client/Research/Document.aspx?cid=1982 • Server-hosted Virtual Desktop Profile: Quest vWorkspace 7.1 Enterprise

http://www.burtongroup.com/Client/Research/Document.aspx?cid=2089 • Virtual Desktop and Application Delivery reference architecture template

http://www.burtongroup.com/Client/Research/Document.aspx?cid=1775

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Documents

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