I remember seeing a demonstration some time ago from a VDI vendor that showed they could do multimonitor. I also remembered thinking “so what? we can do that as well”. Over time I realized that I was wrong to assume that the advanced capabilities of Quest vWorkspace were that well-known.

So I decided to create a “blair-witch” demo: I just walked up to one of the cubicles that we have over at the Quest Desktop Virtualisation Group HQ and shot a demo of what vWorkspace can do today. My “cameraman” used a webcam as the camera so if it is not the quality you are accustomed to, you know why.

The important part is that the video shows what Quest vWorkspace 6.0 can do today. In the demo we are showing a vWorkspace session to a Windows XP virtual desktop that:

• uses 4 monitors, with the desktop being only on the first monitor (so not just spanning). You could even use monitors with different resolutions if you want to.
• shows how  applications are able to be monitor aware in a vWorkspace sessions (they can maximize to the monitor they are on)
• where we plug in and use different USB devices in this mulitmonitor vWorkspace sessions
• is playing a full HD movie

This is just a very brief demo that does not even show some of the other features of Quest vWorkspace 6.0 like graphics acceleration, user profile management, universal printing, virtual desktop shadowing or any of the other features…

Printing has, and is, a traditionally well-known challenge in Server Based Computing environments. Print-IT is one of the first products that Provision Networks (well before became a member of the Quest family) offered that addressed this problem. When Provision Networks started doing VDI in 2005, we immediately recognized that printing would pose some of the same problems in VDI environments so Print-IT became an integral part of our VDI solution as well, thus providing a seamless printing experience across SBC, VDI and even Blade PCs.

Originally being one of the first products by Provision Networks, Print-IT is an extremely mature universal printing solution. In fact, universal printing as a description doesn’t do Print-IT enough justice. There’s a lot more to Print-IT then that. And since a lot of our customers are amazed at the versatility of Print-IT that comes as an integral part with any Virtual Access Suite license, I decided that it might be worth giving you a quick heads-up on the current feature set of Print-IT:

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IMPORTANT: This guide applies to version 5.10. The most current version of this guide that applies to vWorkspace 6.0 is located here.

As you probably know the Virtual Access Suite supports a broad selection of leading hypervisors. Among the supported hypervisors is VMware ESX (more specifically VMware Virtual Infrastructure). To make it very easy for you to evaluate the Virtual Access Suite in a VMware Virtual Infrastructure we have created a “getting started guide” which details all the steps you need to take to be able to start evaluating all the cool features in the Virtual Access Suite.

The guide will describe the requirements and the installation and configuration steps to the Virtual Access Suite 5.10 in a VMware VI 3.x Environment. The following procedures are detailed:

• Downloading the Provision Networks Virtual Access Suite 5.10 Software
• Installing the Connection Broker
• Entering Customer Information
• Adding a VMware Virtual Infrastructure
• Importing VMware Datacenters
• Creating Virtual Desktops from a template in the Managed Computer Group
• Installing PNtools
• Using Evaluation Licenses
• Installing the Provision Networks Virtual Access Suite Client
• Configuring AppPortal
• Launching AppPortal

Download the guide here: Getting Started With Virtual Access Suite in a Vmware Virtual Infrastructure Environment.

Missed Quest at VMworld this year? Not to worry, VMware is hosting a series of events in EMEA called the VMware Virtualization Forums 2008 that Quest will be attending. Come see us at one of the following venues/dates:

October 2008

• Sweden - Stockholm  02.10.08
• France - Paris  08.10.08
• Netherlands - Rotterdam  15.10.08
• Australia  - Sydney  15.10.08 ( not EMEA obviously )
• Germany - Dusseldorf  22.10.08
• Austria - Vienna  29.10.08

November 2008

• Spain - Madrid  06.11.08
• Italy - Milan  12.11.08
• Switzerland - Zurich  20.11.08

We will be showcasing the newest version of the Virtual Access Suite as well our Experience Optimization Pack and cool sneak peaks into the future of the Virtual Access Suite.

So come see us at one of the VMware Virtualization Forums 2008. We look forward to meeting you!

Quest Software, Provision Networks Division, are a Platinum sponsor at the forthcoming Virtualization Congress in London, England. Quest Software will be showcasing Provision Networks Virtual Access Suite, which will include the demonstration of new and exciting product features.

We are proud to be offering a 25% discount code to our customers and business partners attending the conference, this equates to a £200 saving. The discount code is ‘PartnersAtVC2008′.

It must be entered during the registration process that starts here: http://www.virtualizationcongress.com/registration.htm

Virtualization Congress 2008 – October 14-16. 2008 – ExCeL London, UK

Virtualization Congress, launched in 2008 by virtualization.info, the leading virtualization news and analysis site since 2003, brings together the entire sector under one roof, giving customers and potential virtualization users the opportunity to hear about all of the latest products and technologies on the market without prejudice.

The event will feature an innovative lecture format, showcasing real products in real world situations, from the key market players and the newest startups.

The Virtualization Congress takes place between 14-16 October, 2008 at London ExCeL conference centre in Docklands.

Visit the site at: http://www.virtualizationcongress.com

I’m excited to announce that we’ve shipped our first major release in 2008, and the first since Michel Roth, Rick Mack, Jeff Pitsch and I joined Quest Software.  This has been very exciting for us, as we’ve been very involved in beta testing, providing development feedback and direction.  It really is amazing to be able to say “it would make customers very happy if the product did “X”, instead of Y” and to see the feature added or changed based on your comment/feedback.

5.9 was released to the public in December of 2007, and had one service pack, so the following are features that are new to version 5.10.  In the next couple of weeks we’ll do detailed blog entries about each these features.  The 5.10 binaries and admin guide should be available on our website on Friday, July 25th.

Web Portal - Web-IT:

• Web-IT migrated to ASP.Net 1.1 to ASP.Net 2.0
• Web-IT config files migrated from text to XML files to support future automation
• Web-IT Integration With Juniper Secure Access
• Smart Card login support

Clients:

• Ticketing - Secure tickets will be issued per connection request, obviating the need to embed hashed user credentials inside .pit connection files
• Enhanced Multi-monitor support
• Updated Linux and Java Clients
• PXE Boot Linux Client
• LiveCD Linux Client
• All AppPortal Client settings can be stored in a single configuration file
• Java Client fully supported via Secure Gateway

Connection Broker & Management Console:

• Support for Microsoft Hyper-V
• Support for Virtual Iron 4.3.x
• Dynamic Computer Group Auto-expansion - Auto Provisioning of new computers
• Server Provisioning
• Delete computers that have not been used in a specified number of days
• Realtime enumeration of running processes on Managed Computers
• Termination of running processes on Managed Computers.
• Power Management of ACPI and WoL (Wake on LAN) capable computers and servers
• MSI Package Deployment to Computer Groups or Managed Computers and servers
• Disable/Enable Computer Groups or Managed Computers during maintenance cycles
• Unique Computer names enforced across Desktop Groups and Data Centers
• Display Realtime License Usage
• Retrieval and display of VM Template Sizes
• Wizard Driven Managed Desktop creation
• Streamlined Softgrid Integration
• Option to bypass proxy settings for Console to Broker communication
• Verification of sufficient disk space on target storage when provisioning servers or desktops.

Task Automation for Power Management (multiple recurrence options or single instance):

• Power Off
• Power On
• Reset
• Resume - for VMware and Hyper-V
• Standby - for ACPI & WoL Devices
• Suspend -for VMware and Hyper-V
• Wakeup - for ACPI & WoL Devices

Task Automation for Operating System operations (multiple recurrence options or single instance):

• Log off user
• Reset Session
• Restart O/S
• Shutdown O/S

Task Automation for Virtual machines (multiple recurrence options or single instance):

• Delete VM
• Delete VM not accessed in a specified number of days

Task Automation for Miscellaneous Tasks (multiple recurrence options or single instance):

• Copy file to computer
• Enable/Disable Computer
• Initialize Computer
• Run Program/Script on Computer

Task Automation for MSI Packages (multiple recurrence options or single instance):

• Install MSI Package
• Update MSI Package
• Uninstall MSI Package

Setup Program:

• Wizard-based setup program to automate database creation, upgrade, and management of VMware trust store and Virtual Iron jar libraries
• Terminal Servers and Connection Brokers are automatically added to the Provision Farm in the Provision Management Console.

Experience Optimization Pack:

• Bi-directional Audio - Microphone Redirection
• Local Text Echo - Latency Masking for typing over latent networks
• Multi-media Redirection - seamlessly redirects multi-media content to the client CODEC for local playback. - This will be released as a separate 5.10 update, as it has not been released from QA yet.

Recently Paul Ghostine, VP and General Manager of the Quest Software Provision Networks division did a podcast with Virtual Strategy Magazine on the subject of our recently announced partnership with Parallels. Parallels’ Corey Thomas, VP of Marketing, also was a part of this podcast.

It’s a good podcast to listen to that is pretty insightful. Not only does it provide answer to questions we get a lot on the Provision Networks - Parallels partnership but there’s also several sneak peaks into the future in regards to where Provision Networks, Parallels and virtualization as a whole is going according to Paul and Corey.

Recommended listening: http://www.virtual-strategy.com/VSM-Podcasts/Quest-Software-and-Parallels-Inc.-Deliver-VDI-Solution.html.

Storage has always been a hot subject, especially in regards to VDI. One misconception that some people seem to have is that the storage requirements in VDI environments are so high that VDI would be a bad idea for most companies. Although I agree that the storage requirements for VDI are higher than for Terminal Server, I do not necessarily agree that this automatically renders VDI solutions cost-ineffective from the get-go. One reason for this is that VDI often gets implemented in environments that already have enterprise storage (SAN) in place. The second reason is that the storage requirements are not as large as some portray them to be. I’ve seen calculations based on 20GB of disk space per virtual desktop, which, in most cases, is a pretty high number. If you’re looking at VDI as a means to deploy Windows XP desktops, chances are 6-10GB per virtual desktop is more than sufficient to fulfill your needs. If you multiply that number by 500 virtual desktops, the difference is pretty significant. Another reason for my disagreement is that the choice of virtualization platform could very well dictate the storage requirements of a VDI solution. Parallels Virtuozzo Containers, for example, is inherently storage-optimized. Using this platform as the foundation for a turnkey VDI stack, you will dramatically reduce the storage requirements, making VDI very similar to Terminal Server (Quest and Parallels have an exclusive VDI partnership).

By no means am I denying there is ample room for improvement in the way of reducing VDI’s storage requirements. Needless to say, reducing these requirements will certainly yield higher ROI. At Quest Software, we have been keenly aware of this fact right from the beginning. That’s why we have been working very diligently to further extend the already rich feature set of our virtual desktop management solution with an image management solution dubbed CIMS (Common Image Management System) which we publicly announced at VMworld 2007. I would like to take this opportunity to talk a little more in detail about CIMS.
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Once again, here is a common question I get from all kinds of people, partners, customers, random people via email….  here are my thoughts on VDI benefits over Terminal Services:

• Easier to manage for the average IT Professional, because of the standard OS, standard application installations
• Printing and applications are more stable due to them not being shared by multiple concurrent users.
• Resources can more easily be guaranteed for each user
• New systems can be dynamically provisioned, when, or before they are needed
• Systems can easily be deleted when they are no longer needed, or to push out a new base image
• Application compatibility and support from application vendors, as almost all apps are written for XP Pro & Vista.
• Much easier to do a “one off” configuration for users with “special needs”
• Developers can be made administrators so they can destroy their VMs, “if necessary”, without affecting others.  Normal users should still be locked down, if they’ll tolerate it.
• Desktop Administrators/Engineers are “a lot” less expensive to employ than Terminal Services/Citrix Administrators.

The first bullet is the most important to just about every organization.  Most companies have Terminal Services or Citrix in place, but few are truly comfortable managing these systems.  Terminal Services and Citrix are often maintained by a very small subset of the IT Staff, because the rest of the IT staff has no idea how the technology “really” works.  It’s also true that many companies already have a Virtual Infrastructure in place, and people to manage that infrastructure.  With that in mind, one can utilize those resources to manage the hardware for VDI, while providing desktop support & helpdesk personnel with a much simpler and more feature rich set of tools to do their jobs.

For companies that are happy with Terminal Services, VDI is just another tool to help them address application delivery and desktop management issues.  TS usually only penetrates about 20% of corporate desktops or applications to be delivered, so there is a lot of room for VDI.

When looking at VDI there are things that MUST be addressed, as each Virtual Desktop is a “single user Terminal Server”. If one doesn’t consider and address problems inherent to Terminal Services when deploying Virtual Desktops, you’ll just have the same problems, but now for more users.

• Universal Printing
• User Profile Management
• User Environment Configuration & Lockdown

Provision Networks has been making these tools for about 10 years, so we don’t have to cobble these tools together for VDI, or acquire some technology and try to integrate it with our current management framework.

Notice that I did NOT say that Terminal Services was bad, or that companies should throw TS away and fire all of their TS/Citrix Engineers.  I think there is a place for both “in some cases”, i.e. at companies that have a fine tuned, well maintained Terminal Services implementation and more than one or two adminstrators that understand how everything works.  Proper change control and thorough documentation in a Terminal Services environment is absolutely required for it to remain stable, and be managed by more than one person.

VDI can be centrally managed using our Provision Networks Virtual Access Suite, regardless of the underlying hypervisor(s) in place. The Virtual infrastructure can consist of a single vendor’s hypervisor, or any combination of different hypervisors, while still being managed from one pane of glass (the Provision Management Console).  This same console can also centrally manage Terminal Servers, Applications, User Profiles, Network Printers and all of the settings related to the User Environment 

So have I ever recommended Terminal Services over VDI to a customer that does NOT already have a Terminal Services deployment, and a staff that really knows how to effectively manage Terminal Services? Not yet.  The good thing is that we’re not asking customers to choose one or the other.  Customers can deliver applications or desktops from VDI, PC Blades, standard PCs and Terminal Services, and can manage it all in one place.

VDI does have some down sides/requirements:

• Virtual Infrastructure is REQUIRED, i.e. VMware, Virtual Iron, Hyper-V, Virtuozzo
• SAN storage is typically required. 
• MSFT Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop (VECD) license subscriptions are REQUIRED. (except with Virtuozzo, but that’s an entirely new post)

VDI is still a fairly new concept to most companies, even those with extensive investments in Server Virtualization.  With that in mind, I get this question several times a week, so below is my answer to one of these queries.

Just like customers use our Virtual Access Suite to extend the base functionality of Windows Terminal Services, they can also use it to extend VMware, Microsoft, Virtual Iron or Parallels base VDI functionality.  We actually announced our VDI offering (project TITAN) at VMworld in 2005,  and released it as Virtual Access Suite for VMware VDI at VMworld in 2006.

Provision Networks started doing business in 1990s under the name Emergent Online (EOL), which was a Citrix Platinum Partner in the Metro DC Area.  We started making tools to address issues with Citrix and Terminal Services in 1996, and many of these tools still exist in our Virtual Access Suite today.  We treat VDI as single user terminal servers, so most of our tools that enhance management, performance and user experience on TS, translate directly to VDI.

So at a high level, Quest Software’s Provision Networks Division does the following:

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