DATACENTER

02 IntroductionA field guide to two virtualization worlds. BY JAN STAFFORD

04 Decoding the VMware UniverseVMware’s ecosystem of virtualization offerings is extensive, but thewealth of choice may be confusing rather than helpful. Here we siftthrough the various offerings. BY DAVID DAVIS

15 Virtual Desktop Delivery andManagementOptions: Reducing Complexity, IncreasingFlexibilityDesktop virtualization has centralized management of far-flung machines,but the options remain dispersed and daunting. Kutz leads the way indefining which virtual desktop technology might suit your company’sneeds. BY SCHLEY ANDREW KUTZ

virtu lDATA CENTER

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Volume 3

ONSIDER this month’sVirtual Data Center e-zine as a virtualizationWho’s Who or, perhaps,

What’s What. In this issue, we act asdocents to VMware, the elder statesmanof server virtualization, and adventureguides for the wild world of a new fron-tier: desktop virtualization. You’ll learnmore about the maze of products andtechnologies that make up VMware’svirtualization ecosystem. Then you’llget what may be the most comprehen-sive guide to desktop virtualizationtoday, a technology that vendors haverushed into with new approachesand products.Currently, VMware is the only server

virtualization vendor with mature,production-ready products that haveexceeded a third release. Filling gaps inmanagement and migration has broughtnew tools, such as VMware Consoli-dated Backup and Storage VMotion,respectively. VMware has also venturedinto desktop virtualization with VirtualDesktop Infrastructure.In this issue, IT expert David Davis

identifies the key VMware buildingblocks for a dynamic, production-levelvirtualization environment (see page 4).Then Davis explains how these featuresfit together as well as what doesn’t andwhen you’ll need the additional func-

tionality of third-party products.Speaking of mazes, Davis also demys-

tifies how VMware’s management prod-ucts fit into the IT Infrastructure Library(ITIL) framework. He maps the VMwareecosystem with ITIL service and supportcategories in a way that is easily transfer-able to many environments.And Andrew Kutz is just the right

guide to usher us through the desktopvirtualization world (see page 15). Hegarnered admiration and raised ire in hiseffort to fill gaps in VMware technolo-gies with handy plug-ins. Kutz separatesthe hype from reality, categorizing desk-top virtualization platforms and thendissecting current products in thosecategories.Kutz also explains how the short-term

pain—and there will be pain—of adopt-ing desktop virtualization is made bear-able by long-term gain. Besides, he says,the pain of migration is nothing com-pared with the cumulative day-to-daypain of managing desktops that aresprawled throughout the enterprise.Why use Band-Aid point solutions whenyou can truly mend an ailing system?This issue’s two tours may not lead

to Nirvana, but they should put thingsin perspective. Our piece on desktopvirtualization helps separate plumapproaches from the lemons. And atour of the VMware ecosystem providesa fresh look at a familiar world.

JAN STAFFORD, Editorial Director,Data Center Media Group, TechTarget

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Editor’s Letter

Capacity Bottleneck Analyzer

Imagine being able to instantly identify capacity bottlenecks in hosts, clusters, andresources pools.With VKernel, you can immediately build a prioritized list of currentmemory, CPU, and storage capacity bottlenecks in your VMware ESX infrastructure.It also predicts future capacity bottlenecks and alerts you when trends exceedcustomizable thresholds.

Chargeback/Cost Visibility

In the new virtual datacenter where all hardware is shared, IT organizations mustcharge users for the resources they actually consume (CPU,memory, storage, andnetwork).With VKernel, we give you cost visibility in one day and you’ll immediatelyunderstand who’s using what resources and how much it all costs.

Introducing the World’s First Suite of Virtual Appliances for Solving Both CapacityBottlenecks and Cost Visibility/Chargeback in VMware ESX Environments

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IF YOU’VE struggledto get a handle onVMware’s myriadofferings, this guide isdesigned to cut throughvendor hype andprovide an unfilteredview of the technolo-gies available for yournext-generation datacenter.

S VMWARE INC.’S virtu-alization technologiespermeate data centers,IT professionals oftenfind themselves lostin a complex galaxy

of technologies and services that theyunderstand only vaguely. Data centermanagers perplexed by VMware’s myr-iad virtualization options need to knowabout the pieces of the ecosystem, howthey fit together and how to determinewhich technologies best serve theirneeds. This article aims to separate thewheat from the chaff and orient youin this new world of the VMwareecosystem.

THE VMWARE ECOSYSTEM:

THE BUILDING BLOCKS

Just a few years ago, VMware Inc.offered little more than a basic platform.Now there’s depth and breadth in thecompany’s various technologies. Indeed,VMware provides almost everythingneeded to build a complex, dynamic,production-level virtualization environ-ment. VMware’s partner universe hasalso evolved from a handful to hundredsof third-party software and hardwarecompanies offering products that may

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Decodingthe VMwareUniverseBy David Davis

A

replace, complement or fill a gap inthe VMware arsenal.The VMware ecosystem isn’t a single

monolithic product, but rather a patch-work of different companies andproviders that work together to provideVMware systems for myriad businessenvironments. Essentially, the VMwareecosystem includes VMware technolo-gies, third-party software providers,hardware providers, consulting servicesproviders, education and certificationvendors, and end users.Today, the most well-known VMware

product is ESX Server: the completelyredesigned big brother of GSX Server,which is the predecessor to the now-freeVMware Server. Over time, VMwarehas developed ESX into a package ofproducts that is known as VMwareInfrastructure (VI).In terms of VMware Enterprise edition

virtualization, VMware ESX Server isat the center of that universe. None ofthese other products are useful withoutit. You can purchase ESX Server as a 3istandalone version as well as Foundation

(starter), Standard and Enterprise ver-sions (see sidebar on 3i below). For anenterprise network today, I recommendthat you have at least one copy (thatis, one for each server) of the VMwareInfrastructure Enterprise edition becauseyou get all the Enterprise features.The VMware ESX Enterprise editionincludes the following:

� VMware ESX Server� VirtualCenter Agent� VMware Consolidated Backup(VCB)

� Distributed Resource Scheduler(DRS)

� VMware High Availability (HA)� Virtual Machine File System 3(VMFS 3)

� Virtual SMP� VMware Update Manager� VMotion and Storage VMotion

Of course, VMware has several otherofferings, including Capacity Planner,VMmark for benchmarking and VMwareStage Manager beta for staging of virtual

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Choosing Serversfor VMware EnvironmentsWHEN PLANNING YOUR VMware ESX Server hardware, it is critical to ensure that it’scompatible with VMware ESX. Fortunately, that isn’t difficult if you consult VMware’shardware compatibility lists. Server hardware vendors like Dell Inc., IBM Corp., andHewlett-Packard Co. offer powerful multicore servers with a ton of RAM from one ofthem.With the introduction of VMware ESX Server 3i, these vendors will soon buildESX Server 3i into their servers. That means that there is no VMware Server to installor purchase separately; 3i is embedded. The release of the lower-cost and embeddedESX Server 3i will expand the use of virtualization. If it comes with your server, whynot use it? —D.D.

guest systems.There are VMware products other

than those in the VMware Infrastructuresuite. As the popularity of VMware tech-nologies has grown, so have the numberof VMware partners (both official andunofficial). The VMware Partner Cata-log, for example, lists more than 150official companies. There are hundredsof unlisted companies that provide partsof the ecosystem.In this article, however, we’ll limit our

discussion to products that are centralto a successful, enterprise-level VMwareinfrastructure. Let’s get a picture of thatinfrastructure’s components by puttingthe parts in functionality-centric cate-gories, which are listed below:

� Virtual desktop infrastructure(VDI) and connection brokers

� Backup and recovery� Disaster recovery (DR)� Virtualization and storage� VI Client plug-ins� Virtualization security� Virtualization performancemanagement and capacityplanning

� Virtualization infrastructurereporting

� Physical-to-virtual (P2V) andvirtual-to-virtual (V2V) conversion

After we explore those functionalareas of VMware virtualization, we’llalso look at how the ecosystem mapswith areas of the IT InfrastructureLibrary (see “ITIL and the VMwareUniverse” on page 9) and other compo-nents of the VMware universe, suchas training (see “VMware Consulting,Education and Networking” on page 7).

VIRTUAL DESKTOP INFRASTRUCTURE

AND CONNECTION BROKERS

VDI virtualizes your users’ desktop sys-tems and thus has tremendous benefitsfor disaster recovery, simplified manage-ment, cost savings, security and more.What really makes VDI work is its con-nection broker, which maps thin clients(which have replaced PCs) to the virtualguest operating system needed by orassigned to that VDI user. Here arefour leading VDI connection brokers:

1. VMware’s Virtual DesktopManager 2—or VDM2, as it’s called—has recentlybeen released, and currently you canget a VDM starter kit for about $1,800.While the jury is still out on the bestconnection broker, you should tryVDM2 if you’re researching options.

2. Leostream’s Hosted Desktop ConnectionBroker (HDCB) has been around forsome time, and you can download afree demo from the company’s website.

3.With Citrix Systems Inc.’s purchaseof XenSource, Citrix now offers CitrixXenDesktop Server. The XenDesktopServer (currently in beta) connectionbroker works with VMware ESX Server.

4. Provision Networks’ Virtual AccessSuite is now owed by Quest Software,and the product’s free demo is availableon the company’s website, along with ademonstration video.

You can also review the connectionbroker comparison, which offers a morecomplete list. For more information onVDI, you can also read “How Can Vir-tual Desktop Infrastructure Help You?”

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BACKUP AND RECOVERY

AND DISASTER RECOVERY

While it is possible to run a traditionalbackup client inside each of your virtualguest operating systems, it isn’t the bestoption because you are doing file-levelbackups and thus not getting many ofvirtualization’s backup-and-restorebenefits.Assuming you purchased VMware

Infrastructure Enterprise, you haveVMware Consolidated Backup. VCB isstill a young product, and there is someconfusion about it (for more informa-tion, see my VCB FAQ article). VCB isnot a backup program. Rather, it allows

you to gain access to VMFS (i.e., theESX Server file system). VCB can likelybe used with your current backup pro-gram (such as CA’s BrightStor, IBM’sTivoli Storage Manager or EMC Corp.’sNetWorker).But if you have a virtualization back-

up program that works with VCB ortalks directly to the VMFS, you’ll bebetter off, because it’s much easier doimage-level backups, differentials andrestores, and you will gain a graphicaluser interface (GUI) with a scheduler.Here are some virtualization backuptechnologies. And for how these backuptools stack up, see a comparison of

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VMware Consulting,Education andNetworkingMANY ENTERPRISE CUSTOMERS require consulting and implementation services. OneVMware virtualization consulting service is VMware Inc.’s consulting division, whichthe company acquired when it purchased Foedus. Another option is outsourcing yourvirtualized infrastructure to service providers such as BlueLock, which offers “infra-structure as a service” to handle your VMware hardware, software and managementneeds in its facility.VMware’s ecosystem includes education, certification and training, and, of course,

some limitations. If you want to take the VMware Certified Professional (VCP) examfor VMware certification, you need to sign up for VMware’s own in-house trainingcourses. Other self-training options exist, and I often recommend the following:

� Vmreference.com is a free VMware ESX Server reference chart that can bedownloaded and printed.

� Train Signal’s VMware ESX Server video training series includes 15 hours oftraining on VMware Infrastructure suite.And for some fun, check out the 37migrations.com website, which geographically

maps customers throughout the world that use VMotion and tells you howmanyVMotion migrations have taken place each day. If you want to participate, you caninstall the VI Client 2.5 37migrations plug-in that reports your migrations to the web-site. And finally, if you have the opportunity, you can learn a great deal by attending aVMworld conference. —D.D.

VMware ESX Server backup tools:

� Vizioncore Inc.’s vRanger Pro� PHD Technologies Inc.’s esXpress� Veeam Backup

Technologies like Data Domain’s DDXdeduplication appliance prevent dedu-plication in your virtualized backups. Ifyou are doing image-level backups everynight, you’ll have substantial duplicationin your nightly backup data. A dedupli-cation technology vastly reduces the sizeof data on backup tapes. Additionally,some deduplication appliances providedata replication for disaster recoverypurposes.

DISASTER RECOVERY

You can now purchase a better tech-nology than one that just backs up andrestores from tape. Because of how virtu-alization works, it facilitates disasterrecovery. If you can get an image of avirtual guest to your DR site, you canstart that virtual guest OS on any VM-ware ESX server, despite the hardwaredifferences. The following new DR tech-nologies replicate the VMware virtualmachine images to the DR site, but theydo so intelligently—that is, with knowl-edge of how VMware works:

Vizioncore’s vReplicatormoves entireimages of virtual guest machines. It canmove some or all guests to a single DRhost. For physical machines that aren’tyet virtualized, if you use Vizioncore’svRanger, you should look at the Vizion-core P2V DR module.

Like vReplicator, Double-Take Software

moves virtual guest machines to a DRVMware ESX server.

PlateSpin Ltd.’s Forge replication appli-ance works on each side of your produc-tion and DR site to replicate yourVMware guest machines.

VMware Site Recovery Manager automatesthe recovery of a virtual data center aftera disaster. But it’s missing the data syn-chronization piece. Site Recovery Man-ager relies on your storage area network(SAN) hardware to sync the data withsome kind of replication technology.

VIRTUALIZATION AND STORAGE

When you virtualize physical servers,why not also virtualize storage? Virtual-izing storage means that your physicaland virtual servers are not tied directlyto any storage system. With DataCore’sSANmelody and SANsymphony, storagecan be located on any type of disk sys-tem and can be moved dynamicallywithout alerting servers. These solutionscan even assist in replicating data acrossa WAN to another DataCore system fordisaster recovery.Virtualizing storage is just one option

for a VMware environment. Just as criti-cal as servers are to enterprise virtual-ization infrastructure is your storagesystem. VMware needs either an iSCSIor Fibre Channel (FC) SAN. A SAN ismade up of the storage controller, theswitch, and an adapter in the server.Most ESX Server Enterprise featuresrequire a SAN to function.While Fibre Channel SAN solutions

are available from many companies,

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(Continued on page 10)

WHEN IWORK with clients, this is howI map the VMware ecosystem with ITInfrastructure Library service andsupport categories.

SERVICE SUPPORT

1. Configuration management. For configu-ration management, you need VMwareVirtualCenter. But consider adding sev-eral tools to VC. PlateSpin’s PowerReconperforms virtual server analysis anddetailed reporting but also controls vir-tual sprawl and performs chargeback.Because PowerRecon performs charge-back, I would also place it in the ITfinancial management category. For asmall and simple virtualization infra-structure reporting technology, considerVeeam Reporter.2. Incident management. You will cer-

tainly use VMware Distributed ResourceScheduler (DRS) and VMware HighAvailability (HA) to prevent or resolveincidents. One trick with incident man-agement is to get your current incidentmanagement system and VMware Infra-structure to communicate and work to-gether. You could, for example, config-ure VirtualCenter alarms to send SimpleNetwork Management Protocol trapsto your network management station,then notify you via email or textmessage.3. Problemmanagement. Since problem

management identifies root cause andsolves related incidents, I believe thatITIL problemmanagement is mostrelated to a longer-term capacity planningtechnology like Vizioncore’s vCharter.4. Service and help desk. You don’t need

specific technologies with VMwareInfrastructure.

5. Release management. VMware’s newStaging Manager enables you to controlthe release and staging of virtual guestoperating systems. Additionally, withVMware 3.5, you can use the new UpdateManager feature to control updates andpatches to the VMware Infrastructureand to guest OSes.

SERVICE DELIVERY

1. Service-level and capacity management.To manage the capacity of your virtualinfrastructure and to determine whetherthat infrastructure meets service-levelagreements, I recommend vCharter, Nim-BUS server monitoring, PowerRecon andVKernel Capacity Bottleneck Analyzer.2. Continuity management.Here are

some recommendations for disasterrecovery planning, backup and recoveryapplications, and replication tools:

�DR planning. VMware’s Site RecoveryManager, which will be available later in2008, falls into this category.

�Backup/recovery.Other than VCB,you need tools that provide a graphicaluser interface and differential backups,such as Vizioncore’s vRanger, esXpressand Veeam Backup.

�Replication. vReplicator, DoubleTakeand Veeam Backup fall into this category.3. Availability management. Part of

ITIL’s availability management categoryis resilience. For VMware Infrastructureresilience, the current best tools areVMware HA and DRS.4. IT financial management.Any tool

that performs chargeback is sufficient toconnect VMware Infrastructure to finan-cials, such as vCharter, PowerRecon andVKernel Chargeback Virtual Appliance.

—D.D.

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ITIL and the VMwareUniverse

most are bought from either EMC(which owns a large share of VMwaretoday), Dell (which resells EMC), HP,IBM, and NetApp (which also sellsmany software solutions that are com-patible with VMware Infrastructure).Again, these aren’t the only sources.

Any SAN hardware that is listed onthe VMware Hardware CompatibilityList (HCL) technical resources pagewill work with ESX Server.An alternative to an FC SAN is an

iSCSI SAN, which has become faster,more reliable and more popular. TheVMware HCL lists numerous iSCSISAN technologies. For a free, opensource iSCSI SAN software technology,consider OpenFiler, which uses a modi-fied version of Linux and can even runinside a virtual machine for testing.

VI CLIENT PLUG-INS

With ESX Server 3.5 and VirtualCenter2.5, you can add plug-ins to your VIClient to aid in the management of yourVMware ESX servers. SearchVMware.com contributor Andrew Kutz (whosearticle appears on page 15) has writtensome useful plug-ins. Here are myfavorites:

Secure Shell (SSH) Console Accessallows you access to your ESX 3.5servers via SSH, within the VI Client,without having to open another SSHClient.

Storage VMotion allows you to performStorage VMotion from a GUI client,instead of from the VMware remotecommand-line interface (RCLI).

Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) allowsyou to create an RDP connection toyour ESX Server without leaving theVI Client.

VIRTUALIZATION SECURITY

Just this year, virtual machine securitybecame an increasing concern, espe-cially since a flaw in VMware’s virtual-ization software was revealed in Febru-ary 2008. The code exploit potentiallyallows hackers to gain access to VM-ware’s file-sharing feature. To combatthis vulnerability, VMware recentlyannounced VMsafe. For more, see“VMware Says It Can EliminateMalware with VMsafe.”And numerous third-party products

have also emerged to address the grow-ing concerns about virtual machinesecurity. Products such as VirtualShieldand Virtual Security Analyzer offeradditional options.At the same time, hundreds of thou-

sands of users run mission-critical appli-cations in virtual environments with noreported security problems. So expertsrecommend that you approach thesetools with healthy skepticism.

VIRTUALIZATION PERFORMANCE

MANAGEMENT AND CAPACITY

PLANNING

VI Client/VirtualCenter have a per-formance-monitoring utility, but forlong-term performance reporting,capacity planning and chargeback forvirtualization resources, consider theapplications shown in “VirtualizationApplications for Long-Term Planning”on page 12.

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(Continued from page 8)

COUNT ONYOUR DATA

TO BE THERE

Continuous access to your data and applications shouldbe a given. The Dell EqualLogic™ PS Series is designedto deliver enterprise-class, total system reliability.

YOUR CHOICE IS SIMPLE

With a fully-redundant system architecture, automatedload balancing, and routine self-monitoring and self-management, the PS Series of intelligent, all-inclusiveiSCSI SAN solutions offers online serviceability to helpprovide uninterrupted access to your data. And, shoulddisaster strike, you can count on the PS Series auto-snapshot and auto-replication capabilities to enablerapid restore. Find out what reliable storage from Dellcan mean for your business.

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BECAUSE YOUR iSCSI SAN IS SUPPOSE TO BE RELIABLE

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8-5x11_DellEQL_Reliable_rd1_Red:Layout 1 5/1/2008 4:06 PM Page 1

VIRTUALIZATION

INFRASTRUCTURE REPORTING

Certainly VirtualCenter has somereporting capabilities, but in some casesit just isn’t enough. Here are two virtual-ization reporting tools to consider:

PlateSpin Ltd.’s PowerRecon offers so manyreporting capabilities, it’s difficult to listthem all. PowerRecon reports and ana-lyzes not only server consolidationefforts and asset management but alsopower consumption. PowerRecon alsodoes chargeback, so it fits into the capac-ity planning and financial category.

Veeam Ltd.’s Veeam Reporter is a reason-

ably priced virtualization reporting tool.It analyzes your virtual servers and stor-age, and then it can export the data toWord, Excel or Visio.

P2V AND V2V CONVERSION

Consolidating servers is what virtualiza-tion does best. You will likely need aphysical-to-virtual and virtual-to-virtualconsolidation tool. For P2V and V2Vconversions, here are the “standards” interms of technologies:

PlateSpin PowerConvert is one of the mostmature P2V and V2V products, and it’shelpful for more than just conversions.

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VIRTUALIZATION APPS FOR LONG-TERM PLANNING

APPLICATION FUNCTIONALITY

vCharter Provides long-term virtual infrastructure performance reporting(Vizioncore)

Chargeback Runs as an ESX Server guest OS and tracks who uses whichAppliance virtual resources. Those reports can then be used to charge back(VKernel) a company’s users or departments.

Capacity Bottle- Quickly identifies resource bottlenecks and tells you where toneck Analyzer increase or re-allocate resources(VKernel)

Monitor Is a cost-effective technology for long-term capacity planning(Veeam) of virtualization environments

Capacity AWeb-based and agent-free performance monitoring that helps youPlanner view server capacity and plan for the long term. It is sold through(VMware) VMware partners, and no immediate download or trial is available.

NimBUS Monitors server IT virtual infrastructure for service-level agree-(Nimsoft) ments compliance and attempts to remedy any resource issues

before these issues cause a problem for end users

It can also do virtualization workloadmanagement.

Vizioncore vConverter performs P2V andV2V conversions at speeds that Vizion-core claims are faster than those for anyother product.

VMware Converter is what most use forP2V and V2V conversions. The Standardversion is free, and the Enterprise ver-sion is available when you purchaseVMware Infrastructure Enterprise.

THE BIG PICTURE: A SAMPLE VMWARE

INFRASTRUCTURE ENVIRONMENT

Now I’d like to demonstrate what aVMware Infrastructure environmentmight look like and how that environ-ment mixes VMware technologies andthird-party solutions (see Figure 1,“Suggested Technologies for VirtualizedData Centers,” below).In the graphic, VMware Infrastruc-

ture appears in the center. This productsuite offers ESX Server, VMFS, VMwareHA, DRS, VCB, and VirtualCenter. In

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VMware VMmark

VMware ConsolidatedBackup plus vRangerPro, esXpress, orVeeam Backup

Veeam Backup, vReplicator,Double-Take and/orSite Recovery Manager

VMwareVirtual DesktopManager,Leostream,Citrix,

XenDesktop,or ProvisionVirtual Access

Suite

VMware HighAvailability

VMware DistributedResource Scheduler

(DRS)

VMwareCapacityPlanner

VMwareVirtualCenter plusPowerRecon orVeeam Reporter

FIGURE 1: SUGGESTED TECHNOLOGIES FOR VIRTUALIZED DATA CENTERS

Replicationand disasterrecovery

Backup/recovery

VDIconnectionbroker

Highavailability

Bench-marking

Loadbalancing

Capacityplanning

Configurationmanagement

VMwareInfrastructureand VMwareESX Server

� VMWARE TECHNOLOGIES � THIRD-PARTY TECHNOLOGIES

addition, we have other VMware tech-nologies, such as VMware Virtual Desk-top Manager, VMmark and CapacityPlanner. Then we have third-party solu-tions that many data centers need tocomplement VMware’s technologies.Examples of these technologies arePowerRecon, vReplicator, esXpressand XenDesktop.Of course, your needs will vary

based on your company’s needs. Youmay need many of these tools, or youmay not even need VMware Infrastruc-ture Enterprise but a VMware starterkit instead.

THE MOST IMPORTANT

VMWARE TOOLS

With so many pieces that make up theVMware ecosystem, some readers willsay, “I can’t afford to buy every tool, andI can’t use every piece of the VMwareecosystem. So which parts of the ecosys-tem are essential?” The correct answeris always “It depends on your needs.”You don’t need all these pieces to createa successful and efficient VMware ESXServer implementation.Still, what if you had to choose just

a few tools? See my list of the 10 must-have virtualization tools at right.In the past, a complete enterprise

VMware solution comprised more thana single VMware product. It takes serverhardware, SAN hardware and a varietyof third-party software to create the idealVMware virtualization infrastructuresolution. In this article, we covered thegamut of the VMware universe and hopeto have saved you the trouble of investi-gating every VMware technology in theecosystem. �

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The Top 10Must-HaveVirtualization Tools

1 Use VMware InfrastructureEnterprise for each server.

2 Check the VMware HCL technicalresources page to ensure that youhave appropriate server hardware(i.e., lots of CPU cores and RAM).

3 You need either iSCSI or FibreChannel SAN hardware.

4 Even if you use iSCSI OpenFilerjust for testing, it is an excellentSAN option.

5 For backup technology, you haveseveral options, but I choose eithervRanger or esXpress.

6 For long-term trending, you needperformance monitoring tools toevaluate your VMware server farm.

7 You need a physical-to-virtualconverter, even if it’s just the freeVMware Converter.

8 You need plug-ins, such as SecureShell, SVMotion and Remote Desk-top Protocol.

9 You need staff training sources,such as VMware’s in-house courseand video training.

0 For the future, explore virtualdesktop infrastructure and disasterrecovery/replication solutions.

WITH desktop virtual-ization, managingdesktops from afar hasbecome a reality. Buthow can you intelligentlysift through the myriadoptions and choosethe right technology?You need to determineyour shop’s priorities.

ODAY deployed desktop systems havesprawled to an unmanageable num-ber. For at least a decade, IT man-agers in corporate environmentshave managed an ever-increasingnumber of desktops. And for about

that long, some vendors have offeredpoint solutions that are mere Band-Aidsand have addressed only part of theproblem. Now widespread server consol-idation projects—many of which arebased on virtualization—have naturallyled to a desire to corral desktop sprawltoo. And as vendors have responded tothat desire, IT managers must siftthrough a fleet of desktop delivery andmanagement products to decide whichhave promise and which are lemons.IT administrators have trouble man-

aging distributed desktops for a simplereason: There’s no one tool or suite thatallows them to administer desktops froma distance. This is where desktop deliv-ery comes in. And this is where desktopdelivery systems have the opportunityto become the tool by which administra-tors deploy desktops and manage users,operating systems and applications.Even if a desktop delivery system

doesn’t include all these tools, it shouldintegrate with systems that do to provide

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Virtual DesktopDeliveryandManagement OptionsBy Schley Andrew Kutz

T

a single point of interface. The No. 1 wayto reduce complexity in data centers oron the desktop is to reduce the numberof management interfaces with which anadministrator must contend. Moreover,that management has to be reducedintelligently. The interface should notbe so Spartan that nothing useful is left.Nor should an interface look like it wasdesigned by committee.I would suggest that we stop referring

to “desktop delivery systems” as suchand instead just call them “desktop man-agement platforms.” Indeed, that’s whatwe are really talking about. From deliv-ering desktop applications to the appro-priate users to ensuring desktop security,all the way to ensuring that MicrosoftOffice has the latest patches installed,it’s all about management.

CATEGORIZING DESKTOP

MANAGEMENT PLATFORMS

So let’s look at the current crop of plat-forms with which you can manage desk-tops. Luckily, some companies offerproducts that are true first-generationdesktop management platforms. Unfor-tunately, other products masquerade asdesktop management platforms but lackcrucial components.

Shared desktop systems. Harking back tothe Unix era, a shared desktop system isthe oldest kind of desktop managementsystem. A modern example of such asystem is Microsoft Windows TerminalServices, where a single system providesconcurrent system and applicationaccess to multiple users.

Application delivery servers. Application

delivery servers are remote serversthat stream applications to a client viastreaming technology or some otherapplication distribution mechanism.Citrix Systems Inc.’s XenApp andMicrosoft’s SoftGrid are both examplesof application delivery servers.

Remote virtual desktops. Virtual desk-tops are similar to desktop blades andshared desktop systems. They give usersaccess to a fully functional desktop envi-ronment like a desktop blade; but thedesktop resides in a virtual machine(VM), not on remote physical hardware.A good example of this is VMwareInc.’s Virtual Desktop Infrastructure(VDI).

Local virtual desktops. This is a fancyphrase to describe the oldest x86 virtual-ization technology available: hosteddesktop virtualization. The twist is thatthe desktop virtualization software mustinclude the ability for a central authorityto manage it.

Connection brokers and managers. Soft-ware packages that sit between an enduser and a remote desktop managementsystem are called “connection brokers.”When a user connects to a Web pagein order to select a remote desktop, hemakes use of the connection broker ormanager. Two examples are Leostream’sHosted Desktop Connection Brokerand ClearCube Technology Inc.’sSentral.In addition to these software-only

approaches, any discussion of desktopvirtualization technologies warrantsconsideration of the following two kindsof devices:

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Desktop blades. These specialized serverblades deliver remote desktops to users.Such systems are commonly availablefrom major independent hardware ven-dors, such as Hewlett-Packard Co. andIBM Corp., and from smaller companiesthat focus on desktop management sys-tems, such as ClearCube (for more, seesidebar “Hardware and Startup SoftwareVendors” below).

Thin clients.A thin client is essentiallya computer that is stripped down tonothing more than a network interfacewith a keyboard, video, mouse outputand, in some cases, enough onboardRAM to offer significant caching. Itssole purpose is to deliver a desktop froma central location to a user in a remoteoffice.

DESKTOP MANAGEMENT

PRODUCT ROUNDUP

There are some well-established prod-ucts and a growing number of new desk-top management products. They comefrom the categories listed previously andhave a range of features, security andmanagement options as well as maturityand a breadth of functionality.

Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop. CitrixSystems is the elder statesman of theUnited Nations of Desktop ManagementSuites. In 2005 the company began thegame with WinFrame and is still a majorplayer with its recently renamed Xen-App product. The following Citrixproducts fit into these categories:

� XenApp for application servers

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7 Hardware andStartup Software VendorsMANY SYSTEMS VENDORS—most notably IBM Corp. andWyse Technology Inc.—offerthin clients and desktop blades and couple some management software with them.Smaller players and startups also offer blades or thin clients paired with connection

managers. In this category, there are some good offerings:

qVerari Systems Inc.’sWS1160 desktop blades, Connexxus thin clients, andConnexxus broker connection manager offer a total hardware solution that’senticing when coupled with a management and platform software from Citrix orVMware.

qDevon IT is a relatively new company. The Devon IT TC10 desktop access deviceis a slick little box with solid performance features and multimedia support. TheTC10 connects to the IBM HC10 desktop blades via the Devon Connection Manager.Devon IT’s drawback is that its portfolio consists of a single device that relies onanother company’s desktop blades. —S.A.K

� XenDesktop for virtual desktops andconnection managers

Citrix’s products have evolved to tar-get mostly application servers. Evenwith its recent acquisition of XenSource,Citrix’s homepage still lists XenAppapplication server above Citrix’s virtualdesktop solution, XenDesktop. This is asmart move, because XenApp is a fullymanaged, end-to-end application deliv-ery system.The killer combination is to use

XenApp in conjunction with XenDesk-top and to combine application stream-

ing with virtualization to reduce thenumber of servers in a data center aswell as desktops in offices. In providingboth XenApp and XenDesktop in combi-nation with XenServer, Citrix has cre-ated a virtualization ecosystem that islarge and diverse enough to offer analternative to Microsoft and VMware.As far as security concerns, Citrix

XenApp offers fine-grained control overthe applications and data to which a userhas access but doesn’t have full desktopmanagement capabilities. XenDesktoprelies on the security of the remoting

protocols of the guest OSes, such as theopen source Virtual Network Computingor Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Protocol(RDP). Citrix’s own Independent Com-puting Architecture protocol is obviouslystill used for XenApp.Management-wise, XenApp is a fully

mature product that offers in-depthapplication management and is thepremier technology when it comes toapplication streaming management.XenDesktop offers centralized monitor-ing and control of deployed desktopappliances.If you can afford a premium-priced

application streaming product, Citrixcould be your solution. In spite of sub-stantial competition, Citrix has main-tained a leadership position for a reason:It is proven, reliable and well under-stood. XenApp is a strong product.Additionally, XenDesktop is a stellarpackaged solution for virtual desktopmanagement.

Microsoft SoftGrid andWindowsTerminal Server.Microsoft hasn’t strivedto make desktop delivery an area offocus or competition. Its two main prod-ucts and categories are the following:

� SoftGrid for application servers� Windows Terminal Server for shareddesktop systems

Windows Terminal Server has beenaround for a while, but the features of itsearlier incarnation didn’t stack up towhat was then known as Citrix Presenta-tion Server. On deck since 2004, Win-dows Server 2008 Terminal Server hasmore advanced new features. In 2006,Microsoft’s acquisition of Softricity—

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The killer combinationis to use XenApp inconjunction with Xen-Desktop and to combineapplication streamingwith virtualization toreduce the number ofservers and desktops.

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now SoftGrid—added application deliv-ery, a must-have in anticipation of theHyper-V hypervisor, which is due forrelease in August 2008.As far as security, Microsoft has a poor

track record. If its early attempts at afirewall are any indication, there isample question whether Microsoft canbe trusted to secure the security holes itleaves open. On the other hand, version6 of RDP supports Secure Sockets Layer(SSL), and SoftGrid allows you to defineaccess restrictions, promising a new erain Microsoft security standards.In management, Microsoft has some

excellent products, particularly ActiveDirectory’s Group Policy and SystemCenter. I love Macs. I love Linux. Butif I have to roll out a thousand desktopsand centrally manage them, I don’t wantto run anything other than Windows.Simply put, combine Active Directory

with System Center—which replacesWindows Server Update Services in thenew release—and Systems ManagementServer, and you’ll get fine-grained con-trol over desktops. But there’s a hitch,of course. This package of technologiesand management tools works only witha Windows-based desktop.If one way to reduce complexity is to

reduce vendors, then why not chooseMicrosoft, which seems to deliver allyou need? After all, Microsoft now hasthe Hyper-V virtualization technologyfor hosting virtual desktops, the SoftGridapplication streaming technology andmanagement tools like System Center.But Microsoft’s suite of products does

not fill every niche, and sometimes youneed an alternative that can manage het-erogeneous environments with non-Microsoft desktops.

The bottom line: If you can live withthe straight-and-narrow feature set thatMicrosoft provides, you’ll get great desk-top delivery and application streamingproducts. But if you need capabilitiesthat you can get only in another productsuite, keep looking.

VMware VDI and ACE.When it comes tox86 desktop and server virtualization,VMware is the market leader, so it is nosurprise that it has tried to coordinatethe two in a harmonious fashion.VMware’s desktop management prod-ucts are the following:

� Virtual Desktop Infrastructure forvirtual desktops and connectionmanagers

� Assured Computing Environment(ACE) for locally managed virtualdesktops

VMware’s virtual desktop capabilitiesmore than make up for a lack of produc-tion-level application streaming. In addi-tion, its Thinstall acquisition has alreadydelivered a beta product. Unlike CitrixXenServer, which has the ability to hostvirtual desktop OSes, VDI provides abroker interface for virtual desktops,enabling users to choose the desktopthat fits their needs when they need it.VMware ACE also offers a way to dis-tribute pre-packaged virtual machines(VMs) to a user’s laptop or desktopwhen a user may not have network con-nectivity.As for security, ACE allows tight con-

trol over distributed VMs, making it agood choice for administrators whowant to give executives’ VMs to accesssensitive data in remote locations. ACE

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even encrypts deployed VMs with Fed-eral Information Processing Standard-compliant encryption, an important fea-ture for organizations such as hospitals,insurance companies and other busi-nesses that maintain sensitive informa-

tion. VDI’s security relies largely on theprotocols used to access the VMs it hostsas well as the security of the desktopOSes it hosts, although VMware made astep in the right direction with inclusionof RSA Security Inc.’s SecurID supportin the latest release of Virtual DesktopManager (VDM).ACE’s management features allow

administrators to fine-tune VMs priorto distribution. VDI admins can choosethe VMs to which a user will have accessbased on group affiliation. VMwarerecently released VDM 2, whichincludes enhanced management capabil-ities and integration with MicrosoftActive Directory.In an age of diversity, VMware is

a purist. Unlike OS vendors such asMicrosoft or Sun Microsystems Inc.,VMware focuses on one thing—virtual-ization—and does so very well, includ-ing the distribution and managementof virtualized desktops. But right now,VMware does not yet offer a production-

level application streaming product.In my view, however, if you can affordVMware, use it. It has a lot of polish.

Sun Ray, Secure Global Desktop, VDI Soft-ware. Sun Microsystems is the only com-pany of which I am aware that offers atotal desktop delivery and managementpackage that includes thin clients, con-nection managers and virtual desktops.Here are Sun’s key products:

� Sun Secure Global Desktop Softwarefor connection managers

� Sun Ray 2, Sun Ray 2FS, Sun Ray270, Sun Ray Software for thinclients

� Virtual desktops: Sun VDI Software

Sun’s Sun Ray thin clients have a sleekappearance and fast connectivity. TheSun Ray 2 and Sun Ray 2FS are greatbook-end products for companies withan existing investment in monitors.Sun Ray 2FS includes support for smartcards and fiber-optic network cabling toenhance security by reducing magnetictransmissions. Sun Ray 270 fits busi-nesses just beginning a foray into desk-top deployment, offering an all-in-onetechnology similar to Apple’s iMac.Sun’s Secure Global Desktop Software

is the second tier in Sun’s three-tierdesktop management solution, sittingbetween clients and servers in data cen-ters. Sun’s VDI software enables admin-istrators to deploy a connection managerthat not only supports Sun’s own xVMvirtualization technology but also actsas a broker for VMware VDI as well.For security, Sun supports RSA

SecurID and integrates with MicrosoftActive Directory and other Lightweight

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In an age of diversity,VMware is a purist.Unlike other OS vendors,VMware focuses on onething—virtualization—and does so very well.

Access Directory Protocol (LDAP)servers for authentication. Sun saysthat its support of fiber-optic networkcabling improves security, but does itmatter? Most shops have made a heavyinvestment in Ethernet networking tech-nology. For them, running fiber to desk-tops would be expensive. And to realizefiber’s security benefit requires replacingexisting Ethernet, at least in publiclyaccessible areas. Besides, at this pointI’d be more concerned about the securityof wireless LANs.Sun Secure Global Desktop Software

centralizes desktop management bymoving OSes off the desktop and intodata centers. With Sun Ray Software,it’s possible to deploy and manage thou-sands of Sun Ray clients with only afew administrators. It’s slick.If I had to build a desktop manage-

ment solution from the ground up,you might find me giving Sun a call.

ClearCube Sentral VDI ManagementSystem.ClearCube focuses on virtualdesktops and offers desktop manage-ment software in this category:

� Sentral VDI Management Systemfor connection managers

ClearCube’s Sentral VDI Managementsystem does it all. Sentral managesblades and user ports—or thin clients—as well as integrates with existing VDIsolutions from VMware and others.ClearCube’s thin clients and desktop

(PC) blades are innovative. Referred toas “user ports,” these devices are treatedas ports to desktops in data centers.These user ports range from the simpleI/Port, which provides basic connectivity

to the Digital Fiber C/Port that isdesigned to reduce magnetic transmis-sions in data centers. ClearCube desktopblades are called PC blades and, like theirmatching user ports, also range in func-tionality, from the R1300 to the A1410.The combination of desktop hardware

and Sentral presents a complete productsuite, and ClearCube’s biggest challengeis Sun, which offers equivalent hardwareand software and a virtualization solu-tion as well.

HP Systems Insight Manager and Open-View.HP’s desktop blades, combinedwith its management software suites—Systems Insight Manager and Open-View—are a good option for minimizingdesktop sprawl. Systems Insight Man-ager and OpenView are multifeaturedsuites and don’t fit my basic categories.On the hardware side, HP desktop

blades are standard blades but includeHP’s Remote Graphics Software toenhance the graphical experience ofremote clients. HP entered the thin-client business by acquiring NeowareInc., which was a good move. The HPNeoware thin clients are one of thefew thin clients to include wirelesscapabilities.Coupled with HP’s legendary hard-

ware management software, HP has astrong offering for a company investingin thin clients in conjunction with desk-top blades.

Pano Desktop Service andManagementServer.Hands down, Pano Logic Inc.makes the sexiest desktop device on theplanet. The Pano device is elegant, andits supporting management products dotheir jobs well. Its technologies are the

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following:

� Pano Desktop Servicefor virtual desktops

� Pano Management Serverfor connection managers

Pano Logic’s architecture includesPano Desktop Service, Pano Device andPano Management Server. The desktopservice and management server and typ-ical middleware connection managerapplications cover the functionalitybases. The true draw is the Pano Device,a thin client that consumes only 5 wattsof power and enables a user with a desk-top problem simply to hit the single but-ton vice and roll back the desktop to anearlier version.For security, Pano transmits data using

the 128-bit Advanced Encryption Stan-dard, and local storage can be disabledto prevent users from copying data toUSB keys.The Pano Management Server enables

administration of security and accesscontrol, including use of USB ports.With it, IT managers can configurevirtual machines for user groups or indi-viduals; roll out updates, upgrades andpatches seamlessly; and perform back-ups of all PCs on their own schedule.The Pano Device is innovative,

reliable and ranks high on my chart.If you are going to use thin clients,Pano Logic’s device is just genius. If youwant a more trusted and proven name,check out Wyse Technology Inc.’s thinclients.

Leostream Hosted Desktop ConnectionBroker. The company best known for itsphysical-to-virtual (P2V) migration

products has branched out. Leostreamnow offers a connection broker for proxyaccess to data center desktop solutions.Its connection broker is the following:

� Leostream Hosted DesktopConnection (HDC) Broker

Leostream’s HDC Broker providesmanaged access to hosted desktops.It allows access via the Web, clients fatand thin, and even allows users to beassigned to virtual or physical desktops.HDC has some nice enterprise features,including global DNS integration andclustering, making it one of the mostsolid connection brokers.HDC security comes in hardware-

based SSL virtual private network(VPN) support by integrating withCisco, F5 and Juniper SSL VPNs. HDCalso enables external authenticationvia Microsoft Active Directory, NovellInc’s eDirectory and other OpenLDAPservers.HDC allows for central management

of clients via dynamic and policy-basedconfigurations but does not allow formanagement of guest OSes.HDC is a great connection broker for

businesses that don’t already have sometype of partnership with an OS vendoror virtualization solution. Then again,most major original software vendorsand virtualization providers offer con-nection managers for their products,which marginalizes companies likeLeostream. If you build infrastructurepiece by piece with best-of-breed prod-ucts, then HDC is a good choice. Butmost administrators will trade the extra5% in performance and features for acompletely integrated solution.

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Provision Networks Virtual Access Suitefor Desktops. Provision Networks Inc.also provides a connection managerfor VMware’s VDI. Provision Networksoffers the following feature-rich desktopmanagement technology:

� VAS, Desktop Services Edition(DSE) for connection managers

VAS DSE is one of the best connectionmanagers on the market. In addition toproviding access to VMware’s VMs, itsupports physical machine access. A fea-ture of DSE is that it automatically dis-covers desktops and VMs to manage byenumerating the objects in Microsoft’sActive Directory and VMware’s Virtual-Center.In security, DSE supports RDP over

SSL as well as pass-through Kerberosauthentication and smart-card logons.Another cool management feature is

the ability to create VM pools so thatvirtual desktops are pre-created andready to use.The VAS Desktop Suite Edition is a

single-purpose connection manager.And much like Leostream’s Hosted Desk-top Connection Broker, it does its jobwell. But much more feature-rich, all-in-one solutions are available in lieuof a single-purpose app.

Qumranet Virtual Desktop Server andVirtual Desktop Controller.Qumranet isan Israel-based company charged withmanaging the development of the Linuxkernel-based virtual machine, and it hasdeveloped a full virtual desktop manage-ment suite. Qumranet’s core product,Solid ICE, is a fully integrated desktopvirtualization product. Its desktop man-

agement tools include the following:

� Virtual Desktop Server (VDS)for virtual desktops

� Virtual Desktop Controller (VDC)for connection managers

The most interesting thing aboutSolid ICE is neither VDS nor VDC.Qumranet’s claim to fame is its SimpleProtocol for Independent ComputingEnvironments, or SPICE, which allowsvirtual desktops to stream rich, multi-media content over a LAN link toremote clients.Solid ICE is an interesting product,

but it’s also quite new and I haven’treviewed it yet. Virtualization evangelistAlessandro Perilli has said that, withKVM, Qumranet could pose strong costcompetition to VMware’s and Micro-soft’s virtual desktop technologies.

AppStream.AppStream is one of the fewremaining application-streaming tech-nologies that hasn’t been purchased bya major virtualization or OS vendor andoffers the following technology:

� AppStream application deliveryserver

The latest version of AppStream ispretty nice. It includes support for Vista,LDAP integration, a Firefox plug-in, andeven the ability to email users when alicense limit has been reached.Like standalone connection manager

programs, AppStream is a standaloneapplication delivery server and, as such,encounters stiff competition from majorOS and virtualization vendors that offerapplication servers. Although Appstream

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has nice features, the product isn’tcompelling enough to stand out fromthe competition.

THE RIGHT DESKTOP

DELIVERY SOLUTION?

When VMware announced VDI, therewas confusion was about why virtualdesktops are so special. The questionthat I heard most was “How is this dif-ferent from terminal services or thinclients?” The answer is that VDI was justone more way to accomplish the task ofdelivering desktops to users in a man-aged fashion. All product reviews, ofcourse, have their pros and cons, so ulti-mately you have to choose technologiesbased on what’s right for your situation.Barb Goldworm of Focus Consultingechoes this notion:“The key to success will be to under-

stand all of the user requirements anduse cases, determine which technologybest fits each need, and then evaluatethe available solutions in that area to seewhich product best fits your particularenvironment and needs.”Still, with the caveat that your particu-

lar situation may dictate a certain set oftechnologies, here are my recommenda-tions for each of the major technologyoptions:

Desktop blades.HP and ClearCube offeran equally diverse number of desktopblades, but I select HP as the top pickbecause it can integrate its blades withan already vast product base, such as HPSystems Insight Manager.

Thin clients. If you are going to use thinclients, Pano Logic’s device is sheer

genius. If you want a more trusted andproven name, consider Wyse Technol-ogy’s thin clients.

Virtual desktop managers.Until VMwaregets its application streaming technologyup and running, Citrix offers the mostcomprehensive technology available.

Total solution. Sun is the only companythat provides the total package, fromhardware to software. If you’re partialto dealing with just one vendor, Sunsells thin clients, connection managersand a virtual desktop platform.

This article provides only a briefoverview of the remote desktop land-scape. Summarizing the entire scope ofthe field in a single article would be toassert that such a task is possible whenthere is clearly too much content to doall of it justice. For a complete guide todesktop management systems and appli-cation streaming packages, check outthe Focus Research Series “Desktopand Application Delivery Alternatives.”But if you’re ready to get started, the

most important step is to identify yourpriorities. Do you want a best-of-breedsolution? Do you want to minimize com-plexity by interacting with the leastnumber of vendors as possible? Is costyour central concern? Are you willing totake a chance on a new and unproventechnology for the sake of performance?You have to ask these questions to knowwhere to begin. Once you know the roadyou plan to take, this article can act as aseries of street signs to guide you onyour path. If you get lost on the way, youcan always contact me at [email protected]. And enjoy the trip. �

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

David Davis—aCertified Informa-tion Systems Secu-rity Professional,a VMware Certified

Professional and MicrosoftCertified Systems Engineer—hasworked in the IT industry for 15years. Currently, he manages agroup of systems and networkadministrators for a privatelyowned retail company. He haswritten hundreds of articlesand six video training courses,including the Train SignalVMware ESX Server videotraining series. His websitesare Happy Router.com andVMwareVideos.com.

Schley AndrewKutz has more than10 years of profes-sional experiencein computer systems

design, security, programming,implementation and manage-ment. Kutz is a site expert forSearchServerVirtualization.comand the author of Sudo for Win-dows. He is a Microsoft CertifiedSolutions Developer, a SANS/GIAC Gold Certified WindowsSecurity Administrator and aVMware Certified Professionalin VMware Infrastructure 3.

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