How Does VDI Work?
There are a few VDI vendors in the marketplace, but the following characteristics apply to most VDI deployments:
- Servers are segmented into virtual machines (VMs) with a hypervisor. A hypervisor is software that separates the operating system from the hardware. The hypervisor can create a virtualized environment and divide the hardware into multiple VMs.
- The virtual desktop environments live in these virtual machines
- Each of these virtual desktops runs an operating system image. Most of the time this is Windows, but it is possible to run other operating systems.
- The templates for these virtual desktops are stored as desktop images that administrators can use to provision new desktop instances.
- All VMs have their own IP address so that multiple instances can share the same server for efficiency
- A connection broker connects end users to the virtual desktop instances. It authenticates users and then routes them to their assigned device.
- End clients must maintain a consistent connection to save their changes. All changes happen on the server.
- Once they have logged in, the work experience for the end user is the same as they would experience on a physical desktop issued by the company
VDIs can be either persistent or nonpersistent:
- Servers are segmented into virtual machines (VMs) with a hypervisor. A hypervisor is software that separates the operating system from the hardware. The hypervisor can create a virtualized environment and divide the hardware into multiple VMs.
- Persistent VDI assigns a user a virtual desktop from the resource pool the first time they log in. The user can personalize the desktop, install software, make file changes, and do anything else they can on a normal desktop and these changes are saved. The next time the user logs in, they will be routed to the same desktop. The ability for workers to start where they left off is the advantage to persistent VDIs.
- Nonpersistent VDI assigns a user a generic desktop every time they log in. The user’s changes will only be available for that session, and once the user leaves, the VM will not be used again. Nonpersistent VDIs are usually used for task workers or employees that don't need a custom desktop.