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0
Server-hosted Virtual Desktops
Agenda
• Project background
• Evaluation criteria
• Product assessments
• Conclusion
1
Project Background
2
Server-hosted Virtual Desktops
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)
3
Evaluation Criteria
4
Server-hosted Virtual Desktops
• 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
5
Server-hosted Virtual Desktops
• 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
6
Product Assessments
7
XenDesktop 4 SP1 Platinum
XenDesktop 4 SP1 Platinum Scorecard
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Required
Preferred
Optional
8
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
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
9
Citrix XenDesktop 4 SP1 Platinum
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
10
Citrix XenDesktop 4 SP1 Platinum
Weaknesses
• No security hardening guidelines
• Deployment and management complexity
• Management console scalability: 5,000 desktops
• Config file and virtual desktop image integrity
checks
11
VMware View 4.5 Premier
View 4.5 Premier scorecard
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
Required
Preferred
Optional
12
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
VMware View 4.5 Premier
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
13
VMware View 4.5 Premier
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
14
VMware View 4.5 Premier
Weaknesses
• 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
15
Quest vWorkspace 7.1 Enterprise
Quest vWorkspace 7.1 Enterprise Edition Scorecard
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Required
Preferred
Optional
16
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Quest vWorkspace 7.1 Enterprise
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
17
Quest vWorkspace 7.1 Enterprise
Strengths
• Supports multiple virtualization back end platforms
• Ease-of-deployment
• Strong user experience feature set
• Diverse endpoint compatibility
18
Quest vWorkspace 7.1 Enterprise
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
19
Microsoft VDI Suite Premium
Microsoft VDI Suite Premium Scorecard
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Required
Preferred
Optional
20
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Microsoft VDI Suite Premium
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
21
Microsoft VDI Suite Premium
Strengths
• Rich Windows platform integration
• Management capabilities
• Value
• Strong supporting vendor ecosystem
22
Microsoft VDI Suite Premium
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
23
Comparison
Citrix XenDesktop 4 SP1
VMware View 4.5
Quest vWorkspace 7.1
Microsoft VDI Suite
0%
20%
40%
Required
Preferred
Optional
24
60%
80%
100%
Required Features
User Experience
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
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 thirdparty alternatives
such as rdesktop
are available.
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).
25
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.
Required Features
User Experience (continued)
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
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.
HDX Plug-n-Play
Multi-Monitor
Support detects end
point monitor
changes and
updates the virtual
desktop
configuration to
correspond.
Widespread support
for RDP is available
from many thinclient 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.
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.
Dynamically
adjusts for
changes in
endpoint
monitor
configuration
26
Required Features
User Experience (continued)
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
Offers a
universal
printer driver
Yes
Supported on
Windows clients
using RD Easy Print
only
Result of ThinPrint
OEM.
Dynamically
adjusts for
changes in
endpoint
printer
configuration
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.
Yes
Yes
Yes
27
Required Features
User Experience (continued)
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
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.
28
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.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
Provided via
PCoIP’s
“Progressive Build”
feature.
Required Features
User Experience (continued)
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
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).
29
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
RDP 5/6-based
Up to 1920x1200
connections support 32-bit color for four
up to 4 monitors
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. Multimonitor for Mac OS
X not supported.
Required Features
User Experience (continued)
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
Supports
common
universal serial
bus (USB)
devices
Supports USB mass
storage, human
interface devices
(HIDs), printers,
scanners, and
isochronous
devices.
Yes
Supports USB mass
storage, human
interface devices
(HIDs), printers,
scanners, and
isochronous
transfers.
Supports USB mass
storage, human
interface devices
(HIDs), printers,
scanners, and
isochronous
transfers.
Supports USB mass
storage, human
interface devices
(HIDs), printers,
scanners, and
isochronous
transfers.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Images are
managed using the
VMware View
Composer interface.
Supports
persistent
virtual
desktops
Supports
shared nonpersistent
virtual
desktops
30
Required Features
User Experience (continued)
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
Supports
playback of
multimedia
content
WMV, WMA, AC3,
MP3, MPG-1, MPG2, and MPG-4part2, 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, MPG2, and MPG-4part2, Adobe Flash,
QuickTime, and
Microsoft Silverlight
remoting are
supported.
31
WMV, WMA, AC3,
MP3, MPG-1, MPG2, and MPG-4 Part
2, Adobe Flash,
QuickTime, and
Microsoft Silverlight
remoting are
supported.
Required Features
User Experience (continued)
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
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)
Resource tuning for
all connection
protocols is
configurable in the
vdm_client.adm
Windows GPT.
PCoIP settings are
configurable in the
pcoip.adm GPT.
32
Supports policybased multi-level
audio and video
compression
setting, both bit-rate
and compression.
Required Features
Service Advertisement and Connection Brokerage
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Broker runs on
a mainstream
x86 server OS
Supports Windows
The Desktop
Server 2008 R2
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.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
33
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).
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
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 64bit) server OSs.
Required Features
Service Advertisement and Connection Brokerage
Feature
Citrix
Microsoft VDI Quest
XenDesktop 4 Suite Premium vWorkspace
SP1 Plat.
7.1 Ent.
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.
34
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 scaleout to 25,000 nodes in
a single farm.
VMware View
4.5 Premier
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.
Required Features
Service Advertisement and Connection Brokerage
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
Connects
users to
SHVDs and
PC blades
ICA/HDX and RDP
is supported for for
both VM and Blade
PC environments.
RDS connects users EOP and RDP are
to SHVDs and blade supported for both
PCs using RDP.
virtual machine
(VM) and blade PC
environments.
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.
35
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
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.
Web Access runs on Clients connect to
IIS 6.0 or later.
the web-based
Optimized to work
VMware View Portal
with IE 7+ running
to download, install,
ActiveX. Browsers
or update the View
without ActiveX will
software client.
function, but some
features will not be
available (e.g.,
Windows client
detection and autoinstall).
Required Features
Service Advertisement and Connection Brokerage
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
Supports a
standard
(industry or de
facto) remote
display
protocol
Enables
session
reconnection
from both
current or new
endpoints
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.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Inactive session
time-outs can be set
to shut down idle
desktops (default is
10 hours).
36
Required Features
Business Continuity
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
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.
View Administrator
uses LDAP
replication and
network load
balancing to provide
resiliency.
Scalability to five
replica servers is
supported. The
VMwarerecommended
deployment involves
running the View
Administrator server
in a virtual machine
(VM) to take
advantage of the
underlying virtual
infrastructure HA
capabilities.
37
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.
Required Features
Business Continuity (continued)
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
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
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.
38
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 timeout in the event of
connection-broker
failure.
Required Features
Network
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
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.
Cisco Systems,
Citrix Systems, and
F5 Networks ADCs
officially support
VMware.
39
No. ADCs will
interoperate with
vWorkspace, but
Quest does not
publish a list of
supported devices.
Required Features
Network (continued)
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
Supports
workplace
productivity
activities at
reasonable
bandwidth/late
ncy
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.
View 4.5 with PCoIP
supports typical
knowledge worker
tasks at less than
200 Kbps bandwidth
and latency up to
100 ms.
40
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.
Required Features
Network (continued)
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
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.
Granular traffic
(e.g., voice, file,
human interface
device, or print)
prioritization is
available via
PCoIP’s virtual
channels option.
41
Tuning of bandwidth
allocation (virtual
channel
prioritization)
between display
traffic and all other
traffic (e.g., print,
disk, clipboard, and
USB) is possible.
Required Features
Network (continued)
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
Integrates with
VPN
appliances
Citrix, F5, Juniper all
support or fully
integrate with
XenDesktop
Cisco and Juniper
appliances, among
others, are
supported.
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).
42
Juniper Secure
Access integration
is supported.
Other third-party
VPN appliances will
interoperate with
vWorkspace, but
Quest does not
publish a specific
list.
Quest provides
vWorkspace
Secure-IT SSL VPN
gateway.
Implemented using
the View
Administrator
“Security Server”
installation option.
Required Features
Storage
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
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 thirdparty solutions such
as Citrix Essentials
for Hyper-V.
43
Provides direct
support for vendor
storage array
provisioning
technologies such
as NetApp
FlexClone volumes
with Data ONTAP
7.3.1 or later.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
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 Features
Storage (continued)
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
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.
vSphere thinprovisioned virtual
disks and linked
cloning are
supported.
44
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.
Required Features
Back End Virtual Infrastructure
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
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.
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
The supported
VMware
Infrastructure (VI)
3.x and vSphere 4.x
hypervisors offer
memory
overcommit.
20:1
oversubscription is
supported.
The supported
VMware
Infrastructure (VI)
3.x and vSphere 4.x
hypervisors offer
memory
overcommit.
8:1 vCPU
VMware vSphere
oversubscription is
4.x hypervisor offers
supported. Microsoft 20:1
supports up to 512
oversubscription.
vCPUs per Hyper-V Microsoft Hyper-V
host and up to 64
offers 8:1
logical processors
oversubscription.
(physical processors Oversubscription is
x cores x threads)
not applicable to
per host. Up to 384
Parallels Virtuozzo
VMs are supported
Containers.
per physical host.
45
Required Features
Management
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
Management
server runs on
a mainstream
x86 server OS
Supports Windows
Server 2003 SP 2
and Windows
Server 2003 R2
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 64bit) server OSs.
46
Supports Windows
Server 2003 SP 2
and Windows
Server 2003 R2 as
well as Windows
Server 2008 and
Windows Server
2008 R2.
Required Features
Management (continued)
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
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.
View 4.5 includes a
Microsoft SCOM
management pack,
Windows
PowerShell
commandlets, tools
to harvest the View
4.5 relational
database and export
to commaseparated values
(CSV)-formatted
files, and a new
application event
stream.
47
No. Support for
Microsoft Systems
Center Operations
Manager (SCOM)
2007 R2 is under
development.
Required Features
Management (continued)
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
Management
console
supports up to
5,000 virtual
desktops
Scalability to 5,000
is supported.
No. Microsoft
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.
recommends its
joint solution with
Citrix for scalability
beyond hundreds of
desktops.
48
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
Scalability to 5,000
is supported.
Scalability to 10,000
managed virtual
desktops is
supported.
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.
Required Features
Management (continued)
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
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.
View 4.5 Manager
offers a policy
engine in addition to
five Windows AD
GPTs.
49
vWorkspace makes
limited use of rulesbased 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).
Required Features
Management (continued)
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
Includes user,
virtual desktop,
and endpoint
search
capabilities
Supports
streamed and
locally installed
virtual
applications
Yes
Yes
Yes
View Administrator
includes a search
tool.
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 serverbased 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.
50
Required Features
Management (continued)
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
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 nonpersistent desktops
can be made using
Microsoft App-V.
Provided via
VMware Update
Manager.
51
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 nonpersistent desktops
can be made using
Microsoft App-V.
Required Features
Management (continued)
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
Command-line
interface and
scripting
support
Scripting is
supported through
the Citrix Desktop
Delivery Controller
PowerShell SDK.
Provided via
“Command Line
Tool for View
Manager.”
Solution
installation
does not
require vendor
professional
services
Yes
Comprehensive
No
scriptable interfaces
are documented in
the Remote Desktop
Services reference
and SCVMM
scripting guide.
Yes
Yes
52
Yes
Required Features
Security
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop 4
SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI
Suite
Premium
Quest
vWorkspace
7.1 Ent.
VMware View
4.5 Premier
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.
53
Required Features
Security (continued)
Feature
Citrix
Microsoft VDI Quest
XenDesktop 4 Suite Premium vWorkspace
SP1 Plat.
7.1 Ent.
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.
54
Supports customer
role creation with
granular control of
permissions on all
roles.
VMware View
4.5 Premier
Delegated
administration and
pre-defined roles
(e.g., administrator or
helpdesk) were added
in View 4.5.
Required Features
Security (continued)
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
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.
55
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
RDP and EOP client Via Hypertext
communication can Transfer Protocol
be secured using
Secure (HTTPS).
SSL or TLS
encryption.
Management traffic
between the data
collector and
connection broker
and among the data
collector,
administrative
console, and backend virtual
infrastructure can be
encrypted using
SSL.
Required Features
Security (continued)
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
Security
logging and
auditing of
administrative
actions
All configuration
changes are logged.
Feature added in
SP 1.
Supports
standard
remote access
authentication
protocols
Supports PAP,
CHAP, MS-CHAP
v1, and MSCHAP
v2 protocols.
System Center
Operations Manager
includes audit
collection services
to gather and report
on administrative
actions.
Kerberos-based
credential passthrough 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.
Event logging
capabilities were
updated in View 4.5
to provide an audit
trail for all
administrative
actions.
Delegated to AD,
RSA SecurID, smart
card (but not with
PCoIP on Windows
Vista or Windows
7), or Secure
Sockets Layer
(SSL) certificate.
56
No
Supports X.509
certification for
access via SecureIT along with SSL
and TLS for Web
Access. Kerberosbased credential
pass-through is
supported for AD
domain-joined
remote clients.
Required Features
Guest OS Support
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
Windows 7
(32-bit and 64bit) and
Windows XP
(32-bit) guest
Yes
Yes
Yes - Windows 7
(32-bit and 64-bit)
support was added
in View 4.5.
Yes
57
Required Features
Licensing
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Offers a choice
of the following
models:
 Concurrent
user
 Named
user
Concurrent
No. Microsoft VDI
Licensing offered
Suites are licensed
only with
per-device.
XenDesktop 4.0 VDI
Edition
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
58
Concurrent user
(i.e., number of
concurrent
connections) is the
default licensing
model. Named
users are counted
as concurrent users.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
Concurrent user is
the default licensing
model. Named
users (for
local virtual
desktops) are
counted as
concurrent users.
Required Features
Product Support
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
Three-year
minimum of
market
General support is
available for four
years from the
product release
date. Citrix recently
updated policy to
include all “nonsale” products (e.g.,
the ICA clients, Web
Interface and
Secure Gateway).
Satisfied by general
support. Citrix
provides a minimum
of 12 month’s notice
for “End of
Maintenance.”
Mainstream support
is available for five
years from the
product release
date.
No. General
General support is
available for three
years from the
product release
date.
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
One-year
minimum of
extended
support
59
support is available
for 12 months after
the product release
date.
VMware defines
extended support as
“technical
guidance,” which is
available for two
years following the
end of general
support.
Required Features
Product Support (continued)
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
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.”
Support lifecycle
dates are published
on the “VMware
Enterprise Desktop
Support” webpage.
60
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
Required Features
Third Party Vendor Support
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
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”.
As above.
See the Microsoft
Windows 7
Compatibility Center
site and Windows
Server Developer
Center for program
details.
No. A technology
See the VMware
site “VMware Ready
for Applications”
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.”
Certification
program for
thin client
vendors
61
partner alliance
program is under
development.
See the “VMware
Ready Hardware
Certification
Program.” Certified
vendors are listed in
the VMware
Compatibility Guide.
Required Features
Third Party Vendor Support (continued)
Feature
Citrix
XenDesktop
4 SP1 Plat.
Microsoft VDI Quest
Suite
vWorkspace
Premium
7.1 Ent.
VMware
View 4.5
Premier
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.
See the VMware
community “VMware
View (with View
Manager)” and the
“ThinApp
Community Portal.”
62
No. The Quest My
SupportLink site
(registration
required) is
available for support
of all Quest
products but does
not provide a
discussion forum.
Conclusion
63
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!
64
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
65