Easy to implement virtual desktop and apps, and easy to scale

Last year the virtualisation market arrived at a fundamental tipping point: more x86 servers are now virtualised than aren’t. 451 Research's TheInfoPro service discovered that average x86 server virtualisation levels have reached 51%, up 13% from the previous year.

Server virtualisation projects are still dominating IT activity, creating a spike in spending as organizations plan for the future, often laying down the foundation for a cloud-ready infrastructure. Leading analyst Ovum states that a key trend to watch this year will be “the complete virtualization of all layers in the data centre from the database, to the storage, out to the user, which will also drive the need for greater automation technologies and the associated orchestration layer. For enterprises, the trend will focus more on sustainable IT and in particular data centre infrastructure management (DCIM).”

With nearly six in 10 applications already virtualised, are the benefits of virtualisation reaching a plateau? Far from it, says Forrester: “While many enterprises have enjoyed significant cost savings from virtualization, too many have yet to leverage virtualization to significantly lower IT operations costs.” These costs include the time spent on capacity planning, problem remediation, performance optimisation, disaster recovery and data protection, and storage and network management.

An innovative concept that was developed in the swinging 60s to optimise mainframe computer resources, virtualisation is continuing to modernise and define not just data centres, but the whole computing world. With the widespread adoption of virtual server infrastructure and remote desktop protocols, modern data centre managers are required to understand and take the lead on virtualisation issues and challenges. They need to adapt to new roles and responsibilities, and there is a key requirement for good communications between IT and business leaders. Virtualisation brings challenges of its own, ensuring network management/utilisation, staying on top of security that becomes more complex in a virtualised environment, and understanding changes to business processes, asset management, capacity planning etc.

There’s a reason this disruptive technology has grown so fast in recent years - and is arguably reaching maturity – because it delivers tangible business benefits. Virtualisation is not just about keeping costs low (although that’s always the key question from the Board!), but it also improves service levels, enhances flexibility and simplifies management. It’s also a crucial technology to adopt in a company’s plan as a precursor to moving towards a cloud computing model.

Desktop Virtualization
So what about desktop virtualisation, will 2013/14 be its year? As the take-up of server virtualisation has accelerated, so virtual desktop are destined to follow. Gartner’s Chris Wolf does see serious momentum — and significant room to grow. “The market penetration is roughly 1.5 per cent of the total enterprise desktop market. We expect that to grow to 8 to 10 per cent penetration by 2015.”

Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) is an important element of cloud computing and virtualisation technology. Desktop Virtualisation can be defined as a process of virtually extending a desktop screen to run multiple applications, platforms and operating systems. While server virtualisation leverages server resources, desktop virtualisation allows businesses to create virtual desktops that efficiently manage business processes, enable device flexibility and lower costs. By using a powerful remote desktop (RDP) service, businesses can take advantage of this innovation and move virtualisation to the next level.

There are, however, some issues holding back the adoption of desktop virtualisation, creating a degree of inertia, such as: comfort with existing non-cloud technology; lack of virtualisation knowledge; and loss of control over physical desktops. In a nutshell, IT administrators are still adjusting to this somewhat new technology, therefore highlighting the key elements and real-world benefits is critical.

Today, businesses face a tough challenge in meeting IT demands. The rapid evolution in technology, agility in business processes, and data storage requirements all make it difficult for businesses to stay competitive with existing resources. In a large enterprise, managing thousands of computing resources is certainly a daunting task, so it’s little surprise that the majority of corporate IT budgets are dominated by management and support costs. These resource implications are intensified by the use of multiple devices, for example some employees use two or three different company laptops, smartphones and tablets. By replacing laptops with virtual desktops and enabling a BYOD environment, companies can save significantly on infrastructure expenses. Employees can easily access virtual desktops through their high-end mobile gadgets, with little practical difference to the user, using a robust RDP tool. Network security is another important concern – unlike in a traditional infrastructure setup, a VDI environment makes securing your networks easy. Automatic backups and disaster recovery solutions take care of critical data and allow admins to concentrate on business processes.

VDI allows users to run multiple operating systems such as Windows, Linux or Mac on a single machine. It leverages each resource to an optimal level. By using a single machine to run different applications, businesses can save money on capital expenditure as well as operating expenses. In addition to operating systems, you can run multiple applications on a single machine and printers and scanners can be made available to heterogeneous networks. For instance, the 2X Client for RDP makes windows desktop and Microsoft applications available to MAC devices.
Another advantage of a VDI is the introduction of agility into business processes. A VDI enables you to instantly deploy applications and dynamically update them. Imagine a development team working on a project; if the client suggests a different platform, administrators need to install related software on every machine. With a VDI environment, you can install applications on multiple machines instantly and the team is up and running immediately.

Network security is an important concern for every organization. A VDI environment allows businesses to use cutting edge technologies to secure networks from online threats, intrusions and data crashes. Higher levels of security measures are incorporated to create a secure and reliable infrastructure. Installing updates, security patches and implementing disaster recovery methods becomes easy.

Application Delivery is key to scaling
Application Delivery is a type of software distribution that is dynamically done on a network. Streaming software applications are installed on virtual machines using an Application Delivery Controller (ADC). The end user has the flexibility to access applications from the office, home or when traveling remotely. While the primary reason for businesses to adapt application delivery is to reduce costs, the agility it brings to business processes is a powerful driver.

Scalability, performance, agility, security and cost-effectiveness are some of the vital benefits offered by an application delivery system. Scalability is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about application delivery. By scaling up resources, businesses can overcome datacentre challenges. Also with virtual desktops, devices work on difference operating systems and multiple applications can run on a single machine.

Another benefit of working with application delivery is the centralised management of software apps. From a single dashboard, you can monitor and manage all applications intuitively. Moreover, applications are not installed on the end-user machine. Virtual machines can access them easily using a RDP without the hassles of downloads and installation procedures. While the performance and load times are enhanced, application availability is effectively improved.

Reduced physical servers and datacentre resources lower the cost of ownership. If you use a versatile virtualisation product like 2X ApplicationServer XG, you can deploy applications that are compatible with major hypervisors like Citrix, Microsoft and VMWare. In addition, with a VDI, application delivery is performed on secured networks, making use of world class security solutions to deploy software securely which is not feasible for businesses that run physical servers.

A connection broker is key to manageability
We’ve looked at the benefits and challenges of moving towards a VDI environment. One vital aspect that takes up 40% of the complexity and functionality of virtual networks is a connection broker.

This is a resource manager that facilitates connections between virtual devices, databases and other computing resources. It is a vital entity that decides what and how each resource can access data pieces, effectively controlling database and remote desktop access to the end user.
The connection broker is normally vendor-independent and supports different virtualisation platforms. Access control rules are established by this connection broker so that end users can access resources based on their privileges. The connection broker authenticates and maps users to access controls using directory services of the server OS. Simply put, the end user logs in to the network using the connection broker and it assigns a virtual desktop to that user.

The connection broker handles many of the day-to-day tasks such as: confirms user login details to assign resources; provides access to multiple virtual pools; handles sessions, terminates sessions; makes virtual desktops active or inactive; and reassigns virtual resources.

The connection broker scales-up to meet growing user demands and provides optimized resources. In addition, businesses can create a cluster of connection brokers to provide highly scalable virtual solutions to end users. Likewise, data is automatically backed up and restored during crashes.
Key benefits of a connection broker are optimization of resources and centralised management. In a VDI environment, a properly configured connection broker offers highest utilisation of resources. Unlike a traditional network setup, wherein each user is assigned a physical machine, the virtual appliance dynamically allocates resources during login times. You only need to provide virtual machines for active users. As users log out, these virtual machines are reassigned to other users. By optimizing available resources, businesses can save on operational costs.

One of the concerns of IT people in a VDI environment is the complexity of cloud computing functions. By using a connection broker, you can centralize desktop management. You can also integrate heterogeneous networks and still manage them from a single dashboard. End users are not bothered with backend functions as they access their desktop from any location.

Summary
With server virtualisation becoming a maturing technology, VDI is set to grow considerably in the next few years as cloud computing becomes the norm. Deciding on the best RDP, application delivery and connection broker system become critical purchase considerations for data centre managers to meet future IT demands.