Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
Information technology promises us a future where savings are maximized and opportunities are limitless. Many companies are interested in, and some are implementing, virtual desktops to bring that time closer. At first glance, this technology seems very attractive and indicative of a modern company. However, this question should be approached with extreme caution because, like any technology, VDI has a scope of application and fundamental limitations.
Achieving financial benefits through virtualizing workstations is only possible with a significant number of users (more than 50) who work with a limited number of applications. In such a situation, it is possible to significantly reduce the costs of maintaining and updating the workstation fleet. In other cases, the use of this technology is justified by considerations of data control and computer system security. VDI allows for connecting to workstations in a virtual infrastructure from external or personal devices (BYOD) as well as from thin clients.
A classic example where virtualization provides maximum effect and demonstrates all its advantages is education: many young people with gadgets who want to connect to the system from anywhere, and nobody knows what application they will need next time. We have had many cases where we created classrooms in government and private educational institutions using Citrix VDI and Oracle VDI applications. Students actively use computing power remotely. Some of the specialized applications control robotics in the laboratory. Using workstation virtualization in these cases allowed us to obtain a reliable, overload-resistant solution, which requires maintaining only a few servers and network equipment instead of hundreds of computers. Computing power is flexibly distributed according to the needs of the applications. Connection through a web browser in such solutions is just one of the possible ways.
In addition to proprietary solutions like Citrix and Oracle, there are also open-source VDI options available that offer cost-effective and flexible alternatives. Examples include:
Proxmox VE: An open-source platform for enterprise virtualization, it integrates KVM hypervisor and LXC containers, networking functionality, and a rich set of features for virtual environments. Apache Guacamole: A clientless remote desktop gateway that supports standard protocols like VNC, RDP, and SSH. Since it is clientless, users can access their desktops from any device with a web browser. oVirt: An open-source virtualization solution that allows you to manage your entire infrastructure efficiently. It’s built on top of the KVM hypervisor and offers features similar to those found in commercial solutions. Xen Project: A free, open-source hypervisor that provides a powerful, efficient, and secure feature set for VDI implementations, suitable for scaling to large numbers of virtual desktops. A well-designed VDI architecture allows for increasing the availability of IT services for end-users, taking care of the security and integrity of their data, and flexibly controlling and managing applications from a single center, involving a small number of IT specialists.
In developing and building such infrastructure, it is necessary to take into account the complex challenges associated with this task. To successfully implement it, an integrator needs to know about software products and hardware solutions, the ability to design heterogeneous environments, compare products from different manufacturers, and find the best price/quality ratio among them.
Upon completion of the work, we provide the client with detailed documentation, which will serve as an instruction for further maintenance and servicing of the deployed infrastructure. This ensures that the client can manage their VDI environment effectively and make the most of its benefits in the long term.