Friday | 9 January, 2009
ARN

Features

13 desktop-virtualization tools
Virtualization stalwarts and start-ups alike are aiming for the desktop. A baker's dozen.
Joanne Cummings (Network World) 25 August, 2008 10:01:00
  • 6 of 15
The Pano package has a unique, palm-sized, hardware-only endpoint device; a management server and a desktop service. After connecting the device to the network, users get access to their server-resident virtual-desktop images. The Pano, an online-only offering, works with virtual desktop-infrastructure products from VMware and others.
The Pano package has a unique, palm-sized, hardware-only endpoint device; a management server and a desktop service. After connecting the device to the network, users get access to their server-resident virtual-desktop images. The Pano, an online-only offering, works with virtual desktop-infrastructure products from VMware and others.
Like server virtualization before it, desktop virtualization holds great appeal for all kinds of users. The technology can bring enterprise IT significant cost savings and ease of management, and give business users unprecedented flexibility in their interactions with the desktop. Ceedo Enterprise optimizes virtual desktop images to run directly from a USB or portable hard drive - meaning users can access their desktop images online or offline. Because the USB stick or hard drive uses full AES encryption, its data stays safe if the device is lost or stolen. Users must be online to use their virtual desktops; Citrix has added application virtualization to the higher-end editions - Enterprise and Platinum. This will be a Windows-centric offering - no surprises there - that will flow out of Microsoft's acquisition of application virtualization company Kidaro. MEDV reportedly will support online and offline use. Users can access their virtual desktop images - which the company calls LivePCs - online, offline or from USB keys. MokaFive supports Mac and Windows hosts. The Pano package has a unique, palm-sized, hardware-only endpoint device; a management server and a desktop service. After connecting the device to the network, users get access to their server-resident virtual-desktop images. The Pano, an online-only offering, works with virtual desktop-infrastructure products from VMware and others. This online-only offering has a unique remote-rendering technology, called Simple Protocol for Independent Computing Environment (SPICE). The rendering technology supports multimedia applications, multiple monitors, HD-quality video, VoIP and videoconferencing. SanDisk has partnered with Check Point Software Technologies to ensure security of the workspace. Secure Virtual Workspace will be available to users online, offline or from a USB device. Based on Web 2.0 and AJAX, webOS provides virtual-desktop access via a Web browser. Stoneware focuses on Web and Windows applications with this online-only offering. VDI 2.0 supports a wide variety of client devices, from traditional PCs to Sun Ray thin clients, and works with any operating system. The 2.0 software includes Sun Virtual Desktop Connector, which integrates with the virtualization layer for life-cycle management of virtual machines. Users must work online. With this open source software, users can run multiple virtual machines on the same PC while offline. It supports Linux, Mac OS X, OpenSolaris, Solaris and Windows hosts. VirtualBox came to Sun with its Innotek acquisition. This product, for online access only, works with any hypervisor. VDIworks focuses on manageability; users can manage physical and virtual PCs from a single console. VDIworks is an independent company spun out of ClearCube, a centralized-computing vendor, earlier this year. VDI, for online access, allows desktops to be managed centrally and accessed from any endpoint device. It is based on VMware's ESX technology. Read more about VMware's desktop virtualization plans. VMware's offering for offline access, ACE lets users run multiple virtual machines on a single client PC. Plus, it supports USBs, thumb drives and portable hard drives. Are you already using or thinking about deploying desktop-virtualization? Jump into the discussion and tell us what you like or don't like so far.
Market Place
Power through the disruptions: Uninterruptibility from Eaton!
Marshal8e6 talks Data Leakage and taking a multi-layered security approach.
 
ARN Distributor Directory
 
Find distributors by name
Find distributors by vendor
Find distributors by location
ARN Vendor Directory
 
Find vendors by name | Find by category
ARN Library


Read Material

Microsoft® takes legal action against software pirates

Recently Microsoft took legal action against individuals and resellers for distributing and selling unauthorised Microsoft software.

Sponsored Links