We did some preliminary VDI capacity testing to identify the maximum VMs per server during the latest PoC and here are some results which can help you.The user is assumed a knowledge worker which runs Office 2007 and a LoB application. Server Configuration...

Decent presentation on the Windows Server 2008 R2 VDI extensions and architecture. check out the link What is presentation virtualization and why should you care? Goals for presentation virtualization and VDI in Windows Server 2008 R2 ...

The low cost of deploying a new VM can actually drive up overall TCO in the long-term. Since the amount of technical and administrative overhead involved in creating a new VM is so low, users think they can ask for lots of them. See this interesting read...

Future versions of Microsoft'a RDP protocol will enhance the end-user's VDI experience thanks to the integrated Calista technologies. See here key information about Calista’s technologies and how they differ from traditional Windows desktop remoting....

In Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta, RemoteApp and Desktop Connection is a feature of Remote Desktop Services that provides administrators the ability to group RemoteApp programs and virtual desktops and make them available to end users on the Start menu of...

This document describes changes in Remote Desktop Services (formerly Terminal Services) functionality that are available in this Beta release of Windows Server 2008 R2, including changes to the names of role services and management tools. Remote Desktop...

This week i am doing a dynamic desktop workshop and ROI study for a leading regional banking group in West and Central Africa. The workshop is based in Accra, Ghana. This customer is growing very fast (operating in 26 countries) and exponentially increasing...

This free e-book reviews how to plan, implement and manage virtual infrastructure solutions.The technologies covered include: Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V, System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008, Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5, Microsoft...

Great virtualization case study. Also important is the expectation that desktop vistualization will simplfy the deployment of Windows Vista. Ingersoll Rand is a global manufacturing company with diverse product lines. Recent growth by acquisition contributed...

On Tuesday, March 31, Microsoft's Edwin Yuen will be hosting a live web chat 11am-3pm EST around the topic of Virtualization. Edwin is a Sr. Technical Product Manager for Integrated Virtualization in the Windows Enterprise Management Division. Sign up...

Paul Wilson has a usefull article on Windows XP Performance Optimizations in VDI scenarios. This one is optimized for Citrix XenDesktop. Windows XP Performance Optimizations for XenDesktop and Provisioning Server vDisks

VDI is attracting our enterprise customers for certain user scenarios. Most common user scenario is the task worker where they want to extend the the hardware lifecycle, improve desktop and application control and centralize the user data. Also contractors...

Match Technologies to User Needs The following table provides guidance in deciding which desktop virtualization solution is most appropriate for each scenario.

Define User Needs The second step in defining a desktop virtualization strategy is to identify user needs and scenarios that might benefit from a particular virtualization technology. To simplify this process, Microsoft has identified five Windows...

There are many desktop virtualization options and possible combinations and therefore the development of a desktop virtualization strategy requires three distinct steps: Map the available technologies Define user needs Match technologies...

Laptop theft is a significant threat to users of laptop computers. Organizations can loose hardware, software, and essential data that has not been backed up . Thieves also may have access to sensitive corporate data and personal information. The Computer...

There are some nice sustainable computing programs which can help companies and individuals to select and implement sustainable PC programs in their environments. For environmental sustainability please check the Electronic Product Environmental...

When talking about application inventory, most people think about automated software inventory tools etc. Other than the application names and versions there is some essential application knowledge to collect from the organization. IT departments have...

Risk assesment is an important part of my job. My customers always pay attention on what risks i discover in their environment since i have a more neutral view into their organization. Risk assessment is a great way to find direction and gives a holistic...

The first step for desktop envisioning is to assess the current environment. Unless you know where you are, you can never design a new desktop solution. This template developed by the Microsoft BDD team are usefull and simple to build upon your own assssments...

One of the most common desktop issues with my customers is desktop performance and user complains. As we usually monitor servers for availability and performance, desktops are also becoming critical assets in certain scenarios. When i assess their desktop...

What is a high-performance workplace and how do we define it. Here is the Gartner definition; “A high-performance workplace focuses on increasing people's influence on a business, as well as the impact of processes, methods, physical environment, and...

Application Virtulization will change the way applications will be deployed, managed and controlled. Unattended setup of Microsoft Application Virtualization Client is as follows: MSIEXEC /I SETUP.msi ALLOWINDEPENDENTFILESTREAMING=TRUE REQUIREAUTHORIZATIONIFCACHED...

One of the challenges we face when engaging large organizations is to show the value of the proposed new technolgies. Most of those discussions end up with requesting for ROI -type analysis to see the proposed cost savings and value is $. Normally TCO...

One of the challenges our custumers have is the employee learning efficiency and slow adoption of new skills.Most of the corporate projects fail because end-user learning is not covered or change management is not in place. Now social media can ease this...