The benefits of virtualised desktops

Desktop virtualisation software also offers more flexibility in allowing access to virtual systems and applications from a variety of devices

Few organisations currently run virtual desktop PCs within their IT infrastructure, but that could be about to change. Experts predict that many companies are poised to move on from pilot desktop virtualisation projects to large-scale replacement of physical workstations.

Roy Illsley, senior analyst at research company Ovum, estimates that virtualised desktops currently represent just one per cent of the 550 million operational business PCs worldwide, with VMware View accounting for an estimated one million seats and Citrix XenDesktop about 850,000, and Microsoft now starting to pick up customers as well.

Illsley says there are good reasons why IT departments might choose 2010 to make their move, not least because it is expected to mark the release of the first service pack for Windows 7, which will prompt many to think about upgrading their existing hardware and operating systems.

“People are finding they have not upgraded their desktop operating systems since 2003/2004, with most running XP rather than Vista,” he says.

“Many are considering either the traditional upgrade path to physical desktops, or using desktop virtualisation to give them an opportunity to develop their systems in a completely different way which provides more flexibility for end users and the readiness to make more use of cloud computing if and when they need it.”

The London Borough of Waltham Forest, for example, recently embarked on an 18-month programme to virtualise the vast majority of its physical infrastructure, including servers, desktop PCs and storage. It will use VMware’s Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) platform with Citrix XenDesktop to deliver applications to Citrix thin clients, rather than desktop PCs.

“We are essentially going through a greenfield implementation here – a lot of the existing desktop infrastructure is at end of life and we are not keeping too much of it,” says Waltham Forest’s head of ICT, Graham Bell. “We have an opportunity to do things using new technology right from the start, both with physical estate and applications, so we are keen to keep the desktop to an absolutely minimum build and get applications centrally provisioned.”

The council will stream applications such as Microsoft Office and CoreLogic’s Frameworki case management system for adult social care to Citrix thin-client terminals running XenDesktop, which Bell says are easier for the 56-strong IT department to manage and maintain.

Security benefits
Desktop and application virtualisation vendor Citrix published a report earlier this year which suggested that organisations saw faster desktop deployment, device and location flexibility, and data security and access control as the biggest benefits of desktop virtualisation.

But despite listing better security as a benefit, respondents to the Citrix Virtualisation Index survey, which questioned 700 chief information officers working for companies employing 500 people or more across the UK, Germany, the US and Japan, also highlighted security as being a major concern.

The Lancashire Constabulary is in the early stages of replacing 4,000 desktop PCs with thin-client devices running VMware VDI that allows users to access virtual PCs and applications hosted on VMware ESX Server. It considered using terminal services for the same purpose but encountered incompatibility problems with systems using the .NET framework.

“We ended up flattening our existing desktop PCs, and putting out really thin Windows 7 images, with nothing but some icons to get the applications, with either restricted or confidential VDI sessions or browser sessions running on RDS,” says Colin Fitzsimons, senior systems engineer in the technical support group at Lancashire Constabulary.

The change was partly forced by the national requirement for police forces to share information, but also to provide secure access to the Police National Database (PND) and meet Association of Chief Police Officers community security policy.

“To meet those requirements, forces have to put a number of measures in place and do things to their existing infrastructure,” says Fitzsimons. “The PND requires a confidential, rather than a restricted network [most forces are running restricted networks].”

The Constabulary also uses Quest Software’s vWorkspace virtual desktop management application, which integrates with VMware’s VDI, to control and restrict user access to multiple networks and databases.

“It quickly became apparent to us that VMware View did not meet out security requirements on its own. Nor Citrix, and the only one that did was vWorkspace,” says Fitzsimons. “We will use Microsoft App-V, roaming profiles and folder re-direction to store user data on centralised storage rather than user desktops.”

Energy savings
Illsley agrees that security represents a benefit for many organisations, because all the information is centralised in the datacentre, making it easier to manage and back up for disaster recovery purposes. But he also highlights the fact that some are looking to replace larger desktop systems with low-power thin-client devices, either to reduce their carbon footprint, or to meet more stringent power and space requirements in new premises.

“Some have moved into new buildings with a lower wattage per seat, meaning they cannot have a person and a desktop PC in a new building because the air conditioning system cannot cope,” he says. “So, they either spend money on upgrading the air con or do something completely different, such as thin clients supporting desktop virtualisation.”