VMware adds control over offline clients

VMware ACE 2 Enterprise Edition is designed to provide a managed offline environment for external contract workers

VMware has released version 2 of ACE, its tool that lets IT departments deploy controlled desktop environments as virtual machines with applied policy settings. The update adds a central server to manage policies and better support for USB devices, among other features.

Available immediately, VMware ACE 2 Enterprise Edition is designed to provide a managed offline environment for external contract workers or employees working at home. It gives secure access to enterprise applications and data even from unmanaged PCs.

While ACE 2 now supports WIndowsVista, the chief new feature is a Management Server through which administrators can centrally update policies and enforce expiration dates for deployed virtual machines. To ensure policies are up to date, companies can set the ACE client to check back with the server over the internet at regular intervals.

"You can enforce that the client must call in every so often. For example, you might specify once a week, and set ACE to temporarily disable itself after this period until it is able to connect again," said Richard Garsthagen, VMware marketing manager for Enterprise Desktop in Europe. Another benefit of the central server is that it can provide information on client activity, such as how many are in use and how regularly they are run.

Another new feature is Pocket ACE, which supports virtual machines on a USB drive.
"It's optimised to run efficiently, even from a memory stick. You can go to any PC, plug your stick in and run your desktop," said Garsthagen. If the target PC doesn't have VMware, ACE automatically installs VMware player. The firm recommends devices at least 1GB in size for this, but Garsthagen said that Windows XP images can be pared down to 300-400MB.

While the original ACE had its own tool for creating virtual desktops, version 2 uses VMware's Workstation 6 with an ACE Option Pack to create, p ackage and deploy clients. As a result, firms have more granular security control over USB devices used with the client, restricting users to USB Flash keys owned by the organisation, for example. The version also includes ThinPrint technology, enabling driver-free printing from the desktop client machines.

VMware ACE 2 Enterprise Edition costs from $999 (£505) for a Starter Kit, up to $15,999 (£8.097) for the Enterprise Kit that includes Workstation 6, Management Server and up to 500 ACE client licenses.