Which Desktop Virtualization Model is Best - VDI, Type 2, Type 1?
Posted by Chris Midgley on Tue, Apr 28, 2009 @ 10:01 AM
I’ve read a number of articles and blogs lately that tout one form of desktop virtualization infrastructure over another. Some say thin terminals running against desktops hosted on virtual server farms (VDI/HVD/CVD) is the most obvious solution. Why would you want the complexity of a desktop on the edge when you can centralize everything?
Others claim that the best solution is to run a desktop within a desktop – to use a “Type 2” hypervisor to host a secure corporate desktop within a less secure personal desktop. This lets me use my home computer at work (the “BYOC”, or Buy Your Own Computer model) even though my personal computer is untrusted.
Yet others say that the best solution is a “Type 1” hypervisor (also called a bare metal hypervisor), giving you the benefits of managing only one desktop operating system and gaining the benefits of a common and manageable infrastructure.
IMHO, they are all correct. There are valid use cases for each of these models, and they really depend on a wide range of factors that are specific to each and every enterprise. For example, how long has it been since your last desktop hardware refresh? If it has been awhile, then likely your PCs/notebooks aren't going to be able to run a Type 2 very well (too much CPU and memory required). Maybe then a Type 1 or VDI is best? Does your company have a green culture? Then maybe you want to go with VDI and thin terminals to reduce your energy footprint. But what about your road warriors? Maybe best is the corporate desktop on a USB stick (using a Type 2 hypervisor), or more likely run a Type 1 on a laptop to reduce the footprint but keep all the manageability.
The real problem to me isn’t which type of hypervisor infrastructure to use. It is instead how to manage the operating system and applications across your entire virtual infrastructure, while retaining all of your employees personalization and productivity. I should be able to have my personal desktop available no matter what desktop virtualization model IT implements. Maybe I need to travel and would like to take my desktop on a USB stick? Or maybe I need to log into a thin terminal at one of my companies “hotel cubes” for a few hours. Maybe I want to work from home inside a secure desktop that runs on top of my personal (unsecured) machine. Or maybe I just want my notebook to be a fully functional, fully personal desktop even when traveling at 35,000 feet and disconnected from the network.
I want it all. And why not? With Unidesk, I will be able to have it all. A desktop that is free from the confines of the physical box, free from the infrastructure that contains it. Let me work when I need to work, and in the most cost effective/green/portable/secure/connected/personal way that meets my individual consumer and business productivity needs.
-Chris Midgley
Unidesk Founder and CTO