Wouldn’t it be nice if all the users who subscribe to a network are actually scattered far and wide geographically but they all have access to the same network and they are all connected to the same server or virtual machine through LAN or WAN or even the Internet? What if there could be a way to let each of these subscribers – no matter where they are – maintain their individualized desktops that house the applications and programs unique to each of these users while all of the computing prowess is contained not with the ‘client systems’ but with a central server?
It’s possible and it’s called Desktop Virtualization.
Desktop Virtualization allows a number of computers within a network to connect with each other and then to a central server (or a group of servers in a data centre) while all the computing power that the server(s) have are being shared equally between each of the computers connected to it.
This sort of an arrangement shrinks computing costs down, allows data to be monitored centrally, and grants more computing power to any individual client computer when needed. It also makes it easy to manage computing networks, monitor networks while improving the integrity of information shared between the users.
Additionally, software conflicts are addressed, continuous back-up of resident data is taken, and the total number of software programs or applications is reduced on any one machine thereby distributing computing power economically and smartly.
In spite of each computer within the network taps into shared resources – all the way from the server to peripherals – users still have the ability to customize and modify their desktops according to their needs.
However, desktop virtualization doesn’t come without its own bag of imperfections. For one, the fact that there could be disastrous security threats thanks to an almost open-door communication protocol within the network. Centralized data is more vulnerable (All eggs in one basket?) and there are expected challenges in installing drivers on each of the individual client systems for various peripherals in use.
Personal computers are a nightmare to manage by themselves and we now have an array of software that adds more to the already pulsating and painful wound. Any IT technician would swear by that. Could Virtual Desktop technology be the panacea to IT management?
The world of technology would like to think so. The bets are on one of the greatest benefits Virtual Desktop Technology[1] has: the ability to “Provision PCs and other client devices with software from a central location”, according to Galen Gruman[2] – the executive editor for news and features of Infoworld.com
We, at NetworkPro, do believe that it's got great potential and we can see that it's making rapid inroads into small, medium and large enterprises.
What do you think?
[1] Desktop Virtualization: Making PCs Manageable[2] Galen Gruman