Yellow Bricks

VDI seems to be hot lately. VMware just posted 4 pdf’s which are related to VDI and/or VDM:

Using VMware VDI and vmSight for Stronger and Sustainable HIPAA and PCI Compliance

For many organizations, HIPAA and PCI compliance is no longer optional. Penalties are increasingly stiff, and the ultimate cost of non-compliance – the breach of personal data – can damage organizations in multiple ways. Compliance, and validation of compliance, is not easily achieved. It is especially difficult when computing environments are widely distributed and not all computers are centrally managed.
Virtualization technologies, including virtual desktops, offer an improved means to centralize computing, management and monitoring while still providing users local access and full functionality. For organizations seeking stronger HIPAA and PCI compliance, relying on virtual desktops for access to sensitive systems provides both cost savings and increased manageability and security. With an integrated compliance monitoring and reporting system such as the vmSight virtual network intelligence
suite, virtual desktops can be used to increase compliance and reduce data breaches while also reducing IT costs.

VMware VDM 2 Load Balancing Guide

Once appropriate server-grade hardware has been selected, load balancing become an important consideration for addressing a configuration’s scalability and fault tolerance.

In general, load-balanced configurations use multiple VDM Connection Servers installed in a primary-and-replica manner, with the first server installed as the primary and subsequent servers are installed as replicas. VDM Connection Servers provide session management and handle all incoming client requests, directing them to the appropriate virtual desktop session, and VDM Security Servers provide SSL tunneling capabilities for encrypting communication between the client devices and the VDM Connection Servers.

The configuration of a load-balanced solution largely depends on the requirements of the organization for which it is being deployed. Companies that already have a load balancing solution in place may be able to utilize it for VDI since the load generated by the VDI solution is minimal. Both hardware-based load balancing appliances and inexpensive (or free) software-based load balancing products can be considered as candidate solutions.

Windows XP Deployment Guide

VMware® Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) transforms the way customers use and manage desktop operating systems. Desktop instances can be deployed rapidly in secure data centers to facilitate high availability and disaster recovery, protect the integrity of enterprise information, and remove data from local devices that are susceptible to theft or loss. Isolating each desktop instance in its own virtual machine eliminates typical application compatibility issues and improves users’ personal computing environments.

This guide offers best practices for creating Windows XP-based templates for VMware VDI-based solutions
and for preparing the same templates for use with Virtual Desktop Manager 2.

Using the Wyse V10L and S10 Thin Clients with VDM

This technical note provides a reference for configuring Wyse V10L and S10 devices for use with VDM. VDM supports the Wyse V10L and S10 Thin Client devices, running Wyse Thin OS version 5.3.0.9 or later. For detailed information about deploying and managing Wyse thin client devices, contact Wyse directly.

Wyse Thin Client devices with versions of the Wyse Thin OS earlier than 5.3.0.9 do not support HTTPS connection to a VDM Server. You must upgrade the Wyse Thin OS to version 5.3.0.9 or later to use HTTPS.

Unlike VDM Web Access or VDM Client, Wyse thin clients connect to desktop virtual machines directly using RDP and connections do not pass through a VDM Connection Server. As a result Wyse thin clients cannot be used in DMZ deployments.