VIRTUAL DESKTOP INFRASTRUCTURE (VDI) -
THE NEXT BIG THING
By: Jack Wagner
Virtualization, virtualization, virtualization. At every turn, we are confronted with the
term “virtualization” and the talk of the potential it holds for our organizations. In truth,
much of the potential is there and the effects of “virtualization” can help many of us get closer
to our goal of trimming operating expenses by “going green” (another oft-used buzzword).
However, no sooner do we get used to the idea of virtualized servers than we get hit by the next
big wave, “virtualized desktops.” What are these devices? How do they help my organization?
How do they work? Is there a pot of gold at the end of the virtualization rainbow? Is there an
angry leprechaun protecting that pot of gold? (Sorry for that last one, I got carried away).
Back on topic, virtualization is an intriguing and promising technology and that requires
expertise to employ it successfully.
First, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is actually an overall technology and strategy,
not necessarily a product from a single vendor. In fact, there are several vendors on the
market. No surprise, the big ones are VMware®, Citrix® and SUN, but also in the mix are smaller
companies, such as MokaFive™ and ClearCube. All vendors talk about desktop virtualization, but
that term has become ambiguous, because it can mean anything from delivering true software
desktops to PC’s and thin clients from a centralized location, to using remotely accessed blade
PC’s located in the data center. The best of these approaches is still up for discussion and
realistically, will likely depend on the specific technical and political structure of your
organization and the individual requirements for the technology.
Not so different from traditional terminal services deployments, VDI takes it a step further
and aims to provide users the look, feel and touch of a standard PC, but also to provide IT
Departments with the ability to:
- Secure all data in the organization by bringing it back into the data center
- Streamline administrative tasks; such as, software deployment/upgrades, OS patches and
new application deployments
- Enhance support capabilities. Imagine, no more desktop technician replacing a PC with a
temp while taking the old one back to the shop to rebuild
- Breathe new life into older hardware, or in the appropriate environments, replace PCs
with thin clients
So, what do you need to get started? Generally, it is best to start with an assessment of
your needs. Questions that will need to be answered during such an assessment include, but are
not limited to:
- What types of applications will be delivered and what are their performance
characteristics regarding CPU, memory, storage and network utilization?
- What are the Service Level Agreements (SLA) regarding application/service performance
and availability?
- What does the storage environment look like and how is everything connected?
- Is the network infrastructure architecture healthy and prepared for VDI?
As the outcome of a complete assessment, a strategy can be built that will lead to a decision
upon the right VDI vendor and solution set.
Once the vendor is selected, a Proof of Concept should be planned and managed with a limited
deployment of the product into the user community. These users should be selected as potential
primary targets for the finalized technology set and fully involved and trained on the product
before deployment. The Proof of Concept period should last long enough to ensure the users have
utilized the solution thoroughly to either prove or disprove its feasibility within your
environment.
A popular, but cautionary, sales strategy among the vendor community is on the upswing. Many
hardware/software vendors may offer assessment and design services for free. Nothing good is
ever free. There are distinct disadvantages to allowing your hardware/software vendor to perform
assessment and design work for you. Including:
- Hardware/Software vendors sell hardware and software. Obvious, yes, but the intent of
any good hardware/software vendor is to sell their products and to embed themselves into an
organization in a manner that makes it difficult to replace them later
- Hardware/Software vendors are interested in the best solution for an organization, so
long as that solution is comprised of the products they sell
- Hardware/Software vendors may not have true expertise in the health care industry, which
can lead to the misunderstanding of what is and is not acceptable performance within a
hospital environment. For example, healthcare organizations characteristically have a very
complex and expansive set of applications in use. Far more than most other industries.
Hardware/Software vendors rarely appreciate this complexity and therefore, provide highly
simplistic assessments and/or Proof of Concepts that aren’t reflective of the healthcare
setting
- The hardware vendor’s typical approach is to virtualize “x” number of PC’s regardless of
environment, criticality, application, etc. without regard for the idiosyncrasies in the
surrounding organization
Accordingly, it is recommended that your assessment and proof of concept be run by a firm that
is vendor agnostic and has experience in both virtualization and health care. Advantages to this
approach include, but are not limited to:
- Requirements gathering that take into consideration health care organizations, their
leadership, patient care, and safety as a priority
- A detailed methodology and project management focus
- A vendor agnostic approach that does not concentrate on one particular vendor or hardware
solution, but rather concentrates on an organization’s true needs and recommends an
appropriately sized solution set
Virtualization is here to stay. Virtualized servers are now widely deployed with more of the
HIS vendors testing and certifying their products in virtualized environments. With the
potential of VDI, tangible benefits can be realized from a solid virtualization infrastructure
implementation and can be measured in savings through “going green”, reducing administrative
effort, and tightening data security.
If you would like more information on this topic and the services that Vitalize Consulting
Solutions, Inc. has to offer, please contact us at our Corporate Offices at 610.444.1233 or email
us at vcs@getvitalized.com. We are also always
available on our website www.getvitalized.com.