A Clean Transition to Desktop Virtualization: 5 Things to Help Avoid a Virtual Disaster

By Adam Oliver
published: Wednesday, August 05 2009

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure is an up and coming technology that has brought excitement and anticipation to the IT industry and businesses across the world. Located in one central data center, virtual machines allow users to work on thin clients, which are inexpensive to purchase and require minimal upgrades, cutting substantial hardware and repair expenses. If a VM is corrupted or destroyed, a new copy can easily be replicated, providing users with a fresh machine each time they log on and minimizing time wasted by system administrators. 

However, the innovation of VDI does not magically erase the problems that plague physical machines. Contrary to some opinions, switching your enterprise's computing environment to VDI is not a cure-all. In fact, along with these recurring issues come a crop of new problems that may arise if not initially confronted and dealt with properly.

To prevent countless headaches down the road, here are the five things you must address.

1) Control User Settings

Implementing and saving your end users' settings is paramount because without their necessary customizations, they will not be able to do their job as efficiently. If they can't easily access their work tools yet have the freedom to run wild on your system, users may end up surfing the Internet or playing Tetris rather than doing work. However, you don't want to pare down their settings too much or the same thing will end up happening anyway.

Look for a service that provides the middle ground between profile security, system manageability, and a predictable user workspace that can be saved from one session to the next.

2) Machine Settings

You want to ensure that your VM is running as efficiently as it can. By not doing so you risk losing money by expending unnecessary funds on energy and lessened work production.

There are products available that provide various settings to give you the power to control your desktop farm to best serve your business. Users often encounter a choppy viewing experience due to a high volume of complex graphics. The best solutions will allow you to turn off whichever desktop visual effects you like to give users a smoother viewing experience. Control power settings to prevent VMs from hibernating or standing by, whereby saving you precious hours and energy.

3) Simplify the Printing Process

This is an area that needs serious attention when switching from the physical to virtual machine. Administrators will need to install multiple print drivers on each VM if users have local printers. Every new model printer will require a new driver on each virtual machine, which ends up being very time consuming and tedious work. If you choose to go with a universal print driver, you can print local or remote requests with ease. No more dizzying print driver installations. 

4) Secure the Desktop

It's time to arm yourself. Downtime caused by system vulnerabilities has grown from five percent in 2004 to fifteen percent in 2008. Overcoming such percentages must be one of your priorities when changing to a VDI environment.

Contain end users to only the applications they need in order to fulfill their work obligation. Don't let them run amok on the system you've worked so hard to implement and maintain. Ensure a productive work environment. Simplify Lockdown and Simplify Desktop offer peace of mind by providing easy configuration combined with a fully customizable desktop and the ability to monitor and maintain any controlled application by way of a white or black list.

Make sure you are equipping your business for success by giving it the tools it needs to function on as little money as possible while producing maximum revenue. Investing in a superior desktop management system is more important than ever.

5) Monitor Your Desktop Farm

When transitioning from the physical to virtual machine, don't forget to update your monitoring capabilities. The ability to keep a careful watch on your desktop farm from a central console, maintain a record of essential statistics, and report as necessary on any given action, makes the difference between a tightly run and safely secured computing environment and a business whose server farm is riddled with system vulnerabilities and consequent expenses.

By addressing these five factors ahead of time, you can avoid getting yourself into a sticky situation. Don't put these things off. Establishing a solid computing foundation can ensure that you make a successful transition to desktop virtualization.

It's important to remember that everything adds up, and saving time and money in any way may make all the difference in the success of your enterprise.

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