Entries tagged with mdop - TechNet Edge

Microsoft Vista Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Licensing and Windows Virtual Enterprise Centralized Desktops (VECD)

yung — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:31:00 GMT

In TechNet Game-On Tour currently being delivered in the US east coast, I talked about Remote Desktop Services (RDS) and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and got very overwhelming response. It’s indeed an exciting feeling when witnessing desktop virtualization works in a predictable way and behaves as designed. In my conversations with the attendees, one of the frequently asked questions has been the licensing of VDI and I thought to point out some pertinent information here.

The basic Windows Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) license with traditional desktops is not designed for use in VDI, since it is bound to the OEM hardware device, with no reassignment rights.

Software Assurance (SA) provides organizations with additional values including the ability to reassign a license after 90 days, upgrading or downgrading to latest versions of the OS, and accessing to desktop virtualization technology in the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP). Still it does not provide the ability to create desktops dynamically or move desktops across different hardware and storage platforms, etc., i.e. a level of flexibility that a VDI solution needs.

Windows Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktops (VECD) is a new type of license designed to help customers license virtual copies of Windows. It is a device-based subscription, which means the total number of licenses is equal to the total number of devices that access the virtual environment. VECD is an annual subscription, following the SA model. Additional information on Licensing Microsoft Windows for virtual environments is available. Or simply download the VDI Licensing brochure.

VECD:

Allows customers to make as many copies of the OS image as they like, which is helpful when creating dynamic desktops.
Allows customers to move the image onto any combination of servers and storage devices.
Comes bundled with work at home rights.
Comes bundled with Software Assurance benefits.

What Virtualization Means for the Desktop

Dave Morehouse — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 06:59:00 GMT

Brad Anderson and Jeff Wettlaufer are together again, this time for a chat on desktop virtualization scenarios and technologies. Using Brad's whiteboard for illustration, they cover application virtualization, desktop (or hardware) virtualization, presentation virtualization, and finally, virtual desktop infrastructure, or VDI.

For additional information relevant to their discussion, please refer to:

- dave //

Virtualization at TechEd09

Adam Bomb — Fri, 29 May 2009 07:01:00 GMT

I caught up with Edwin Yuen to get a tour of the Virtualization booths at TechEd09 and find out what's new in virtualization from Microsoft. He showed me Hyper-V, Virtual Machine Manager, Virtual PC (including Windows 7 XP Mode), VDI and more. I even managed to get Jeff Woolsey and Edwin both to talk a little about third party virtualization solutions <coughvmwarecough> and how their offerings compare to ours.
You can find out more info about the sessions on virtualization at TechEd by visiting www.msteched.com as well as the Microsoft Virtualization site at www.microsoft.com/virtualization

MMS Day 2 announcements overview with Larry Orecklin

Adam Bomb — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:00:00 GMT

We're back with Larry to talk about today's announcements at MMS. Yesterday was all about the datacenter with Operations Manager and Virtual Machine Manager announcements, but Brad Anderson's announcements today were desktop focused. Larry tells us what's coming in Config Manager - both in the upcoming service pack and later with Configuration Manager R2. He also gives us the scoop on MDOP - the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack.