VMware’s Answer to Citrix Receiver

One of VMware’s multiple announcements at VMworld is related to virtualization on the iPad, which is something near and dear to me. VMware is in mid-development of a View client for the iPad. Currently, the only option for accessing your View Virtual Desktopvia the iPad was to use the Wyse client and pay heavily for it.

Features include PCoIP (a first for the iPad), specific geastures for the iPad environment, system monitor, as well as some unnamed features Im sure. So far, no release date has been announced but I will certainly be following this as I am a power iPad user.

More information and a sneak peek, check out VMworlds TV coverage HERE.

Desktop Virtualization?

Yesterday, I had a Sr. VP approach me and ask me about my technical experience with desktop virtualization and my opinion on the options. Having managed a small VDI pilot at CSC of about 100 desktops using Citrix’s XenDesktop and tinkering with VMware View in the original pilot comparison, I felt I had enough experience to speak on the two different products.

The goal is to get some sort of small pilot together, with a scope of 10-15 virtual desktops to be tested via existing PCs and possibly a thin client or two. The main concern is with us having a lot of branch offices that have processes that must be run daily. In the event they lose a connection to the data center, we need to find a way to ensure these processes get complete daily, even if the transmission takes place at a later time.

As of now, there is no preference with a vendor. We use Citrix XenApp now and also are heavily using VMware vSphere, so both vendors are liked and we have experience with both. With this thing having the potential to take off on a full-scale level eventually, I’d be curious to hear your experiences and stories with both products. Please try to avoid turning this into a pissing match of Citrix vs. VMware. I just want general opinions on your deployments.