Introduction
Meeting the needs of both IT organizations and end users in today’s business environment can be challenging. To give large organizations the options and flexibility needed to meet diverse business requirements, Microsoft offers a broad choice of desktop computing options, ranging from traditional Windows®-based desktops running on distributed PCs to centralized solutions in which a single server running Terminal Services supports many users. Because each of these solutions has its own management profile and capabilities, enterprise customers can choose from a range of client computing options to suit their particular needs.
In the case of distributed PCs, Microsoft offers many technologies designed to help lower the cost of desktop management and enable a much more agile, secure, and satisfying computing experience. Some of these technologies are built into Microsoft software, such as the Active Directory® service in the Windows Server® 2003 operating system and support for Group Policy in the Windows Vista operating system. Others are separate products and services that integrate with and help optimize a customer’s existing PC infrastructure, such as Microsoft Systems Management Server.
As with server-based solutions that are typically consolidated in the data center, some customers are benefiting from centralized user desktops and applications, for which they have traditionally used Windows Server Terminal Services. Although this solution works well in many cases, some customers require a greater degree of isolation than that provided by Terminal Services, in which one instance of the operating system supports many users, or they wish to run applications that are not compatible with a Terminal Services environment.
To offer customers more options and even greater flexibility, Microsoft has introduced Windows Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop, a version of Windows Vista Enterprise licensed for installation on virtual machines residing on a server. Windows Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop is another option for the delivery of remote desktops that provide end users with the familiar Windows experience. At the same time, it enables enterprises to benefit from the many advantages of centralized desktop deployment and management, including improved IT efficiency, enhanced security, and lower total cost of ownership.
Windows Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop enables companies to deploy the same applications that run on traditional desktop PCs, thereby allowing them to support and update desktops running Windows Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop in the same manner as traditional PCs. Equally important, a deployment of Windows Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop provides user isolation, wherein one virtual desktop running on a shared server cannot affect another, and each desktop environment can be optimized for its specific user.
The remainder of this document presents typical deployment scenarios and their solution components. It also outlines the benefits of implementing such a solution on Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2—the second release of Virtual Server 2005—as well as high-level considerations and recommendations for doing so.
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