Daas on myvirtualcloud.net

Implications of Nutanix SLA Management Plugin for DaaS Providers

Tue, 22 Jul 2014 11:29:19 +0000

Last week I unveiled the new Nutanix Plugin for XenDesktop (here). The plugin enables XenDesktop administrators to configure Service Level Agreements via the commonly used XenDesktop Studio graphical user interface. These user configurable SLAs are then translated into set a set of unique properties and values that are individually assigned to VMs and vDisks.

DaaS is a Non-Starter

Tue, 11 Mar 2014 14:58:10 +0000

A while back I published articles describing guidelines to what DaaS architectures should observe. My articles focused on Secure Multi-Tenancy, Elastic Resources, Automated Provisioning, Identity Management, Federation and Role Management, Self-Service Portals, and Reporting and Metering.

I was mostly focused on DaaS aspects that relate to large service providers’ implementations. However, the reality is that any enterprise can have a successful DaaS implementation simply creating a self-service portal where users can provision virtual desktops, as needed, automatically, without requiring human interaction.

VMware vCloud Hybrid Service with Desktone DaaS Video

Tue, 15 Oct 2013 00:47:56 +0000

This video demonstrates the power of the VMware vCloud Hybrid Service combined with the Desktone technology acquired and announced today at VMworld 2013 EMEA. The solution effectively delivers Multi-tenancy, Self Service, Grid-based architecture for elastic scalability and Low cost of delivery.

VMworld 2013 End-User Computing Rundown

Fri, 30 Aug 2013 13:46:18 +0000

The normal VMworld pattern is that the keynote on Day 1 (Mon) is all about virtualization and Cloud, and Day 2 covers End-User Computing and other areas.

vSphere and vCloud were covered on Day 1, but there was also quite a bit on the new vCloud Hybrid Service (vCHS) offering, initially in North America and in other parts of the world during 2014. This is a partnership with Savvis as the hosting partner in the US.

Launching VDI Calculator v3.8 with Storage Caching support

Fri, 02 Aug 2013 10:58:57 +0000

I am excited to announce the release of a new version of my calculator. This new version (3.8) re-introduces the storage caching feature for for both read and write IO traffics. This feature was part of the old Flash calculator and is now being re-introduced.

Welcome to the new Transient Desktop deployment model

Mon, 01 Jul 2013 09:56:37 +0000

Last week there was lots of attention to my article entitled “Open letter to non-persistent VDI fanboys…”. There was a wave of comments. Twitter discussions went frantic, and the LinkedIn Desktop Superhero discussion board was the stage for a continued discussion on the subject.

Launching VDI Calculator v2 with XenDesktop support

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:50:37 +0000

Approximately 10 days ago I launched the new revamped VDI calculator, now using Java Framework, and I am now introducing the Release 2.0 with full support to XenDesktop calculations for VDI environments running on atop VMware vSphere hypervizor. Why? Because most Citrix XenDesktop deployments run atop of the VMware hypervizor platform.

Build Your Own “Desktop-as-a-Service”

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:00:01 +0000

A little while back I have published blog posts and videos describing what a Desktop-as-a-Service architecture should look like. I was wrong! Well, let me put this way – there are multiple truths to the matter.

In a previous article I said that DaaS solutions should oblige the following guidelines:

A Rant About Storage Vendors

Sun, 19 May 2013 17:10:14 +0000

I have recently been invited to present in a VMware User Group (VMUG), which I quickly answered with a big and resounding Yes! I really love to present and touch base with customers as that helps me to keep it real, instead of being a lab rat type of engineer/architect.

See you at EMC World 2013 next week!

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:55:42 +0000

If you are attending EMC World 2013 in Las Vegas next week and is interested in how to effectively deliver Desktop-as-a-Service using EMC technologies you should attend my session with EMC's Matt Cowger.

In this session we will discuss what DaaS really mean to organizations and what are the associated challenges - infrastructure resiliency, licensing costs, IO Profiles, self-service, storage design and architecture. From a VMware perspective I will also touch on different technologies available Today that make DaaS a reality.

How to: Horizon View and vCloud Director multi-tenant DaaS

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 09:30:08 +0000

Services Providers and large customers with requirement for multi-tenant Desktop-as-a-Service frequently ask me how would be possible to integrate Horizon View and vCloud Director and get both technologies to work together. As of today, the official VMware answer is – this is not supported.

How to: Win2K8 w/ PCoIP, Linked Clones, USB, Printing & much more on VMware View (DaaS)

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 11:11:00 +0000

One of the most common requests I get from customer and partners is – When will VMware View support Windows 2K8 as Guest OS?

As most of you probably know Microsoft does not provide SPLA licensing model for Windows 7 to allow customers and service providers to create Desktop-as-a-Service offerings using Enterprise grade VDI solutions such as Horizon View. However, Windows Server 2K8 does provides SPLA licensing model and if those customers and service providers are able to deliver Windows Server 2K8 combined with the new Horizon View Multi-VLAN feature they could effectively service a large part of the DaaS market without incurring into Microsoft licensing issues.

VMware View Agent Direct-Connection Plugin NAT/PNAT

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 14:08:00 +0000

Since my article “VMware View Agent Direct-Connection Plugin Explained” I have received several questions about the use of the plug-in with NAT/PNAT. Most of the questions came from VMware employees, but also from partners.

As you may know NAT/PNAT is supported between the VMware View Client and the PSG component of a Security Server. However, PCoIP will fail and give you a black screen if there is a NAT/PNAT device near the PCoIP Server (on the View Desktop).

VMware View Agent Direct-Connection Plugin Explained

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 14:30:43 +0000

VMware View Agent Direct-Connection Plugin (VADC-Plugin) is a new extension to VMware View environments which is installed on the virtual desktops to support direct connections from any VMware View client without requirement to go through a View Connection Server or View Security Server.

Chatting Desktop-as-a-Service with Scott Davis, VMware EUC CTO

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 07:42:00 +0000

VMware CTO for End User Computing, Scott Davis (@shd_9)and David Stafford, Director for New Markets and Technology (@dstafford), have just published a interesting article about how VMware is tackling the increasing demand for the Desktop-as-a-Service model.

In specifically they talk about two successful advanced development projects : VMware View Agent Direct-Connection Plugin and Project Catalyst.

Desktop-as-a-Service Constructs [Video]

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 12:47:00 +0000

The Desktop-as-a-Service opportunity is real and during and after my sessions at VMWorld many organizations, Service Providers and Integrators came to talk to me about their DaaS plans.

"Project Catalyst is a prototype of a VMware integrated end-to-end DaaS platform utilizing View and vCloud Director with full multi-tenancy, elastic resource provisioning, self-service portal operation, and more". Scott Davis, VMWare CTO for End-User Computing, has published in his blog an overview on the "Musing on our Post PC, Multi-Device World" that I recommend to read.

My VMWorld Teaser to You

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 10:30:29 +0000

“Teaser = (Business / Marketing) a preliminary advertisement in a campaign that attracts attention by making people curious to know what product is being advertised”
TheFreeDictionary

I cannot reveal everything before my session at VMWorld but if you have been following my recent blog posts and twitter feed this will probably not come as a big surprise to you.

DaaS Scalability and Elasticity

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 10:25:55 +0000

Giving continuity to my recent Desktop-as-a-Service series it’s time to tackle those components that make a true DaaS solution be able to dynamically provision and de-provision resources on-demand, near real-time, without users having to engineer for peak loads.

This article is built on top of my previous DaaS articles:
DaaS Identity Management, Federation & Multi-Tenancy
DaaS Mobility and Portability

DaaS Mobility and Portability

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 14:13:00 +0000

One of the fundamental concepts behind cloud-based workloads is Mobility & Portability. Mobility & Portability have been continually discussed over the years and we finally see cloud providers offering solutions to import/export workloads from/to their clouds.

Amazon EC2 has a VM Import/Export tool that allow administrator to import VMDK, VHD or RAW file via the ec2-import-instance API. They also offer the Amazon EC2 VM Import Connector for VMware vCenter. VMware has also published a guide of how to convert Amazon EC2 Windows Instances to VMware Workstation or VMware vSphere Virtual Machines (here).

DaaS Identity Management, Federation & Multi-Tenancy

Sun, 15 Jul 2012 18:47:50 +0000

“Identity management (IdM) describes the management of individual identities, their authentication, authorization, and privileges/permissions within or across system and enterprise boundaries…” Source:Wikipedia

Identity Management in cloud-based deployments is still a work in progress for service providers and infrastructure software vendors. So far identity management and associated technologies such as Active Directory, Digital Identities, Security Tokens, Security Token Services, OpenID, OAuth amongst others have been successfully utilized for single instance authentication.

DaaS: Building the Model [The Book]

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 10:09:23 +0000

This is the working cover for our new book. DaaS: Building the Model is a multi-disciplinar group effort that look into multiple Desktop-as-a-Service concepts, from design and architecture to financial cost models. The book has foreword from Chirayu Patel, review from David Stafford and contributions from Kanuj Behl, Andre Leibovici, Phil Ditzel, Dwayne Lessner and Jason Langone. The book will be available in digital media on iTunes book store and Kindle Amazon. You will also be able to order a printed copy from Amazon.