iTechNote

What is Desktop Virtualization and how is it different from Server Virtualization like Solaris Zone? Essentially the technology behind them is identical. The difference is in the problem it addresses.

Server Virtualization takes control of a sprawling number of servers that were sucking power and becoming tough to cool. It also addresses some aspect of security and manageability. However, the ultimate goal is about saving money and consolidation.

Traditionally tool like VMware Workstation is only useful for development and testing. Increasingly, enterprise customers are starting to look at slicing and dicing desktop CPUs, just as they are doing with server CPUs, to isolate and secure workloads on single physical systems. This approach to desktop virtualization goes beyond the more common practice, in which applications and workloads are hosted at a remote location for centralized management and remote access.

In other words, Desktop Virtualization is more about isolation, about being able to do different things on the same machine. The goal is to create a more dynamic, efficient and secure hardware environment.

VMware ACE is one of the Desktop Virtualization product you can buy in the market right now. The usage scenarios listed on the product literature includes:

• Secure unmanaged PCs used by offshore workers, telecommuters, and contractors
• Encrypt and protect sensitive enterprise intellectual property and personally identifiable information
• Eliminate the need to use multiple physical PCs to isolate work environments, information, and network access
• Host legacy applications in virtual machines that install and run like applications on any standard PC

With VMware ACE, you can create rules saying that when a virtual machine is connected to our network, it can only speak to certain IP addresses or certain file servers. Everything is isolated in the virtual machine - software files that contain an operating system, applications and related data - on single physical systems with encryption applied.

Competitors include XenSource and Parallels. These solutions are not yet as robust as VMware ACE but you will see similar offerings some time in 2007. For a good comparison of virtual machines currently in the market, check out the wikipedia.

via NetworkWorld