Virtually There

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Virtually There

• An iterative approach to Desktop Virtualization

By Mike Cave, Acting Chief Information Officer CA
Department of Toxic Substances Control
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Definition

• Desktop virtualization is the concept of
  separating a personal computer desktop
  environment from the physical machine through a
  client-server computing model. The resulting
  "virtualized" desktop is stored on a remote
  central server, instead of on the local storage
  of remote client this way, when users work from
  their remote desktop client, all of the programs,
  applications, processes, and data used are kept
  and run centrally, allowing users to access their
  desktops on any capable device, such as a
  traditional personal computer, notebook computer,
  smartphone, or thin client.

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VirtualizationWhere did DTSC begin?

• Servers (Headquarters and Regional Offices)
• A toe
• Application Development Servers
• Non-critical Function Servers
• Test Lab PCs and Servers
• A foot
• Production Web Applications and Web Servers
• Antivirus server farm
• Blackberry/Network Monitoring
• All the way up to the waist
• File/Print/E-mail
• Patch and Workstation Configuration Management

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Desktop Virtualization First Steps

• My work desktop HP thin client laptop
• Standard DTSC image virtualized
• Programmer test PCs (our experienced end-users)

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Benefits

• Simpler provisioning of new desktops
• Reduced downtime in the event of server or client
  hardware failures
• Lower cost of new application deployment
• Desktop image management capabilities
• Longer refresh cycle for client desktop
  infrastructure
• Secure remote access to the enterprise desktop
  environment

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Limitations

• Limitations of desktop virtualization include
• potential security risks if the network is not
  properly managed
• some loss of user autonomy and privacy
• challenges in setting up and maintaining drivers
  for printers and other peripherals
• difficulty in running certain complex
  applications such as multimedia (GIS, Video).

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Customer Needs (The Experience)

• Network Drives (File Services)
• Access to Intranet Resources and the Internet
• E-mail
• COTS applications installed on their desktop (MS
  Project, Adobe Acrobat, etc.)

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Sample Remote Access Solution Chatsworth
Teleworkers

• Staff dispersed at offices in LA, Diamond Bar
• Broadband access acquired
• Staff assigned thin client laptops
• VPN (Virtual Private Networking) accounts
• Remote Desktop (RDP) access back to their
  Chatsworth PCs

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Browser-based VPN access

• Logmein
• GoToMyPC

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Virtual Desktop Market Leaders

• VMWare VDI
• Citrix XenDesktop
• Sun Microsystems

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Implementation? Hold the Phone!

• Wide Area Network Considerations Overall
  Performance
• Patch Management
• Software Deployment
• Disaster Recovery
• Costs of Implementing Infrastructure
• Current PC/Laptop Hardware Refresh Methodology
• What other state agencies are doing

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Interesting

• According to a report by Gartner, hosted services
  accounted for more than 500,000 desktop units as
  of March 2009, but will grow to 49 million
  desktop units by 2013, and may make up as much as
  40 of the worldwide professional personal
  computer market by revenue
• http//www.cio.com/article/487109/Hosted_Virtual_D
  esktop_Market_to_Cross_65_Billion_in_2013/

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The End

• Questions?