Microsoft have nailed their colours to the mast – Windows 10, preferably in its Current Branch/Current Branch for Business format, is going to be the primary desktop client operating system for the foreseeable future. We are moving inexorably towards a world of Windows 10. VDI is continuously being compared to its older desktop virtualization cousin-variously known as Terminal Server/RD Session Host/Server-Based Computing-and of course the Citrix variants of MetaFrame, Presentation Server, XenApp and now just Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops!Īs we look to the emerging DaaS world, and Microsoft’s new Virtual Desktop offering, we still see the same deliberation over which model is the most economical in terms of CPU/hardware costs versus operational difficulty and application compatibility. RDSH was first published in March 2017 and has been hugely popular, underlining how critical this debate still is over 12 years since VDI started gaining momentum. Other hosts we've spoken to feel the policy makes it hard for them to offer DaaS, unless clients are willing to wear the cost of dedicated infrastructure.This blog post on VDI vs. VMware, which recently launched its Hybrid Cloud Service and made DaaS one of its offerings, has told The Reg it is aware of Microsoft's policy and will comply with Microsoft's licensing regimes. Any hardware running an instance of Microsoft software (OS or application) must be dedicated to a single customer.” We asked Microsoft to explain just what that means in a highly-virtualised data centre and were told “Hosters need to ensure they isolate the hardware and other resources for each company.

For example, a SAN device that is not running any Microsoft software may be shared by more than one customer whereas, a server or SAN device that runs Microsoft software may only be used by one customer.” “The hosting hardware must be dedicated to, and for the benefit of the customer, and any hardware running an instance of Microsoft software (OS or application) must be dedicated to a single customer. But that cuts no ice with Microsoft, which explained its DaaS licensing to The Reg as follows:

Microsoft server vdi 2008