Virtualization: VDI made easy

De komende maanden zal er een serie artikelen verschijnen op TechNet Magazine over VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) op Windows Server 2012. Samen met Kristin Griffin (ook MVP op RDS) verzorg ik de content voor deze artikelen. In deze serie zullen we de implementatie van VDI behandelen vanaf de basis tot aan het creëren van een productiewaardige en hoog beschikbare Desktop Virtualisatie omgeving. Inmiddels is het eerste artikel "Virtualization: VDI made easy" online en hier te vinden: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/jj992579.aspx. Hieronder vind je de inleiding van het eerste artikel in deze serie.

"...Every release of Terminal Services—renamed Remote Desktop Services (RDS) in Windows Server 2008 R2—has become more powerful since the first. That was Microsoft Terminal Services in Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition, back in 1999. It has gone from being a simple LAN-based desktop-sharing service to a complete solution offering secure local and remote access to both single applications and full desktops. It now presents applications, sound and even video over high-latency connections.

The latest version of RDS is similar to its predecessors in that it improves the UX over previous versions. What’s somewhat different is that a lot of work has gone into the manageability side. As RDS becomes more powerful in delivering virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), it has also gained more management tools. This led to an awful lot of tools.

With Windows Server 2012, RDS has become more powerful in terms of what it can do, but also simpler to use. Many of the tools from previous versions have been combined into one. Now you don’t have to move from tool to tool to do related tasks.

VDI has also moved to a more results-oriented deployment model. It uses new wizard-driven, scenario-based installation options. Choose a desired end result, and the wizard will install and configure the required role services (even across multiple servers) to achieve the desired outcome.

Over the next few months, we’ll walk you through deploying and managing VDI in Windows Server 2012. We’ll start out with a single-server deployment you can use for basic testing. Then we’ll follow with a standard deployment using multiple servers. We’ll talk about how to manage VDI role services using Server Manager and Windows PowerShell. Once you’ve got basic virtual machines (VMs) or session-based desktops working, we’ll enable secure remote access with Remote Desktop Gateway (RD Gateway) and simplify the UX by publishing selected applications to Remote Desktop Web Access (RD Web Access).

We’ll also be looking at how RD Web Access can be branded and customized. Because certificates play an important role in setting up your environment securely, we’ll also devote an article specifically to installing and configuring SSL certificates for all the VDI role services. When the core components are working together, we’ll discuss how to make each role service highly available.

Once your servers are ready, you’re prepared to make VDI complete by delivering applications to your users. We’ll talk about user profile disks, which let you deliver a personalized environment for your users—including some settings you can’t store in the profile. Then we’ll talk about how to publish applications and desktops to users and look at the various ways users can access these.

Finally, for those delivering full desktops, we’ll show how to create a custom desktop, including how to manage the new Start screen. No discussion of VDI is complete without talking about licensing, so we’ll round off the series there. Look for these articles over the next few months in TechNet Magazine..."

Source: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/jj992579.aspx