How Windows Virtual Desktop Compares with Remote Desktop Services
… deploy and manage the desktop VMs by installing a “reverse connect” (no more firewall ports to open) agent on each. When users connect, they get to Microsoft’s control plane first, and are then authenticated and routed to the appropriate desktop based on their entitlements. This not only reduces the cost of infrastructure needed to support virtual desktops, but it saves on ongoing management labor, too.
User Profiles
With RDS, user profiles were a prominent pain point. Technologies such as User Profile Disks (UPDs) and Roaming Profiles often made for poor user experiences because of limitations such as no indexed Outlook searching and no OneDrive On-Demand files, to name just a few. These issues alone made users resistant to adopting virtual desktops.
With WVD, user profile issues are largely eliminated. Microsoft purchased a technology called FSLogix Profile Containers in 2018, which resolves the limitations and allows for native Windows 10, Office and OneDrive functionality to work seamlessly in a multiuser virtual desktop environment.
WVD is just the beginning of the “Windows desktop in the cloud” story. Microsoft is not only working on a robust road map to improve the functionality and performance of WVD across the board, but there are other technologies that are going to make Windows Virtual Desktop even more valuable. For example, Microsoft is already adding new technologies, like App Attach, which leverages a new Microsoft Installer (MSI) format called MSIX that allows desktop applications to be “attached” to a desktop VM at log-on time rather than being installed on the golden image. Announcements like these indicate Microsoft’s continued investment in making WVD and virtual desktops user friendly and the go-to technology of the future.
It’s an exciting time to be an MSP and help customers transform their IT environments. Desktop virtualization completes the value proposition of moving the entire IT environment to the cloud without sacrificing performance at a cost structure that can finally compete with on-premises deployments.
As a creative technologist with an aptitude for business, Vadim Vladimirskiy is the CEO at Nerdio and the dynamic force behind the creation and evolution of its flagship product, Nerdio for Azure, the definitive Azure solution for MSPs. Vadim is a dynamic speaker and most recently spoke on-stage with Microsoft at its Microsoft Inspire event. When he’s not actively pushing the IT envelope, Vadim loves spending time with his family. Follow him on LinkedIn or @GetNerdio or @vadimvl on Twitter.
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