Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione Planning, Deploying and Managing a Microsoft VDI Infrastructure Level Advanced

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione Who Am I ? Nicola Ferrini Trainer Technical Writer Systems Engineer Server & Application Virtualization Technology Specialist Most Valuable Porfessiona (MVP) Technet Speaker Microsoft System Center Influencer STEP Program Member More on:

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione Agenda Introduction Desktop virtualization solutions Local Desktop Virtualization Centralized Desktop Virtualization Session Virtualization Remote Desktop Session Host Remote Desktop Virtualization Host VDI Virtual Desktop Models Personal Virtual Desktop Pooled Virtual Desktops VDI Design Considerations Challenges Q&A!

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione Management Virtualization Solutions Profile Virtualization Document redirection Offline files Presentation Virtualization Desktop Virtualization Application Virtualization Server Virtualization

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione The Different Desktop Options LocalLocalHostedHosted PCLaptopVMsSessions

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione Hosted Desktops – Server Side RDP Remote Desktop Session Host OS Hardware Sessions Virtualized RD Session Hosts Personal Virtual Desktops Hypervisor Hardware Hypervisor Hardware Pooled Virtual Desktops Datacenter VDIRDS

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione Hosted Desktops – Client Side Desktop Hosting Server Remote Desktop Client Remoting Protocol

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione Microsoft Virtual Desktops Suite Remote Desktop Virtualization Host Remote Desktop Session Host Remote Desktop Protocol Home Mobile Office

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione Why Remote/Virtual Desktops? Contractors/ Offshoring Work from Home Centralized Desktop Developers Mergers and Acquisitions Remote Admin Access Application Compatibility Enhanced Agility

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione What Is RDS? RDS is presentation virtualization technology that provides access to session-based desktops, virtual machine–based desktops, and applications RDS provides the following benefits: Run an application or an entire desktop on centralized servers Manage session-based desktops, applications, or virtual machine–based desktops on centralized servers Provide an entire desktop, or just application window Provide integration of local and RemoteApp programs Enable secure remote access without establishing a VPN connection Centrally control which RD Session hosts can be accessed, who can access them, and device redirection

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione Remote Desktop Session Host WS 2008 R2 RDSH RD Connection Broker RDP Client RD Gateway RD Web Access Active Directory & Network Policy Server Authorization Policies

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione Client Experience Features with RDS The following enhancements are available to Remote Desktop users in Windows Server 2008 R2: Windows media redirection True multimonitor support Audio input and recording Improved audio and video synchronization Enhanced bitmap redirection Aero Glass support Language bar redirection Task scheduler

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione What is Virtual Desktop Infrastructure? Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is a key technology for enabling successful desktop virtualization implementations – in all organizations, for network connected users. As a deployment model, VDI allows these users to access their personal desktops in the datacenter. Desktops, Applications, User Data

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione Access Points (PC, Thin clients) Servers Storage Virtualization Platform Management Application Delivery User State Virtualization Desktop Delivery VDI Components Hardware Layer VDI Offering Access Points Network

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione Remote Desktop Virtualization Host RD Connection Broker RD Web Access RDSH Redirection Mode AD Domain Service RD Virtualization Host RDP Client

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione Benefits of Virtual Desktop Infrastructure VDI is a centralized desktop delivery architecture, which allows you to centralize the storage, execution, and management of Windows desktops Benefits of VDI: Provides access to data and applications from any device Improves data security and compliance Simplifies management and deployment of applications Improves business continuity Integrates management of physical, virtual, and session- based desktops Centralizes data storage and backup Key deployment scenarios of VDI are persistent virtual machines and pooled virtual machines

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione Desktop Virtualization Solutions Local Desktop Virtualization Provide virtualization at the local physical desktop Requires rich client operating system Uses local resources Offline solution Centralized Desktop Virtualization Provide virtualization from the data center Data is centrally stored and protected Update challenges Multiple operating system support available to meet needs Session Virtualization Provide virtualization from the data center Easier to configure and manage Remote desktop or remote application Single (shared) operating system instance

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione VDI Virtual Desktop Models Personal Virtual Desktop One-to-one mapping between a user and a virtual machine Model requires the creation of a virtual desktop for each user Users can perform specialized tasks that require administrator access to their desktop Users can access their personalized desktop from any computer while retaining the last saved state (persistent configuration) Application streaming and application hosting support with App-V and RemoteApp Best for Knowledge Workers (software developers, testers, and so on)

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione VDI Virtual Desktop Models Virtual Desktop Pool One-to-many mapping between a virtual machine and users Model requires a master VHD image that is duplicated or difference-based as needed to support user workload Users can perform standardized routine tasks and have access to common applications (such as Microsoft Office) Configuration state rolls back at logoff to provide a clean desktop for the next users session, but previous users state can be saved offline Application streaming and application hosting support with App-V and RemoteApp Analysis suggested to determine if session-based desktop is more efficient Best for Task or Office Workers (CRM, ERP, and similar users)

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione Virtual Desktop Pool Considerations Identical Virtual Machine Configuration Operating system Applications Management VHD duplication and storage Single image update Windows Client Operating Systems Does not support Windows Server operating systems Does not support 3 rd party operating systems Single Pool Membership Virtual machines are restricted to membership in a single virtual desktop pool User Data Non-Persistent Data saved by user in a VM may not be accessible after log off Users may be connected to different virtual machine at next log on

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione How Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Works A user can connect to a virtual machined based on the VDI configured for: Personal virtual desktops 1.A user initiates the connection to the personal virtual desktop 2.The user sends the request to the RD Session Host server running in redirection mode 3.The RD Session Host server forwards the request to the RD Connection Broker server 4.The RD Connection Broker server queries AD DS and retrieves the name of the virtual machine that is assigned to the requesting user account 5.The RD Connection Broker server sends a request to the RD Virtualization Host server to start the virtual machine 6.The RD Virtualization Host server returns the IP address of the FQDN to the RD Connection Broker server 7.The RD Session Host server redirects the request to the client computer that initiated the connection 8.The client computer connects to the personal virtual desktop Pooled virtual desktops 1. A user initiates the connection to the virtual desktop pool 2. The user sends the request to the RD Session Host server running in redirection mode 3. The RD Session Host server redirects the request to the RD Connection Broker server 4. The RD Connection Broker server verifies whether any existing session exists for the requesting user account 5. The RD Session Host server redirects the request to the client computer that initiated the connection 6. The client computer connects to the virtual desktop pool A user can connect to a virtual machined based on the VDI configured for: Personal virtual desktops Pooled virtual desktops

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione Virtual Machines for Virtual Desktop RD Virtualization Host can assign each user a unique virtual machine, a personal virtual desktop, or can redirect users to a shared virtual machine pool, where a virtual machine is dynamically assigned After installing a virtual machine, you must configure the following to work with RDS: 1.Join the virtual machine to a domain 2.Enable Remote Desktop 3.Add user accounts to the local Remote Desktop Users security group 4.Allow RPC 5.Create a firewall exception to allow Remote Services Management 6.Add permissions to RDP

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione Core VDI Components Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V Supports the creation, isolation, and execution of virtual desktops Provides the assignment and control of system resources Enables implementation of high-availability and fault-tolerance functionality Active Directory Domain Services (ADDS) Stores the access rights mapping between users and virtual desktops Remote Desktop Session Host (RDSH) Executes in redirection mode to disallow interactive user sessions Communicates with RD Connection Broker to obtain VM IP address and redirect RDP client to connect to the VM Securely redirects a user RDP connection to an identified VM Remote Desktop Connection Broker (RD Connection Broker) Identifies a VM for a user to make an RDP connection Communicates with RDVH to prepare VM for RDP connection, start a VM from saved state Manages sessions to redirect users to existing VMs Remote Desktop Virtualization Host (RDVH) Executes on Hyper-V hosts to serve requests for virtual desktops running in VMs Prepares VMs for RDP connection based on request from RD Connection Broker Monitors VM sessions and relays session information to RD Connection Broker

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione Other VDI Components RemoteApp Enables abstraction of applications from virtual desktop image Integrates into virtual desktop for seamless access to applications running on RDSH Enables applications to present on virtual desktop in their own resizable window Solution for applications that are incompatible with virtual desktop operating system Application Virtualization (App-V) Enables abstraction of applications from virtual desktop image Provides streamed delivery and isolated execution of applications on virtual desktops Requires an App-V client on the virtual desktop Solution to run multiple versions of applications or incompatible applications simultaneously System Center Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) Provides a single, integrated console to manage physical Hyper-V hosts and VMs Provides functionality to automatically provision virtual desktops Provides functionality to deploy VMs to most suitable Hyper-V host

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione VDI Design Considerations Deployment Scale Enterprise, multiple locations, departmental For large scale deployment, consider Citrix XenDesktop Solution with Hyper-V User Categorization Identify user categories, connection, and desktop permissions requirements Define with respect to personal or pooled virtual desktops, and session-based options Client Operating Systems VDI architecture dependent on performance and available features of client operating system Applications Define application set, characteristics, execution, and delivery requirements Identify application delivery and presentation restrictions Virtual Desktop Image Thin: dynamically assembled virtual desktop (user state and application virtualization) Rich: static virtual desktop (local user state and applications) Hybrid: some base applications with user state and application virtualization

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione VDI Design Considerations Client Devices Thin client devices (terminals, and so on) Rich client devices (PCs, laptops, and so on) Connectivity Identify connection requirements (LAN, WAN, Dial-up, ISP) Identify encryption requirements Storage Identify storage requirements for user state and data Identify storage requirements for virtual desktop VMs Security Identify groups, departments, locations that require higher security levels Identify infrastructure impact based on additional instance requirements High-Availability Identify virtual desktops that must be highly available Identify high-availability solutions for VDI infrastructure servers, networks, and storage

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione Major Challenges

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione Additional Challenges

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione Challenge – App Compatibility Administrator User Registry: HKCU (User Profile – Admin) Registry: Shadow Keys – Write Global.ini Files (%WinDir%, \WINDOWS) Global Temp Files (%Temp%) Global API Calls (GetWindowsDirectory) Registry: HKCU (User Profile – User) Registry: Shadow Keys – Read Adapted.ini Files (%WinDir%, \WINDOWS) Specific Temp Files (%Temp%) Specific API Calls (GetWindowsDirectory)

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione Challenge – WAN Remote Desktop Protocol

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione Challenge – Application Publishing Remote Desktop Protocol

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione Questions and Answers

Microsoft and Community Tour 2011 – Infrastrutture in evoluzione Thank you!