Virtual Computer launched NxTop Connect at Citrix's Synergy. The company is doing its best to simplify virtual desktop environments. It is addressing the fact that there are a confusing array of different approaches to creating and deploying a virtual desktops ranging from accessing remotely executing applications using access virtualization, accessing or delivering applications to the desktop system using application virtualization, or using virtual machine software in a number of creative ways to create virtual client systems that may exectue locally, on a workgroup server or back in the datacenter.
Virtual Computer, the market leader in distributed desktop virtualization, today announced NxTop ConnectTM, a flexible, secure, and fully managed endpoint solution for enterprise customers. With NxTop Connect, organizations can future‐proof their desktop virtualization strategy by deploying a heterogeneous collection of endpoint PC devices all managed from a single console. Through a seamless interface, endpoint devices can securely and simultaneously run one or more locally executing operating systems such as: Windows XP or Windows 7; any number of server‐hosted virtual desktops from VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) vendors such as Citrix, Microsoft and VMware; on‐ demand applications via XenApp; and cloud‐based computing applications.
Thinly Provisioned Clients
Historically, enterprise customers have been forced to choose between “thick clients” that glue the operating system to the hardware, and “thin clients,” which lack mobility, cost as much as a new PC, and can only connect to server‐based infrastructure. NxTop Connect allows these same customers to take advantage of the spectrum of PC hardware from low‐cost appliances to high‐end workstations, all managed from the same console and capable of performing any required operation. The concept of a “thinly provisioned client” provides the ultimate in flexibility for enterprise customers and enables a powerful set of deployment scenarios, including:
- Distributed execution of centrally‐managed virtual machines with near‐native performance on any variety of laptop or desktop PC (Note: this requires Intel VT or AMD‐V.)
- Remote connectivity to server‐hosted desktop and application sessions using popular products such as Citrix XenApp, Citrix XenDesktop, Microsoft Remote Desktop Services, and VMware View ‐‐ all running in a fully isolated and secure environment.
Fast‐boot into a secure web‐browsing environment to take advantage of cloud‐based services or isolate high‐risk web activity from sensitive corporate applications running on Windows.All services provided by NxTop Connect run either individually or simultaneously, creating a secure, flexible computing platform. This can only be achieved using bare‐metal hypervisor technology built around a centralized management system.
It is deployed to support a number of things depending upon which technology is utilized.
As you can see, when one looks "under the hood" of a virtual desktop environment, it becomes very complex, very quickly. Virtual Computer's NxTop family of products is designed to address several of these categories and make them simple, powerful and easy to use. The key to their product strategy is a powerful, flexible management environment.
If you're at Citrix's Synergy, it would be worth dropping by their booth and taking a look.