What's new in desktop virtualization?  Well, lots of announcements from different vendors trying to peddle their wares, but I haven't seen or read anything very thought provoking. 
<rant> (Man, I'm totally geeking out here)

I'm trying to keep abreast of the latest happenings in the desktop virtualization space from a design and architecture perpsective, but honestly, there isn't much.  There are tons of solutions out there, some better than others. There are many point solutions out there that solve 1 issue for desktop virtualization.  Heck, even Brian Madden commented about the one-hit wonders in a recent blog. 

I'm also on twitter (@djfeller) and I try to follow VDI/Desktop Virtualization, I have Google Reader alerts setup (You can follow my shared items but there isn't much I've found useful). What do I typically see? One post about a new feature, then I see it retweeted a zillion times (Ok, I'm exaggerating a little, but still).  I see articles about why companies aren't doing the VDI/Desktop Virtualization thing yet.  Why? It's not because there aren't solutions. There are. They might not solve every use case, but they can solve some for some users. So what's the holdup?   No one is showing them how to get it done. 

It's time for a REAL discussion. Let's start focusing on designing a desktop virtualization solution.

</rant>

I'm not going to lie to you and tell you desktop virtualization is easy. It won't be a walk in the park unless your park is full of mountains, rivers, mosquitoes, coyotes, wolfs and bears.  So, why would we attempt to do something like this? Because the alternative is even worse. With so many different user requirements you can quickly see how the current distributed desktop environment is a disaster waiting to happen (or already happened over and over again).

But let's not dwell on the ugliness of the current model. Let's instead focus on designing a better solution.  Let's start talking about design, and my oh my there is a lot to talk about, which is why I'm about to start a blog series on designing a desktop virtualization solution with XenDesktop.  I plan to focus on the main design decision areas and giving you my thoughts and recommendations based on what I've seen so far. I'm positive many of you have seen different things, which I encourage you to comment so we all can learn. 

This should be a great series and I can't wait to hear some of your comments.  (BTW, I got a lot of great comments for all of you during our Provisioning Services for XenApp blog series and hope to get the same level of feedback.)

Daniel - Lead Architect - Worldwide Consulting Solutions
Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/djfeller
Follow me in the Blogs: http://community.citrix.com/blogs/citrite/danielf
  

As many of you who follow my blog postings will realize, I love talking about Provisioning Services

• Provisioning Services Best Practices (6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, plus more to come) 
• Quickly deliver XenApp Servers with Provisioning Services
• Use Provisioning Services to Create XenApp Swing Servers

I've spent a significant amount of time discussing best practices for integrating XenApp and Provisioning Services and thanks to many of you and your questions, I've been able to create and define new best practices; all of which will make it easier for you two simplify you XenApp environments. 

If you are still wanting more information on the Provisioning Services for XenApp, then I highly recommend you attend this recently released TechTalk.  For those of you who have attended my TechTalks before, my goal is to explain the how's, the why's and the  when's for creating a solution of your own.  This TechTalk is no different as I go through the following topics

• How Provisioning Services overcomes many of the ongoing challenges associated with XenApp environments
• How to create and deliver a set of XenApp servers with  Provisioning Services        
• How to design a Provisioning Services solution while following recommended best practices
  

Who do I recommend that should watch and listen to the TechTalk?  Well, the following is a good idea:

1. Anyone who is trying to design a Provisioning Services for XenApp environment
2. Anyone who has heard of Provisioning Services and thought it sounded intriguing
3. Anyone who has a XenApp environment and wants to makes management easier
4. Anyone who knows already knows a lot about Provisioning Services. You might learn something new, or you might be able to provide me with some of your thoughts/insights. 
   

After watching the TechTalk, feel free to post a question or comment on this blog as I'm always interested in hearing your thoughts, suggestions and recommendations. 

BTW, you can reach me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/djfeller or on the blog site http://community.citrix.com/blogs/citrite/danielf

So, set aside 60 minutes, grab some food, go to this TechTalk link, sit back, relax and enjoy. 

Daniel - Sr. Architect (Worldwide Consulting Solutions)