Introduction Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization MED-V
Introduction to Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V)
MED-V uses Microsoft Virtual PC to provide an enterprise solution for desktop virtualization. With MED-V, you can easily create, deliver and manage corporate Virtual PC images on any Windows based desktop. MED-V is an integral component of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, a dynamic solution available to Software Assurance customers, which helps reduce application deployment costs, enables delivery of applications as services, and helps to better manage and control enterprise desktop environments .
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Enable legacy applications and accelerate upgrades to new operating systems
Incompatibility of legacy applications with new versions of Windows can often delay enterprise upgrades to the latest version of Windows. Testing and migrating applications takes time, and users are unable to take advantage of the new capabilities and enhancements offered by the newest operating system.
By delivering applications in a Virtual PC that runs a previous version of the operating system (for example, Windows XP or Windows 2000), MED-V removes the barriers to operating system upgrades and allows administrators to complete testing and to deal with incompatible applications after the upgrade
From the user's perspective, these applications are accessible from the standard desktop Start menu and appear side-by-side with native applications—so there is minimal change to the user experience.
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High-Level Architecture
The MED-V solution comprises the following elements
Administrator-defined virtual machine—encapsulates a full desktop environment, including an operating system, applications and optional management and security tools.
Image repository—Stores all virtual images on a standard IIS server and enables virtual images version management, client-authenticated image retrieval, and efficient download (of a new image or an updates) via Trim Transfer technology.
Management server—Associates virtual images from the image repository along with administrator usage policies to Active Directory users or groups. The management server also aggregates clients' events and stores them in an external database (Microsoft SQL Server ) for monitoring and reporting purposes.
Management console—Enables administrators to control the management server and the image repository.
End-User Client
a. Virtual image life-cycle—Authentication, image retrieval, enforcement of usage policies.
b. Virtual machine session management—Start, stop, lock the virtual machine.
c. Single desktop experience—Applications installed in the virtual machine seamlessly available through the standard desktop Start menu and integrated with other applications on the user desktop.
All communication between the client and the servers (management server and image repository) is carried on top of a standard HTTP or HTTPs channel.