VDI

In fact, in this virtualization method, it is possible for users regardless of what device or operating system they use.
(Computer, thin client, zero client, mobile, tablet, etc. with various operating systems: Windows, Linux, Android, etc.)
Give them access to their own desktop through the network platform (LAN, WAN, Internet).
In fact, regardless of the type of device a user has, we can give him the experience of working with a computer with a variety of operating systems.

The required operating system is installed on the server with one of the following modes:
- Install and assign an operating system to a specific user.
- Run and assign a server operating system to a group of users and assign a desktop from that operating system to each user.
- Install operating system and all kinds of applications and settings, assigning a copy of it to each user as a template.
We provide users with access to the server through LAN, WAN, and Internet.
The configur ation of the mentioned server and alsothe useroperating systemaredone according to the user’s needs and the policies of the organization.
The imagequalityis adjusted according to the available network bandwidth as well as the user’s needs.
The user can use his desktop from any device.

It is obvious that there are a lot of details in this solution, so the mentioned items are stated only for the sake of brevity and clarification of this concept.

Desktop virtualization functionality

IN the past, people did not have access to a complete computer system, there was a powerful central computer called mainframe, and its connected devices were without any any CPU or processing power, and all work was done on the central computer system.
So, it was easier to manage this part. But with as time goes by and the creation of other personal computers, it was difficult to manage each system.
Therefore, researchers are looking for past solutions with more modern methodsthan includingvirtualization. desktop virtualization solve these problems
virtualization desktop virtualization or to words other desktop virtualization in fact generate actually consists of several strong servers, on which the operating system operating installed system is installed for each user. operating is installed
This section is processed by a server. is processed by a powerful.

In this section, the user is connected to the central server using a terminal (thin client) and observe the virtual desktop monitor and easily do his work with it. easily do his work with it do his work
This method is beneficial for an organization and administration in various aspects.
Because with this method, the high costs of computer management will be removed the amount of money that must be spent on hardware will naturally reduce. on ware will reduce will naturally reduce
Because each user needs a thin client, which has a lower price than a PC device.

Why virtual desktop?

Before the invention of desktop virtualization, users had to choose one of the following ways to use their personal computer:

The traditional local desktop method, in this method, a local version of Windows was needed on each user’s computer.
SBC desktop server-based method, in this method, each user remotely connects to a Microsoft or Citrix server.
But with desktop virtualization But with desktop virtualization in new ways, processing operations are taken from users from users and brought to a central server.
In this method, the use of virtual computer technology is assigned to each user and its limitations and obstacles have beensolved. have been
In this method, each user connects to his computer as a unit independently with the operating system and applications. operating system and applications.
Due to the fact that the number of resources allocated to each user changes, therefore the use of resources at every moment is beneficial and hardware expenses are reduced are reduced.

Advantages of using desktop virtualization:

1. Reducing the bandwidth used by the network.
2. Reducing purchase and installation expenses
3. simple upgrade soft ware and also. simple upgrade virtual hardware. .
4. The possibility better management and reducing administrative work load due to centralized management
5. Increasing security and ease of access through data collection and integration .. . .
6. generate a unified work environment for users due to the separation of the operating system and applications from the hardware .
7. quick response to user requests and problems
8. Appropriate and effective use of resources
9. Optimum utilization of hardware parts (CPU, disk, memory and electricity) and their better use
10. Apply encryption and restrictions for unauthorized use of the system

What is virtualization?

Desktop virtualization is a solution that transfers the user’s operating system to the server’s virtual environment.
In simpler terms, it is no longer necessary to install Windows or Linux for each user and each of them can be managed and tracked remotely.
Users with any device can easily access any operating system they want at the moment without wasting time and manpower.
Like running Windows 10 with AutoCad software on a cheap tablet that doesn’t have the right hardware or using the Windows 10 operating system on an old case with poor hardware, even without hard disk!

Desktop virtualization provides you with many possibilities and significantly reduces the costs of organizations.
Meanwhile, there are few specific solutions for implementing desktop virtualization in organizations, which are offered by three companies, Citrix, VMware, and Microsoft.
But it should be considered that the main competition is between the software product of VMware named Horizon and the Citrix package which is called Virtual Apps and Desktops.
In this article, the goal is to compare these two products with a scientific approach and according to the results of their implementation in countries such as America, Holland, Germany, Singapore and Iran.
The result of this article is the remarkable superiority of Citrix solution compared to VMware.
Note that in order to start this comparison, we should review the two concepts of server virtualization and desktop virtualization.

Server virtualization:

Server virtualization means making software servers and operating systems independent from the hardware server. in other words, running a service or operating system on an intermediate platform (HYPERVISOR).

Desktop virtualization:

Desktop virtualization (VDI) means the virtualization of users’ personal operating systems.
which is strongly tied to the user’s behavior and all of them deal with it during the day, and according to the practical and technical definitions of virtualization at both SERVER and DESKTOP levels, the virtualization environment is much more dangerous than the field of server virtualization due to the direct touch of users.
Because usually the workforces in an organization can suddenly question all your efforts as network administrators.
When it comes to server virtualization, everyone is aware of the superiority of VMWARE products compared to CITRIX and MICROSOFT.
In the field of server virtualization, the VSPHERE solution and the implementation of the ESXI virtualizer from VMWARE company are considered to be the best and most comprehensive services in the world.
But on the other hand, the research results and practical implementation show that CITRIX’s superiority is quantitatively and qualitatively great in the field of desktop virtualization.
In addition, CITRIX VIRTUAL APPS AND DESKTOP is considered a luxury, expensive and very efficient product.

VDI solutions comparison

The first comparison:

User experience and productivity

If the employees of an organization cannot access the software and information they need, or even if their access is faced a disorder, a series of basic problems will arise.
The problem is not only dissatisfaction and decrease in users’ productivity, but also causes more fundamental problems in the organization performance.
Most likely, users will find other solutions to do their work and they will reach for solutions that will have an unfavorable result for organizations.
Citrix company hasalways focused on providing the best experience and unique capabilities for users.
In the following, we will mention some of the advantages of Citrix in terms of user experience and productivity, and we will review each of these topics in detail in the following pages.
And at the end of this section, we will compare the details of this comparison in the form of a table:

Citrix automatically addresses users’ needs.

Unlike VMware’s software called VMware Horizon ViewClient, Citrix Workspace App automatically detects Citrix infrastructure.
and chooses the best path in the network to the organizational resources.
Even when users move in internal or external networks (within the organization’s environment and outside it) and change their position.
For example, when the user changes his office or when the user wants to access authorized resources from outside the organization’s network.
This happens with smart detection of Store Front and Citrix Gateway infrastructures.
And practically, the software receiving the users, in addition to providing service, have the ability to recognize the best solution for error tolerance.

You can also use Citrix Workspace software through choosing the best access method technologies, which is much more favorable than VMware’s software.
Consider how desirable it is for your user to view the Windows-based company’s accounting software on his Android phone as an Android Application.
And after choosing the access technology such as PNagent or Access HTML5, get the software and print the information using your mobile phone.
In addition, it can save its data in the memory of the mobile phone in the moment so that the software access does not differ much from the Android application.
In terms of access quality, such as Resolution, all items are automatically adjusted according to the nature of your software.
These items can be implemented in all operating systems and all end devices.

Citrix has the most efficiency in image transmission

Advanced Citrix HDX technology is the most powerful and compatible protocol in the image transmission industry. (HDX is the name of Citrix’s image transfer protocol)
The HDX protocol provides the best performance and the highest image quality on any network and on any device.
But the Horizon protocol for VMware still lags behind many of the virtualization features of operating systems and software.
Citrix infrastructure can support any graphics card in the server and easily share your GPU among your users.
Due to the triple technology in the graphics processing transfer, it can take advantage of the power of your client’s graphics processor in the best way.
So that the processor power of your users will greatly reduce your server side processes.
Imagine how amazing it would be to run a very heavy computer game on a single board computer like a Raspberry pi with an ARM processor and with very low bandwidth on WAN networks!

Citrix carry an easy cooperation with other virtual server infrastructures.

Unlike VMware Horizon, Citrix Virtual Apps andDesktop infrastructuresupports this advanced technology to provide unified communication (UC) solutions.
The support means the directcooperation of Citrix with companies such asCisco, Microsoft, etc. in the field of virtualization and unified communication.
For example,Microsoft’s Skype for Business, jabber or Cisco’sAvaya One-X are currently used by more than 75,500,000 active users every day.
Other competitors will never be able to support such technology, or even they struggle to find such large-scale customers.
By providing dedicated software versions of these solutions like the dedicated version of Skype for Business for the HDX desktop, Citrix creates incredible efficiency in the field of user communication with VDI virtual machines format.

read the articles below to learn more about virtualization solutions for different usage:

Comprehensive and practical Horizen article

The second comparison:

Improving security decisions Context-aware security

Today, security is considered one of the most basic issues in the field of computer networks.
Ensuring that customer data and their IPs are secure requires compliance with a series of laws or specific restrictions.
Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops infrastructure can establish even the most stringent and complex security requirements.

In the following, we will mention some of them and explain each one, and at the end of this section, we will look into the details of this comparison in the form of a table:

Text access policies
Detect and remove malware
User account management and IP protection
Advanced analysis

In the following, we explain in detail:

Text access policies:
Only the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops infrastructure can recognize the individuals’ prerequisites and user contexts and apply policies based on them and hide a series of software if necessary.
This allows the IT group to easily perform any operation required when determining the user’s access limit, by determining the key features of the user’s device or his location.
In fact, the IT group can apply any restrictions at any time or remove any restrictions according to this feature.
Identifying and removing malware:
Citrix company in collaboration with Bitdefender, offers the first method to identify and eliminate malware in the VDI industry.
This method is done by detecting attack patterns.
In such a way that it analyzes the behavior of the malware to find anomalies and if necessary, completely stops the processes of finding anomalies.
User account handling and IT protection:
Unlike VMware Horizon, the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops infrastructure allows network administrators to automatically connect user sessions.
Network administrators can also view the past activities of each user thoroughly.
Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops can mark each user’s sessions.
So that users cannot remove non-physical assets such as knowledge, information and everything that can be transferred as data and is strategically important for the company.
Example: Show me a picture of all the users who visited the AOL website using Google Chrome last month!
Meanwhile, VMware Horizon software does not even provide you with a suitable tool to record and view the desktop image of users.
And you’re forced to resort to inefficient 3^rd-party tools and tie your VDI solutions to tools that have no feel for your technical VDI implementation.
Advanced analysis:
Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops integrate seamlessly into Citrix Cloud or Citrix Workspace.
which uniquely provides a User Behavior Analytics or UBA.
In short, it can be said that it observes and analyzes the user’s behavior.
And by using artificial intelligence, it scores users’ activities in terms of work risk and instantly translates these scores for network managers.

The third comparison:

Unified Management and Choice

Unified management and choice are essential for the IT profession.
Especially in the field of software and virtual operating systems (generally in the field of virtualization).
Unified management and choice mean to have a tool to manage all users in order to control them all as a unit.
For example, if a new policy is to be applied to users, this policy can be applied to all at once and there is no need to apply it to individual users.

In the absence of this feature in VDI infrastructure, organizations must accept risks.
These risks include management challenges for simple transfer of softwares and operating systems from a branch to a datacenter.
Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops are designed in such a way that you can implement whatever management efficiency you have in mind along with a variety of other unique features, some of which we will highlight below.
In the following, we will examine each one in detail and compare them in the form of a table:

Unified Management
Wide platform support
Effective software and image management
Coordination and automation

Unified Management:
Only Citrix company can offer the possibility of managing software and virtual operating systems in internal environments, cloud system and a combination of both in an integrated manner.
While other competitors are involved in setting up hybrid structures, Citrix offers you this opportunity with its Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops infrastructure.
to run the cloud service and then add internal resources to them.
Or run the internal structure and extend it to the cloud system whenever needed.
Wide platform support:
Unlike many competitors that limit customers to choose dedicated infrastructure, Citrix allows you to choose your own infrastructure and work platform.
Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops infrastructure is an agnostic platform, means that you can choose the most cost-effective and appropriate infrastructure for your business.
Effective software and image management:
Not having a suitable management tool in managing the large structure of virtual operating systems and countless number of virtual software can cause many problems.
The Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops structure has provided the industry’s best image and software management solutions.
These tools and solutions make management processes faster and ensure you to run your business with high operational efficiency.
Coordination and automation:
Unlike other competitors who want you to use their packages and management tools
Citrix is highly aligned with the standard tools and processes used in the industry today.
That means you can use the most standard management tool available in the industry.
This makes you perform your operations with high efficiency.

The fourth comparison:

Raha’s Experience

Considering Raha’s 10 years of experience in the field of virtualization in education and implementation, we can make a comparison between these two desktop virtualization platforms in the following dimensions:

Easier and more professional Citrix troubleshooting
Less and more efficient use of hardware resources in Citrix
Lower price of Citrix zero clients
Higher stability in Citrix
Citrix being more user-friendly
Citrix being more adaptable to a variety of security management policies
Graphics card sharing
Classification of operating system, software and platform
Application Container

In the following, we explain in detail:

1. Easier and more professional Citrix troubleshooting
Troubleshooting virtual desktop infrastructure has always been easier and more accurate in Citrix.
For the sake of brevity, it is enough to say that in many cases when something goes wrong with Horizon, we just get an error message.
This error message does not even have a number that we can track and follow.
In many cases, the error message is as follows: “Error, contact your network administrator!”

2. Less and more efficient consumption of hardware resources in Citrix:
Regarding hardware resources, including processor, RAM and storage, which are consumed on the server for a fixed number of users and with specific users on both platforms.
Citrix consumes about 30% less resources, and in addition to this savings, users will have a smoother work experience than Horizon.

3. Lower price of Citrix zero clients:
Considering that in Horizon, more resources are needed on the zero client in terms of RAM and processor power and memory.
Therefore, the zero clients which used for horizon protocols will be more expensive.
And even if you want to follow VMware’s advice, you should use zero clients with Teradici processors.
To reach the highest performance mentioned by the VMware company, the price of zero clients with this type of processor is generally about 2 times better than that of Citrix zero clients.
At the same time, it is possible to use a higher user quality with Zero Client at a price of about 40% of Teradici Zero Clients, on the Citrix platform!

4. Higher stability on Citrix:
The projects that Raha has done with Citrix have been more stable and greater in number of users.
The Validity of this claim is the support that Raha has provided to its customers for both types of platforms.
Even though the number of users and the size of the project were larger in Citrix projects, we provided less support.
Likewise, less down time has been reported in Citrix projects.
In this case, in addition to the Raha’s experience, you can also search on the Internet and find out the truth of this issue.

5. User-friendliness of Citrix:
In addition to the fact that complaints reported on both platforms about the slowness of the system or the difference in user experience with computers in Citrix were not so great, Citrix coped well with the user’s needs, even in heavy graphic applications where it was not possible to use the VMware platform.

6. Adaptability of Citrix with various security management policies:
It can be said that whatever the management and monitoring policy the employer decides, it can be implemented in the Citrix platform due to its open-source feature.
Meanwhile, in the VMWare platform, we are limited to using a combination of a few predetermined policies to implement these monitoring and management policies.
There is fewer than 15 predefined policies and this means too much limitation that cannot be solved.

7. Graphics card sharing:
If we want to share the graphics card among users on the Horizon platform, we are limited to using certain graphics cards with the Grid model.
For example, the Grid4 can only be used for 4 virtual desktops, and in such a way that each user must be given a dedicated virtual machine.
And the price of this graphic card is about 4 thousand dollars.
On the Citrix platform, even a regular graphics card can be shared between 99 virtual desktop users.
Also, on a shared virtual machine and this is a sufficient parameter to make Citrix the only choice for customers with heavy graphics usage.

8. Classification of operating system, software and platform:
Only in Citrix VDI can you have operating system, software and platform categories and deliver any software to users without installation.
or upgrade with one click, you should consider the quality of this issue is very important.
The distance between Citrix and VMware in this area cannot be ignored.
For example, suppose that there are 5 thousand users with different needs in your organization.
One group works with Windows 7, one group with Windows 10, one group needs 3.5 net, one group needs java libraries and one group needs photoshop software.
And a group to the 2019 Office package and another group to the 2016 Office package and other needs and issues…

9. Application Container:
In very large scenarios, using VMware Horizon seems like a nightmare due to its limitations, but Citrix offers with an interesting possibility.
A Windows Application Container is something similar to docker in Linux with this difference that it can package all Windows and Linux software.
And regardless of the platform and operating system, deliver it to users at the moment!

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