Today has been a busy day from Microsoft and Citrix on desktop virtualisation! Shortly before the webcast between Citrix and Microsoft, Microsoft announced some new initiatives which should help drive the adoption of VDI.
Hosted Desktop Virtualisation
The Windows XP SP3 virtual machine that can be run on Windows 7 Virtual PC, called XP Mode, will no longer require hardware virtualisation to be executed. The new version will be released today as a hotfix.
Hyper-V
Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 will introduce memory overcommit called Dynamic Memory. Which is a move that Citrix just did in their 5.6 beta release of XenServer.
VDI
The real big announcements came around desktop virtualisation, as we reported earlier in the week the joint focus between Microsoft and Citrix is profound on the desktop space.
The remote desktop accelration technology that Microsoft acquired through Calista in January 2008 is now called RemoteFX and will arrive with Windows 2008 R2 SP1, and will be integrated into Remote Desktop Services (RDS). RemoteFX is considered an accelerator for RDP over the LAN for Windows 7 SP1 clients.
As of the 1st July 2010 Windows Client Software Assurance (SA) will include the VECD license for free.
Customers that don’t wont to subscribe the SA will be able to buy a new Virtual Desktop Access (VDA) license: $100 /device/year instead of $110 of the VECD.
As of July 1, 2010, Windows Client Software Assurance (SA) and new Virtual Desktop Access (VDA) license customers will have the right to access their virtual desktop and Office applications inside it on secondary, non-corporate network devices, such as home PCs and kiosks.
Microsoft and Citrix signed a new technology agreement to integrate and extend Microsoft RemoteFX with Citrix HDX.
Microsoft and Citrix launched a joint trade-in program dubbed “Rescue for VMware VDI”, offering up to 500 licenses to VMware View customers at no additional cost, and offering to new customers a 70% discount on Microsoft VDI Standard Suite subscription license and a 50% discount on Citrix XenDesktop VDI Edition annual license ($28 per device for up to 250 devices for one year).