VMware is arguably the goliath of server virtualisation, but its attempts to become the de facto virtualisation vendor on the desktop haven't gone quite as well.
Nearly two years after VMware announced its "vClient" initiative to give customers a range of server-hosted and client-hosted virtual desktop options, VMware has failed to deliver one of the initiative's key technologies.
Client hypervisors allow desktops to run in a virtual machine installed directly on a user's laptop, rather than in a server inside the data center. The approach allows centralised management of desktops, while potentially giving users better performance than VDI technologies that require applications to run on remote servers.
Client hypervisors may enable "bring-your-own-PC-to-work" scenarios by letting user machines host one desktop for personal applications and a separate desktop environment for work applications.
VMware's bare-metal desktop hypervisor is still under wraps, and no release date is being specified.
Gartner has speculated that developing all the necessary drivers needed by PC users is a challenge, as is persuading PC vendors to ship and support client-side hypervisors.
When asked if VMware will deliver the client hypervisor in 2010, Vmware says "we don't have a timeline."
VMware seems to indicate that development of PCoIP, VMware's protocol for allowing remote access to workstations and servers from thin clients, is taking precedence over work on the bare-metal hypervisor.
The 2008 announcement also touted VMware's forthcoming offline desktop technology for accessing server-hosted desktops even when a client device isn't connected to the Internet. Offline Desktop has popped up in VMware View, but only as an "experimental" feature.
Building a client hypervisor is more complicated than creating server-based technology because of issues with audio, USB devices, Webcams, wireless networking and Bluetooth, Citrix has said.
While client virtualisation is an emerging part of the desktop virtualisation market, and may not gain widespread adoption for a year or two, VMware's failure to deliver a client hypervisor before its rivals could prove costly.
While VMware has become the virtualisation vendor of choice for enterprises on the server side, results in the desktop market have been mixed. According to analysts, more businesses use Citrix's desktop virtualisation technology than VMware's, but VMware has more users than Citrix when measured by deployed seats. The market is expected to grow considerably over the next few years and will be a major point of focus for both Citrix and VMware.