Virtual Desktops

What is a virtual desktop?

A virtual desktop is an individual user's interface in a virtualized environment.The virtualized desktop is stored on a remote server rather than locally.

Desktop virtualization software separates the physical machine from the software and presents an isolated operating system for users. Desktop virtualization tools include Microsoft Virtual PC, VMware Workstation and Parallels Desktop for Mac.

The benefits of desktop virtualization include:

Knowledge workers who use mostly business software applications are good candidates for desktop virtualization. The model is not generally viable for users with high resource demands.

On a single host machine, a user may have separate virtual desktops for different applications. One desktop might feature applications for graphic design, for example, and another might feature business applications.