#Virtual desktop windows 10#

#Virtual desktop windows 10#

Thus, Windows 10 now has true workstation multi-user functionality.

However, in 2019, Microsoft announced the availability of Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD), which enables multi-user functionality on Windows 10, which was previously only available on server operating systems. Until recently, a workstation operating system could only service users as 1:1. Desktop Experience adds features such as Windows Media Player, Sound Recorder and Character Map, all of which are not natively included as part of the generic server operating system installation. Where a server operating system is the platform for VDI, Microsoft Server Desktop Experience is enabled to more closely mimic a workstation operating system to users.

For example, a single virtual desktop allocated to a single user is considered 1:1, but numerous virtual desktops shared under a single operating system is a hosted shared model, or 1:many.Ī server operating system can service users as either 1:1 or 1:many. Traditionally, the term VDI has most commonly referred to a virtualized workstation operating system allocated to a single user, but that definition is changing.Įach virtual desktop presented to users may be based on a 1:1 alignment or a 1:many ratio, which is often referenced as multi-user. VDI may be based on a server or workstation operating system. The user selects the appropriate applications and can perform their work. Once the user accesses the virtual desktop, it takes primary focus, and the look and feel are that of a local workstation. How the user accesses VDI depends on the organization's configuration, ranging from automatic presentation of the virtual desktop at logon to requiring the user to select the virtual desktop and then launching it. While Windows-based VDI is the most common workload, Linux virtual desktops are also an option. The term VDI was originally coined by VMware and has since become a de facto technology acronym.

The concept of presenting virtualized applications and desktops to users falls under the umbrella of end-user computing (EUC). The endpoint may be a traditional PC, thin client device or a mobile device. The virtual desktop image is delivered over a network to an endpoint device, which allows the user to interact with the operating system and its applications as if they were running locally. Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) is a desktop virtualization technology wherein a desktop operating system, typically Microsoft Windows, runs and is managed in a data center.