http://www.vmware.com/whatsnew/thinstall.html
Come on. You knew something was coming down the pipe. So this solves the Application Delivery System part of the stack for VMware (See The Current State of VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure)), but still means that VMware is relying on RDP (or whatever Propero was using before they got acquired.)
Virtual Desktop Stack (in my opnion, since this isn't like the OSI model here).
- Remote Display
- Application Delivery System
- Connection Broker
- Virtual Machine Management
- Operating System Virtualization
Thinstall packages application into a single .exe that contains all the files. This is not Application Streaming (like Microsoft SoftGrid or Citrix Application Streaming). Streaming downloads the components (.exe's, .dll's, etc) as needed. With Thinstall you download say 18.1 MB of a .exe and then you have a full working firefox. Demo here.
I don't call my self an expert in Thinstall, but I know of a few problems we've run into with some of the other Application Delivery mechanism that rely on streaming or packaging.
- Still don’t know how they handle things like profiles and application interaction (if you stream/package Outlook, how does it know where to launch word – unless you package word in the same .exe). Citrix has the same issue with App Streaming right now, but they are working on it. I beleive Softgrid has the app interaction working (or is farther than Citrix on this), but not the profiles (don’t know what MS is doing here).
Sounds like Thinstall assumes roaming profiles to keep track of its settings much like how Citrix/MS currently assume you will be keeping track of its settings.
- Also how does deal with applications that have services or have device drivers. Citrix can't solve this either right now, but I believe Microsoft Softgrid has made a lot of progress with these applications.
- So it solves the Application Delivery part of the stack, but they are still relying on RDP (or whatever Propero uses) to perform the Remote Display. In my opinion, Citrix still has an upper hand with ICA (with CAG/CSG), for now.
Like I said before, no right answer for anyone when it comes to VDI. Gotta due your due diligence to figure out what matters to your organization, prioritize and then see what technology is the best fit.
Also read Brian's Madden Article as he discusses Managed vs Unmanaged Desktops. http://www.brianmadden.com/content/article/VMware-buys-Thinstall-What-does-this-mean
Also read a pretty article by Ruben Spruijt published in LanVision magazine
http://www.virtuall.nl/articles/PublishedArticles/LanVisionThinstallenglish.pdf