VMware has announced a partnership with Intel to deliver its Client Virtualisation Platform (CVP), building on its previously-unveiled VMware View family of products.
The new platform is a bare-metal client hypervisor and the company is aiming to integrate it with Intel’s vPro technology running on desktop or notebook PCs. This will extend the management capabilities of VMware View, enabling end users to run their virtualised desktop environments on desktop or notebook PCs.
VMware claims users can continue to work offline or online, while administrators can securely manage the environment centrally. This central administration is key, said VMware. IT staff can now manage a profile even if a user’s computer is switched off, so security updates and patches can be pushed out and policies can be set.
This also applies if hardware (such as a hard drive) has failed or the operating system has become unresponsive.
If a user makes any changes to their localised desktop, those changes are saved in the central repository, so when the user next logs on, via the same device or a different one, they will access the most up-to-date desktop.
Jocelyn Goldfein, vice president and general manager, desktop business unit, VMware, said that one advantage is the added security that the product offers.
She said that if a user’s virtualised environment has not connected to the network for a predetermined period of time, a policy can be set so that when a connection is enabled the user can only connect to the patch server, meaning any necessary updates will have to be installed before a general network connection is permitted.
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This should help prevent the spread of viruses or other forms of malware, VMware said.
Goldfein added that the platform will work in a similar way to mobile phones. A user’s device will be treated as if it was a mobile device connecting to a service provider’s network, in this case VMware.
Once users are authenticated, they will have their desktop environment downloaded. VMware said that users can access their personalised virtual desktop environments from almost any device, including a notebook if its Internet connection is robust enough.
Goldfein would not be drawn on when exactly the new platform would be available, but said that it would be released during the second half of 2009. She added that the two companies are jointly going to OEMs regarding the possibility of shipping devices with the technology built in.
