VDI - Virtual Desktop Infrastructure


Q1 - What benefits does VDI offer?

Greater Agility

Rather than having to wait for the semester break or summer vacation, roll-out of applications and updates can be done through virtual desktops overnight. VDI enables us to deploy these applications to any device and at any time during the school term.

No Physical Boundaries

Instead of updating computers in labs and classrooms one by one or running a remote program to target each device from the server infrastructure, virtual desktops can all be deployed quickly (sometimes within minutes) to any device. New leading edge classes can be offered without new labs or hardware. Students can collaborate in groups anywhere without the need for lab time or lab resources

24X7 Computing

VDI extends computer lab hours to ‘anytime and anyplace’, supporting the varied student work styles and allowing them to access the computer lab whenever they want from wherever they are.

Reduce IT cost and complexity

VDI in general, extends the life of existing desktop computers, allowing the University to reuse the aging PC inventory. The life of Legacy computers that are no longer powerful enough to run the latest applications can be extended, as virtual clients. Also, VDI allows us to run legacy applications securely within the virtual desktop infrastructure. For instance students can use specialized 3D software applications from any device. Moreover student data, files and personalized settings are securely stored centrally on server infrastructure.

Better Use of Application Licences

Application which are not used regularly but are required by multiple labs can be reused.

Easy support for BYOD and mobility

One huge challenge in higher education is supporting the myriad of devices, many of them student mobile devices. With VDI students and faculty can run any application, anywhere, at any time on or outside the campus on their personal devices in a secure manner. Faculty and students can use completely different operating systems to access varied desktop environment and have a consistent user experience.

Q2 - What is VMware Horizon?

VMware Horizon® is a family of desktop and application virtualization solutions designed to deliver computing and online services from any private or public cloud. With Horizon, VMware extends the power of virtualization—from data centers to devices—to deliver desktops and applications with great user experience, closed-loop manageability, and hybrid- cloud flexibility.

Q3 - Is there a Horizon Client for my device ?

Horizon clients for different devices are included as part of the Horizon solution.

  • For Horizon client installation on Laptop please contact IT Helpdesk
  • Horizon Client for iOS is available from the Apple iTunes store.
  • Horizon Client for Android is available from the Google Play store.

Q4 - How can I use VDI for my requirement ?

You can write to IT Helpdesk for your query/requirement.