Red Hat ENTERPRISE VIRTUALIZATION User Manual

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RED HAT ENTERPRISE VIRTUALIZATION
FOR DESKTOPS
Increased manageability
With Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization for Desktops,
desktop environments can be centrally created, monitored,
and managed — reducing or even eliminating the need for
on-site support.
Increased business agility and continuity
By eliminating the dependencies between the oper-
ating system and the underlying hardware, Red Hat
Enterprise Virtualization for Desktops allows enterprises
to defer desktop replacements and their associated costs.
Additionally, this separation allows different operating
systems to be accessed from the same device. Finally,
the centralized nature of Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization
for Desktops makes it possible to easily backup entire
desktop environments, ensuring business continuity in
the event of hardware failure or catastrophic events.
KEY FEATURES
Security and scalability
SSL Encryption• — Ensures secure data transmission
between virtual desktops and the devices used to
access them
Memory page sharing• — Maximizes the number of
virtual desktops that can be hosted on a single hyper-
visor, lowering infrastructure and management costs
CPU and Core Abstraction• — Virtual desktops can use
up to 16 virtual CPUs presented as virtual processors
and virtual cores. For example, the maximum 16 virtual
CPUs can be presented as 16 single-core CPUs, 8 dual-
core CPUs, 4 quad-core CPUs, or 2 eight-core CPUs.
This allows operating systems like Windows XP that
only support 2 CPUs to take maximum advantage of
virtualization server resources.
OVERVIEW
With Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization for Desktops,
complete desktop environments are hosted as virtual
desktops on servers located in a centralized datacenter.
Users connect to these virtual desktops, which can be
either Microsoft
®
Windows
®
or Red Hat
®
Enterprise Linux
®
desktops, using either inexpensive thin clients or repur-
posed PCs.
Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization for Desktops is an end-to-
end desktop virtualization solution featuring everything an
enterprise needs to deploy virtualized desktops:
Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Hypervisor• —
A standalone, high-performance and secure hypervisor
based on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux kernel with KVM
(Kernel-based Virtual Machine) technology
Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager• — a central-
ized management console with a comprehensive set of
management tools that administrators can use to cre-
ate, monitor, and maintain their virtual desktops
SPICE (Simple Protocol for Independent Computing •
Environments) — an adaptive remote rendering protocol
able to deliver an end user experience comparable to
that of physical desktop
Integrated connection broker• — a web-based portal
from which end-users can log into their virtual desktops
KEY BENEFITS
Improved data security
By moving desktop environments into the datacenter,
Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization for Desktops helps
enterprises safeguard their data and keep pace with
today’s fast-changing environment.

Red Hat ENTERPRISE VIRTUALIZATION Specifications

General

Operating System Support	Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Clustering	Yes
Live Migration	Yes
High Availability	Yes
API Support	REST API
Developer	Red Hat
License	Subscription-based
Hypervisor	KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine)
Storage Support	NFS, iSCSI, Fibre Channel, GlusterFS
Networking Features	VLAN tagging, bonding
Supported Guest Operating Systems	Windows

Summary

Overview of Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization for Desktops

Key Benefits

Improved Data Security

Safeguard enterprise data by moving desktop environments to the datacenter.

Increased Manageability

Centrally create, monitor, and manage desktop environments, reducing on-site support needs.

Increased Business Agility and Continuity

Defer desktop replacements and ensure continuity by easily backing up entire desktop environments.

Key Features

Security and Scalability Features

Ensures secure data transmission and maximizes virtual desktops per hypervisor, lowering costs.

Advanced Desktop Management

Rapid Provisioning

Create new desktop environments in minutes for quick deployment.

Linked Images

Provision virtual desktops from master images, saving up to 90% storage capacity.

Desktop Pooling

Create groups of virtual desktops for on-demand access, simplifying provisioning.

Search-Based Management

Easily search for virtual desktops by application or version for timely updates.

High Availability Features

Live Migration

Move virtual desktops between hosts without user interruption for maintenance.

Load Balancing

Automatically balance virtual desktops across hosts for optimal performance.

Snapshots

Capture virtual desktop states for rapid restoration in case of hardware failure.

Flexible Storage

Store virtual desktop images and data using iSCSI or Fibre Channel shared storage.

Exceptional End-User Experience

High-Resolution Display

Users experience native color (32 bit) high-resolution displays up to 1920 x 1080.

Streaming Video Support

Users can view high-quality streaming video on their virtual desktops.

Multi-Monitor Display Support

Users can connect up to four monitors to a single virtual desktop.

Bi-directional Audio and Video

Users can make VoIP and video-conference calls from their virtual desktops.

USB Redirection

Users can connect any USB 1.0 or 2.0 device to their virtual desktops.