| IBM pushes "Microsoft alternative" desktop |
Dec. 04, 2008
IBM announced the availability of a "Microsoft alternative" virtual desktop that uses virtualization technology from Virtual Bridges and incorporates Canonical's Ubuntu Linux and IBM's Lotus applications. Based on Virtual Bridges's Virtual Enterprise Remote Desktop Environment (VERDE), the desktop environment is far more affordable than running Microsoft desktops, claims IBM.
The VERDE virtual desktop is distributed from Linux servers to "any laptop, browser, or mobile device," says IBM. Announced by Virtual Bridges at the end of October, VERDE is said to be a Linux-only (host, guest and client) virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) product. Features include an integrated connection broker, KVM-based VM technology, multimedia and sound support, and local printing, says Virtual Bridges.
Lotus-flavored Ubuntu
IBM's version of the VERDE desktop combines an Ubuntu Linux foundation with Linux versions of IBM's Open Collaboration Client Solution software (OCCS), based on IBM Lotus Symphony, Lotus Notes and other Lotus applications. The software is said to include open email, word processing, spreadsheets, unified communication, and social networking.
Focusing on the problem of recession-strapped IT budgets, IBM is pushing cost savings as VERDE's biggest draw compared to fielding Windows PCs. IBM claims that considerable savings are possible by avoiding Windows and Microsoft Office licensing, reducing power consumption and air conditioning, and lowering support costs.
Users can access their computers on any network-connected device via a login, says IBM, and software fixes are said to automatically inherit to the user sessions without requiring a visit to a decentralized access point. Linux desktops can be conjured up from Windows and Mac PCs, as well as Linux machines and other connected devices.
Taking on VMware
VERDE appears to directly target VMware, which earlier this week rebranded its own Windows-based VDI technology as "VMware View." The new View version 3 is said to offer greater personalization of desktops by building each desktop from a generic golden master along with user-specific files, which the company claims greatly reduces VDI storage space. (VERDE appears to offer a similar decoupling between a universal global image and user files.)
In early November, VMware launched its first embedded version of VDI/View. The Linux-compatible Mobile Virtualization Platform (MVP) is aimed at mobile phones, and is based on technology that VMware acquired last month when it bought French virtualization vendor Trango Virtual Processors.
VMware competitor Citrix, meanwhile, pushed its own personalization theme in May with XenDesktop. Supporting Linux, Windows CE, and Windows XP Embedded, among other OSes, XenDesktop dynamically assembles a "pristine, high-performing desktop," with personalized applications and settings, every time a user logs on, says Citrix.
Stated Inna Kuznetsova, director, IBM Linux Strategy, "When we look back several years from now, I think we'll see this time as an inflection point when the economic climate pushed the virtual Linux desktop from theory to practice. The financial pressures on organizations are staggering and the management of PCs is unwieldy."
Stated Malcolm Yates, VP, Canonical, "Combining Ubuntu with IBM's Open Client software applications we can break out of Microsoft dependencies completely and significantly reduce total cost of ownership."
Availability
The VERDE virtual desktop is available now from IBM or Virtual Bridges, say the companies. Standard pricing for a 1,000-user deployment is $49 per user, with volume discounts available. More information on VERDE may be found at Virtual Bridges, and more on IBM's OCCS for Linux may be found in this IBM DeveloperWorks tutorial.
-- Eric Brown
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