Hosted Virtual Desktop Infrastructure | Qumranet

Solid ICE is the only fully integrated desktop virtualization product in the market today.

In Solid ICE, the user's desktop runs in a KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) virtual machine on a server in the data center. The user connects to it using a thin client (or repurposed PC) via either SPICE (Simple Protocol for Independent Computing Environments), Qumranet's connection protocol, or RDP. SPICE is optimized for virtual environments, and provides users with a superior interactive experience.

KVM is an open source software that provides both full and para-virtualization capabilities for Linux on x86 hardware containing virtualization extensions from Intel and AMD. KVM's architecture is optimized to utilize the native functionality of the underlying Linux O/S and was officially included in Linux 2.6.20. KVM is the core hypervisor virtualization technology used in Qumranet's Solid ICE desktop virtualization solution.

Benefits for the enterprise by deploying Solid ICE

1. I.T. Departments

• Centralized management
• Reduced desk-side visits
• High Availability
• Robust desktop image management capabilities

2. End-Users

Access to a fully functional enterprise desktop from anywhere:

• Significantly lower downtime
• Multiple desktops on demand
• Computing power on demand

Components of Solid ICE

Solid ICE is a software solution that runs on commodity hardware and consists of 3 components (see figure below):

1. Virtual Desktop Server (VDS)

2. Virtual Desktop Controller (VDC)

3. Simple Protocol for Independent Computing Environments (SPICE)

Virtual Desktop Server (VDS)

• Runs the users Windows XP or Windows 2000 virtual desktop on top of the KVM open source virtualization technology. KVM was developed by Qumranet and is now a global open source project and development effort.
• Also includes a resource optimization layer that allows for better desktop interactivity, management, density, and visibility into the guest.

Virtual Desktop Controller (VDC)

• The VDC front-ends the VDS and contains all the control functions, including management of the overall virtual desktop environment.
  • Provisioning manager for provisioning individual virtual desktops and pools of virtual desktops
  • User service portal
  • Session manager/connection broker and connection protocol manager
  • Attach users to virtual desktops or pools of virtual desktops
  • Virtual desktop image and snapshot manager
  • High availability/ clustering system for servers and virtual desktops.
• The VDC is designed from the ground-up for managing thousands of virtual desktop objects.
  • Completely search driven (structured and wildcard) UI
  • Administrators can manage every object in the system from one place
  • Scales to thousands of desktops

SPICE

• SPICE is a remote connection protocol built for virtual environments and is a fully integrated component of Qumranet's Solid ICE.
• SPICE is closely coupled with KVM, and allows users the same interactive experience as they would have with a physical PC on a LAN.
  • Superior graphics performance (e.g. flash)
  • video quality (30+ frames per second)
  • bi-directional audio (for soft-phones/IP phones)
  • bi-directional video (for video telephony/ video conferencing)
  • No specialized hardware. Software only client that can be automatically installed via Active-X and a browser on the client machine

Hardware requirements

• Virtual Desktop Server (VDS): The VDS can run on any server as long as it supports Intel VT or AMD-V technology. VDSs run in clustered mode, and support N:1 redundancy.
• Virtual Desktop Controller (VDC): Any Intel or AMD based server. No special requirements.
• Storage: NAS or SAN

For more information, please contact your local Qumranet representative.

Qumranet, Solid ICE, Independent Computing, ICE, and SPICE are trademarks of Qumranet. All other trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.