Horizon Mirage

Conccurrent User Licensing for VMware Horizon Suite

June 7, 2013 by Josh Townsend Leave a Comment

VMware has made some changes to the Horizon Suite licensing since my last post about VMware’s Horizon Suite licensing and promotions. The changes are included in the VMware End-User Computing Licensing, Pricing and Packaging Whitepaper, but are not well called out. Here’s what you need to know about the licensing changes.

Horizon Suite (a combination of Horizon View for virtual desktops, Horizon Mirage for physical desktop management, and Horizon Workspace for application and data presentation and management) is now available in a Concurrent User scheme. Previously, the Suite was only available in a Named User scheme. Some Horizon View customers were accustomed to the concurrent user licensing for View virtual desktops and were uncomfortable with changing to named user licensing when upgrading to the whole Horizon Suite, despite the two named users of Horizon Suite for every one concurrent user of Horizon View upgrade promotion.

With the addition of a concurrent user license option, customers with environments where users share a single workstation can effectively license just the endpoint, not the user. For example, in many of our health care customers, nurses on different shifts will use the same View Desktop or set of Horizon Workspace presented applications. Doctors and admins/scheduling staff may also access the same machine. Concurrent User licensing is appropriate for this situation.

Named User licensing is appropriate for business users who use multiple devices concurrently to access Horizon View Desktops, Horizon Data or Horizon Workspace applications, and have an endpoint managed by Horizon Mirage.

List price for Concurrent User licensing for the whole Horizon Suite is $500 per concurrent user. List price for Named User licensing for the Horizon Suite is $300. If you already have Horizon View and want to upgrade to the entire Horizon Suite and keep your concurrent licensing, the upgrade is $250/concurrent user.

With the new flexible licensing options, you can deliver a range of desktop and application services to your users no matter how many devices they may carry, and maintain concurrent user licensing for shared computing environments when you need it.

Horizon View vs. Horizon Mirage

May 21, 2013 by Josh Townsend Leave a Comment

I recently covered the launch of VMware’s Horizon Suite of End User Computing (EUC) products, including VMware Horizon View, VMware Horizon Mirage, and VMware Horizon Workspace. The products present a set of tools that enable IT to exercise comprehensive end-point management while delivering a unified user experience across a variety of devices and access methods.

Today, I want to focus a bit more on View and Mirage. Specifically, when would you choose one solution over the other? Let’s briefly review each product.

VMware Horizon View provides a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) platform for consolidating PC’s in the datacenter, with secure brokered access using PC-over-IP to those desktops from a variety of devices (user-owned or corporate, PC, Mac, tablets, etc.).

VMware Horizon Mirage, by contrast, is focused on the physical endpoint – laptops, desktops, etc. Mirage introduces end point management capabilities that allow IT to deliver standardized layers to endpoints. The layers on endpoints include the OS layer, driver layer, application layers, machine identity (hostname, SID, Windows license), and user personalization layer. Layers can be pushed to endpoints to manage OS upgrades, application deployments, and hardware changes. At the same time, the layers are being synchronized to a central repository (centralization in Mirage terminology), providing single-instance backup and recovery capabilities for the complete endpoint. Backups include all layers, not just user data, for rapid repair or restoration of a failed PC.

These two very different tools are complimentary to each other. Both are part of a holistic approach to managing the corporate PC. Because endpoints requirements are as diverse as the users who work on them, different technologies must be leveraged to deliver the experience expected by users while maintaining the business and security requirements of the desktop computing environment. Some workloads and user experiences are better suited to physical endpoints – a one-size fits all approach with a technology like VDI may be too disruptive to the user and their ability to work. That said, let’s look at some criteria that will help you to decide on which combination of tools to bring to use for your desktop use cases that will enable IT to deliver desktops as a service.

Requirement / Goal	Mirage	View
Enable Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), allowing users to use their own PC, Mac, tablet or other device to access a corporate PC.	√	√
Provide access to same single PC computing environment from any device.		√
Maintain high level of standardization for corporate PC’s		√
Enable off-line use of corporate PC	√
Enhance security of endpoints by placing desktop within datacenter.		√
Deliver high performance (CPU, Memory, Video) applications to end user (e.g. AutoCAD, Revit, Microstation, ArcGIS)	√
Allow users to install applications and customize PC operating environment.	√
Remote Office / Branch Office with poor connectivity to datacenter	√
Remote Office / Branch Office with good connectivity to datacenter		√
Provide stateless/consistent Windows environment for always-on environments such as Point of Care & Point of Sales		√
Lower the cost and reduce the time it takes to upgrade to Windows	√
Desktop recovery & repair	√
Backup user generated data (My Documents)	√	√

While there is overlap in use cases for Horizon View and Horizon Mirage, certain use case goals or requirements will dictate which solution to apply to your user case. With bundled Horizon Suite licensing, you don’t have to choose one or the other. A single license gives you access to both Horizon View and Horizon Mirage for a named user, allowing you to provide the best solution for a particular user’s requirements, and to adapt your desktop deliver approach as your user needs or IT requirements change.

Interested in learning more about Mirage, View, or Horizon Workspace? Reach out to us today for a demo and licensing quote.

Horizon View & Horizon Suite: Per Concurrent or Per Named User Licensing?

March 8, 2013 by Josh Townsend Leave a Comment

A few points of clarification after the good Twitter discussion I just had with Dan Fallon, Jim Millard, and Matt Davis in response to my posting of the new VMware Horizon View and VMware Horizon Workspace / Suite licensing. In the details on licensing for the new products (full details are on the Clearpath blog), I mentioned that Horizon View licensing changes to per named user from the previous per concurrent user licensing when you upgrade to the new Horizon Suite (a combination of Horizon View, Horizon Mirage, and Horizon Workspace) from View Premier bundle licensing. A few things to keep in mind about this:

When you purchase this upgrade (50% off promotion starting this week btw), your View Premier bundle licensing is exchanged for Horizon Suite licensing and your View Premier per concurrent user licensing is exchanged for per named user licenses.
When you upgrade from View Premier bundle licensing to Horizon Suite, you get two named users of Horizon Suite for every one concurrent license of View Premier exchanged. The 2fer can work out in favor of many View customers.
Mirage was per-named-user before VMware acquired Wanova. Horizon Application Manager (the predecessor to Horizon Workspace) was also per named user. This swap brings View in line with licensing terms of the other end user computing offerings in the suite when licensed as part of the Horizon Suite.
If you want to keep using View Premier only and not upgrade to the Horizon Suite licensing, you can keep using the per concurrent user licensing. You are not being forced to change licensing terms like Citrix did to XenDesktop customers a few years back.

Details of the licensing changes can be found in this VMware Horizon Licensing and Upgrading Whitepaper: https://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/view/VMware-View-Pricing-Licensing-and-Upgrading-white-paper.pdf. This whitepaper also covers the announced End of Availability for View Enterprise edition, Horizon Application Manager, and ThinApp. I have more info on the ThinApp EOA here: https://vmtoday.com/2013/02/the-reports-of-my-death-have-been-greatly-exaggerated-vmware-thinapp/.

VMware Horizon General Availability – Licensing and Promotions!

March 7, 2013 by Josh Townsend 2 Comments

VMware Horizon Suite and all of the components that make up the suite were made Generally Available (GA) on Monday (March 4, 2013). VMware Horizon View 5.2, VMware Horizon Mirage 4.0, and VMware Horizon Workspace 1.0 versions are available as stand-alone products or all bundled into the Horizon Suite. This is an exciting set of releases from VMware. I wrote a summary of the releases last week if you don’t yet know what is included in the upgrades and new products.

With GA came information on pricing and licensing for individual products and for the Horizon Suite, which includes all of these components under one SKU. With the full Horizon Suite licensing, IT gains a comprehensive set of tools to manage endpoints and provide users with increased levels of service and availability.

Here’s a breakdown of which components are included in the currently available licensing bundles:

	Horizon View Add-on	Horizon View Add-on to Bundle	Horizon View Bundle	Horizon Mirage Migration License (6mos)	Horizon Mirage Migration to Full	Horizon Mirage	Horizon Workspace	Horizon Suite
VMware vSphere Desktop		x	x					x
VMware vCenter Server		x	x					x
VMware Horizon View Manager	x		x					x
VMware Horizon View Composer	x		x					x
VMware Horizon Persona Management	x		x					x
Horizon View Client with Local Mode	x		x					x
vShield Endpoint	x		x					x
VMware ThinApp	x		x		x	x	x	x
VMware Horizon Mirage Image Management				x**	x	x		x
VMware Horizon Workspace							x	x
VMware Fusion Professional (Fusion and Workstation)					x	x		x
VMware Workstation for Windows	x		x					x*
VMware Horizon Mobile							x	x
vCenter Operations Manager for View***	X^***	X^***	X^***					X^***

*Included in VMware Fusion Professional

** For use in Windows version migrations only during 6 month license period, no end-point backup or other management tasks

*** Available a la carte.

VMware is offering special promotional pricing for existing customers with VMware View Premier Bundle licensing to upgrade to the full Horizon Suite at 49% off. The upgrade to the full Horizon Suite adds Horizon Workspace and Horizon Mirage to your View licensing. Existing View Premier per-concurrent-user licensing is exchanged for the Horizon Suite per-named-user licensing. The conversion allows 1 View per-concurrent-user license to be exchanged for 2 named user licenses. This could double the number of users that your current licensing can accommodate if your usage of View is near or at your per-concurrent-user license count, giving you room to grow! This is a limited time offer, so contact Clearpath today to get the process started.

VMware has also moved several products to End of Availability (EOA) status, meaning that you’ll no longer be able to buy them. EOA products include VMware View Enterprise Edition, VMware ThinApp, and Horizon Application Manager. If you own these products, there are upgrade paths to non-EOA products. For customers who hold active Support and Subscription (SNS) for standalone ThinApp licensing, VMware View Enterprise Edition licenses (Add-on and Bundle), and Horizon Application Manager, the upgrade paths are as follows:

For customers with VMware View Enterprise with active SNS, you can upgrade from View Enterprise Bundle to VMware Horizon View (formerly View Premier). Customers with View Enterprise Add-on can upgrade to either Horizon View Add-on or Horizon View Bundle. For customers with VMware Horizon Application Manager with active SNS, there may be a free upgrade path available to Horizon Workspace. Contact Clearpath today to learn if your licensing qualifies for a free upgrade.

P.S. VMware has extended the offer for a free upgrade from vSphere Enterprise Plus to the new vCloud Suite Standard licensing until March 15, 2013. VMware vCloud Suite Standard includes vSphere, vCloud Director, and vCloud Networking and Security. If you are interested in automating and securing your VMware infrastructure with the power of vCloud Director and vCloud Networking and Security don’t wait on this deal. There is a $1 per socket upgrade charge on this, so you’ll have to work with Clearpath to get the upgrade completed before the deadline. I have more details on the Free vCloud Suite Promotion here.

VMware End-User Computing Announcements

February 28, 2013 by Josh Townsend

VMware announced this week the launch of several new products in the growing portfolio of End-User Computing (EUC) solutions, under the VMware Horizon family of products. The expansion of EUC products across the industry is being fueled by increasing demands for IT solutions for business users to be delivered ‘as-a-service’, as well as by the growing trend of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). The ability of technology departments to deliver applications, user data, and desktop as a service, while maintaining user mobility and freedom must be balanced against the need to standardize and secure delivery of corporate information assets. That’s just what these new releases aim for.

First up is VMware Horizon View 5.2. View has been a VMware offering for some time, and is now falling under the Horizon name. View is VMware’s Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solution. View provides centralized execution of Windows desktops running on VMware vSphere in the datacenter. With View, IT can deliver desktop as a service by leveraging View’s ability to rapidly deploy standardized desktops to business users. New in View 5.2 is support for Windows 8 desktops, hardware accelerated 3D graphics to support applications like AutoCAD, RevIt, and Microstation, greater scalability by allowing clusters of up to 32 ESXi hosts using VMFS, PCoIP enhancements, and clientless HTML5 access to View desktops. In addition, View 5.2 desktops can now take advantage of the new vSphere 5.1 Space Efficient (SE) Sparse disk format to reclaim whitespace within user desktops for greater efficiency. Many other small features were added to View 5.2, including an improved administration console, syslog support, multi-touch gesture-based control of View desktops for touch-based devices, and faster provisioning of desktops through View Composer. While virtual desktops can be a great solution for many types of users, it is not a perfect fit for frequently offline mobile users, power users who require a great deal of freedom in customizing their PC experience, or where legacy hardware or software demands a traditional PC.

To help address these use cases, VMware has announced the launch of Horizon Mirage 4.0. Mirage is an endpoint centralization and layering solution aimed at providing greater flexibility and manageability of corporate PC’s. Centralization capabilities allow the endpoint state, including OS, departmental applications, user-installed apps, and user data to be maintained in a central repository, providing near-CDP of the entire endpoint. Layering breaks out the elements of a desktop state, from what has traditionally been either a monolithic image or an unmanaged endpoint, into individually managed layers including OS, driver, departmental application, user applications, and user data. Each layer is centralized and easily updated, replaced, or migrated in real-time with little to no user impact. With layering and centralization combined, some very interesting use cases emerge beyond simple management and patching.

For example, total endpoint centralization provides the ability to move a user’s entire endpoint state from a traditional PC to a VMware Horizon View based desktop by simply changing the driver layer from the physical endpoint to a VM Hardware set of drivers. By managing the operating system layer, we can swap out the OS while leaving applications and user data intact. This allows seamless migrations from an older operating system such as Windows XP to a newer OS like Windows 7. By layering and centralizing the user data layer, IT can backup and allow user restoration of user data on dispersed endpoints. Horizon View and Mirage are in many ways about giving IT more control of endpoints, while simplifying administration and improving quality of service to our users. But with the commercialization of IT, users are demanding self-service, anywhere/anytime/any-device access to enterprise apps and their data.

To address these demands, VMware has launched VMware Horizon Workspace. Workspace includes several feature sets, including:

Horizon Application Manager, allowing IT to create an enterprise ‘app store’ where users can provision, on-demand, any application to which they are entitled. These apps can be legacy Windows applications that have been packaged with VMware ThinApp, SaaS applications where Horizon can pass single sign-on (SSO) credentials from your Active Directory to the cloud-based application, and mobile device apps for Android and Apple phones and tablets.

Personal file storage via Horizon Data, providing a centralized, easily accessible personal file storage. The Horizon Workspace mobile app (for Android or Apple), PC-based Horizon agent, and rich web interface provide easy access to all data users have stored in Horizon, with the ability to preview and share files and folders with any user – internal or external – with IT controlled policies and class of service rules.

Desktop as an app, presenting View-based Windows desktops to users, accessible through native HTML5. With desktop as an app, users can connect to a Windows PC to use legacy applications, then return to a personal device to continue their work in other applications presented through Horizon.

These are just a sampling of the capabilities across the products in the VMware Horizon launch. With VMware Horizon, IT can re-imagine and reinvigorate endpoint management to deliver cutting-edge services and flexibility to our user base while maintaining control and security of corporate assets. Clearpath has been running beta versions of these products in our lab – we’re happy to provide demos of the VMware Horizon Suite of products or to help you plan how to best leverage View, Mirage and Workspace in your environment.