Explore Virtual Desktop Infrastructure

Rich user experience and efficient management at a great value

Microsoft Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) lets you deliver desktops and apps without compromising compliance. Apps and data stay in the datacenter so the risk of information loss from lost and stolen devices is reduced. Microsoft VDI provides efficient management with a single console and rich user experience on a variety of devices and platforms.

Microsoft’s solution gives IT the freedom to choose between personal or pooled virtual desktops, session-based desktops, RemoteApp in the datacenter as well as RemoteApp hosted in Azure so IT can customize the implementation to meet their organization needs.

Download the trial Get Started with Azure RemoteApp Learn more about Azure RemoteApp Read the Windows Server 2012 R2 VDI Datasheet

Back to top

RemoteApp meets the cloud

With Azure RemoteApp, you can provide access to your business applications on a variety of devices, scale up or down with no large capital expense requirements and centralize corporate resources on Azure’s reliable platform.

Learn more

How to get the Remote Desktop app

The Microsoft Remote Desktop app is now available for Windows, iOS, Mac OS X, and Android devices. You can get the app by visiting the application store on your device.

Get the Remote Desktop app in Windows Store

Back to top

Benefits

Windows Server 2012 brought significant enhancements to deploying and managing a VDI environment and improving user experience with remote desktops and apps. Windows Server 2012 R2 continues this trend with new and improved capabilities.

Efficient management

Manage your VDI architecture with a single, integrated console. You can automate deployment and configuration of server roles, manage personal and pooled virtual desktops, and use session shadowing to view and remotely control active user sessions. The Deployment Wizard automates configuration of various roles and accelerates deployment.

Rich user experience

Provide a leading Windows experience that supports iOS, Mac OS X, and Android in addition to Windows and Windows RT. The experience is further optimized by using RemoteFX, which provides, support for wide area network connections, software GPU, USB redirection, and multi-touch remoting. You’ll see high performance even in low-bandwidth scenarios and a significant reduction in reconnect time with Quick Reconnect.

Great value for VDI

Reduce costs and increase efficiency with storage tiering, disk deduplication, dynamic distribution of resources (bandwidth, CPU, and disk use), and flexible storage options supporting direct-attached, network-attached, or storage area network storage of virtual machines. Implement consistent user personalization with User Profile Disk in pooled deployments.

Back to top

Capabilities

Microsoft VDI can host session-based desktops, personal or pooled virtual desktops. That means you can deploy the right type of VDI desktop for your users, all from a single platform.

Session-based desktops

Session-based desktop deployment includes new, simplified methods to configure and manage session-based desktops, so you can quickly and easily deploy the infrastructure for one or more Remote Desktop Session Host servers simultaneously. Plus, User Profile Disks will allow you to preserve personalization settings for your session collections.

Personal and pooled virtual desktops

Windows Server 2012 R2 makes it easier to create pooled environments than personal desktops. These tools let you deploy and manage pooled virtual desktops with virtual desktop templates, preserve user personalization for pooled virtual desktop deployments with User Profile Disks, and support multiple storage options, including local and Server Message Block storage for virtual machines.

RemoteApp

RemoteApp delivers remote applications to users instead of full desktops. With RemoteApp, you get a straightforward publishing process that allows apps on session or VDI hosts to run side by side with local apps and integrate with the Start menu—so they are easier for users to find and launch.

You can deploy RemoteApp and deliver applications either from your on-premises architecture with Windows Server or from the cloud with Microsoft Azure RemoteApp. With Azure RemoteApp, your company’s applications run on Windows Server in the Azure cloud, where they’re easier to scale. You can enable users to stay productive on the go, scale up or down without large capital expense and safeguard your sensitive corporate resources on Azure’s trusted platform.

Back to top