Virtual desktops are a preconfigured infrastructure that separates physical devices from a desktop environment connected remotely over a network. By separating the physical devices from the desktop environment, users can access all configuration, user interface, and files without accessing the initial devices used to configure the desktop. The user can interact, and the software and resources installed by the virtual desktop provider on the endpoint device and make changes depending on the configuration.
Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) helps the virtual desktops running Windows, Mac, or multiple operating systems by sharing a single hardware platform and resources. Hypervisor software isolates the operating system applications by intercepting comments sent to the hardware in an on-premise environment. Hypervisor and infrastructure are abstracted in the cloud environment, and administrators work directly with the virtual machines' cloud-native actions and APIs. It enables organizations to manage and deploy virtual desktops from a central data center, eliminating app installations and updates on individual devices. The service provider hosts Virtual desktop infrastructure on the cloud service using desktops as a service (DaaS) to provide a virtual desktop environment for the organization.
A virtual desktop can be persistent or non-persistent. In a persistent desktop, users can customize a unique desktop image with settings, applications, and data preserved at each login, providing a similar user experience to a physical desktop. Non-persistent environment underlying image remains consistent and virtual desktops are clones of shared desktops.
A virtual desktop is similar to a physical workstation but with powerful and advanced capabilities like readily available back-end databases and storage. Virtual desktop service provides the same user experience no matter what device or location the users access.