Updated: July 11, 2020 (May 28, 2012)
Analyst ReportLicensing the Windows Client OS on VDI Today
[July 20, 2015 note: A more recent version of this report, updated to reflect licensing changes, can be found at www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/licensing/secured/2015/07/licensing-windows-virtual-desktops.]
To provide centrally managed Windows desktops, many organizations are turning to a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), which hosts the Windows client OS and applications in virtual machines (VMs) on servers in a data center. Users access these virtual desktops from computers that run Windows or from devices such as iPads that don’t. Although licensing the Windows client OS for installation and execution on a typical client PC is relatively straightforward, licensing the OS to run within centrally managed virtual desktops is more complicated, involving purchase of additional subscriptions for the devices being used to access the VDI.
VDI Overview
A variety of factors entice organizations to embrace VDI, even though the technology can be complex to design and deploy as well as expensive to license. These factors include the following:
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