Release Notes for Kaviza VDI in-a-box™ 4.0
Release 4.0 comes packed with features to further simplify management and increase the visibility and the ability to monitor system operations and it provides some key controls end users have been asking for.

Below is a list of the specific features available with release 4.0.
- Self-guided wizard with checklists to simplify image import and lifecycle management
- An event and task tracker to provide greater visibility into system operations
- System messages in 'syslog' format sent to a syslog server for use by external monitoring and management tools such as Splunk and Kace to setup monitoring and alert functions
- A user interface (UI) for automated software patching and license upgrade of Kaviza servers. Install the patches and licenses via a UI on one server and it is automatically propagated to all the others
- UI to set the static IP address of Kaviza Manager Virtual Machines
- Ability to specify the maximum utilization of a server beyond which additional desktops will not be provisioned
- Additional image management features
- Option to provide a computer prefix for virtual desktops generated from an image
- Option to control the copying of profiles on Windows 7 images
- Ability to specify “Other USB” devices to support a wider array of USB devices (e.g. webcams)
- UI to set or reset the generic user option required to support non-Microsoft Active Directory user databases

Features for the end users
- Self-serve restart of problem desktops
- Customize their screen resolution from the Kaviza login screen
- Sessions requested using HTTP are automatically routed to HTTPS for HDX users
- KavizaClient delivered with Kaviza-signed certificate

The Next Generation of Virtualized Backup and Recovery is Here Today!

Now there's a better way to backup your VMware & Citrix environments with PHD Virtual Backup 5.1

Earlier today, we announced general availability of PHD Virtual Backup 5.1 for VMware vSphere (ESXi & ESX) and Citrix XenServer which deliver simple, scalable and high-performance virtualization data protection. Click here to read the press release. 

PHD Virtual Backup 5.1 is built on the next generation of PHD’s award winning VBA™ (Virtual Backup Appliance) Architecture enabling backup and recovery to be deployed as a virtualized service directly on VMware and XenServer platforms. This evolutionary approach enables PHD Virtual Backup to provide fully integrated backup and recovery with single pane of glass management that seamlessly scales for large and distributed deployments. Unlike alternative solutions, PHD Virtual Backup removes the need to deploy a separate backup server, additional hardware or software agents to provide data protection for your virtual environment.

PHD Virtual Backup 5.1 delivers unique value including:

• A completely virtualized solution with no additional hardware required
• Faster backup to meet your backup windows
• Quick restore of full vm, virtual disks or individual files to meet your RPO and RTO
• Optimizations for efficient backup over LAN and WAN environments
• Dramatically lower backup storage requirements and overall solution costs

Brianmadden.com just posted a review on Kaviza VDI-in-a-box, you can read the article here:
http://www.brianmadden.com/blogs/gabeknuth/archive/2010/11/23/A-first-look-at-Kaviza-VDI_2D00_in_2D00_a_2D00_box-3.0-_2800_they_2700_re-doing-it-right_21002900_.aspx

If you have questions about Kaviza please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call +46(0)855115880

VDI Market: Huge, But Stalled Due to Costs

Kaviza eliminates VDI cost and complexity

$65B+ Market. Desktop Virtualization is estimated by Gartner to reach $65.7B by 2013, representing over 40% of the overall PC market. It is easy to see why the analysts are optimistic about this space – VDI addresses the management issues with PCs, and there are over 1.1B PCs worldwide.

But VDI adoption has stalled, cost cited as key reason. Despite high customer interest, the VDI market has not yet hit its stride. Customer surveys and analyst studies from various sources point to cost as a major barrier to adoption. “Price is still a significant barrier to [VDI] adoption,"says Chris Wolf, analyst at Burton Group in Computerworld, November 2009.

“Most VDI proof of concepts are failing – the high cost of hardware and software infrastructure to run VDI is often given as a reason. From the IT perspective, customers must invest in new data center server clusters, storage, and software to provide the equivalent of the total desktop computer power they want to serve. In fact, customers must replace cheap desktop computing and storage with expensive data center computing cycles. This is a major upfront capital expenditure that is difficult to justify in a tough economy.” – Randy Eckel, March 2010.

Kaviza's grid architecture eliminates the VDI cost barrier. Kaviza eliminates the cost and complexity of VDI with its patent-pending grid architecture. All the functionality needed to provision and manage virtual desktops is contained in the Kaviza VDI-in-a-box^TM virtual appliance that can be run on a grid of inexpensive commodity servers, and scaled as needs grow. Kaviza delivers immediate ROI on deployments of as little as 25 desktops and up. Since desktops are often bought in phases, Kaviza delivers ROI at every phase while fitting within customers' existing budgets.