Microsoft Virtualization Secrets

Using RDS with Other Virtualization Technologies

In the preceding chapters I have talked about application virtualization with App-V, data virtualization with folder redirection, and user settings virtualization with roaming profiles and other technologies. All these technologies should be used with RDS. The goal is to provide users with access to a common environment and have their data and applications available.

App-V is recommended in a Session Host environment because it typically contains a large number of applications that need to be installed for the different users of the Session Host. Every application installed on an operating system makes changes, increases the size of the registry, registers components, uses resources, and potentially slows down startup times. By virtualizing applications there is no footprint on the operating system, keeping it clean and making it easy to quickly provision new Session Hosts without having to go through long application deployment processes. App-V for Remote Desktop Services is part of the standard RDS CAL, so it’s a technology to which you have access.

Do not share a profile between desktop operating systems and Session Hosts using standard roaming profiles. Have a separate profile for each, which is possible using an Active Directory user configuration. Settings from a server operating system that is 64-bit are unlikely to play well with a 32-bit desktop operating system and vice versa. Using a roaming profile for virtualized sessions ...