Advantages of Using a VPS as a Virtual Desktop
Using a VPS as a remote desktop solution gives businesses several built-in advantages over a multi-tenant VDI environment. Organizations that have interest in using virtual private servers as a VDI alternative utilize this solution because of the managed support, dedicated resources and predictable monthly costs associated with a VPS provider. Understanding the differences between VPS and VDI could help you make a more informed decision when comparing virtual desktop solutions.
Windows VPS Can Connect to Your Domain; Offers Dedicated Resources
If you are looking for measurable performance at an affordable price, VPS may be a suitable solution for your organization. As an alternative to VDI, a Windows VPS can be setup to have users log in and out as a remote workstation. Since this server can be added to your existing active directory controller, you could have users on your domain log in to this server using their active directory credentials.
Alternatively, you could setup individual user accounts on this VPS to allow users to log in as a local user. Windows virtual private servers allow you to have two simultaneous user sessions. When logged in simultaneously, each user would be able to utilize the server’s allocated resources. Within the Windows System Resource Manager, you can pre-configure policies that dictate the maximum amount of RAM or CPU that a user can consume.
Windows Licensing: Not An Issue
When you purchase a Windows VPS, all of the server licensing fees are paid by the provider. With a VPS provider, you won’t be required to pay a large chunk of cash upfront nor will you be charged for server usage by the hour. Some organizations prefer traditional VPS over IaaS since they won’t have to worry about paying for a virtual machine that is inadvertently left powered on. When organizations build out VDI, they often have to pay for licenses that enable the multi-tenant environment. VPS provides organizations with dedicated resources at a predictable monthly price without having to jump through all of the hoops.
Managed Services and Data Center Choice
Purchasing a Windows VPS may be preferable to your organization’s needs should you require a managed service provider to help assist you in building out your infrastructure. With a VPS, you will be able to select which data center your server resides in. This gives you flexibility when looking for a place to host remote desktops using VPS. For example, if you have contractors working in the Asian Pacific region, selecting a data center with low latency to that specific area would be ideal. When you select a data center that is within close proximity of those using the VPS, your end users will experience greater reliability and less latency which ensures a stable virtual desktop experience.
Predictable Billing: VPS as an Affordable Alternative to VDI
Organizations are looking more closely at Windows VPS hosting in efforts to reduce their overhead costs associated with providing remote desktops. Many organizations have assembled a mobile workforce that relies heavily upon remote desktop access. When using a Windows VPS, organizations can provide an employee with a workstation hosted in a data center than can be fully administered by a domain admin. Alternatively, you could set this work space up “On an island” so that it does not interact with your on-site network. These types of setups are perfect for software development, QA testing and application hosting.
VPS Offers Redundancy – Guaranteed
When you search for a VPS, you will want to ensure that your provider offers a redundant means of storing your data. Most VPS providers have RAID clusters setup that will protect you against a disk failure. RAID storage configurations such as RAID 50 are common among reputable Windows VPS hosting providers. When you ensure that your VPS is running a robust RAID redundancy system, you can run your workloads with confidence knowing that if one of the disks within the cluster fails, multiple backups are available to immediately resume the workload without interruption.
The Remote Desktop Protocol Explained
When you communicate with your VPS over the remote desktop protocol, you are doing so with a trusted method that allows you setup certificates and encryption should you need an added layer of privacy. Remote desktop protocol has been used for decades to connect to Windows based machines. A Windows VPS can be accessed from any type of system that has an RDP client available for it. This includes all versions of Windows, OS X, iOS, Android, Linux and more!
Other Uses of a Windows VPS
A Windows VPS can be purposed for different tasks besides a remote workstation. Some organizations will run SQL databases on top of their Windows VPS while others will install WebsitePanel and host multiple websites on one server. When you use a Windows VPS as a remote workstation, you can preinstall each of your enterprise applications and begin using the remote desktop as a way to surf the web, host enterprise applications or you could even setup the VPS to function as a remote file server.
Choosing a VPS as a Remote Desktop Alternative
You should carefully weigh the pros and cons of using a virtual private server as a virtual desktop. For some organizations, a simple virtual desktop is all that is needed to achieve core objectives. For other organizations, it may actually make sense to go with a full fledged VDI provider. Carefully weigh the objectives of your organization and begin testing out VPS providers to see if a VPS is a better alternative for you versus a VDI environment. Most VPS hosting providing offer a money back guarantee. If you begin using a Windows VPS host and you believe the solution isn’t the right fit, you can simply ask for a refund and begin exploring other Windows based remote desktop options.
