[ Back to the annual summary 2009 ]
CEWEZ : implementing one of the first desktop virtualizations with VMware View in Belgium.
Edegem, 24 June 2009
The “Centrale der Werkgevers Zeebrugge” (CEWEZ) is the only by law recognized organization for stowers of the port of Zeebrugge. Besides its function as social office for dock labourers and associates, CEWEZ is also spokesperson representing the stowers in the committee of employers and trade-unionists who are equally represented for the port of Zeebrugge.
For its customer CEWEZ, Cheops Technology has successfully implemented one of the first VMware View-projects in Belgium.
Thanks to VMware View 3, users can now access their desktops securely from virtually every possible device and at any time. By hosting these virtual desktop-images in the datacenter with the use of market leading virtualization platform VMware Infrastructure 3, VMware View makes it possible for the IT-staff to deliver and manage thousands of virtual desktops in a safe and secure manner against a considerably reduced operational cost. VMware View 3 is a strategic part of the vClient Initiative of VMware.
This technology makes it possible to present every desktop to its users from a virtualized server which makes the desktop a virtual machine on its own. The advantages of a virtualized server can now be extended up to desktop-level.
In the particular case of the CEWEZ-project a ‘master image’ was configured and presented to the users as their standard PC or ‘linked clone’ using View Composer.
This way every user uses the same standardized desktop (OS, applications, security…) on which updates or changes will only need to be installed once on the ‘master image’. These changes will then be implemented automatically on all of the linked virtual desktops.
Using “Shared Memory Mapping” makes it also possible to optimize memory-usage.
Instead of every virtual desktop with its own ‘dedicated’ memory, we now only use the memory of the ‘master image’.
Since the majority of the ‘memory footprint’ of the different users match perfectly, memory can be consolidated which reduces costs dramatically and improves your performance.
Files or settings which are added or changed by the users on their specific ‘linked clone’ are stored safely on so-called delta-files so the ’master image’ will remain unchanged.
CEWEZ chose Cheops based on the virtualization-expertise which Cheops as VMware Enterprise Partner has gathered over the years.
