Does anyone know if it is possible to setup a machine (they are different models) that boots directly into a stanalone XP VM machine.
These machines will not be on our network and will just be used to access a ADSL internet link.
Currently we have Ghost images for all the different makes and models of PCs and ideally we'd just like to use a single VM image.
Mr. Smith,
You can get that you need to get done by using a virtualization platform like VmWare or V-Box or etc. To connect the virtualized XP/Vista desktop you would need the 2X ThinClient Server to pxe boot the local machine and then you can publish an XP desktop to that machine. Please visit www.2x.com for the trials; you will need Virtual Desktop Server and Thin Client Server.
Hello,
You can consider to use free Xenserver and a virtualization platform.
XenDesktop and Provisioning server will allow you to deliver single image to multiple virtual desktops
Hope this helps you
CNE, MSCE+S, CCEA 4, CCIA 4, CCEE for Virtualization
PLease visit us on www.citrix24.com
Thanks for both your replies however I don't think either is what we are looking for. These PCs will not be connect to our network and are located a remote client sites, they are just used to access a internet page and have a few other settings locally installed on them eg AV, .Net framework and a local printer / scanner.
Do you know it is possible to have basically a standalone PC to just boot into a locally intstalled VM (or XEN) image ?
asmith1972: Do you know it is possible to have basically a standalone PC to just boot into a locally intstalled VM (or XEN) image ?
What do you mean by standalone PC ?
Where are resources you would like to give access to ?
If XenDesktop is not a solution for you maybe XenApp will fit your needs ?
In XenApp you can publish required applications and give access to them via Webinterface to the external users
Hi there,
So what you want is basically a computer, connected to the internet to boot up to a VM image, say residing in Sun VirtualBox or VMware Workstation automatically rather than its own operating system?
A couple of problems I see here is that if the Processor you are using on one is AMD and on the other is Intel you will run into compatability problems when trying to use the same Virtual Machine Image.
Secondly you are adding overhead so if these machines are slow, they will just be even slower with another OS instance running on them.
I do not think however you can boot straight into a standalone VM. What would happen is your local OS needs to boot first. User needs to log in (or autologin needs to be enabled). Then you need to start up your client hypervisor of choice. Then you need to start that workstation and expand it out to full screen.
If I was in your position I would create a business case and sell it to the company to standardise these computers which will make more effective use of your time and bring in less complexity into the companys IT support. Seeing as a client hypervisor is several hundred dollars per instance anyway the cost difference may not be as large as you think.
Cheers
Jase
For what it is worth, MokaFive claims to be able to run on bare metal, although in truth it looks like they use an underlying JeOS Linux kernel that hosts the virtualization layer. They also have a bunch of pre-built images you can quickly deploy such as light-weight Internet kiosks, etc or you can build your own:
www.mokafive.com
Alan Osborne
President (MCSE, CCNA, VCP, CCA)
VCIT Consulting - Citrix/Terminal Services Remote Desktop Solutions for SMB
VCIT website My Blog