Windows XP Desktop Virtualization

[akalinowski]

I have a need to virtualize several windows xp instances and have some thin clients connect to run thier xp sessions
because of the software we are using terminal services will not work. so i need it to be separate xp instances the thing is i'm not sure what the best way to do this is
i'm thinking load up esxi on a server and install one instance of xp for each user needed and then have them use RDP to access thier session

i'm not sure of however is if this is the best way to go about it
my budget is limited but i can spend some money (note i'm already spending 2k on an OK server)

akalinowski

http://www.olivelabs.com

 

[TonHu]

Just be sure to get VMWare certified hardware and enough memory, then this is an excellent setup, IMHO.
We do this same setup for some of our developers that need to access the same environment, either working from home or at the office (broadband is widely available here), and have a separate dev 'machine' for different products.

 

[biglebowski]

Have a look at xendesktop express, this is a free version for 10 users or less.

Biglebowskis Razor - with all things being equal if you still can't find the answer have a shave and go down the pub.

 

[xwb]

You could use VMWare player or VirtualBox. They're both free. No limit on the number of users.

 

[akalinowski]

well esxi is free and baremetal which is the only way i want to go.

after some more asking around and a bit of research looks like its the best solution.

i'm even going to slap a vm'd win2k8 box to run as a domain controller

akalinowski

http://www.olivelabs.com

 

[biglebowski]

Xendesktop can run on top of vsphere, esxi or xenserver which are all bare metal hypervisors.

Biglebowskis Razor - with all things being equal if you still can't find the answer have a shave and go down the pub.

 

[jimmytech]

If 10 or less users are free i will try this software. Thanks for sharing.