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VMware Announces VMware View 4

Earlier this week VMware announced VMware View 4, the latest version of its desktop virtualization product.

The release includes enhanced PC over IP (PCoIP) display protocol technology licensed from Teradici that both vendors claim is optimized for virtual desktop environments.

Scott Davis, VMware's chief technology officer for VMware View, explained the benefits of PCoIP in a recent blog post. "VMware has been diligently working with Teradici to create a virtualized implementation of this robust, innovative protocol and deliver the premier remote desktop experience for VMware View. PCoIP is a server-centric protocol, meaning that we are doing the majority of the graphics rendering and processing on powerful servers," wrote Davis. "Compressed bitmaps or frames are transmitted to the remote client. This division of labor has some ideal properties for static content."

"[It makes] use of the powerful processing capabilities of multi-core servers such as Intel’s Nehalem to render the graphics," he continued. "More importantly, by transmitting compressed bitmaps or frames, we can adjust the protocol in real time to account for the available bandwidth and latency of the communications channel."

VMware View 4 also introduces new features that make it easier for administrators to manage and provision virtual desktops. "With View 4, VMware is really ratcheting up the sophistication of the data center portion of desktop management," said Charles King, principal analyst for IT industry analysis firm Pund-IT. "VMware is trying to make the provisioning and management of virtual machines easier and more seamless than it has been in the past with many other competing solutions."

VMware has been locked in a battle with Microsoft and Citrix over the enterprise virtualization market. VMware is still widely seen as the leader in that fast-growing market segment, and company officials hope that the release of VMware View 4 will help the company maintain that position.

VMware View 4 will be available on November 19 and will be offered in two editions: VMware View 4 Enterprise Edition will be priced at $150 per user, and includes VMware vSphere 4, VMware View Manager 4 and VMware vCenter 4; VMware View 4 Premier Edition will cost $250 per user and includes VMware vSphere 4, VMware View Manager 4, VMware ThinApp 4, VMware vCenter 4 and VMware View Composer.

A free trial is available for download here.

About the Author

Jeff James is the editor in chief of TechNet Magazine.

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