Leostream_Juju_Charm.jpgUpfront cost and complexity are two common stumbling blocks that get in the way of VDI (virtual desktop infrastructure) adoption. We’re on a mission to minimize these hurdles by helping organizations leverage open source software as an alternative to running desktops on dedicated hardware in the datacenter. As a pioneer in the evolving desktop virtualization space, Leostream has been a proponent for VDI on platforms like OpenStack and has partnered with major players in the community.

Today, we’re pleased to announce that we’ve joined forces with Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, the leading OS for container, cloud, scale-out and hyperscale computing! By joining the Canonical Charm Partner Programme we’re facilitating the deployment of virtual desktops on Ubuntu OpenStack.

The partner program helps solution providers make best use of Canonical’s model driven operations system, Juju; enabling instant workload deployment, integration, and scaling on any public or private cloud, as well as bare metal with just a click of a button. The Juju Charm Store has a rapidly growing number of charms available to DevOps teams, with hundreds of cloud-based applications available.

Stefan Johansson the Global Software Alliances Director for Canonical’s Cloud Division summarized the news: “Together, Leostream and Canonical simplify the deployment and migration of virtual desktop workloads into an OpenStack cloud, eliminating legacy, expensive VDI stacks and providing cloud-based, on-demand desktops to users across an organization. We are excited to welcome Leostream to our catalogue to accelerate the adoption of OpenStack VDI.”

 

Why OpenStack VDI with Leostream and Canonical?

OpenStack has long been a solution for controlling large pools of compute, storage, and networking resources and has recently turned heads as a solution for VDI. As the world’s most popular operating system for OpenStack, Ubuntu provides a reliable way to build out a manageable cloud.  By making the Leostream Connection Broker available from Canonical’s Charm store, DevOps teams have a fast path to delivering desktops and remote sessions in a cloud-based environment.

Leostream will be “charming” its flagship connection broker software, which has quickly become an essential tool for enterprise-grade OpenStack VDI.  Coined the “ultimate connection broker” and the “one broker to rule them all”, the software provides a single management console to integrate a variety of systems and platforms including physical and virtual infrastructures, Windows and Linux Operating Systems, and any number of high-performance display protocols.

To overcome the technical barriers of building and managing OpenStack VDI, Leostream configuration and setup is included in the Canonical BootStack solution. BootStack is an end-to-end service that includes the design, implementation, and ongoing management of an OpenStack cloud on Ubuntu. Combined with Leostream, organizations can get up and running with hosted desktops faster, easier, and in a more cost-predictable way.

The Leostream Connection Broker will be available directly from the Charm store in the fall of 2016. In the meantime, the latest version of the connection broker is available for download from our product page.