As we are just returning from an amazing week at SUSECON 2019, I’ve been thinking a lot about the conversations we had at our booth. One of the most frequently asked questions we get is “How does Leostream compare to VMware Horizon or Citrix XenDesktop?”

It’s certainly a fair question. We all play in the VDI space and it stands to reason we would offer comparable solutions. However, the answer to that question isn’t exactly straight forward. The short answer is – we don’t really. VMware Horizon and Citrix XenDesktop are both full stack, legacy, VDI solutions. What Leostream offers is a little different. Let’s explore –

How do VMware and Citrix Handle VDI?

VMware and Citrix are both what we like to call “full-stack” VDI solutions. When you go to them, they will hand you a pre-packaged VDI solution including –

  • A hypervisor
  • A connection broker
  • A display protocol
  • OS streaming or refreshes
  • A remote access gateway
  • User Environment Management software

At first blush, it sounds like a pretty easy way to get started doing VDI – until you check out the price tag. The hefty licensing fees associated with the full-stack, legacy VDI solutions are what have isolated VDI to the realm of the large enterprise since its inception. Moreover, once you pick one, you are locked in either “flavor” of VDI, with little options for expanding into different display protocols, cloud environments, or the management of physical hosted resources.

How does Leostream do VDI?

At Leostream, we approach VDI a little differently. We are just a couple of components of that above list – the connection broker and the remote access gateway. However, with just those components, we give you all the tools you need to build an enterprise-ready VDI solution that is completely customizable to your specific needs. 

Want to use OpenStack for your cloud? Yep.

Red Hat Virtualization? Yes, Ma’am.

AWS/Azure/Google Cloud? Sure.

HP RGS or Teradici PCoIP? No problem.

 

The list goes on, but you get the idea. By pulling out those couple of components VDI stack, we can sit on top of (but not in the way of!) all of your hosted IT assets. We provide the remote access portals for your users, and the tools you need to keep things up and running smoothly, all from a single-pane-of-glass interface, accessed via a web browser.

Ready to take a closer look at how Leostream compares to VMware and Citrix? Check out this handy guide we’ve created to step you through discovering when Leostream is right for you – or when VMware or Citrix are the better options!