Difference between a virtual desktop and terminal server computing environment

The first difference between the virtual desktop and the terminal server computing environment is the local computer:

With a terminal server, you will need to have a PC that is located in your office or in your organization in order to communicate with a cloud server but be sure that it is protected from viruses. With a VDI, there is no need for a local desktop. You can replace your computer with an ADAR monitor and even be able to use a dual screen configuration.

Another important difference is the ability to customize software that is available to your users. With a terminal server, the same setup software is installed for every user, even if some may need to use a more basic license. With virtual desktops, each computer can have its own setup software. Some users can use the most advanced version while others can use a standard one.

In a terminal server environment each user’s virtual session runs on the same hardware and shares resources with others on the system if one of the users is running resource-intensive process, the performance of all others will suffer while the task is running; on the other hand each virtual desktop gets its own dedicated set of resources.

If one of the users is running the same resource-intensive tasks only their performance will be affected and no one else’s.

Terminal servers run a server class windows operating system such as Windows Server 2008, some software packages are not designed to run on such an Operating system and may not be installed properly. VDI desktop’s run standard desktop-class operating systems such as Windows 7 or Windows XP.

All software’s are compatible with this system. The terminal server is designed for running business software and it is not well suited for multimedia content such as video and audio. Playing a video may appear choppy and play without sound.

The virtual desktop technology was designed specifically to replace the local desktop without sacrificing functionality and performance. Therefore even multimedia content plays smoothly on a VDI system, just as it would on a traditional PC.

Similar to Video, manipulating large graphics on a terminal server may be challenging while VDI performance is fast and smooth. Locally attached USB devices are not accessible within a virtual session on a terminal server while on a virtual desktop they are to securely access a terminal server, you are required to run VPN software when you are working remotely this requires using a traditional PC, Mac or Desktop computer.

The VDI system has military-grade encryption built in and does not require special VPN software. Therefore a virtual desktop can be accessed from any internet connected device including iPads, iPhones, and androids.

When working on a terminal server, users may need to switch from one screen to another when trying to view multimedia and toggle between their business application in a virtual session and the multimedia content on their local desktop. With VDI everything is done from a single screen without having to switch back and forth.