When using Omnissa Horizon Instant Clones, it's often necessary to have a persistent VDI to save user data and settings between sessions, as the clones are non-persistent by default.
To create this persistent area, you can choose between two main solutions:
In a VDI environment, FSLogix is the better choice for user profiles, especially when Microsoft 365 is the most used solution. Omnissa App Volumes, on the other hand, is also a great solution for application delivery.
Omnissa App Volumes
This solution provides two main features.
Writable Volumes
Writable Volumes are the Omnissa solution to provide persistent VDI used to capture user-installed applications and user profile data. A Writable Volume consists in a virtual disk that is assigned to a specific user and attach to their virtual desktop when they log in.
Any changes made by the user, such as installing an application, modifying a registry setting, or saving data to specific locations, are written to their Writable Volume, not to the base VM image.
When the user logs out, the VM is reset to its original state, but the Writable Volume is detached and saved. The next time the user logs in, the Writable Volume is reattached, and their changes and installed applications are available again.
AppStacks
AppStack is an application delivery and lifecycle management solution that separates applications from the base OS and delivers them to a VM as virtual disks.
An AppStack is a read-only virtual disk that contains one or more applications that are never modified by the end-user. This ensures that the applications within the AppStack remain in a original state and this design is crucial for consistency and easy rollbacks.
Any user-specific data or settings are managed separately, typically through a Writable Volume.
FSLogix
FSLogix is a Microsoft tool designed to manage user profiles in virtualized environments, thereby providing persistent VDI capability.
FSLogix places the entire user profile in a VHDX file on a network share. When a user logs in, the VHDX is dynamically attached to the virtual machine, making the profile appear as if it were a local profile. This approach solves many of the problems associated with traditional roaming profiles, performance in prims since the profile is mounted almost instantly.
FSLogix captures the entire user profile, including registry settings, application data, and the crucial Office 365 cache data (Outlook OST e OneDrive cache). Entering the credentials at every VDI session is no longer required since they are stored within FSLogix.
Combining the two for a complete solution
Although not strictly required, for a robust and persistent VDI environment you can use both FSLogix and Omnissa App Volumes together.
This combination provides a powerful benefit to your VDI environment:
- FSLogix handles the user profile, ensuring a consistent and high-performance user experience.
- App Volumes delivers applications on-demand, reducing image sprawl and simplifying application management.
Even if Omnissa App Volumes is a powerful tool that can be used on its own, the hybrid approach allows you to leverage the strengths of each product.
Which solution should we deploy?
Before deploying these solutions to enable persistent VDI, you should consider some key factors.
Business requirements
- If your infrastructure uses Omnissa Horizon, App Volumes is often the natural choice for providing persistent VDI. It provides an integrated platform for managing applications and user-specific data (Writable Volumes) within the Horizon environment.
- If your virtual desktops are used primarily for Microsoft 365 products (e.g., Outlook, Teams, OneDrive), FSLogix is the solution to consider. It is specifically optimized for handling the large profile data generated by these applications.
Licensing
Neither solution is free and both solutions require a license.
- Omnissa App Volumes is licensed on a per-user or per-concurrent connection basis and is included with the Horizon Enterprise Edition.
- FSLogix is included with a variety of Microsoft licenses, such as Microsoft 365 E3/E5, Business, F1/F3, and others. It's crucial to verify your specific licensing to ensure compliance.
VDI environment
- If your infrastructure uses full clones, a persistent VDI solution may not be necessary, as the user's changes are already saved on the dedicated, persistent VM. Solutions like App Volumes and FSLogix are typically most impactful in non-persistent VDI environments.
Every project requires careful analysis and consideration. There is no single best solution, it is the one that best aligns with your specific business and technical requirements.
