| Original author(s) | VMware |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | VMware |
| Stable release | 4.5 (build 293049) / September 9, 2010 |
| Development status | Active |
| Operating system | Windows |
| Type | Desktop virtualization |
| License | Commercial, Proprietary |
| Website | vmware.com/products/view/ |
In computing, VMware Views is a commercial desktop-virtualization product developed by VMware, Inc. Its first two releases (2.0.0 and 2.1.0) sold under the name VMware VDM, but with the 3.0.0 release in 2008[1] VMware Inc. changed the name to "VMware View".
VMware View provides remote desktop capabilities to users using VMware's virtualization technology. A client desktop operating system - typically Microsoft Windows 7, Vista or XP - is run within a virtual environment on a server. The VMware View product has a number of components which are required to provide the virtual desktops, including:
In order to transport a view of the desktop to users, keyboard, video, mouse and other interactions are sent over a LAN connection. Protocols supported for this are both the Microsoft-developed RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol), along with the PCoIP protocol. Access is also supported through any HTML5 compliant browser.[2]
Client connections to VMware View sessions are established by running a VMware View Client on a local host. Clients are supported for most versions of Windows, along with Mac OS X. Specific embedded clients are also supported for a large number of thin clients, for a list of supported clients refer to the VMware website.[3]
An open-source product called "VMware View Open Client" can connect from a Linux or Mac OS X desktop to remote Windows desktops managed by VMware View.[4]
An HTML5 Client for VMware View is available to enable access to VMware View desktops directly from within any HTML5-compatible web browser such as Safari, Chrome, IE and Firefox (for Windows, Linux, Mac and Chrome OS devices, such as Chromebooks).[5]