The concept of virtualizing Windows desktops has been around since as early as 2002 when VMware customers started virtualizing desktop operating systems and hosting them on servers running the ESXi hypervisor from the data center. At that time, there was no concept of a connection broker, and the phrase VDI was never commonly used. End users simply connected, using the RDP protocol, directly to a dedicated desktop virtual machine running Windows XP. This was the same as how you would manage a server remotely, that is, by making an RDP connection directly to the desktop of the server. From there, the journey began. The following timeline highlights the key milestones of that journey:
- 2005: VMware demonstrated the concept of a connection broker.
- 2006: VMware launched the VDI alliances program.
- 2007: A prototype connection broker was introduced to customers...