The question of vDesktop type is one of the cornerstone decisions of any VDI design. The vDesktop type defines how volatile the vDesktops may be, how applications may be distributed, and the amount of underlying hardware required. For VDI architects, it is important to build a portfolio of proven designs. VDI is a complicated technology as there are a lot of moving parts. Reducing the number of variables for each project is important and this can be done by building some loose parameters. The following is an example mission statement taken from a real-world scenario:

I'm the Director of IT for Acme and I have a 2,000-seat classroom environment I need to support, with frequent turnover.

A VDI architect's formula in this scenario may be as follows: View nonpersistent vDesktops + VMware ThinApp + zero clients.

By already having an idea of what the solution should look like, the architect can focus on some of the key variables: