What's New in Unidesk?

Check back often to see what enhancements have been added to the latest versions of the Unidesk VDI provisioning and management platform.

Updates added April 18, 2012:

Integrated Citrix XenDesktop Support

  • Unidesk 1.6 brings the management simplicity, personalization (including user-installed apps), and storage savings that's only possible with full desktop layering to Citrix® XenDesktop®.
  • Broker integration via the XenDesktop SDK enables Unidesk desktops to be provisioned directly into XenDesktop catalogs and groups from the Unidesk Management Console.
  • The Unidesk Template Wizard for Desktop settings now enables administrators to specify that they are integrating with XenDesktop.
  • Existing XenDesktop desktops can be synchronized with Unidesk 1.6. This is useful for customers who have created desktops in Unidesk 1.5 and have manually added those desktops to XenDesktop. With 1.6, you are now able to upgrade from 1.5 to 1.6, configure XenDesktop through the Unidesk Management Console, and synchronize the desktops.

Desktop Build Performance Improvements

  • Administrators will see up to 30% performance improvement in desktop build times compared to Unidesk 1.5 for desktops that have been assigned multiple application layers.

Additional Maintenance Schedule Capability

  • Unidesk 1.5 introduced Desktop Maintenance Schedules, which define the time periods when Unidesk will deploy configuration changes and apply layer assignment changes to specified desktops. In Unidesk 1.6 administrators can now deploy a desktop change when the user reboots or logs out. This enables desktop changes to be applied when the user has naturally stopped working, without waiting for the usual Maintenance Schedule timeframe or forcing the user to log off immediately.

VMware View 5 Agent Support for Windows XP

  • The VMware View 5 Agent can now be deployed as a Unidesk application layer to Windows XP Desktops independent of the Windows gold image to simplify patches and updates.

VMware vShield Support

  • VMware vShield can now be deployed as a Unidesk application layer to all desktops independent of the Windows gold image to simplify patches and updates.

 

Updates added January 6, 2012:

Desktop Maintenance Schedules

  • Maintenance Schedules define the time periods when Unidesk will deploy configuration changes and apply layer assignment changes to specified desktops.  Schedules are useful for updating persistent desktops overnight, on weekends, and during other periods when end users are not actively using their desktops.
  • Any number of Maintenance Schedules can be defined and saved using the web-based Unidesk Management Console.
  • Schedules can be applied to one or more desktops using the new and improved Create Desktop and Edit Desktop wizards.
  • Incremental updates ensure that non-persistent desktops are always available for 24X7 use cases.  For example, if 30 concurrent desktop connections are required for an “always on” virtual lab, 33 desktops can be provisioned and Unidesk will update only 3 at a time, ensuring that 30 desktops are always available for use.

Windows Unattend File Builder

  • The Windows Unattend File Builder is now available for creating Microsoft Windows 7 answer files, greatly simplifying the creation of the gold image.

Improved Unidesk Management Console Performance

  • The Unidesk Management Console user interface now runs faster when working with large numbers of desktops and layers.   

Enhanced Task Bar Filtering

  • The Task bar in the Unidesk Management Console can now be filtered by administrator name, making it easy for the logged in Unidesk administrator to see the status of just their jobs.

 

Updates added August 23, 2011:

Direct launch of VMware vCenter console (Microsoft Internet Explorer required)

  • Open the VMware vCenter console for any desktop or installation virtual machine directly from the Unidesk management interface.
  • Eliminate the need to switch interfaces and search for virtual machines in vCenter to test desktop configuration changes.
  • Get convenient access to installation virtual machines while you create layers and layer revisions.
  • Console is closed automatically once the desktop or installation machine is shut down.

Advanced desktop search

  • Create complex search queries with ease to apply changes and assign new applications to multiple desktops by searching on 1 or more of the following:
    • Desktop name
    • CachePoint desktop is hosted on
    • Template desktop is based on
    • Layers assigned to the desktop
    • Groups and ownership
    • Desktops that are in need of restart
    • Desktops scheduled for restart

Improved desktop sort

  • See desktops displayed in standard, alphanumeric order in all wizards (e.g. Desktop_2 is now displayed before Desktop_10).

Improved documentation on antivirus software

  • Get access to updated and detailed instructions on how to package, deliver, and/or configure antivirus software with Unidesk.

Desktop maintenance mode for simplified Unidesk software upgrade

  • Use new maintenance mode to prevent VMware View and Pano Manager brokers from trying to restart desktops during upgrades of Unidesk CachePoint virtual appliances

 

Updates added May 5, 2011:

Improved Unidesk Management Console user interface performance

  • Wizards that display multiple Application and OS layers, including Create Desktop, Edit Desktop, Create Template, and Edit Template, now operate much faster

Improved desktop availability

  • Unidesk CachePoint appliances that experience unexpected failures now automatically restart themselves and send automated notification emails
  • When upgrading Unidesk software to a new version, desktop recompose/reboot operations are now suspended until the upgrades to all CachePoints are complete

Microsoft Windows 7 Service Pack 1

  • Windows 7 SP1 is now supported as an OS layer, and can be assigned to desktops

Improved LDAP integration

  • Nested Directory Junctions are now supported to make it easier for administrators to manage users and assign desktops

Improved storage management

  • Unidesk CachePoint storage can now be expanded easily even during low or out-of-space conditions

 

Updates added April 7, 2011:

Templates

  • Create custom templates that contain pre-selected desktop settings and operating system and application layers
  • Assign templates to desktops to accelerate and simplify desktop provisioning and application delivery
  • Keep track of your templates with built-in version control

Desktop provisioning with layer visualization

  • See what your desktops will look like as they’re being built with the new layer visualization feature in the Create/Edit Desktop wizards   

Role-based management

  • Restrict access to Unidesk User and System configuration tabs with new Desktop Administrator role, which permits management of only Layers and Desktops

Improved Unidesk virtual appliance management

  • Upgrade Unidesk CacheCloud virtual appliances faster, without having to manually modify layers
  • Improve desktop availability with new support for hosting Unidesk desktops on VMware vSphere® clusters
  • Improve administrator experience when expanding Unidesk CachePoint storage

Tech Preview of Windows 7 64-bit

  • Create Windows 7 64-bit operating system layers and use them to provision 64-bit Unidesk desktops
  • Package 64-bit applications as Unidesk application layers and assign them to 64-bit Unidesk desktops

Performance and usability enhancements

  • Find desktops that need to be restarted to receive new or updated application assignments with enhanced search feature

Restart desktops faster by leveraging Unidesk Composite Virtualization™ optimizations

  • Simplify and error-proof layer management with improvements to the layer versioning user interface
  • Simplify user management by displaying Active Directory details whenever mouse hovers over users

Broker enhancements

  • Support redundant VMware View™ servers for load balancing  configurations
  • Support Pano Logic 4.1 zero clients and management console
  • Export Unidesk desktops into CSV format that can be imported into Citrix® XenDesktop® for faster assignment to pools