Virtual Computer – NxTop Enterprise – POSH Media Inc.

April 29, 2011 10:53 am Published by POSH Media Leave your thoughts

NxTop Enterprise is a unified architecture that can support any mix of desktop delivery models from corporate headquarters to remote offices to the loosely connected “road warriors.” Management and security of traditional desktop and laptop PCs are dramatically simplified through centralized, one-to-many image deployment and maintenance. Emerging server- and cloud-based desktop and application approaches are also easily enabled without the need for specialized hardware that limits future flexibility.

Enterprise IT teams no longer need to guess when making infrastructure decisions. The NxTop Enterprise architecture addresses the desktop management needs of today while providing a future-proof foundation for the next generation desktop – whatever form it takes.

Why NxTop Enterprise?

Nowhere are the potential benefits of desktop virtualization greater than in large enterprises. As organizations grow in size and complexity, the traditional pain points of desktop management are magnified across a myriad of PC models, user requirements, and geographic locations.

NxTop Enterprise includes the full array of core NxTop features and capabilities, including:

Centralized Virtual Desktop Creation and Management

One-to-many desktop provisioning. NxTop provides a central console for all desktop management activities. IT teams create and maintain a single virtual machine per operating system that can be published to thousands of users. User-specific personality, data, settings, and applications are applied dynamically at each endpoint.

Scalable offline desktop patching. Patches and updates are applied on a one-to-many basis. The IT administrator applies patches once to a master virtual machine running on the NxTop management console. Upon republishing, the changed data blocks are streamed to NxTop-enabled PCs running the updated virtual machine. A patched image is assembled in the background and transparently loaded on the next reboot.

Distributed Desktop Execution on “Bare-Metal”

Disconnected operation. Before NxTop, the efficiency and security benefits of virtual desktops were limited to server-hosted approaches using tethered thin clients. With NxTop, this is augmented by the industry’s first fully-managed type-1 or “bare-metal” client hypervisor, allowing virtual desktops to run on traditional PC hardware.

Complete virtual machine isolation. Unlike virtual machines running on top of untrusted operating systems, NxTop virtual machines are completely isolated from one another. Malware in an unmanaged Windows desktop does not compromise a managed NxTop virtual machine, even on the same hardware.

Hardware abstraction. NxTop presents a consistent set of virtual hardware to the end-user operating system, simplifying migration of users to new hardware platforms. Driver management and other hardware-specific compatibility challenges are eliminated.

Seamless Access to Server and Cloud-based Computing

Convenient access to remote desktops and applications. All NxTop-enabled PCs can optionally be provisioned with NxTop Connect, a quick-booting embedded virtual appliance. With NxTop Connect, end-users have access to server- and cloud-based applications and server-hosted desktops from all major VDI vendors. Pre-loaded applications include Google Chrome, Skype, and RDP client. NxTop Connect can run standalone on the desktop as a thin client alternative or alongside locally executing virtual machines.

Integrated Security

Disk encryption. All virtual machine and system data on NxTop-enabled PCs is encrypted, providing peace of a mind in the event that a PC containing sensitive data is lost or stolen.

Granular policy controls. IT administrators can protect against data leakage and unauthorized use through a robust set of policy controls. Access to hardware such as USB ports and network interfaces can be restricted or filtered based on centrally defined policies at global, group, and individual-user levels. Virtual machines can be governed by time-based expiration policies and on-demand remote disablement.

Remote termination with lost-data destruction. As an added layer of security, IT administrators can flag lost PCs for remote termination. If a lost or stolen PC connects to a network, it is directed to digitally shred all data and encryption keys, then self-destruct.

Hassle-Free Data Backup and Restore

Transparent data protection. Based on centrally defined policies, NxTop periodically initiates data backup with no end-user interaction required.

Efficient data transmission. NxTop backup technology captures changes at the block level, transmitting only the blocks that have changed to NxTop Center.

Point-and-click system restore. The combination of central virtual-image management, data backup, and hardware abstraction dramatically simplifies re-provisioning of users in the event of a lost or failed PC. Simply register a new PC — even a completely different hardware platform — and with a few mouse clicks the user is running the exact desktop environment as of the last time they connected to a network.

Additional Enterprise Features

NxTop Enterprise customers also gain additional advanced management features designed to meet the unique demands of a large, geographically distributed enterprise, including:

Hierarchical Management Architecture

Intelligent remote office caching. Deployment of downstream management servers at remote offices to intelligently cache and distribute updates for more efficient bandwidth utilization.

Local backup storage. Optionally maintain user data backups locally at remote offices, speeding system recovering and avoiding unnecessary strain on wide area network links.

Remote Help Desk Support

Remote PC control and troubleshooting. Augment NxTop’s centralized client reporting and diagnostic capabilities with the ability to remotely troubleshoot a user’s PC. Simply enable remote support for the NxTop console for immediate remote PC control – even in the event of a catastrophic operating system failure such as a Windows “blue screen of death.”

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This post was written by POSH Media