Rather than manually upgrading machines or waiting for a hardware refresh cycle to take place, organizations can implement MokaFive Suite 3.0 to create a full Windows 7 virtual machine that can run on most existing hardware -- even if that PC doesn't have the hardware requirements necessary for a Windows 7 installation (because the hypervisor is abstracting the underlying hardware).
If the host machine is a Windows XP device, the user can still leverage the base machine to run legacy Windows XP applications that won't run correctly within Windows 7, while also making use of the LivePC Windows 7 machine to perform the modern day-to-day activities.
MokaFive's Windows 7 support is not just a container. The company says it offers full layering support on Windows 7 both in terms of AD domain join layering, OS layering, user-installed apps, data and settings. It has also changed the architecture of the layering so that it leverages some of the inherent features of Windows 7 in a much better fashion.
Integrated security. MokaFive has partnered with a well-known security vendor, AVG, and MokaFive Suite 3.0 takes advantage of the full integration with AVG. The solution includes a secure virtual encrypted desktop container that can be deployed to the endpoint and further be secured from key-logging and screen-scraping attacks from the host machine by the AVG security scanning capability. Enterprises can enable secure execution of the virtual desktop even on unprotected personal machines by ensuring that these machines are free of malware.
Service Provider Edition. MokaFive Suite 3.0 has also added a new multitenant feature to its new Service Provider Edition of the product, which enables managed service providers (MSPs) to provide desktop management from the cloud by offering true multitenancy, golden image management tools, and consolidated cross-tenant reporting. MSPs can now provide managed desktop services with a shared infrastructure without having to operate a unique instance of the MokaFive Suite for each client, making it a more lightweight and scalable solution.
The company is also working on a Type-1 offering or bare-metal edition (one that can install on top of the hardware itself without the need for a hosted operating system). According to MokaFive, using a bare-metal player avoids the management effort and licensing of the host computer, and it is designed for security and performance. A bare-metal player will also run the same virtual desktops that are currently being deployed to the host-installed player.
The bare-metal edition is currently being tested with select customers, and the company said they hope to have it ready by early next year.
MokaFive has been targeting its solution to larger-sized companies, and at $150 per user per year, it's no wonder. Cost has long been a deterrent preventing many organizations from getting into the desktop virtualization game; however, the company's new Service Provider Edition may help bring those costs down and make desktop virtualization more affordable for smaller organizations.
This article, "MokaFive Suite 3.0 improves Windows 7 migration," was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Follow the latest developments in virtualization and cloud computing at InfoWorld.com.