The virtual desktop infrastructure uses virtual machines to deliver Virtual Hosted desktops to a variety of connected devices and is implemented in two primary ways: persistent and non-persistent.

With a persistent virtual desktop, each user has a unique desktop image dedicated to them that they can customize with apps and data. All applications and files are stored across reboots and the user’s settings are preserved and appear at each login. This consistency provides a similar experience to a physical PC environment, which eases user adoption and is well-suited to power users. Individual customized virtual desktops require different lifecycle management considerations for storage and software updates compared with non-persistent virtual desktops.

With a non-persistent virtual desktop infrastructure, users can access a virtual desktop from an identical pool of available desktops. Non-persistent virtual desktops are clones of a shared golden desktop image where users receive a fresh instance every time they log in. Non-persistent virtual desktops are personalized through user profiles, scripts, or special software. Any customizations that users make within their sessions, such as installing apps, are discarded. Less storage is required, as user configuration settings and data are stored separately, and once the user logs out of their session, the virtual machine reverts back to its base image state ready to accept connections from another user. Non-persistent desktops are easier for administrators to manage because the underlying image remains consistent. For this reason, non-persistent desktops are often more popular than persistent desktops.

In VDI, the creation of multiple virtual machines from a single physical machine is handled by a software called a hypervisor in on-premises environments. The hypervisor provides server operating system isolation, intercepting the commands sent to the underlying hardware. It enables multiple operating system instances through the use of virtual machines (VMs), all sharing a single hardware platform. Within public clouds, the hypervisor and underlying infrastructure are abstracted, and administrators work directly with the virtual machines and cloud-native actions and APIs.

Because virtual machines perform just like physical machines while relying on the resources of only one computer system, virtualization allows IT organizations to run multiple operating systems on a single server or within a single public cloud account, from Microsoft Windows 10 or Windows Server 2019 to Linux and FreeBSD. The hypervisor or public cloud allocates computing resources—such as CPU, RAM, and disk space—to each Azure Virtual Machine as needed. This server virtualization serves as the foundation of cloud computing.
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