Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is not really a technology in and of itself. Really, VDI is a combination of technologies. You need hardware virtualization (like VMWare ESX, Microsoft Hyper-V, or Citrix XenServer to name a few). You need some sort of application and/or presentation virtualization (like Citrix XenApp, Microsoft Terminal Services, Provision, etc.) to execute applications on the virtual desktops. You also need a remoting protocol such as RDP, ICA, or SPICE. You also need to have a desktop broker to “traffic” all this virtualization. There are many 3rd party brokers out there, but did you know that with a little you can extend the Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services Session Broker to be a desktop broker as well? The Microsoft Terminal Services Team recently published a blog entry surrounding this topic. Here is an excerpt:

“While the built-in functionality of the TS Session Broker in WS08 only supports routing connections to terminal server sessions, we’ve created a set of APIs that ISVs can use to create connection brokers for other kinds of devices. Basically, these APIs allow you to lobotomize the TS Session Broker and replace its brain - its brokering mechanism - with a new plug-in. This plug-in can contain a new set of rules that support redirection to other types of destinations. It can also provide different means of deciding the best target for new connections, such as load balancing rules based on server resources or login time.”

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