By Lance Boley, Product and Solutions Evangelist, Dell
Start Emulation -Version: b40c8ad2 (Dec 30, 2020 01:04) Enable debug — Readme — Project on Github — Compatibility.
Emulation and virtualization carry many similarities, yet they have distinct operational differences. If you’re looking to access an older operating system within a newer architecture, emulation would be your preferred route. Conversely, virtualized systems act independent of the underlying hardware. We’ll look to separate these often confused terms, and describe what each of them mean for business IT operations.
What’s the difference?
Emulation, in short, involves making one system imitate another. For example, if a piece of software runs on system A and not on system B, we make system B “emulate” the working of system A. The software then runs on an emulation of system A.
- Apps4Rent Hosted Virtual Desktop is an untethered virtual workspace delivered on Microsoft and Citrix technologies for accessing files, applications, and data using any internet-enabled device. Each desktop has its own CPU and memory to allow users to work the way they would with their desktops and laptops.
- Images for the virtual desktop are now being preloaded into RAM. When this is complete, you will be presented with the desktop and be able to browse all available options without the need for further loading.
- Virtual Desktop for Oculus Quest now lets you play your PC games using the Quest’s own Touch controllers. Previously it was possible to pair an Xbox controller or similar bluetooth gamepad and use.
- Between emulation and virtualization, your business can perform most virtual systems functions. While both services sound alike, it all revolves around how you utilize the software. If you want the software to get out of the way, virtualization allows guest code to run directly on the CPU.
In this same example, virtualization would involve taking system A and splitting it into two servers, B and C. Both of these “virtual” servers are independent software containers, having their own access to software based resources – CPU, RAM, storage and networking – and can be rebooted independently. They behave exactly like real hardware, and an application or another computer would not be able to tell the difference.
Each of these technologies have their own uses, benefits and shortcomings.
Emulation
In our emulation example, software fills in for hardware – creating an environment that behaves in a hardware-like manner. This takes a toll on the processor by allocating cycles to the emulation process – cycles that would instead be utilized executing calculations. Thus, a large part of the CPU muscle is expended in creating this environment.
Interestingly enough, you can run a virtual server in an emulated environment. So, if emulation is such a waste of resources, why consider it?
Emulation can be effectively utilized in the following scenarios:
- Running an operating system meant for other hardware (e.g., Mac software on a PC; console-based games on a computer)
- Running software meant for another operating system (running Mac-specific software on a PC and vice versa)
- Running legacy software after comparable hardware become obsolete
Emulation is also useful when designing software for multiple systems. The coding can be done on a single machine, and the application can be run in emulations of multiple operating systems, all running simultaneously in their own windows.
Virtualization
In our virtualization example, we can safely say that it utilizes computing resources in an efficient, functional manner – independent of their physical location or layout. A fast machine with ample RAM and sufficient storage can be split into multiple servers, each with a pool of resources. That single machine, ordinarily deployed as a single server, could then host a company’s web and email server. Computing resources that were previously underutilized can now be used to full potential. This can help drastically cut down costs.
While emulated environments require a software bridge to interact with the hardware, virtualization accesses hardware directly. However, despite being the overall faster option, virtualization is limited to running software that was already capable of running on the underlying hardware. The clearest benefits of virtualization include:
- Wide compatibility with existing x86 CPU architecture
- Ability to appear as physical devices to all hardware and software
- Self-contained in each instance
Between emulation and virtualization, your business can perform most virtual systems functions. While both services sound alike, it all revolves around how you utilize the software. If you want the software to get out of the way, virtualization allows guest code to run directly on the CPU. Conversely, emulators will run the guest code themselves, saving the CPU for other tasks.
-->Important
This content applies to Windows Virtual Desktop with Azure Resource Manager Windows Virtual Desktop objects. If you're using Windows Virtual Desktop (classic) without Azure Resource Manager objects, see this article.
The process to deploy a Windows 7 virtual machine (VM) on Windows Virtual Desktop is slightly different than for VMs running later versions of Windows. This guide will tell you how to deploy Windows 7.
Prerequisites
Before you start, follow the instructions in Create a host pool with PowerShell to create a host pool. If you're using the portal, follow the instructions in steps 1 through 9 of Create a host pool using the Azure portal. After that, select Review + Create to create an empty host pool.
Configure a Windows 7 virtual machine
Once you've done the prerequisites, you're ready to configure your Windows 7 VM for deployment on Windows Virtual Desktop.
To set up a Windows 7 VM on Windows Virtual Desktop:
- Sign in to the Azure portal and either search for the Windows 7 Enterprise image or upload your own customized Windows 7 Enterprise (x64) image.
- Deploy one or multiple virtual machines with Windows 7 Enterprise as its host operating system. Make sure the virtual machines allow Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) (the TCP/3389 port).
- Connect to the Windows 7 Enterprise host using the RDP and authenticate with the credentials you defined while configuring your deployment.
- Pc voice changer for games. Add the account you used while connecting to the host with RDP to the 'Remote Desktop User' group. If you don't add the account, you might not be able to connect to the VM after you join it to your Active Directory domain.
- Go to Windows Update on your VM.
- Install all Windows Updates in the Important category.
- Install all Windows Updates in the Optional category (excluding language packs). This process installs the Remote Desktop Protocol 8.0 update (KB2592687) that you need to complete these instructions.
- Bluestacks recent version. Open the Local Group Policy Editor and navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Remote Desktop Services > Remote Desktop Session Host > Remote Session Environment.
- Enable the Remote Desktop Protocol 8.0 policy.
- Join this VM to your Active Directory domain.
- Restart the virtual machine by running the following command:
- Follow the instructions here to get a registration token.
- If you'd rather use the Azure portal, you can also go to the Overview page of the host pool you want to add the VM to and create a token there.
- Download the Windows Virtual Desktop Agent for Windows 7.
- Download the Windows Virtual Desktop Agent Manager for Windows 7.
- Open the Windows Virtual Desktop Agent installer and follow the instructions. When prompted, give the registration key you created in step 12.
- Open the Windows Virtual Desktop Agent Manager and follow the instructions.
- Optionally, block the TCP/3389 port to remove direct Remote Desktop Protocol access to the VM.
- Optionally, confirm that your .NET framework is at least version 4.7.2. Updating your framework is especially important if you're creating a custom image.
Next steps
Virtual Desktop Emulator
Your Windows Virtual Desktop deployment is now ready to use. Download the latest version of the Windows Virtual Desktop client to get started.
Desktop Emulator Online
For a list of known issues and troubleshooting instructions for Windows 7 on Windows Virtual Desktop, see our troubleshooting article at Troubleshoot Windows 7 virtual machines in Windows Virtual Desktop.