Propalms Centralized Computing Solution Document

Centralized Computing Solution Document

CENTRALIZED COMPUTING SOLUTION DOCUMENT

03rd March 2011

Copyright © 2011, Propalms Network Private Limited


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Copyright © 2011, Propalms Network Private Limited.

Contents ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT ...................................................................................................................................................................... 3

REQUIREMENTS ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 3

PROPOSED SOLUTIONS ........................................................................................................................................................................ 4

ABOUT PROPALMS TSE ......................................................................................................................................................................... 5

Propalms TSE - Completing the Terminal Services Experience ............................................................................................ 5

What is Server Based Computing? .............................................................................................................................................. 5

SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE ........................................................................................................................................................................ 6

Deployment: ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 6

Access Scenario: .............................................................................................................................................................................. 6

Management Scenario: ................................................................................................................................................................. 6

Infrastructure Requirements: ......................................................................................................................................................... 7

BENEFITS OF THE SOLUTION ................................................................................................................................................................. 8

ABOUT PROPALMS VDI......................................................................................................................................................................... 9

Key Features ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 9

SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE ...................................................................................................................................................................... 10

Deployment: .................................................................................................................................................................................... 10

Access Scenario: ............................................................................................................................................................................ 11

Management Scenario: ............................................................................................................................................................... 11

CHOOSING THE RIGHT COMPONENTS .......................................................................................................................................... 12

PARALLELS VIRTUOZZO CONTAINERS BASED VDI .................................................................................................................... 12

VMWARE vSPHERE BASED VDI ..................................................................................................................................................... 13

REDHAT KVM BASED VDI ............................................................................................................................................................... 14

BENEFITS OF THE VDI ........................................................................................................................................................................... 16

WHEN TO CHOOSE VDI OVER TERMINAL SERVICES (TSE) .......................................................................................................... 17

WHY PROPALMS VDI ........................................................................................................................................................................... 17

VMWARE VDI vs PROPALMS VDI ..................................................................................................................................................... 17


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ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT

This document is a solution document for centralized computing requirements of organization of any size using

Application Presentation Virtualization and Desktop Virtualization technologies.

REQUIREMENTS

The solution document is applicable for organizations having LAN/WAN/Roaming users who needs access to

business critical, office productivity and general applications within the corporate LAN/WAN as well as while

roaming outside office network.

Typically an organization is faced with following challenges when it comes to making applications available to

their users:

1. Information Security: With traditional computing, every user has a full capacity PC where the user can

create and store corporate and business information. This information, even though the user do not

intend to, is prone to under utilization, corruption, misuse and leakage.

2. Data Consolidation: With data on end user’s machine, it is not easy to make the same data available to

all users in real time. The information sharing is on one to one basis. Also it is difficult to track which data

is latest or is modified. There is a need to centralize the data so that it can be shared by users in real time

and there is a versioning control system which can deliver latest contents to users.

3. Access Control Inside Network: Since all users have full PC, every user has access to almost all corporate

applications and they can create, modify or access any data on the network. This poses security threat

to the company information as an unauthorized user can have access to classified information and

network areas. There is need to implement role based access to information and application.

4. Under Utilized Resources and Licenses: Application With every user having full access to their local

desktop, it is difficult for IT to maintain the application license inventory and usage information. It is

found by the IT team that there are application licenses which are locked on end user machines but the

users are not using those application licenses. This puts the corporate resources to less utilization and

more cost in terms of application licensing. There is a need to dynamically allocate licenses to user as

they need to access the applications.

5. Application Performance: Most of the legacy and corporate applications are not designed to work

over slow and high latency networks like ISDN, dialup, VSAT and even lease lines and RF links, The slow

performance of the application over such networks results in under utilization of the application

capabilities and the employee productivity capacity. Organizations needs to deliver applications to

their users at blazing speeds to maximize the productivity

6. Support Issues and Administration: In multi-branch office scenarios, IT teams spend lot of time managing

the resources at branch offices. Either the organization needs to have local IT teams at branch offices or

they need to support users from a central location. In worst cases, the problematic machines need to

be brought to IT department and is then fixed which results in loss of productivity and higher


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administration costs. There is a need to reduce the end user support issues by eliminating maximum of

resources from user side but making them available from a central location on demand.

PROPOSED SOLUTIONS

Propalms Network offers two different solution architectures.

APPLICATION DELIVERY PLATFORM OVER TERMINAL SERVICES USING PROPALMS TSE

VIRTUAL DESKTOP INFRASTRUCTURE USING PROPALMS VDI


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SOLUTION 1: APPLICATION DELIVERY PLATFORM OVER TERMINAL SERVICES USING

PROPALMS TSE

ABOUT PROPALMS TSE

Propalms TSE is a complete Server Based Management solution that extends Microsoft Terminal Services

2000/2003 and 2008, offering features such as Application Publishing, Virtual Desktop Broker, Seamless Windows,

Resource based Load Balancing, Simple Web based Management, Session Management, Server Health

Monitoring, Reporting, Virtual IP, Single Port Relay, Universal Print Driver, Application Access via Desktop

Shortcut, Windows Start Menu or Browser-based Application LaunchPad.

Propalms TSE - Completing the Terminal Services Experience

Microsoft Windows Terminal Services (also known as Server Based Computing or Thin Client architecture) is the

most cost effective method of application delivery for small-medium sized businesses up to Enterprise Level

organizations. Propalms TSE is designed to make the most of your Windows® Terminal Services deployment by

leveraging the most recent enhancements to the Microsoft® Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). Propalms TSE

adds indispensable management capabilities and scales to accommodate growing numbers of users,

applications and servers, securely, reliably, and cost-effectively.

What is Server Based Computing?

Server Based Computing (SBC) is an architecture in which applications are installed and configured centrally

on servers. The applications run 100% on the central servers with only mouse clicks, keystrokes and screen

updates travelling across the network between the servers and client devices. From a users perspective, the

applications appear as though they are running locally where as they are actually being executed on the

servers. Due to this fact, client devices are independent from the applications and can include desktop PCs

and thin client devices (Windows and Linux based), Macintosh computers, and handheld devices.

Server Based Computing provides many business benefits including:

Simplified Management – all application management is performed centrally.

Ease of Deployment – applications can be instantly delivered to end user’s devices without visiting them.

Security – all data is kept centrally on the datacenter with no data left on laptops or PCs.

Availability – applications can be load balanced to ensure they are always available to users.

Support – support costs can be reduced as all users and applications can be managed centrally.

Remote Working – easily provide access to applications from remote locations with local network type

performance.

Lower TCO – Total Cost of Ownership can be reduced dramatically and productivity can be increased.


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SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE

Deployment:

Propalms TSE Server will be installed on server class hardware at the datacenter where the application servers

are hosted. The applications used by end users will be installed on Propalms TSE server. Propalms TSE server will

be accessible to all users across the locations over corporate backbone. Optionally access to Propalms TSE

server can be provided over Internet to roaming users who need to access the application when outside of

office.

Access Scenario:

Using Propalms TSE, all corporate applications will be delivered to end users from the datacenter. Users can use

their existing PCs, Mobile devices or thin clients to access Propalms Server. Users access Propalms server using a

Internet Explorer browser and must authenticate before they can login into Propalms TSE server. Once logged

in, the users will be displayed icons of the applications on the browsers. User will have access to the application

which are assigned to the user or to the group the user belongs to. User can click on application icons on

browser and the application will be launched on the Propalms TSE server. At this time, application presentation

will be displayed on user’s screen. The mouse movements and keyboard clicks will sent from users machine to

Propalms TSE server and the application screen refreshes will be sent back to user’s machine. User can now

start interacting with the application in similar fashion as the user will use locally installed applications.

Management Scenario:

The administrator for Propalms TSE can be done using a web based management console. Using the Propalms

management console, administrator can publish applications to different groups of users and do the required

access control. Administrator can give access to some user but deny access to applications to other users.


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Administrator then defines the local device sharing parameter which will define how the users will share the

data from their local machine to server. For e.g., administrator may allow users to map their local PC drive to

the Propalms TSE server so that they can download the data generated by applications. This will also include

setting up parameters for printing so that users can print to their local printers from hosted applications.

Administrator can monitor the application licensing usage and monitor the users activity. Administrator can

provide remote support to users by shadowing their session on Propalms TSE server.

Infrastructure Requirements:

Software Requirements:

Propalms TSE Solution 6.5

Windows 2003 Server Enterprise Edition or Windows 2008 Server 64 bit Enterprise Edition

Hardware Requirements:

There is no simple formula to calculate the hardware size. Essentially we will have to calculate the memory

footprint and CPU utilization nature of the applications.

For an approximation purpose, for 500 concurrent users, each user session consuming 200 MB of RAM, we will

need to setup a server farm with following configuration:

7 Servers with following configuration:

Windows 2003/2008 server 64 bit Enterprise Edition

RAM : 16 GB

CPU: Core 2 Duo Processor 2.0 GHz or higher 64 bit processor

For adding reliability to the server farm, there should be at least 1 additional (recommended 2) servers.

Licensing Requirements:

Microsoft Windows Server License x no. of servers (7 here)

Microsoft TS CALs – Per Seat/Per User (approx 500 here)

Propalms TSE License x 500 (concurrent users)

Microsoft SQL Express (Free)


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BENEFITS OF THE SOLUTION

Simplified Management

All application management is performed centrally.

No application installation required on end user machine.

Application upgrades required only on the servers.

Ability to rollout application upgrades in phases

Ease of Deployment

Applications can be instantly delivered to end user’s devices without visiting them.

No client device or operating system dependencies

Quick rollout of new applications

Security

All data is kept centrally on the datacenter with no data left on laptops or PCs.

Role based access to application; better application license utilization

Control over how data is shared among users and applications

Ability to monitor application access and record user’s session

Availability

Applications can be load balanced to ensure they are always available to users.

Server Team enables easy addition or removal of server without effecting live users.

System scales easily when scaling-out

Support

Support costs can be reduced as all users and applications can be managed centrally.

Shadow remote user sessions to provide remote support

Avoids all application install/upgrade and maintenance issues

Remote Working

Easily provide access to applications from remote locations with local network type performance.

Converts 2 tier high bandwidth applications to 3 tier applications; Avoid application bandwidth

constraints

Secure access from network or device

Lower TCO

Total Cost of Ownership can be reduced dramatically and productivity can be increased.

Reduce application license requirements by dynamically allocating application to users rather than

installing application license on each end user machine

Better hardware utilization

Go Green with thin clients and save on power and reduce carbon footprint


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SOLUTION 2: VIRTUAL DESKTOP INFRASTRUCTURE USING PROPALMS VDI

ABOUT PROPALMS VDI

Propalms VDI is a Management and Connection Brokering solution for Virtual Desktop deployment across the

enterprise.

Propalms VDI provides an end to end solution to virtual desktop and application delivery. Using Propalms VDI

you can deliver virtual desktops to users, deliver applications to virtual desktops, automate tasks inside virtual

desktops and have full monitoring and management control from a central management console.

The current version of VDI has been developed as a hypervisor agnostic solution which supports virtualization

platforms from VMWare, Parallels and Redhat.

Key Features

High Density VDI Solution: Propalms VDI support Parallels Virtuozzo container virtualization platform which

can fit in more no. of virtual desktops per hardware machine. Propalms VDI Supports VMWare

Hypervisors like vSphere and Redhat KVM as well.

Desktop Pools: Administrator can pool virtual desktops from one or multiple virtualization hosts to apply

similar settings to the member desktops.

Automated Desktop Creation: Virtual Desktops can be created from VDI management console or they

can be created whenever a new user comes in. Avoids the headache and time consuming process of

pre-creating the desktops for all users.

Flexible Destop Allocation: Propalms VDI provides highly flexible desktop allocation policies. A single

desktop pool can be shared between users from different roles or OUs or even devices part of specified

subnets. A single group, OU or set of devices can be assigned multiple desktop pools. The persistence of

the machines assigned to the users can be set to temporary or permanent. A temporary fallback

machine is made available to the user if the user's permanent machine is not available.

Application Delivery: Propalms VDI solution make use of Parallels's built in application delivery solution to

deliver applications to virtual desktops. The applications on the virtual desktops can be made available

based on the role of the user or based on the connecting device network parameters. Applications on

the virtual desktops can be assigned and unassigned dynamically without requiring user intervention..

Desktop Power Management: Propalms connection broker monitors the usage of virtual desktops and

turn off the desktops which are found idle for specified period of time, thus increasing efficiency of the

virtual infrastructure..

Client Support: Users use Propalms VDI client to login to get to their virtual desktop. Propalms VDI client

support Windows, linux and MAC OS X platforms.


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SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE

Deployment:

Propalms VDI Server will be installed on server class hardware at the datacenter where the application servers

are hosted. Using Propalms VDI, virtual desktops will be created for each user. The applications used by end

users will be delivered to these users using the Propalms VDI application delivery solution. Propalms VDI server

will be accessible to all users across the corporate network over existing backbone. Optionally access to

Propalms VDI server can be provided over Internet to roaming users who need to access their

desktop/application when outside of office.

The Propalms VDI server will have a following architecture

Shown below is the deployment scenario:


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Access Scenario:

Using Propalms VDI, full blown virtual desktops loaded with required corporate applications will be delivered to

users from the datacenter. Users can use their existing PCs, Mobile devices or thin clients to access Propalms

VDI Server and then their virtual desktop. Users access Propalms server using Propalms VDI client running on their

machine and must authenticate before they can login into Propalms VDI server. Once logged in, the users will

directly logged into the virtual desktop assigned for the user. Propalms VDI solution will make sure the virtual

desktop is up and running and is loaded with the set of applications assigned to the user. Over this virtual

desktop session, user will have access to the applications which are assigned to the user or to the group the

user belongs to. User can now start interacting with the virtual desktop. The keyboard clicks and mouse

movements are sent over the wire to the virtual desktop and the desktop refreshes are sent back to user

machine. All the data created by the user resides inside the virtual desktop of the user.

Management Scenario:

The administrator for Propalms VDI can be done using a centralized management console. Using the Propalms

management console, administrator can schedule virtual desktop creation, assign desktops to users or groups,

assign applications to desktops or to users, manage and monitor active users and do virtual desktop

management.

Administrator can monitor the application licensing usage and monitor the users activity. Administrator can

provide remote support to users by shadowing their session on Propalms TSE server.


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CHOOSING THE RIGHT COMPONENTS

Propalms VDI supports multiple hypervisor platforms namely:

a) Parallels Virtuozzo Containers 4.5

b) VMWare vSphere 4.0 (ESX)

c) RedHat KVM

Each hypervisor platform has its own performance criteria’s to decide how much hardware is required to setup

a good VDI environment. You should consider following points before choosing the hypervisor technology for

the VDI setup.

PARALLELS VIRTUOZZO CONTAINERS BASED VDI

Parallels is a global leader in OS virtualization based solutions. Parallels Virtuozzo solution is the de-factor

software used for web hosting purposes where thin containers are required for virtual server hosting. Parallels

has now improved their solution to act as the lightest VDI solution.

1. Parallels is OS virtualization technology, I,e, it requires a host OS, namely Windows server platform.

Parallels uses the host OS and create independent light containers out of the same OS binaries.

2. Parallels containers are very light, starts from 100 MB RAM and 200 MB HDD space per container.

3. Parallels has built-in application streaming facility such that you need to install application once and

then you can share the application among other containers.

4. Parallels use requires Windows server platform as host OS and produce virtual desktops which are

running the same server OS and not Windows 7 or Windows XP desktops. Though themes are available

to make the desktops look like Windows 7 and Windows XP.

5. Desktop management , storage requirement and resource requirement is minimal in case of Parallels.

6. Applications that change time of systems or applications which are not terminal services friendly are not

supported on Parallels based VDI solution.

7. Windows Terminal services licenses are required for Parallels solution.

8. Parallels is highly recommended for simple task based applications. All applications must be tested fully

to verify the application compatibility.

Requirements for setting up VDI using Parallels solution


Propalms VDI Solution,

Parallels Virtuozzo Container Server

Windows 2003 Server Enterprise Edition or Windows 2008 Server 64 bit Enterprise Edition


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For an approximation purpose, for 100 concurrent users, each user session consuming 200 MB of RAM, we will

need to setup a server farm with following configuration:


Windows 2003/2008 server 64 bit Enterprise Edition

RAM : 16 GB

CPU: Intel Xeon Processor 2.0 GHz or higher, 64 bit processor

Each server would be capable of support 50 virtual containers. So even if one server goes down, other two

serves can support total 100 users.


Microsoft Windows Server License x no. of servers (3 here), Datacenter edition

Microsoft Terminal Services CALs – per Seat/Per User (100 here)

Propalms VDI License x 100 (concurrent users)

Parallels Virtuozzo Container Server License (3 here, per socket based) OR go for 100 user VDI license

pack


VMWARE vSPHERE BASED VDI

VMWare is the global leader in hypervisor technology. The hypervisor platform of VMWare is named as vSphere

(earlier ESX).

1. VMWare creates virtual hardware and then OS needs to be installed separately in each virtual

machine. Though automation like golden images and cloning is available to avoid installation time of

OS for each virtual machine.

2. Each virtual machine required independent OS license key, Antivirus and firewall solution.

3. It is possible to install any OS in virtual machine created on VMWare.

4. VMWare based machines requires at least 1 GB RAM per machine and 10GB+ of HDD space. Hence

the RAM and storage requirements are very high.

5. With VMWare you get actual Windows 7 and Windows XP desktops and hence no application

compatibility issue.

Requirements for setting up VDI using VMWare solution



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Propalms VDI Solution

VMWare vSphere

VMWare vCenter (Optional, for managing multiple VMware servers from single console)

VMWare Composer (Optional, for advanced storage management like cloning)

Windows Desktop OS – Windows 7 or Windows XP




For an approximation purpose, for 100 concurrent users, each user running Windows 7 machine with at least 1

GB of RAM and 20 GB HDD space, we will need to setup a server farm with following configuration:



RAM : 32 GB

Storage: 2 Terabytes (total)

Each server would be capable of support 40 virtual containers. So even if one server goes down, other three



Microsoft VECD licenses for VDI

Microsoft Desktop OS licenses (could be part of SA agreement)


VMWare vSphere per server license

VMWare Virtual Center license (optional)

VMWare Composer license (optional) (if taken, this will save on administration and storage)


REDHAT KVM BASED VDI

KVM is an open source hypervisor solution. It is currently actively developed by Redhat.

1. Like VMWare, KVM creates virtual hardware and then OS needs to be installed separately in each

virtual machine.

2. Each virtual machine required independent OS license key, Antivirus and firewall solution.

3. It is possible to install any OS in virtual machine.


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4. KVM based machines requires at least 1 GB RAM per machine and 10GB+ of HDD space. Hence the

RAM and storage requirements are very high.

5. With KVM you get actual Windows 7 and Windows XP desktops and hence no application compatibility

issue.

6. KVM is a free and open source hypervisor.

Requirements for setting up VDI using KVM solution


Propalms VDI Solution

Fedora 12 with KVM

Windows Desktop OS – Windows 7 or Windows XP




For an approximation purpose, for 100 concurrent users, each user running Windows 7 machine with at least 1

GB of RAM and 20 GB HDD space, we will need to setup a server farm with following configuration:



RAM : 32 GB

Storage: 2 Terabytes (total)

Each server would be capable of support 30 virtual containers. So even if one server goes down, other three



Microsoft VECD licenses for VDI

Microsoft Desktop OS licenses (could be part of SA agreement)




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BENEFITS OF THE VDI

Highly Agile Desktops

Ability to create new desktops in seconds

No OS license required for desktops, Propalms VDI takes care of OS licenses

Shutdown, standby idle desktops , save resources

Ability to control resource allocation like RAM, HDD, CPU on per user basis

Ability to change desktop hardware configuration with rebooting or effecting live user

Ability to add/delete applicationsto a desktop with effecting live user

Do not install applications, deliver applications to desktops without installing applications

Simplified Management

All application management is performed centrally.

No application installation required on end user machine.

Ability to rollout application upgrades in phases

Dynamic hardware resource management for virtual desktops

Ease of Deployment

Applications can be instantly delivered to end user’s devices without visiting them.

No client device or operating system dependencies

Application template technology makes application deployment very easy

Ability to run different version of same applications

Security

All data is kept centrally on the datacenter with no data left on laptops or PCs.

Role based access to application and desktops; better application license utilization

Control over how data is shared among users and applications

Availability

Possibility to make desktops highly available.

A desktop refresh will take seconds rather than hours

Support

Support costs can be reduced as all users and applications can be managed centrally.

Avoids all application install/upgrade and maintenance issues

Remote Working

Easily provide access to applications from remote locations with local network type performance.

Converts 2 tier high bandwidth applications to 3 tier applications; Avoid application bandwidth

constraints

Secure access from network or device

Deliver corporate desktops to users from anywhere

Lower TCO

Total Cost of Ownership can be reduced dramatically and productivity can be increased.

Reduce application license requirements by dynamically allocating application to users rather than

installing application license on each end user machine

Avoid full PC to end users, save on OS license, AV license, and application licenses

Better hardware utilization

Go Green with thin clients and save on power and reduce carbon footprint


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WHEN TO CHOOSE VDI OVER TERMINAL SERVICES (TSE)

Most of the application delivery needs can be satisfied using terminal services (Proaplms TSE) only. There

are specific reasons to go for VDI based desktop delivery. Here are few:

One of more Applications are not supported over terminal services because of following reasons

o Application require only desktop OS like XP/Vista. This is very rare as no application binds itself to

the desktop OSes. The application vendor may not have officially supported terminal services.

o Only one instance of the application can be invoked on a single OS

o Application requires administrator rights for operations

o Application is high resource intensive hence not feasible to have multiple users logged on to

same machine and running multiple instances of the application.

Organizations really want to cut down on desktop management and move to virtual desktops

Mobile users who use non-Windows OS like tablet PCs, mobile OS devices like iPad, Android, etc.

Organization wants to go complete centralized computing for compliance reasons and terminal

services is no enough as users do want to have their own desktop.

WHY PROPALMS VDI

Propalms VDI is the most cost effective hypervisor agnostic solution. Propalms as a single vendor provides three

different solutions for all application access needs:

1. VDI for Virtual desktop delivery

2. TSE for application delivery over terminal services

3. VPN for secure remote access to network services and application servers

With these three products organizations can deliver any application to any type of users working from any

location.

VDI being a capital intensive solution, Propalms offers highly cost effective management solution.

VMWARE VDI vs PROPALMS VDI

Propalms VDI is a replacement solution for VMWare’s VDI offering VMWare View. Customer already using

VMWare platform tend to go for VMWare View solution which adds significantly to the cost of implementing

VDI. With Propalms VDI, customers can save huge cost by avoiding to buy VMWare View.


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About Propalms Network Private Limited

Propalms Network Private Limited is a software product development and IT solutions provider that offers next

generation application delivery and remote access infrastructure to organizations of any size. Propalms

Network is currently the only IT solutions provider which offers a complete stack of application, desktop &

network virtualization and delivery infrastructure that helps organizations to securely and efficiently deliver

applications & desktops to their corporate and mobile users, partners and extranet users.

Propalms Network specializes in helping telecom companies and enterprises to setup managed services and

SaaS based offerings leveraging on application virtualization and remote access products offered by Propalms

Network.

Propalms Network is a spinoff from Propalms Ltd. a UK based company listed on NASDAQ in US (Stock Symbol:

PRPM.PK). Propalms Network distributes Propalms products in India along with managing support and

engineering operations for Propalms Ltd. Propalms currently has terminal services management product, a SSL

VPN solution and a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure solution.

Propalms Network also has several other products n their portfolio including V-Clouds, a cloud based email

management solutions and EZMCOM, a cloud based two factor authentication solutions.

Contact us:

Email: [email protected]

Web: www.propalmsnetwork.com

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.propalmsnetwork.com/

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