VDX Overview

Ivanti Virtual Desktop Extender (VDX) provides the ability to seamlessly enhance a remote desktop with applications that run locally. Applications needed by end users are merged within a remote desktop. This means they no longer have to switch between multiple sessions, making desktop virtualization a viable option across an organization.

File associations can be redirected from the local desktop to the remote desktop. For example, if the file association mailto is configured to open, opening a local e-mail link starts Microsoft Outlook in the remote desktop. It is also possible to redirect file associations from the remote desktop to the local desktop. For example, if the file association .DXF is configured to open, opening a DXF file in the remote desktop starts a local AutoCAD application, integrated in the remote desktop.

Ivanti Virtual Desktop Extender translates file locations into client drive mappings. For example, if a PDF reader is installed on the published desktop and a PDF file is opened from an Internet browser running as a Workspace Extension, the PDF reader cannot read the file from C:\temp\~file.pdf. Depending on the type of connection (RDP 1 Remote Desktop Protocol by Microsoft or ICA 2 Independent Computing Architecture by Citrix), the file path must be translated to \\client\C$\temp\~file.pdf or \\tsclient\C\temp\~file.pdf. VDX performs these translations and it can leverage virtual channels to unlock local content for central applications transparently.

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