Quest VDI Assessment: frequently-asked questions

I've been asked a few questions by people inside and outside Quest about Quest VDI Assessment. So I here list the main ones and my answers: I'm sure community members will have more!

1. “What is Quest VDI Assessment?”
   Quest VDI Assessment (Quest VDI Assessment for the sake of this document) is a freeware tool intended to accelerate VDI adoption by making it easier for organisations to answer the question ‘what does desktop virtualisation mean for me?” In other words, it shows the customer how suitable their applications, user activity and infrastructure are for virtual desktop deployment. This includes VDI (i.e. VM-based desktop virtualisation), Terminal Servers (e.g. MSFT’s RDSH) and Application Virtualisation.
2. “How do I get hold of Quest VDI Assessment?”
   You download it from here. After download, there’s a simple install procedure which is documented in the Getting Started guide (also on the download page).
3. “How is Quest VDI Assessment licensed?”
   It’s a freeware product: the product package contains a 45 day key for unlimited-users. If you want extend that period, please contact your Quest Account representative. You can find your local Quest Software office at http://www.quest.com/contact.
4. “Is this product just for people who are considering vWorkspace?”
   No. It’s for anyone who’s interested in virtualising their desktops or applications. We hope users of Quest VDI Assessment will consider vWorkspace as we believe it's the best product for managing virtual desktops. But these are two completely separate and independent products. This is why we’ve called it “Quest VDI Assessment” not, for example, “vWorkspace Assessment”. If you want to conduct an assessment on one of our competitors' products, you can do that too.
5. “How does Quest VDI Assessment work?”
   Quest VDI Assessment uses agents which you deploy to the group of desktops you want to assess (there's also a network install which I shan't describe here: see the Getting Started Guide and online help). The Assessment Agents are installed either in groups (e.g. based on AD) or manually. After the data has been collected and the target desktop virtualisation technology selected, the product generates reports showing the suitability of your environment for that chosen technology.
6. “What data does Quest VDI Assessment gather?”
   We gather:
   1. What applications are installed, which use or install services.
   2. What applications are used, by whom, when, for how long.
   3. What resources have been used by each of the above, on average.
7. “Does Quest VDI Assessment actively recommend particular virtual desktop platforms?”
   No. see question 5 above. If you want to compare two target platforms, you choose each target technology in turn and run the reports. By comparing them, you can see which desktops are suitable for each target technology and make a decision about which you prefer. Of course, we recommend conducting a POC too just to be sure - Quest Account representatives will be happy to help you set up a POC.
8. “Is Quest VDI Assessment supported?”
   Quest VDI Assessment is not supported by Quest Support. Instead, please refer questions to the Quest VDI Assessment Community at http://communities.quest.com/community/vworkspace/assessment