Okta Verify Support For Virtual Desktop Infrastructure And Virtual Machines
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Overview
Okta Verify supports deployment on static and layered Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) environments starting with Windows version 4.9.0. Administrators must configure the AuthenticatorOperationMode option when deploying Okta Verify to endpoints to ensure compatibility with these virtual environments.
Applies To
- Okta Identity Engine (OIE)
- Okta Verify (OV)
- Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
- Virtual Machines (VM)
Solution
What types of Virtual Desktop Infrastructure deployments exist?
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) refers to both the backend infrastructure and the virtual desktops delivered to users, enabling access to a desktop environment hosted on a centralized server. Review the following three main types of VDI deployments.
- Persistent (Static): The Virtual Machine (VM) state and data save between sessions, allowing users to connect to the same VM each time.
- Non-persistent: Virtual machines reset after each session, and user data does not save locally. Users connect to a different virtual machine from a pool.
- Layered (Roaming): A hybrid approach where users connect to non-persistent virtual machines, but a profile service syncs data between sessions. Users connect to different virtual machines, but data persists.
Okta Verify supports specific Virtual Desktop Infrastructure deployments.
Starting with Okta Verify for Windows v4.9.0, Okta Verify supports deploying both static and layered VDIs across several providers.
- VMware Horizon
- Citrix DaaS
- Windows 365 / Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD)
- AWS Amazon WorkSpaces
NOTE: This is not a comprehensive list of vendors, but an example of vendors that provide VDI solutions. Okta supports any solution that provides VDIs for Windows operating systems.
NOTE: Due to the nature of non-persistent VDIs, Okta does not provide a stable method to consistently leverage Okta Verify. If Okta Verify is required for non-persistent VDIs, administrators must update VDI solutions to use a layered VDI approach that persists the application and user data across sessions.
NOTE: Okta Verify in virtual environments is fully supported only on Windows operating systems. If support for Okta Verify on other operating systems is required, use the Okta Ideas platform to request or upvote the idea to focus development efforts on other virtualized operating systems.
How is Okta Verify configured for a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) environment?
Administrators configure Okta Verify for use in static and layered VDIs by setting the appropriate operation mode during endpoint deployment. Configure the AuthenticatorOperationMode option when deploying Okta Verify to the endpoints.
