Simple Install Limitations

To get up and running quickly with the Pano System, you can install and run the Starter Kit Kit without integrating with your network directory service and/or all of the optional VMware software components. 

The resulting installation, however, may not accurately reflect your production VDI deployment and therefore might limit how well your evaluation can assess potential management and provisioning options that provide significant value in mid- to large-scale deployments.

Note on Limitations without Microsoft Active Directory: The main limitation in deploying Pano Controller without using a directory service (such as Microsoft Active Directory) is that users cannot be authenticated and therefore User Based Collections will not be available. You will still be able to use Device Based Collections (Automated Login, Different Accounts w/Automated Login and Windows Login Collections) without a directory service.  However, these Device Based collections may not correspond well to the types of users and use cases (such as a PC replacement DVM that is tied to a user login) you plan to support in your production VDI deployment.

Note on Limitations without VMware vCenter Server: If you choose to run on the VMware platform  without VMware vCenter Server (formerly called Virtual Center), you will not be able to manage more than one ESX host and you will not be able to take advantage of vCenter's automated provisioning within Pano Controller.

When using Pano System on VMware without vCenter Server, you will need to point Pano Controller directly at your ESXi server to see the list of DVMs (desktop virtual machines) on the server.  You will not be able to organize the DVMs into folders, nor will you be able to clone DVMs.  Finally, you will be limited to one DVM collection in Pano Controller. For a trial deployment, this may be adequate as you should be able to run 10 or 15 DVMs on that single ESX or ESXi host, typically enough to to test a range of use cases.

Note on Components on the Microsoft Hyper-V Platform: Please note that Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) is a required, not an optional component for running the Pano System on the Hyper-V platform.  You also need to install the Pano Controller Connector for SCVMM.