220-1101 Question 362
Single answerVirtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)A company is deploying a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) solution so employees can access their Windows desktops from thin clients in the office and from laptops at home. Several users report that when they log off and sign back in, any files saved to the desktop and any application setting changes are missing. The VDI administrator confirms the virtual desktops are configured as non-persistent. Which change would BEST preserve each user's files and personal settings between sessions?
- A
Implement user profiles and folder redirection to centralized storage
- B
Increase the amount of RAM assigned to each virtual desktop
- C
Replace the thin clients with full desktop PCs
- D
Install a dedicated GPU in the host server for each user
- E
Convert the environment from DHCP to static IP addressing
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
This question tests a core practical concept of VDI: the difference between persistent and non-persistent desktops and how user state is managed. In non-persistent VDI, the desktop image is typically reverted or refreshed at logoff, which is useful for standardized, easy-to-manage deployments. Because of that design, user data and personalization should be stored separately from the base virtual desktop image. Best practice is to use centralized profile management and folder redirection so users retain documents, desktop items, and many configuration settings across sessions. This aligns with common enterprise VDI design guidance from major vendors such as Microsoft, VMware, and Citrix, all of which distinguish desktop image persistence from user profile and data persistence.
- A. Correct.
Correct. In a non-persistent VDI environment, the virtual desktop is reset after logoff, so changes made inside the desktop are typically discarded. To preserve user-specific data and settings, administrators commonly use roaming or profile management solutions along with folder redirection to network or centralized storage. This allows documents, desktop contents, and many user preferences to follow the user across sessions without requiring a persistent desktop.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Adding RAM can improve performance, but it does not address the core issue of data and settings being discarded when a non-persistent desktop is reset. Users might choose this because poor performance is common in VDI, but the scenario is specifically about persistence of user data, not speed.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Replacing thin clients with full PCs changes the endpoint hardware, but it does not solve the behavior of non-persistent virtual desktops hosted in the VDI environment. The loss of files and settings is happening because of how the virtual desktops are configured, not because thin clients are incapable of storing user state.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Dedicated GPUs can improve graphics performance for tasks such as video playback, CAD, or 3D applications in VDI. They do not preserve user files or profile changes between non-persistent sessions. This is a plausible distractor because GPU acceleration is a known VDI topic, but it is unrelated to profile persistence.
- E. Incorrect.
Incorrect. IP addressing method has no effect on whether user desktop files and application settings persist after logoff. Someone might pick this if they are thinking about connectivity problems in remote access environments, but the users are successfully connecting and then losing state after session reset.