> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://syteca.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# VDI Monitoring
> Monitor user activity across virtual desktop infrastructure — VMware Horizon, Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix, Microsoft AVD / Windows 365, Amazon WorkSpaces, AppStream — using Syteca Clients on master images and floating endpoint licensing.
## Monitor every VDI session without paying for every provisioned desktop
VDI brings two problems that physical-desktop monitoring tools weren't designed for. First, the **provisioning churn** — virtual desktops are spun up, used briefly, and destroyed thousands of times a day in non-persistent deployments. Per-desktop license models fall apart instantly; you'd be paying for every virtual machine that ever existed, not just the ones actually being used. Second, the **platform sprawl** — most enterprises run multiple VDI products and tying yourself to a single VDI vendor's recording product means three different consoles, three license pools, three skill silos.
**Syteca's VDI model handles both problems in one product**: a single Client installed on the VDI master image works across every supported VDI platform — VMware Horizon, Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix XenDesktop / XenApp, Microsoft AVD / Windows 365, Amazon WorkSpaces / AppStream. And the **floating endpoint licensing** model means you only pay for the maximum number of *concurrent* virtual desktops at any given time, not the total ever provisioned. Spin up 10,000 non-persistent desktops with peak concurrency of 1,200 → you need 1,200 Syteca licenses, not 10,000.
**Use Syteca VDI monitoring when you need to:**
* **Standardize VDI monitoring across multiple platforms** — Citrix + VMware + Microsoft AVD + Amazon WorkSpaces in one product, one console, one license pool.
* **Monitor non-persistent VDI cost-effectively** — pay for peak concurrency, not provisioning volume.
* **Get the same session recording experience** for VDI users as physical-desktop users — Full Motion Capture screen recordings, keystroke logging, clipboard monitoring, alerts.
* **Eliminate the Citrix Session Recording lock-in** by using Syteca on Citrix XenDesktop / XenApp with comparable recording fidelity but vendor-neutral.
* **Combine VDI with [PAM](/docs/pam/overview)** — record administrative sessions on Citrix VDI desktops while also rotating the privileged credentials those administrators use.
**Pair it with [High Availability mode](/docs/administration/deployment/high-availability)** for large VDI deployments where the Application Server itself becomes the scaling bottleneck.
## How VDI monitoring works
A Syteca Client running inside a virtual desktop behaves identically to one running on a physical desktop — it captures the user's screen, logs metadata, sends data to the Application Server. The differences are entirely in **how the Client gets onto the VDI and how licenses are assigned**:
| Pattern | How it works |
| ------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Master image install** | Add the Syteca Client to the VDI master image (Citrix Provisioning Services, VMware Horizon Composer, Hyper-V image, AWS Workspaces image). Every desktop created from the image already has the Client installed and ready. |
| **Floating license assignment** | Each Client requests a license from the central pool when it starts. When the user logs off or the virtual desktop is shut down, the license **returns to the pool** automatically — available immediately for the next desktop. |
| **Automatic cleanup** | Enable **Delete offline Clients without sessions** in Database Management to purge obsolete virtual desktops that no longer have any stored sessions (e.g. after database cleanup). Their licenses return to the pool, preventing license-pool drift over time. |
The net effect: you can monitor a VDI farm of any size with **only enough licenses to cover peak concurrent active desktops**, not peak provisioned desktops.
## Supported VDI platforms
### Private cloud VDI
| Platform | Syteca integration |
| --------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **VMware Horizon** | Monitor and record sessions on Horizon desktops and apps — on-premises, cloud, hybrid, or multi-cloud Horizon deployments. |
| **Microsoft Hyper-V** | Add the Syteca Client to your Hyper-V master image. Every Hyper-V VM created from the image is monitored automatically. |
| **Citrix** | Deploy Clients to monitor **Citrix XenDesktop** installations, or install a **Terminal Server Client** to monitor **Citrix XenApp** application delivery. |
### Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) / cloud VDI
| Platform | Syteca integration |
| ------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Microsoft Windows Virtual Desktop / Azure Virtual Desktop** | Official Microsoft AVD value-add partner. Install the Syteca Client on live desktops or VDI master images. Also supports **Microsoft Windows 365 Cloud PC** — add the Client to monitor and record per-user Cloud PC activity. |
| **Microsoft Azure RemoteApp** | Monitor and record sessions on AzureRemoteApp using the same Syteca Client. |
| **Amazon WorkSpaces** | Monitor Windows-based Amazon WorkSpaces, **Amazon Linux 2** WorkSpaces, **Amazon AppStream 2.0** desktops, and AppStream remote application mode. |
| **AWS Windows Server 2016** | Monitor Windows Server 2016 instances powering AWS infrastructure. |
This VDI list, in addition to standard Windows and Linux endpoints, means **one Syteca deployment can monitor user activity across all your VDI platforms plus your physical endpoints** — a single console, a single license pool, a single audit trail.
## VDI monitoring with floating endpoint licenses
Syteca's [floating endpoint licensing](/docs/administration/licensing/assign-endpoint-licenses) is what makes VDI monitoring cost-effective. The license assignment lifecycle:
| Event | License behavior |
| --------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Virtual desktop starts** | Client requests a license; one is assigned from the central pool. Monitoring starts immediately. |
| **User logs off / desktop continues running** | License remains assigned. *(Configurable — see Note below.)* |
| **Virtual desktop shuts down** | License **returns to the pool** automatically — immediately available for another desktop to claim. |
| **Database cleanup removes the desktop's sessions** | If "Delete offline Clients without sessions" is enabled, the Client record is removed and its license returns to the pool even if the desktop itself doesn't shut down cleanly. |
**Enable "Delete offline Clients without sessions"** on the **Configuration** page's **Database Management** tab. This prevents license-pool drift over time — obsolete offline Clients (which would otherwise accumulate and tie up licenses) are purged automatically when they have no stored sessions, and their licenses return to the available pool.
### Sizing the license pool
For non-persistent VDI deployments, license your **peak concurrent active desktops**, not your total desktop population. As a starting point:
| VDI usage pattern | License sizing |
| -------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Persistent VDI** (1:1 user-to-desktop, always-on) | Same as physical endpoint count |
| **Non-persistent VDI** (pooled desktops, off-hours scale-down) | Peak concurrent active desktops + \~10% headroom for spikes |
| **DaaS bursting** (cloud capacity for peaks) | Peak concurrent including the burst — but only if monitoring is required during bursts |
Talk to your Syteca vendor about licensing for VDI specifically — many organizations qualify for VDI-optimized commercial terms separate from physical-endpoint licensing.
## Related
Where VDI Clients fit in the overall Syteca deployment.
The floating-licensing model and license assignment / reassignment.
For VDI farms large enough to need multiple Application Servers.
Combine VDI monitoring with privileged-access management on the same Clients.