Unlike other already available open-source solutions, the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) with access for 3D or video rendering using Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) caters to various use cases like GPU-accelerated desktop environments, remote visualization, or large-scale desktop virtualization. Such use cases require the integration of special-purpose hardware in cloud servers and the sharing of devices as well as resource scheduling, a user interface for session or resource selection, and efficient remote transport.

The development team at the University of Freiburg introduced the core idea and its technical implementation of the Open Source Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (OSVDI). A SPICE version (an open source solution for remote access to virtual machines) adapted within OSVDI provides hardware-accelerated encoding and decoding of remote desktops as video streams, enabling fast remote access to distant desktop environments. It also offers additional channels, such as for unidirectional or bidirectional audio, remote USB, or access to optical drives.

The talk „Open Source VDI – HW-beschleunigter Remote-Access zu LibVirt“ by Michael Scherle and Rafael Gieschke provided an overview of the development of the OSVDI project, focusing on challenges regarding  the use of partitionable GPUs for hardware-accelerated guest systems, accessing the framebuffer from the host side, and efficient transport to the client. OSVDI aims to complete a free and open source IT toolkit in the spirit of digital sovereignty. The talk therefore particularly addresses co-developers as well as IT decision-makers and infrastructure administrators, with the goal of promoting the project beyond NFDI4BIOIMAGE and ensuring its long-term sustainability.