Wanova
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software |
| Founded | January 2008 |
| Founder | Ilan Kessler, Issy Ben-Shaul |
| Fate | Acquired by VMware |
| Headquarters | San Jose , United States |
| Products | Wanova Mirage |
| Parent | VMware (since 2012) |
Wanova, Inc, headquartered in San Jose, California, specializes in software solutions that empower IT departments to efficiently manage, support, and safeguard data on desktops and laptops. Its leading product, Wanova Mirage, offers an alternative approach to conventional server-based desktop virtualization systems.
History
Established in January 2008 by Ilan Kessler and Issy Ben-Shaul—who previously co-founded Actona Technologies, acquired by Cisco in 2004 to form Cisco Wide Area Application Services—Wanova raised $13 million in its initial financing round from investors including Greylock Partners, Carmel Ventures, and Opus Capital. On May 22, 2012, VMware acquired Wanova, incorporating its technology into VMware’s suite of offerings.
Products
By February 2011, Wanova’s flagship product was Wanova Mirage, a hybrid desktop virtualization platform consisting of three key elements: the Wanova Mirage Client, Server, and Network Optimization. The Mirage Client is installed on end-user machines to enable management through the Mirage Server. This Server centralizes the creation, deployment, and administration of a Base Image—usually comprising the operating system alongside essential applications such as Microsoft Office or antivirus software—and manages backup and restoration synchronization processes. The Network Optimization component employs deduplication and compression techniques to facilitate efficient performance over bandwidth-constrained WAN connections. Mirage maintains a fully bootable desktop instance within the data center that is hardware-independent and can be deployed to either physical or virtual machines without necessitating a hypervisor.
How VMware Mirage Works
Mirage separates the PC environment into distinct layers managed independently: a read-only Base Image containing the OS and core applications; a layer for user-installed software and machine-specific information; and a user data and personalization layer. This architecture enables IT teams to centrally update the Base Image while preserving user data and installed applications intact. Important business scenarios supported include:
- Centralized Image Management – Managing a single image synchronized across thousands of endpoints from one control point
- Hardware Migration – Effortlessly transferring desktops—including applications, settings, and data—to new or different hardware platforms
- Remote Repair – Remotely enforcing the Base Image to restore operating system or application integrity
- OS Migration – Performing network-based in-place upgrades from Windows XP to Windows 7 without additional infrastructure investments
Differences between VMware Mirage and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), originally popularized by VMware, broadly describes server-hosted desktop virtualization solutions known as Hosted Virtual Desktops. Typically, VDI replaces physical desktops by running each desktop environment as a virtual machine hosted on centralized data center servers. End users access these desktops through thin clients or other devices using proprietary protocols.
VMware Mirage contrasts with VDI in several fundamental aspects:
- No hypervisor necessary: Mirage functions as a service within the Windows operating system itself, eliminating the need for either Type-1 or Type-2 hypervisors.
- Greater scalability: While VDI servers generally support about 10–12 users due to centralized resource demands, Mirage leverages processing power on endpoints allowing ratios up to 1500 desktops per server.
- Deployment approach: Mirage utilizes existing endpoint hardware along with current servers and storage infrastructure without disrupting end-user productivity.
- Network efficiency: A global single index enables extensive deduplication across multiple users, significantly reducing both network traffic and storage consumption.
- Storage model: Unlike VDI which requires synchronous network storage access impacting performance, Mirage stores complete desktop instances locally on endpoints and only accesses storage during synchronization cycles. This supports use of more economical secondary storage options such as SATA drives.
Known limitations
Mirage is designed to operate exclusively on Windows operating systems and does not offer native compatibility with Linux or Mac OS X. Nevertheless, it can function inside Windows virtual machines hosted on these alternative platforms.