I first heard about MokaFive in April. Since then I have been meaning to have a look at the product. What I expected was another virtualization tool, similar to the other main players. That is not what I got.

Product Information

MokaFive offers Virtual Desktop Solutions for businesses through its LivePC virtual machine technology. The MokaFive management focus in on a lifecycle approach of:

• Quickly create and Deploy
• Update without disruption
• Enhanced security
• mobility

These features are achieved using the Desktop as a Service (DAAS) deployment model. Computer images are uploaded to MokaFive, then clients connect and retrieve the image, which then runs locally. Automatic updates and Self Healing keep the virtual desktops running smoothly.

The LivePC software can even be installed on USB and MP3 players. You can install a Microsoft Windows or Apple Mac version of the software or install a baremetal Hypervisor product that runs on a customised Linux platform.

Like all virtualization software you can use MokeFive for:

• Disaster Recovery
• Sandboxing
• Secure Access
• Lab/Class room management

My First Look

So after I downloaded the MokaFive Creator software I went to install it. I had VMWare Server installed on the machine. The first message I get tells me that MokaFive is incompatible with Vmware Console 2.0. I should have read the readme. So I have to uninstall VMWare Server 2.0.

You can also not run MokaFive if you are using Roaming Profiles or redirected folders to a network share. Again that is annoying. Ok now I’m running.

MokaFive actually looks quite nice. The interface design is good and the controls look quite simple. You have the option to start a Linux XP virtual machine, the fearless browser or add your own .

I created a new LivePC. After some messing around I finally started installing a Windows XP Pro workstation. It took me two attempts to get this far. The first one would not let me modify the hardware to specify the correct CDROM. LivePC uses VMWare Player. I think this lets down MokaFive a little, but why re-invent the wheel if you don’t need to.

The text install part of the XP Pro installation seemed to take a long time, but after that everything ran fine.

The new Virtual machine operated just as well as any other virtual machine product I have used.

Extras

MokaFive allows you to import a virtual machine from VMWare Server or Workstation. The only restriction is you cannot import virtual machines that have snapshots or sparse disks.

If you want to use Linux as a desktop don’t build your own, use one of the prebuilt ones from the Lab.

Final thoughts

I think to be fair to MokaFive, you really should get to know this product before judging it. It has some nice features and puts a spin on desktop virtualization. It is not as forgiving as some of the other tools, but once you work it out, it works well. You can see that the MokaFive team focused this product at the DAAS market fairly early on and it is well suited to that.

If you need to work with Linux primarily this tool is great and most of the work is already done for you. I think the biggest feature of this product is the ability to install the LivePC software on a USB style device. This lets mobile users run and connect to a desktop from almost any location.

Make your own mind up about the product.

If you work with this product let us know what you think.