Blast Extreme

What is Blast Extreme?

Blast Extreme is a high-performance remote display protocol developed by VMware for delivering virtual desktops and applications via VMware Horizon. It is designed to provide a rich user experience across different devices and network conditions.

Why is Blast Extreme useful?

Blast Extreme is useful for delivering high-performance virtual desktops, especially in environments with limited bandwidth or mobile device access. It offers better efficiency, lower latency, and multimedia support compared to older protocols.

How does it work?

Blast Extreme uses H.264 (and optionally HEVC) video encoding to compress and transmit the graphical output of virtual desktops. It works over TCP and/or UDP and adapts dynamically to changing network conditions to ensure optimal performance and quality.

Where is Blast Extreme used?

Blast Extreme is primarily used in VMware Horizon environments to deliver desktops and applications to end users. It is widely adopted in enterprise VDI deployments, education, healthcare, and remote work setups.

Which OSI layer does this protocol belong to?

Blast Extreme operates mainly at the Application Layer (Layer 7) of the OSI model but uses the Transport Layer (Layer 4) protocols TCP and UDP to transmit data securely and efficiently.

Is Blast Extreme Windows specific?

No, Blast Extreme is not Windows specific. It is designed to work across multiple platforms and can deliver desktops to clients running Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and thin clients.

Is Blast Extreme Linux specific?

No, Blast Extreme is not Linux specific. However, Linux systems can act as clients to access virtual desktops using compatible VMware Horizon clients. Server infrastructure typically runs on VMware platforms, not Linux directly.

Which Transport Protocol is used by Blast Extreme?

Blast Extreme supports both TCP and UDP transport protocols. UDP is preferred for better multimedia performance, while TCP is used as a fallback or in networks that block UDP.

Which Port is used by Blast Extreme?

Blast Extreme typically uses TCP and UDP port 8443. Other ports like TCP 443 and UDP 22443 may also be used depending on the VMware Horizon configuration.

Is Blast Extreme using the Client-Server model?

Yes, Blast Extreme uses a Client-Server model. The server is part of the VMware Horizon infrastructure, delivering desktops and applications, while the client runs on the user’s device to receive and interact with the session.

Topics in this section,

  • In this section, you are going to learn

  • Terminology

  • Version Info

  • rfc details

  • setup

  • setup

  • packet details

  • usecases

  • features

  • Reference links