By Will Wade, director, NVIDIA GRID, NVIDIA
Support for NVIDIA GRID™ vGPU™ technology is among the many new features of the recently announced VMware Horizon 6.
VMware Horizon 6 is the latest release of VMware’s well-known VDI platform that delivers virtualized and remote desktops and applications through a single platform. Using GRID vGPU technology on Horizon gives users the full performance of a modern desktop, while IT managers get the scalability needed to make a VDI solution feasible.
The Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of Southern California is one customer seeing the benefits of using GRID vGPU on Horizon to share a single GPU across multiple users. The school can better allocate computer resources to drive higher user density on each vSphere host without any sacrifice in compatibility or user experience.
In fact, feedback from more than 400 customers in an early access program showed that GRID vGPU with VMware Horizon enhances desktop virtualization with immersive graphics, greater security for mission-critical data, scalable performance, and cost effectiveness.
Architectural firms like CH2MHILL, Populous, and Robin Partington and Partners (RPP) are using VDI powered by Horizon and GRID vGPU to foster collaboration, flexibility, and innovation by delivering remote access to graphics-intensive CAD and BIM applications.
Robin Partington of RPP told us that the viability of their VDI deployment depended on proving it could deliver a solution that was both cost effective and acceptable to the company’s employees. Ultimately, GRID vGPU delighted RPP’s architects and designers with quick load times and smooth performance of key software like AutoCAD and Adobe® Creative Suite®. It also benefited the company’s IT department by making it easier to deploy software updates, set up remote access, and diagnose issues, while reducing IT support tickets.
Global manufacturers such as Airbus, Lockheed Martin, Nifco, and Siemens Wind Power are also relying on VMware Horizon with NVIDIA GRID vGPU to deploy VDI environments that meet their performance, security, and scalability needs.
Before vGPU, graphics performance was one of the final obstacles to offering a complete VDI ecosystem because users had to choose between low cost with low performance or high performance at a cost. NVIDIA GRID vGPU technology allows each GRID board to share physical GPUs among anywhere from two designers to 32 knowledge workers. For maximum performance, native NVIDIA drivers are used in the desktops to accelerate applications in the way they were meant to be on a local PC. The GRID vGPU manager working in conjunction with the hypervisor manager allocates resources and manages shared access to the hardware. Adding new users is as easy as creating an account, assigning a GPU profile, and installing the VMware Horizon client on virtually any computer or mobile device.
To experience the power of NVIDIA GRID vGPU technology yourself, install VMware Horizon 6 and then download the NVIDIA GRID vGPU software. Or see it live in action at NVIDIA’s GPU Technology Conference, March 17-20th at the San Jose Convention Center. Register and get 20% off with Promo Code: GM15GRID. Also, visit www.nvidia.com/vgpu-on-vsphere where you can learn about a direct access program to accelerate and optimize your VDI deployment.
