By Michael Haag, Product Line Marketing Manager, VMware
Adapted from an earlier blog post on the VMware Virtual Blocks blog site.
Over 2,000 organizations that have deployed VMware Virtual SAN are using VMware Hyper-Converged Infrastructure for all kinds of solutions. These uses range from supporting large Oracle databases, to powering remote IT rooms, to simplifying test and development environments. However, one specific use case is one of the most popular workloads for Virtual SAN: virtual desktops (VDI).
The struggle to find both high-performance and affordable IT infrastructure for VDI, especially in the storage area, is real. A particular storage system can look great on paper or even in a small PoC (proof-of-concept) scenario. The reality can be very ugly: the n+1st user encounters a traditional storage system, and the productivity of all n+1 users comes to a grinding halt. You are then faced with an expensive, second storage purchase, or left to troubleshoot and revisit all your sizing and performance assumptions. The gray hairs multiply as you consider task or knowledge workers, virus-scan timing, desktop-recompose frequency, the numbers and types of drives, and so on.
There is an easier way! VMware Hyper-Converged Infrastructure, built on Virtual SAN and vSphere, uniquely addresses the storage challenges that have historically plagued the VDI world. Virtual SAN offers the simplicity, the performance, and the lower cost needed to produce successful VDI deployments—both today and as your business scales. Take a look at the VMware Virtual SAN with Horizon video to learn why Virtual SAN is a great fit for Horizon 6 customers deploying VDI.
Want more details? Read the VMware Horizon 6 and Virtual SAN all-flash reference architecture. You can learn more about Horizon 6 and the software-defined data center in the recording of the VMworld 2015 session EUC5438 – Unleashing the Power of the Software-Defined Datacenter to Accelerate Desktop Transformation.
And remember, if you already own Horizon 6, you might already have Virtual SAN for free through your Horizon 6 licenses. Try it today to save yourself from having to learn and purchase another storage solution (if you know vCenter, then you know Virtual SAN)!
You can test-drive Virtual SAN with a free, online Hands-On Lab (no installation required). If you have access to a virtualized server, get started by downloading a free Virtual SAN evaluation.
