By TJ Vatsa, Principal Architect, VMware Professional Services
The topic of End User Computing (EUC) is heating up. This is not only because our industry considers this to be a dynamic domain for tremendous innovation today, but also because the industry views great potential for the future and is heavily investing in the space.
In this three-part blog series, I’ll assimilate the vast EUC landscape into digestible tidbits that focus on the infrastructure, mobility and BYOD, applications and image management, and discuss a typical EUC project scenarios and methodology.
My goal is to provide insight into the things you should consider for your own EUC deployment.
First Things First: Infrastructure
As soon as someone mentions EUC, the first thing that comes to mind is Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). The very fact that VDI is deployed in the datacenter, away from individual desktops, means that you must plan the underlying infrastructure in a systematic and thorough way.
At a minimum, this means allocating key infrastructure resources: compute, storage, network, and security.
It is also imperative that some sort of infrastructure resource assessment tools be deployed to establish a baseline for each of these infrastructure components.
Desktop and Server Power
Assuming that a baseline has been established for the compute resources in terms of CPU, clock speed, and memory requirements per desktop, it is important to choose a server configuration with the right processor, clock speed, and physical memory. In turn, this drives the correct consolidation ratio of virtual desktops per core and, ultimately, for the entire server.
Give careful attention to different use cases where specific workloads require different combinations of CPU, clock speed, and memory. You must ensure that you also plan for growth and seasonal/occasional bursts seen in those workloads historically.
For a typical Horizon View deployment, there are two categories of VMs (virtual machines) recommended for deployment inside the data center: one for management purposes and another for desktop purposes. Management VMs are mainly servers (connection brokers, databases, etc.) whereas the desktop VMs are the actual virtual desktops.
For a production deployment, VMware recommends creating two separate cluster types–Management Cluster(s) and Desktop Cluster(s)–to avoid any race conditions that might arise as a result of, say, competing workloads or operational maintenance.
Storage: Key to VDI Success
Having worked with many customers across many different industry verticals (healthcare, financial, entertainment services, and manufacturing) I’ve noticed that there’s one critical success factor in common: storage.
For more information about VDI storage and detailed insight into what is important for a successful VDI deployment, read these two blog posts:
Part I: Storage Boon or Bane – VMware View Storage Design Strategy & Methodology
Part II: Storage Boon or Bane – VMware View Storage Design Strategy & Methodology
In my next post, I’ll cover the remaining considerations around a successful VDI deployment, including network and security, converged appliances, and desktop as a service. Stay tuned!
TJ has worked at VMware for the past four years, with over 20 years of experience in the IT industry. At VMware TJ has focused on enterprise architecture and applied his extensive experience to Cloud Computing, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, SOA planning and implementation, functional/solution architecture, enterprise data services and technical project management.
TJ holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electronics and Communications from Delhi University and has attained multiple industry and professional certifications in enterprise architecture and technology platforms. TJ is a speaker and a panelist at industry conferences such as VMworld, VMware’s PEX (Partner Exchange) and BEAworld. His passion is the real-life application of technology to drive successful user experiences and business outcomes.
