Systems Alliance Blog

Today, many of you are taking the plunge and getting VDI projects off the ground.  In fact, in 2010 we’ve seen a record number of VDI proof-of-concepts (POCs) started by clients. And, so far, most have had great success deploying VDI in LAN environments.

But what about deploying VDI to remote offices over a WAN?  If you’re considering VDI over a WAN for your enterprise, and based on all the potential benefits (cost, operational, security, etc.) you should, I recommend you first do some homework by answering the following questions:

1.     Does our LAN network protocol support WAN VDI deployment? 

2.     Will we be deploying thin-client terminals as the end-user devices on our WAN? 

3.     Will the network protocol I use handle the network latency of the WAN network link?

4.     How will the quality of my end-user experience change from LAN to WAN?

5.     Does our network protocol support multimedia across the WAN?

6.     Does my WAN have adequate bandwidth to support VDI at my remote offices?

Obviously, you want to pick to a VDI environment (VMware, Citrix, Microsoft, Sun/Oracle and etc.) that will support both a LAN and WAN deployment with little if any architecture redesign.  Based on my personal testing, the following protocols work well in both LANs and WANs:

• PC-over-IP ( co-developed by Teradici /VMware and licensed by VMware)
• HDX from Citrix
• Appliance Link Protocol (ALP) from Oracle/Sun
• Remote Desktop Services (RDS) (with WAN optimization)

There is not any network standard available today for deploying VDI over WAN, so the protocols mentioned above can only be used with the software and hardware supported by their respective vendors.  Each has its pros and cons for deploying in a WAN environment.  ALP, HDX and PC-over-IP have built-in WAN optimization capabilities.  ALP can be further optimized for WAN deployment – we’ve had excellent success using the Silver Peak WAN acceleration appliance for this purpose. Silver Peak uses de-duplication and compression to reduce bandwidth utilization by 20% to 30%.

The process of assembling a VDI environment to support your LAN and WAN users can be daunting.  My approach often begins with a proof-of-concept (POC) “bake off” between the VDI vendors that best fit my requirements.  You’ll want to establish requirements early in the process, before the POC is even started. Likewise, you’ll need evaluation criteria addressing end-user business issues, as well as technical requirements. Once you’re satisfied with the outcome of the POC, you can pilot the chosen solution and see if it can really live up to your expectations in a WAN scenario. 

At Systems Alliance, we use a four-step process for deploying VDI technology:

1.     Build the business case

2.     Design / architect the solution

3.     Deploy the POC/Pilot

4.     Production roll out

As a part of our process, we’ll hold a workshop to get details about a client’s environment, goals, high-level requirements, success criteria and risks. We sometimes conduct pre-POC assessments to better understand the environment and user patterns – Liquidware Labs Stratusphere is extremely useful for this purpose.  Taking these steps helps ensure the success of the POC /Pilot and accelerates the rollout of the production environment.

So the answer to the question, Is VDI Ready For WAN Use? is a definite, YES!

If you’re thinking VDI might be right for your remote offices, I encourage you to request a VDI assessment from Systems Alliance now.

Even with all the hype surrounding its launch, back in October 2009 few customers I talked with were excited about using Windows 7 as their desktop virtualization OS. What a difference a few months can make. Increasingly, IT directors are excited about Windows 7 because it provides a rationale for justifying investments in desktop virtualization.

Deploying Windows 7 in a virtual desktop environment can save companies a load of time and money because they no longer have to worry about whether their current desktop PCs meet Windows 7 system requirements. Plus, they can avoid the hassle of backing up their current XP desktops and reloading – and configuring – those systems with Windows 7.

For the past month or so I have been testing Windows 7 on a laptop configured with dual core AMD CPUs and 8 GB of memory. Having worked with lots of different desktop virtualization architectures, I wanted to see if the Windows 7 operating system could handle two different types of type 2 hypervisors (Sun’s VirtualBox and VMware Server running on top of a desktop operating systems). There was no problem running these desktop hypervisors on Windows 7 with actual virtual machines running (VMs). In the past, I have tried running just Virtualbox on Windows XP and had problems with the application being unresponsive (this was on a laptop configured with 3 GB of memory and an Intel Core Duo CPU)!

As we move through 2010, this will definitely be the year of desktop virtualization, partially because of the desire to support Windows 7. One thing companies need to keep in mind when considering Windows 7 for desktop virtualization is how Microsoft handles virtualization licensing. VECD (Virtual Enterprise Centralized Desktop) is a license that Microsoft requires for customers implementing desktop virtualization. The VECD license must be purchased in addition to the base Window operating system license – one for each virtual system.

Even with the added licensing cost, desktop virtualization implementations produce a solid return on investment (ROI) – in my experience 18 to 21 months is realistic. Not bad, especially if you consider swapping desktop PCs for a true zero-administration thin-client device, such as the Sun Ray.

Unlike PCs, Sun Rays can last 10 to 15 years (they average 200k hours MTBF) and use a lot less electricity than an average desktop PC (< 8 watts vs. >80 for the PC). If the device fails, you can replace it with another device and keep on computing, no need to call IT for hardware support !

So if you’re looking for a way to get your end users on board with a transition to desktop virtualization, choosing Windows 7 for your desktop is a good way to go – it will definitely get your users excited!

Systems Alliance has some great tools for assessing the potential benefits of VDI in your environment. To learn more sign up for a no-cost VDI assessment here. Or call your local Systems Alliance rep to arrange an on-site meeting: 1-877-797-2554.