2013 citrix vdi in a box overview

8/11/2019 2013 Citrix VDI in a Box Overview

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January 2013

Director Private Cloud Services

Michael Fraser

VDI-in-a-BoxTechnical Overview


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Architecture

Sizing

VDI-in-a-Box with other Citrix technologies

VDI-in-a-Box versus VMware View

Agenda

Citrix Confidential - Do Not Distribute


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An affordable turnkey software solution provihigh-performance, high-definition virtual d

All-in-onevirtual desktop solution

Simple to installruns on off-the-shelf server

Simple to useover 1B devices supported

Simple to managesingle point-and-click con

Simple to scaleon-demand scaling

Citrix VDI-in-a-Box

Citrix ConfidentialDo Not Distribute


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VDI-in-a-Box grid eliminates cost, complexity

SAN Storage

Active

Directory

VM Manager

ConnectionBroker

Server

with Hypervisoras VM Host

Full Redundancy for High-Availability

Load Balancer

VDI-in-a-BoxVirtual Appliance

VDI-in-a-Bo

Built-in High- On-demand

Built-in Citrix

Runs on off-t

Multi-hyperv

Citrix Profile

User Data



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VDI-in-a-BOX: An All-in-One Virtual Deskt

All key features are b Connection brokerin Dynamic provisionin High-availability Load balancing On-demand scaling Citrix HDX user exp Linked clones

Access from virtually aCitrix Receiver

Open architecture rupopular hypervisors: Citrix XenServer Microsoft Hyper-V

VMware vSphere (E

VDI

-

in

-

a

-

B

Hypervisor

vdiMgr

Logical Shared Storage

UserManagement

Dynamic DesktopProvisioning & Management

TemplateManagement

High-Availability Grid Engine

ConnectionBroker

Load Balancer

VirtualDesktop

VirtualDesktop

VirtualDesktop

VirtualDesktop

DASCitrix Confidential - Do Not Distribute


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VDI-in-a-Box is easy to deploy and manage

Active

DirectoryServer

with Hyp

+V

InstallHypervisor

Import VDI-in-a-

Box Appliance

Import Image

ConfigureTemplates

Assign UserAccounts

READY!

Install additionalServers

Point to 1stServer

READY!

User Data



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Central manag

Intuitive wizard

Easy to monitomanage

Single Grid-wide management console



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Definitions:

Image: OS + the applications

Template: Image + Policies

Desktop:A template instance

Templatesgenerate desktops fromimages based on policies

Policies Amount of memory for each desktop

Access controls for local USB devices

Number of desktops

Refresh policy

Images, Templates, and Desktops

Images

DesktopImage (e.g.

Accounting)

Templates

Acct Exec

Acct Standar

Temps



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What is a linked clone?Copy of a virtual machine

Shares the parent VM (disk) forreads

Reads & writes to a Difference disk

Linked clone technology saves

disk storage Note: A Linked clone requires

access to the parent VM

Linked Clones for Optimizing storage

Golden image

Desktop 4

Desktop 3

Desktop 2

Desktop 1

1G1GB1GB1GB1GB

20GB



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Grids High Availability Oper


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A collection of vdiServers connected by an IPnetwork

Can be increased and decreased on-demand

Made to look as if it is one logical server Log on to any vdiManager and manage the

entire grid

System automatically provisions and load

balances across the vdiServers in the grid Connect users to any available server in the

grid

Provides built-in high availability

VDI-in-a-Box Grid

vdiMGR2

vdiMGR4

vdiMGR1

GRID



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Basic Grid Failover Concepts

Multiple servers connect to create a grid

Periodically each server performs a self-check

Issues reported in the Recent Events & Tasks and in syHeartbeat between servers used to ensure grid health

Servers that fail to respond to heartbeat requests are labMissing



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Sizing your VDI-in-a-Boxdeployment


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Sizing for 200 desktops

Assume 50 desktops per server

Need 4 servers

N+1 Model: Need a 5thfor high-availability

VDI-in-a-Box uses hot-sparing 40 desktops per server during normal operations

50 desktops per server during failure

An examplesizing a VDI-in-a-Box grid

Neededhigh-av



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VDI-in-a-Box is an out-of-band management compone Use hypervisor sizing and performance guidelines

Four core components to sizing

Sizing individual servers in a grid

CPU

Number ofCPUs

Number ofcores

Type of CPU:Hyper-threading

Memory(RAM)

VDI-in-a-Box

Hypervisor

Variety of DesktopOS being virtualized

Reserve set asidefor serveroperations

Disk

Protocol

Type of disk

Speed

ND

Nim

Sim



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6 to 10 desktops per CPU core

For CPUs with hyper-threading (2 threads per core) foIntel Nehalem, you can safely double the lowerlimit

Varies with the type of desktop users Use a number in the higher end of this range (10) for task workers

number in the lower end of the range (6) for desktops that are morused.

What type of CPU do I need?



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0.5 - 1 GB for Windows XP

1.5 - 2 GB for Windows 7 desktops

At least 1 GB for the hypervisor

At least 1 GB for the VDI-in-a-Box appliance

10% reserved for server operations

How much Memory(RAM) do I need?



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Hard drives Recommended: SAS 15K (preferred) or SATA/SAS SSD SAS 10K

Desktop requirements (rough rule of thumb for steady Windows XP desktops 5 to 10 IOPS

Windows 7 desktops 10 to 20 IOPS

Rough rule of thumb on the number of disks 4 disks for a server with 25 or more desktops

6 to 8 disks for a server with 50 or more desktops

10 to 12 disks for a server with 75 or more desktops

How many disks do I need?

If uRPthenuran



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VDI-in-a-Box uses disks to maintain Golden images

Disk space for the desktops System state information

Redundant copies stored on other servers in the grid

Hence Raid 0 is sufficient and provides the best perfor

Disk failures are common & can reduce MTBF of a se Use Raid 1 or Raid 1-0 to protect server from disk failure

Using Raid 1 or Raid 1-0 halves the storage capacity For 1TB per server, provide 2 TB of disk capacity

Do I need RAID configuration?



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And it is Repeatable too..

50 virtwith H

50 virtual desServer specs for

supporting 50 desktops: Dual Intel Xeon 4-Core processors

32GB RAM for XP(2x for Win7)

1TB 10K RPM SAS Drives, Raid 0or Raid10

High-Availability

Multiply as needed, N+1

Example product:

Dell Poweredge R710



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Citrix technologies that workVDI-in-a-Box


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VDI-in-a-Box leverages the Citrix producportfolio

Active

DirectoryServers with Hypervisor

User Data

Single SignCitrix Acces

Support for with Citrix R

Excellent huser experiCitrix HDX

Citrix Profile GoToMana

+ VDI-in-a-BoxVirtual Appliance



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VDI-in-a-Box versus VMware


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Cost & Complexity are leading roadblocks!

Adoption of Virtual Desktops

2%

4%

8%

17%

30%

4

Security/Compliance

Missing functionality

Other

End user reluctance

Complexity

Cost

Source: Virtualization Market Report by a leading industry analyst, OctoCitrix Confidential - Do Not Distribute


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VMware View VDI-in-a-B

Cost Heavy infrastructure, multiple movingparts, requires overprovisioning

Inexpensive off-the-shelf sscale on-demand

Skillset Datacenter: Windows, Virtualization,SAN, Network

Windows

Infrastructure Desktop brokers, Provisioning Servers,Desktop Hosts, SANs, Interconnects,Clustered DB

Off-the-shelf desktop host storage

End-user

experience

Primarily LAN-based, requires hardware

support

Citrix HDX technology deliv

WAN experience without h

Device coverage Limited device support Over 1B devices supportedCitrix Receiver

Pricing 2 Editions$150 View Enterprise$250 for Premierincludes linkedclones, Persona management, ThinAppetc. )

All functionality including liprofile management for $1

At a glance: Easy and Affordable Virtual Desk



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Enterprise VDI VMware View


SANStorageLoad

Balancers

ConnectionBrokers

ManagementServers

ActiveDirectory

DesktopComputeServers

Enterprise VDI

COMPLEXITY


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Benefits VMware View Citrix

Zero overhead

Built-in connection broker

Built-in load balancer

Built-in High-Availability (HA)

No shared storage

Easy, integrated solution

One single package to manage

Built-in linked clones

Built-in profile management

Requires no datacenter expertise

Choice of hypervisor platforms

Linear on-demand scaling

Rich anytime, any device access

High-definition user experience on any network

Broad device coverage

VDI-in-a-Box vs. VMware View

COMPLEXITY



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VDI-in-a-Box delivers you moreVMware View Citrix V

REAP

RepeatableEasy

Affordable

Predictable

No-Compromise

Dynamic desktop provisioning

Built-in HA w/o shared storage

No-think on-demand scaling

Rich high-definition user experience

Cost and Overhead

No shared storage overhead

No management servers, high-speed interconnects



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VMware view editions



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Citrix VDI-in-a-Box: Simple All-in-one VDI desi

ActiveDirectory

UserData

SANStorageLoad

Balancers

ConnectionBrokers

ManagementServers

ActiveDirectory

DesktopComputeServers

Enterprise VDI Citrix VDI-in-a-Box

Grid of Off-theshelf serversrunningVDI-in-a-Boxappliance



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VDI-in-a-Box eliminates expensive infrast

Enterprise VDI

Desktop servers Microsoft VDA

Hypervisor

Provisioning and mgmt server

Connection broker

Other mgmt components (e.g. Composer)

Shared storage High-speed interconnect

Management servers

Windows Server OS for managementcomponents (e.g. vCenter, View, Composer)

Clustered SQL (for HA of managementdatabases)

VDI-in-a-Box

Desktop servers Microsoft VDA

Hypervisor

VDI-in-a-Box appliance


These components are noneeded with VDI-in-a-Bo


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View Connection Server

View Composer

View Administrator(installed with Connection Serv

View Persona Management

VERSUS

VDI-in-a-Box virtual appliance

Core Software Bill of Material



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View Composer requires a SQL databaseA must- MS SQL or Oracle

MS SQL Express license with vCenter can be used by View Comp

Sharing the same SQL Server instancce as vCenter Server is *not

Additional database management efforts; Potential need for a DBA

View Connection Server Event Database Is optionalhowever, log file has limited information

SQL database preferred

VERSUS

No SQL database required with VDI-in-a-Box

Need for external SQL Database



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Create View Composer database

Install View Composer service on the vCenter Servcomputer

Optimize your View infrastructure to support View C

VERSUS

VDI-in-a-Box virtual appliance has Linked Clones tbuilt-in

Linked Clones: View Composer



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View Connection Server to be installed on DEDICAphysical or virtual machine

Not to install on a system that performs any other for roles. E.g. Not to use the same system that is usvCenter Server

For performance and availability consider replicate

instancesof View Connection ServerVERSUS

VDI-in-a-Box virtual appliance has connection broktechnology built-in

Connection Brokering: View Connection Serve



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View does not havebuilt-inLoad Balancing

Load balancers are third-partycomponents.

VERSUS

VDI-in-a-Box virtualappliance has loadbalancing built-in

Load Balancing: View relies on external 3rdpa



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VDI-in-a-Box VMware View

Cost Less than half the cost to deployand manage. Complete all-in-onesolution.

Heavy infrastructumoving parts

Skillset Windows Datacenter: WindoSAN, Network

Infrastructure Off-the-shelf desktop host serverswith local storage

Desktop brokers, MServers, Desktop H

Interconnects, clusEnd-user experience Citrix HDX technology delivers rich

LAN and WAN experience withouthardware support

Primarily LAN-bashardware support

Device coverage Over 1B devices supported viaCitrix Receiver

Limited device sup

Compete with View


N tt h li it! It t


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No matter how you slice it!It gets exp


1330

1230

1080

806

410

-User Persona Management, -Linked Clones

-Persistent desktops unless more $ for DAS-Additional DAS expense

COST


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VMware's one-size approach fits nobody Overpriced Over-complicated

Yet less functionalwhen compared against View Enterprise edit

VDI-in-a-Box wins against VMware View Eliminates infrastructure half the cost

Simpler to setup and manage half the expertise requi

Broader coverage with Citrix Receiver double the devices

Better WAN experience with Citrix HDX double the deploymen

Long and short: One-size does not fit all!



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All-in-one VDI software

Simple: Designed for Windows administrators

Affordable: Delivers virtual desktops for less than a

Runs on off-the-shelf serverscuts out 60% of VD

Citrix VDI-in-a-Box

2013 citrix vdi in a box overview

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