cisco integrated desktop virtualization solution
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© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 1
Cisco Integrated Desktop Virtualization Solution
VMware View 5.1 with VMware vSphere 5 Using Cisco Unified Computing
System, Cisco Nexus Switches, and Nexenta Storage
February 2013
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 2
Contents
Objectives ................................................................................................................................................. 4
Summary of Main Findings ........................................................................................................................ 4
Business Value ............................................................................................................................................ 4
Modular Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Overview ................................................................................... 5 Cisco Data Center Infrastructure for Desktop Virtualization ..................................................................... 5
Simplified .............................................................................................................................................. 5 Secure .................................................................................................................................................. 5 Scalable ................................................................................................................................................ 5 Savings and Success ........................................................................................................................... 5
Project Planning and Solution Sizing Sample Questions ......................................................................... 6 The Solution: A Unified, Pretested, and Validated Infrastructure with Cisco, Nexenta, and VMware-Based Reference Architecture ............................................................................................................................. 7
Base Components ................................................................................................................................ 7 Cisco Unified Computing System ......................................................................................................... 7 Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches ...................................................................................................... 8 VMware vSphere 5 ............................................................................................................................... 8 VMware View 5 ..................................................................................................................................... 8 NexentaVSA for View ........................................................................................................................... 8
Solution Overview and Benefits ................................................................................................................ 9 Solution Benefits ..................................................................................................................................... 10 Architecture Overview ............................................................................................................................. 11
Architecture and Design of VMware View 5.1 and NexentaVSA for View on Cisco UCS and Storage Solution ............................................................................................................................................... 11
Overview of Reference Architecture for a Persistent Desktop Pool ....................................................... 11 High Availability and Failover ............................................................................................................. 13 Storage Layer ..................................................................................................................................... 13 Connectivity Layer .............................................................................................................................. 13 Host Layer .......................................................................................................................................... 14
Overview of Reference Architecture for a Low-Cost Desktop Pool ........................................................ 14
Solution Components: Cisco, Storage, and VMware-Based Reference Architecture ....................... 15
Solution Validation .................................................................................................................................... 16
Testing Methodology and Results .......................................................................................................... 16 Testing Methodology and Success Criteria ............................................................................................ 16
Testing Profile Characteristics ............................................................................................................ 16 Load Generation ..................................................................................................................................... 17 User Workload Simulation: Login VSI from Login Consultants .............................................................. 17
About the Heavy Workload ................................................................................................................. 18 Metrics .................................................................................................................................................... 19 Success Criteria: Login VSI .................................................................................................................... 19
Application Response Time Measured by VSImax Dynamic ............................................................. 19
Login VSI Test 1: VSImax Connected for 196 Desktops with Medium-Sized Workload .................... 20 [VSILauncher.ini] - Configuration File for Login VSI Test 1 .................................................................... 20 Results .................................................................................................................................................... 21 IOPS Measured by NexentaVSA for View Management Appliance ....................................................... 22
Login VSI Test 2: Cisco Recommended Number of Desktops for Medium-Sized Workload on Cisco UCS B230 M2 ............................................................................................................................................... 24
[VSILauncher.ini] - Configuration File for Login VSI Test 2 .................................................................... 24
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 3
Results .................................................................................................................................................... 24
Login VSI Test 3: Heavy Workload .......................................................................................................... 27 [VSILauncher.ini] - Configuration File for Login VSI Test 3 .................................................................... 27 Results .................................................................................................................................................... 27
Login VSI Test 4: Recommended Number of Desktops for Heavy Workload ..................................... 30 [VSILauncher.ini] - Configuration File ..................................................................................................... 30
VMware View Planner Testing ................................................................................................................. 33 Success Criteria: VMware View Planner ................................................................................................ 33 VMware View Planner - Results File ...................................................................................................... 33 Results .................................................................................................................................................... 34 Success Criteria: IOmeter ....................................................................................................................... 34 IOmeter - Results File ............................................................................................................................. 35
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 37
For More Information ................................................................................................................................ 38
Appendix: Bill of Materials for NexentaVSA for View on Cisco UCS .................................................. 38
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 4
Objectives
This document describes the reference architecture of the Cisco® Desktop Virtualization solution with storage for
500 to 1000 virtual desktops based on VMware View 5.1, VMware vSphere 5, and NexentaVSA for View (NV4V).
The Cisco Desktop Virtualization solution includes the Cisco UCS® B-Series Blade Servers and Cisco Nexus
®
5000 Series Switches.
The purpose of the reference architecture is to provide tested and modular architecture built with proven best-in-
class technologies to create a complete desktop virtualization solution that includes the desktop software,
hypervisor, computing, networking, and storage elements and that is based on a virtual storage appliance
approach integrated into the Cisco Unified Computing System™
(Cisco UCS) platform. This reference architecture
accelerates your desktop transformation by enabling faster deployment, the flexibility of greater choice, increased
efficiency, and lower risk.
The modular architecture design uses the Cisco UCS B230 M2 Blade Server and transforms the Cisco UCS C240
M3 Rack Server into an enterprise storage appliance.
Note that this reference architecture is not intended to be a comprehensive deployment and configuration guide
for every aspect of this solution.
Summary of Main Findings
The combination of Cisco UCS, Cisco Nexus switches, and Nexenta virtual storage appliances with VMware ESXi
5 and VMware View software produces a virtual desktop delivery system with a high density per blade and
chassis.
Cisco maintains industry leadership with the new Cisco UCS Manager 2.0 software, which makes scaling
simple, consistency essentially guaranteed, and maintenance easy.
The Cisco 10 Gigabit Ethernet unified fabric is also validated on second-generation Cisco UCS 6200
Series Fabric Interconnects and second-generation Cisco Nexus 5500 platform access switches through
more challenging workload testing, maintaining unsurpassed user-response times.
Business Value
Customers require a scalable, tiered, and highly available infrastructure on which to deploy their virtual desktop
environments. Several new technologies are available to assist you in designing a virtual desktop solution, but
you need to know how to use these technologies to get the most from your investment, support service-level
agreements (SLAs), and reduce you total cost of ownership (TCO).
This solution builds a replica of a common customer virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) environment and
validates the environment for performance, scalability, and capability. You achieve:
Increased control and security of your global mobile desktop environment, which is typically your
environment most at risk
Better end-user productivity with a more consistent environment
Simplified management, with the environment contained in the data center
Better support for SLAs and compliance initiatives
Lower operating and maintenance costs
High availability and low capital costs using the same footprint without affecting TCO and while
maintaining the performance needed to meet SLA requirements
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 5
Modular Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Overview
Cisco Data Center Infrastructure for Desktop Virtualization
Cisco focuses on three main elements to deliver the best desktop virtualization data center infrastructure:
simplification, security, and scalability. The software combined with platform modularity provides a simplified,
secure, and scalable desktop virtualization platform.
Simplified
High per-server virtual desktop density
Unified management providing common view of the platform
Predefined, validated infrastructure
Uniformity achieved through a single hardware platform that includes storage, computing, and networking
resources
Virtual appliance that manages the provisioning of desktops and simultaneously deploys storage to
reduce VDI complexity.
Secure
Virtual desktop-aware access and control policies
Virtual desktop-aware networking and on-demand provisioning
Segmentation and network security policies across the LAN and WAN
Scalable
Capability to linearly scale up to thousands of desktops in a single domain
Rapid desktop provisioning through service profiles
Low-latency, high-bandwidth network for delivery of virtual desktops and multimedia
Virtual storage appliance that uses a local server for linear storage scalability based on demand
Savings and Success
The simplified, secure, scalable Cisco data center infrastructure solution for desktop virtualization saves time and
money. It provides faster payback and ongoing savings (better return on investment [ROI] and lower TCO) with
the industry’s highest virtual desktop density per server, meaning that fewer servers are needed, reducing both
capital expenditures (CapEx) and operating expenses (OpEx). For example, NexentaVSA for View reduces
server and storage costs by implementing a virtual storage appliance (VSA) on the same hardware on which
virtual desktops are deployed. Network infrastructure costs also are much lower, with fewer cables per server and
fewer ports required, using the Cisco UCS architecture and unified fabric.
The simplified deployment of Cisco UCS for desktop virtualization makes you more productive faster and
enhances business agility. IT staff and end users are more productive more quickly, and the business can
respond to new opportunities simply by deploying virtual desktops whenever and wherever needed. The high-
performance Cisco platform and network deliver a near-native end-user experience, allowing users to be
productive anytime, anywhere.
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 6
Project Planning and Solution Sizing Sample Questions
Now that we understand user groups, their applications and their data requirements. In planning your solution,
you need to consider some project and solution sizing questions.
Here are some general project questions that should be addressed at the outset:
Has a VDI pilot plan been created based on business analysis of the organization’s desktop groups,
applications, and data?
Is the necessary infrastructure and budget in place to run the pilot program?
Are the skill sets required to run the VDI project available? If not, can you hire or contract for them?
Do you have end-user experience performance metrics identified for each desktop subgroup?
How will you measure success or failure?
What are the future implications of success or failure?
Here is a partial list of sizing questions that should be addressed for each user subgroup:
What desktop OS is planned? Microsoft Windows 7 or Windows XP?
Will the OS be 32-bit or 64-bit?
How many virtual desktops will be deployed in the pilot project? In production?
Using Microsoft Windows 7?
How much memory is needed per target desktop group desktop?
Do you have any multimedia, Adobe Flash, or graphics-intensive workloads?
What is the endpoint graphics processing capability?
Are any Citrix XenApp hosted applications planned? Are they packaged or installed?
What is the storage configuration in the existing environment?
Are sufficient I/O operations per second (IOPS) available for the write-intensive VDI workload?
Will you have storage dedicated and tuned for VDI service?
Does the desktop have a voice component?
Is antivirus software a part of the image?
Is user profile management (nonroaming profile-based management) part of the solution?
What are your fault-tolerance, failover, and disaster-recovery plans?
Do you have any additional desktop subgroup-specific questions?
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 7
The Solution: A Unified, Pretested, and Validated Infrastructure with Cisco, Nexenta, and VMware-Based Reference Architecture
Cisco’s desktop virtualization solution binds together the three critical elements of an end-to-end deployment: the
end user, the network, and the data center. It draws on Cisco’s architectural advantage to provide a solution that
supports a diversity of endpoint devices, extends pervasive security and policy management to each virtual
desktop, and uses a new and innovative virtualization-optimized stateless server computing model (Cisco UCS).
Base Components
Computing platform with Cisco UCS includes:
– Cisco UCS 6200 Series Fabric Interconnects
– Cisco UCS 2200 Series Fabric Extenders
– Cisco UCS 5108 Blade Server Chassis
– Cisco UCS B230 M2 Blade Servers for virtual desktop hosting
– Cisco UCS B200 M2 Blade Servers for infrastructure
Cisco Nexus 5500 platform switches
Hypervisor: VMware ESXi 5
Virtual desktop connection broker: VMware View 5.1
Storage: NexentaVSA for View and NexentaStor
Cisco Unified Computing System
Cisco UCS is the first truly unified data center platform that combines industry-standard, x86-architecture blade
and rack servers with networking and storage access into a single system. The main innovations in the platform
include a standards-based unified network fabric, Cisco virtual interface card (VIC) support, and Cisco Extended
Memory Technology. The system uses a wire-once architecture with a self-aware, self-integrating, intelligent
infrastructure that eliminates the time-consuming, manual, error-prone assembly of components into systems.
Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Servers provide a comprehensive line of 2- and 4-socket servers to deliver world-
record-setting performance to a wide range of workloads. Based on the Intel® Xeon
® processor E7 and E5
product families, these servers are excellent for virtualized and nonvirtualized applications. These servers:
Reduce CapEx and OpEx with converged network fabrics and integrated systems management
Deliver performance, versatility, and density without compromise
Address a broad set of workloads, from IT and web infrastructure through distributed databases for both
virtualized and nonvirtualized environments
Increase IT staff productivity and business agility through just-in-time provisioning and mobility support for
both virtualized and nonvirtualized environments
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 8
Cisco Nexus 5000 Series Switches
The Cisco Nexus 5000 Series delivers an innovative architecture to simplify data center transformation by
enabling a high-performance, standards-based, multiprotocol, multipurpose, Ethernet-based fabric. These
switches help consolidate separate LAN, SAN, and server cluster network environments into a single 10 Gigabit
Ethernet fabric. This unification enables network consolidation and greater utilization of previously separate
infrastructure and cabling, reducing by up to 50 percent the number of adapters and cables required and
eliminating redundant switches. This infrastructure displacement also lowers power and cooling costs
significantly.
VMware vSphere 5
VMware vSphere 5 is the market-leading virtualization platform and is used in thousands of IT environments
around the world. VMware vSphere 5 transforms a computer’s physical resources by virtualizing the CPU, RAM,
hard disk, and network controller. This transformation creates fully functional virtual desktops that run isolated and
encapsulated operating systems and applications just like physical computers.
The high-availability features of VMware vSphere 5 are coupled with VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler
(DRS) and vMotion, which enable the transparent migration of virtual desktops from one VMware vSphere server
to another with little or no degradation of the customer’s experience.
This reference architecture uses VMware vSphere Desktop Edition for deploying desktop virtualization. It provides
the full range of VMware vSphere Enterprise Plus Edition features and functions, allowing customers to achieve
scalability, high availability, and optimal performance for all of their desktop workloads. Also, VMware vSphere
Desktop comes with unlimited vRAM entitlement. VMware vSphere Desktop Edition is intended for customers
who want to purchase only VMware vSphere licenses to deploy desktop virtualization.
VMware View 5
VMware View is a desktop virtualization solution that simplifies IT manageability and control while delivering a
high- fidelity end-user experience across devices and networks. VMware View helps IT departments automate
desktop and application management, reduce costs, and increase data security through centralization of the
desktop environment. This centralization results in greater end-user freedom and increased control for IT
departments. By encapsulating the operating systems, applications, and user data in isolated layers, IT
departments can deliver a modern desktop. They can then deliver dynamic, elastic desktop cloud services, such
as applications, unified communications, and 3D graphics for real-world productivity and greater business agility.
Unlike other desktop virtualization products, VMware View is built on and tightly integrated with VMware vSphere,
the industry-leading virtualization platform that allows customers to extend the value of the VMware infrastructure
and enterprise-class features, such as high availability, disaster recovery, and business continuity.
NexentaVSA for View
NV4V, from Nexenta, combines Nexenta's third-generation network-attached storage (NAS) and SAN storage
appliance with a powerful VDI deployment and management server. NV4V is designed to interoperate
transparently with VMware vCenter and View servers.
Based on the Z File System (ZFS) architecture, NV4V is designed to use local storage devices with
comprehensive ZFS features and provide calibration and measurement. You can use NV4V to deploy a new
desktop pool, reconfigure an existing pool provisioned by NV4V to enhance resource utilization, calibrate an
existing pool provisioned by NV4V, and run a performance benchmark on an existing pool provisioned by NV4V.
NV4V is designed from the foundation to absorb and hide the complexity of virtual desktop data center
deployment and management. The product provides fully automated, GUI-driven VDI provisioning, recalibration of
existing desktop pools, I/O acceleration, performance graphics and analytics, built-in snapshots, and replication. It
is a massively scalable, ready-to-use (turnkey) VDI solution.
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 9
NV4V includes the following components:
NexentaVSA for View Management Appliance is the main management component of NexentaVSA for
View. The NV4V Management Appliance must be installed on the VMware ESXi Server that supports the
management components. This NV4V component provides the wizards that deploy a desktop pool,
calibrate the number of virtual desktops as, well as the amount of memory for the existing desktop pool,
and run the performance benchmark tests.
NexentaStor VSA provides storage for the NexentaVSA for View virtual desktops through a NV4V
vSphere plug-in, which communicates with VMware View and VMware vCenter to perform desktop virtual
machine (DVM) provisioning and management. During the deployment of a desktop pool, NexentaStor
VSA is automatically installed on each VMware ESXi Server that is dedicated to virtual desktop storage.
NexentaVSA for View Server Agent manages the communication between NexentaVSA for View and the
VMware components. The server agent is installed on the VMware View Connection Server.
NexentaVSA for View Desktop Agent provides communication between NexentaVSA for View and virtual
desktops. The desktop agent is installed on the virtual desktop template.
NV4V provides the following main features:
Deployment automation
Real-time monitoring and analytics
Benchmarking and calibration
Complete storage appliance
I/O acceleration
Local snapshot
Remote backup and restore
Replicated high availability
NAS VMware vSphere Storage APIs and Array Integration (VAAI)
Solution Overview and Benefits
This solution uses Cisco UCS, Cisco Nexus 5548UP Switches, and VMware vSphere 5 to provide resources for a
VMware View 5.1 environment of Microsoft Windows 7 virtual desktops provisioned by VMware View Composer.
Careful planning and design of the server, networking, and storage infrastructure for the VMware View
environment is critical. T server infrastructure needs to be sized to handle both the density and scale of the
desktop workload, the networking infrastructure needs to provisioned to handle bursts of data traffic, and the
shared storage needs to be able to absorb large bursts of I/O traffic that occur during a workday.
To provide cost-effective and predictable performance for VDI, the infrastructure must be able to:
Support a high density of virtual desktops per server
Scale linearly with an increase in the number of virtual desktops
Support rapidly provisioned scale-out infrastructure
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 10
Provide low latency and high bandwidth for the clustering, provisioning, and storage interconnect
networks
Handle the peak I/O load from the clients while keeping response time quick
Solution Benefits
The NV4V solution on Cisco UCS blade servers enables you to use the Cisco UCS B230 M2 Blade Server as a
computing node and the Cisco UCS C240 M3 Rack Server as storage for any VDI environment. In addition, the
NV4V Management Appliance simplifies the time-consuming and complicated desktop pool deployment process
with a six-step wizard.
With traditional storage systems, customers must manually calculate the required IOPS and then calibrate the
storage appliance without having received any real-time data from the VDI. This theoretical calibration can lead to
guessing that often results in higher TCO and added complexity. By deploying local storage on the same
computing node on which the VDI machines are deployed, NexentaVSA for View reduces the performance
barriers that result from network constraints, storage protocol limitations, and external storage bottlenecks.
The advantages include:
Improved scalability: You can expand the existing VDI infrastructure when necessary. When you add
VMware ESXi servers to support an increasing number of virtual desktops, you can reconfigure a desktop
pool to use additional resources without the need to re-create the desktop pool.
Reduced network load: NexentaStor VSA eliminates the need to provision additional network cables and
network interface cards (NICs) for storage traffic, because it is installed on the same hardware as the
virtual desktops and uses the internal network for storage traffic.
Use of ZFS features: NexentaVSA for View inherits and uses the following ZFS features of the
NexentaStor storage architecture:
– Hybrid storage pool: The hybrid storage pool enables you to use the fast solid-state drives as cache
or log devices in a storage pool. NexentaStor VSA can provision a ZFS-based pool as storage for
virtual desktops.
– ZFS compression: Default ZFS compression both improves IOPS and reduces the volume of storage
space required for desktop pools.
– ZFS snapshot: NV4V provides fully integrated snapshot, backup and restore, and replicated high
availability (RHA) features that use the underlying ZFS capabilities, which include unlimited
snapshots.
– NAS VAAI plug-in: The plug-in offloads Network File System (NFS) traffic between NexentaStor VSA
and VMware ESXi.
Automatic reconfiguration and resource balancing: NexentaVSA for View enables you to optimize
computing, memory, and storage parameters of new or existing desktop pools; it also configures the
desktop pool according to parameters that you specify.
Benchmarking and tuning: NexentaVSA for View provides sophisticated tools that analyze performance
and enable you to calibrate a desktop pool. Calibration benchmarks adjust the number of desktops in a
desktop pool based on the number of IOPS that are required.
High availability for persistent desktop pool: Data integrity is crucial in persistent desktop pool
deployments. NexentaVSA for View provides software data mirroring on a block level that enables
automatic failover if a disk failure occurs.
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 11
Performance analyzer: NV4V provides a set of performance analyzer utilities that help you monitor
desktop pool activity and identify any potential performance bottlenecks. The performance analyzer
utilities include:
– Built-in IOmeter tool that monitors the performance of a single desktop in a desktop pool
– Real-time performance charts that provide continuously updated statistical information
Architecture Overview
Figure 1 provides a high-level overview of the solution architecture.
Figure 1: High-Level Architecture Overview
Architecture and Design of VMware View 5.1 and NexentaVSA for View on Cisco UCS and Storage Solution
Nexenta and Cisco provide the following joint solutions for VDI deployments:
NV4V solution on Cisco UCS blade servers for highly available desktops
NV4V solution on Cisco UCS blade servers for a persistent or stateless desktop pool
Overview of Reference Architecture for a Persistent Desktop Pool
The reference architecture for the solution includes hardware and software components that provide a reliable,
scalable, and cost-effective solution for deployment of a persistent desktop pool with high-availability storage.
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 12
The software components include:
VMware ESXi cluster for virtual desktops
VMware ESXi cluster for management components, such as Microsoft Active Directory (AD)
NV4V Management Appliance
NexentaVSA for View, which provides a virtual storage appliance and management functions
For a fully redundant solution, the hardware components include:
Cisco UCS 5100 Series Blade Server Chassis with eight Cisco UCS B230 M2 Blade Servers for virtual
desktops and management components
Two Cisco UCS C240 M3 Rack Servers for storage
Two Cisco Nexus 5548UP Switches for network access for the Cisco UCS C240 M3 chassis
Two Cisco UCS 6248UP 48-Port Fabric Interconnects to provide network connectivity and management
capabilities to all Cisco UCS B230 M2 Blade Servers
Figure 2 shows a NV4V solution on a Cisco UCS blade server for a persistent desktop pool. The components that
are highlighted and enclosed in the red outline represent the tested configuration. The entire configuration as
noted depicts fully configured Cisco UCS B230 M2 Blade Servers with a full complement of supporting storage on
the Cisco UCS C240 M3 Rack Servers. For this highly available storage for VDI, two Cisco UCS C240 M3 Rack
Servers are required to support one or two Cisco UCS B230 M2 Blade Servers for up to a total of 310 desktops.
Figure 2: NV4V Solution on Cisco UCS Blade Server for Highly Available Virtual Desktops
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 13
In the NV4V solution on Cisco blade servers for highly available desktops, storage is mirrored between two Cisco
UCS C240 M3 Rack Servers serving NFS to the Cisco UCS B230 M2 Blade Servers. It provides a redundant and
highly available infrastructure that is essential for a persistent desktop pool.
Highly Available Storage for a Persistent Desktop Pool
Software mirroring of two Cisco UCS C240 M3 Rack Servers provides highly-available storage. If one of the Cisco
UCS C240 M3 servers fails, the other server is automatically used as storage. No additional plug-ins or
administrative actions are required for this function. Figure 3 shows disk software mirroring on block-level storage.
Figure 3: Block-Level Software Mirroring
High Availability and Failover
The NV4V solution on Cisco UCS blade servers for a persistent desktop pool provides a highly available virtual
desktop infrastructure. Each component is configured to provide a reliable and scalable solution for all layers.
Storage Layer
The reference architecture for the NV4V solution on Cisco UCS blade servers for a persistent desktop pool is
designed to mirror the hybrid pools on the Cisco UCS C240 M3 Rack Servers that you use as storage. If a
hardware failure occurs on one of the Cisco UCS C240 M3 Rack Servers, the second server continues to
operate. The redundant configuration of the disks on the back end protects against data loss resulting from hard-
disk failures.
Connectivity Layer
The NV4V solution on Cisco hardware provides redundancy on the connectivity layer. It includes use of two Cisco
UCS 6200 Series Fabric Interconnects and two Cisco Nexus 5500 platform switches.
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 14
Host Layer
The VMware ESXi hosts have extra power supplies and network connections that help to reduce the number of
failures on VMware ESXi Server components. In addition, the high-availability feature is enabled on the VMware
ESXi cluster, which helps promptly recover virtual desktops if a major host failure occurs.
Overview of Reference Architecture for a Low-Cost Desktop Pool
The reference architecture for a low-cost desktop pool solution includes hardware and software components that
are similar to the components that are used for the NV4V solution on Cisco UCS blade servers for a persistent
desktop pool. The NV4V solution on Cisco UCS blade servers for a low-cost desktop pool includes a single Cisco
UCS C240 M3 Rack Server. When you deploy a stateless desktop pool, data integrity and disaster recovery are
not primary concerns. Therefore, server mirroring is not needed for this solution. The software components
include VMware ESXi clusters for virtual desktops and VMware ESXi clusters for management components such
as Microsoft Active Directory, NV4V Management Appliance, and NexentaVSA for View, which provides a VSA as
well as management functions.
The hardware components include:
Cisco UCS 5100 Series Blade Server Chassis with eight Cisco UCS B230 M2 Blade Servers for the
virtual desktops and management components
Cisco UCS C240 M3 Rack Server for storage
One Cisco Nexus 5548UP Switch for network access
One Cisco UCS 6248UP fabric interconnect to provide network connectivity and management capabilities
to all Cisco UCS B230 M2 Blade Servers in a chassis
One 10 Gigabit Ethernet Intel E10G42BFSR X520-SR2 network card for NFS traffic
Figure 4 shows the NV4V solution on Cisco UCS blade server for a persistent or stateless desktop pool. The
components that are highlighted and enclosed in the red outline represent the tested configuration. The entire
configuration as noted depicts a fully configured Cisco UCS B230 M2 Blade chassis with a full complement of
supporting storage on the Cisco UCS C240 M3 Rack servers. For this scalable configuration, one Cisco UCS
C240 M3 Rack Server can support up to two Cisco UCS B230 M2 Blade Servers. The trade-off of this lower-cost
solution is no storage, switch, or fiber interconnect fault tolerance.
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 15
Figure 4: Lower-Cost NV4V Solution on Cisco UCS Blade Servers for a Persistent or Stateless Desktop Pool
Solution Components: Cisco, Storage, and VMware-Based Reference Architecture
Cisco’s desktop virtualization solution binds the following critical elements of an end-to-end deployment:
End user
Network
Data center
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 16
It draws on Cisco’s architectural advantage to provide a solution that supports a diversity of endpoint devices,
extends pervasive security and policy management to each virtual desktop, and uses a new and innovative
virtualization-optimized stateless server computing model: Cisco UCS.
Solution Validation
The solution validation includes implementation, testing, and analysis of the obtained results. The solution
validation helps ensure that the reference architecture meets the requirements of the VDI environment.
The following workload generator tools were used to validate the NexentaVSA for View solution on Cisco UCS:
Login VSI
View Planner
IOmeter
Testing Methodology and Results
This section discusses the testing methodology, success criteria, and results.
Testing Methodology and Success Criteria
The testing results focused on the entire process of the virtual desktop lifecycle by capturing metrics during the
desktop boot-up, user logon, and virtual desktop acquisition (also referred to as ramp-up); user workload
execution (also referred to as steady state); and user logoff for the hosted VDI model under test. Test metrics
were gathered from the hypervisor, virtual desktop, storage, and load generation software to assess the overall
success of an individual test cycle. Each test cycle was not considered to have passed unless all the planned test
users completed the ramp-up and steady-state phases (described in the following sections) and unless all metrics
were within the permissible thresholds and noted as success criteria. Three completed test cycles were
conducted for each hardware configuration, and results were found to be relatively consistent from one test to the
next.
Testing Profile Characteristics
Table 1 provides profile characteristics for the testing environment that was used to validate this solution.
Table 1: Profile Characteristics
Profile Characteristic Value
Number of virtual desktops 196
Virtual desktop OS Microsoft Windows 7 Enterprise (32-bit)
CPUs per virtual desktop 1 virtual CPU (vCPU)
Number of virtual desktops per CPU core 10
RAM per virtual desktop 1 GB
Average storage available for each virtual desktop 2 GB
Maximum IOPS running IOmeter tests 148.29
Number of data stores used to store linked clones 1
Number of data stores used to store replicas 1
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 17
Profile Characteristic Value
Number of deployed virtual desktops per data
store
225
Disk and RAID types for data stores RAID 10
20 x 300-GB 15,000-rpm SAS
2 x 300-GB 15,000-rpm SAS for NexentaStor
1 x 200-GB SSD for log (ZIL)
1 x 200-GB SSD for cache (L2ARC)
Number of VMware clusters 1
Number of VMware ESXi Servers in each cluster 1
Number of virtual desktops in each cluster 1000
Load Generation
In each test environment, load generators were used to simulate a load with multiple users accessing the VMware
View 5 environment and processing a typical end-user workflow. To generate load within the environment, an
auxiliary software application was required to generate the end-user connection to the VMware View environment,
to provide unique user credentials, to initiate the workload, and to evaluate the end-user experience.
In the hosted VDI test environment, session launchers were used simulate a scenario in which multiple users
make direct connections to VMware View 5.
User Workload Simulation: Login VSI from Login Consultants
A critical factor in validating a VMware View desktop deployment is identification of a real-world user workload
that is easy for customers to replicate and is standardized across platforms to allow customers to realistically test
the effects of a variety of worker tasks. To accurately represent a real-world user workload, a third-party tool from
Login Consultants was used throughout the hosted VDI testing.
The tool measures the in-session response time, providing an objective measure of the expected user experience
for individual desktops throughout large-scale testing, including during login storms.
The Login Virtual Session Indexer (Login VSI 3.6) methodology, designed for benchmarking server-based
computing (SBC) and VDI environments, is completely platform and protocol independent and hence allows
customers to easily replicate the testing results in their environments.
Note: The testing described here used the tool to benchmark the VDI environment only.
Login VSI calculates an index based on the number of simultaneous sessions that can be run on a single
machine. It simulates a medium-sized user workload (also known as a knowledge worker workload) running
generic applications such as Microsoft Office 2007 or 2010, Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) 8 including Adobe
Flash applets, and Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Note: For the purposes of this test, applications were installed locally, not streamed or hosted on Citrix XenApp.
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 18
To simulate real users, the scripted Login VSI session leaves multiple applications open at the same time. The
medium-sized workload is the default workload in Login VSI and was used for this testing. MediumNoFlash is a
workload based on the medium-sized workload with only the Adobe Flash components disabled. Here is a
summary of the testing:
The workload emulated the medium-sized workload of a knowledge worker using Microsoft Office and IE
and PDF files.
After a session was started, the medium-sized workload repeated every 12 minutes.
During each loop, the response time was measured every two minutes.
The medium-sized workload opened up to five applications simultaneously.
The type rate was 160 milliseconds (ms) for each character.
Approximately two minutes of idle time was included to simulate real-world users.
Each loop opened and used:
Microsoft Outlook 2007 or 2010: 10 messages were browsed.
Microsoft IE: One instance was left open (BBC.co.uk), and one instance was browsed to Wired.com,
Lonelyplanet.com, and the heavy 480p Adobe Flash application gettheglass.com (not used with
MediumNoFlash workload).
Microsoft Word 2007 or 2010: One instance was used to measure response time, and one instance was
opened to review and edit a document.
Bullzip PDF Printer and Acrobat Reader: The Microsoft Word document was printed and reviewed as a
PDF file.
Microsoft Excel 2007 or 2010: A very large randomized sheet was opened.
Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 or 2010: A presentation was reviewed and edited.
7-Zip: Using the command line, the output of the session was zipped.
About the Heavy Workload
The heavy workload required more memory and CPU consumption because additional applications ran in the
background.
The heavy workload had these characteristics:
This workload simulated a power user.
This workload was based on a medium-sized workload.
The heavy workload differed from the medium-sized workload as follows:
– Type rate is 130 ms per character.
– Idle time total is only 40 seconds.
The heavy workload opens up to eight applications simultaneously
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 19
Metrics
Multiple metrics were captured during each test run, but the success criteria for considering a single test run as
pass or fail was based on these metrics: Login VSI Max, VMware View Planer, and IOmeter.
The Login VSI Max metric evaluates the user response time during increasing user load and assesses the
successful start-to-finish processing of all the initiated virtual desktop sessions.
VMware View Planner is a VMware workload generator that you can use to simulate the workload in your VMware
View environment. VMware View Planner is a tool that helps you determine the size and best characteristics of
VDI deployments. It can be used as an alternative workload simulation tool to compare and validate the results of
the Login VSI test. The VMware View Planner test results can be submitted to the VMware Rapid Desktop
Program.
IOmeter is a workload generator and a storage performance analyzer that you can use to measure the
performance of a single desktop in a desktop pool. IOmeter is an industry-standard I/O subsystem measurement
and characterization tool that is built into the NexentaVSA for View software.
Success Criteria: Login VSI
Application Response Time Measured by VSImax Dynamic
The VSImax Dynamic test simulates the real-world VDI workload by constantly generating application loads that
use computing and storage resources such as CPU, memory, disk capacity, and network bandwidth, through
which the following operations generate the VSImax Dynamic score:
Copying a new document from the document pool in the home drive
Starting Microsoft Word with a document
Opening the File Open dialog box
Starting Notepad
Opening the Print dialog box
Opening the Search and Replace dialog box
Compressing the document into a zip file using the 7-Zip command line
These operations run simultaneously in the VSImax Dynamic test environment. To balance the operations and
simulate a practical workload, you must properly weight the operations to reflect an accurate and practical test
score.
In this test, VSImax Dynamic with a 25-second logon interval was used to establish the benchmark of 196
desktops per Cisco UCS B230 M2 Blade Server. VSImax Dynamic takes a sample baseline measure of the Login
VSI sessions and then performs a calculation to determine when the dynamic response-time threshold is reached,
representing the density of the 196 desktops in the test that the server can support without degrading the user
experience.
In the baseline measures, an average response time of less than 4000 ms (4 seconds) was required for a passing
test run. The NexentaVSA for View configuration achieved a 1264-ms baseline response time. In practice, the
baseline response time is typically 1400 to 1800 ms without application virtualization or antivirus software.
Table 2 and Figure 5 show the application response time by VSImax Dynamic for NexentaVSA for View with
Cisco UCS B230 M2 and C240 M3 servers.
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 20
For more information about Login VSI, please refer http://www.loginvsi.com/documentation/v3/calculating-vsimax.
Table 2: Sample VSImax Dynamic Response-Time Calculation
Activity Result (MS) Weight (Percent) Weight Result (MS)
Refresh a document (RFS) 24 100% 24
Start Microsoft Word with a
new document (LOAD)
1487 33% 493
Launch the File Open dialog
box (OPEN)
104 100% 104
Start Notepad (NOTEPAD) 33 300% 99
Launch the Print dialog box
(PRINT)
44 200% 88
Launch the Replace dialog
box (FIND)
28 400% 112
Zip the document (ZIP) 172 200% 344
VSImax Dynamic Response Time 1264
Figure 5: VSImax Dynamic Activity
Login VSI Test 1: VSImax Connected for 196 Desktops with Medium-Sized Workload
Test 1 was a Login VSI test using a VSImax Connected parameter for 196 desktops with a medium-sized
workload.
[VSILauncher.ini] - Configuration File for Login VSI Test 1
[Launcher]
Servername=
Username=
Password=
Domain=
CommandPassword=
ConnectionType=Custom
ConnectionNumber=User
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 21
CCL=C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware View\Client\bin\wswc.exe -serverURL 10.0.101.72 -
username Login_VSI%count% -password Q1w2e3r4! -domainname cisco -desktopname CiscoTest -
Standalone -logInAsCurrent False -connectUSBOnStartup False -noninteractive
/novmwareaddins
CSV=
Launchmode=Sequential
PreTestScript=
PostTestScript=
ParallelDelay=10
ParallelTimeframe=1800
InitialStartNumber=1
NumberOfSessions=215
SequentialInterval=25
Fancy_number=1
Autologoff=1
LogoffTimeOut=900
CreateProfile=0
UseLocalLauncher=1
Results
Figure 6 shows the results of a Login VSI test run for a medium-sized workload.
Figure 6: Login VSI Test Results for Medium-Sized Workload
Figure 7 shows the results of a Login VSI test that uses 196 virtual desktop during 2 hours with a medium-sized
workload. The VSImax parameter is 196. The achieved Dynamic VSImax parameter is 4580 with a 1264 baseline,
with an average read latency 0.639 ms (peak of 2 ms) and an average write latency 2.71 ms (peak of 6 ms).
Figure 7 shows CPU utilization during the Login VSI test with a medium-sized workload.
Figure 7: CPU Utilization During the Login VSI Test with a Medium-Sized Workload
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 22
Figure 8 shows the data store read/write latency during the Login VSI test with a medium-sized workload.
Figure 8: Data Store (Read/Write Latency) During the Login VSI Test with a Medium-Sized Workload for 196
Desktops
Figure 8 shows the data store latency during the Login VSI test that uses 196 virtual desktop during a 2-hour
period with a medium-sized workload. The achieved read latency was 0.639 ms and the achieved write latency
was 2.711 ms, which is better than the average enterprise-class storage read latency results of 10 to 15 ms.
IOPS Measured by NexentaVSA for View Management Appliance
With traditional storage systems, customers have to manually calculate the required IOPS and then calibrate their
storage appliances without any real-time data from their VDI infrastructure. This theoretical calibration can lead to
guessing, often resulting in higher TCO and added complexity. By deploying local storage on the Cisco UCS
B230 M2 and C240 M3 servers on which the VDI machines are deployed, the integration of NexentaVSA for View
on the Cisco UCS platform enables rapid desktop provisioning using the NV4V Management Appliance. The
NV4V Management Appliance can deploy virtual desktops and associate storage simultaneously from a single
management console. In this case, the joint solution eliminates performance barriers to provide 148.29 IOPS per
user.
The NV4V Management Appliance runs Microsoft SQLIO and IOmeter to measure IOPS for a selected desktop
pool. The IOPS results are displayed in real time through the NexentaVSA for View Management Appliance GUI.
Testing parameters are set at a rigorous standard of 75 percent write operations and 25 percent read operations
for 196 virtual desktops achieved; standard-industry practice is 75 percent read operations and 25 percent write
operations.
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 23
Figure 9 shows the NV4V IOmeter test results.
Figure 9: IOPS for 196 Desktops from NV4V IOmeter Benchmarking Tool
Figure 9 shows the results of a NV4V IOmeter benchmark test that uses 196 virtual desktops. The achieved
results were 148.29 IOPS, with 25 percent read operations and 75 percent write operations.
Figure 10 shows the NV4V Bootstorm test results.
Figure 10: Bootstorm for 196 Desktops from NV4V Bootstorm Benchmarking Tool
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 24
Figure 10 shows the results of a NV4V Bootstorm benchmark test that uses 196 virtual desktops. The achieved
boot time is 1.71 seconds per desktop, with a total bootstorm 335 seconds.
Login VSI Test 2: Cisco Recommended Number of Desktops for Medium-Sized Workload on Cisco UCS B230 M2
Test 2 was a Login VSI test with 155 desktops with approximately 90 percent CPU utilization.
[VSILauncher.ini] - Configuration File for Login VSI Test 2
Servername=
Username=
Password=
Domain=
CommandPassword=
ConnectionType=Custom
ConnectionNumber=User
CCL=C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware View\Client\bin\wswc.exe -serverURL 10.0.101.72 -
username Login_VSI%count% -password Q1w2e3r4! -domainname cisco -desktopname CiscoTest -
Standalone -logInAsCurrent False -connectUSBOnStartup False -noninteractive
/novmwareaddins
Launchmode=Parallel
PreTestScript=
PostTestScript=
ParallelDelay=10
ParallelTimeframe=1800
InitialStartNumber=1
NumberOfSessions=155
SequentialInterval=25
Fancy_number=1
Autologoff=1
LogoffTimeOut=900
CreateProfile=0
UseLocalLauncher=1
Results
Figure 11 shows the results of a Login VSI test run for a medium-sized workload with approximately 90 percent
CPU utilization.
Figure 11: Login VSI Test Results for Recommended Medium-Sized Workload with 155 Desktops
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 25
Figure 11 shows the results of a Login VSI test that uses 155 virtual desktops during 1 hour with a medium-sized
workload. The results showed an achieved 1264 baseline with an average read latency of 1.37 ms (peak of 4 ms)
and an average write latency of 2.48 ms (peak of 14 ms). The VSImax value was not reached due to the low
desktop count and low CPU utilization (approximately 90 percent).
Figure 12 shows CPU utilization during the Login VSI test with a medium-sized workload.
Figure 12: CPU Utilization During the Login VSI Test with a Medium-Sized Workload for 155 Desktops
Figure 13 shows the data store read/write latency during the Login VSI test with a medium-sized workload.
Figure 13: Data Store (Read/Write Latency) During the Login VSI Test with a Medium-Sized Workload for 155
Desktops
Figure 13 shows the data store latency during a Login VSI test that uses 155 virtual desktop during a 2-hour
period with a medium-sized workload. The achieved read latency is 1.372 ms and the achieved write latency is
2.483 ms, which is better than the average enterprise-class storage read latency of 10 to 15 ms.
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 26
Figure 14 shows the results of the NV4V IOmeter benchmark test.
Figure 14: IOPS for 155 Desktops from NV4V IOmeter Benchmarking Tool
Figure 14 shows the results of a NV4V IOmeter benchmark test that uses 155 virtual desktops. The achieved
result is 220.43 IOPS with 25 percent read operations and 75 percent write operations.
Figure 15 shows the NV4V Bootstorm test results.
Figure 15: Bootstorm for 155 Desktops from NV4V Bootstorm Benchmarking Tool
Figure 15 shows the results of a NV4V Bootstorm benchmark test that uses 155 virtual desktops. The achieved
boot time is 2.05 seconds per desktop with a total bootstorm of 318 seconds.
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 27
Login VSI Test 3: Heavy Workload
Test 3 was a Login VSI test with 168 desktops with a heavy workload.
[VSILauncher.ini] - Configuration File for Login VSI Test 3
Servername=
Username=
Password=
Domain=
CommandPassword=
ConnectionType=Custom
ConnectionNumber=User
CCL=C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware View\Client\bin\wswc.exe -serverURL 10.0.101.72 -
username Login_VSI%count% -password Q1w2e3r4! -domainname cisco -desktopname CiscoTest -
Standalone -logInAsCurrent False -connectUSBOnStartup False -noninteractive
/novmwareaddins
Launchmode=Parallel
PreTestScript=
PostTestScript=
ParallelDelay=10
ParallelTimeframe=10
InitialStartNumber=1
NumberOfSessions=200
SequentialInterval=25
Fancy_number=1
Autologoff=1
LogoffTimeOut=900
CreateProfile=0
UseLocalLauncher=1
Results
Figure 16 shows the Login VSI test for a heavy workload.
Figure 16: VSImax Test Results for a Heavy Workload
Figure 16 shows the results of a VSImax test that uses 195 virtual desktops during a 2-hour period with a heavy
workload. The VSImax parameter is 168. The achieved Dynamic VSImax parameter value is 5153 with a 1722
baseline, with an average read latency of 0.69 ms (peak of 4 ms) and an average write latency 3.34 ms (peak of
19 ms).
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 28
Figure 17 shows CPU utilization during the Login VSI test with a heavy workload.
Figure 17: CPU Utilization During a Login VSI Test Run with a Heavy Workload for 168 Desktops
Figure 18 shows the data store read/write latency during the Login VSI test with a heavy workload.
Figure 18: Data Store (Read/Write Latency) During the Login VSI Test with a Heavy Workload for 168 Desktops
Figure 18 shows the data store latency during the Login VSI test that uses 168 virtual desktops during a 2-hour
period with a heavy workload. The achieved read latency is 0.694 ms and the achieved write latency is 3.339 ms,
which is better than the average enterprise-class storage read latency of 10 to 15 ms.
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 29
Figure 19 shows the NV4V IOmeter test results.
Figure 19: IOPS for 168 Desktops from NV4V IOmeter
Figure 19 shows the results of a NV4V IOmeter benchmark test that uses 168 virtual desktops. The achieved
result is 178.26 IOPS with 25 percent read operations and 75 percent write operations.
Figure 20 shows the results of the NV4V Bootstorm benchmark test.
Figure 20: Bootstorm for 168 Desktops
Figure 20 shows the results of a NV4V Bootstorm benchmark test that uses 168 virtual desktops. The achieved
boot time is 1.93 seconds per desktop with a total bootstorm of 325 seconds.
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 30
Login VSI Test 4: Recommended Number of Desktops for Heavy Workload
Test 4 was a Login VSI test with 125 desktops with a heavy workload.
[VSILauncher.ini] - Configuration File
Servername=
Username=
Password=
Domain=
CommandPassword=
ConnectionType=Custom
ConnectionNumber=User
CCL=C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware View\Client\bin\wswc.exe -serverURL 10.0.101.72 -
username Login_VSI%count% -password Q1w2e3r4! -domainname cisco -desktopname CiscoTest -
Standalone -logInAsCurrent False -connectUSBOnStartup False -noninteractive
/novmwareaddins
Launchmode=Parallel
PreTestScript=
PostTestScript=
ParallelDelay=10
ParallelTimeframe=1800
InitialStartNumber=1
NumberOfSessions=125
SequentialInterval=25
Fancy_number=1
Autologoff=1
LogoffTimeOut=900
CreateProfile=0
UseLocalLauncher=1
Figure 21 shows the results of the test.
Figure 21: Login VSI Test Results for Recommended Heavy Workload with 125 Desktops
Figure 21 shows the results of a Login VSI test that uses 125 virtual desktop during a 1-hour period with a heavy
workload. The results showed an achieved baseline of 1264 with an average read latency of 1.40 ms (peak of 3
ms) and an average write latency of 2.19 ms (peak of 5 ms).
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 31
Figure 22 shows CPU utilization during the Login VSI test with a heavy workload.
Figure 22: CPU Utilization During the Login VSI Test with a Heavy Workload for 125 Desktops
Figure 23 shows the data store read/write latency during the Login VSI test with a heavy workload.
Figure 23: Data Store (Read/Write Latency) During the Login VSI Test with a Heavy Workload for 125 Desktops
Figure 23 shows the data store latency during a Login VSI test that uses 125 virtual desktop during a 2-hour
period with a heavy workload. The achieved read latency is 1.397 ms and the achieved write latency is 2.192 ms,
which is better than the average enterprise-class storage read latency of 10 to 15 ms.
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 32
Figure 24 shows the NV4V IOmeter test results.
Figure 24: IOPS for 125 Desktops from NV4V IOmeter
Figure 24 shows the results of a NV4V IOmeter benchmark test that uses 125 virtual desktops. The achieved
result is 270.76 IOPS with 25 percent read operations and 75 percent write operations.
Figure 25 shows the results of the NV4V Bootstorm benchmark test.
Figure 25: Bootstorm Results for 120 Desktops
Figure 25 shows the results of a NV4V Bootstorm benchmark test that uses 125 virtual desktops. The achieved
boot time is 1.92 seconds per desktop with a total bootstorm of 241 seconds.
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 33
VMware View Planner Testing
To simulate a medium-sized user workload, the VMware View Planner runs the following applications:
Adobe Reader
Microsoft Excel
Mozilla Firefox
Microsoft Internet Explorer
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Word
Video applications
7-Zip
Success Criteria: VMware View Planner
The success of the VMware View Planner test run is determined by the VMware View Planner score. A VMware
View Planner score represents the number of concurrent virtual desktops that participate in a successful test run.
A successful test run must meet the following requirements:
It must run all the standard VMware View Planner applications and no other applications.
The think time must be set to 20 seconds.
It must include at least five iterations (including ramp-up and ramp-down).
At least 95 percent of the application response times during steady-state activity must be 1.5 seconds or
less.
VMware View Planner - Results File
Test Name: CiscoTest2
Test Mode: local
QoS Summary
-----------
Group A : PASSED
The 95th percentile was: 0.742654 seconds
(To pass, this must not be more than 1.5 seconds)
Workload Summary
-----------------
Users: 200
Iterations (Total): 5 (to pass, this must be at least 5)
Iterations (Scored): 3
Workload Status: PASSED
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 34
Results
Figure 26 shows the results from the VMware View Planner CPU test.
Figure 26: Results from VMware View Planner CPU Test
Figure 26 shows the results from a VMware View Planner CPU test that ran using 200 desktops during a 6-hour
period with a medium-sized workload. The 95th percentile value for the application response time was 0.742654
second, which is below the defined threshold of 1.5 seconds.
Success Criteria: IOmeter
Figure 27 shows different types of VDI users with their storage performance requirements and IOPS.
Figure 27: Types of VDI Users and Performance Requirements
According to third-party studies, the expected number of IOPS for task users is 4 to 6, for knowledge workers it is
7 to 12, and for power users it is 25 to 50; the average number of IOPS for mobile users is 20.
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 35
During the IOmeter test, the results that were achieved compared well with the results that are usually expected
for a power users workload. During the test, with 25 percent read operations and 75 percent write operations, a
total equal to 69,76 IOPS was achieved. Therefore, any available desktops can provide more performance than is
required for power users. Thus, the performance requirements of users with less-demanding workloads are also
met.
IOmeter - Results File
+======================================================================
| Benchmark type: iometer
+======================================================================
Benchmark ID: ec638f8a2fa74b889e0e03d4525d22e7
Started: Sat Sep 29 19:52:29 2012
Finished: Sat Sep 29 21:19:50 2012
Duration: 01h 27m 21s
Benchmark finished successfully.
+======================================================================
| Benchmark parameters
+======================================================================
Desktop pool: /View/10.0.101.72/vCenter/10.0.101.71/Cluster/VDI/DesktopPool/Test2
Number of desktops: 200
Duration: 600 seconds
Reads: 25%
Writes: 75%
+======================================================================
| Environment
+======================================================================
Cluster: VDI
-------------------------------------------------------------------
CPU total: 47920MHz
CPU effective: 44104MHz
Memory total: 511.85GB
Memory effective: 497.69GB
Desktop pool: Test2
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Max Desktops: 215
Min Desktops: 202
Spare Desktops: 1
Alive Desktops: 202
Error Desktops: 0
Desktop template: VDT-WIN7GOLD-LOGINVSI3
-------------------------------------------------------------------
CPU: 1
Memory: 1.00GB
Desktop resource pool: NV4V_VDI_42887362
-------------------------------------------------------------------
CPU limit: unlimited
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 36
CPU reservation: 0
Memory limit: unlimited
Memory reservation: 238171
ESX: 10.0.101.35
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Memory: 511.85GB
CPU: 2.23GHz
CPU cores: 20
CPU threads: 40
CPU packages: 2
+======================================================================
| Benchmark results (200 desktops under benchmark)
+======================================================================
Write operations : 52.44 IOPS
Read operations : 17.32 IOPS
Average write bandwidth : 209.7777KB/s
Average read bandwidth : 69.2944KB/s
Write latency : 4.2616 ms
Read latency : 0.5368 ms
+==================================================
| ESX CPU statistics: /View/10.0.101.72/vCenter/10.0.101.71/Cluster/VDI/ESX/10.0.101.35
+==================================================
TIME VALUE
20:00:00 12
20:30:00 12
21:00:00 15
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 37
Figure 28 shows the results of VMware View Planner memory utilization during the test run.
Figure 28: Results from the VMware View Planner Memory Utilization Test
Conclusion
Table 3 summarizes the main test results.
Table 3: Summary of Main Test Results
NV4V on Cisco UCS
Performance Focus Tested Maximum Users Per Blade Recommended Users Per Blade
VSImax at 100% CPU Utilization VSImax at 90% CPU Utilization
Workload Heavy
(8 applications)
Medium sized
(4 applications)
Heavy
(8 applications)
Medium sized
(4 applications)
Users density per blade 168 196 125 155
IOPS per desktop 178.26 148.29 270.76 220.43
Boot time per desktop
and with bootstorm
1.94 sec.
325.0 sec.
1.71 sec.
335.0 sec.
1.92 sec.
241 sec.
2.05 sec.
318 sec.
Cisco UCS C240 M3
storage latency with
NV4V
(W = write and R = read)
5.29 ms (W)
2.97 ms (R)
4.78 ms (W)
2.52 ms (R)
2.19 ms (W)
1.40 ms (R)
2.48 ms (W)
1.37 ms (R)
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 38
According to the Login VSI test results, the maximum virtual desktop density for a single Cisco UCS B230 M2 with
NexentaVSA for View is 196 virtual desktops.
Table 3 lists the results of the integration of the NV4V software with the Cisco UCS platform. NexentaVSA for
View runs as a virtual storage appliance on the Cisco UCS B230 M2 Blade Server that uses the local storage
devices. It then uses them to cache with extremely low latency for write and read buffering. The ZFS file system
that is the core of NexentaVSA for View is intelligent enough to sequentially flush the random I/O data in and out
of the local storage devices. This capability builds on the advantages of the unique Cisco UCS architecture, which
helps ensure quality of service (QoS) and bandwidth integrity for desktop pools and virtualization.
This document also described the reference architecture of the Cisco Desktop Virtualization solution on the Cisco
UCS platform. The architecture includes the NV4V Management Appliance, an integrated application that
provides a deployment wizard that reduces the complexity of the VDI deployment. NexentaVSA for View provides
real-time analytics that enables you to more predictably build out of the VDI infrastructure without compromise.
For More Information
Cisco Validated Design for Desktop Virtualization: http://www.cisco.com/vdidesigns
Login Consultants: http://www.loginvsi.com/documentation/v3/calculating-vsimax
VMware View overview: http://www.vmware.com/products/view/overview.html
NexentaVSA for View hardware reference guide:
http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/partners/nexenta/NexentaVSA_VMware_View_HW_Reference_Guide.p
df
Nexenta Systems: http://nexenta.com
Appendix: Bill of Materials for NexentaVSA for View on Cisco UCS
Tables 4, 5, and 6 provide bills of materials for NexentaVSA for View on Cisco UCS.
Table 4: Bill of Materials for Management Server
VMware vSphere 5 Enterprise Management
Hardware Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Servers Model Cisco UCS B200 M3 Blade Server
OS VMware ESXi 5.0u1 NIC Cisco UCS VIC 1240
CPU 2 x 8 cores; Intel Xeon processors
E5-2665 at 2.4 GHz
RAM 128 GB
Disk 2 x 200-GB SSD
Table 5: Bill of Materials for VDI Host Server
VMware vSphere 5 Enterprise VDI Host
Hardware Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Servers Model Cisco UCS B230 M2 Blade Server
OS VMware ESXi 5.0u1 NIC Cisco UCS M81KR VIC
CPU 2 x 10 cores; Intel Xeon processors
E7-2870 at 2.4 GHz
RAM 512 GB
Disk 2 x 200-GB SSD
© 2013 Cisco | Nexenta. All rights reserved. Page 39
© 2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. To view a list of Cisco trademarks, go to
this URL: www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective
owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other
company. (1110R)
© 2008 - 2013 Nexenta Systems, Inc. Nexenta, Nexenta Systems and NexentaStor are all trademarks of
Nexenta Systems. All Rights Reserved.
C11-726772-00 02/13
Table 6: Bill of Materials for NAS Storage Server
VDI Storage Cisco UCS C240 M3 Rack Server
Hardware Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers Model Cisco UCS C240 M3 Rack Server
OS NV4V 2.0 - NexentaStor NIC Intel X520 dual-port 10 Gbps
CPU 2 x 8 cores; Intel Xeon processors
E5-2690 at 2.9 GHz
RAM 192 GB
Disk 2 x 200-GB SSD (L2ARC and ZIL) 2 x 300-GB SAS
HDD (OS)
20 x 300-GB SAS 15,000-rpm
HDD (data)
CCDE, CCENT, Cisco Eos, Cisco Lumin, Cisco Nexus, Cisco StadiumVision, Cisco TelePresence, Cisco WebEx,
the Cisco logo, DCE, and Welcome to the Human Network are trademarks; Changing the Way We Work, Live,
Play, and Learn and Cisco Store are service marks; and Access Registrar, Aironet, AsyncOS, Bringing the
Meeting To You, Catalyst, CCDA, CCDP, CCIE, CCIP, CCNA, CCNP, CCSP, CCVP, Cisco, the Cisco Certified
Internetwork Expert logo, Cisco IOS, Cisco Press, Cisco Systems, Cisco Systems Capital, the Cisco Systems
logo, Cisco Unity, Collaboration Without Limitation, EtherFast, EtherSwitch, Event Center, Fast Step, Follow Me
Browsing, FormShare, GigaDrive, HomeLink, Internet Quotient, IOS, iPhone, iQuick Study, IronPort, the IronPort
logo, LightStream, Linksys, MediaTone, MeetingPlace, MeetingPlace Chime Sound, MGX, Networkers,
Networking Academy, Network Registrar, PCNow, PIX, PowerPanels, ProConnect, ScriptShare, SenderBase,
SMARTnet, Spectrum Expert, StackWise, The Fastest Way to Increase Your Internet Quotient, TransPath,
WebEx, and the WebEx logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United
States and certain other countries.
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