With HP VDI, the typical heterogeneous desktop environment
is replaced with HP Thin Clients on the front-end, and HP
ProLiant or BladeSystem servers with HP StorageWorks
external storage or local storage on the backend. For each
desktop, an OS is virtualized on the server using
virtualization software.
HP's Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solution is
comprised of servers, storage, software, management, and
access devices and is delivered via a combination of HP and
partner delivered services.
Servers
With the potential for a large number of users on a single server and the ability to scale to a large memory footprint typically required for virtualized environments, HP ProLiant servers provide an excellent platform for a virtualized desktop infrastructure. This building block is required in all implementations and the choice of server determines what loads can be supported and how the risk is distributed in the environment. HP has a broad range of servers certified for VMware Infrastructure, Citrix XenServer and Microsoft Hyper-V. Offering a broad array of choices gives you the ability to select the specific platform that is right for your environment whether that is blades or rack mount, Intel® or AMD™, 2-socket or 4-socket.
Storage
The type of storage has a profound effect on the overall functionality of a VDI implementation. HP offers many storage options and solutions that can be deployed ranging from Direct Attached Storage (DAS) and Network Attached Storage (NAS) to Internet SCSI (iSCSI), and fibre channel Storage Area Networks (SAN). HP offers several products within these categories that are designed to support a range of requirements from the very small business to the enterprise data center to provide appropriate levels of high availability.
Software
There are three key pieces of software that are required at minimum to create an HP VDI solution.
- A virtualization layer to host the virtual desktops. VMware ESX, Microsoft Hyper-V or Citrix XenDesktop.
- A desktop operating system installed into the virtualization layer
- A connection protocol to join the remote client and virtual desktop. Microsoft's Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), Citrix's Independent Computing Architecture (ICA) or HP Remote Graphics Software (RGS) may be used.
Management
Infrastructure Management
Management is a vital component of the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, and HP offers a comprehensive suite of management software tools powered by the HP Insight Control software components.
The Insight Control suite software is time-smart management software that delivers total control, maximum flexibility, and tangible savings for your ProLiant and BladeSystem infrastructure. Based on HP Systems Insight Manager and Insight software, the Insight Control suites deliver comprehensive system health, remote control, vulnerability scanning and patch management as well as flexible deployment and power management in one easy to install package for virtual and physical servers.
Configuration Management
HP Configuration Management solutions enable IT to automate deployment and carry out continuous management of software, including operating systems, applications, patches, content and configuration settings, on the widest breadth and largest volume of devices throughout the lifecycle.
Connection Management
There are two basic HP VDI implementations that can be characterized as Static and Dynamic based on whether there is a connection broker present in the environment.
- Static deployments are essentialy a one-to-one replacement where a desktop is removed and replaced with one virtual desktop dedicated to a user.
- Dynamic deployments employ a connection broker, which assigns the user to one of many pooled desktops. This implementation offers benefits such as higher utilization rates and lower costs.
The different connection brokers available with HP VDI are:
- VMware Virtual Desktop Manager (VDM) integrates and orchestrates the process of deploying and managing VMs into the broker functionality. VDM allows for flexible provisioning, strong network security, tight Active Directory integration and strong authentication as well as for a common management interface for administration of servers and desktops.
- Citrix Desktop Delivery Controller (DDC) is the brokering mechanism between the endpoint and the virtual desktop running in the data center. It also manages connections between users' endpoint devices and the virtual desktops.
- HP Session Allocation Manager : when a broader client virtualization portfolio is being considered that includes blade workstations and blade PCs.
Access Devices
HP offers a choice of clients to fit the needs of a variety of deployments, but recommends the deployment of thin clients to serve as access devices. While it is possible to redeploy desktops as general access devices, maximum savings and efficiency comes from stateless, low power thin client devices.
HP Thin Clients serve as ideal access devices for VDI by providing enhanced security, easy manageability, high reliability and low TCO.
 |
|
|
As an example, the HP t5520 thin client uses 20 watts of electricity. A typical desktop may consume 120 watts within the same environment. If we think in terms of a 1,000 client deployment, the power savings equate to 100 kWh per hour.
|
|
Services
In addition to Software Technical Support Services that provides customers with round the clock telephone access to HP Response Centers and experienced technical specialists, HP offers services for VDI that will enable customers to deploy a more reliable, scalable, and manageable desktop infrastructure at lower and more predictable costs.
These services include
- HP VDI Planning Services
- HP VDI Quick Start Service
- HP VDI Implementation Services
Customers have the option of using HP planning, quickstart and implementation services for the following solutions
- HP VDI with VMware
- HP VDI with Citrix XenDesktop using XenServer
- HP VDI with Citrix XenDesktop using Microsoft Hyper-V
Base VDI
Base VDI is a brokerless implementation that allows end users to connect directly to a VM resource without utilizing a connection brokers. This is a low cost alternative that offers many of the major advantages while trading off some scalability. Standard VDI is targeted at Business-to-business, small workgroup, some branch office and SMB implementations.
Standard VDI
Standard VDI implementation adds shared storage in the form of NAS or iSCSI based storage solutions such as HP's All-in-One storage products which may reduce the overall cost of the solution while enabling desirable features from VMware such as VMotion, Distributed Resource Scheduler, High Availability as well as improving availability and data protection. Standard VDI by default uses VMwareVirtual Desktop Manager as the connection broker and is thus a dynamic implementation.
Standard VDI implementations are capable of scaling into the thousands of users with lower hardware costs than an advanced implementation. However, as a rule, these implementations are optimized for less than 1,500 users as the cost of managing multiple NAS/iSCSI devices may become prohibitive in some organizations.
Enterprise VDI
Enterprise VDI, also a dynamic implementation, brings an array of enterprise capabilities to the desktop. By utilizing fibre-channel based SAN and implementing file shares for user data as a core feature rather than an option, Enterprise VDI offers the ability to architect complex disaster recovery scenarios, increase scalability and optimize the environment for security.
The emphasis of Enterprise VDI is the highest levels of availability and data integrity for end user computing resources. Enterprise VDI is flexible enough to be implemented for anywhere between 100 and 10,000 or more users.
