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Client Virtualization

FOR

DUMmIES‰

HP AND INTEL SPECIAL EDITION

by Lawrence C. Miller


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Table of ContentsIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

About This Book ........................................................................ 1How This Book Is Organized .................................................... 2

Chapter 1: Client Virtualization Basics ......................... 2Chapter 2: Digging into Client Virtualization ............... 2Chapter 3: Building a Client Virtualization

Environment ................................................................. 2Chapter 4: Exploring HP Client Virtualization

Solutions ....................................................................... 2Chapter 5: Nine Client Virtualization Mistakes

and How to Avoid Them ............................................. 3Appendix: Additional Resources for Client

Virtualization ................................................................ 3Icons Used in This Book ............................................................ 3Where to Go from Here ............................................................. 4

Chapter 1: Client Virtualization Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5What Is Client Virtualization? ................................................... 5Why Virtualize Clients Now? .................................................... 6

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) .................................... 7Flexwork: The new work paradigm ............................... 9

Chapter 2: Digging into Client Virtualization . . . . . . . . .11Recognizing Key Characteristics of Client

Virtualization ........................................................................ 11Differentiating Client Virtualization Types ........................... 12

Session (and application) virtualization ..................... 12Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)........................... 14Graphics-accelerated VDI ............................................. 16Dedicated workstation .................................................. 17

Determining Your End-User Requirements .......................... 18Getting Started with HP CVAM Service ................................. 19Selecting the Right Desktop Strategy .................................... 20


Client Virtualization For Dummies, HP and Intel Special Edition viChapter 3: Building a Client Virtualization

Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21Why Infrastructure Matters .................................................... 21

Compute and memory................................................... 21Persistent and nonpersistent desktops ...................... 22Storage and disk I/O ...................................................... 22Networking ..................................................................... 23Graphics accelerators ................................................... 23Client devices ................................................................. 24

Benefiting from HP Services ................................................... 24

Chapter 4: Exploring HP Client Virtualization Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Addressing SMB Challenges ................................................... 26HP CV SMB RA for Citrix VDI-in-a-Box ........................ 28HP CV SMB RA for Windows Server 2012 ................... 29HP CV SMB RA for VMware View ................................. 30

Designing an Enterprise Solution ........................................... 30

Chapter 5: Nine Client Virtualization Mistakes and How to Avoid Them . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

Do It Yourself CV/VDI .............................................................. 35Lack of Executive Sponsorship .............................................. 36Misalignment between ROI Objectives and

Business Goals ...................................................................... 36Ignoring User Requirements ................................................... 37Shared Virtualization Infrastructure ..................................... 38Underestimating Hardware and Storage

Requirements ....................................................................... 38Scaling Up Too Fast ................................................................. 39The Wrong Tools for the Job .................................................. 40Too Fast Will Make Your Users too Furious ......................... 40

Appendix: Additional Resources for Client Virtualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Citrix .......................................................................................... 41Microsoft ................................................................................... 42VMware ..................................................................................... 42


Introduction

T oday’s workforce is global and mobile. These folks demand support for next-generation applications that

can transform the way they work — they expect to be able to work from any location, at any time, using any device. They need an IT environment that supports the most ubiquitous productivity tools available today including their own laptops, tablets, netbooks, and smartphones.

At the same time, enterprises and organizations of all sizes and in all industries are looking for new ways to boost worker productivity and flexibility, while also streamlining manage-ment and reducing costs. Many of these organizations have already virtualized their server environment, but they have not yet transitioned to virtual desktops. These companies are looking for a complete solution that contains everything they need — servers, storage, software, and management — to deliver virtual desktops to their workers on any device, anywhere, at any time.

About This Book This book explores client virtualization as a solution for orga-nizations seeking innovative ways to address the opportuni-ties and challenges of today’s Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and mobile (or flexwork) trends. The HP Client Virtualization (CV) Enterprise Reference Architecture (RA) securely and cost-effectively supports BYOD initiatives and the mobile workforce — all delivered as a complete, secure, and proven reference architecture for deploying desktop virtualization.

This book is written primarily to help business decision makers understand the consideration points of client virtual-ization solutions for their organizations.

This book was created with and for HP and Intel.


Client Virtualization For Dummies, HP and Intel Special Edition 2

How This Book Is OrganizedThis book contains some great info about client virtualization, conveniently distilled into five short chapters and an appen-dix chock full of additional information. Here’s a brief look at what awaits you!

Chapter 1: Client Virtualization BasicsI begin with an overview of what client virtualization technol-ogy is and explain why BYOD and flexwork trends are rapidly driving adoption of client virtualization.

Chapter 2: Digging into Client Virtualization Next, I discuss the different client virtualization types, and help you define your end-user requirements and select the right desktop strategy for your organization.

Chapter 3: Building a Client Virtualization EnvironmentChapter 3 delves into the building blocks of a client virtual-ization environment — compute and memory, storage, I/O, graphics accelerators, and software.

Chapter 4: Exploring HP Client Virtualization SolutionsHere, I discuss HP’s innovative client virtualization solutions for both small and medium businesses, and large enterprises.


Introduction 3

Chapter 5: Nine Client Virtualization Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemI give you some hints on how to avoid mistakes.

Appendix: Additional Resources for Client VirtualizationThe appendix provides additional Internet resources to help answer all your client virtualization questions!

Icons Used in This BookThroughout this book, you occasionally see special icons that call attention to important information. You won’t find smiley faces winking at you or any other cute little emoticons, but you’ll definitely want to take note! Here’s what you can expect.

This icon points out information that may well be worth com-mitting to your nonvolatile memory, your gray matter, or your noggin — along with anniversaries and birthdays!

You won’t discover a map of the human genome or the blue-prints for the International Space Station here (or maybe you will, hmm), but if you seek to attain the seventh level of NERD-vana, perk up! This icon explains the jargon beneath the jargon and is the stuff legends — well, nerds — are made of!

Thank you for reading, hope you enjoy the book, please take care of your writers! Seriously, this icon points out helpful suggestions and useful nuggets of information.

Proceed at your own risk . . . well, okay — it’s actually nothing that hazardous. These helpful alerts offer practical advice to help you avoid making potentially costly mistakes.



Where to Go from HereIf you don’t know where you’re going, any chapter will get you there — but Chapter 1 might be a good place to start! However, if you see a particular topic that piques your inter-est, feel free to jump ahead to that chapter. Each chapter is individually wrapped (but not packaged for individual sale) and written to stand on its own, so feel free to start reading anywhere and skip around! Read this book in any order that suits you (though I don’t recommend upside down or backwards).


Chapter 1

Client Virtualization BasicsIn This Chapter▶ Understanding client virtualization

▶ Recognizing BYOD and flexwork trends

V irtualization is one of the hottest and most disruptive technologies of the past decade and continues to be so.

Many organizations have already adopted server virtualiza-tion in their data centers — in fact, Gartner estimates that close to 50 percent of all x86 server workloads are virtualized today, and that more than two-thirds of all x86 servers will be virtualized in the next three years! For organizations that are already realizing the many business and operational benefits of server virtualization, client virtualization is often the next logical step on their virtualization journey. Be aware, though, that client virtualization has its own rules and don’t assume it will be just like server virtualization.

This chapter explains client virtualization, its potential bene-fits for organizations of all sizes and types, and several trends that are driving the need for client virtualization.

What Is Client Virtualization?Virtualization technology partitions a single physical server into multiple host environments (consisting of operating sys-tems and applications), thereby emulating multiple servers or client devices.

Some of the most popular client virtualization software products today include Citrix XenDesktop, Microsoft Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), and VMware View.


Client Virtualization For Dummies, HP and Intel Special Edition 6A key component of virtualization technology is the hypervisor. The hypervisor is a layer of software between the hardware kernel and the computer OS that allocates memory and pro-cessing resources to virtual clients, allowing multiple virtual clients to run concurrently on a single physical server. Users can then access virtual clients from practically any number of client devices, including desktop computers and mobile devices such as tablets, smartphones, and laptops.

Why Virtualize Clients Now?Due to the past decade’s challenging economic climate, many organizations have found it necessary to modify or abandon their typical three-year PC hardware refresh cycles. These organizations now face new challenges because they’re unable to deploy the latest operating systems and applications (are you still running Windows XP and Office 2003?), and worker productivity can suffer. However, a complete PC hardware refresh can be cost prohibitive, and the task of deploying new hardware and installing new applications daunting.

Although many organizations are continuing with a traditional thick client (a complete desktop PC with CPU, memory, hard drive, and peripheral devices) in their desktop environment, client virtualization is emerging as an ideal solution to the refresh challenge. However, client virtualization is much more than just a desktop replacement strategy. It is a means to address key pain points that the current PC environment isn’t well suited to solve, including the following:

✓ User needs

•Workfromanywhere,anytime,usingreadilyavail-able devices

•Windowsandmobileapplications

•MaintainthefeelingofaPCexperienceanywhere

✓ IT challenges

•Clientdeviceadministrativechallenges

•Securityandcompliance


Chapter 1: Client Virtualization Basics 7 •Unmanagedendpoints

•OperatingSystem(OS)migration(forexample,Windows 7/8)

The most common reasons for adopting client virtualization today include the following:

✓ Enhance worker productivity: Anywhere, anytime, and any device with secure mobility

✓ Control costs: Delay costly end-device refresh cycles and reduce support costs

✓ Streamline desktop support: Maintain the desktop envi-ronment without business interruption

✓ Mitigate risk: Centralize desktop, data, and applications in the data center

✓ Improve business agility and flexibility: Scale and adapt to changes quickly through dynamic provisioning of end-user clients and rapid delivery of new applications

Several important trends are driving a fundamental shift from the PC era — in which users are tied to one device — to the cloud era — where business users can take advantage of a greater variety and larger number of devices to get their work done from anywhere and at any time. These trends are dis-cussed in the following sections and include Bring Your Own Device (or BYOD) and flexworking.

A recent Citrix survey found that 42 percent of business users have three or more compute devices that they use daily.

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)The BYOD trend has taken hold in corporate networks as businesses and organizations increasingly allow their employ-ees to use personal mobile devices (such as smartphones and tablets) for both personal and work-related use.

Consumerization is a related trend that is further driving BYOD in the workplace. Consumerization occurs when end users find personal technology and applications that are more


Client Virtualization For Dummies, HP and Intel Special Edition 8convenient, powerful, and easier to use than their corporate IT solutions.

Many organizations are still unsure of how to leverage the BYOD and consumerization trends in their business pro-cesses. Such organizations typically either implicitly allow BYOD and consumerization by ignoring the ubiquitous use of personal devices and applications in the workplace, or they explicitly prohibit their use. In addition to lost productivity and missed opportunities, both of these approaches intro-duce a number of risks for the organization including the following:

✓ Security threats from unknown, untested, and unpatched applications.

✓ Potential violations of regulatory compliance mandates such as HIPAA (U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards).

✓ Risky behavior by employees seeking to circumvent restrictions and controls by using external proxies, encrypted tunnels, and remote-access programs.

✓ Lack of control over sensitive data that is potentially stored and accessed from personal devices and may be compromised if these devices are lost or stolen, or if an employee leaves the company.

✓ Creation of back-channel or undocumented business processes that are critical to the organization, but only known to a few individual users and fully dependent on personal technologies and applications.

Many forward-thinking organizations are increasingly con-sidering BYOD as a strategy to gain competitive advantage, increase productivity, improve morale, and control costs. These organizations define explicit policies that clearly explain what is permitted — and what isn’t. Using client virtu-alization technology, such companies are able to control the costs and administrative challenges associated with support-ing an ever-changing array of devices. Client virtualization further enables centralized control of the applications installed on personal devices — including installation,


Chapter 1: Client Virtualization Basics 9security permissions, patching and updates, and removal — thereby reducing or eliminating many of the inherent risks associated with BYOD and consumerization.

Flexwork: The new work paradigmUntil recently, going to work meant commuting to an office, and going to a meeting required packing up and traveling to a different location. But with the advent of mobile computing devices, working and meeting have taken on new meanings.

No longer bound to an office, today’s workers can do their jobs from just about anywhere, using a wide variety of mobile devices. The flexibility appeals to many employees, enabling them to be online and productive during more hours of the day or night. Enticed by these increased productivity levels, many employers have embraced their new mobile workforce.

Adding to changes in the current business climate are demands for real-time response. Today’s workers are expected to do more in less time, so they expect information to be delivered instantly.

Meeting that demand is now attainable. But organizations that embrace flexworking must address numerous challenges, including

✓ IT and workforce support

✓ Complexity, compatibility, and performance

✓ Operating costs

✓ Information security

✓ User experience

Rather than try to meet the needs of this new business para-digm with an old computing model, many companies have found a simpler, cost-effective solution that is also more flexible: virtualize the client. As with BYOD (discussed in the previous section), client virtualization takes much of what is traditionally managed at the client or endpoint device, and centralizes those functions. With this approach, your data


Client Virtualization For Dummies, HP and Intel Special Edition 10is better protected, system management is easier, you gain greater flexibility, and your workers receive a better overall experience — irrespective of their device type or location.

Forrester Research recently reported that inquiries on virtual desktops outpace questions about cloud technologies by two to one — indicating client virtualization is one of today’s hot-test technology trends.


Chapter 2

Digging into Client Virtualization

In This Chapter▶ Comparing client virtualization types

▶ Getting to know your users

▶ Understanding the tradeoffs between different desktop strategies

C lient virtualization provides several flexible models to meet an organization’s unique user requirements. In this

chapter, I talk about the different client virtualization architec-tures and how to match your user requirements to the most appropriate architecture.

Recognizing Key Characteristics of Client Virtualization

In addition to business and financial benefits such as enhanced productivity, cost control, risk mitigation, and business agility (discussed in Chapter 1), there are several key IT benefits asso-ciated with client virtualization, including the following:

✓ Centralized computing: Whether delivering a single application or a fully customized desktop environment to multiple end-user devices, client virtualization gives IT better control over the end-user environment than in a distributed client-server model. This level of control provides additional security and stability for the orga-nization, because user and application data are stored and processed in the host environment — located in a data center — rather than locally on multiple devices


Client Virtualization For Dummies, HP and Intel Special Edition 12that may not be used safely and securely. In many ways, client virtualization represents a shift toward the more controlled and stable days of centralized computing, which was a characteristic of the mainframe era.

✓ Device independence: In the mainframe era, users connected to the mainframe via a “dumb” terminal in a data processing room. But today’s end-user devices are anything but dumb. With client virtualization, users can securely connect to a corporate infrastructure from just about anywhere using any number of devices, includ-ing desktop and laptop PCs, thin clients, netbooks, tablets, and smartphones. Thus, client virtualization is a key technology that enables organizations to leverage today’s BYOD and flexwork trends (see Chapter 1).

✓ Quick recovery: Client virtualization enables end users to quickly access their “desktop” environment from practi-cally any device. Thus, a lost or stolen laptop or a PC hard-ware failure doesn’t cost the organization an entire day (or more) of lost user productivity. Instead, users can simply log onto a replacement device and continue working within their normal desktop environment. Similarly, client virtualization can support an organization’s business con-tinuity and disaster recovery plans by enabling employees to work remotely when the office is otherwise inacces-sible, for example, due to a fire or inclement weather.

Differentiating Client Virtualization Types

Several architecture options are available for different client virtualization strategies. Major differences between these archi-tecture choices surround the ratio of clients to hosts, and the compute and graphics requirements of the applications. Client virtualization types are explained in the following sections.

Session (and application) virtualizationThe session virtualization model (see Figure 2-1), also known as hosted desktop, allows multiple users to log onto a single


Chapter 2: Digging into Client Virtualization 13instance of a server operating system and run client desktops built on the server OS. Although this model can be relatively low cost and can scale to support a large number of concur-rent users, many client applications aren’t written for a server operating system and it typically doesn’t support intensive compute operations or advanced graphics requirements well. Plus, the session virtualization model provides limited cus-tomization and configuration options for different users.

Popular session virtualization solutions include Citrix XenApp and Microsoft Remote Desktop Services (RDS).

Application virtualization is very similar to session virtual-ization, but rather than logging into an entire desktop ses-sion, users simply launch the desired application from their desktop. Application virtualization isolates the applications from the underlying operating system, which improves compatibility in mixed environments. For example, a user on a Window 7 workstation could run Internet Explorer 6 (which isn’t natively supported in Windows 7). Additionally, application virtualization technology enables applications that might otherwise conflict — for example, due to shared dynamic link libraries (DLLs) or different versions of Java — to run concurrently on the same client.

Application virtualization: Streaming versus hosting

Using Citrix XenApp, you can deliver an application to users either by stream-ing it to the user’s virtual desktop or by hosting it on the XenApp server.

✓ Application streaming simplifies delivery by allowing you to install and configure an application on one file server for delivery to desktops. To upgrade or patch the application, you make the updates only in the location where you installed the application.

✓ Application hosting makes appli-cations available to users from the XenApp server, instead of from their desktop. When a user runs an application that is published on XenApp, the application is virtualized on the desktop and so appears to run locally to the user. However, the application is run-ning on the XenApp server, which keeps application processing on the endpoint device to a minimum.



Figure 2-1: The session virtualization model supports many clients but has limited compute and graphics capabilities.

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) delivers a complete desk-top experience to users across the network by providing a sepa-rate client operating system instance, like Microsoft Windows 7 and applications (the “desktop”) to each individual user (see Figure 2-2). Instead of running an operating system and


Chapter 2: Digging into Client Virtualization 15applications locally on the user’s PC, VDI allows the operating system and applications to run in your data center. A hypervisor (explained in Chapter 1) runs on the server and creates virtual desktops for each individual user or group of users. Unlike the session virtualization model, in which multiple users are con-nected to the same operating system instance, VDI gives your users control of their Windows desktop in a one-to-one manner. So any client device can be used to access a user’s “desktop” — a desktop or laptop PC, thin client, tablet, or smartphone, for example.

Figure 2-2: The VDI model runs a single OS instance for each individual user.



With a properly architected client virtualization infrastruc-ture, user expectations are more consistently met — this means you get less resistance from your users during your client virtualization project.

Graphics-accelerated VDIGraphics-accelerated VDI (see Figure 2-3) is similar to VDI, but runs on a blade workstation with a graphics accelerator card. This configuration brings the benefits of VDI to users that have more intensive compute and high-resolution graphics requirements, such as users of computer-aided design (CAD) applications.

Figure 2-3: Graphics-accelerated VDI supports more compute- and graphics-intensive applications.


Chapter 2: Digging into Client Virtualization 17

Dedicated workstationThe dedicated workstation approach provides a single virtual client to a single end user (see Figure 2-4). A dedicated work-station is similar to the graphics-accelerated VDI, except that it doesn’t have a hypervisor and therefore can only support a single user. The dedicated workstation approach is most appro-priate for users whose requirements are extremely complex and compute/graphics intensive. The dedicated workstation provides these no-compromise users with the experience they demand. In this case, the desktop operating system is installed directly onto the workstation — providing optimal performance.

In addition, the dedicated workstation approach can be imple-mented without full VDI infrastructure.

Figure 2-4: The dedicated workstation approach provides one virtual client to an individual user.



Determining Your End-User Requirements

You should begin your client virtualization project by getting to know your users. Specifically, you need to know the following:

✓ What applications are being used and how?

✓ What devices are being used and from where?

✓ What unique performance and security requirements exist?

✓ How frequently are applications changed or updated?

✓ How much end-user control and customization is needed?

Next, you should define broad classifications of your users based on their application usage. For example, user catego-ries might include the following:

✓ Knowledge/power workers: For example, these users may run multiple applications or applications that are compute-intensive and require access to large volumes of data within the data center.

✓ Mobile users: These users may include sales teams and users that travel frequently, requiring secure access from a number of mobile devices across various Internet connections.

✓ Remote users: Users in remote locations may have lim-ited IT support available to them, but otherwise access the network from a known device (for example, a thin client or desktop PC) across a stable Internet connection.

✓ Standard or task users: These users require access to a core set of applications, but otherwise have limited needs. For example, these may include call center repre-sentatives, administrative support staff, and data entry personnel. Many organizations may find that one client virtualization type doesn’t meet all of their unique end-user requirements.


Chapter 2: Digging into Client Virtualization 19

Getting Started with HP CVAM Service

One of the keys to a successful client virtualization implemen-tation is correct analysis of the existing physical desktops’ current load and use characteristics regarding both applica-tions and resources (for example: CPU, memory, disk I/O).

Don’t apply testing guidelines from software vendors when designing your environment. This is a common mistake that often results in investing misguided capital into supporting infrastructure that is later determined — usually too late in the implementation cycle — to be insufficient to meet your organization’s performance requirements.

To help you avoid relying on sizing and performance models developed in a virtualization vendor’s lab, for example, HP offers the Client Virtualization Analysis and Modeling (CVAM) Service. Using an agent-based data collection tool, CVAM gath-ers data regarding users and their applications. Then a series of reports and recommendations for a properly planned and sized virtualization project are produced. The HP CVAM Service provides analysis, modeling, and planning support to get your client virtualization project, specifically a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) project, started on the right foot.

HP CVAM Service can assist you with the following:

✓ Understanding your current environment and properly planning your move to client virtualization

✓ Analysis of real desktops in your environment

✓ Capacity planning and resource modeling based on your real-world numbers, rather than best case scenarios

✓ The right information to plan for virtual machine “golden” images, including

•Understandingapplicationusage

•Identifyingapplicationsthatcouldproveproblem-atic when included as part of a virtual machine image



Selecting the Right Desktop Strategy

With a clear understanding of your user requirements and a thorough knowledge of the relevant user profiles in your orga-nization, you can now select the most appropriate desktop strategies for your individual user groups.

Session virtualization provides organizations with the highest density of virtual clients to physical hosts, but with limited application and customization options, and relatively low compute and graphics capabilities. The session virtualization may be most appropriate for standard users, for example. Take a look at Figure 2-5 for a visual.

As the users’ compute and graphics requirements increase, the number of virtual clients per physical host will decrease — as you can see by the spectrum presented in Figure 2-5. Most organizations will find that the VDI architecture fits many of their user profiles, including knowledge, mobile, and remote users, for example. Graphics-accelerated VDI or dedicated workstations may be more appropriate for power users, such as engineers and architects using computer-aided design (CAD) applications, or creative staff that require high-resolu-tion graphics.

Figure 2-5: As compute and graphics intensity increases, user density in host usually decreases among the different client virtualization types.

Client virtualization isn’t an all-or-nothing proposition. It’s possible (and even likely) that many organizations will find it more optimal to deploy several of the client virtualization types discussed in this chapter, as well as a mix of virtual clients and traditional physical client workstations.


Chapter 3

Building a Client Virtualization Environment

In This Chapter▶ Putting together the right infrastructure components

▶ Persistent and nonpersistent desktops

▶ Introducing thin clients and zero clients

▶ Benefiting from HP services

S uccessful client virtualization requires a purpose-built infrastructure. This chapter describes the various infra-

structure components necessary for client virtualization and highlights some of the consulting services available from HP to help your client virtualization project succeed.

Why Infrastructure MattersSeveral critical infrastructure components must be in place for your client virtualization initiative to be a success. To make sure you know exactly what you need, I discuss these components in the following sections.

Compute and memoryProperly sizing the system CPU and memory requirements for your virtual host servers is a critical first step in building your client virtualization environment. Similar to server virtualiza-tion, you can usually oversubscribe the CPU and memory on your server to support a larger number of virtual clients than a typical 1:1 ratio would suggest. For example, if you have 64 gigabytes of memory in your host server and allocate


Client Virtualization For Dummies, HP and Intel Special Edition 222 gigabytes per virtual client, a 1:1 ratio would support approxi-mately 32 clients. However, because it’s unlikely that all the clients will peak at the same times, you can typically support many more virtual clients, perhaps as many as 50 or 60.

Balancing requirements for I/O and capacity at a reasonable cost is critical. Numerous sizing guidelines and reference architectures (see Chapter 4) are available to help you ensure your client virtualization infrastructure is sufficient to support your environment.

Persistent and nonpersistent desktopsIn many cases, instituting a client virtualization solution isn’t a single solution but a hybrid model. Many organizations that have tried to use hosted desktops for all users have found that not all users fit into the entry-level user role, nor do they all use the same applications.

A persistent user maintains changes to his desktop between logins. A nonpersistent user gets a fresh new desktop from a base image every time he logs in.

Persistent desktops allow for isolation of users and allow different users to have different applications. However, orga-nizations that have simply converted their existing desktop images into persistent desktops have found it creates bloated images, requires more storage and effort to maintain, and is a more costly model to support than dedicated desktops.

For VDI, the nonpersistent user is the most desired model for the following reasons:

✓ There is only a single user or a handful of users to maintain

✓ No single user can affect other users

✓ The amount of required storage can be reduced.

Storage and disk I/ODesktop virtualization can present a number of unique stor-age challenges, such as poor performance due to sharing of centralized computing and storage resources, slow and com-plex provisioning due to physical dedication of resources,


Chapter 3: Building a Client Virtualization Environment 23large up-front storage capacity requirements, and escalat-ing costs due to inefficient capacity utilization over time. Persistent virtual desktops especially, and other custom images and applications likewise, require additional storage.

Both storage-area networks (SAN) and direct-attached storage (DAS) can be implemented in this environment. In addition to sufficient space, disk I/O speeds are extremely important to ensure virtual clients perform as expected.

NetworkingA high-speed network backbone is yet another essential infra-structure component for client virtualization. Increasingly, organizations are deploying 10-gigabit Ethernet (10 GbE) in the data center to support critical network traffic between the various virtualization components.

High-speed connectivity is also important between the data center and your end-user devices. However, given the multi-tude of varying devices that must be supported (see Chapter 1), and the various methods in which users connect to the cor-porate network infrastructure, it may not always be possible to guarantee high-speed end-to-end connectivity to all of your users. In these cases, add other infrastructure components to support client virtualization, such as load balancers and traf-fic optimization solutions.

Graphics acceleratorsWhen the user experience demands graphics performance, a graphics accelerator can be the answer. It works by offloading the processor overhead created from the server CPU when rendering high-resolution graphics.

Powerful new graphics processing unit (GPU) cards installed in a physical server host can provide virtual desktop users with high definition graphics experience similar to that achieved with a physical card installed in a local workstation. Refer to Chapter 2 to learn more about graphics-accelerated VDI and dedicated workstations.



Client devicesWith all the current buzz about the BYOD trend (see Chapter 1), you may overlook client devices when designing your virtual client infrastructure. However, not everything can or should be run on an employee-owned smartphone or tablet! You still need to support devices your company actually owns.

Although it’s possible to run virtual clients on most exist-ing desktop and laptop PC hardware, many organizations will need to upgrade at least some of their legacy end-user devices. As organizations increasingly adopt client virtualiza-tion, several more client device options become available to them. For example, thin clients and zero clients are purpose-built to run in virtualized environments. These devices provide a VDI optimized platform that delivers performance similar to — or better than — many desktop clients avail-able today. The benefits of these devices extend well beyond performance and optimization, to include simple, centralized management, rapid provisioning, and green benefits (includ-ing significantly lower power consumption requirements and longer lifecycle than traditional desktops).

Benefiting from HP ServicesClient virtualization is a significant undertaking for an orga-nization of any size and proper planning is essential to a suc-cessful outcome. In addition to CVAM (See Chapter 2), HP has several professional service offerings to help you, including the following:

✓ Client Strategy Services. Helps you devise strategy, understand the business value, and identify the right architecture for your organization.

✓ Transformation Workshop. This is a packaged one-day workshop to help you better align your strategy and map the way forward.


Chapter 4

Exploring HP Client Virtualization Solutions

In This Chapter▶ Discovering SMB options for a VDI architecture

▶ Looking at enterprise VDI building blocks

▶ Getting fast results with out-of-the-box solutions

C lient virtualization used to be considered a large enter-prise solution, but with improvements in virtualization

software, Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) plans, and lower overall costs per user, client virtualization is quickly emerging in the mainstream small and medium-sized business (SMB) market.

The question for today’s SMBs and large enterprises is, “How do we enable anywhere, anytime applications and information delivery, while also ensuring the protection of corporate infor-mation and minimizing IT management?” Transforming the desktop is complex. Consider these questions:

✓ How do you size server capacity for your user community?

✓ How many servers and virtual machines (VMs) do you need?

✓ How much storage do you need to make available?

✓ What kind of I/O (input/output) loads do you need to support your worker types?

✓ Does the system work with VMware View? Citrix XenDesktop?


Client Virtualization For Dummies, HP and Intel Special Edition 26 ✓ How do you scale the environment as you add users?

✓ How many switches and cables do you need to integrate the component parts?

✓ How do you optimize your network bandwidth?

✓ How many management consoles will you need?

✓ How do you make sense of all the vendor data on solu-tion sizing?

If a virtualized client environment makes sense for your organization, HP and their virtualization partners (Citrix, Microsoft, and VMware) can make the transition safer and easier. In this chapter, you learn about HP’s reference archi-tectures for SMBs and enterprises.

Addressing SMB ChallengesThe HP Client Virtualization Reference Architecture for small and mid-sized business (HP CV SMB RA) — dramatically sim-plifies the VDI (virtual desktop infrastructure) environment (see Figure 4-1) while providing key features, including the following:

✓ Connection brokering

✓ Dynamic provisioning

✓ High-availability

✓ Load balancing

✓ On-demand scaling

Organizations with remote or branch offices face the ongoing challenge of managing the physical servers and desktops that reside in those offices. Keeping systems up to date and infor-mation protected is difficult due to the following:

✓ Lack of onsite IT expertise

✓ Lack of standardization

✓ Limited space and IT budget


Chapter 4: Exploring HP Client Virtualization Solutions 27

Figure 4-1: Simpler architecture for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs).

The HP CV SMB RA can help alleviate remote office IT chal-lenges by providing a tested solution that is simple, scalable, secure, and sized for a specific number of users. With the HP CV SMB RA, remote installations benefit from:

✓ Standardized deployment

✓ Centralized management

✓ Rapid provisioning

✓ Server consolidation

✓ Simplified IT operations

By providing a complete solution that has been fully tested, presized, and optimized, the HP CV SMB RA can help you remove the guesswork from deploying your new client solu-tion and also helps you achieve faster time to production. Rather than spend time validating sizing and performance metrics, you can rapidly deploy one HP ProLiant DL380p Gen8 Server powered by Intel Xeon processors with the integrated storage, management, and Citrix VDI-in-a-Box, Microsoft Windows Server 2012, or VMware View software to support a prescribed number of productivity workers.

The HP CV SMB RA is simplified for smaller enterprises and branches with limited IT support available, and supports from 50 to 600 virtual clients in cost-effective increments.



Intel Xeon Processors: The intelligent choice for client virtualization

IT organizations everywhere are delivering greater business value by virtualizing their data centers and clients to reduce costs and improve service levels, efficiency, and agility. Intel Xeon processor-based servers provide the foundation for such inno-vation, accounting for the majority of all servers in today’s virtualized data centers and cloud infrastructures — as well as many of the world’s high-est-performing workstations.

Benefits of the latest generation Intel Xeon E5-4600/2600/2400/1600 product families, optimized for VDI, include:

✓ Delivering higher performance . With more cores, cache, and memory capacity, along with bigger, faster communication pathways to move data more quickly, the latest Intel proces-sors are up to 80 percent faster than predecessors.

✓ Eliminating network bottlenecks . With PCI Express 3.0 technology

that reduces I/O latency by up to 30 percent, the floodgates are wide open for faster communi-cations in dense virtual environ-ments — both within the server and with external network and storage devices.

✓ Strengthening security . Faster, stronger enterprise-wide data protection using Intel Advanced Encryption Standard New Instructions (AES-NI) technol-ogy accelerates and strengthens encryption to enable faster and more secure online transactions and improved data protection.

✓ Driving down energy costs . Power and cooling costs have risen sharply and now account for up to half of the operating expenses in many data centers. Intel pro-cessors support green initiatives with innovations such as indus-try-leading per-server energy efficiency, automated control of server power, and power optimi-zation across your data center.

HP CV SMB RA for Citrix VDI-in-a-Box Citrix VDI-in-a-Box is an all-in-one software solution that enables IT administrators to rapidly deliver centrally man-aged virtual desktops to any user, anytime, on any device — for less than the cost of traditional PCs. When you compare


Chapter 4: Exploring HP Client Virtualization Solutions 29a traditional VDI solution with a setup of VDI-in-a-Box (see Figure 4-2), you can see that the traditional VDI deployment includes a pair of load balancers and connection brokers to manage the connections to desktop sessions and ensure high-availability, as well as compute servers to run the desktops and management servers to provision and control the envi-ronment. SANs, high-speed interconnects, and clustered SQL databases are also required in a traditional VDI installation.

VDI-in-a-Box consolidates all this functionality into its soft-ware virtual appliance and eliminates much of the infra-structure. With VDI-in-a-Box, the connection brokering, load balancing, high availability, desktop provisioning, and man-agement are all built-in and managed through an intuitive web-based console. This simplifies setup and management, and lowers costs.

Citrix VDI-in-a-Box 5.1 enables single instance management to support personalized as well as pooled virtual desktops. Rather than juggling the demands of managing persistent desktops, IT can maintain a single master copy of desktop images while preserving the personalization of user applica-tions and data. This dramatically reduces recurring manage-ment overhead and lowers data center storage costs.

Figure 4-2: How VDI-in-a-Box eliminates cost and complexity.

HP CV SMB RA for Windows Server 2012The HP CV SMB RA for Windows Server 2012, which is powered by Intel Xeon processors, helps you deploy a high-performance virtual desktop solution. The HP and Microsoft VDI solution is powered by Windows Server 2012 and uses


Client Virtualization For Dummies, HP and Intel Special Edition 30Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) to provide the remote desktop or remote application to the user. Microsoft RemoteFX enables the delivery of a robust Windows user experience across a range of scenarios. In Windows Server 2012, enhancements provide a richer and more seamless experience on all types of networks and devices.

Windows Server 2012 is a great choice for desktop virtualiza-tion. It includes everything needed to set up a VDI solution; the connection broker, web access, gateway, and other neces-sary components are all roles within Windows Server 2012, so there is no additional third-party software needed.

HP CV SMB RA for VMware ViewThe HP CV SMB RA for VMware View provides a complete solution that has been fully tested, presized, and optimized. Rather than spend time validating sizing and performance metrics, you can rapidly deploy one HP ProLiantDL380p Gen8 Server, which is powered by Intel Xeon processors, with the integrated storage, management, and VMware View software to support a prescribed number of productivity workers.

VMware View SMB deployments consist of several components.

HP StoreVirtual VSA software enables the grouping of all the internal drives across multiple servers to expand shared stor-age and increase user support. Multiple servers with shared storage provide high availability and fault tolerance; and allow vMotion capabilities. You can avoid up-front storage costs by using HP StoreVirtual VSA with vSphere on existing disk stor-age today, and then move to a physical HP StoreVirtual 4000 Storage as your business grows

Designing an Enterprise SolutionEnterprise customers require a more complex environment than SMBs to efficiently support a large number of users. The enterprise environment must be designed with high availabil-ity in mind, and typically includes connection brokers, load balancers, provisioning servers, and shared SAN (storage-area network) storage, for example (see Figure 4-3).


Chapter 4: Exploring HP Client Virtualization Solutions 31

Figure 4-3: The HP CV Enterprise RA supports high-availability require-ments and scales to support thousands of users.

As you consider deploying client virtualization across your enterprise, reducing cost and complexity are critical con-cerns. You want a simple, repeatable, validated client vir-tualization architecture that is proven to scale and operate cost-efficiently.

The HP CV Enterprise RA provides a validated blueprint for a complete, affordable, simple-to-deploy, ready-to-scale virtual desktop solution.

Designed to reduce system complexity while also increas-ing IT automation and efficiency, the HP CV Enterprise RA includes the following best-in-class HP components:

✓ HP ProLiant BL460c Gen8 Server Blade powered by Intel Xeon processors: The HP ProLiant BL460c Gen8 Server Blade offers a balance of performance, scalability, and expandability for any workload, making it an excel-lent platform for dense data center computing. The HP ProLiant BL460c supports high user counts per host and high rack density. The HP ProLiant server blade also has higher memory and capacity, which is critical for the needs of all users.

✓ HP BladeSystem: A complete infrastructure in a box, HP BladeSystem enables the HP CV Gen8 RA to leverage the power and scalability of two-socket HP ProLiant BL460c server blades, while also minimizing infrastruc-ture maintenance and management. The result is a highly


Client Virtualization For Dummies, HP and Intel Special Edition 32available, power-efficient, easy-to-manage infrastructure that optimizes costs, converges storage and networking, and simplifies scalability.

✓ HP P4800 SAN Solution for BladeSystem: Offering a highly dense storage solution that dynamically scales as the client infrastructure expands, the HP P4800 SAN is based on tight integration with HP BladeSystem. Because of this, the HP P4800 SAN provides network convergence of the virtual server and SAN using 10 gigabit Ethernet and Virtual Connect Flex-10, which enables simplified administration, improved security, greater flexibility, and enhanced performance. By converging the stor-age and transport layers into a single, easy-to-manage infrastructure, intensive multi-team and multi-skill set involvement is no longer required — which leads to more rapid deployment and faster response to business-driven change requests.

✓ HP StoreVirtual VSA: HP StoreVirtual VSA is a VM that runs HP LeftHand (previously SANiQ) software, allow-ing local storage to be used to create volumes and clus-ters, which can be shared between servers. Utilizing HP StoreVirtual VSA for selective use as a storage layer allows for migration of infrastructure VMs, creation of volumes for clustering between hosts and SQL servers, and storage for provisioning servers. StoreVirtual VSA is managed from the same console as the other HP P4000 storage tiers and scales simply to meet demand.

✓ HP D2700 Disk Enclosures: To create a flexible, tiered, external storage system, the D2700 Disk Enclosures deploy with low cost next-generation 6 gigabit Serial-attached SCSI (SAS) drives. The 7.5 terabyte bundle allows for easy growth; simply add more shelves to sup-port more blades.

✓ HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage: HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage is designed for widespread sharing of resources and includes features that support performance demanded by virtual desktops during peak usage. For example, wide striping distributes each storage volume across all array resources, leveraging fine-grained virtualiza-tion to provide consistently high levels of performance (regardless of the capacity utilization of the array) during boot storms, virus scans, and login storms. The flexible,


Chapter 4: Exploring HP Client Virtualization Solutions 33constantly changing nature of virtualized desktop envi-ronments demands a storage solution that is capacity efficient, and capable of maintaining that capacity effi-ciency over time. Space reclamation technologies in HP 3PAR Utility Storage enable virtual environments to not only start or get thin, but to stay thin.

✓ HP Virtual Connect: HP Virtual Connect can help sim-plify change by streamlining the provisioning and main-tenance of blade infrastructures. Virtual Connect allows physical servers to be added, moved, or changed in min-utes, instead of days or weeks and server teams can inde-pendently manage these changes with just a few mouse clicks. Virtual Connect iSCSI Boot Assistant goes one step further to simplify what has typically been a very manual process. This unique HP feature eliminates nearly 90 percent of a typically complex, error-prone process using innovative technology that simplifies the iSCSI Boot configuration of the HP P4800 SAN Solution. A wire-once, change-ready infrastructure dramatically simplifies your network infrastructure from the server to the core.

✓ HP Insight Control: This time-smart management soft-ware works well for HP ProLiant Gen8 servers operating in virtual environments. HP integrates Insight Control with plug-ins for Microsoft System Center and VMware vCenter, providing virtualization administrators with insight into and control of their virtualized and physical infrastructure in the same management console.

Improvements in HP’s Gen8 reference architecture over the Gen7 reference architecture (both powered by Intel Xeon processors) include the following:

✓ 45 percent fewer servers for the same number of users

✓ 30 percent less power used for compute

✓ 25 percent less rack space

✓ 50 percent less switching and less blade infrastructure to manage




Chapter 5

Nine Client Virtualization Mistakes and How

to Avoid ThemIn This Chapter▶ Understanding common mistakes

▶ Avoiding pitfalls to deliver a successful implementation

I n this chapter, I uncover some common client virtualiza-tion mistakes and show you how to avoid them by using

the HP Client Virtualization Methodology.

Do It Yourself CV or VDISome organizations may mistakenly treat client virtualiza-tion (CV) or virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) initiatives as simple desktop upgrade projects. After all, they’re just desk-top PCs, the thinking goes.

But a CV or VDI initiative should never be undertaken lightly — it isn’t a high school science project or a weekend home improvement job! The HP Client Virtualization Methodology (see Figure 5-1) is a trusted and proven five-step methodology that will help you avoid many of the most common CV and VDI deployment mistakes (presented throughout this chapter).

The HP Client Virtualization Methodology includes the follow-ing activities:


Client Virtualization For Dummies, HP and Intel Special Edition 36 ✓ Discover: Discuss business and technical objectives.

✓ Assess: Install assessment software, collect data, analyze and segment users.

✓ Design: Develop and present solution design, high-level plan, pilot plan (if required), success metrics, HP gover-nance model, and statement of work (SOW).

✓ Deploy: Execute detailed pilot and/or deployment plan.

✓ Manage: At this point, either your organization takes own-ership of the environment or HP managed services starts steady state management. You’re in it for the long haul now!

Figure 5-1: The HP Client Virtualization Methodology

Lack of Executive SponsorshipWithout executive sponsorship your CV project is doomed from the start (as with any major organizational project or initiative).

Proper leadership from the highest levels is absolutely essen-tial to ensure that competing or conflicting priorities and objectives throughout the organization don’t derail your CV project. A CV deployment requires cross-functional and cross-departmental collaboration within IT and throughout your organization. Executive sponsorship will help you transcend organizational boundaries and ensure the necessary resources are dedicated to the success of your CV deployment project.

Misalignment between ROI Objectives and Business Goals

Lowering the total organizational cost of desktop operations is often a major driver for implementing client virtualization. However, recent IDC research finds that “rather than displacing


Chapter 5: Nine Client Virtualization Mistakes and How to Avoid Them 37any infrastructure costs, centralized virtual desktops intro-duce incremental and new capital requirements.”

Significant infrastructure investments are typically required to deploy VDI. Your organization may need to purchase new servers, storage, high-speed networking, and virtualization and management software. However, these costs are often offset by several factors that ultimately result in real savings. Such factors include the following:

✓ Lower PC hardware costs. With client virtualization, organizations may be able to extend their PC refresh cycles or purchase relatively inexpensive low-end PC hardware or thin clients.

✓ Existing data center infrastructure. Many organiza-tions have already invested in high-end servers or blade servers, storage area networks (SANs), and high-speed (10-gigabit Ethernet) networking equipment. In many cases, this existing infrastructure can be repurposed, upgraded, or scaled out to support VDI.

✓ Centralized desktop management. These “soft” cost sav-ings are often viewed skeptically, but in the case of VDI, the savings are very real. VDI gives IT staff the ability to centrally deploy, upgrade, manage, and maintain all of an organization’s “desktop” clients. For example, rather than upgrading and deploying hundreds of desktop PCs, you can upgrade a single, server-based Windows XP desktop image to Windows 7 or 8. And you can install security updates and antivirus signatures on a single, centrally managed desktop image. Plus, “crashed” desk-top systems can be quickly refreshed to minimize down-time and keep your end users productive.

Rather than positioning client virtualization as a short-term project to reduce operating expenses, organizations should link their client virtualization initiative to long-term organiza-tional goals that leverage desktop transformation and mobil-ity solutions to maximize business value.

Ignoring User RequirementsUser acceptance is one of the main barriers to client virtual-ization. Ignoring your users’ unique requirements will ensure your client virtualization initiative never gets off the ground.


Client Virtualization For Dummies, HP and Intel Special Edition 38Instead, take the time to identify and document the unique requirements of your users and groups of users, including use cases, applications, and client devices. Then select the appro-priate client virtualization architecture (or architectures) to satisfy those requirements.

Next, take the time to build appropriate client images for your various user requirements and use case scenarios. Thoroughly test these virtual clients with pilot user groups, get buy-in, and plan your full-scale deployment.

Refer to Chapter 2 to learn about client virtualization architectures.

Shared Virtualization Infrastructure

You’ve always been taught to share your toys, but servers and storage area networks (SANs) aren’t toys! One of the worst mistakes that an organization can make when deploying a client virtualization or VDI environment is trying to use the same server and storage infrastructure that hosts its virtual server environment. Although reusing virtual infrastructure components may seem like a good idea, there is perhaps no quicker road to failure — no matter how fast and power-ful your server, storage, and network components! Instead, your VDI environment must be completely isolated from your virtual server environment. The HP Reference Architectures discussed in Chapter 4 will help you design and build a com-pletely isolated VDI infrastructure.

Underestimating Hardware and Storage Requirements

Although client virtualization can help organizations delay or extend PC hardware refresh cycles, hardware is still impor-tant. With client virtualization, your most important hardware investment is in the data center — servers (including CPU and RAM), storage, and networking — tightly integrated in a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). These components deliver perfor-mance, as well as capacity for virtual clients and scalability.


Chapter 5: Nine Client Virtualization Mistakes and How to Avoid Them 39VDI workloads require high memory capacity, high-perfor-mance I/O throughput, and ample storage. Storage is one of the most commonly overlooked components in a VDI deploy-ment. In addition to storing unique desktop images for all your different user group profiles, you need to ensure you have sufficient storage space for disk swap space and per-sistent desktops. The HP reference architectures discussed in Chapter 4 can help you identify the appropriate hardware solutions for your VDI deployment.

For your end users, client virtualization supports many more devices than a traditional desktop PC. In addition to desktop and laptop PCs, client virtualization software can be deployed on tablets, smartphones, and thin clients, among others. Thus, client virtualization enables organizations to embrace the latest Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and flexwork trends in a secure and stable manner that further enhances employee productiv-ity. Learn more about BYOD and flexwork in Chapter 1.

Older PCs that might otherwise be unsuitable for newer oper-ating systems such as Windows 7 and 8 can be used as thin clients — requiring little more than a keyboard, mouse, dis-play monitor, boot device (such as a USB drive), and network interface card.

Scaling Up Too FastAfter your initial proof-of-concept (POC) or pilot test group, ensure you have the appropriate infrastructure in place to support your larger production deployment. A test infra-structure built for a POC or relatively small pilot group isn’t designed to support a production environment consisting of hundreds of users — so don’t try!

Instead, client virtualization requires proper planning and design to ensure the architecture is flexible and can scale as needed. A poorly designed architecture can limit your options for future expansion and can result in costly and painful rede-ployments and upgrades.

To avoid these problems, choose a solution that is well docu-mented with reference architectures and verifiable real-world examples of successful initial deployments, upgrades, and expansions.



The Wrong Tools for the JobManaging virtual clients isn’t the same as managing physi-cal desktops. You need management tools that provide complete visibility of your virtual and physical environment. Performance issues in a virtual environment have the poten-tial to impact all your users. End-to-end visibility, from the virtualization server and storage platform in the data center to the individual end-user device — and all the networking components in between — is absolutely essential.

Choose a management solution that integrates across mul-tiple vendor platforms and virtualization software solutions. If possible, select management software that doesn’t require lots of additional third-party products to provide a complete view of your virtual and physical infrastructure — you don’t want to needlessly complicate your management platform.

Too Fast Will Make Your Users too Furious

A client virtualization project can be undertaken as aggres-sively as necessary to meet your organization’s needs. But being too aggressive with a CV initiative can be a recipe for disaster. However, in the world of IT projects there are usually only two speeds — fast and faster! HP can help you develop a realistic accelerated timeline and manage the expectations of both your users and management.

A client virtualization project can be jump-started with a proven project methodology and a fully integrated, out-of-the-box client virtualization platform solution such as those docu-mented in HP’s client virtualization reference architectures (learn more in Chapter 4). A well-documented client virtualiza-tion reference architecture takes the guesswork out of much of the important design work required for a successful implemen-tation and helps to reduce operational risks such as budget overruns, lost end-user productivity, and costly delays.

The HP Client Virtualization Methodology is a trusted and proven five-step process for successful client virtualization deployments.


Appendix

Additional Resources for Client Virtualization

D ownload these helpful whitepapers from HP’s client vir-tualization website at www.hp.com/go/cv to learn more

about HP’s Client Virtualization Reference Architectures:

CitrixHP Client Virtualization SMB Reference Architecture for Citrix VDI-in-a-Box. This document will help you design a simple appliance-like VDI configuration starting at 50 users. (http://link.hp.com/u/08i7)

HP Reference Architecture for Client Virtualization: Client Virtualization from HP with Citrix XenDesktop and Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2. This paper focuses on HP’s rec-ommended approach to architecting virtual desktops with Citrix XenDesktop 5.6 and Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2. (http://link.hp.com/u/08i6)

HP Reference Architecture for Client Virtualization: Client Virtualization from HP with Citrix XenDesktop and VMware vSphere 5. This paper presents HP’s Reference Architecture for Citrix XenDesktop on VMware. (http://link.hp.com/u/08ib)



MicrosoftHP Client Virtualization SMB Reference Architecture for Windows Server 2012. This paper describes HP’s recom-mended hardware and software components for small and medium businesses deploying Microsoft Windows Server 2012 and Microsoft’s VDI solution. (http://link.hp.com/u/08i9)

VMwareHP Client Virtualization SMB Reference Architecture for VMware View. This document provides a reference archi-tecture for 100-600 virtual desktops with VMware View. (http://link.hp.com/u/08ia)

HP Gen8 Client Virtualization Enterprise Reference Architecture for VMware View 5.1. This paper outlines HP’s recommended approach to Client Virtualization with VMware and outlines the hardware and software needed as well as best practices for deployment. (http://link.hp.com/u/08i8)


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These materials are the copyright of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. · 2018-03-05 · Chapter 4: Exploring HP Client Virtualization Solutions Here, I discuss HP’s innovative client virtualization