Develop a desktop virtualization strategy

Develop a Desktop Virtualization Strategy Transform IT from Asset Management to Service Management

Introduction

Traditional challenges – mobility, user experience, and to a lesser extent, licensing – have been tackled by virtualization vendors over the past 12-18 months, leading many organizations closer to deployment. At the same time, increased implementation has exposed numerous technology limitations to user experience that vendors are scrambling to address.

Traditional challenges – mobility, user experience, and to a lesser extent, licensing – have been tackled by virtualization vendors over the past 12-18 months, leading many organizations closer to deployment. At the same time, increased implementation has exposed numerous technology limitations to user experience that vendors are scrambling to address.

This research is designed for:CIOsIT ManagersSystem AdministratorsDesktop Support StaffThose evaluating desktop virtualization for a future initiative

Understand the different types of desktop virtualization approaches.

Assess the appropriateness of desktop virtualization in your organization.

Deploy virtual desktops using Info-Tech’s best practices.

Manage & optimize the virtual desktop environment effectively.

22%9%

24%

10%

11%

43%

Q4, 2010

29%

Q1, 2009

15%

21%

17%

40%

Evaluated,Decided No

No Plans

Planning

Piloting

Implementingor Deployed

74%

100% 100%

A maturing technology has resulted in broader use cases and cost effective solutions, driving more IT shops to consider desktop virtualization as a viable option.

A maturing technology has resulted in broader use cases and cost effective solutions, driving more IT shops to consider desktop virtualization as a viable option.

Info-Tech Research Group 2

This solution set will help you:

Executive Summary

Understand Desktop

Virtualization

• Desktop virtualization separates the management and operation of desktop applications and operating system (OS) from physical desktop machines through the various layers of virtual abstraction.

• Much has changed over the past 12-18 months to improve the technology and expand the use cases beyond traditional task workers. Evaluate the potential of these new use cases and design a right-fit deployment for your organization.

Assess Appropriatenes

s

• Compare your organization’s situation to the many scenarios provided in this solution set along with Info-Tech’s Appropriateness Assessment Tool to determine whether desktop virtualization is right for you.

• Show the CFO that Desktop Virtualization won’t break the bank using Info-Tech’s Desktop Virtualization TCO Tool.

Strategize

• Avoid overspending by leveraging a hybrid virtualization model mixing Virtual Desktop Infrastructure & session virtualization to keep costs down.

• Build back-to-front to ensure you have met heightened storage, network and processing requirements that go along with DV.

Implement

• Focus the pilot on delivering quick wins and short-term savings; consider Info-Tech’s quick win scenarios of “low-hanging fruit”.

• Design a service-oriented infrastructure to ensure best performance and gain new evangelists for desktop virtualization in your organization.

Manage the Environment

• Understand end user expectations to establish requirements for the DV initiative.

• Determine the best combination of talent to manage the virtual desktop environment.

• Don’t accept defaults; configure the desktop image for optimal performance.


The bottom line:While interest in desktop virtualization has increased significantly in the past year, the lack of a compelling ROI makes it increasingly important to carefully consider appropriate use cases, TCO and infrastructure requirements for deployment.

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3

Understand Desktop Virtualization This section will help you to:

• Understand what Desktop Virtualization is, as well as potential implementation approaches and use cases.

• Get up-to-speed on recent trends and updates to the technology in the last 12-18 months, and how they may affect the appropriateness of the technology in your current environment.

• Calculate TCO to ensure that the impact of the initiative to the bottom line is at least on par with traditional desktop PCs.

This section will help you to:

• Understand what Desktop Virtualization is, as well as potential implementation approaches and use cases.

• Get up-to-speed on recent trends and updates to the technology in the last 12-18 months, and how they may affect the appropriateness of the technology in your current environment.

• Calculate TCO to ensure that the impact of the initiative to the bottom line is at least on par with traditional desktop PCs.

Next Section in BriefNext Section in Brief

Strategize & Implement 2



Desktop virtualization (DV) simplifies software management, bolsters data security & increases user

flexibilityShift IT’s focus from desktop asset management and support

to delivering the desktop as a service to end users

Reduce desk side support costs by up to 40% through centralized desktop/app deployment and management, and improved desktop reliability.

Boost productivity and flexibility by providing users with anywhere and any-device access to their work.

Bolster security of user data, and simplify DR by separating desktop processing and storage from desktop hardware.

Lower operational expenses by extending the life of desktop hardware.

Desktop virtualization enables IT to:

The Age Old IT Problem

The Age Old IT Problem

The SolutionThe Solution


Distributed PCs impose asset maintenance & support costs.

Deployment & configuration of hardware, management of application & OS configurations, as well as troubleshooting, typically happen at the desk side.

Traditional Desktop Model

With DV, a new desktop – and new or upgraded application stacks – can be delivered to groups of end users by updating a central desktop image.

This eliminates the need to individually deploy or configure new desktop hardware at the desk side.

Virtual Desktop Model

200

9

201

0

199

0s

• This use case represents the biggest opportunity to see cost savings and other day-to-day benefits to IT through implementation of DV.

• These are the users that DV is most suited to and should have the simplest deployment.

• Varied application delivery requirements of these users (e.g. word processors, spread-sheets, Web browsers, etc.) can be addressed using VDI

• However, VDI comes with greater requirements for storage, processing and network bandwidth.

• Some VDI solutions now offer offline capabilities, where progress can be “checked in” to the servers when the user has network access.

• This inevitably requires more powerful end-point devices, to handle application processing.

• Limitations primarily to network bandwidth and storage input/output speeds preclude deploying desktop virtualization for environments requiring heavy graphics processing or video at this time.

Desktop Virtualization Appropriateness

Task/Shift Worker

Task/Shift Worker

Don’t rule out specialized use cases just yet: User experience & mobility have greatly improved

Mobility & high latency/low bandwidth situations were seen as problematic in the past, but advances in this technology have expanded use cases to include more types of users

Knowledge Worker

Knowledge Worker Mobile WorkerMobile Worker

High Performance

Worker

High Performance

Worker


For the end user, the experience should be the same as using a local PC.

They may not even realize that apps are not executing natively on a local CPU and OS instance.

For the end user, the experience should be the same as using a local PC.

They may not even realize that apps are not executing natively on a local CPU and OS instance.

Desktop virtualization shifts desktop processing & storage off of the physical desktop

Access DeviceAccess Device

Orchestration Software


Consider every virtual desktop delivery method to provide

appropriate functionality with minimal infrastructure upgrades


Session Virtualization

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure

Application Virtualization

Use session virtualization to make most efficient use of server side resources, but be sure to understand ideal

user cases

• Session Virtualization is highly scalable and requires less storage than the more advanced VDI because desktops access a single desktop image, meaning a single version of the OS and each application is stored on the servers.

• Personalization of the individual session is possible, but adds a layer of complexity, and is therefore generally discouraged.

• The ideal population for session virtualization is task workers who do not require a complex or personalized desktop experience and may only access one application in the course of their work day (e.g. call centers, retail, etc).

• Certain more specialized apps that were not designed to be deployed as a shared instance do not operate well in this type of DV.

OS

App

1 : many

Session Virtualization is a new term for what has traditionally been called presentation virtualization.

Past examples of presentation virtualization included Citrix Presentation Server (now XenApp) and Microsoft Terminal Services. Session virtualization has one OS and one application image that all users access within their own individual sessions.

Session Virtualization is a new term for what has traditionally been called presentation virtualization.

Past examples of presentation virtualization included Citrix Presentation Server (now XenApp) and Microsoft Terminal Services. Session virtualization has one OS and one application image that all users access within their own individual sessions.

Key Characteristics

Leverage streamed applications to reduce configuration &

deployment headaches through virtual isolation

• Application Virtualization, in the purest sense, is limited to a scenario where the app is run in a virtual environment on the machine – i.e. the OS and client software must meet the application system requirements. When this is not the case, the app is typically delivered through session virtualization.

• Application virtualization is useful for simplifying the management and deployment of apps to a wide range of end user scenarios.

• Virtual applications can be delivered to traditional desktops and to desktops delivered through session virtualization or VDI.

Application Virtualization is when an application is downloaded and run locally without special configuration of either the application or the client PC or its OS.

The application interacts with an abstraction layer between it and the client OS and machine layers at runtime.

Application Virtualization is when an application is downloaded and run locally without special configuration of either the application or the client PC or its OS.

The application interacts with an abstraction layer between it and the client OS and machine layers at runtime.

Key Characteristics

App

1 : many

OS

App

OS

App

OS

App

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is the first technology to allow a full desktop to be presented to an access device from the server, where a virtual machine is hosted for each user.

Previous desktop virtualization generations, like Session Virtualization (formerly Terminal Services), only deliver one or more bundled apps presented in a desktop window, not a true desktop. By enabling the creation of a virtual machine (VM) in the server, a user can actually have individual user settings, customization, personal storage, etc, just like on a physical desktop PC.

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is the first technology to allow a full desktop to be presented to an access device from the server, where a virtual machine is hosted for each user.

Previous desktop virtualization generations, like Session Virtualization (formerly Terminal Services), only deliver one or more bundled apps presented in a desktop window, not a true desktop. By enabling the creation of a virtual machine (VM) in the server, a user can actually have individual user settings, customization, personal storage, etc, just like on a physical desktop PC.

Task workers often do not require full VDI.

Deploy a mix of Session Virtualization and VDI to avoid the considerable bump in infrastructure requirements that go along with full VDI while still serving all types of users.

But…

Don’t believe the hype! Virtual Desktop infrastructure is the DV darling, but don’t assume you should deploy to

every user type

VM

VM

VM

1 : 1

VMVM VMVMOS

App


• Each user is assigned a specific virtual machine image that can be personalized with their unique user settings.

• Because of the infrastructure demands VDI creates, it is scalable at a cost, and requires more storage than session virtualization.

• VDI supports a much broader set of use cases extending from task to knowledge to mobile workers.

• Personalized sessions are persistent and employees can pick up where they left off after logging out and back in.

Key Characteristics

Many organizations that deploy desktop virtualization realize, after the fact, that the current state of their infrastructure is not sufficient to produce a user experience that is on par with traditional desktop PCs.

Make sure this doesn’t happen to you

The Info-Tech Desktop V ir tualization A ppr opr iateness A ssessment Tool will take into account the current state of the following:

– App management & deployment practices– Security requirements– Available infrastructure resources (storage,

bandwidth, etc.)– PC refresh lifecycle– User makeup

Based on your current environment, the tool will provide guidance around:

– Overall appropriateness– Key motivators/drivers to implementation– Enablers & inhibitors to deployment

Leverage the Appropriateness Assessment Tool to evaluate the current user & infrastructure environment fit

with DVMaking the decision to deploy DV requires consideration of numerous

variables. Ensure every relevant factor is taken into consideration.


http://www.infotech.com/research/it-desktop-virtualization-appropriateness-assessment-tool



Go go go! Pending PC refresh & centralized management

Organization’s whose PCs are about 4, maybe 5 years old will inevitably need to be replaced as they begin to fall short in delivering applications whose memory and processing requirements increase over time.

Pending PC RefreshPending PC Refresh

For the 14% of organizations implementing to avoid a PC refresh, virtualizing the desktop prolongs the life of existing desktop hardware. This is a great way to offset some of the capital expenses that often prevent organizations from getting into desktop virtualization.

GoGo

Carefully consider the current state of your infrastructure. DV has significantly greater storage and bandwidth requirements than desktop PCs. The savings realized by extending the PC lifecycle can quickly be eaten up by required upgrades to the infrastructure.

CaveatsCaveats

In recent years, many organizations have deployed PCs on an as-needed basis, resulting in a complex and distributed PC environment. This can be difficult to support given varied hardware and app configurations. Performance also tends to degrade, as junk is added to the system.

Decentralized Desktop MgmtDecentralized Desktop Mgmt

Access device hardware configuration is moot with DV because the OS & apps run natively on the server. Implementing virtualized desktops on those devices allows for deployment and management of software on a central desktop image. In addition, DV provides a new desktop image on every startup.

GoGo

DV is an expensive solution to this problem, so consider deploying with end-of-life PCs or in concert with a major software upgrade to maximize ROI.

CaveatsCaveats


Tread carefully: small deployments & mixed environments

Given the cost savings and increasing accessibility of server virtualization, many SMBs and SMEs are looking to begin piloting desktop virtualization initiatives.

Less than 1000 SeatsLess than 1000 Seats

Given the significant capital expenses for licensing increases and infrastructure upgrades associated with implementing DV, the benefits only really elicit practical and cost savings after about 1000 seats.

MaybeMaybe

Some organizations, however, may already have some pieces of the infrastructure in place as part of upgrades for other initiatives, making the TCO relative to a traditional PC environment more amenable to a small deployment.

CaveatsCaveats

Organizations that are primarily composed of a single type of user, especially task/shift or knowledge workers, are an obvious fit for DV. However, for organizations that have a mix of different job types, the applicability of desktop virtualization may not be obvious.

Many Different Job TypesMany Different Job Types

Given that the primary benefit of DV is improved app & OS management, implementing virtual desktops to a highly distributed environment may be counterproductive.

MaybeMaybe

DV saves time by enabling the simultaneous management of sets of desktops with the same app requirements. More desktops means more savings. While desktop virtualization can support multiple desktop templates for different sets of users, going too far can eliminate the savings.

CaveatsCaveats


Go, no go: Compliance & cost savings

Industries such as healthcare and education, where compliance is a considerable factor, often consider desktop virtualization as a potential way to limit loss of personal information through lost or stolen laptops or other endpoint devices.

Stringent Compliance RequirementsStringent Compliance Requirements

With Desktop Virtualization, all data is stored on databases of the host organization. Sensitive information is not maintained on the access device. Thus, in the event of lost or stolen hardware, there is no danger of the data falling into the wrong hands. Without access to the host servers, the access device becomes a dud.

GoGo

Virtualized desktops are just a tool, and will not fix every security hole. If users are copying all their work email over to, for example Gmail, then the virtual desktops aren’t solving any problems. This represents a bigger issue.

CaveatsCaveats


Many organizations have realized significant cost savings and infrastructure consolidation through virtualization of servers. Given IT’s significant investment in training and management in this environment, desktop virtualization is perceived to be the next logical step.

Building on Server VirtualizationBuilding on Server Virtualization

Investment in server virtualization is not sufficient to warrant a move to desktop virtualization, though 20% of organizations are implementing for this very reason. Desktop virtualization is much more complex and does not elicit the same significant cost savings.

No GoNo Go

All that said, the experience procured from a server virtualization initiative will be valuable to a desktop virtualization deployment. In addition, while virtualized servers are not necessary for DV, they are deployed in most DV scenarios.

CaveatsCaveats

Desktop virtualization is not a silver bullet for all scenarios; carefully assess appropriate use cases to maintain end user

satisfaction

Changes to Tech Support Processes

Offline Access to virtual desktop

Increased latency to users

Support for desktop peripherals

Potential for outages to users

2009 2010


Increased latency to users

Potential for outages to users

Offline Access to virtual desktop

Support for desktop peripherals

Changes to Tech Support Processes

As DV is deployed by more IT groups, the process and infrastructure requirements for a successful implementation have become better understood, pushing the pressure

back on the technology.

• As organizations move from small pilots to large deployments, user experience has become increasingly important because it affects more users.

• IT better understands tech support processes, moving user experience challenges to the forefront as IT shifts from asset management to service management.

• Organizations have become more aware of the cultural shift that comes with new tech support processes and are prepared to tackle that change.

Increased latency and potential outages to users are now the biggest impediments to success

Carefully consider TCO & stakeholder communications, & assess user population fit as these factors have impeded

others

Infrastructure will not

support virtualized desktops

43%

CAPEX does not fit

current budget 43%

Lack of in-house experience 48%

Inappropriate

User Population

65%

Difficulty Communicating

Benefits to Stakeholders

70%

Unattractive TCO 86%

Over 80% of organizations cited total costs as a major reason they decided NOT to deploy

Source: Info-Tech; N = 23

I don't think the desktop virtualization market needs to change, just the way upper management thinks about it.

-IT Manager, Manufacturing

We need to see improvements in speed and reductions in the effort required to simulate the desktop environment to which users have become accustomed.

-CEO, Management Consulting Services

We need a more compelling financial case for adoption.

-IT Manager, Government

The huge number of remote users at our organization make desktop virtualization inappropriate.

-IT Pro, Utility & Communications Organization

The issue is the cost model, especially around BCP, storage costs and licensing compared to a traditional desktop deployment. Instead of desktop virtualization we will be looking at application virtualization. -IT Manager, Financial Services

““

Why aren’t your peers deploying DV?

Many organizations pursue desktop virtualization because they have realized significant savings with their server virtualization initiative. However, the benefits of desktop virtualization are primarily found in improved, simplified software management & deployment, and increased security of data.

Info-Tech Insight:

Use the TCO tool to gain a deeper understanding of the costs involved in a virtual desktop implementation.

Based on your current environment, Info-Tech’s Desktop Virtualization TCO Calculator provides your organization with a TCO comparison for deployment of a fleet of PCs relative to virtual desktops.

The TCO Calculator takes numerous factors into account, including:

–Number of desktops/seats–Projected growth–User makeup–DV licensing costs–Microsoft Windows licensing costs–Application licensing costs–Energy and infrastructure/access device costs–Staffing costs–Server/storage requirements

Desktop virtualization, and especially VDI, is not deployed solely for cost savings.

Show the CFO that DV won’t break the bank,but don’t expect decreases to TCO

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http://www.infotech.com/research/it-desktop-virtualization-tco-calculator

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Understand Desktop Virtualization

• This section will help you to:

• Evaluate the potential of a hybrid deployment to maximize capital savings where possible.

• Assess infrastructure needs to build the best support structure and to ensure performance delivery to end users.

• Focus on piloting the solution to achieve the greatest success and positive reception among end users.

• This section will help you to:

• Evaluate the potential of a hybrid deployment to maximize capital savings where possible.

• Assess infrastructure needs to build the best support structure and to ensure performance delivery to end users.

• Focus on piloting the solution to achieve the greatest success and positive reception among end users.





Avoid overspending by leveraging a hybrid virtualization model mixing VDI & session virtualization to keep costs

down


Task/Shift WorkerTask/Shift Worker

Knowledge WorkerKnowledge Worker

Mobile WorkerMobile Worker

VDIVDISession Virtualization

Session VirtualizationIt’s not all or nothing. Don’t deploy VDI

to all your users just because some of them happen to be knowledge workers. The infrastructure requirements that go along with VDI can be prohibitive relative to session virtualization.

Deploy to the ideal scenario, when possible. The question isn’t “Should I deploy these task workers on VDI too?”, it’s “Should I deploy them with Session Virtualization, or leave them on their desktop PCs?”

Select a flexible vendor. The best desktop virtualization vendors out there can deploy both VDI and Session Virtualization in the same environment to maintain flexibility and minimize cost.

Mixed Users = Mixed Solutions

Virtualized ServersA capable IT infrastructure based on a solid foundation of virtualized servers will decrease implementation complexity and improve the business case for DV.

Experience, skills & tools gained through this initiative will transfer nicely to DV, & can be leveraged for deployment & management of virtual desktops.

Server CapacityDetermine whether current capacity is sufficient to support DV and, when possible, use existing capacity to deploy the initial pilot to avoid purchasing a new server for DV.

Calculate current input/outputs per second on the storage media, as this is the current bottleneck in most environments.

Network StorageAn existing investment in network storage will not only provide capacity but also enable higher availability/recovery of the virtual desktop infrastructure.

Make sure your storage area network (SAN) is ready for the added burden of hosting virtual desktops.

Network BandwidthCarefully consider typical use cases when determining bandwidth requirements as media streaming and streaming protocol can make or break you in this area.

Build back-to-front to ensure you have met heightened storage, network and processing requirements that go along

with DVCriticality of capacity planning, monitoring, and infrastructure support

are magnified with desktop virtualization relative to traditional desktop PC setups

Establish the following Infrastructure Enablers to minimize implementation pain Establish the following Infrastructure Enablers to minimize implementation pain

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Understand requirements around storage input/output operation speed, the most significant performance

bottleneckWhile capacity is front of mind for most IT pros when they think of storage, speed is of utmost importance to the success of the desktop virtualization

project.


Determine single-disk IOPS capabilities to establish maximum total IOPS for your storage arrays


RAID Level Write Penalty

RAID 0 1

RAID 1/10 2

RAID 5 4

RAID 6 6

=1

(AVG Latency [seconds] + AVG Seek Time [seconds])

= +(IOPS/Disk * #ofDisks * %Write)

(RAID Write Penalty)(IOPS/Disk * #ofDisks * %Read)

IOPS per Disk

1

2

Calculate input/output operation speed requirements to quantify your current situation & identify required

upgrades

Min Workload

Boot up(~25-30 IOPS)

Login(~14 IOPS)

Heavy Work (~12-20 IOPS)

Light Work (~4-8 IOPS)

Normal Work (~8-12 IOPS)

Wor

k M

ode

Idle(~4 IOPS)

Storage Requirements of a Single Desktop

Max # of Supportable Desktops per Array

IOPS per Array

Max Avg Desktop Workload=


Looks to solid state drives & boot storm mitigation strategies to overcome limited IOPS in your storage arrays


Establish processing & memory requirements for hosting servers to ensure that users are happy but resources are

not wasted


Assess bandwidth needs for specific usage scenarios to determine network requirements & identify necessary

upgrades


Desktop Activity Bandwidth Requirement

Web Browsing 80-100 kbps

Office Applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

40-50 kbps

Printing 500-600 kbps

Video (NON HD; flash/WMV)

150-200 kbps/450-500 kbps

Build in redundancy to keep desktops connected. The network is a single point of failure for virtual desktops. It’s absolutely critical to build in multiple routes – through switching and routing infrastructure – and utilize multiple ISPs, to maintain constant interactivity between servers and access devices.

Calculate workload breakdowns to estimate bandwidth requirements. Calculate the percentage of a user’s typical workday that is composed of each activity above, to establish average bandwidth consumption per user. Because most tasks are performed randomly throughout the day (except, perhaps, video consumption at lunch hour), most organizations should not use requirements for video or printing as a benchmark. This would result in an exorbitant overspend on network resources.

VDI Requires “Always On” Mentality

Start with 200-250 kbps per average user for office workers without video requirements (1 mbps with 480p video requirements).

Info-Tech recommends…

• Clients receive a workstation upgrade via virtual machine but continue to use legacy hardware.

• Use this approach when the organization is able to extend the life of the hardware by using VDI.

Understand the benefits of various access devices to deploy the most appropriate option; Thin Clients come with serious

benefits

• Employees bring their own laptop to work and use it to access a secured virtual desktop separate from their own personal desktop.

• Desktop virtualization can enable off-site access (e.g. from a user’s home computer, tablet or mobile device) to secure desktops via VPN connection.

Bring Your Own Laptop

Bring Your Own Laptop

Users’ Off-site Home Device

Users’ Off-site Home Device

• These minimalist devices lack hard drives (and therefore, an OS or applications) and rely on the server to stream content.

• Thin clients require less power and maintenance, effectively reducing operational expenses and the cost of refresh.

End-of-Life PCsEnd-of-Life PCs Thin ClientsThin Clients

Thin clients lack hard disks and cooling fans, reducing their power requirements relative to a desktop.

No moving parts means less maintenance and desk side support. Less wear and tear means lifecycles can be extended further than PCs.

Thin clients provide 5-10% overall cost reduction per desktop when a hardware refresh becomes necessary.

If the user is accessing a virtual desktop from legacy hardware, thin client hardware with better media handling will improve the end user experience.

Why Thin Clients?

Build success into the pilot by planning stakeholder support, training, third party help, ROI analysis and

testing up front


Provide remote users access to virtual desktops from their own access devices at home instead of deploying laptops.

Laptops are often used to provide work-at-home users with access to a secure desktop providing a DR option.

Implementers have saved by providing remote access to secured virtual desktops instead without sacrificing user experience.

Secure Home AccessSecure Home Access

Why it works…Why it works…

Focus the pilot on delivering quick wins & short-term savings; consider the following scenarios of “low-hanging

fruit”

Pilot with users ready for a new PC to secure participation and user buy-in.

Users will be more willing participants given degraded performance on their old PC, and often see a performance boost on the virtual desktop.

It may also be possible to provide them with a performance and software upgrade without upgrading their hardware.

New PC CandidatesNew PC Candidates


Create a test lab of server hosted virtual PCs to test a new application or OS upgrade.

This will eliminate the need to build out separate hardware for a pilot group to try out a new OS and software (e.g. Windows 7) because they can access upgraded hosted VMs from current hardware.

The virtual test lab is cheaper and less disruptive for testers.

Virtual Test LabVirtual Test Lab



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Understand Desktop Virtualization This section will help you to:

• Take the next step in desktop virtualization to develop a service environment within IT.

• Prepare for change when heading down this path and implementing a strong communications plan to ensure transparency.

• Develop the best team to manage the new environment.

This section will help you to:

• Take the next step in desktop virtualization to develop a service environment within IT.

• Prepare for change when heading down this path and implementing a strong communications plan to ensure transparency.

• Develop the best team to manage the new environment.





Desktop virtualization transitions from IT as asset management to IT as a service

In traditional distributed processing, service is intimately connected to what IT can deploy & maintain on the desktop. With DV, service depends on what can be delivered to the end user from the data center, server room, or broom closet. This shift results in a variety of challenges that must be addressed.


IT FocusIT Focus

ServiceService

End UserEnd User

Traditional Distributed ComputingTraditional Distributed Computing Virtualized DesktopsVirtualized Desktops

The focus is on acquisition, configuration, and deployment of distributed hardware assets.

The focus is on acquisition, configuration, and deployment of distributed hardware assets.

Ongoing support involves configuration and deployment of applications, and OSs across distributed assets.

Ongoing support involves configuration and deployment of applications, and OSs across distributed assets.

Desktop PC is the focal point between user needs and IT’s ability to deliver service. PC support is critical to service levels.

Desktop PC is the focal point between user needs and IT’s ability to deliver service. PC support is critical to service levels.

The focus is on delivery of a centrally hosted desktop computing experience to end users.

The focus is on delivery of a centrally hosted desktop computing experience to end users.

Quality of service is dependent on hosting servers, network, connection brokering, and endpoint access devices.

Quality of service is dependent on hosting servers, network, connection brokering, and endpoint access devices.

The desktop access device is no longer the focal point. Drive endpoint maintenance and support toward zero while maintaining or improving

The desktop access device is no longer the focal point. Drive endpoint maintenance and support toward zero while maintaining or improving

Understand end user expectations to manage & optimize the environment appropriately

Success in desktop virtualization is determined by whether the user notices degradation in performance of the desktop relative to their old

environment.

Culture, resistance, compatibility, and service are all challenges when moving from servicing assets to

servicing people

Tech Support Process and Culture ChangesIT organizations need to focus more on central management and service levels and less on PC support. Supporting virtual PCs is closer to management of server applications than desktop PC technical support.

End User ResistanceIn the past, remote client efforts, such as thin client access to central applications has been seen by power users as an effort to take away control of their personal desktop and replace it with an inferior experience.

CompatibilityApplications that require access to local machines due to specific hardware (e.g. manufacturing equipment) cannot establish access from the data center where they are hosted.

Network ServiceSpecific challenges include greater impact of network outages on personal computing and increased latency impacting end user experience.


We have had many starts and stops which is why we are doing it in pilot mode to ensure all of the bugs are fixed prior to rolling out to the organization. -IT Manager, Manufacturing

It took an unusually long time for my staff to get trained... bring up is a long process.

-IT Director, Business Services

User acceptance is slow because they don't always like thin client concept. -IT Consultant, Manufacturing

Storage needs [for DV] are extremely high. -CTO, Financial Services

We experienced a surprising amount of pushback from within our IT department. -VP of IT, Hosting Services

““

With many chefs in the kitchen, make sure you only hand out one spoon; dedicated DV specialists yield greatest

success

We convened a special task force to drive Desktop Virtualization.

Our Windows Server Management, Network Engineering, Enterprise Storage, Asset Management, and Desktop Engineering teams all had representation.

It was driven jointly by the server and desktop teams, as they had the greatest understanding of the technologies and also the vision to build a strong offering.

I sponsored the project from a desktop perspective. We considered it an important step in controlling operating expenditures.

- Technology Manager, Financial Services


7%

Specialized

Team/Individual17%Centralized App

Mgmt Staff

Desktop Support

Staff

24%

Server

Admins52%Centralized

App Mgmt Staff

Desktop Support Staff

Server Administrators

Specialized

Team/Individual

Desktop Virtualization Project Success

While most organizations hand decision rights to server administrators, organizations with the most success formulate a specialized team or appoint an

individual



“

“

Don’t accept defaults; configure the desktop image for optimal performance


Tailor settings to your infrastructure and user needs to get the most out of your investment.

In the end, user satisfaction is priority number one; ensure user experience is at least on par with users’ old

desktop PC


Keep the user happy. While disabling video and games can optimize use of bandwidth and processing, it can also negatively affect user satisfaction. Balance these factors carefully by ensuring users are satisfied as you pare back features as user satisfaction ultimately determines the success of the project.

Configure key display settings:

Frame rate/Image Quality. Set to the minimal detectible frame rate and image quality possible to avoid delivering exceptional desktop image quality to users with minimal requirements.

Min Bandwidth. Ensures that each virtual desktop is allocated a baseline amount of bandwidth to ensure that, once logged in, performance doesn’t degrade.

Max Bandwidth. Prevents a single user from utilizing prohibitive bandwidth and degrading performance or preventing login for others.

Other potential desktop features to disable include:

Games ThemesMedia (video, music, etc.) Mouse ShadowsScreen Savers (or limit to blank screens)ThemesMouse Shadows

Pare back un-needed functions and features to increase performance and minimize costs,

but stop short of limiting user experience and satisfaction

Enhanced ProtocolsMost vendors are developing enhanced protocols to deliver superior end user experience.

Citrix has upgraded its ICA protocol to HDX.VMware adopted PCoIP, a protocol originally developed by Canadian company Teradici.

Microsoft also released RemoteFX as part of Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 currently available as a Release Candidate.

Conclusions


• While interest in desktop virtualization has increased significantly in the past year, the lack of a compelling ROI makes it increasingly important to carefully consider appropriate use cases and TCO.

• VDI has been hyped considerably of late because it can deliver a full desktop from the server, but infrastructure costs associated with implementing this technology make a hybrid solution that leverages more cost effective session and app virtualization options.

• Critical bottlenecks in the delivery of virtual desktops from servers, such as server IOPS and network bandwidth are increasingly important and need to be considered as the technology is adopted and matured to the point where organizations are scaling out to over 1000 users.

• Organizations ultimately should be focusing on the delivery of a desktop experience at least on par with users’ old PCs to maintain user satisfaction by optimizing the desktop virtualization solution and selecting the best mix of experts to manage the environment.

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