Learn about IBM SmartCloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure for Microsoft Windows Server 2012 VDI Reference architecture. This document describes the reference architecture for IBM SmartCloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure with Microsoft Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) running on Microsoft Windows Server 2012. For more information on IBM Systems, visit http://ibm.co/RKEeMO.
Visit http://bit.ly/KWh5Dx to 'Follow' the official Twitter handle of IBM India Smarter Computing.
Microsoft Virtualization for VMware ProfessionalsEduardo Castro
Esta es la presentación utilizada en el WebCast de Semana de la Nube
https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?culture=es-AR&EventID=1032491907&CountryCode=AR
En este evento encontrará una introducción a la virtualización con productos y soluciones Microsoft para los VMware Professionals.
Windows Virtual Enterprise Centralized DesktopLouis Göhl
Virtualization brings about new use cases that did not previously exist in traditional desktop environments. These use cases include the ability to create multiple desktops dynamically, enable user access to multiple virtual machines (VMs) simultaneously, and move desktop VMs across multiple platforms, especially in load-balancing and disaster recovery situations. Microsoft designed Windows Virtual Enterprise Centralized Desktop (VECD) to enable organizations to license virtual copies of Windows client operating systems in virtual environments.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/enterprise/solutions/virtualization/licensing.aspx
Learn about IBM SmartCloud Desktop Infrastructure with Citrix XenDesktop. This document describes the reference architecture for using Citrix XenDesktop 5.6 on VMware ESXi 5 hypervisor. This document gives an architecture overview and component model of the Citrix XenDesktop and then describes the Deployment model of Citrix XenDesktop using different number of users. For more information on IBM Systems, visit http://ibm.co/RKEeMO.
Visit http://on.fb.me/LT4gdu to 'Like' the official Facebook page of IBM India Smarter Computing.
Upgrading from WinS 2008/2008 R2 to WinS 2012iTawy Community
- Why Upgrade to Windows Server 2012?
- Operating System Hardware and Disk Space Requirements
- Supported Windows Clients and Servers
- Supported In-Place Upgrade Paths
- Functional Levels, Operation Master Roles, Active Directory Considerations
- Migration Tools for Windows Server 2012
- Hyper-V and Virtual Machines Considerations
- Summary
Show your customers exactly what you do during each remote support login.
As a Value-Add Reseller or Managed Services Provider, your customers depend on you to keep their platforms up-and-running. But blind-trust creates a relationship of ambiguity and doubt. When you record Terminal session and remote logins, every action that your staff performs on your customers' networks, you eliminate the cloud of doubt- with precise auditing.
Know who made each configuration change
Demonstrate precise actions with session playback
Reduce time-to-repair...
Presentación sobre Windows 2008 realizada en la Fundación Omar Dengo en el TechBoot Camp 2009.
Saludos,
Eduardo Castro – Microsoft SQL Server MVP
http://mswindowscr.org
http://comunidadwindows.org
Costa Rica
Microsoft Virtualization for VMware ProfessionalsEduardo Castro
Esta es la presentación utilizada en el WebCast de Semana de la Nube
https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?culture=es-AR&EventID=1032491907&CountryCode=AR
En este evento encontrará una introducción a la virtualización con productos y soluciones Microsoft para los VMware Professionals.
Windows Virtual Enterprise Centralized DesktopLouis Göhl
Virtualization brings about new use cases that did not previously exist in traditional desktop environments. These use cases include the ability to create multiple desktops dynamically, enable user access to multiple virtual machines (VMs) simultaneously, and move desktop VMs across multiple platforms, especially in load-balancing and disaster recovery situations. Microsoft designed Windows Virtual Enterprise Centralized Desktop (VECD) to enable organizations to license virtual copies of Windows client operating systems in virtual environments.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/enterprise/solutions/virtualization/licensing.aspx
Learn about IBM SmartCloud Desktop Infrastructure with Citrix XenDesktop. This document describes the reference architecture for using Citrix XenDesktop 5.6 on VMware ESXi 5 hypervisor. This document gives an architecture overview and component model of the Citrix XenDesktop and then describes the Deployment model of Citrix XenDesktop using different number of users. For more information on IBM Systems, visit http://ibm.co/RKEeMO.
Visit http://on.fb.me/LT4gdu to 'Like' the official Facebook page of IBM India Smarter Computing.
Upgrading from WinS 2008/2008 R2 to WinS 2012iTawy Community
- Why Upgrade to Windows Server 2012?
- Operating System Hardware and Disk Space Requirements
- Supported Windows Clients and Servers
- Supported In-Place Upgrade Paths
- Functional Levels, Operation Master Roles, Active Directory Considerations
- Migration Tools for Windows Server 2012
- Hyper-V and Virtual Machines Considerations
- Summary
Show your customers exactly what you do during each remote support login.
As a Value-Add Reseller or Managed Services Provider, your customers depend on you to keep their platforms up-and-running. But blind-trust creates a relationship of ambiguity and doubt. When you record Terminal session and remote logins, every action that your staff performs on your customers' networks, you eliminate the cloud of doubt- with precise auditing.
Know who made each configuration change
Demonstrate precise actions with session playback
Reduce time-to-repair...
Presentación sobre Windows 2008 realizada en la Fundación Omar Dengo en el TechBoot Camp 2009.
Saludos,
Eduardo Castro – Microsoft SQL Server MVP
http://mswindowscr.org
http://comunidadwindows.org
Costa Rica
Physical to Virtual (P2V) & Backup to Virtual (B2V) Conversions with Backup E...Symantec
Convert-to-Virtual, Backup-to-Virtual, and Point-in-Time Conversions with Backup Exec 2014
Backup Exec 2014 continues to invest in virtualization technology. Features included in the Backup Exec 2014 product help administrators solve the problem of moving physical servers to a virtual environment and also give administrators unique tools for leveraging virtualization technology for disaster recovery. These features are the ability to perform automated conversions of physical servers to a virtual machine replica, perform automated conversions of physical servers – using existing backup sets – to a virtual machine replica, and perform “ad hoc” or on-demand conversions of physical server backups to a virtual machine replica.
Convert to Virtual (P2V)
The Backup Exec 2014 P2V feature allows administrators to configure backup definitions for physical servers that protect the server by both storing backup data to the Backup Exec server and creating a virtual machine replica of the server on an available VMware or Hyper-V host.
For backup definitions configured with a P2V task, the backup operation and the virtual machine replica operation occur in parallel.
Backup to Virtual (B2V)
A Backup Exec 2014 backup definition configured with a B2V task is similar to a backup definition configured with a P2V task; however, B2V jobs run the backup and virtual machine replica operations serially, meaning the backup operation runs first, and the virtual replica portion runs immediately afterwards or on a different schedule.
Point-in-Time Virtual Conversions
Another method of creating a virtual machine replica of physical servers using Backup Exec 2014 is the ad hoc or Point-in-Time method. This method is not scheduled, and is not directly associated with any particular backup definition. It simply enables an administrator to create a virtual machine replica, on demand, of any physical machine that has been backed up to a Backup Exec server using an SDR-enabled backup.
The P2V, B2V, and Point-in-Time conversion features of Backup Exec 2014 can be used by administrators to move physical servers to a virtual environment permanently for migration purposes, or temporarily for testing or quick failover.
VMworld 2013: Architectural Changes in vCenter Platform VMworld
VMworld 2013
Eddie Dinel, VMware
Fausto Ibarra, VMware
Learn more about VMworld and register at http://www.vmworld.com/index.jspa?src=socmed-vmworld-slideshare
Building solutions with microsoft virtualisationRonnie Isherwood
Based on Microsoft TechEd virtualization 360 talks this is my first community based presentation given in Jersey. A very real-world look using Microsoft slide decks and discussing all type of virtualization technology.
For more information on Patch Manager, visit: http://www.solarwinds.com/patch-manager.aspx
Learn how WSUS Reporting can be made easier by looking at the Updates Report, Computers Reports, Synchronization Report and Custom Reporting.
WHITE PAPER▶ Protecting VMware Environments with Backup Exec 15Symantec
Virtualization technology has been widely adopted by organizations of all sizes to optimize critical IT assets, such as data and application servers. As a result of this virtualization trend, companies are looking for efficient and effective ways to backup and recover their virtual servers and the critical applications that many of these virtual machines host, such as Microsoft Exchange, SQL Server, SharePoint, and Active Directory.
Because virtual host servers are used by many companies to virtualize production servers, the loss of a production virtual host can cost an organization more than losing a standalone physical server, since a single virtual host can be responsible for multiple virtual servers. A lost virtual host can impact productivity for hours or days while the IT administrator struggles to recover or repair the virtualization infrastructure.
Market leaders in virtualization technology include the VMware vSphere platform and the Microsoft Hyper-V platform. Modern backup and recovery solutions designed specifically for VMware and Hyper-V environments are critical to helping organizations quickly recover in the event of a disaster, whether it occurs at the virtual host level, the virtual machine level, the application level, or the file/folder level.
A significant advantage of Backup Exec 15 in virtual environments is direct integration with the VMware virtual platform. This integration enables advanced functionality built specifically for the optimized protection of VMware environments.
Backup Exec 15 integrates with VMware’s vStorage APIs for Data Protection (VADP) to eliminate important challenges associated with the backup of VMware virtual machines and to provide faster backup performance with less overall storage consumption.
The Citrix Virtual Desktop Handbook examines the project lifecycle for a desktop virtualization project.
The Handbook provides the methodology, experience and best practices needed to successfully design your own desktop virtualization solution
https://support.citrix.com/article/CTX136546
For more information on Patch Manager, visit: http://www.solarwinds.com/patch-manager.aspx
This two-part presentation will cover how to do WSUS Deployment on Windows Server 2008.
Part 1 – General considerations:
• Documentation review
• General considerations for deployment
• Local database vs Remote database
• Installation prerequisites
Part 2 – Installation:
• Installation on connected server
• Installation on disconnected server
• Migrating existing WSUS server
• Upgrade existing WSUS server
The IBM® System x® Private Cloud Offering provides solutions that are part of the Microsoft Fast Track for Hyper-V program. This program has requirements for systems management, virtualized management, and fault tolerance through the use of the System Center management platform, clustering, and redundancy in the network and storage...
Physical to Virtual (P2V) & Backup to Virtual (B2V) Conversions with Backup E...Symantec
Convert-to-Virtual, Backup-to-Virtual, and Point-in-Time Conversions with Backup Exec 2014
Backup Exec 2014 continues to invest in virtualization technology. Features included in the Backup Exec 2014 product help administrators solve the problem of moving physical servers to a virtual environment and also give administrators unique tools for leveraging virtualization technology for disaster recovery. These features are the ability to perform automated conversions of physical servers to a virtual machine replica, perform automated conversions of physical servers – using existing backup sets – to a virtual machine replica, and perform “ad hoc” or on-demand conversions of physical server backups to a virtual machine replica.
Convert to Virtual (P2V)
The Backup Exec 2014 P2V feature allows administrators to configure backup definitions for physical servers that protect the server by both storing backup data to the Backup Exec server and creating a virtual machine replica of the server on an available VMware or Hyper-V host.
For backup definitions configured with a P2V task, the backup operation and the virtual machine replica operation occur in parallel.
Backup to Virtual (B2V)
A Backup Exec 2014 backup definition configured with a B2V task is similar to a backup definition configured with a P2V task; however, B2V jobs run the backup and virtual machine replica operations serially, meaning the backup operation runs first, and the virtual replica portion runs immediately afterwards or on a different schedule.
Point-in-Time Virtual Conversions
Another method of creating a virtual machine replica of physical servers using Backup Exec 2014 is the ad hoc or Point-in-Time method. This method is not scheduled, and is not directly associated with any particular backup definition. It simply enables an administrator to create a virtual machine replica, on demand, of any physical machine that has been backed up to a Backup Exec server using an SDR-enabled backup.
The P2V, B2V, and Point-in-Time conversion features of Backup Exec 2014 can be used by administrators to move physical servers to a virtual environment permanently for migration purposes, or temporarily for testing or quick failover.
VMworld 2013: Architectural Changes in vCenter Platform VMworld
VMworld 2013
Eddie Dinel, VMware
Fausto Ibarra, VMware
Learn more about VMworld and register at http://www.vmworld.com/index.jspa?src=socmed-vmworld-slideshare
Building solutions with microsoft virtualisationRonnie Isherwood
Based on Microsoft TechEd virtualization 360 talks this is my first community based presentation given in Jersey. A very real-world look using Microsoft slide decks and discussing all type of virtualization technology.
For more information on Patch Manager, visit: http://www.solarwinds.com/patch-manager.aspx
Learn how WSUS Reporting can be made easier by looking at the Updates Report, Computers Reports, Synchronization Report and Custom Reporting.
WHITE PAPER▶ Protecting VMware Environments with Backup Exec 15Symantec
Virtualization technology has been widely adopted by organizations of all sizes to optimize critical IT assets, such as data and application servers. As a result of this virtualization trend, companies are looking for efficient and effective ways to backup and recover their virtual servers and the critical applications that many of these virtual machines host, such as Microsoft Exchange, SQL Server, SharePoint, and Active Directory.
Because virtual host servers are used by many companies to virtualize production servers, the loss of a production virtual host can cost an organization more than losing a standalone physical server, since a single virtual host can be responsible for multiple virtual servers. A lost virtual host can impact productivity for hours or days while the IT administrator struggles to recover or repair the virtualization infrastructure.
Market leaders in virtualization technology include the VMware vSphere platform and the Microsoft Hyper-V platform. Modern backup and recovery solutions designed specifically for VMware and Hyper-V environments are critical to helping organizations quickly recover in the event of a disaster, whether it occurs at the virtual host level, the virtual machine level, the application level, or the file/folder level.
A significant advantage of Backup Exec 15 in virtual environments is direct integration with the VMware virtual platform. This integration enables advanced functionality built specifically for the optimized protection of VMware environments.
Backup Exec 15 integrates with VMware’s vStorage APIs for Data Protection (VADP) to eliminate important challenges associated with the backup of VMware virtual machines and to provide faster backup performance with less overall storage consumption.
The Citrix Virtual Desktop Handbook examines the project lifecycle for a desktop virtualization project.
The Handbook provides the methodology, experience and best practices needed to successfully design your own desktop virtualization solution
https://support.citrix.com/article/CTX136546
For more information on Patch Manager, visit: http://www.solarwinds.com/patch-manager.aspx
This two-part presentation will cover how to do WSUS Deployment on Windows Server 2008.
Part 1 – General considerations:
• Documentation review
• General considerations for deployment
• Local database vs Remote database
• Installation prerequisites
Part 2 – Installation:
• Installation on connected server
• Installation on disconnected server
• Migrating existing WSUS server
• Upgrade existing WSUS server
The IBM® System x® Private Cloud Offering provides solutions that are part of the Microsoft Fast Track for Hyper-V program. This program has requirements for systems management, virtualized management, and fault tolerance through the use of the System Center management platform, clustering, and redundancy in the network and storage...
Presentacion sobre consideraciones de Seguridad en SQL Server 2008.
SQL Server Security and hardening.
Eduardo Castro
Microsoft SQL Server MVP
http://ecastrom.blogspot.com
http://comunidadwindows.org
Interconnect session 3498: Deployment Topologies for Jazz Reporting ServiceRosa Naranjo
This presentation will assist you design deployment topologies for your reporting needs, as well as make decisions on which components are right for you. On the data collection side, it describes both data warehouses (and related ETL mechanisms like DCC ETL and DM ETL) and IBM Lifecycle Query Engine, as well as the Jazz application setup to feed into LQE. On the reporting side, there is focus on Jazz Reporting Service Report Builder, but also the options when Report Builder is not enough; e.g., Cognos integration through the ALM Cognos Connector. The session will also cover various questions on how to group those applications/servers, hardware needs, etc.
IBM SmartCloud Desktop Infrastructure (SDI) is IBM’s answer to end-user virtualization and integration needs. It offers robust virtual desktop solutions, infrastructure, and services designed to make the deployment of virtual desktops easier as is based on a reference architecture approach. As such, IBM SDI supports a wide range of hardware, hypervisors and software platforms from multiple vendors, providing a high degree of flexibility and customization choices. IBM SDI helps offer a more cost-effective, manageable, virtual desktop environment for a wide range of customer sizes, user types and industry segments. For more information on IBM Systems, visit http://ibm.co/RKEeMO.
Visit http://on.fb.me/LT4gdu to 'Like' the official Facebook page of IBM India Smarter Computing.
Citrix XenDesktop Reference Architecture for 750 usersX-IO Technologies
A reference architecture that delivers a low-cost, high performance storage solution that with no-risk consistency and simple management for the virtualization administrator.
This file was recently published to the local community two months back. And now opening to the generic access. The document discusses about high level deployment scenario of VDI solution jointly formed by Microsoft & Citrix. A 700 user-base was assumed and a scalability of 4500 user-base scale-up model was provided using DELL & HP hardware.
IBM SmartCloud Entry+ for System X (delivered as IBM Starter Kit for Cloud x86
Edition) is an integrated cloud management platform that is designed to be quickly
installed and operational. The IBM SmartCloud Entry application is implemented as a
lightweight Web-based application that runs as an Open Services Gateway initiative
(OSGI) application.
Transform into an Azure Managed Service Provider - WVD.pptxsdcs1
Transform into an Azure Managed Service Provider - WVD.pptx
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Reference architecture dir and es - finalNuno Alves
Citrix Director with EdgeSight provides a complete troubleshooting window to quickly resolve issues around desktops or applications. Previous versions of XenApp leveraged EdgeSight, while XenDesktop deployments looked to Director for assistance. Starting in XenDesktop 7, these two great technologies have been merged into one central point for troubleshooting.
The purpose of this document will be to provide you an overviewof all the necessary parts required to give your company a holistic view. With this being a new product with new features, this document will provide administrators the tools to feel comfortable moving forward with monitoring of a XenDesktop 7 deployment.
This document will cover the configuration of the Director server, as well as how to interface with the Insight Center provided from our NetScaler product line. For more of an overview of the EdgeSight product, please reference the whitepapersfound at www.citrix.com/xendesktop.
http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX139051
Learn about the IBM SmartCloud Desktop Infrastructure.The SmartCloud Desktop Infrastructure solution with VMware View running on IBM Flex System simplifies IT manageability and control. It delivers high fidelity user experiences across devices and networks. The features of VMware View that are included in the SmartCloud Desktop Infrastructure solution provide enhanced security, high availability, centralized management and control, and scalability. For more information on Pure Systems, visit http://ibm.co/18vDnp6.
Visit the official Scribd Channel of IBM India Smarter Computing at http://bit.ly/VwO86R to get access to more documents.
This IBM Redpaper provides a brief overview of OpenStack and a basic familiarity of its usage with the IBM XIV Storage System Gen3. The illustration scenario that is presented uses the OpenStack Folsom release implementation IaaS with Ubuntu Linux servers and the IBM Storage Driver for OpenStack. For more information on IBM Storage Systems, visit http://ibm.co/LIg7gk.
Visit http://bit.ly/KWh5Dx to 'Follow' the official Twitter handle of IBM India Smarter Computing.
Learn how all flash needs end to end Storage efficiency. For more information on IBM FlashSystem, visit http://ibm.co/10KodHl.
Visit http://bit.ly/KWh5Dx to 'Follow' the official Twitter handle of IBM India Smarter Computing.
Learn about vSphere Storage API for Array Integration on the IBM Storwize family. IBM Storwize V7000 Unified combines the block storage capabilities of Storwize V7000 with file storage capabilities into a single system for greater ease of management and efficiency. For more information on IBM Storage Systems, visit http://ibm.co/LIg7gk.
Visit http://bit.ly/KWh5Dx to 'Follow' the official Twitter handle of IBM India Smarter Computing.
Learn about IBM FlashSystem 840 and its complete product specification in this Redbook. FlashSystem 840 provides scalable performance for the most demanding enterprise class applications. IBM FlashSystem 840 accelerates response times with IBM MicroLatency to enable faster decision making. For more information on IBM FlashSystem, visit http://ibm.co/10KodHl.
Visit http://on.fb.me/LT4gdu to 'Like' the official Facebook page of IBM India Smarter Computing.
Learn about the IBM System x3250 M5,.The x3250 M5 offers the following energy-efficiency features to save energy, reduce operational costs, increase energy availability, and contribute to a green environment, energy-efficient planar components help lower operational costs. For more information on System x, visit http://ibm.co/Q7m3iQ.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/210746104/IBM-System-x3250-M5
This Redbook talks about the product specification of IBM NeXtScale nx360 M4. The NeXtScale nx360 M4 server provides a dense, flexible solution with a low total cost of ownership (TCO). The half-wide, dual-socket NeXtScale nx360 M4 server is designed for data centers that require high performance but are constrained by floor space. For more information on System x, visit http://ibm.co/Q7m3iQ.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/210745680/IBM-NeXtScale-nx360-M4
Learn about IBM System x3650 M4 HD which is a 2-socket 2U rack-optimized server. This powerful system is designed for your most important business applications and cloud
deployments. Outstanding RAS and high-efficiency design improve your business environment and help save operational costs. For more information on System x, visit http://ibm.co/Q7m3iQ.
Visit http://bit.ly/KWh5Dx to 'Follow' the official Twitter handle of IBM India Smarter Computing.
Here are the product specification for IBM System x3300 M4. This product can be managed remotely.The x3300 M4 server contains IBM IMM2, which provides advanced service-processor control, monitoring, and an alerting function. The IMM2 lights LEDs to help you diagnose the problem, records the error in the event log, and alerts you to the problem. For more information on System x, visit http://ibm.co/Q7m3iQ.
Visit http://on.fb.me/LT4gdu to 'Like' the official Facebook page of IBM India Smarter Computing.
Learn about IBM System x iDataPlex dx360 M4. IBM System x iDataPlex is an innovative data center solution that maximizes performance and optimizes energy and space efficiency. The iDataPlex solution provides customers with outstanding energy and cooling efficiency, multi-rack level manageability, complete flexibility in configuration, and minimal deployment effort. For more information on System x, visit http://ibm.co/Q7m3iQ.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/210744055/IBM-System-x-iDataPlex-dx360-M4
This Redbook talks through the benefits and product specification of IBM System x3500 M4. The x3500 M4 offers a flexible, scalable design and simple upgrade path to 32 HDDs, with up to eight PCIe 3.0 slots and up to 768 GB of memory. A high-performance dual-socket tower server, the IBM System x3500 M4, can deliver the scalability, reliable performance, and optimized efficiency for your business-critical applications. For more information on System x, visit http://ibm.co/Q7m3iQ.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/210742768/IBM-System-x3500-M4
Learn about system specification for IBM System x3550 M4. The x3550 M4 offers numerous features to boost performance, improve scalability, and reduce costs. Improves productivity by offering superior system performance with up to 12-core processors, up to 30 MB of L3 cache, and up to two 8 GT/s QPI interconnect links. For more information on System x, visit http://ibm.co/Q7m3iQ.
Learn about IBM System x3650 M4. The x3650 M4 is an outstanding 2U two-socket business-critical server, offering improved performance and pay-as-you grow flexibility along with new features that improve server management capability. For more information on System x, visit http://ibm.co/Q7m3iQ.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/210741926/IBM-System-x3650-M4
Learn about the product specification of IBM System x3500 M3. System x3500 M3 has an energy-efficient design which works in conjunction with the IMM to govern fan rotation based on the readings that it delivers. This saves money under normal conditions because the fans do not have to spin at high speed. For more information on System x, visit http://ibm.co/Q7m3iQ.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/210741626/IBM-System-x3500-M3
Learn about IBM System x3400 M3. The x3400 M3 offers numerous features to boost performance and reduce costs, x3400 M3 has the ability to grow with your application requirements with these features. Powerful systems management features simplify local and remote management of the x3400 M3. For more information on System x, visit http://ibm.co/Q7m3iQ.
Visit http://on.fb.me/LT4gdu to 'Like' the official Facebook page of IBM India Smarter Computing.
Learn about IBM System 3250 M3 which is a single-socket server that offers new levels of performance and flexibility
to help you respond quickly to changing business demands. Cost-effective and compact, it is well suited to small to mid-sized businesses, as well as large enterprises. For more information on System x, visit http://ibm.co/Q7m3iQ.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/210740347/IBM-System-x3250-M3
Learn about IBM System x3200 M3 and its specifications. The System x3200 M3 features easy installation and management with a rich set of options for hard disk drives and memory. The efficient design helps to save energy and provide a better work environment with less heat and noise. For more information on System x, visit http://ibm.co/Q7m3iQ.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/210739508/IBM-System-x3200-M3
Learn about the configuration of IBM PowerVC. IBM PowerVC is built on OpenStack that controls large pools of server, storage, and networking resources throughout a data center. IBM Power Virtualization Center provides security services that support a secure environment. Installation requires just 20 minutes to get a virtual machine up and running. For more information on Power Systems, visit http://ibm.co/Lx6hfc.
Visit http://on.fb.me/LT4gdu to 'Like' the official Facebook page of IBM India Smarter Computing.
Learn about Ibm POWER7 Virtualization Performance. PowerVM Lx86 is a cross-platform virtualization solution that enables the running of a wide range of x86 Linux applications on Power Systems platforms within a Linux on Power partition without modifications or recompilation of the workloads. For more information on Power Systems, visit http://ibm.co/Lx6hfc.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/210734237/A-Comparison-of-PowerVM-and-Vmware-Virtualization-Performance
Learn about IBM PureFlex Sytem and VMware vCloud Enterprise Suite. The IBM PureFlex System platform has been used to meet the hardware requirements in support of this reference architecture. All the components required to support vCloud Suite (including computing, networking, storage, and management interfaces). For more information on Pure Systems, visit http://ibm.co/J7Zb1v.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/210719868/IBM-pureflex-system-and-vmware-vcloud-enterprise-suite-reference-architecture
Learn how x6: The sixth generation of EXA Technology is fast, agile and Resilient for Emerging Workloads from Alex Yost. Vice President, IBM PureSystems and System x
IBM Systems and Technology Group. x6 drives cloud and big data for enterprises by achieving insight faster thereby outperforming competitors. For more information on System x, visit http://ibm.co/Q7m3iQ.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/210715795/X6-The-sixth-generation-of-EXA-Technology
Kubernetes & AI - Beauty and the Beast !?! @KCD Istanbul 2024Tobias Schneck
As AI technology is pushing into IT I was wondering myself, as an “infrastructure container kubernetes guy”, how get this fancy AI technology get managed from an infrastructure operational view? Is it possible to apply our lovely cloud native principals as well? What benefit’s both technologies could bring to each other?
Let me take this questions and provide you a short journey through existing deployment models and use cases for AI software. On practical examples, we discuss what cloud/on-premise strategy we may need for applying it to our own infrastructure to get it to work from an enterprise perspective. I want to give an overview about infrastructure requirements and technologies, what could be beneficial or limiting your AI use cases in an enterprise environment. An interactive Demo will give you some insides, what approaches I got already working for real.
DevOps and Testing slides at DASA ConnectKari Kakkonen
My and Rik Marselis slides at 30.5.2024 DASA Connect conference. We discuss about what is testing, then what is agile testing and finally what is Testing in DevOps. Finally we had lovely workshop with the participants trying to find out different ways to think about quality and testing in different parts of the DevOps infinity loop.
Generating a custom Ruby SDK for your web service or Rails API using Smithyg2nightmarescribd
Have you ever wanted a Ruby client API to communicate with your web service? Smithy is a protocol-agnostic language for defining services and SDKs. Smithy Ruby is an implementation of Smithy that generates a Ruby SDK using a Smithy model. In this talk, we will explore Smithy and Smithy Ruby to learn how to generate custom feature-rich SDKs that can communicate with any web service, such as a Rails JSON API.
LF Energy Webinar: Electrical Grid Modelling and Simulation Through PowSyBl -...DanBrown980551
Do you want to learn how to model and simulate an electrical network from scratch in under an hour?
Then welcome to this PowSyBl workshop, hosted by Rte, the French Transmission System Operator (TSO)!
During the webinar, you will discover the PowSyBl ecosystem as well as handle and study an electrical network through an interactive Python notebook.
PowSyBl is an open source project hosted by LF Energy, which offers a comprehensive set of features for electrical grid modelling and simulation. Among other advanced features, PowSyBl provides:
- A fully editable and extendable library for grid component modelling;
- Visualization tools to display your network;
- Grid simulation tools, such as power flows, security analyses (with or without remedial actions) and sensitivity analyses;
The framework is mostly written in Java, with a Python binding so that Python developers can access PowSyBl functionalities as well.
What you will learn during the webinar:
- For beginners: discover PowSyBl's functionalities through a quick general presentation and the notebook, without needing any expert coding skills;
- For advanced developers: master the skills to efficiently apply PowSyBl functionalities to your real-world scenarios.
Slack (or Teams) Automation for Bonterra Impact Management (fka Social Soluti...Jeffrey Haguewood
Sidekick Solutions uses Bonterra Impact Management (fka Social Solutions Apricot) and automation solutions to integrate data for business workflows.
We believe integration and automation are essential to user experience and the promise of efficient work through technology. Automation is the critical ingredient to realizing that full vision. We develop integration products and services for Bonterra Case Management software to support the deployment of automations for a variety of use cases.
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Builder.ai Founder Sachin Dev Duggal's Strategic Approach to Create an Innova...Ramesh Iyer
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JMeter webinar - integration with InfluxDB and GrafanaRTTS
Watch this recorded webinar about real-time monitoring of application performance. See how to integrate Apache JMeter, the open-source leader in performance testing, with InfluxDB, the open-source time-series database, and Grafana, the open-source analytics and visualization application.
In this webinar, we will review the benefits of leveraging InfluxDB and Grafana when executing load tests and demonstrate how these tools are used to visualize performance metrics.
Length: 30 minutes
Session Overview
-------------------------------------------
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- What out-of-the-box solutions are available for real-time monitoring JMeter tests?
- What are the benefits of integrating InfluxDB and Grafana into the load testing stack?
- Which features are provided by Grafana?
- Demonstration of InfluxDB and Grafana using a practice web application
To view the webinar recording, go to:
https://www.rttsweb.com/jmeter-integration-webinar
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Paper presented at SYNERGY workshop at AVI 2024, Genoa, Italy. 3rd June 2024
https://alandix.com/academic/papers/synergy2024-epistemic/
As machine learning integrates deeper into human-computer interactions, the concept of epistemic interaction emerges, aiming to refine these interactions to enhance system adaptability. This approach encourages minor, intentional adjustments in user behaviour to enrich the data available for system learning. This paper introduces epistemic interaction within the context of human-system communication, illustrating how deliberate interaction design can improve system understanding and adaptation. Through concrete examples, we demonstrate the potential of epistemic interaction to significantly advance human-computer interaction by leveraging intuitive human communication strategies to inform system design and functionality, offering a novel pathway for enriching user-system engagements.
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Cheryl Hung, ochery.com
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1. Insights into SAP testing best practices
2. Heatmap utilization for testing
3. Optimization of testing processes
4. Demo
Topics covered:
Execution from the test manager
Orchestrator execution result
Defect reporting
SAP heatmap example with demo
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💥 Speed, accuracy, and scaling – discover the superpowers of GenAI in action with UiPath Document Understanding and Communications Mining™:
See how to accelerate model training and optimize model performance with active learning
Learn about the latest enhancements to out-of-the-box document processing – with little to no training required
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👩🏫 Lenka Dulovicova, Product Program Manager, UiPath
2. Table of contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................1
Architectural overview................................................................................................................1
Component model.......................................................................................................................2
Component relationship diagram............................................................................................................. 2
Storage model.......................................................................................................................................... 4
Operational model.......................................................................................................................5
Deployment diagram................................................................................................................................ 6
High availability (HA)................................................................................................................................ 8
VDI Management servers / Virtualization host servers............................................................................ 8
Networking ............................................................................................................................................... 9
Storage integration................................................................................................................................. 10
Sizing considerations ............................................................................................................................. 11
System configuration for 600 pooled users ........................................................................................... 13
Appendix 1: Bill of materials ....................................................................................................15
Appendix 2: Performance testing results ...............................................................................17
Performance results for virtualization host configuration 1.................................................................... 17
Processor performance graph......................................................................................... 18
Average disk queue length graph.................................................................................... 18
Average disk transfer graph ............................................................................................ 19
Memory- available bytes graph ....................................................................................... 20
Login VSI VSImax graph for one of the virtualization host nodes................................... 20
Performance results for virtualization host configuration 2.................................................................... 21
Processor performance graph......................................................................................... 21
Average disk queue length graph.................................................................................... 22
Average disk transfer graph ............................................................................................ 23
Memory-available bytes graph ........................................................................................ 24
Login VSI VSImax graph for one of the virtualization hosts............................................ 24
Resources..................................................................................................................................26
Trademarks and special notices..............................................................................................27
IBM SmartCloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure for Microsoft Windows Server 2012 VDI
Reference architecture
3. Introduction
This document describes the reference architecture for IBM® SmartCloud® Virtual Desktop Infrastructure
with Microsoft® Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) running on Microsoft Windows® Server 2012. It should
be read in conjunction with the IBM SmartCloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure reference architecture
document available at: ibm.com/partnerworld/page/stg_ast_eis_sdi_infrastructure
The business problem, business value, and requirements are described in the IBM SmartCloud Desktop
Infrastructure reference architecture and are not repeated here. This document gives an architecture
overview and component model of the Microsoft pooled VDI and then describes the deployment model of
Microsoft pooled VDI for varying numbers of users accessing virtual Windows desktops, running on
servers that can be accessed from a variety of user devices such as tablets, thin clients, physical
desktops, and notebooks.
The intended audience of this document is IT professionals, technical architects, sales engineers, and
consultants to assist in planning, designing and implementing Microsoft VDI on IBM System x®3550 M4 or
IBM System x3650 M4 and IBM Storwize® V3700.
This instance of the architecture is based on a pooled virtual machine (VM) configuration. Pooled VMs are
non-persistent user desktops. Every user VM has a dedicated portion of the virtualization host server’s
resources to guarantee the performance for each desktop. The desktop VM is dedicated to one user while
the user is logged on. When the user logs off or restarts, the VM is returned to the pool and reset to the
pristine gold image state for the next user.
Microsoft has complementary technologies: Microsoft Remote Desktop Session Hosting (RD Session
Host) and RemoteFX which can be combined with VDI. However, these technologies are not covered in
this reference architecture.
Architectural overview
IBM SmartCloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure for Microsoft Windows Server 2012 VDI (IBM SmartCloud
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure for Microsoft VDI) is an end-to-end desktop solution that lowers the barriers
of adoption, such as cost, complexity, and coverage that are traditionally associated with the VDI
technology. It allows access to a personal desktop from anywhere, using any device. Microsoft Windows
Server 2012 is an ideal choice for desktop virtualization. It includes everything needed to set up a VDI
solution including: the connection broker, web access, gateway, and other necessary components, so no
additional third-party software is required.
Figure 1 shows the main features of the IBM SmartCloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure for Microsoft VDI
reference architecture.
IBM SmartCloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure for Microsoft Windows Server 2012 VDI
Reference architecture
1
4. Figure 1: SmartCloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure reference architecture for Microsoft VDI
This document limits the discussion to the components inside the customer’s intranet. This reference
architecture does not address the issues of remote access and authorization, data traffic reduction, traffic
monitoring, and the general issues of multisite deployment and network management.
Component model
Component relationship diagram
Figure 2 is a layered view of the IBM SmartCloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure mapped to the Microsoft
VDI with Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V hypervisor.
IBM SmartCloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure for Microsoft Windows Server 2012 VDI
Reference architecture
2
5. Figure 2:IBM SmartCloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure mapped to the Microsoft VDI
The main components for Microsoft VDI using Hyper-V are explained in the following table:
Virtualization Host
Remote Desktop Virtualization Host integrates with Hyper-V
to deploy pooled or personal virtual desktop collections.
Remote Desktop Web Access
Server
Remote Desktop Web Access enables users to access
Desktop Connection through the Start menu on a computer
that is running Windows 8, Windows 7, or through a web
browser.
Remote Desktop Gateway
Server
Remote Desktop Gateway enables authorized users to
connect to virtual desktops on an internal corporate network
from any Internet-connected device.
Remote Desktop License Server
Remote Desktop (RD) Licensing manages the licenses
required to connect to a virtual desktop. You can use RD
Licensing to install, issue, and track the availability of
licenses.
IBM SmartCloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure for Microsoft Windows Server 2012 VDI
Reference architecture
3
6. SQL Server
SQL Server is used to store provisioning and broker
connection information. SQL server is a required component.
SQL Server 2012 standard edition or higher is recommended.
Remote Desktop Connection
Broker Server
Remote Desktop Connection Broker provides access to
virtual desktops in a virtual desktop collection. It enables
administrators to evenly distribute the load among RD
Session Host servers in a session collection or pooled virtual
desktops in a pooled virtual desktop collection.
Clients
Users can access their virtual desktop from any device
supported by the respective desktop virtualization solution;
this includes company notebooks, home PCs, thin -client
devices or tablets. IBM does not prescribe any particular
approach for clients. Customers can repurpose existing
desktops (which is typical for many deployments) or greenfield with thin- or zero-client devices. No agent is required on
either the client or VM.
Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP)
The virtual desktop image is streamed to the user access
device using RDP.
Shared storage
Shared storage is required for this architecture. It is used to
hold cluster information for the VDI management cluster, SQL
data required for the VDI management servers, user data,
and the VDI management virtual hard disks.
File Services
The File Services role will allow the management cluster to
present the user data as virtual hard disks to the pooled VMs
Table 1: Main components of Microsoft VDI using Hyper-V
Storage model
This section describes the different types of data stored for this reference architecture.
Pooled VMs use local storage for the client VMs. The pooled desktop enables users to connect to a new
or different desktop image every time they log on while keeping aspects of user experience persistent.
This allows the usage of local storage for the VMs instead of shared storage as no user-associated data
resides persistently in the image. In case of a host failure, users can just reconnect to a desktop hosted on
another system without the need for the VM to fail over to another node. The Windows Server OS and
golden images are stored locally on the virtualization host on fast storage. The local storage on the
virtualization hosts is summarized in the following table.
IBM SmartCloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure for Microsoft Windows Server 2012 VDI
Reference architecture
4
7. Volumes
Use
File format
OS / Golden image
Windows 2012 host OS, local golden image
NTFS
VMs
Pooled VM Differential disks
NTFS
Table 2: Virtualization host storage
Shared storage is used as a repository for the management of VMs, management databases, user profile
and user data, and the client VMs master golden images. Whenever the golden master images are
updated, they are then transferred to each virtualization host. The following table outlines the data layout
for shared storage.
Volumes
Use
File format
Management
Management VMs
NTFS
Management databases
SQL server data
NTFS
User profile data
User profiles and user data
NTFS
Master golden images
Master gold images
NTFS
Table 3: Shared storage
Operational model
The pooled operational model is presented in this section. In order to illustrate the operational model for
different sized customer environments, three different models are provided for supporting 150, 300, and
600 users.
The VDI management cluster servers and virtualization host servers use Hyper-V as the hypervisor. The
VDI management servers, which are clustered with Windows Server 2012 clustering, have management
VMs instead of client VMs. The management VMs are shown in Figure 3.
IBM SmartCloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure for Microsoft Windows Server 2012 VDI
Reference architecture
5
8. Deployment diagram
Remote Desktop
Web Access 1
Management
Cluster
Remote Desktop
Gateway 1
Remote Desktop
Web Access 2
Remote Desktop
Connection
Broker 1
Remote Desktop
License Server
Remote Desktop
Connection
Broker 2
SQL 1
Virtualization
Host Servers
Remote Desktop
Virtualization Host
File
Services
Remote Desktop
Virtualization Host
Remote Desktop
Gateway 2
SQL 2
Remote Desktop
Virtualization Host
File
Services
Remote Desktop
Virtualization Host
Figure 3: Server deployment diagram
The VDI management servers have the File Services role installed to provide access to user profile data
virtual hard disks to the virtualization host servers. This enables the virtualization host servers to share
access to the user profile virtual hard disks as they reside on a cluster shared volume (CSV) disk on the
shared storage.
IBM SmartCloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure for Microsoft Windows Server 2012 VDI
Reference architecture
6
9. The following table summarizes the VM requirements for each management VM.
Management
server VM
Virtual
processors
Memory
Storage
Windows OS
HA available
Remote
Desktop Web
Access Server
2
4 GB
15 GB
2012
Yes
Remote
Desktop
Gateway
Server
2
4 GB
15 GB
2012
No
Remote
Desktop
License
Server
2
4 GB
15 GB
2012
No
SQL Server
(Standard
Edition or
higher)
4
8 GB
15 GB
2012
Yes
Remote
Desktop
Connection
Broker Server
2
8 GB
40 GB
2012
Yes
Table 4: Management VM requirements
The following table shows examples of typical client VM configurations.
OS
Version
Number of
processors
Memory
Network interface
card (NIC)
Mircrosoft
Windows 7
(SP1)
32-bit or 64-bit
1
512 – 2048 MB Dynamic
memory
1
Microsoft
Windows 8
32-bit or 64-bit
1
512 – 2048 MB Dynamic
memory
1
IBM SmartCloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure for Microsoft Windows Server 2012 VDI
Reference architecture
7
10. Table 5: Pooled client VM configuration
High availability (HA)
High availability protects all layers of this solution. This was accomplished with:
Two top-of-rack switches to provide redundancy
Hyper-V clustering in the Management layer to provide high availability
Multiple servers are used for high availability in the Virtualization host layer
In this architecture, the virtualization hosts are not clustered as the Microsoft VDI collection is capable of
spanning multiple virtualization host servers. In the rare event of a virtualization host failure, users on that
host would need to reconnect to a new VM.
The VDI management servers have a similar hardware specification as virtualization host servers do, so
you can use them interchangeably in a worst-case scenario. If a management server goes down, it can be
replaced by one of the virtualization host servers.
VDI Management servers / Virtualization host servers
At the core of the IBM SmartCloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure for Microsoft VDI reference architecture,
the IBM System x3550 M4 (1U) or IBM System x3650 M4 (2U) servers deliver the performance and
reliability required for virtualizing business-critical applications in Hyper-V VDI environments.
In this architecture, storage exists on local hard disks on the virtualization hosts. Two volumes are used
per virtualization host. The first volume is configured using RAID 1 over two 200 GB solid-state drives
(SSDs) and is used for the Windows Server 2012 host OS and the local golden image. The second
volume is configured using RAID 0 and is used to host the provisioned desktop VMs along with their
respective write caches.
Pooled VMs use local storage and require the local storage on the virtualization hosts as shown in the
following table.
Volumes
Size
Number of
disks
RAID
Use
OS / Golden
image
200 GB
2
1
Windows 2012
host OS, local
golden image
VMs
1-3 TB
6 or more
0
Pooled VM
Differential
disks
Table 6: Virtualization host storage layout
Testing has shown that the local VM volume needs at least six 15k drives to support 100 to 150 users with
good performance. To support more users or if the I/O per user is higher, then eight drives have been
IBM SmartCloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure for Microsoft Windows Server 2012 VDI
Reference architecture
8
11. found to be effective, especially, if combined with higher powered processor and more memory. The I/O
performance is shown in “Appendix 2: Performance testing results”.
Networking
Combinations of physical and virtual isolated networks at the host, switch, and storage layers meet
isolation requirements. At the physical host layer, there are four 1Gb Ethernet devices for each Hyper-V
server.
The servers and storage maintain connectivity through multiple iSCSI connections using multipath I/O
(MPIO). Windows Server 2012 NIC teaming on the virtualization hosts provides fault tolerance to the host
management and VM communication networks.
At the physical switch layer, virtual local area networks (VLANs) provide logical isolation between various
storage and data traffic. A key element is properly configuring the switches to maximize available
bandwidth and reduce congestion. Based on individual environment preferences, you have choices
regarding how many VLANs you create and what type of role-based traffic they handle. After you make a
final selection, ensure that the switch configurations are saved or backed up.
The configurations of the five VLANS are described in the following table.
VLAN ID
VLAN 10
VLAN 20
Name
iSCSI storage network
iSCSI storage network
Description
Used for iSCSI storage traffic
Used for iSCSI storage traffic
VLAN 30
Cluster private network
Used for private cluster
communication and cluster
shared volume traffic
VLAN 40
Cluster live migration network
Used for cluster VM Live
Migration traffic
VLAN 50
Public network
Used for host management
and VM communication
Table 7: Implemented VLANs
At the physical storage layer, the IBM Storwize V3700 iSCSI ports are used for connectivity. Each
controller has two 1Gb Ethernet ports for iSCSI traffic. The use of the IBM Subsystem Device Specific
Module (SDDDSM) manages the multiple I/O paths between the host servers and storage, and optimizes
the storage paths for maximum performance. VLANs are used to isolate storage traffic from other data
traffic occurring on the switches.
VLAN 10 and VLAN 20 are reserved for server access to the iSCSI storage. All iSCSI traffic should be
isolated on VLAN 10 and VLAN 20. One switch hosts VLAN 10, and the second switch hosts VLAN 20.
Implementation of the VLAN isolation from the storage controller:
To help balance iSCSI workloads, each Storwize V3700 controller maintains two iSCSI
connections to the networks.
One connection from each controller to each switch.
IBM SmartCloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure for Microsoft Windows Server 2012 VDI
Reference architecture
9
12. Implementation of the VLAN isolation from each physical VDI management host:
Each physical VDI management host will have two connections to the iSCSI networks
(one to each VLAN).
Traffic isolation occurs at the switch.
Storage integration
The IBM Storwize V3700 system is used for shared storage which will host the management server VMs,
the master golden image, SQL files, and user profile data. The IBM Storwize V3700 system uses iSCSI
ports for storage connectivity to the management cluster. Each controller has two 1GbE Ethernet ports for
iSCSI traffic. The IBM Storwize V3700 system was chosen for this implementation as it is an entry-level
disk storage system designed with sophisticated capabilities unusual for a system of this class. It offers
efficiency and flexibility through built-in thin provisioning and non-disruptive migration of data from existing
storage. Built upon the innovative technology in the Storwize family, Storwize V3700 addresses block
storage requirements at an affordable price.
The following table outlines the volume requirements for shared storage. The number of disks is based on
300 GB 10K drives. Larger disk sizes could be chosen to meet the capacity needs of the client. The
24 disks in a single V3700 enclosure in the following table are based on a 600-user configuration. The
number of disks can be reduced depending on the number of users expected. Refer to the “Sizing
considerations” section for more information.
Volumes
Size
Number of
disks
RAID
Use
Management
500 GB
6
5
Management
VMs
Management
databases
200 GB
4
5
SQL Server
data
User profile
data
2 TB
10
5
User profiles
Mater golden
images
500 GB
4
1
Master Gold
Windows 8 or
Windows 7
images
Table 8: IBM Storwize V3700 storage layout
IBM SmartCloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure for Microsoft Windows Server 2012 VDI
Reference architecture
10
13. Sizing considerations
One of the key questions when planning a VDI deployment is the number of users supported per host.
Determining the system configuration able to support the load generated by users is a typical challenge.
VDI requires a separate VM and associated hardware capacity for every user. Although one VM can host
a relatively lightweight application (such as a data-entry application) that users access infrequently and
with low resource costs, another might host a demanding computer-aided design (CAD) application
requiring a lot of processor, RAM, disk, and network bandwidth.
The test team developed two virtualization host configurations; the first is IBM System x3550 M4 or
System x3650 M4 with 192GB of memory, two SSDs, six 300 GB 15k HDDs, and two Intel® Xeon®
processors E5-2670; the second configuration is IBM System x3650 M4 with 256 GB of memory with two
SSDs, eight 300 GB 15k HDDs, and two Intel Xeon processors E5-2680.
The two virtualization host configurations are designed to provide the flexibility for the client’s
requirements. The first configuration provides high performance with a reasonable price. The second
configuration provides more processor power, memory, and I/O if the clients VMs have a more demanding
workload.
You can find the performance characteristics for these two configurations in the “Appendix 2: Performance
testing results” section. These two configurations are shown in Table 9 and Table 10. By looking at these
configurations, you can deploy a VDI solution that balances performance, price, failover, and scalability
concerns.
Virtualization server configuration 1
Server options
Description
Server
IBM System x3550 M4
or IBM System x3650
M4
1U or 2U Rack Server
Processors
Two Intel Xeon
Processors E5-2670
20M Cache, 2.60 GHz, 8 cores
Memory
192 GB
Twelve 16GB 1.35v DDR3
RDIMMs
OS disk / Golden image
Two 200 GB SSD
RAID 1
VM differential disk
Six 15k 300GB
RAID 0
NICs
Two internal 1GbE ports
Teamed in Windows Server
OS
Windows Server 2012
Datacenter
Table 9: Virtualization server configuration 1
IBM SmartCloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure for Microsoft Windows Server 2012 VDI
Reference architecture
11
14. Virtualization server configuration 2
Server options
Description
Server
IBM System x3650
M4
2U Rack Server
Processors
Two Intel Xeon
Processors E5-2680
20M Cache, 2.70 GHz, 8 cores
Memory
256 GB
Sixteen 16 GB 1.35v DDR3
RDIMMs
OS disk / Golden image
Two 200GB SSD
RAID 1
VM differential disk
Eight 15k 300GB
RAID 0
NICs
Two internal 1GbE
ports
Teamed in Windows Server
OS
Windows Server
2012 Datacenter
Table 10: Virtualization server configuration 2
The test team designed these configurations to allow for sufficient resources if one of the management
servers or virtualization hosts fail.
150 users
300 users
600 users
Management servers
2
2
2
Virtualization host servers
2
4
6
Servers required
4
6
8
Management servers
2
2
2
Virtualization host servers
2
3
5
Servers required
4
5
7
Configuration 1
Configuration 2
Table 11: General sizing guideline
IBM SmartCloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure for Microsoft Windows Server 2012 VDI
Reference architecture
12
15. The following table shows the Storwize V3700 shared storage disk configuration sizing guidelines.
Storage volumes
150 users
300 users to 600 users
Management VMs
4
6
Management
databases
2
4
User profile data
6
10
Master golden images
4
4
Total disk drives
16
24
Table 12: Storwize V3700 disk configuration
System configuration for 600 pooled users
Figure 4 shows the deployment diagram for an IBM System x3550 M4-based solution that can support 600
pooled users. It is an option to use IBM System x3650 M4 servers instead of System x3550 M4 servers
depending on your needs or hardware availability.
IBM SmartCloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure for Microsoft Windows Server 2012 VDI
Reference architecture
13
16. 2 x IBM x3550 M4
2 x Intel E5-2650
64GB
4 x 300GB 10K
Management
6 x IBM x3550 M4
2 x Intel E5-2670
192GB
2 x 200GB SSD
6 x 300GB 15K
Virtualization
Hosts
IBM Storwize V3700
24 x 300GB 10K
Storage
Juniper EX2200 Top of Rack
Network Switches - 1GbE
Network
Figure 4: Physical system configuration for 600 pooled users
The following table summarizes the servers and user configuration for the virtualization hosts during
normal activity and after a host failure.
Virtualization host server
Normal operating mode
Failover mode
Server 1
100 users
120 users
Server 2
100 users
120 users
Server 3
100 users
120 users
Server 4
100 users
120 users
Server 5
100 users
120 users
Server 6
100 users
0 users
Total users
600 users
600 users
Table 13: Virtualization host server user configuration
IBM SmartCloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure for Microsoft Windows Server 2012 VDI
Reference architecture
14
17. Appendix 1: Bill of materials
The following parts list was generated with the online IBM hardware configurator. All the parts might not be
available in all geographies.
Single System x3550 M4 virtualization host configuration 1
Quantity
Description
Part
number
1
IBM System x3550 M4
7914AC1
1
x3550 M4 PCIe Riser Card 1 (1 x16 LP Slot)
A1HJ
1
x3550 M4 4x 2.5" HDD Assembly Kit
A1HG
1
Select Storage devices - no IBM-configured RAID required
5977
1
IBM System x Gen-III CMA
A229
1
x3550 M4 PCIe Gen-III Riser Card 2(1 x8 FH/HL Slot)
A1HK
1
IBM System x3550 M4 2.5" Base Without Power Supply
A1H3
1
IBM System x 750W High Efficiency
Platinum AC Power Supply
A1H5
1
Addl Intel Xeon Processor E5-2670 8C 2.6GHz 20MB 115W W/Fan
A2B5
1
x3550 M4 plus 4x 2.5" HDD Assembly Kit
A1HN
1
IBM System x Advanced Lightpath Kit
A2U6
12
16GB (1x16GB, 2Rx4, 1.35V) PC3L-10600 CL9 ECC DDR3 1333MHz
LP RDIMM
A1QT
1
Intel Xeon Processor E5-2670 8C 2.6GHz 20MB Cache 1600MHz
115W
A2B2
1
ServeRAID M5110 SAS/SATA Controller for IBM System x 
A1WW
1
ServeRAID M5100 Series 512MB Flash/RAID 5 Upgrade for IBM
System x
A1J4
1
2.8m, 10A/100-250V, C13 to IEC 320-C14 Rack Power Cable
6311
2
IBM 200GB SATA 2.5" MLC HS SSD
A2FN
6
IBM 300GB 15K 6Gbps SAS 2.5" SFF HS HDD
A283
1
IBM System x Gen-III Slides Kit
A228
1
IBM System x Power Supply Filler for x3550 M4 and x1200 Enclosure
A1HF
1
x3550 M4 System Level Code
A1HB
1
ServeRAID M5100 Series 875mm Flash Power Module Cable
A22C
1
IBM System x3550 M4 Planar
A1H9
1
Windows Server 2012 (5731-W12) Per 2 Processor Server Datacenter
5731W12
IBM SmartCloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure for Microsoft Windows Server 2012 VDI
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18. Single System x3650 M4 virtualization host configuration 2
Quantity
Description
Part
number
1
IBM System x3650 M4
7915AC1
1
System x3650 M4 PCIe Riser Card 1 (1 x8 FH/FL + 2 x8 FH/HL Slots)
A1JT
2
IBM 200GB SATA 2.5 inch MLC HS SSD
A2FN
1
System x3650 M4 8x 2.5" HS HDD Assembly Kit
A1JX
1
IBM System x Gen-III CMA
A229
1
x3650 M4 PCIe Gen-III Riser Card 2 (1 x8 FH/FL + 2 x8 FH/HL Slots)
A1JU
2
IBM System x 750W High Efficiency Platinum AC Power Supply
A1H5
1
Addl Intel Xeon Processor E5-2680 8C 2.7GHz 20MB 130W W/Fan
A1L3
1
ServeRAID M5110e SAS/SATA Controller for IBM System x
A2N2
1
IBM System x Advanced Lightpath Kit
A2U6
16
16GB (1x16GB, 1.5V)PC3-10600 CL9 ECC DDR3 1333MHz LP
HyperCloud DIMM
A2R1
1
Intel Xeon Processor E5-2680 8C 2.7GHz 20MB Cache 1600MHz
130W
A1KS
2
4.3m, 10A/100-250V, C13 to IEC 320-C14 Rack Power Cable
6263
1
IBM System x Gen-III Slides Kit
A228
1
IBM System x3650 M4 Planar
A1KH
1
x3650 M4 Plus 8x 2.5" HS HDD Assembly Kit with Expander
A1JY
8
IBM 300GB 15K 6Gbps SAS 2.5" SFF HS HDD
A283
1
Windows Server 2012 (5731-W12) Per 2 Processor Server
Datacenter
5731W12
IBM SmartCloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure for Microsoft Windows Server 2012 VDI
Reference architecture
16
19. V3700 iSCSI shared storage
Quantity
Description
Part
number
1
IBM Storwize V3700 SFF Dual Control Enclosure
207224C
24
300GB 10K 2.5 inch HDD
ACLJ
Top of rack switches
Quantity
Description
Part
number
2
Juniper 24 Port 1Gb EX2200 Ethernet Switch for IBM System x
A13L
Appendix 2: Performance testing results
The performance analysis of the reference architecture was carried out using Login VSI. Login VSI is a
software tool to test the performance and scalability of VDIs. The workload produced by Login VSI for the
current performance analysis effort was representative of a typical set of activities performed by a
knowledge worker (the medium workload). Resource utilization on the virtualization host servers were
monitored using Microsoft performance monitor. All testing was performed with Login VSI version 4.0. It
should be noted that the Login VSI VSImax as calculated in version 4 is lower than VSImax for previous
Login VSI versions to closer represent a more realistic number of users that the system can support.
The tests in this document using Login VSI used the following target client configuration:
Windows 7
Microsoft Office 2010
Adobe Reader 9.3
Doro PDF version v1.82
Adobe Flash 11 ActiveX h
Sun Java 7 Update 13
Microsoft .Net 3.5
Configuration options:
Set the tuning parameter on the Broker Server.
Set -RDVirtualDesktopConcurrency to 5 (current max)
This option sets create/update to five VMs at a time (per host) rather than one, which is the default.
Performance results for virtualization host configuration 1
The following tests show the performance for 160 users logging on during a 48-minute window with a total
run time of 60 minutes.
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20. Processor performance graph
The processor graph in the following figure shows the logical processor utilization during performance
analysis of a single virtualization host server. The results show sustained logical processor percentage
runtime peaking at approximately 90%. The average logical processor percentage runtime of about
80% is ideal for an environment that is operating at the optimal combination of maximizing density,
while providing sufficient headroom to ensure that user experience is not diminished.
Figure 5: Processor utilization during a 60-minute run with 160 users logging in over the first 48 minutes
The next two graphs show two different disk performance measurements. The test team measured the
average disk queue length and the average disk transfer. These were measured to verify that there
were no issues on any of the local disk arrays.
Average disk queue length graph
The average disk queue length graph tracks the number of requests that are queued and waiting for a
disk during the sample interval and the requests in service. In Figure 6, the disk queue length in red
color in is the SSD RAID 1 array, and the line in blue color is the average disk queue for the local
storage six-disk RAID 0 array that are used to hold the differential disks for the user VMs. The average
disk queue length shows no bottlenecks on the disk drives.
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21. Figure 6: Average disk queue length graph for 60 minutes
Average disk transfer graph
The following figure shows that the average disk transfer is well below the 20 ms which would indicate
a bottleneck on the disk.
Figure 7: Average disk transfer graph for a 60-minute run
IBM SmartCloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure for Microsoft Windows Server 2012 VDI
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22. Memory- available bytes graph
The memory graph in the following figure shows the available memory during performance analysis. It
can be seen that the available memory drops to approximately 10 GB, which shows that the system is
getting close to being constrained on memory with 160 users logged on to the system, the total
memory on the virtualization host is 192 GB. These VMs were configured to use dynamic memory;
from a minimum of 512 MB to a maximum of 2 GB. After all the users have been logged on, the
available memory returns to approximately 30 GB, which demonstrates the efficiencies provided by
Microsoft dynamic memory technology.
Figure 8: Memory-available bytes graph for 60 minute test run
Login VSI VSImax graph for one of the virtualization host nodes
The Login VSI tool generates a test score called VSImax after each successful test run. The VSImax
is the maximum capacity of the tested system expressed in the number of Login VSI sessions. The
VSImax score can then be used to determine the performance of a particular system configuration.
This graph shows that according to Login VSI, this configuration supports 157 users per virtualization
host with reasonable performance. The performance counter shows that 125 users on the System
x3550 M4 server is probably more realistic as the processor utilization with 157 users is near 95%.
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23. Figure 9: Login VSI VSImax graph for one virtualization host node
Performance results for virtualization host configuration 2
The Storwize V3700 storage and network remain the same for this configuration. The management and
virtualization host servers have been changed to use the IBM System x3650 M4 server in order to use
more local disk drives for the virtualization host servers. In this configuration, there are two SSDs in a
RAID 1 configuration, eight local disks in a RAID 0 configuration, 256 GB of memory, and Intel Xeon
processors E5-2680. The tests explained in this section show the performance for 205 users logging in
during a 48-minute window with a total run time of 60 minutes.
Processor performance graph
The graph in the following figure shows the logical processor utilization during performance analysis of
a single virtualization host server. The results show sustained logical processor percentage runtime
peaking at approximately 90%. The average logical processor percentage runtime of about 80% is
ideal for an environment that is operating at the optimal combination of maximizing density while
providing sufficient headroom to ensure that user experience is not diminished.
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24. Figure 10: Processor utilization during a 55-minute test run with 200 users logging in over the first 48 minutes.
Average disk queue length graph
The average disk queue length graph tracks the number of requests that are queued and waiting for a
disk during the sample interval, and requests in service. In Figure 11, the disk queue length in red
color is the SSD RAID 1 array, and the blue color line is the average disk queue for the local storage
eight-disk RAID 0 array that are used to hold the differential disks for the user VMs. The average disk
queue length shows no bottlenecks on the disk drives.
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25. Figure 11: Average disk transfer graph for a 60-minute run
Average disk transfer graph
The graph in the following figure shows that the average disk transfer is well below 20 ms and this
would indicate a bottleneck on the disk.
Figure 12: Average disk transfer graph for a 60-minute run
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26. Memory-available bytes graph
The memory graph in the following figure shows the available memory during performance analysis. It
can be seen that the available memory never drops below 80 GB, which shows that the system is not
constrained on memory. The total memory on the virtualization host is 256 GB. The total memory for
the VMs configured on this system is 200 GB and this demonstrates the efficiencies provided by
Microsoft’s dynamic memory technology.
Figure 13: Memory-available bytes graph for the 60-minute test run
Login VSI VSImax graph for one of the virtualization hosts
This graph in the following figure shows that this configuration can support 184 users per virtualization
host with reasonable performance. The performance counters show that 138 users on each System
x3650 M4 is very realistic and that if a node were to fail the System x3650 M4 server can support 184
users. The tests show that these systems are well balanced in terms of processor, memory, and disk
configuration.
IBM SmartCloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure for Microsoft Windows Server 2012 VDI
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27. Figure 14: Login VSI VSImax graph for one virtualization host node
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28. Resources
IBM SmartCloud Virtual Desktop Infrastructure reference architecture
ibm.com/partnerworld/wps/servlet/ContentHandler/stg_ast_eis_sdi_infrastructure
Microsoft Virtual Desktop Infrastructure
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/enterprise/products-andtechnologies/virtualization/vdi.aspx
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30. considerations such as the amount of multiprogramming in the user's job stream, the I/O configuration, the
storage configuration, and the workload processed. Therefore, no assurance can be given that an
individual user will achieve throughput or performance improvements equivalent to the ratios stated here.
Photographs shown are of engineering prototypes. Changes may be incorporated in production models.
Any references in this information to non-IBM websites are provided for convenience only and do not in
any manner serve as an endorsement of those websites. The materials at those websites are not part of
the materials for this IBM product and use of those websites is at your own risk.
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