VDI Without Compromise with SimpliVity OmniStack and VMware Horizon View

Transcription

1 VDI Without Compromise with SimpliVity OmniStack and VMware Horizon View Page 1 of 16

2 Introduction A Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) provides customers with a more consistent end user experience and excellent operational benefits, including security, protection of company data, centralized control and management, increased flexibility and accessibility for the end user client platforms. While these advantages are obvious and attractive to many companies, there are challenges to overcome in a cost-effective manner that ensure an excellent end user experience. SimpliVity OmniStack hyperconverged infrastructure solves many of these challenges by eliminating the redundant IOPS that plague VDI environments, eliminating silos of data management, and utilizing built-in data protection and mobility. This white paper documents the results of SimpliVity-led testing to provide evidence of these efficiency gains. All performance testing utilized Login VSI ( the industry-standard load testing solution for virtualized desktop environments. These performance tests, validated by Login VSI, offer insight in to the latest performance results of VMware Horizon View 6 on SimpliVity OmniStack 3.0. Summary of Results The performance testing illustrates SimpliVity s ability to deliver an excellent end user experience in VDI deployments as the environment scales, and with node failure scenarios. Highlights include: 1. Performance at scale: Consistent, very low latency measured throughout 1,000 user deployments. 2. Absorption of log-in storms: 1,000 logins completed in 1,000 seconds. 3. Ultra-fast desktop provisioning: 1,000 desktops deployed in 70 minutes. 4. Node failure resiliency: Full desktop failover with no significant degradation of user experience after unplugging a single node in a four-node cluster. Login VSI s Take Remarkable Test Results Login VSI provides a set of operations selected to be representative of real-world user applications, and reports data on the latencies of those operations. In Login VSI s tests, this tool was used to simulate a real-world scenario, and the resultant application latency was accepted to measure the end user experience. With heavily involvement in the Validated by tests, Login VSI noticed a few differentiating test results: Significantly low baselines, which means a strong base performance. This forms the base for a very good user experience. On average, very good and acceptable response times. Straight and predictable end user performance. SimpliVity s power is in a linear growth and performance model. No reach of the VSImax, which means the performance exaggeration points have not been reached in any of the tests. Even in the failed-host scenario, although it got very close, the VSImax was not reached. Page 2 of 16

3 Solution Preview VDI initiatives have gained a reputation for being costly, time consuming, difficult to architect, and, worst of all, prone to failure due to poor user experience. When deployed on SimpliVity OmniStack, many of the common administrative pain points are alleviated, while giving business owners confidence that their end users will experience superior desktop performance, even in the event of a node failure. SimpliVity delivers VDI Without Compromise, with a strong focus on end user experience, operational efficiency and economics, and enterprise protection and resiliency. The following performance tests were conducted to document the performance characteristics of VMware Horizon View running on SimpliVity OmniStack hyperconverged infrastructure. These results are a sample and are not intended to offer a comprehensive overview of all end user computing use cases that SimpliVity OmniStack addresses. Contact SimpliVity sales to discuss how SimpliVity OmniStack addresses other VDI use cases. SimpliVity OmniStack SimpliVity OmniStack is a software-defined hyperconverged infrastructure solution. OmniStack runs on x86 industrystandard servers to deliver turnkey hyperconverged infrastructure for the software-defined data center. Clustering multiple OmniStack-powered hyperconverged infrastructure units forms a shared resource pool and delivers high availability, mobility, and efficient scaling of performance and capacity. SimpliVity OmniStack assimilates all IT infrastructure and services below the hypervisor into a single, scalable 2U building block. Two or more instances of OmniStack-powered hyperconverged building blocks deployed together form a federation delivering a massively-scalable pool of shared resources. The solution runs on commodity servers OEMed by SimpliVity under the SimpliVity OmniCube brand name and with third-party servers, including Cisco UCS and Lenovo System X servers, under the SimpliVity OmniStack name. SimpliVity s differentiation from other converged infrastructure is in its Data Virtualization Platform, which enables SimpliVity hyperconverged infrastructure s single shared resource pool across multiple sites, and provides highly-efficient data storage and mobility. SimpliVity s Data Virtualization Platform consists of SimpliVity s data architecture and accelerator card, and enables accelerated data efficiency, global unified management, and built-in data protection. Page 3 of 16

4 Test Environment Environment Configuration The following tables detail the physical and logical specifications of the environment utilized for these tests. SimpliVity OmniStack hyperconverged infrastructure was configured in a 4+0 configuration four (4) nodes in the primary site and no nodes in a remote site to represent the basic 1,000-user building block. OmniStack 3.0 Hardware Configuration Attribute Total Hosts Specification 4 Per Host Specifications Model CPU RAM Disk (HDD) Disk (SSD) SimpliVity OmniCube CN-2400 Dual Intel E5-2697v3 2.6GHz 14-core processor 384 GB 8 x 7.2k HDD 2 x 400GB SSD Table 1: SimpliVity OmniStack Configuration Task Worker VM Configuration** Attribute Desktop OS Virtual CPU Virtual Memory Virtual Disk - VMDK Application Workload Specification Windows 7, 64-bit 1 1GB 25GB 2-7 Open Apps Table 2: Task Worker VM Configuration Page 4 of 16

5 Office Worker VM Configuration** Attribute Desktop OS Virtual CPU Virtual Memory Virtual Disk - VMDK Application Workload Specification Windows 7, 64-bit 1 1.5GB 25GB 5-8 Open Apps Table 3: Office Worker VM Configuration Knowledge Worker VM Configuration** Attribute Desktop OS Virtual CPU Virtual Memory Virtual Disk - VMDK Application Workload Specification Windows 7, 64-bit 2 2GB 25GB 5-9 Open Apps Table 4: Knowledge Worker VM Configuration **Desktop parent images, which are the common base of the linked clone desktops, were optimized using VMware Best Practices (see resources section). Page 5 of 16

6 Login VSI Workload Applications Application Name Microsoft Word 2010 Microsoft Excel 2010 Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 Microsoft Outlook 2010 Internet Explorer Mind Map Flash Player Doro PDF Printer Photo Viewer SimpliVity used the latest version, Login VSI 4.1.4, to perform the tests. The VMs were balanced across each of the servers, maintaining a consistent number of VMs on each node. For the Login VSImax test, 2 Login VSI launchers were used, launching 500 sessions per host. The Login VSI launcher was configured to launch a new session every two (2) seconds. All VDI desktops were powered on, registered, and idle prior to starting the actual test sessions. For the tests, SimpliVity used the new Login VSI Task, Office and Knowledge Worker workloads. The workloads simulate the following applications found in almost every environment: Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Internet Explorer, Document browse, Adobe Reader, Archiving software, Video playback software, Doro PDF Printing, and Photo Viewer. All tests are executed in Login VSI s Direct Desktop Mode. Since no specific remoting protocol is used, this makes the test results relevant for everyone. In Direct Desktop Mode, all sessions are started as a console session. The big advantage is that all comparisons are not influenced by changes on a remoting protocol level. As a result, the results are a pure comparison of the tests in a VDI context. Table 5: Applications in Login VSI Workloads Benchmarking Tool All performance testing documented utilized the Login VSI ( benchmarking tool. Login VSI is the industry-standard load testing solution for centralized virtualized desktop environments. When used for benchmarking, the software measures the total response time of several specific user operations being performed within a desktop workload in a scripted loop. The baseline is the measurement of the response time of specific operations performed in the desktop workload, which is measured in milliseconds (ms). VSIbase VSIbase Scoring Values Performance Very Good Good Reasonable Poor There are two values in particular that are important to note: VSIbase and VSImax. Table 6: Login VSI 4.1 Baseline Scoring Values 1. VSIbase: A score reflecting the response time of specific operations performed in the desktop workload when there is little or no stress on the system. A low baseline indicates a better user experience, resulting in applications responding faster in the environment. 2. VSImax: The maximum number of desktop sessions attainable on the host before experiencing degradation in host and desktop performance. Page 6 of 16

7 Performance Results 1,000 Linked Clone Desktops Knowledge Worker Profile Initial Pool Deployment As one of the major stressors of a VDI environment, measuring the time it takes to deploy an entire pool of desktops is a critical indicator in a VDI environment. Whether for deployment of a new OS image, more frequent pool refreshes for security patches, or bringing up the entire VDI environment in a cold disaster recovery site, being able to deploy 1,000 linked clone desktops in 70 minutes can increase IT staff and end user productivity. Figure 1 shows the linear deployment of 1,000 linked clone desktops based on when the VMware Horizon View logs registered a desktop check-in. Figure 1 - Virtual Desktop Check-ins for a Newly-Depolyed Pool Page 7 of 16

8 1,000 Linked Clone Desktops Knowledge Worker Profile Out of the Box SimpliVity OmniStack demonstrated 250 freshly deployed desktops per node, with the resulting performance of the desktops throughout the test well below the VSImax Threshold. This result, as shown in Figure 2, indicates an excellent user experience. Figure 2-1,000 Knowledge Workers Page 8 of 16

9 800 Linked Clone Desktops Knowledge Worker Profile Failed Node Data protection and availability is a critical component of SimpliVity OmniStack hyperconverged infrastructure. Deploying 200 desktops per node (in a four-node configuration) leaves plenty of capacity to maintain the full availability of the desktop environment when a single node (hosting both compute and storage resources) in the 4+0 Federation fails. As shown in Figure 3, the most impressive item to note from these results is that, on average, all 800 non-persistent knowledge worker desktops perform well enough without reaching VSIMax. Figure Knowledge Workers with 1 Failed Node Page 9 of 16

10 1,000 Linked Clone Desktops Knowledge Worker Profile Login Storm While not a standard Login VSI benchmark test, a login storm is usually regarded as the most impactful stressor of a VDI environment. SimpliVity tested how quickly users could log in during a worst-case scenario. Login VSI was configured to log in 1,000 users in one-second intervals (this is 2.8x faster than the standard benchmark). As shown in Figure 4, overall, the environment handled the load very well, with minimal end user impact. Figure 4-1,000 Knowledge Workers Logins in 1,000 Seconds Page 10 of 16

11 1,000 Linked Clone Desktops Office Worker Profile Out of the Box To demonstrate the performance of a lower-end desktop environment, 1,000 Office Workers were deployed and logged in. The results, as shown in Figure 5, reveal consistent performance where even the maximum latencies rarely go above the VSImax threshold. Figure 5-1,000 Office Worker Logins Page 11 of 16

12 1,000 Linked Clone Desktops Office Worker Profile Failed Node With 250 desktops deployed per hyperconverged infrastructure node, one node was failed by removing all power. The 250 desktops on the failed node were automatically restarted on the remaining three nodes and brought back online. As shown in Figure 6, the end result was full availability of all VMs with an average latency that only approached VSImax threshold at the very end of the tests. Figure 6-1,000 Office Workers with a Failed Host Page 12 of 16

13 1,000 Linked Clone Desktops Task Worker Profile Out of the Box For the lowest-end Login VSI test case, 250 task worker desktops were deployed per node. This test results demonstrate that even the maximum observed response time is well below the VSImax threshold (see Figure 7). Figure 7-1,000 Task Worker Logins Page 13 of 16

14 1,000 Linked Clone Desktops Task Worker Profile Failed Node With 1,000 task worker desktops deployed across four (4) OmniStack nodes, one of the nodes is failed. As shown in Figure 8, all VMs were successfully restored and the resulting performance impact to the end user is very small (270ms) remaining below the VSImax threshold. Figure 8-1,000 Task Workers with a Failed Host Page 14 of 16

15 1,000 Linked Clone Desktops Task Worker Profile Aged Filesystem Utilizing an aged file system, testing was performed to demonstrate that end users will not experience dramatic degradation of performance after the infrastructure has been in use for many days. The aged filesystem has 40% of HDD available and no free index stripes. As shown in Figure 9, the average performance of the desktops throughout this test is well below the VSImax threshold. Figure 9-1,000 Task Workers on an Aged Filesystem Page 15 of 16

16 Summary Utilizing SimpliVity OmniStack hyperconverged infrastructure dramatically simplifies IT systems management. OmniStack s Data Virtualization Platform delivers industryleading data efficiency, global unified management and built-in data protection. For VDI environments, SimpliVity provides an unmatched user experience without compromising desktop density or resiliency. References Desktop Optimization Guide for Windows 7 and Windows 8 About Login VSI Login VSI provides performance insights for virtualized desktop and server environments. Enterprise IT departments use Login VSI products in all phases of their virtual desktop deployment from planning to deployment to change management for more predictable performance, higher availability and a more consistent end user experience. The world s leading virtualization vendors use the flagship product, Login VSI, to benchmark performance. With minimal configuration, Login VSI products works in VMware Horizon View, Citrix XenDesktop and XenApp, Microsoft Remote Desktop Services (Terminal Services) and any other Windows-based virtual desktop solution. For more information, download a trial at Authors Sammie Ginger Solution Owner End User Computing Brian Knudtson Technical Marketing Manager For more information, visit: , SimpliVity Corporation. All rights reserved. Information described herein is furnished for informational use only, and is subject to change without notice. SimpliVity, the SimpliVity logo, OmniCube, OmniStack, and Data Virtualization Platform are trademarks or registered trademarks of SimpliVity Corporation in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. J0352-VDI-WP-EN-1015 Page 16 of 16