Why ClearCube Technology for VDI?

Why ClearCube for VDI? There are many VDI platforms to choose from. Some have evolved inefficiently from legacy virtualized server farms; some use proprietary file systems; some use proprietary hardware; some are slow in certain areas, fast in others; all consume more storage at a higher cost than what could be possible. Given the existing muddled VDI landscape, ClearCube -- a pioneer in the VDI market as the first OEM to adopt PCoIP for commercial use responded to our zero client customers requests for a straightforward VDI compute/storage solution to fulfill the promise of desktop virtualization with the SmartVDI product family. ClearCube designed SmartVDI to meet the following objectives: 1. Utilize VMware s proven core VDI components 2. Optimize VDI storage for desktop usage with high performance IOPS for a great user experience 3. Produce the lowest cost/highest performance ratios by eliminating the need for unnecessary drives, storage space, and storage software licensing through patented real-time in-line deduplication 4. Design the configuration capabilities to embrace linked clones and persistent full clones within the same architecture 5. Incorporate high availability for business continuity and minimize complexity for disaster recovery scenarios 6. Modularize the deliverables to make scaling simple and easy What does SmartVDI mean for you? SmartVDI s straightforward approach to meeting those six objectives provide you with three huge advantages -- OPEX reductions, satisfied users, and a smooth transition from physical to virtual (or physical and virtual) as the primary end goal. Please take a few moments to appreciate how SmartVDI can save you money. In the case of a business that uses 100 physical desktop PCs, take a look at the number of items that one SmartVDI system eliminates: 100s of processors, power supplies, cases, hard drives, electronics, packing materials, office space and all their associated adverse impacts noise, heat, power consumption, space consumption and distributed PC management. Think about what eliminating these will mean to your bottom line savings. In this brief overview of the SmartVDI architecture we will explain the importance and impact of each design consideration and why meeting SmartVDI s six objectives has produced the best VDI platform. SmartVDI s design is straightforward, without mystery, which makes it easy to understand, easy to implement, easy to support, and comfortable to live with. 2014 ClearCube Technology, Inc. All Rights Reserved 2

Management Resource Pool Diagram 1 represents two hardware components needed to meet the first four of the six key objectives. SmartVDI 100 delivers the compute portion and SmartStor Storage Array delivers the external storage portion. Diagram 1 - High-level SmartVDI Architecture At the heart of the SmartVDI architecture is a Management Resource Pool (Diagram 2) that ClearCube has constructed using VMware s proven VDI infrastructure core ESXi, vcenter, and View Connection Server/Administrator/ Broker, and View Composer for linked clone Diagram 2 - Management Resource Pool management. To that VDI core, ClearCube adds (or supports if the functions already exist on site) a number of common software components such as VMware vcenter, Horizon View, View Composer and 2014 ClearCube Technology, Inc. All Rights Reserved 3

a number of ClearCube provided differentiating software components such as storage - VDI optimized ZFS file structure, plus end point, USB port, system hardware, and storage management. SmartVDI SAS Controller APEX 2800 PCoIP Offload NVIDIA GRID GPU E2650 2,6GHz 8 core E2650 2,6GHz 8 core 10GigE 16 x 16GB (256 GB) RAM SmartVDI Series 100 Host Platform 10GigE Storage, Admin, VM NW, vmotion Diagram 3 SmartVDI Host Platform Hardware SmartVDI 100 Host Hardware Diagram 3 represents one SmartVDI 100 host hardware system, consisting of dual Xeon processors (two dark red blocks), high speed 256GB RAM (blue block), and a 16GB internal flash memory for booting ESXi. No other storage is needed in the compute engine and very little is needed in the external storage array because of SmartVDI s unique inline deduplication that saves one instance for use by all virtual users instead of replicating unique instances for each user. This capability results in the SmartVDI solution delivering precisely optimized IOPS tuned to meet your users needs. Two paths, in and out of the SmartVDI host hardware system, connect to external storage and to the network. A direct connection through a high speed SAS controller (coral colored block) is made to SmartStor external storage array to facilitate speed. Dual 10GbE connections (dark blue blocks middle/right) provide high speed paths to the network switches, while administrative management traffic flows over 1GbE connections (two purple blocks). An Apex 2800 PCoIP offload adapter (yellow block) may be integrated as an option to give a performance boost if the application environment needs it (for heavy video streaming, for example). Those SmartVDI host hardware components are packaged in a 1U rack mount chassis with redundant power supplies (photo at the bottom). Also included in the photo is an external storage array that we will explain later in the high availability section of this document. 2014 ClearCube Technology, Inc. All Rights Reserved 4

SmartVDI Virtual Desktop Machines Diagram 4 represents the virtual desktop machines that reside in SmartVDI memory, plus the things that compose a Windows desktop such as Windows licenses and images that define each user s work environment. A number of virtual machines are set aside within SmartVDI to perform management tasks (light blue blocks). The way the desktops are deployed can range from linked clones to persistent full clones. ClearCube s SmartVDI team can help you to understand the positives of each method. Regardless of which is best for you, Smart VDI supports both methodologies through block level real time deduplication. This Diagram 4 Support for both linked clones and persistent full clones in SmartVDI Virtual desktop infrastructure results in using a fraction (sometimes as low as 2%) of normal storage requirements. Think of it as saving as much as 98% on storage costs. Let s re-cap SmartVDI s first four design objectives: 1. Utilize VMware s proven core VDI components. SmartVDI leverages proven VMware VDI software at both the user and management levels, augmented with Microsoft components, plus ClearCube software built on open source storageoptimized ZFS file system that completes the VDI solution. 2. Optimize VDI storage for low latency and high IOPS for a great user experience. SmartVDI provides the IOPS and low latency that makes the user experience transition seamless. 3. Reduce cost/performance ratio eliminating drives and storage software. Data reduction through inline deduplication can exceed 15:1 which translates to enormous performance gains and cost savings 2014 ClearCube Technology, Inc. All Rights Reserved 5

4. Embrace linked clones and full clones within the same architecture. For the first time, both users and network administrators can share in the benefits of VDI. Users can have the personalized desktops they want; administrators can use familiar management programs on centralized resources instead of hard to manage distributed resources. The remaining two design objectives were: 5. Incorporate high availability to reduce downtime and minimize complexity for business continuity/disaster recovery scenarios. 6. Modularize the deliverables to make scaling simple and easy Diagram 5 (page 7) shows how SmartVDI accomplishes the remaining two design objectives. Let s start with the teal boxes in the top left corner that we just previously summarized as delivering the SmartVDI core. When you look directly below them, you see a mirror image of the SmartVDI core (diagram1). Those two identical cores are each connected to an external SmartStor storage array. SmartStor serves as the central storage location that any of the SmartVDI 100 nodes can access. SmartStor contains the Management Resource Pool, plus VMware HA software for desktop user migration, plus user data. And it has redundant SAS paths so that it remains accessible even if one of the local SmartVDI core nodes fails. In the event of a SmartVDI 100 failure, VMware HA migrates the virtual desktops to remaining SmartVDI nodes in the cluster and SmartVDI s managed storage software assigns resources appropriately. High availability is therefore accomplished on a number of levels, through intelligent software management and redundant component elements and configuration to deliver business continuity. In multi-site disaster recovery configurations, SmartStor can be used for site-to-site replicated storage. SmartVDI does block level deduplication locally before sending to the replication site so both storage and bandwidth costs are greatly reduced. Since very little storage is actually consumed at the primary and secondary sites, mirrored data on SmartStor units are kept current at both sites simultaneously. That way if the users primary site is not accessible, they can log into virtual desktops on the secondary site that have replicas of their primary site desktops. 2014 ClearCube Technology, Inc. All Rights Reserved 6

Diagram 5 - SmartVDI High Availability Architecture Please notice the additional four teal boxes to the right of the core, without local storage and having more virtual desktops. Once the SmartVDI high availability core infrastructure has been established, additional compute nodes can be added to the cluster. The virtual desktops in these nodes, connect back to SmartVDI s inline deduplication storage management engine via the high speed 10GigE connection and do not use local storage. Each system is modular, making scaling simple and easy. Summary A virtual desktop isn t complete without access to use it. That takes a stateless zero client desktop device that can broker a connection to the virtual desktop over PCoIP protocol. ClearCube s innovative VMware-ready PCoIP zero client end points complement the SmartVDI solution. At the hardware level, ClearCube zero clients are uniquely durable, with dozens of configuration options, including those for multiple level security support. So, if your VDI objectives are in line with ClearCube s design objectives: 1. VMware VDI based 2. Optimized high performance IOPS and low latency 3. Delivers low cost/high performance ratios 4. Supports linked and full clones 5. Delivers desktop business continuity 6. Makes VDI scaling simple and easy 2014 ClearCube Technology, Inc. All Rights Reserved 7

From a company that has complete desktop to datacenter solutions, then your decision will be as straightforward as the SmartVDI architecture. Diagram 6 ClearCube Solutions For more information, please contact us: ClearCube Technology, Inc. 3700 W Parmer Lane, Austin, TX 78727 Voice: 512.652.3500 Fax: 512.652.3501 Toll Free: 866.652.3500 www.clearcube.com sales@clearcube.com Why ClearCube for VDI_20140127_Rev_C 2014 ClearCube Technology, Inc. All Rights Reserved 8