Desktop Virtualization @ U-M September 28, 2011 Ryan Henyard ITS Desktop Infrastructure
Overview Introduction to Desktop Virtualization MyDesktop Service How We Got There Use Cases Takeaways Future Plans
Provide a campus service to: - Access applications and/or customized desktops remotely - Increased security - Manage desktops more efficiently - Potentially save on energy, equipment, and physical space - Develop distributed administration model which allows admins to manage their own desktop images and settings. Our Mission
A number of intersecting efforts Server Virtualization (VaaS) Virtual Sites VDI Shared Desktop Image Enterprise Storage
and other incentives Reducing redundancy Momentum on campus towards VDI; various units already considering/piloting VDI technologies Centrally provided service would save University money; units could benefit from more buying power for new infrastructure Saving effort by providing shared infrastructure
Create new VDI network We provision a Network for each new customer; some customers have more than one network to meet different security needs Add VDI Base Image Customers have options for their base images: - Create new blank VM (for existing provisioning systems) - Copy of U-M Shared Desktop image - Import existing image file - Customer chooses specs for machines (# of processors, RAM, HDD) Create Pool of VMs based on image Customers can create multiple pools from one base image Customers are billed based on pool size; per machine cost determined via formula partially based on specs
Non-Persistent Pools VDI Pools floating pools of machines Users are connected to a random clone, which can be reverted back to your last snapshot after logout Persistent Pools Dedicated 1-to-1 user assignment Machines are permanently assigned to a user after the first connection; can be paired with separate disk for user data
How Did We Get There?
Project Summary Service officially in production after 10 months of project/pilot : 9/09-6/10 Short exploratory phase to select a vendor Relied on existing expertise with various components
Choosing VMWare Previous expertise on campus with their products Existing VMWare ESX infrastructure Relatively compact server architecture required Wide compatibility with thin client devices Active Directory integrated access management
Choosing VMWare Significant disk savings using Linked Clone technology Connection software available for Windows, OSX and Linux Important new features available in View 4.5 (delegated administration, viable persistence
Initial Use Cases
Virtual Sites ITS-managed environment A virtualized desktop nearly identical to our campus computing labs Provides common and specialized software to windows users on an as needed basis Give Mac users a way to use Windows-only course software Available to students, faculty & full-time staff
Virtual Desktop Hosting Unit-managed environment Allows units to maintain management & control of the OS Units can use existing resources (images, deployment systems, group policy, network shares, etc.) Units control availability
Virtual Classrooms Specialized Virtual Sites image Gives units the ability to reserve large blocks of Virtual Sites machines through the MyDesktop service
Rates 1 Base Virtual Machine Includes 1 CPU, 2GB RAM, 40GB Disk Additional 1GB storage space Additional 1GB RAM Additional 1 CPU $21.35/month ($256.20 annually) $0.28/month ($3.36 annually) $3.11/month ($37.32 annually) $3.11/month ($37.32 annually) VDI machines are fully costed includes staff time, hardware, power, etc. The biggest impetus for moving to VDI is not that virtual machines are cheaper than physical hardware; the savings come from easier management, provisioning, user continuity & remote access.
Streamlining the Process Campus Admin Pool A pool of desktops that Unit admins use to work on and manage their base images. Users new to virtualization can learn by doing: building their VDI images using the system itself Trial Network Trial network allows units to start working on their base images almost immediately, and then transfer them once their unit s network is available.
Campus Examples
ICPSR Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research Deploys pools of non-persistent desktops to allow secure access to sensitive datasets Limits access to desktops based on IP Provides strictly licensed applications on VMs to reduce potential costs Uses roaming profiles & network shares to store user data
ITS Desktop Support Provides remote access to common loadset for Business & Finance along with ITS Uses roaming profiles & CIFS Storage to store user data Aids in transition to Windows 7
School of Social Work 70 Dell Latitude E5520 laptops with SSD hard drives and extended batteries Homegrown software thin-client, configured with automatic logins and pool connections Connects to a Virtual Classroom pool of customized Virtual Sites machines
What we learned VDI can be an invaluable tool for testing Test environments can be grown and decommissioned quickly snapshots enable easy rollback of unintended changes Many of the quick win use cases involved nonpersistent desktops Admins liked being able to ensure the integrity of a machine, knowing it is deleted after first use
What we learned Users want a solution that works on a wide variety of devices Our pilots have connected via traditional desktops, laptops, Macs, netbooks, thin clients, ipads and iphones USB Redirection grants the possibility of using location-specific peripherals in conjunction with remote desktops
Future Plans Expansion of Virtual Sites Upgrade to View 5.0 Enables more delegated administration of desktop pools, improved bandwidth usageprofile management Application Virtualization
Questions?
Contact MyDesktop Service http://mydesktop.umich.edu Desktop Virtualization Website http://www.itcs.umich.edu/virtualization/desktop Desktop Virtualization Team vdi.requests@umich.edu