Data storage resources needed to implement a virtual desktop infrastructure

VDI components

1. A hypervisor, such as Citrix Systems Inc.'s XenServer, Microsoft Corp.'s Hyper-V or VMware Inc.'s ESX Server, which runs on a server and executes the desktop virtual machines.
2. A management platform offered by the hypervisor vendors for their respective products. This manages the hypervisor servers as well as the pool of virtual machines (VMs) used by existing connections and requested by new connections, and facilitates provisioning desktop virtual machines to VDI clients.
3. A session broker that's responsible for distributing sessions from clients to VMs and redirecting users of disconnected sessions back to their original virtual machines.

Data storage requirements

Even with offline support, VDI depends on a reliable network and sufficient bandwidth on both the local-area network (LAN) and wide-area network (WAN), and the larger the VDI deployment the more likely network upgrades will be required. Add to that the cost of cooling, electricity and data center space, and it adds up to a significant IT infrastructure investment. On top of that infrastructure investment, there's the cost of the virtual desktop software, typically licensed by concurrent desktop (VMware View) or concurrent user (Citrix Systems XenDesktop), OS licenses, as well as the Microsoft Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktops (VECD) add-on license Microsoft demands for each VDI client in addition to the OS license.

Vendors working to minimize hardware requirements

"While a normal server blade can support about 40 to 60 VDI clients, UCS more than doubles that number, effectively reducing the cost per user by more than a factor of two," noted Chad Sakac, vice president of the VMware Technology Alliance.

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