Virtualizing Apps Desktops Servers and Everything in Between

Virtualizing Apps, Desktops, Servers and Everything in Between Karen Warren Director of User and Technical Services kwarren@wesleyan. edu David V. Spiars Windows System Administrator vspiars@wesleyan. edu Wesleyan University Middletown, CT

Why? n n Cost savings – but what kind of cost? n The hardware is cheaper, but not that much depending on what you buy. n Replacement cycle – much longer but not yet realized Time savings n Re-imaging; reduced downtime on failure n Support n Provisioning n Environmental savings n New – let’s see how it works

Environmental comparison n Thin Client Desktop Wyse V 10 L 103 KWH total annual usage HP DC 7800 270 KWH total annual usage n n $13. 50 total annual electrical cost n $35. 37 total annual electrical cost n 1083 lbs of C 02 produced per year n 2838 lbs of C 02 produced per year Assumptions: units are off evenings, weekends, vacations and holidays.

Who? n Limited or special use labs such as our Career Resource Center, Mc. Nair Lab, student workers n Administrative users in offices such as University Relations, Admissions, Finance, etc. n Kiosks n Physical Plant – work order stations

How? n Different solution depending on need. n Terminal Services for lab setups and kiosks. n Virtual Desktops for administrative staff – our challenges n No standard configuration n Allow users admin access to desktop n Allow personalization of desktops n Had to make a seamless transition with the least disruption to the user experience. Yikes!

So. . How’d it go? Cons Pros n Erratic performance n Small footprint n Display challenges n Very short boot time n Peripheral Devices n When it works well, it is great n Staff buy-in: both internal to ITS and users n Less moving parts to fail

Architecture n VMWare ESX Hosts on Dell M 600 blades with 32 GB RAM on each n Storage via NFS volumes on Net. App Filer 3050 using SATA drives. n Clients: Wyse V 10 L running Wyse Thin OS (WTOS), TCX Multimedia Extension, and TCX USB Virtualizers n De-duplication on the Filers. n 100 MB connectivity to endpoints

What we had to change n Performance limitations on the Filers because of our data allocation. n Moved Virtual Desktops to Fiber Channel storage on the same SAN. n Acquired disk shelves for the Filers and completed a major data storage restructure based on actual data revealing disk I/O. n Consolidated most desktop VMs to two hosts dedicated to VDI.

Where we are now n 40 virtual desktops and 20 TS terminals n Virtualized Servers: 35 Unix/46 Windows n Adding broker/VDI management tool within the next 6 -8 weeks n Re-examining storage – isolating storage?

Users n Pilot group of users. Some voluntary and appropriate, some less so. n User buy-in. n Constant communication. Honest and up front. n Have a test setup for yourself or implementers so they can see and experience what the users experience.

Cost n Blade = $4000 n VMWare ESX Licenses = $3200 with 2 yr support (move to ESXi and possibly VM View? ) n ~ 20 desktops per host; VDI confined to 2 hosts (at 20 per n n n Current desktop model – HP DC 7900 with imaging and licensing costs = $780 (no monitor) n Average replacement = 4 years machine, the cost is $200 per VM) n Parts support and replacement. Wyse V 10 L terminal with licensing for USB and Multimedia enhancement = $350. Without licenses = $300 n Staffing costs. n Downtime costs. Life span = unknown. 8 – 10 yrs?

Does it add up? n If, when all is said and done, the hardware outlay was the same, would we not do it anyway? n Quantify the exact cost with VDI and virtual servers all coexisting. How do you factor the true cost of SAN storage? n True impact of staffing costs and maintenance.

Application Virtualization The crash course n Scope—what are you trying to accomplish? Quicker imaging times? Make available different versions of the same app? n Identify who it is going to use the virtualized app (Faculty in classrooms, students in labs, students on personal machines)? n Remember the management of the tool to create/implement app virtualization. Time still costs money. Give it to the correct person.

Benefits of app virtualization n Reduce Windows image size and thus, reduce reimage time. DR and machine deployment times are shortened. Happier faculty/staff. n Multi-version availability (Office 2003, 2007, 2010 all available on the same workstation and do not interfere with one another). n Via AD you can manage with users/groups get access to which apps without having multiple images. One base image with AD and app virtualization can allow of targeted app deployment.

Application Virtualization pitfalls n App management—it needs to be relatively easy and quick process to get an app virtualized. n App linking—make sure the tool you select can easily allow of app linking (plug-ins that allow 2 apps to work together--Excel and Turning Technologies are perfect examples). App simplicity is critical for proper management. n Cost—you may be able to leverage a product cheaply via a license agreement or some contract bundling but beware—a cheap product is not always inexpensive to operate.