Dell EMC PowerVault ME4024 and VMware Horizon View with 1,300 Persistent VDI Users Abstract This reference architecture document describes a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) storage solution based on the Dell EMC™ PowerVault™ ME4024 array.
Revisions Revisions Date Description December 2018 Initial release Acknowledgements Author: Damon Zaylskie The information in this publication is provided “as is.” Dell Inc. makes no representations or warranties of any kind with respect to the information in this publication, and specifically disclaims implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Use, copying, and distribution of any software described in this publication requires an applicable software license.
Table of contents Table of contents Revisions.............................................................................................................................................................................2 Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................................................................2 Table of contents .................................................................................................
Table of contents 4.3.1 Login phase ......................................................................................................................................................16 4.3.2 Steady state ......................................................................................................................................................17 4.3.3 Test results ....................................................................................................................................
Executive summary Executive summary This reference architecture document describes a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) storage solution based on the Dell EMC™ PowerVault™ ME4024 array. The ME4024 storage array is an excellent choice as a costeffective platform for VDI users. It delivers very good performance at a low price point yet offers many expansion options to scale up to larger environments.
Environment 1 PowerVault ME4024 overview The PowerVault ME4 Series (including the ME4024 array) is next-generation, entry-level storage that is purpose-built and optimized for SAN and DAS virtualized workloads. Available in 2U or dense 5U base systems, the low-cost ME4 Series simplifies the challenges of server capacity expansion and small-scale SAN consolidation with up to 336 drives or 4 PB capacity.
Environment 2 PowerVault ME4024 features The PowerVault ME4024 storage array is targeted at entry level workloads. It is designed to provide excellent performance at an entry-level price. The ME4024 platform can be configured in all-flash, hybrid, or spinning-drive configurations. These options provide flexibility to support a large variety of workloads.
Environment 2.4 Data protection ME4 Series storage keeps your valuable information safe with the following features: • • • • 2.5 Remote replication: Replicate data to any global location that includes mirroring thin provisioned pools. Snapshots: Easily recover files after accidental deletion or alteration with point-in-time copies of data. Virtual disk copy (VDC): Enable quick and seamless virtual disk relocation and disk-based backup and recovery with a full, replicated copy of source data.
Environment 3 Solution architecture 3.1 Environment There are many components required to drive an environment of this scale. They all need to work together to provide a stable and seamless solution for VDI to work correctly. 3.2 Software The solution is built on layers of software and hardware. Each component provides a key piece of the puzzle. 3.2.1 Software components The solution presented in this paper uses the following software: • • • • • VMware Horizon® 7.6 VMware vSphere hypervisor 6.
Environment Horizon has several components that make up the product: Connection Server: The Connection Server is the central hub for managing connections. Users connect using either the Horizon View client or a web browser. The Connection Server then connects the user to the proper virtual desktop session based on the assignments. Users can either be assigned a static machine (in this case, for persistence) or given a random machine in a non-persistent environment.
Environment 3.2.5 Microsoft Windows Server 2016 For all Windows Server based functions, Windows Server 2016 was used, with all current patches. The VM hardware configuration varied based on the roles and is documented in the appendices. 3.3 Hardware A fully functional VDI environment for 1,300 virtual machines requires a large amount of hardware with significant compute and memory resources. The act of virtualizing realizes great efficiencies but cannot eliminate the requirement to process data.
Environment 3.3.3 Hosting environment The environment running the VMs makes up the majority of the hardware required. The power, rack space, cooling, and management requirements are much larger than the storage components. This is normal based on the processing power and memory requirements of 1,300 virtual machines. Host configuration Component Description Host PowerEdge M620, two 8-core Intel® Xeon® Processor E5-2680, 320 GB RAM Operating system vSphere 6.
Environment 3.3.4 Connectivity The network connectivity for this environment is designed to eliminate bottlenecks for the testing. The Ethernet connectivity is 10 Gb with multiple ports per server. Each physical server has two 10 Gb Ethernet ports. The blade chassis are connected with 40 Gb trunking. Each chassis has a 40 Gb stacking link between the pair of internal network switches. Each stack is then connected with dual 40 Gb QSFP+ connections to the ToR S5000 switch.
Environment 4 Testing 4.1 Test objectives The testing and validation processes involve several test phases designed to ensure the storage will meet all throughput and latency requirements. The goal is to ensure the storage will meet all stated performance targets. 4.2 Test tools The test tool used was designed by Login VSI consultants. It delivers a predictable and repeatable workload to benchmark VDI environments.
Environment Once the test is complete, a test run analyzer is used to summarize the results. The detail window provides a fair amount of information. In this test, a small number of sessions failed to complete, which can happen when the software does not return the expected result to the launcher control app.
Environment 4.3 Storage monitoring The PowerVault ME4024 array provides a dashboard showing the current state of connectivity as well as the current storage load. This allows a real-time view of the I/O throughput. The dashboard is designed to present the system state in an intuitive, easy-to-read format, while giving a quick view into the health and performance of the system. In the center of the screen is the current IOP load and throughput. 4.3.
Environment 4.3.2 Steady state The steady-state load is where the system spends most of its time and is the most important phase. It is what defines the pass/fail result in Login VSI. The performance of the ME4024 array was rated as Good under full load, according to the Login VSI tool, at more than 13,000 IOPS of continuous load. 4.3.3 Test results The following chart shows the test results. The chart shows the ME4024 array has more than enough performance to support 1,300 users.
Environment 5 Conclusion The PowerVault ME4024 array is a capable platform for VDI solutions. It provides an excellent entry-level platform that can grow to petabytes in size. It also supports spinning drives for a mixed-use environment where cost per TB is a major concern.
Environment A Environment A.1 Horizon View Horizon View configuration A.2 Component Description Horizon View 7.6 Role Virtual machine assignment, management, web interface, connection broker Servers Four 4-core servers, 12 GB RAM Cabling 10 Gbps VMXNet3 VMware hosts VMware host hardware configuration A.3 Component Description VMware host 6.
Environment A.5 Windows desktops Virtual desktop configuration A.
Technical support and resources B Technical support and resources Dell.com/support is focused on meeting customer needs with proven services and support. Storage technical documents and videos provide expertise that helps to ensure customer success on Dell EMC storage platforms. B.1 VMware support For VMware support, see the following resources: • • • • 21 VMware.
