GlassHouse Technologies, a global provider of vendor independent datacentre consulting and managed services, today announced the release of its Stateless Reference Architecture, based on VMware View™ 5.1 with Atlantis ILIO Diskless Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) storage optimisation software and the Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS). GlassHouse was commissioned to develop the reference architecture based on its virtualisation expertise and vendor independent objectivity. The reference architecture simplifies VMware View deployments, enabling customers to deploy storage-less virtual desktops using only server CPU and RAM, creating a better user experience than a physical PC.   

“When we design VDI reference architectures, we work with our clients to balance the cost per desktop, improve the user experience and reduce the operational overhead to both maintain and scale the VDI infrastructure,” said Jay Seaton, GlassHouse CMO. “In many cases, customers have to compromise on either the cost per desktop or the user experience when they deploy VDI. However, by implementing this reference architecture with VMware View 5™ and Atlantis ILIO Diskless VDI, they can lower the cost per desktop by eliminating storage. The I/O performance of using local memory results in a better-than-physical-user experience and that will scale using only servers and software.”

Reference Architecture Highlights:

- Storage-less – virtual desktop images (VMware View linked-clones) are stored using local server memory, eliminating the need for traditional storage (SAN/NAS, SSDs).

- Storage Optimisation – Atlantis ILIO Diskless VDI provided 227 IOPS per desktop and reduced the amount of memory per VMware View Linked Clone to 275MB.

- Density – The reference architecture supported 120-140 virtual desktops per Cisco UCS blade server.

- Performance – The architecture achieved better-than-PC performance with:

- Boot Time – 12 seconds per desktop with 2.5 minutes to boot 120 desktops.

- User Experience - VMware View planner had average response time of 0.53 seconds with application launch times consistently below 1 second.

- Operational Performance – VMware View can recompose in 45 seconds per desktop

“Customers are looking for ways to simplify deployments, reduce desktop TCO and improve the user experience as they accelerate their journey to the cloud with VMware View™,” said Raj Mallempati, director product marketing, End-User Computing, VMware. “GlassHouse’s reference architecture has shown that VMware View with Atlantis ILIO Diskless VDI can create a faster user experience compared to a physical PC using an architecture that scales-out with no storage.”

Atlantis ILIO Diskless VDI is software that performs I/O traffic processing and inline deduplication of images to run all desktops from local server memory instead of using traditional storage. Atlantis ILIO Diskless VDI 3.2 includes advanced compression for VMware View 5.1. The combination of Atlantis ILIO inline deduplication and compression technology reduced the size of VMware View linked-clones to 275MB per desktop during the testing.

“Removing storage from VDI dramatically simplifies the entire deployment, eliminates the need for storage sizing, reduces the network complexity and makes VDI easier to manage at scale” said Bernard Harguindeguy, President and CEO, Atlantis Computing. “The combination of VMware View 5.1 and Atlantis ILIO Diskless VDI enables the deployment of thousands of desktops in a matter of a few hours. It is invaluable for an IT team looking to reduce risks while delivering a high performance desktop.”

Atlantis ILIO has been tested with VMware View™, VMware ThinApp® Linked-Clones and Persona as part of the Stateless Reference Architecture. To read the document, visit: http://www.glasshouse.com/sites/default/files/Atlantis-VMware-Virt-Reference-Design.pdf