Markus Erlacher Technial Solution Professional, Microsoft Switzerland

Desktop Workload (OS, Apps, Data)

Desktop and Session Delivery for Enterprise Deployments Partner Technology VDI Suites For Integrated Management Desktop and Session Delivery User Profiles and Data Roaming Profiles Folder Redirection Application Delivery Virtualization Platform Partners such as

Hardware OS Data, User settings Applications Roaming Profiles Folder Redirection Roaming Profiles Folder Redirection Microsoft Application Virtualization Microsoft Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Desktop Delivery Focus: Reducing Costs Focus: Increasing Flexibility Microsoft Session Virtualization Traditional Client Computing

Why do I need to do this? Minimization of user state being stored in the VM Especially relevant for pooled scenarios VM is usually reverted back to snapshot Failure to do this means: User State is created each time (increased time to logon) Pooled scenario value is compromised Data & User Settings

Roaming Profiles and Folder redirection have been around since Windows 95 Incrementally improved through Windows 2000 SMB 2.0 and NTFS File system efficiencies have incrementally improved the scenario Enabled through Windows Group Policy Important to ensure VM bloat does not occur Partners provide enhanced capabilities Citrix provides Profile Manager AppSense Data & User Settings

Why do I need to do this? Minimize the application servicing within the VM Minimize the IO due to servicing Minimize the app duplication footprint per VM Failure to do this means: Extra Disk IO per VM to service the same app Extra overhead of Guest VM update management Especially painful in pooled scenarios Apps are duplicated per Guest VM Additional disk storage required Applications

App-V is not just for VDI Desktops and Session Virtualization too! App-V separates the application installation and servicing from the VDI VM Use in conjunction with Roaming Profiles Also separates servicing IO from the VMs App-V 4.6 now has Shared Cache! Central application store to prevent VM bloat Also reduces time to delivery for app packages Increased performance Applications

Anti-Virus/Antimalware/Agents Apps that don’t/can’t work virtualized For Persistent/PVD Use: System Center Configuration Manager Antivirus/antimalware management tools Existing Management Infrastructure For Pooled: Semi manual and may require manual image updates! (Lets talk more about that in a second…) Applications

VDI is typically memory and disk IO constrained Windows 7 generally has less disk IO than Windows XP Windows 7 generally requires more RAM than Windows XP Windows 7 is faster to provision than Windows XP RAM is an temporal artificial limit Recommendations: Minimize unrequired system services Minimize network traffic Screensavers and screen redraws impact network IO Ensure that applications are checked for disk IO efficiency Ensure latest drivers are being used best-os-for-vdi.aspx Operating System

Aero Glass for Remote Desktop Server Provides the same new Windows 7 look and feel when using RDS Multimedia Support & Audio Input Provides a high-quality multimedia experience with multimedia redirection capabilities True Multiple Monitor Support Allows users to view their remote desktop on multiple monitors configured the same way as if their desktop or applications were running locally Enhanced Bitmap Acceleration Allows rich media content, such as portable graphics stacks (Silverlight, Flash) and 3D content, to be rendered on the host and to be sent as accelerated bitmaps to the remote client RemoteFX for VDI (Enabled through SP1) Next Gen User Experience powered by the server graphics card Only supported on Windows 7

RD Web Access RD Gateway RD Connection Broker Active Directory® Licensing Server RD Virtualization Host RD Session Host with RemoteApp RD Client System Center and App-V

Session Virtualization scales more users per server than VDI App-V works in both VDI and Sessions The same RDP connection protocol is used in both Much of the service infrastructure is shared Upsides for VDI: VDI offers better user operating system isolation VDI has better native application compatibility VDI allows users to be admins of their own images Upsides for Session Virtualization: Session Virtualization requires less hardware than VDI Sessions are cheaper than VDI desktops Server management is less than VDI Remote Desktop Services enables both session virtualization and VDI!

Windows Server 2008 R2 Session Virtualization Windows 7 Desktop or Virtual Desktop (VDI) Operating System One Two

Hardware required: One or two appropriately specified servers for the number of users required Example: Preferably dual quad Nehalem or equivalent AMD based processor Optional: Second server purely for client VM’s 16-32GB or more of RAM RAID 5 (preferably RAID 0+1) disk subsystem One or more hardware clients (to the scale of the POC) Software required – VDI Standard Suite and/or: One Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Optional: HYPER-V Server 2008 R2 One or more copies of Windows 7 Enterprise Edition VECD required Any applications required (Microsoft Office etc) Add App-V for rapid application management and delivery Add System Center Virtual Machine Manager for improved VM management Configuration details available at: us/library/dd941616(WS.10).aspxhttp://technet.microsoft.com/en- us/library/dd941616(WS.10).aspx

Provides virtual machine-based, centralized desktops for individual users that can be fully customized based on user profiles Allows users to perform specialized tasks that require administrator access to their desktop Enables users to access their personalized desktop from any computer while retaining the last saved state Personal Virtual Desktop Provides virtual machine-based, centralized desktop based on a pool of virtual machines that are shared by multiple users Allows users to perform standardized routine tasks and have access to common applications (such as Microsoft Office) Rolls back the state upon logoff to provide a “clean” desktop for the next user’s session, but the previous user’s state can be saved offline Pooled Virtual Desktop

Its all about the user Specifically suits knowledge workers (typical office worker profile) Those that walk away/disconnect and then want to reconnect Considerations: Assign image through Active Directory Users and Computers Provide an individual dedicated image per user Minimize image duplication using SAN de-duplication if image storage is a concern Minimize direct image management Roaming Profiles Folder redirection Utilize Application Virtualization (App-V) or RemoteApp for application delivery and servicing Service the operating system with your enterprise management tools and leverage single tooling Result: Easier to manage, more personalized and integrated with current tools

Its all about the user Specifically suits task workers (typical call center profile) User logs off, the VM resets and then just connect to the next VM to use applications Considerations: Same scenario can also be delivered through Session Virtualization, cheaper User just connects to pool of VM’s through the Broker Clustering generally doesn’t matter With Citrix, the SAN doesn’t even matter Minimize direct image management Roaming Profiles Folder redirection Utilize Application Virtualization (App-V) for application delivery and servicing Guest VM Operating System updates can be very painful If pooled is the best choice for you, ensure you consider Citrix XenDesktop on Hyper-V Also consider RDSH as this provides similar scenario support and scales better Result: Potentially less complicated, but less personalized and more difficult to manage

Will a single master image and separation of the user state with linked clones work? What happens when you need to service the image? Can the user state differencing tolerate change of the master image? When the Master Image needs to be serviced the corresponding linked clone suffers a catastrophic break Solution is to duplicate the master, update it and create new pool with new linked clones - also known as “recompose” This is required every time a single master is updated with Operating System patches Anti-malware Updates Anything else on the OS

Will a single master image and separation of the user state with linked clones work? Customer reports are highlighting that updating single master/linked image desktops without pool recreation aren’t working as expected Nasty corruption problems Customers cant do a “recompose” at all Some customers switching from pooled to PVD Bad story: switching and leaving the linked clone architecture in place Citrix XenDesktop on Hyper-V does the pooled model very well with its provisioning server

Here are some instances in which our customers have deployed VDI: Windows-based desktops for contractors Centralizes IP within your business, rather than at the contractor place of business Windows-based desktops for task workers Very useful for common shared desktops or such as call center/data entry staff Windows-based desktops for non-mobile users in vertical industries where data security is important Windows-based desktops for remote offices with good connectivity VDI can significantly benefit your organization, but it is only one component of your desktop strategy. It is important to also consider building out a broader desktop management strategy. For this, Microsoft offers a wide range of desktop virtualization technologies that can be deployed concurrently to give customers the choice and flexibility they need to be successful.

For more Information please contact Markus Erlacher Technical Solution Professional - DataCenter Tel: Mobile: Microsoft Switzerland Richtistrasse Wallisellen