Leading user density for VDI

This proven comprehensive solution combines the best-of-breed technologies from Nimble Storage, Cisco and Citrix, allowing a simplified deployment of scalable high-performance VDI. The Nimble Storage reference architecture, which consists of a compact 3U Nimble Storage CS440G-X4, the Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Server platform, Citrix XenDesktop 5.6 and VMware vSphere® 5.0 update 1, was fully tested by Nimble Storage using the Login VSI tool to support 1,500 virtual user desktops. This validated reference architecture helps customers to lower their risk in deploying VDI and improve ROI of desktop virtualisation. The validated solution can be scaled from hundreds to thousands of persistent and non-persistent desktops as needed for VDI growth.

The comprehensive VDI reference architecture is fully optimised and validated by Nimble Storage using the Login VSI tool to simulate real user workloads, including boot and login storms, updates and patching.

The Nimble Storage CS440G-X4 delivers the storage density to support 1,500 virtual desktop users in just 3U of rack space.

A modular building-block approach allows for independent and non-disruptive scaling to accommodate just-in-time growth as needs grow.

The Cisco UCS Blade Server platform and Nimble Storage CS-Series deliver adaptive performance to complement the rich functionality in XenDesktop that delivers a user experience equivalent to physical desktops.
Architecture
· Storage
o One Nimble Storage CS440G-X4 array
· Server infrastructure
o Two Cisco UCS 5108 Blade Server Chassis
o 10 Cisco UCS B230 M2 and two Cisco UCS B200 M3 for hosting virtual desktops
o Two Cisco UCS B200 M2 for hosting VDI and Windows infrastructure
o Two Cisco UCS 6200 Series Fabric Interconnects with redundant 10GbE connectivity
· Desktop virtualization
o Citrix XenDesktop 5.6
· Hypervisor and user environment
o VMware vSphere 5.0 update 1
Microsoft Windows® 7 (32-bit)