Centralised workstations: flexibility, productivity, efficiency

Transcription

1 Centralised workstations: flexibility, productivity, efficiency

2 Historically workstations had to be physically in the hands of users, but recent innovations enable workstation users and organisations to move their machines from the desk to the data centre. The fully ISV certified remote and virtualised workstation offerings with the Dell Wyse Datacentre for Virtualised Workstations bring a range of benefits to both the organisation and the end-user, and Dell Solution Centres across the globe demonstrate how they can really work for your organisation and your users. Andy Rhodes Executive Director and General Manager Dell Precision

3 Workstation centralisation Why centralising workstations get the big thumbs-up from users Say hello to the only ISV-certified end-to-end workstation solution A big decision made easy: choosing the right graphics card Creating a tailored end-to-end solution for end-users Intel processors doing more with less Two high pressure environments, one high performance solution

4 What is workstation centralisation and why you should care? A workstation doesn t have to be right in front of your users. Moving your company s workstations into a central location and giving employees access to their capabilities over a network can drive phenomenal benefits. Workstation centralisation - delivering ve real business benefits There are two basic models to consider: Remote workstations Remote workstations are simply your users traditional workstations but located in the data centre instead of on their desks. Virtual workstations Virtual workstations are also remote but they enable you to balance the resources of a single machine across multiple users. Dell has a history of delivering innovative end-to-end assets that help customers address real world IT challenges. The Dell Centre of Excellence is another example of the company s high-touch engagement model. Customers can move their data and graphics-intensive applications to virtual environments with confidence due to Dell s deep institutional knowledge, expertise and proven reference architectures. Charles King President and Principal Analyst Pund-IT Inc. Workstation centralisation The benefits for organisations of centralising data in workstation applications are many, particularly as the sheer volume of visual computing data continues to explode. Chief among the range of benefits delivered by centralised workstations in data centre computing are two key factors:

5 ry Increasing workforce and IT efficiency Centralised workstations make data available to multiple users at the same time, bringing far-reaching efficiency improvements to daily workflow. They also deliver scalability and flexibility, enabling businesses to scale resources up or down depending on work volumes and deadlines and allowing users to work on their own devices (BYOD), on-site or remotely in a data centre, without putting sensitive or business-critical information at risk. Virtualisation even expands the resource and talent pool across the globe. Requiring little local infrastructure, virtual workstations are easy to manage and secure remotely and thanks to developments in visualisation that enable the delivery of rendered pixels only, data transfer between workstation and data centre is kept within the bounds of readily available broadband services. Improving security and manageability Centralised workstations enable: Critical data to be held within the secure data centre Policy-driven access, conditional on location or network type Immediate removal of access privileges when employees leave Centralised desktop management, saving time and resources Improved Centralised backup Improved data protection and disaster recovery, ensuring business continuity

6 We have seen a keen interest from our customers in virtualised environments for increased security, streamlined manageability and enduser flexibility so we are very excited to partner with Dell to bring a solution to market to meet their needs. We ve committed to certify and support configurations for virtualised 3D graphics to provide the same level of confidence and support that current SolidWorks workstations users have come to depend on. Bertrand Sicot CEO SolidWorks Dassault Systèmes Workstation virtualisation benefits Workstation virtualisation delivers extra capabilities that significantly improve business flexibility, drive operational efficiency and cut costs. Increasing business agility With staff often representing the highest cost for businesses, the ability to effectively scale the workforce as the business demands can deliver a major competitive advantage. It is an important capability for all businesses, but particularly so for small- to medium-sized businesses with limited IT personnel, limited budgets with which to spread compute heavy

7 machines around the organisation, and need to quickly expand and contract user environments as work comes in and goes out. Virtual workstations accomplish the task a lot quicker than physical machines, with any IT support being easier to implement. Driving operational efficiency Virtualised workstations drive operational efficiency and deliver significant time savings for IT staff, enabling both remote management of devices and central management of desktops and applications. Optimising both license and hardware usage Virtual workstations enable businesses to enjoy the benefits of paying for application licenses based on actual usage and ensure that they take advantage of the most cost-effective end-user hardware model. Some businesses, by adopting follow-thesun working practices, can see a single license utilised for up to 24 hours a day* as applications are accessed and used by colleagues in rotation across different time zones. *Vendors terms and conditions apply.

8 Happiness is The explosion of IT consumerism and the rise of smart phone and tablet computing on the move has delivered employer and employee benefits for many businesses. However, until recently, the compute-intensive nature of design applications has largely left these developments out in the cold for those who need workstation power to do their day jobs. Now users of workstations are being liberated, because for the first time they have access to many more advantages, including: 2 Working on the move or at home Using centralised workstation, organisations are able to leave big data in a central data centre, render it on a workstation in the data centre and ship only the rendered pixels to the client, which enables designers to continue projects on a tablet as they commute, or at home on a PC. 1 Working off-site Centralised workstation enables businesses like architecture firms to take complete designs to client meetings on-site to show work in progress or unveil final designs. Any on-site collaboration would previously have meant waiting until they got back to the office to make updates, or needing to constantly carry around a big workstation and disk arrays. Now, by visualising content stored on a remote server, architects and clients can make those tweaks on-site, interactively in real-time and without sacrificing visual quality.

9 Find out why centralising workstations gets a huge thumbs-up from users Easier collaboration with colleagues 3 The centralised workstation approach enables seamless collaboration, providing multiple users with access to a single dataset at any time. It also liberates the end user from any worries about potential loss of data from their individual machine or personal device. 4 Improved working environment The centralised workstation model shifts the physical footprint, heat output and fan noise generated by workstations away from the desktop. This leaves users with more space, and a better environment in which to be more productive.

10 Say hello to the first ISV certified end-to-end virtualised workstation solution To help organisations accelerate the realisation of benefits derived from workstation centralisation and virtualisation, Dell has innovated, launching the Dell Wyse Datacentre for Virtual Workstations the only complete, end-to-end virtualised workstation solution that is ISV-certified. Combining the trusted performance of Dell Precision workstations and proven Dell Cloud Client-Computing expertise, Dell Wyse Datacentre for Virtual Workstations brings together a complete, end-to-end solution that has been optimised across the workstation, hypervisor, GPU and client. Today the solution offers tested and certified Benefits at a glance: The Dell Wyse Datacentre for Virtual Workstations makes it easier for organisations to achieve improvements in a range of areas, including: Security and reliability Secure need-based access to applications and sensitive data, reducing the risk of data being compromised Improved data protection and disaster recovery through centralised data management and application access Choice of appropriate device including BYOD

11 configurations for workstation-class applications for Siemens PLM Software and PTC Inc. Autodesk and Dassault Systémes SolidWorks are both committed to certify. Performance Workstation-class performance in line with the Precision performance promise Infrastructure is centralised and can be scaled efficiently based on user and performance needs Link to asset Dell to supply > Data sheet/ Press release Efficiency Full end-to-end solution (including workstation, end-points, software, data centre platforms) with certified configurations for workstationclass applications that can be rapidly and efficiently deployed Improved workflow through efficient sharing of common data Centralised management of all workstations and desktops

12 big The decision made easy choosing the right graphics card One-to-one connection This approach is best suited for designers and engineers working with complicated datasets and using graphic-intensive applications. It gives each designer access to their own central rack workstation with dedicated graphics acceleration, assigning one user per machine. For the designer it s similar to having their own desktop workstation but it s managed for them centrally in the data centre. They have a choice of client devices to access their applications, ranging from highperformance zero and thin clients (capable of supporting multiple displays and delivering display performance for advanced applications including CAD, 3D solids modelling and video editing) to standard notebooks and desktops.

13 Centralised workstations come in many permutations and it s an area where one size most definitely does not fit all. So before jumping in, it s worth investing time to understand the demands of the workflow, including both the applications and user requirements, to identify the appropriate model. GPU pass-through This model is ideal for power users working with visual data (such as 3D images and 2D graphics and line charts. It enables a physical GPU to be mapped directly to a virtual machine with workstation CPU resources shared and each user having access to a dedicated graphics card. This can be an effective approach since it provides each user with a dedicated physical graphics resource, enabling organisations to deliver multiple applications to users from the same rack workstation. This model doesn t deliver the same level of user density as a fully virtualised workstation (CPU and GPU), but with the correct configuration can support more than four concurrent users. Virtual GPU (vgpu) This approach is suited for higher densities of knowledge workers typically using office applications, video conferencing and rich media internet applications. It allows multiple users to virtualise GPU and CPU resources. It delivers maximum flexibility as virtual machines can be configured to handle different workflows on demand for different users. The appeal of this approach is that specifications don t have to be rigid. Different virtual workstations can be set up specifically to handle different workflows and utilised by a crosssection of personnel from power users to part-time, or occasional users who may only need infrequent access to a 3D viewer. Customers will enjoy rich graphics when running high-end workstation-class applications in a certified virtualised environment thanks to our work with Dell Ed Ellett Senior Vice President, Professional Solutions, NVIDIA

14 Creating a tailored end for end-users To make it easier for organisations to take advantage of the centralised workstation model, Dell provides an end-to-end solution complete with reference architectures and ISV certified virtualised solutions. Dell also offers a place to test out your solution in the Virtualised Workstation Centre of Excellence. VMware Reference Architecture Click Click Citrix Reference Architecture Clients Engineers and designers have secure and central access to their data and graphics-rich applications from any location on almost all device, providing increased user productivity, flexibility and collaboration. PC PCs With personal secure access through workstation virtualisation, users can access their data and applications at any time, from any device, personal or corporate, enabling you to reduce the time and cost of managing desktops, support an array of clients and enable mobility. Tablet Thin client Tablets Dell Venue tablets give you flexibility, enabling you to work where and how you want. With built-in security and compact, crystal-clear touchscreens, Venue tablets are Dell-calibrated to provide the highest levels of colour accuracy across almost the entire gamut of srgb colour. Thin client Meeting any worker type/application mix/ performance/budget, thin clients such as the Wyse P25 and P45 platforms offer the full benefits of a centralised computing environment, including multiple display, multimedia playback and HD audio, delivering display performance for advanced applications, including CAD, 3D solids modelling.

15 -to-end solution Servers or Workstations Dell Networking Networking brings together all IT infrastructure elements, from servers and storage to mobile devices, security and software. The Dell end-toend portfolio allows seamless continuity and friction-free alignment of the infrastructure, driving greater efficiencies and improving IT economics for modern traffic patterns and software defined applications. Dell PowerEdge R720 This solution is ideal for supporting a high number of low to mid-range users and is optimised for traditional VDI workloads. Offering improved manageability through out-of-band management means that it can be remotely administered from around the world. Designed as a versatile 2U server for supporting multiple environments, it offers organisations a choice of hypervisor options including Citrix XenServer or VMware vsphere. Dell Precision R7610 This product is ideal for supporting a low user count of mid to high-range designers and engineers. It is optimised for data and graphic intensive workloads with more CPU cores and the ability to add additional sots to support more graphic cards. Virtualisation is provided by Citrix XenServer and has in-band management capability. Dell Storage Dell is committed to bringing new economics and innovation to enterprise storage. The modern storage architectures of the Compellent and EqualLogic platforms are designed from the ground up to be flexible and agile, uncoupled from the limitations of any legacy architecture. Its deep integration with Dell and third-party solutions gives customers easy access to cutting-edge technologies and the ability to deploy common technologies across a family of storage products.

16 Intel processors - doing more with less Intel Virtualisation Technology (Intel VT) Click Read more In a world in which virtualisation technology delivers real cost, power and space savings, Intel is taking the next step. The latest Intel server processors push the boundaries of traditional software-based virtualisation solutions and extend the benefits of virtualisation across networks, to deliver enhanced data centre flexibility, better security, more productivity and lower TCO. Designed to enable you to get the most out of your virtualisation investment, the Intel Xeon E3, Intel Xeon E5 and Intel Xeon E7 families feature Intel Virtualisation Technology (Intel VT) built-in, performing virtualisation tasks in hardware, to deliver: Acceleration of fundamental virtualisation processes across the platform Reduced storage and network latencies, with fewer potential bottlenecks Better security, with hardware-based resistance to malware Improved short- and long-term value Intel server processors with Intel VT do more with less, reducing the overhead and footprint of virtualisation software while improving energy efficiency and the performance and security of virtualised applications. At the same time, Intel VT can transform the data centre, with increased consolidation ratios, better business continuity, improved user uptime and a secure foundation for trust and compliance.

17 Your choices of Graphic Card With up to four slots available for graphics cards, both the Dell R720 rack server and R7610 rack workstation have the capability to support a wide range of users. Dell offers you graphics card choices for both platforms across professional graphics options from NVIDIA and AMD. Match your users needs to the right graphics card for the best combination of value and performance. One-to-one connection One remote user per machine at a time GPU pass-through One to six users per machine, one user per graphics card vgpu Numerous users per machine sharing Grid K2 graphics card(s) R7610 R7610 R720 R7610 R720 Up to 2 x W5000 Up to 2 x: NVS310, K600, K2000, K4000, K5000, K6000 Up to 4 x W5000 Up to 4 x K2000 & K4000 Up to 3 x K5000 & K6000 Up to 3 x Grid K2A Up to 2 x Grid K1 & K2 Up to 3 x Grid K2A Up to 2 x Grid K1 & K2 Read more

18 Two high pressure enviro one high per One-to-one connection As leader in the development of workstation virtualisation, Dell delivers high performance systems designed and built from the ground up to suit a wide range of environments, from the extremes of F1 to the world of academia Caterham F1 Team Operating in the high pressure environment of F1, Caterham F1 Team depends on a Dell virtualised infrastructure to deliver reliability and high performance at home and at circuits around the world. The infrastructure allows team designers to work in a clutter-free, more productive environment, wirelessly connected to rackmounted Dell Precision workstations in the data centre. The virtualised workstations reduce the number of devices required, consume less power and take up less management time. The infrastructure also enables the team to reduce IT transportation costs and, with the addition of the Dell PowerEdge VRTX converged infrastructure, reduce the trackside footprint while remaining 100% reliable in a variety of challenging conditions. We ve made great strides in reducing the size of the track environment through virtualising our Dell infrastructure. While many major teams are shipping four or five full racks of IT, we re transporting just a half-sized single rack. Bill Peters, Head of IT, Caterham F1 Team

19 onments, rformance solution Virtual Workstation Roger Williams University A leading independent university based in Rhode Island, Roger Williams University (RWU) has to cope with an equally high pressure environment in vastly different circumstances. With over 5,000 students, IT managers at RWU use Dell workstation virtualisation technology to give Architecture and Engineering students the ability to work from anywhere, on any device, even when using graphics-intensive applications. The RWU system can support up to 192 users, with a plan for Fall of 2014 to support 539 concurrent users, on virtual workstations while delivering improved graphics performance and major cost savings on hardware and software.

20 Dell Solution Centres As part of the Dell commitment to providing in-depth support for customers, Dell Solution Centres have been developed and set up in 16 central locations around the world. The Solution Centres allow you to architect and build real-world virtual solutions and run them in your own simulated customer environment for proof-of-concept validation. Designed to take all the worry out of solutions development, the Solution Centres provide the technology and expertise to prove customer models, address any issues and give you the confidence to innovate for your business. Dell has also created Workstation Virtualisation Centres of Excellence (CoE). The first was opened in March 2014 in Austin Texas. These CoEs provide a physical location and remote access capabilities for customers, channel partners and independent software vendors (ISVs). To support increasing customer demand for virtualisation services, Dell has just launched its second Centre of Excellence in Limerick, Ireland, for EMEA users. Services include: Solution Engineering Industry solutions Use-case configurations and validation ISV certification Cloud and big data programmes Architect and Prove Physical and virtual engagements Global connectivity Briefings and solution planning Design workshops Proof-of-concept solution testing To find out more about Dell Solution Centres and how simple it can be to arrange a proof-of-concept programme, just contact your Account Manager.

21 To find out more about Dell Solution Centres and how the facilities can help you and your organisation, please contact your Account Manager.

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