HPE SimpliVity Hyperconverged Infrastructure for VDI Environments

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1 Enterprise Strategy Group Getting to the bigger truth. ESG Technical Review HPE SimpliVity Hyperconverged Infrastructure for VDI Environments Date: June 2017 Author: Mike Leone, Senior Validation Analyst Abstract This ESG Lab Review presents results from the analysis of Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) testing on an HPE HPE SimpliVity hyperconverged infrastructure, with a goal of highlighting high levels of performance and operational efficiency. Using Login VSI, testing included evaluating the process of rapidly provisioning up to 2,000 linked-clone VMs across two fivenode clusters and simulating a login storm and node failure to measure virtual desktop performance and VM density potential. The Challenges The use of server virtualization to consolidate server infrastructure and improve operational efficiency has seen phenomenal growth over the past decade and hyperconverged infrastructures have further accelerated virtualization adoption by offering data-center-in-a-box simplicity for quick on-boarding. The success of server virtualization is unparalleled and a large amount of its success can be attributed to the continued use of desktop virtualization. According to ESG s annual IT spending intentions survey, server virtualization has been among the top IT priorities reported by respondents for the last four years. In fact, one in four respondents listed the increased use of server virtualization as one of their most important IT priorities over the last year. Further, desktop virtualization also landed in the top five most-cited IT priorities with one in four specifying it specifically (see Figure 1). 1 Figure 1. Top Ten Most Important IT Priorities for 2015 Top 10 most important IT priorities over the next 12 months. (Percent of respondents, N=601, ten responses accepted) Information security initiatives 34% Improving data backup and recovery Managing data growth Increasing use of server virtualization Desktop virtualization Using cloud infrastructure services Regulatory compliance initiatives Business continuity/disaster recovery programs Building a private cloud infrastructure Improving collaboration capabilities 26% 26% 25% 25% 25% 24% 23% 22% 22% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% Source: Enterprise Strategy Group, 2015 With server virtualization and desktop virtualization being top priorities, it is not surprising that organizations expect a large amount of their IT budgets to be spent on these initiatives. When asked to indicate what IT initiatives would have a significant impact on their organizations storage spending over the next months, 24% cited supporting server virtualization implementations, while 23% specified desktop virtualization/thin client initiatives like VDI. 2 1 Source: ESG Research Report, 2015 IT Spending Intentions Survey, February Source: ESG Research Report, 2015 Data Storage Market Trends, October This ESG Lab Review was commissioned by HPE SimpliVity and is distributed under license from ESG.

2 Lab Review: HPE SimpliVity Hyperconverged Infrastructure for VDI Environments 2 The Solution: HPE SimpliVity Hyperconverged Infrastructure for VDI Environments HPE SimpliVity architecture is a proven hyperconverged infrastructure solution purpose-built from the ground up to meet the demanding needs of virtualized environments. Packaged in easy-to-deploy 2U building blocks, HPE SimpliVity infrastructure has combined enterprise functionality and capabilities with the operational and cost efficiency of the cloud to deliver improved VM density, performance, and scalability. HPE SimpliVity hyperconverged infrastructure includes all IT services below the hypervisor, including compute, storage (HDD and SDD tiers), deduplication, network switching, backup, replication, WAN optimization, cloud gateway, and numerous other functions that eliminate the need to buy/deploy disparate products. As HPE SimpliVity hyperconverged infrastructure nodes are added to an IT infrastructure, they become a multi-node cluster or as HPE calls them a Federation. A Federation is a self-healing and self-learning global cluster of clusters that can be managed from a single VM-centric user interface. The Federation offers all of the functional and operational advantages of a HPE SimpliVity cluster at a global scale. The HPE SimpliVity Data Virtualization Platform spans the entire Federation, allowing all VM movement (including backups) between sites/clusters to leverage the HPE SimpliVity global deduplication/compression/ optimization functionality. As shown in Figure 2, HPE SimpliVity software incorporates three unique core innovations: Accelerated Data Efficiency: HPE SimpliVity Data Virtualization Platform, The underlying data architecture, performs global deduplication, compression, and optimization of all data at inception, inline, with no impact to performance. This is done through the HPE OmniStack Accelerator Card. Global Unified Management: An intelligent network of collaborative systems that provides massive scale-out capabilities as well as VM-centric policies that are abstracted from the infrastructure and managed through a single unified interface for the entire global infrastructure. Built-in Data Protection: Automated backup/restore, clone, and replication capabilities are built in and leverage alwayson data efficiency, allowing for granular RTOs/RPOs with minimal overhead. Figure 2. HPE SimpliVity hyperconverged Infrastructure for VDI Environments For VDI specifically, HPE SimpliVity has made significant strides in optimizing the provisioning, deployment, and protection of dynamic VDI environments. With HPE SimpliVity technology, traditional VDI pain points related to deployment, management, performance, protection, and cost are greatly reduced. Industry-proven HPE SimpliVity technology provides an enhanced end-user experience in VDI environments by delivering up to 250 low-latency, highly-available virtual desktops on a single node. And it drastically simplifies the customer transition from pilot deployments to working production VDI environments by offering an easy-to-deploy, easy-to-scale VDI solution.

3 Number of Desktops Deployed Lab Review: HPE SimpliVity Hyperconverged Infrastructure for VDI Environments 3 Provisioning and Logon Performance Predictability ESG Lab audited the performance of a ten node HPE SimpliVity Federation that simulated a growing VDI deployment for a global organization. First, a local VDI deployment of 1,000 users was provisioned and tested on a five-node cluster. Then an additional 1,000 virtual desktops were provisioned on a separate five-node cluster in a different location, increasing the total number of VDI users to 2,000, all of which could be centrally managed. All performance characteristics leveraged VMware Horizon View executing in the HPE SimpliVity environment with key areas of focus put on provisioning times, login performance, and sustainability of performance through node failures. The industry-standard VDI benchmarking tool Login VSI was used for testing. LoginVSI validates application performance and response times for various predefined VDI workloads with an ultimate goal of showing desktop density potential for a given set of hardware and software components. Final results are presented using easily understandable Login VSI metrics that represent the number of concurrent sessions running when the VDI environment reaches a saturation point. Provisioning Times The speed at which a large VDI environment can be deployed can have a significant impact not only on IT staff productivity and availability, but the whole workforce. Whether deploying for the first time or applying a new gold image with updates, the goals are the same get it done quickly and correctly to minimize downtime and improve workforce productivity. Historically, provisioning desktops is a time-consuming task that can place a heavy burden on storage resources. Starting with the local five-node cluster, ESG Lab measured the time it took to provision 1,000 office worker linked-clone virtual desktops with VMware Horizon View 6. The configuration of the virtual desktop consisted of 1 vcpu and 1.5 GB of vram running a 64-bit version of Windows 7 on a 25GB virtual disk. As shown in Figure 3, provisioning and deploying the 1,000 virtual desktop environment to a login-ready state with VMware Horizon View 6 was impressively quick, completing in just 70 minutes. Figure 3. Deploying 1,000 Linked Clone Virtual Desktops with HPE SimpliVity Architecture 1,000 Deploying 1,000 Linked Clones with HPE SimpliVity (Office Worker Desktops and VMware Horizon View 6) Deploying 1,000 Linked Clones in 70 minutes Elapsed Time (minutes)

4 Logon Storm Lab Review: HPE SimpliVity Hyperconverged Infrastructure for VDI Environments 4 A logon storm represents a large number of end-users launching their virtual desktops simultaneously during a common time period such as the beginning of the workday. This can often lead to high response times and degradation of services due to the overwhelming number of data requests that need to be handled by the infrastructure. A logon storm was simulated with Login VSI with a goal of understanding how the five-node cluster could handle the 1,000 virtual desktops. Login VSI reported two metrics, the VSI Index Average and the VSImax v4 total. The VSI Index Average serves as an average response time measurement, but leverages built-in rules to help factor in spikes while not offsetting the overall average. VSImax v4 shows the amount of concurrent sessions that can be active before the infrastructure is saturated. The VSImax v4 calculation is primarily used to provide insight into the potential scalability that an environment can sustain while meeting acceptable performance requirements. The results as provided by Login VSI are shown in Figure 4. A VSIbase of 760 ms was determined during the baseline phase, which takes 30 VSI samples, eliminates outliers, and averages the remaining times. The VSImax Average is represented by the slightly upward trending blue line as more sessions are started, the VSImax Average gradually increases. The VSImax v4 score is the point where the VSImax Average crosses the VSI Threshold (straight red line). This signifies the point at which performance becomes unacceptable. In this particular test case, the VSImax Average did not cross the VSI Threshold, meaning that the five-node cluster could easily support 1,000 virtual desktops. It also meant that no VSImax v4 score would be reported because the threshold was never hit. 3 The last VSImax average measurement as the 1,000 th virtual desktop logged on was 1,029 ms, while the VSI Threshold was 1,761ms. Figure 4. Logon Storm Results of 1,000 Users The next phase of testing focused on showing performance predictability by simulating the growth of an organization that requires a second set of virtual desktops for a branch office. A second cluster was identically configured and deployed within the same Federation five nodes with 200 virtual desktops per node. Unlike a typical VDI deployment, even though half of the desktops were located in a remote location, with the HPE SimpliVity Federation, data could still be shared between clusters if necessary. Additionally, administration and management of both clusters within the Federation could be centralized. 3 VSImax calculation documentation

5 Lab Review: HPE SimpliVity Hyperconverged Infrastructure for VDI Environments 5 A second logon storm was simulated across the entire Federation, which now consisted of 2,000 total simulated users. As expected, results were similar to that of the 1,000 logon storm result (shown in Figure 5). Similar to the 1,000-session test, the 2,000-session test yielded a VSIbase of 757ms, a VSImax was never hit, and the VSImax Average at the end of the test was 1038ms. Figure 5. Logon Storm Results of 2,000 Users Why This Matters Performance is a top concern when it comes to virtual desktop infrastructures and ESG research has shown that IT managers view performance as a top challenge when it comes to implementing desktop virtualization. Predictable performance scalability is a critical concern when multiple users are running diverse applications on a shared VDI infrastructure. A burst of I/O activity from one desktop (e.g., a user logging on) can lead to poor response times and lost productivity for other users. To get the most of their VDI investments, IT managers are looking for a scalable VDI solution that s easy to deploy and manage as it cost-effectively scales to the meet the performance needs of thousands of VDI users without impacting the end-user experience. ESG Lab validated that HPE SimpliVity technology easily supported the demanding requirements of a VDI environment by delivering predictable performance for a 2,000 virtual desktop deployment across two separate clusters managed as a single Federation. HPE SimpliVity Data Virtualization Platform allowed the five-node cluster to easily handle the impact of the I/O bursts commonly associated with VDI logon storms, while provisioning times and logon storms both yielded impressive results. Deploying all the linked-clone virtual desktops took just 70 minutes, while the VSImax as reported by Login VSI was never reached, proving the cluster could comfortably support even more than the tested 200 users per node.

6 Lab Review: HPE SimpliVity Hyperconverged Infrastructure for VDI Environments 6 Resiliency and Performance Sustainability HPE SimpliVity hyperconverged infrastructure is designed with enterprise reliability in mind. Deployment on highly available servers provides n+1 fault tolerance for key hardware components along with RAID-protected data storage. HPE SimpliVity hyperconverged infrastructure leverages all of the HA features built into VMware, including multipathing and VMware HA to provide access to VMs even in the event of a node or guest OS failure. For the next phase of testing, ESG Lab analyzed VDI performance results within the same Federation while injecting simulated node failures. As shown in Figure 6, the original Federation consisted of two five-node clusters, with each node supporting 200 VDI users, totaling 2,000 users across the Federation. For resiliency testing, one node from each cluster was intentionally failed and the same total number of users was then spread across the remaining nodes. This changed the total number of supported VDI users to 250 per node, a 50-user increase per node. Using Login VSI,a logon storm simulation was performed both before and after simulated node failures. The results of the comparison are shown in Figure 7 and Table 1. Once again, a VSImax was not reached, meaning the additional 50 users per node was easily handled by each cluster. A slight increase of 30 ms to the VSIbase was witnessed, while the VSImax Average increased by 15% up to 1,195 ms, still well below the VSI Threshold of 1,787 ms. Figure 7. Test Bed Before and After Simulated Node Failures Figure 6. Test Bed Before and After Simulated Node Failures

7 Lab Review: HPE SimpliVity Hyperconverged Infrastructure for VDI Environments 7 Table 1. Comparing Logon Results for 2,000 Users Before and After Simulated Node Failures Federation Status # of Clusters # of Nodes per Cluster # of Users per Node VSIbase VSImax Average VSImax Threshold Fully Operational ,038 1,757 Two Failed Nodes ,195 1,787 Why This Matters Along with increasing the use of server virtualization and desktop virtualization, business continuity and disaster recovery also appeared on the top ten most-cited IT priorities for organizations in This is particularly important in VDI environments, where end-user experience dictates acceptable levels of performance and sustainable VDI density. Adding just a few seconds to virtual desktop boot-up times can significantly impact the end-user experience for the worse. ESG Lab confirmed that a HPE SimpliVity hyperconverged infrastructure for VDI environments sustained high levels of VDI performance, even through simulated node failures. Two clusters with five nodes each originally supported 200 users per node. Simulated node failures on each cluster forced each node to take on an additional 50 users each. Response time impact was minimal, proving that the increased level of density could easily be supported. 4 Source: ESG Research Report, 2015 IT Spending Intentions Survey, February 2015.

8 The Bigger Truth Lab Review: HPE SimpliVity Hyperconverged Infrastructure for VDI Environments 8 While the benefits of server virtualization are widely known, the benefits of desktop virtualization are proving to have an equal or greater impact in today s business environment. Unfortunately, the increased number of client device types, the mobilization of the workforce, and a continued desire to increase operational efficiency all combine to make current desktop virtualization and management a daunting task. IT is expected to provide a high-performing, predictable, and productive computing environment, while controlling operational costs and hardware expenses without impacting the enduser experience. HPE SimpliVity data architecture enables organizations to cost-effectively simplify the deployment and management of virtualized environments. HPE SimpliVity core data efficiency technology, global unified management, and built-in data protection capabilities help to facilitate a VDI end-user experience that begins to rival that of a physical desktop. Extending these technologies and benefits to a purpose-built solution for VDI environments and workloads, organizations not only gain improved VM density, operational efficiency, and predictably high levels of performance, but they also gain confidence knowing that the end-user experience and infrastructure resilience should no longer be a concern. ESG Lab witnessed high levels of performance on a 1,000 VDI user cluster, which eventually grew to a geographically dispersed, two-cluster, 2,000-user VDI environment. Provisioning times of all the virtual desktops took just 70 minutes, while 200 users per node yielded more than acceptable times during a logon storm. Simulated node failures in each cluster had no impact on performance and more importantly, no impact on the overall end-user experience. Despite the promising benefits, the complexities involved in traditional VDI deployments are no mystery: increased time and cost, architectural and interoperability difficulties, and most importantly, the need to pass the end-user experience test. By leveraging a proven hyperconverged solution from an HPE SimpliVity solution purpose-built for VDI, many of the complexities can be quickly rendered an afterthought. With centralized management across globally dispersed organizations, cost-effective building blocks to handle organizational growth, and the ability to deliver high levels of required end-user performance, the HPE SimpliVity hyperconverged infrastructure for VDI environments delivers a costeffective, highly efficient solution for any sized organization. All trademark names are property of their respective companies. Information contained in this publication has been obtained by sources The Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) considers to be reliable but is not warranted by ESG. This publication may contain opinions of ESG, which are subject to change. This publication is copyrighted by The Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc. Any reproduction or redistribution of this publication, in whole or in part, whether in hard-copy format, electronically, or otherwise to persons not authorized to receive it, without the express consent of The Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc., is in violation of U.S. copyright law and will be subject to an action for civil damages and, if applicable, criminal prosecution. Should you have any questions, please contact ESG Client Relations at The goal of ESG Lab reports is to educate IT professionals about data center technology products for companies of all types and sizes. ESG Lab reports are not meant to replace the evaluation process that should be conducted before making purchasing decisions, but rather to provide insight into these emerging technologies. Our objective is to go over some of the more valuable feature/functions of products, show how they can be used to solve real customer problems and identify any areas needing improvement. ESG Lab's expert third-party perspective is based on our own hands-on testing as well as on interviews with customers who use these products in production environments. contact@esg-global.com P