EUC on myvirtualcloud.net

Hands Down the Ultimate VDI Platform - 2018 Review

Mon, 14 May 2018 08:46:21 +0000

Back in 2014 when I left VMware and joined Nutanix, I wrote two articles entitled "Hands Down the Ultimate VDI platform" (here and here) explaining how hyperconvergence and more specifically Nutanix were the perfect platforms for running VDI - and in all honesty that was one of the primary reasons I left VMware EUC CTO Office. I saw the opportunity to help thousands of organizations struggling with VDI deployments....and I was right, hyperconvergence is pretty much the default deployment model for VDI nowadays.

Future of EUC to Open-Convergence – DABCC Podcast

Sat, 24 Jun 2017 08:28:20 +0000

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure to join my friend Douglas Brown's DABCC podcast and talk about the Future of EUC, DAAS, Open-Convergence, and Datrium. I think you will enjoy it!

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VDI Calculator 7.2 Now Available w/ Support for Workspot

Mon, 05 Jun 2017 20:23:01 +0000

Today I am releasing version 7.2 of the VDI Calculator, and the key feature is the addition of support for Workspot.

Workspot is a multi-tenant cloud-first solution, where the operational components of management, brokering, load balancing and more are all included in the cloud service. Their solution can be deployed on Microsoft Azure or using traditional datacenter constructs, such as SAN, or HCI platforms such as Nutanix, VSAN, and Datrium.

Citrix XenDesktop deployment? Here is everything you need to know about Nutanix vs. Other SDS

Tue, 24 May 2016 15:06:16 +0000

I have recently posted the article VMware Horizon View deployment? Here is everything you need to know about Nutanix vs. Other SDS. This time around I am consolidating all the numerous reasons for using Nutanix over other SDS solutions for Citrix XenDesktop and XenApp deployments.

VMware Horizon View deployment? Here is everything you need to know about Nutanix vs. Other SDS

Sun, 08 May 2016 17:58:02 +0000

It has been a long time since I posted on Nutanix as a platform for VDI. And given that many new features have been added to the platform, I decided that was time to refresh and consolidate previous articles into a single unified post.

Architecting EUC Solutions by Brian Suhr

Tue, 03 May 2016 16:30:17 +0000

Hi there, I hope you are having a great week.

This time around I'm here to promote a colleague's book in the End User Computing space -- no need to mention that EUC has a cozy space in my heart.

New 'Acropolis File Services' with Native Support for VMware Horizon UEM and Citrix Profile Manager

Mon, 14 Mar 2016 08:15:46 +0000

Nutanix has been primarily used to host virtual machines in the format of VMDKs and vdisks, but now it is also possible to natively store unstructured files such as user-generated content such as Office documents, and Windows user profiles and settings.

The Definitive Guide to End-User Computing and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Solutions

Sun, 06 Mar 2016 18:41:09 +0000

Back in 2011, in the world of SAN, I wrote an article called “VDI USER EXPERIENCE and USER ACCEPTANCE”. The article iterated through my experiences with many failed VDI deployments due to poor technical designs; mostly driven by storage performance complications.

New KVM-VDI Open Source Project

Fri, 01 Jan 2016 13:35:39 +0000

The team at Vilnius University in Lithuania contacted me about an open-source project they have been working on. The university developed a KVM based VDI solution for their computer classes.

The project uses qemu-kvm virtualization and provides VM based sessions with native soft clients via SPICE or RDP protocols. The broker is also able to provide access to virtual desktops created via a VMware Horizon VDI pool on vSphere.

Free VDI options for KVM hypervisor

Fri, 01 Jan 2016 13:30:56 +0000

Most VDI deployments in enterprises run with VMware Horizon View, or Citrix XenDesktop, or with smaller or up and coming market players such as Parallels, Ericom, and Workspot.

However, I see an increasing request for a KVM supported VDI solution. Customers want to run VDI on KVM, eliminating hypervisor license costs, therefore reducing the total cost per desktop. Furthermore, it’s also possible to remove Microsoft licenses if Linux is used. Cost per desktop has been one of the factors playing against VDI adoption and leading to many ROI discussions.

What are the VDI options for Nutanix Acropolis Hypervisor?

Fri, 16 Oct 2015 14:17:19 +0000

The majority of Nutanix customers running VDI on Nutanix today are using vSphere as hypervisor. However, there is an increasing demand for Nutanix Acropolis supported VDI solutions. Customers want to run VDI on Acropolis, eliminating hypervisor license costs, therefore reducing the total cost per desktop. Cost per desktop has been one of the factors in VDI adoption leading to many ROI discussions; furthermore, vSphere is overkill for some VDI deployments.

VMware Horizon View on Acropolis Hypervisor

Mon, 24 Aug 2015 22:21:54 +0000

One of the submissions for the Nutanix Coding Challenge is quite interesting from a VDI point of view. The team at EZDC Automation used the self-service engine from vCloud Automation Center (vRA) to automate the creation and customization of desktops using the Acropolis API's and making them available in VMware Horizon View for use. In this case Horizon View is handling the connection brokering to unmanaged desktops, but both persistent and floating use-cases can be successfully deployed.

The World Revolving Around Users, Applications and Data

Thu, 21 May 2015 07:40:27 +0000

...read the full article at CIOReview Magazine here.

What's Next for VDI and Application Publishing?

Wed, 20 May 2015 16:36:07 +0000

At Citrix Synergy earlier this month I was interviewed by LoginVSI (thanks for the opportunity!) where I talk about the state of VDI and Application Publishing industry, and where I believe the industry will be moving to... it's about application data!

Are PoC and Pilot no longer required for VDI deployments?

Wed, 08 Apr 2015 20:30:11 +0000

Back in 2011, in the world of SAN, I wrote an article called “VDI USER EXPERIENCE and USER ACCEPTANCE”. The article iterated through my experiences reviving failed VDI deployments due to poor technical design; mostly driven by storage performance complications.

How to Recover Linked Clone Desktops in a DR Site

Sun, 08 Mar 2015 19:11:36 +0000

Disaster Recovery for Horizon View has always been a hot topic. To this date VMware still doesn't provide an official methodology to protect virtual desktops. Equally, VMware Site Recovery Manager does not support Linked Clone desktops created by Horizon View Composer. Conversely, Full Clone desktops can be protected using native storage replication or vSphere host-based replication.

A picture is worth a thousand words, a video even more... (EVO:RAIL vs Nutanix)

Tue, 20 Jan 2015 11:28:51 +0000

A Nutanix prospect published this INCREDIBLE video with a bake-off (POC) they did between EVO:RAIL and Nutanix. Now, before people go and say it's not a apple to apples comparison I gotta say that although the hardware model between the two solutions might be different, the price list for the solutions is only approximately $5K more towards Nutanix, yet providing much better performance and much lower $/IO and $/GB due to Nutanix compression, de-duplication and VAAI. Reach out to one of the many Nutanix partners to run your own tests and comparisons.

The One with the GPU Graphics Performance

Sun, 11 Jan 2015 11:00:12 +0000

Those who follow my articles know that I have always been a big supporter of VDI as a method to simplify desktop administration, reduce costs, improve user experience, increase productivity, provide remote access and enable BYOD, and provide an effective disaster recovery solution for workspaces. Whilst VDI has delivered on these promises, there has been previously room for improvement in a few areas.

VMware AppVolumes and Nutanix Shadow Cloning Marriage

Fri, 19 Dec 2014 00:27:38 +0000

My colleague Kees Baggerman published a brilliant post on how Nutanix Shadow Cloning not only improve performance for Horizon Linked Clones and XenDesktop MCS, but also hugely improve performance for VMware AppVolumes. I recommend reading his article here.

In his single VM test Kees Baggerman saw an improvement of almost 360% for Adobe Reader through the use of Shadow Cloning and data locality.

Web-Scale goes DABCC

Tue, 28 Oct 2014 14:10:36 +0000

I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Douglas Brown from DABCC for his podcast.

In episode 222, Douglas Brown interviews Andre Leibovici, Director of Technology Alliances at Nutanix. Andre and Douglas discuss Nutanix Web-Scale converged infrastructure solution. Andre does an amazing job introducing us to web-scale infrastructure, why it’s important, discussing how the datacenter has changed over the years, how Nutanix fits in to the software defined datacenter, and much more. This is part 1 of a 2 part series. Andre does a great job so we will have him back.

Data Centric Security is ‘the new hot’ for Enterprise Mobility Management

Sun, 26 Oct 2014 21:09:57 +0000

The past few years have been important for enterprise mobility management (EMM), where many start-up companies and large organizations were putting their stakes on the ground competing for a share in this USD 64 billion market (2012) that is expected to reach USD 238.39 billion by 2020, at an estimated CAGR of 17.8% from 2014 to 2020.

Who runs Horizon 6 more efficiently? Nutanix or VSAN?

Tue, 02 Sep 2014 08:24:20 +0000

One great aspect of working for a cutting edge storage vendor such as Nutanix is that for all of the competitive sniping in the marketplace, the technology really does speak for itself.

A question that was asked of me recently by an individual new to SDS had me thinking about the traits that make solutions different from each other. Naturally, different solutions have distinctive architecture, features and capabilities, but occasionally they are not enough make a clear distinction.

Extend Visibility with the Stratusphere APIs

Mon, 25 Aug 2014 08:25:21 +0000

I am a big fan of programatic interfaces and have written extensively about it while working for Nutanix, EMC or VMware. Programmatic interfaces allow administrators to create custom automation workflows using scripting languages or workflow engines like vCenter Orchestrator, vCAC, Puppet, Chef, BMC and others. This is the ultimate goal for a true Software-Defined Datacenter, enabling a powerful application ecosystem that make automated decisions about the use of infrastructure resources in a simple, efficient and easy manner.

Implications of Nutanix SLA Management Plugin for DaaS Providers

Tue, 22 Jul 2014 11:29:19 +0000

Last week I unveiled the new Nutanix Plugin for XenDesktop (here). The plugin enables XenDesktop administrators to configure Service Level Agreements via the commonly used XenDesktop Studio graphical user interface. These user configurable SLAs are then translated into set a set of unique properties and values that are individually assigned to VMs and vDisks.

The 'Nutanix Plugin for XenDesktop' Sneak Peek - Video Demo

Thu, 17 Jul 2014 20:09:38 +0000

In a Nutanix cluster, PRISM is the management gateway for components and administrators to configure and monitor single or multiple clusters. This includes the NCLI (command-line), HTML5 UI (administrative interface) and a REST API supporting for the entire management framework with PowerShell and Java SDKs.

Join me for the Carolina VMware Users Summit, June 5th

Sun, 01 Jun 2014 19:16:33 +0000

Join your fellow VMware users at this full-day event for in-depth technical sessions, demonstrations and exhibits. This is a great opportunity to meet with your peers to discuss virtualization trends, best practices, and the latest technology!

VDI meets Hyper-Convergence and Web-Scale in APAC Next Week

Mon, 12 May 2014 14:21:01 +0000

Crazy schedule ahead of me! Next week I will be in APAC presenting the seminars "Simplifying your VDI without compromise" and "VDI meets Hyper-Convergence and WebScale". Cities include Auckland, Melbourne, Sydney and Tokyo.

My session recording at Citrix Synergy Geek Speak Tonight!

Tue, 06 May 2014 20:28:54 +0000

SYN501 - The role of hyper-convergence and web-scale in the Future of VDI

Note: I noticed that sometimes the video does not start at the right position. My session starts at 1:22:45.

This article was first published by Andre Leibovici (@andreleibovici) at myvirtualcloud.net.

Service Level Automation for XenDesktop with Nutanix

Tue, 06 May 2014 08:17:26 +0000

Yesterday I had the opportunity to present a TED-like talk at the GeekSpeak Tonight Session at Citrix Synergy Conference. The talk was about hyper-convergence and web-scale technologies and how they redefine the way VDI is architected and deployed.

The session was mostly vendor agnostic, where I discussed high level concepts about distributed file systems and web-scale technologies. Sometimes it's hard to see that it was an agnostic presentation because people automatically fall back to what the company "Nutanix" does, but the same presentation could have been done for other hyper-converged infrastructures and market players.

VDI Calculator v5.8 is Now Available with XenDesktop support for Nutanix

Tue, 29 Apr 2014 19:16:44 +0000

Today I am announcing the general availability of the new VDI Calculator v5.8. This new version introduces few important features.

XenDesktop support for Nutanix Platform - previously only Horizon View calculations on Nutanix platform was possible. This release introduces full calculation for XenDesktop pooled and assigned on Nutanix.
Increase to up to 5 Desktop Types - previously a maximum of three different desktop types could be configured. This release allows for a maximum of five desktop types to be simultaneously calculated . This feature is specially helpful for large VDI deployments with multiple departments using multiple different master images.
Italian and French Languages Support - in addition to Chinese and Spanish. The calculator will automatically follow regional settings and provide you with your language.
Squashed few little bugs