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!

[spreaker type=player resource="episode_id=12194335" theme="light" autoplay="false" playlist="false" cover="https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/images.spreaker.com/original/a01a439bb67791cc4e862b11a7859e77.jpg" width="100%" height="400px"]

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.

VDI Calculator 7.1 Available w/ Support for Intel SkyLake, Datrium and more

Tue, 23 May 2017 07:57:35 +0000

Today I am releasing version 7.1 of the VDI Calculator.

This release adds support next-generation Xeon server processor family. The new chips are based on the company's Skylake processor architecture and are manufactured in the company's 14-nanometer+ technology. The calculator now supports processors with up to 24 cores.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Join Nutanix and Me for Citrix Synergy 2014

Tue, 29 Apr 2014 13:30:08 +0000

Wow! How exciting.... for the first time ever I am attending a Citrix Synergy Conference and I also have been given the opportunity to present a Thought Leadership session during the conference. Citrix was one of the End-User Computing pioneers and makes me very grateful to be presenting with such amazing group of individuals.

A Review of Horizon View 5.3.1 Limits and Maximums

Mon, 24 Mar 2014 21:23:58 +0000

Giving continuity to my Horizon View Limits and Maximums series (VMware View 4.0 | VMware View 5.0 | Horizon View 5.2 | Horizon View 5.3) I am now releasing an updated version for Horizon View 5.3.1.

As an administrator or architect you should always ensure your designs are within the product’s Maximums and Limits in order to be entitled to VMware Support.

DaaS is a Non-Starter

Tue, 11 Mar 2014 14:58:10 +0000

A while back I published articles describing guidelines to what DaaS architectures should observe. My articles focused on Secure Multi-Tenancy, Elastic Resources, Automated Provisioning, Identity Management, Federation and Role Management, Self-Service Portals, and Reporting and Metering.

I was mostly focused on DaaS aspects that relate to large service providers’ implementations. However, the reality is that any enterprise can have a successful DaaS implementation simply creating a self-service portal where users can provision virtual desktops, as needed, automatically, without requiring human interaction.

PCoIP Log Viewer for Horizon View 5.3 Available

Thu, 16 Jan 2014 07:06:15 +0000

My dear VMware friend Chuck Hirstius @rexremus and blogger at http://mindfluxinc.net released a new version of his PCoIP Log Viewer tool for Horizon View 5.3.

I have been using his tool for a long time and it has definitely helped me to understand PCoIP behaviors for a given virtual desktop based on complex logging information and WMI stats provided in Horizon View.

Amazon vs VMware, how VMware empowers the UX!

Fri, 15 Nov 2013 10:39:13 +0000

If you are an avid reader of my blog you will know that for the most part I don’t publish competitive analysis or talk about VMware competitors. However I feel that I need to give some attention to this subject and make you aware of the major end-user experience differences between running pure PCoIP and PCoIP with the Horizon View stack.

Don’t dismiss the huge benefits of Linked Clones!

Sun, 10 Nov 2013 17:21:34 +0000

Did you know that the quote ‘With great power comes great responsibility” is not an original quote crafted by Ben, the uncle of our Spidey friend? In fact, the quote was first coined by François-Marie Arouet (Voltaire) in 1832.

A Review of Horizon View 5.3 Limits and Maximums

Sun, 27 Oct 2013 16:55:02 +0000

Giving continuity to my Horizon View Limits and Maximums series (VMware View 4.0 | VMware View 5.0 | Horizon View 5.2) I am now releasing an updated version for Horizon View 5.3.

As an administrator or architect you should always ensure your designs are within the product’s Maximums and Limits in order to be entitled to VMware Support.

Forget BYOD and get ready for BYOW (Bring-your-own-Wearable)

Sun, 06 Oct 2013 17:16:37 +0000

As IT organizations and vendors start to finally grasp concepts around BYOD in the enterprise, I dare say – Forget everything you know and re-evaluate your organization’s mobility strategy.

The truth is that current solutions to manage mobility (MDM, MAM, MIM etc.) will be overrun in a matter of months. I’m talking about wearables.

Why is Content-Based Read Cache (CBRC) so important for Horizon View and VSAN?

Thu, 19 Sep 2013 16:34:43 +0000

This article builds on top of my previous two articles about Horizon View and VMware Virtual SAN. Here are the aforementioned articles: How does VMware VSAN help Horizon View?, and How is Horizon View configured for VMware VSAN?

The CBRC (Content Based Read Cache) was introduced with vSphere 5, allowing Horizon View administrators to leverage it the feature via the Horizon View administrative console. CBRC help administrators to address performance bottlenecks and the increase in storage cost for VDI.

Gartner to mediate debate based on my article "Open letter to non-persistent VDI fanboys…"

Fri, 23 Aug 2013 14:59:52 +0000

Gunnar Berger, research director for Gartner's IT Professionals service, will be mediating a debate during VMworld based on my article Open letter to non-persistent VDI fanboys…. I feel very honored and humbled to be able to weigh in my opinions and be respected by important industry analysts and members of the virtualization and EUC community.

VDI Calculator v4 launch with support for Hyper-Convergence

Thu, 22 Aug 2013 10:55:53 +0000

While we all ramp up for VMworld 2013 I am excited to announce the release of a new version of my calculator. This new version (4.0) introduces the support for hyper-converged infrastructures.

For years, IT organizations have built data centers organized around three key independent hardware segments – compute, network and storage. However, with the rise of commoditization and the move to automated and software defined architectures, converged hardware is growing in popularity. These solutions may provide reduced complexity, lower overall costs, and easier upgrade paths than are often found with more traditional solutions.

Horizon View Events Notifier Free Tool

Sun, 18 Aug 2013 15:34:21 +0000

My VMware colleague Chris Halstead (@chrisdhalsted), EUC Senior Systems Engineer, just released a new free tool that will help VMware Horizon View administrators to become a little bit more hands-off.

Horizon View Events Notifier allow administrators to set up alert and notifications, such as Warnings and Audit failures. The tool utilizes SMTP and allows for addition of multiple addresses in the alert recipients field.

F5 PCoIP Proxy for VMware Horizon View

Thu, 01 Aug 2013 11:54:52 +0000

I want to share this excellent F5 video that demonstrate hot quick and easily you can configure Horizon View and F5 BIG-IP APM to natively support PCoIP proxy, bypassing requirements for Horizon View Security Servers. The PCoIP proxy combined with the BIG-IP platform will deliver hardened security and increased scalability according to F5. Thanks to Paul Pindell for the explanations.

Crumpled DATA under your mattress (The EUC Drama)

Mon, 22 Jul 2013 08:45:03 +0000

The Edward Snowden case made me think about how organizations are handling data today, and how I’m handling and storing my own personal data. According to Snowden, the NSA’s surveillance programs, which Snowden exposed, allow the government to tap into anyone’s data with the consent from the major cloud players. Edward Snowden went further and said that Google, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft gave direct access to NSA.