Hosting desktop workload on one Dell MD3000i... does it make sense ?

[couak]

Hi all,

I'm working on a VMware view POC solution and I'm wondering if using a Dell MD3000i for from 100 to 500+ desktops could be a good solution. On the paper the MD3000i is a cheap solution for light workloads : most of workloads on my company's desktops are composed of office software and ERP client.

Due a lot of circumstances (time, too many different population, etc.) I won't use any "advanced" features such as linked clones and composer.

Thanks

[AndreTheGiant]

Without linked clone you can have too much I/O operations.

I think you need other storages with much cache.

Also consider that linked clone can same much of your disk space.

Andre

[azn2kew]

Using VMware View without Linked clone features is pretty much wasted because it does a lot of great stuff for you. If you're not using Linked Clone, then you should look at other storage gears focus well on VDI/NFS/NetApp but its pricy but the features you get out of NetApp is worth every pennies when you have 1000+ desktops to manage. Make sure your storage gear has plenty of memory cache to accomodate the "boot storm" which will hit hard when everyone login and boot at once. Dell MD3000i should be okay with 100+ desktops solution though but plan your network and storage accordingly.

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Regards,

Stefan Nguyen

VMware vExpert 2009

iGeek Systems Inc.

VMware, Citrix, Microsoft Consultant