I'm considering refreshing after every log off and was wondering if it's a good idea?
It doesn't actually create a new desktop if you are refreshing. It takes a snapshot after the desktop is created, so when a user logs off it shuts down the desktop, reverts the snapshot, and then powers the desktop back on. You will increase IOPS a bit because the desktop has to start up but it depends on how many would be doing this concurrently.
Oh yeah, clean desktop for the next user
Thanks, but am I going to be increasing IOPS an using additional resources by having to create a new desktop every time?
It doesn't actually create a new desktop if you are refreshing. It takes a snapshot after the desktop is created, so when a user logs off it shuts down the desktop, reverts the snapshot, and then powers the desktop back on. You will increase IOPS a bit because the desktop has to start up but it depends on how many would be doing this concurrently.
It really depends on your needs. I have found that if you are running something like a front-desk area in which you don't need to use a persistent desktop then this may be a good idea. For example assume that you have a public kiosk that many different people will use. After each use you wish to restore the desktop to a pristine state. This would be a good refresh case. There are other considerations such as how good/fast your storage is and how many desktops you wish to be available at any given time. How many refreshes do you expect to run at the same time and how often? There are many considerations. I suggest that you first outline your needs, look at your infrastructure and go from there.
I was faced with a similar situation for a training room. I had 22 desktops, but they were on an already loaded infrastructure. In my case refreshing often during business hours would not have worked well from a performace perspective. Your situation may vary.
You can count on that. Make sure that your storage can handle that while still giving a decent number of IOPS to the still running desktops. Also make sure your host memory is sufficient.