System requirements for VDI-in-a-Box 5.1.x Updated: 2013-01-02 The following hypervisors, user devices, and system resources are required to work with Citrix VDI-in-a-Box. Note: VDI-in-a-Box implements its own clustering therefore, Citrix recommend not enabling your hypervisor’s own clustering/pooling feature. Citrix XenServerCitrix XenServer 6.0 – 6.0.2 Platinum, Enterprise, Advanced, and Free editions Citrix XenServer 5.6 Feature Pack 1. Platinum, Enterprise, Advanced, and Free editions Citrix XenServer 5.6 Service Pack 2. Note: Servers in a XenServer pool are not supported by VDI-in-a-Box. To optimize usage of space on your servers, consider using the XenServer Thin Provisioning feature. Note: Windows Server 2008 R2 with Service Pack 1, Standard edition is not supported by VDI-in-a-Box for use with Hyper-V. VMware ESXi or VMware vSphereVMware Essentials license or greater is required. Citrix Profile Management VDI-in-a-Box supports Citrix Profile management 4.1.1. Web browsers - accessing the vdiManager console User devices
Five Reasons NOT to Implement VDI: Reason #5 | The Vaporware Blog by Asif Khan Reason #5: VDI Licensing is a Pain in the @$$! So you’ve done your due diligence. You read Reason #1 and made the case that desktop consolidation is different than server consolidation. Reasons #2 and #3 reminded us that IT groups and end users are resistant to change so you made the necessary adjustments to get their buy-in. Now you’re armed and ready to deploy VDI so you contact your favorite operating system vendor from Redmond and ask for a price quote for virtual desktop OS licenses. Party’s over, dude. Microsoft recently released a VDI TCO study which states that VDI costs 11% more than traditional desktops. Obviously, Microsoft was caught flat-footed on VDI and is scrambling to catch up. #FACEPALM Steve Ballmer needs a crash course on how to be an evil genius. To be fair, Microsoft’s latest VDI OS licensing scheme, VDA, is a lot better than VECD (it’s predecessor) but still, it pretty much sucks for most aspiring VDI enthusiasts. So What Now, Debbie Downer?
Guide to calculating ROI from VDI: Cost analysis, budgeting and more Cost analysis, budgeting and more Virtual desktop infrastructure can decrease hardware costs, increase end user productivity and mobility, and provide more flexibility for applications and operating systems. But to decide whether implementing virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) will be worth the price tag, you need to determine the potential return on investment (ROI). Numerous factors go into calculating VDI ROI, including the cost of virtualizing workloads, purchasing or repurposing hardware, adding storage or network resources, and training IT employees and end users. Implementing virtual desktops isn't necessarily a money-saving opportunity, but figuring out the possible ROI -- and when you might achieve it -- will help you plan your deployment. This guide to calculating ROI from VDI provides resources on VDI costs, ways to deploy virtual desktops in the most cost-effective way for your organization and the important factors that go into ROI calculation.
VDI Economics and Reality If you would like to be notified of when Scott Lowe releases the next part in this article series please sign up to our VirtualizationAdmin.com Real Time Article Update newsletter. Introduction On the surface, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is a wonderful thing. There are promises galore out there with regard to how much money you’ll save and all of the other benefits around it. But, there are some cold, hard truths that must be confronted before jumping into the fray. You will not immediately save money with what’s being sold as VDI today. Now, when we’re talking about long-term TCO, things might look a little different, but it largely depends on your goals, the current state of your desktop management solution and your willingness to differentiate users with different needs and provide computing solutions based on those differing needs. Let’s start by talking about a recent study performed by Microsoft, which had some interesting results regarding VDI. How can this be? VDI vs.
The hidden costs of VDI by Brian Madden Last week I gave a breakout session at Citrix Synergy’s Virtualization Congress called "The REAL cost of VDI." This was not about the cost of losing your job if you built a bad VDI environment; rather, it was about the hidden costs of VDI that many people don’t consider until they’re like, “Oh shit” during the middle of their deployments. Before we jump into this, I want to point out once again that I like VDI where it makes sense. A quick note about cost models The purpose of this article is to discuss some of the unexpected expenses that crop up in VDI projects. As those of you who’ve been reading this site for awhile know, VDI is just a flavor of server-based computing (SBC), just like Terminal Server. The hidden costs you find in any type of server-based computingThe hidden costs you find only in the VDI-type of server-based computing Let’s first take a look at the hidden costs that we find in all flavors of server-based computing. Changes to user paradigms Storage