This document details the architecture design, configuration, and implementation considerations when deploying a VMware Horizon virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) with a Dell EMC PowerStore 500 model storage appliance. This document is storage-focused and details the specific configurations of this system. The network and fabrics that are used for connectivity are explored in detail.

PowerStore layers protocols and services on a flexible, container-based architecture, ensuring that features and services can be added to existing installations with minimal impact. This paper discusses the benefits of a unified storage product that combines block and file services into a VDI platform. PowerStore allows expansion of both functionality and capacity to protect storage investments.

The information in this document is based on the guidelines in the paper Dell EMC PowerStore: VMware vSphere Best Practices. This document includes supplemental information regarding VDI-specific details when running VMware Horizon.

As part of this reference architecture, the solution is tested using the industry-standard Login VSI VDI benchmarking tool. The performance results demonstrate that the PowerStore 500 model appliance delivers submillisecond latency to 1,500 virtual desktops running a Login VSI knowledgeworker profile.