Home > Workload Solutions > Virtual Desktop Infrastructure > Design and Implementation Guides > Dell Validated Designs for VDI—Designs for VMware Horizon vSAN Ready Nodes > Physical Architecture
The PowerEdge R760 vSAN Ready Node is the recommended appliance for VDI deployments as it is leveraged for both “Density Optimized” and “Virtual Workstation” configurations.
vSAN Ready Nodes are pre-validated Dell server configurations that reduce the complexity of deploying vSAN technology. For the supported (or available) vSAN Ready Node configurations, see the vSAN Ready Node compatibility guide on the VMware website. vSAN Ready Nodes provide more customized hardware and platforms to meet your data center needs.
Because vSAN Ready Nodes do not offer life cycle management (LCM) and additional bundled software, Dell Technologies recommends customized deployment services and at least three years of ProSupport Plus. Add VMware Horizon Universal Subscription or Horizon Enterprise Edition (TERM) to license your Dell vSAN Ready Nodes for a full VDI deployment.
The following diagram shows the PowerEdge R760 front view with cache and capacity storage tier:
The following diagram shows the PowerEdge R760 rear view with network, I/O, and GPU options:
For graphics-intensive desktop deployments, Dell Technologies recommends the VDI-optimized 2U rack servers that support GPU hardware.
The vSAN Ready Node R760 server is configurable with or without GPUs. Dell Technologies also offers similar configurations in a 1U rack server; however, graphics configurations are limited on these platforms.
Common configurations have been designated as "Management-Optimized" and "Density-Optimized,” as referenced in the following table:
Configuration | CPU | RAM | Disk | GPU (optional) | Description |
Management-optimized | 1x Intel Xeon Gold 6430 (32-core @ 2.1 GHz) | 256 GB (8 x 32 GB) @ DDR5 4800 MHz | 4 TB + (capacity) | None | Offers density and value to provide a dedicated environment to deploy virtualized management infrastructure. |
Density-optimized | 2 x Intel Xeon Gold 6448Y (32-core @ 2.1 GHz) | 1024 GB (16 x 64 GB) DDR5 @ 4800 MHz | 8 TB + (capacity) | Up to 2 x full length, dual width (FLDW)
Up to 6 x half length, single width (HLSW) | Offers an abundance of high-performance features and tiered capacity that maximizes user density. |
Dell Validated Designs for VDI are configurable using the following NVIDIA GPUs:
Dell Validated Designs for VDI on appliances enable flexibility in networking selections. VDI validations are performed with the following hardware:
For more information about these switches, see Dell PowerSwitch S Series 10GbE Switches and Dell PowerSwitch S Series 25/40/50/100 GbE Switches.
Note: Several other hardware choices are available.
Designed for true linear scaling, vSAN Ready Nodes use a leaf-spine network architecture, which consists of two network tiers: an L2 leaf and an L3 spine that is based on 100 GbE and non-blocking switches. This architecture maintains consistent performance without any throughput reduction.
In recent years, the amount of data that is stored in file shares and user home directories across IT environments has continued to grow, resulting in an increased focus on the need to better manage this unstructured data. As a result, many organizations are deploying dedicated file workload solutions with capabilities such as cloud file tiering and single file system namespaces across their IT infrastructure. These capabilities are also useful for file workloads in a VDI environment.
Dell Technologies provides several solutions for different types of file workloads that can be leveraged for user profile management and user data.
Dell PowerStore T storage is simple, unified storage that enables flexible growth with intelligent scale-up and scale-out capabilities and public cloud integration. This storage system is ideal for general-purpose NAS or SAN mixed workload consolidation, smaller file workloads (including small to midsized VDI environments), and transactional databases.
Dell Technologies recommends that you deploy a separate PowerStore T storage system with a vSphere HA cluster or block when you are deploying PowerStore T in a VDI environment. Each PowerStore T system can scale up to four appliances per cluster. This structure provides the greatest scalability, resiliency, and flexibility for deploying and maintaining file services for the overall user pod. As unstructured data storage needs grow over time, the capacity of each PowerStore T storage system can be scaled up or out independently with minimal user impact. If you choose to deploy alternative architectures to those that are suggested in this guide, carefully consider the tradeoffs.
For guidance with selecting an appropriate PowerStore T storage solution for your file workload requirements, see Dell PowerStore on the Dell Technologies PowerStore website.
Dell PowerScale storage is a scale-out NAS solution for any file workload. The PowerScale system is ideal for a wide range of file workloads (including large-scale enterprise VDI environments requiring a single file system namespace), high-performance computing (HPC), archiving, and infrastructure consolidation.
When deploying a PowerScale storage system in a VDI environment, Dell Technologies recommends that you deploy a separate PowerScale system with a vSphere HA cluster or block. This structure provides the greatest scalability, resiliency, and flexibility for deploying and maintaining file services for the overall user pod. Because unstructured data-storage needs to grow over time, you can scale up the capacity of each PowerScale storage system independently with minimal user impact. In addition to scaling up each PowerScale chassis, you can also scale out a PowerScale system by using the Dell OneFS operating system. Thus, multiple PowerScale systems can provide a single volume and namespace that all user pods in a data center can access.
For guidance on selecting an appropriate PowerScale storage solution for your file workload requirements, see Dell PowerScale on the Dell Technologies PowerScale website.
Enterprise equipment requires power to operate, racks to enable streamlined management, and cooling to maintain reliable operations.
Careful selection of the infrastructure solutions that provide these capabilities is vital to ensure uptime, scalability, energy efficiency, and ease of management. Dell Technologies provides a wide range of data center infrastructure solutions, including:
Users can access the virtual desktops through various client components. The following table lists the client components that Dell Technologies recommends:
Component | Description | Recommended use | More information |
Latitude laptops and 2-and-1s |
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OptiPlex business desktops and All-in-Ones (AIOs) |
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Precision workstations |
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