Dell Technologies VDI Solutions validation test results suggest that you can use CPU oversubscription to effectively size VDI user density. To use a CPU configuration other than those that have been validated, consider the following guidance to achieve comparable results:
- For architectures with Intel Xeon scalable Cascade Lake processors:
- Medical Knowledge Workers—1.8 users per core. For example, 28 users with dual eight-core processors
- Medical Knowledge Workers + AI Appliance—0.6 users per core. For example, 10 users with dual eight-core processors
- AMD and Intel CPUs are not vMotion compatible within the same VMware vSphere Cluster. If using a mixed CPU vendor environment, ensure that CPUs from the same vendor are in the same cluster. For more information, see the VMware EVC and CPU Compatibility FAQ (1005764) knowledgebase article.
- For graphics:
- For high-end graphics configurations with NVIDIA vWS graphics enabled, choose higher clock speeds over higher core counts. Many applications that benefit from high-end graphics are engineered with single-threaded CPU components. Higher clock speeds benefit users more in these workloads.
- Most graphics configurations do not experience high CPU oversubscription because vGPU resources are likely to be the resource constraint in the appliance.
- VMware has released and updated the per-CPU licensing model that requires a license per-CPU for up to 32 physical cores. This design guide recommends using processors with fewer than 32 cores to avoid additional licensing requirements. For more information, see Update to VMware’s per-CPU Pricing Model.