This section provides a high-level overview of the components that are needed for creating and deploying a VDI environment. Successful deployment requires a deep understanding of the architecture when you are designing the environment.
VMware vSphere
VMware vSphere provides a flexible and secure foundation for business agility, with the following benefits for VDI applications:
- Improved appliance management—The vCenter Server Appliance Management Interface provides CPU and memory statistics, network and database statistics, disk space usage, and health data. This reduces reliance on a command-line interface (CLI) for simple monitoring and operational tasks.
- VMware vCenter Server native high availability—This solution for vCenter Server Appliance consists of active, passive, and witness nodes that are cloned from the existing vCenter Server instance. You can enable, disable, or destroy the vCenter HA cluster at any time. Maintenance mode prevents planned maintenance from causing an unwanted failover. The vCenter Server database uses native PostgreSQL synchronous replication, while key data outside the database uses separate asynchronous file system replication.
- Backup and restore—Native backup and restore for vCenter Server Appliance enables users to back up vCenter Server and Platform Services Controller appliances directly from the vCenter Server Appliance Management Interface or API. The backup consists of a set of files that is streamed to a selected storage device using the SCP, HTTP(S), or FTP(S) protocol. This backup fully supports vCenter Server Appliance instances with both embedded and external Platform Services Controller instances.
- VMware vSphere HA support for NVIDIA vGPU-configured VMs—vSphere HA protects VMs with the NVIDIA vGPU shared pass-through device. In the event of a failure, vSphere HA tries to restart the VMs on another host that has an identical NVIDIA vGPU profile. If no available healthy host meets this criterion, the VM fails to power on.
- VMware vSAN Enterprise Edition—Includes all-flash space-efficiency features (deduplication, compression, and erasure coding), software-defined, data-at-rest encryption, and stretched clusters for cost-efficient performance and greater hardware choice.
- VMware Log Insight—Provides log management, actionable dashboards, and refined analytics that enable deep operational visibility and faster troubleshooting.
VMware Horizon
The architecture described in this section is based on VMware Horizon 8, which provides a complete end-to-end solution that delivers Microsoft Windows virtual desktops to users on a wide variety of endpoint devices. Virtual desktops are dynamically assembled on demand, providing pristine, yet personalized, desktops each time a user logs in.
VMware Horizon 8 provides a complete virtual desktop delivery system by integrating several distributed components with advanced configuration tools that simplify the creation and real-time management of the VDI.
The core Horizon components include:
- Horizon Connection Server (HCS)—Installed on servers in the data center, HCS brokers client connections, authenticates users, entitles users by mapping them to desktops or pools, establishes secure connections from clients to desktops, supports single sign-on, and sets and applies policies.
- Horizon Administrator—Provides administrator functions such as deploying and managing Horizon desktops and pools, setting and controlling user authentication, and more.
- Horizon Agent—Provides a means of communication with Horizon clients. The agent is installed on all VMs, physical machines, and Terminal Service servers that are used as a source for Horizon desktops. On VMs, the agent communicates with the Horizon client to provide services such as USB redirection, printer support, and more.
- Horizon Client—Installed on endpoints, the client creates connections to Horizon desktops that can be run from tablets, Windows, Linux, or Mac PCs or laptops, thin clients, and other devices.
- Unified Access Gateway—Provides a way to securely deliver connections that require a higher level of security to access, such as remote Internet connections.
- Horizon Portal—Provides access to download links for full Horizon clients. The portal enables the HTML access feature to run a Horizon desktop inside a supported browser.
- vCenter Server—Provides centralized management and configuration to the entire virtual desktop and host infrastructure. It facilitates configuration, provisioning, and management services.
VMware Horizon 8 offers the following methods for cloning desktops:
- Full clones—These are typically used for testing purposes or to create management VMs. Full clones are not ideal for VDI because full copies have no connection to the original VM. You must update each VM with this approach.
- Instant clones—These are available with Horizon Universal Subscription, Horizon Standard Subscription, and Horizon Enterprise Edition (TERM) licenses. This technology provisions a VM immediately after a user requests one. This is a much easier approach to operating system updates and patch management because the VM is created when it is needed. You can use a combination of products such as VMware App Volumes and Dynamic Environment Manager to emulate persistence.
NVIDIA Virtual GPU (vGPU)
NVIDIA vGPU is the industry's most advanced technology for virtualizing true GPU hardware acceleration to share GPUs between multiple virtual desktops or aggregate and assign them to a single virtual desktop, without compromising the graphics experience. NVIDIA vGPU offers three software variants to enable graphics for different virtualization techniques:
- NVIDIA Virtual Applications (vApps)—Delivers graphics-accelerated applications using Remote Desktop Service Host (RDSH).
- NVIDIA Virtual PC (vPC)—Provides full virtual desktops with up to dual 4K monitor support or single 5K monitor support.
- NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation (vWS)—Provides workstation-grade performance in a virtual environment with support for up to four Quad 4K or 5K monitors or up to two 8K monitors.
NVIDIA RTX Virtual Workstation (vWS) software delivers powerful virtual workstations from data centers to an endpoint device. The vWS software provides easy access to 3D modeling, CAD, and professional graphics applications in a VDI environment. From an IT standpoint, vWS provides centralized management of virtual workstations and exceptional monitoring features. The following figure shows an NVIDIA vGPU with vWS license selected:
NVIDIA Omniverse
The NVIDIA Omniverse platform offers a vast amount of creative and efficiency potential. It is a scalable, multi-GPU real-time reference development platform for 3D simulations and design collaboration based on the Pixar Universal Scene Description (USD) and NVIDIA RTX technology. Designers, artists, and creators can use the power of Omniverse for real-time, 3D design collaboration to accelerate their workflows. Omniverse serves multiple industries, enabling 3D modeling, CAD, and BIM functionality for example. Omniverse also offers developers a platform layer to extend the stack with customized tools and services.
Omniverse enables graphic designers to collaborate in real time within multi-app graphic workflows onsite or remotely to create, view, and modify 3D models. Omniverse advantages include:
- Eliminates legacy-type collaboration scenarios such as having to upload and download files between 2D or 3D creative apps and sending and receiving large files, which results in resource and time-saving efficiencies.
- Real-time creative collaboration sessions that result in optimized workflows, and enhanced idea and imaginative interactions.
- Uses the USD file format, eliminating the need for collaborators to all use the same creative application along with the related need to convert between file formats. NVIDIA is continually adding Omniverse support for apps with the provision of suitable plugins called "Omniverse Connectors."
NVIDIA Omniverse Nucleus server
Omniverse Nucleus is the database and collaboration engine of Omniverse. It offers a set of fundamental services that allow a variety of client applications, renderers, and microservices all to share and modify representations of virtual 3D models together. Nucleus operates under a publish/subscribe model. Subject to access controls, Omniverse clients can publish modifications to digital assets and virtual worlds to the Nucleus database or subscribe to their changes.
You can install Nucleus in multiple ways to suit your needs, whether on a workstation, on-premises, or in a private cloud.
Our testing topology used Omniverse Enterprise Nucleus Server edition configured within a virtualized environment. The following table shows the Omniverse Nucleus configuration:
Nucleus server | VM profiles | ||
vCPUs | RAM | Network | |
NVIDIA recommends this configuration for up to 500 total users and 10 concurrent downloads | 12+ @ 3.0 GHz or greater | 32 GB | Based on the I/O performance required |
Testing topology | 24 (Intel Xeon Gold 6354 @ 3.0 GHz) | 64 GB | Based on Dell VDI recommended guidance (S5248F-ON (25 GbE) |
NVIDIA nVector
nVector is the test tool that we use for virtualized, graphics-related, end-user experience PAAC testing for Dell Technologies VDI solutions. The tool allows for high-scale density testing with many simulated clients connecting to many desktop VMs. The tool focuses on the measurement of a user’s experience on their endpoint devices rather than on response times on a virtual desktop or workstation typically residing within a data center. It also allows for high-scale density testing with many simulated clients connecting to many desktop VMs.
nVector Lite is a scaled-down version of the full NVIDIA nVector test tool that is targeted towards smaller-scale testing with single client to desktop VM relationships. It can also be used to measure the end-user experience metrics of custom workloads.
Two workloads (Knowledge Worker and Spec View) are currently enabled within the nVector tool. We use Knowledge Worker as a representative typical workload for testing using NVIDIA's recommended configuration. The Knowledge Worker workload uses a standard collection of desktop application software on each VDI desktop, such as Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat Reader. It uses GPU-enabled launchers or endpoint devices to connect a specified user to a virtual desktop or virtual workstation.
The NVIDIA nVector Knowledge Worker workload is used in the following validation section as a baseline reference to compare and contrast against end-user 3D modeling graphics performance results. The tool focuses on the measurement of the user's experience on the endpoint device rather than the response time at the virtual desktop or workstation.
For more information, see NVIDIA Quantifying the Impact of Virtual GPUs white paper.
Autodesk Maya
Autodesk Maya 2022 is a popular application for 3D modeling, computer animation, simulation, and rendering. Graphic professionals can bring 3D scenes to life with engaging animation tools, shape objects, and simulate material and lighting effects, all within the Maya UI. Multiple Maya sessions can connect to the NVIDIA Omniverse ecosystem by using a suitable Connector to enable real-time collaboration. For Maya Virtual Workstation configurations used for performance validation, see Table 3.