VDI solutions built with Dell PowerStore T storage provide flexibility as you scale, reducing the initial and future cost of ownership. Cluster additional controllers and add SSDs and expansion shelves to the storage system to scale horizontally (scaling out). Upgrade controllers using Anytime Upgrade to scale vertically (scaling up).
Scaling out
Each component of the solution architecture scales independently, depending on the required number of supported users. You can add storage controllers, enclosures, and SSDs at any time to expand the storage pool in a modular fashion. The scaling limit for the storage cluster is restricted to four each with three expansion enclosures.
The boundary for a Horizon block is the vCenter. The number of VMs a vCenter can host depends on the type of Horizon 8 VMs in use. The recommended limit of virtual machines per vCenter is 20,000 full-clone or instant-clone VMs.
Sizing recommendations change over time as updates are released and qualifications are performed. See the VMware Configuration Maximums website for the latest recommendations. This Dell Validated Design for VDI solution uses instant clones, as shown in the following figures.
VMware recommends a limit of 5,000 instant-clone VMs per block. With these limits in mind, 25 compute nodes with 200 task-user VMs per node would reach the maximum number of VMs for the block.
The following figure shows a 5,000-user pod:
The following figure shows a scale-out to a 20,000-user Horizon pod with 5,000 user blocks. Each block contains its own vCenter Server instance and VDI components, as well as a separate PowerStore T storage appliance.
Scaling up
Dell Technologies recommends selecting a PowerStore storage controller that will accommodate your workload as optimally as possible. If future growth or configuration changes require additional performance, the storage controller can be swapped through the Anytime Upgrade program.
For more information about Horizon pod and block architecture, and scaling, see the VMware Workspace ONE and VMware Horizon Reference Architecture.