Dell DVS Enterprise for Server 2012 RDS (2013 update)

We just published another version of our architecture for Server 2012 RDS originally published a year ago. You can find the full architecture here that includes all configuration and lab test items, but I’ll summarize some of the interesting items.

Increased User Density on Windows 8

Hyper-V 2012 previously posted some impressive numbers when we tested guest VMs running Windows 7. Hyper-V continues to impress as we put Windows 8 through it’s paces. Single host RDVH densities rose to 250 sessions with RDSH coming in at 300 (4 x RDSH VMs). This puts the Dell Windows 2012 RDS solution bundle at 4 servers total now at maximum scale (3 x compute + 1 mgmt) assuming no HA. Hyper-V is quickly leaving vSphere based solutions behind as those can no longer compete when it comes virtualization performance. It’s not even close anymore.

Shared Graphic Acceleration

New in this release is the support of shared GPU acceleration using AMD S7000 and S9000 cards. There is a bug in the nVidia-based enterprise GPU parts which we’ll enable as soon as it makes sense. GPU-enabled compute hosts have a lower CPU spec with a higher power demand. The workload we associate with GPU enablement is for premium+ users assuming a need for higher end compute resources. We net around 70 premium graphics user per GPU-enabled host. These can be added at any scale anywhere in the base RDS solution bundle. 

Dell VRTX for ROBO VDI

Newly launched is the Dell VRTX platform that combines up to 4 M-series server blades, shared DAS and networking all within a 5U chassis.

We have designed around the platform to provide scaled SMB VDI for 250-500 users in a clustered Hyper-V configuration. Check out the RA for a deeper dive!

Server 2012 RDS and Hyper-v continue to prove a formidable solution in the VDI space. There are scaling limits to RDS specifically that we impose due to limited management functionality over a certain user scale. Our recommendation for environments requiring greater than 600-700 pooled VDI users is to consider the Dell DVS Enterprise for vWorkspace solution that I talk about here.