Fusion-io is announcing Fusion ioVDI software for virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) acceleration which is based on the Fusion ioTurbine virtualization acceleration software installed with Fusion ioMemory-based products in datacenters. Optimized for flash memory, Fusion ioVDI helps to deliver more cost-effective, reliable virtual desktop performance with low latency response times, regardless of application needs. Fusion ioVDI simplifies VDI configurations with a simple server deployment model with drop-in VDI acceleration for hundreds of users per server. In scaling performance to provide ample performance across virtual desktops using the same infrastructure, ioVDI reduces the overall hardware investment requirement.
Fusion-io is announcing Fusion ioVDI software for virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) acceleration which is based on the Fusion ioTurbine virtualization acceleration software installed with Fusion ioMemory-based products in datacenters. Optimized for flash memory, Fusion ioVDI helps to deliver more cost-effective, reliable virtual desktop performance with low latency response times, regardless of application needs. Fusion ioVDI simplifies VDI configurations with a simple server deployment model with drop-in VDI acceleration for hundreds of users per server. In scaling performance to provide ample performance across virtual desktops using the same infrastructure, ioVDI reduces the overall hardware investment requirement.
Fusion ioVDI Features
- Flash-Optimized VDI Performance: As a solution optimized for NAND flash, Fusion ioVDI enables enterprises to deliver persistent desktops at the price of stateless VDI, even for performance-sensitive workloads.
- Transparent File Sharing: Inline, file-level deduplication of all desktop data hosted on a server enables partial or complete common files to be simultaneously accessed by hundreds of virtual desktops, streamlining data performance through intelligent optimization.
- Dynamic Flash Allocation: As desktops are migrated across physical servers, ioVDI dynamically reallocates flash on both the primary and secondary server so that flash performance and capacity is always optimally delivered to applications.
- Flash-Aware HA and VMware Integration: Fusion ioVDI delivers high availability operations with transparent support for vSphere vMotion, vSphere High Availability, VMware Dynamic Resource Scheduler (DRS) and VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM).
Fusion ioVDI leverages flash and thus enables more data to be processed at even quicker rates in the server. In turn, this decreases the amount of data traveling across the network. According to Fusion-io, ioVDI provides an average application latency of just 10ms and is consistently less than 200ms. They also quote performance without ioVDI at as much as 1800ms with an average at 600ms. This is significant as organizations generally only want to adopt the usage of VDI when virtual desktops are providing at least the same level of experience as physical desktops.
ioVDI software includes a whole range of features to deliver maximum performance levels. Transparent File Sharing, for instance, provides inline file deduplication to speed-up VDI responsiveness by reducing VM disk reads by more than 95%. It also reduces boot times by at least 5x, which enables a fully loaded server with 200 running VMs to reboot in just 8-12 seconds. On top of that, even if a server fails, all users are restarted without any intervention or scripting.
Another feature ioVDI includes is Write Vectoring which helps to reduce latency and prolongs the life of shared storage resources. Write Vectoring achieves this by storing non-critical transient data on server-side flash rather than on shared storage. It does this with files such as page file I/O, temporary files, browser temporary data, etc. since it recognizes that this type of data doesn’t require persistence. These writes made to server-side PCIe Flash can reduce writes made to shared storage by up to 80%. Meanwhile, imperative writes such as auto-saves and user data updates are directed to shared storage for protection and high availability.
Fusion ioVDI can be deployed with servers and ioMemory solutions from Cisco, Dell, HP, and IBM. ioVDI integrates with existing VAAI-compliant shared storage back end storage as well as the Fusion ION Data Accelerator and the Fusion-io ioControl hybrid storage system. It also supports multiple guest OS including Windows XP, Windows 7 and Windows 8 running on vSphere 5.0 and 5.1. Virtual desktops are managed using VMware Horizon View and VMware vCenter Server, with event monitoring and customizable email alerts provided through vCenter.
Pricing and Availability
Fusion ioVDI will be available stand-alone and as an integrated solution featuring ioVDI software and Fusion ioCache virtualization acceleration platforms integrated into servers from Fusion-io OEMs. Enterprises that would like to beta-test ioVDI can contact Fusion interested in registering as candidates for beta testing ioVDI can contact Fusion-io. Pricing for ioVDI software will be available when the product reaches GA.
