Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
Introduction
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) has become a fundamental yet extremely challenging component for many companies struggling to adopt WFH/WFA (work-from-home / work-from-anywhere) as a response to recent pandemic outbreaks, geopolitical upheavals, and socio-economic and political instabilities. Businesses that have been relying on dedicated desktops and workstations before often end up with undersized or overprovisioned and over-licensed hardware and an inability to defy the laws of physics and deliver the correct quantity of virtual desktops at the right quality of end-user experience.
Problem
A common “server + SAN” or general-purpose HCI are not always a good match for VDI. A typical VDI cluster includes, but is not limited to, compute servers with optional GPUs, SAN storage, various networking equipment, and a vast list of software, including operating systems, hypervisors, VDI software, management, and monitoring applications. Moreover, most of the components are not aligned in terms of required performance and efficiency, causing increased costs for hardware and licensing, complexity in support and management, and introducing multiple points of failure.
Solution
StarWind HCI Appliance (HCA) is purpose-built and precisely configured to handle VDI-specific workloads exclusively. It aggregates servers, storage, networking, hypervisor, and data mover into a minimalistic, highly efficient, and scalable platform. StarWind HCI Appliance is thoroughly assessed and consciously tailored to the exact requirements of a customer, while the BYOL policy ensures effective licensing costs. A single integrated solution for critical VDI applications effectively decreases the variety of hardware and technologies to deal with, reducing the effort and time required for maintenance, management, and support. Built with availability in mind, StarWind HCI Appliance offers true fault tolerance at both hardware and software levels, while AI/ML-powered failure prediction technology ensures any potential issues are proactively mitigated, reducing your WFH infrastructure downtimes to zero.
Conclusion
StarWind HCI Appliance offers a tailored solution that creates a highly available and disaster-resistant plug-and-play virtual desktop infrastructure that is “fire-and-forget” and costs less. Our team pre-configures, tests, deploys, and “babysits” the customer’s environment, as well as assists with migration, saving you labor, time, and money. Your staff will be able to work remotely and productively from their homes safely — with no downtime, eliminating any potential business losses.
