User guide

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Total number of virtual machines for which the system has to be designed (for example, 2000 virtual
machines).
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The types and percentage of different types of desktops being deployed. For example, if Citrix XenDesktop
is used, different desktop delivery models might require special storage considerations.
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Size per virtual machine (for example, 20GB C: drive, 2GB data disk).
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Virtual machine OS (for example, Windows XP, Windows 7, and so on).
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Worker workload profile (type of applications on the virtual machine, IOPS requirement, read-write ratio, if
known).
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Number of years for which the storage growth has to be considered.
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Disaster recovery/business continuance requirements.
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Size of NAS (CIFS) home directories.
NetApp strongly recommends storing user data on NAS (CIFS) home drives. Using NAS home drives,
companies can more efficiently manage and protect the user data and eliminate the need to back up the
virtual desktops.
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For most of the Citrix XenDesktop deployments, companies might also plan to implement roaming profiles
and/or folder redirection. For detailed information on implementing these technologies, consult the following
documentation:
◦ Microsoft Configuring Roaming User Profiles
◦ NetApp TR-3367: NetApp Systems in a Microsoft Windows Environment
◦ Microsoft Configuring Folder Redirection
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Citrix XenDesktop considerations: When implementing Citrix XenDesktop, decide on the following:
◦ Types of desktops that will be deployed for different user profiles
◦ Data protection requirements for different data components (OS disk, user data disk, CIFS home
directories) for each desktop type being implemented
◦ For Citrix provisioning Server pooled desktops, write back cache size needs to be calculated based
on how often the user reboots the desktop and what applications the user uses. We recommend
using NFS for write back cache for space efficiency and easy management.
◦ NetApp thin provisioning, deduplication, and NetApp snapshot can be used to achieve the desired
storage efficiency and data protection for the ―user data disk.‖
3.4.13.2 Performance-Based and Capacity-Based Storage Estimation Processes
There are two important considerations for sizing storage for Citrix XenDesktop. The storage system should be
able to meet both the performance and capacity requirements of the project and be scalable to account for future
growth.
The steps for calculating these storage requirements are:
1. Determine storage sizing building block
2. Perform detailed performance estimation
3. Perform detailed capacity estimation
4. Obtain recommendations on the storage system physical and logical configuration
3.4.13.3 Getting Recommendations on Storage System Physical and Logical Configuration
After determining the total capacity and performance requirements, contact your local NetApp technical resource
to determine the appropriate storage system configuration. Provide the total capacity and performance