5.0
Table Of Contents
- VMware View Architecture Planning
- Contents
- VMware View Architecture Planning
- Introduction to VMware View
- Planning a Rich User Experience
- Feature Support Matrix
- Choosing a Display Protocol
- Using View Persona Management to Retain User Data and Settings
- Benefits of Using View Desktops in Local Mode
- Accessing USB Devices Connected to a Local Computer
- Printing from a View Desktop
- Streaming Multimedia to a View Desktop
- Using Single Sign-On for Logging In to a View Desktop
- Using Multiple Monitors with a View Desktop
- Managing Desktop Pools from a Central Location
- Architecture Design Elements and Planning Guidelines
- Virtual Machine Requirements
- VMware View ESX/ESXi Node
- Desktop Pools for Specific Types of Workers
- Desktop Virtual Machine Configuration
- vCenter and View Composer Virtual Machine Configuration and Desktop Pool Maximums
- View Connection Server Maximums and Virtual Machine Configuration
- View Transfer Server Virtual Machine Configuration and Storage
- vSphere Clusters
- VMware View Building Blocks
- VMware View Pod
- Planning for Security Features
- Understanding Client Connections
- Choosing a User Authentication Method
- Restricting View Desktop Access
- Using Group Policy Settings to Secure View Desktops
- Implementing Best Practices to Secure Client Systems
- Assigning Administrator Roles
- Preparing to Use a Security Server
- Understanding VMware View Communications Protocols
- Overview of Steps to Setting Up a VMware View Environment
- Index
In very large VMware View deployments, vCenter performance and responsiveness can be improved by
having only one cluster object per datacenter object, which is not the default behavior. By default, VMware
vCenter creates new clusters within the same datacenter object.
Determining Requirements for High Availability
VMware vSphere, through its efficiency and resource management, lets you achieve industry-leading levels
of virtual machines per server. But achieving a higher density of virtual machines per server means that more
users are affected if a server fails.
Requirements for high availability can differ substantially based on the purpose of the desktop pool. For
example, a stateless desktop image (floating-assignment) pool might have different recovery point objective
(RPO) requirements than a stateful desktop image (dedicated-assignment) pool. For a floating-assignment
pool, an acceptable solution might be to have users log in to a different desktop if the desktop they are using
becomes unavailable.
In cases where availability requirements are high, proper configuration of VMware HA is essential. If you use
VMware HA and are planning for a fixed number of desktops per server, run each server at a reduced capacity.
If a server fails, the capacity of desktops per server is not exceeded when the desktops are restarted on a different
host.
For example, in an 8-host cluster, where each host is capable of running 128 desktops, and the goal is to tolerate
a single server failure, make sure that no more than 128 * (8 - 1) = 896 desktops are running on that cluster. You
can also use VMware DRS (Distributed Resource Scheduler) to help balance the desktops among all 8 hosts.
You get full use of the extra server capacity without letting any hot-spare resources sit idle. Additionally, DRS
can help rebalance the cluster after a failed server is restored to service.
You must also make sure that storage is properly configured to support the I/O load that results from many
virtual machines restarting at once in response to a server failure. Storage IOPS has the most effect on how
quickly desktops recover from a server failure.
Example: Cluster Configuration Example
The settings listed in Table 4-9 are VMware View-specific. For information about limits of HA clusters in
vSphere, see the VMware vSphere Configuration Maximums document.
Table 4-9. HA Cluster Example
Item Example
Nodes (ESX/ESXi hosts) 8 (including 1 hot spare)
Cluster type DRS (Distributed Resource Scheduler)/HA
Networking component Standard ESX/ESXi 4.1 cluster network
Switch ports 80
Networking requirements depend on the type of server, the number of network adapters, and the way in which
vMotion is configured.
VMware View Building Blocks
A 2,000-user building block consists of physical servers, a VMware vSphere infrastructure, VMware View
servers, shared storage, and 2,000 virtual machine desktops. You can include up to five building blocks in a
View pod.
Chapter 4 Architecture Design Elements and Planning Guidelines
VMware, Inc. 45