If You Build It, Will They Come? Better Question Is, Will They Stay?
Hashtags: #GTC14 and #S4948
Dane Young, MBA
Citrix Technology Professional
Solutions Architect
Entisys Solutions
Twitter: @youngtech
Web: entisys.com
Personal Blog: itvce.com
Entisys Solutions & Agile360
Facts: Number of employees: ≈100
California Offices:
Concord -HC
Sacramento
Pasadena
Irvine
Top Markets:
SLED via Entisys Public Sector Division
Enterprise IT
Healthcare
Education
Entertainment
Manufacturing
Among many others…
Who are we? Entisys Solutions is leading the way in Virtualization, Optimization and Modernization—from the Data Center to Endpoints, and into the Cloud
What do we do? We provide consulting and integration services for today’s leading developers of virtualization and access delivery solutions including Citrix, HP, Microsoft, and VMware solutions among other key virtualization vendors.
Our Core Expertise: VDI Solutions Server Virtualization Storage Solutions Cloud Solutions System Management Solutions Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Professional Services and Training Support
Desktop Virtualization – Why?
Device IndependenceFlexibility for the Future
Time to Market
Data SecurityExternal Access
Stability Business ContinuityDisaster Recovery
Operational Efficiency
End User Exprience Remote Workers
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Business Agility
Device IndependenceFlexibility for the Future
Time to Market
Flexibility for the Future: • Desktop Operating System
upgrades • Infrastructure capacity
expansion and contraction • Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)
Time to Market • Desktop Operating System
upgrades • New application integrations • Mergers and acquisitions • Rapid provisioning of desktop and
application resources Device Independence • Access applications via traditional desktop PC, thin
client, tablets and other mobile devices • Infrastructure hardware flexibility (servers, storage
and networking)
!
G O
Security
Security: • Secure remote access with multi-factor
authentication • SSL encryption • FIPS compliance • Corporate data remains within the data
center • Manage access to external storage
devices (USB drives) • Global/International governance of
intellectual property
©
Data SecurityExternal Access
Stability Business ContinuityDisaster Recovery
Operational Efficiency
End User Exprience Remote Workers
Productivity
High Definition End User Experience • Ability to tune desktop compute
resources as user requirements change
Remote access • Easily support telework initiatives • Third party contract workers • Remote and international workforce Operational efficiency • Single desktop image management • Rapid deployment of updates • Rollback capabilities in the event of
any issues caused by an image update
Stability • Non-persistent desktop images provide users
with a pristine desktop image following each login
• Leveraging non-persistent desktop images enables self-healing of unauthorized system changes made by users
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery • Fully redundant infrastructures provide built
in High Availability of desktop resources • Desktop and application virtualization provide
a cost effective option for disaster recovery
Desktop Virtualization – How?
?
Desktop Virtualization – How?
?
Project Management
Identify Goals
POC
Discovery and Design
Production Build and Validation
Deploy
Manage
Pilot
Desktop Virtualization – How?
?
Project Management
Production Build and Validation
Deploy
Manage
Pilot
Pilot
Goal: Build, tune and validate core desktop virtualization solution components in preparation for production deployment • Deploy the production environment in a
minimal capacity scale • Implement design requirements including
high availability, remote access, security, policies, role based administration, etc.
• Complete user acceptance testing to a targeted group of users
• Tune solution configurations and IT processes in preparation for Production build and deployment
• Benchmark the deployment
4
The Importance of User Acceptance Testing
User Acceptance Testing is often the forgotten component when extending a new service to end users. Sample: 4
Transparency of Issues During Pilot
Pilot users should be technology champions within the organization. Troublesome and non-technical users will come later once initial stability and functionality is achieved
Issues should be logged in a central tracking portal (i.e. SharePoint or Spreadsheet) to be reviewed by sponsors and project team
4
Transparency of Issues During Pilot
Issues should be prioritized by sponsors and project team
End user communication should be prioritized to ensure high user adoption and encourage feedback
Weekly pilot user roundtable meetings are beneficial to encourage open and honest feedback on the solution
4
Tools Required for Pilot Phase
Login VSI or similar synthetic user load generation tools
4
Login VSI
Login VSI
Additional Login VSI Resources
Citrix Blog: Scripting: Automating the testing of graphic intensive GPU workloads http://blogs.citrix.com/2013/12/24/scripting-automating-the-testing-of-graphic-intensive-gpu-workloads/ GPU-Z Citrix WMI (inc. FPS) Microsoft HTML5 Fish Bowl SolidWorks eDrawings Viewer Redway3d Redsdk CAD Turbine Demo Unigine Tropics Citrix Blog: Citrix, NVIDIA, and Cisco: The Next Evolution in Virtualizing Graphics http://blogs.citrix.com/2013/12/19/citrix-nvidia-and-cisco-the-next-evolution-in-virtualizing-graphics/ Special thanks to: Frank Anderson, Tony Pimper, Hector Jhong, and Santiago Cardenas
4
Tools Required for Pilot Phase
eG Innovations or similar 3rd party Monitoring tool
4
eG Innovations
eG Innovations
Tools Required for Pilot Phase
Lakeside Software’s SysTrack or similar 3rd party reporting tool to show GPU usage (if applicable) 4
SysTrack
SysTrack
Tools Required for Pilot Phase
Helge Klein’s uberAgent for Splunk or similar 3rd party reporting tool to show GPU usage (if applicable) 4
uberAgent for Splunk
uberAgent for Splunk
Production Build and Validation
Goal: Build and validate production ready desktop virtualization solution within identified timelines
• Scale the environment to meet the total user community desired
• Ensure knowledge transfer and operational staff attend training to perform the majority (if not all) management and maintenance duties
5
Tools Required for Build and Validation Phase
Same as previous phase, and:
• Citrix Authorized Learning Center partner: https://www.citrix.com/partner-programs/authorized-learning-center.html
• Namely Layer8 Training: http://layer8training.com/
• VMware Education: http://www.vmware.com/education
• Microsoft Learning: http://www.Microsoft.com/learning
• NVIDIA Training: https://www.brainshark.com/nvidia
Recommended courses oriented toward management and operational duties associated with the chosen solution
5
Deploy (i.e. end user roll-out)
Goal: Deployment of desktop virtualization to end users with minimal disruption to productivity
• Work through initial end user deployments to ensure that any required adjustments are addressed with minimal delay
• Leveraging the project plan created in the Discovery and Design phase to identify key user groups and timelines for each group
• Conduct targeted User Acceptance Testing, similar to the Pilot phase to ensure alignment to end user requirements as the solution is extended
6
Manage
Goal: Provide ongoing stability of the implemented desktop virtualization infrastructure
• Ongoing maintenance of the implemented solution is critical to maintaining a productive user experience
• This is often the most critical and overlooked phase to ensure the end user experience remains excellent
7
Questions?
?
?
Thank You!
Dane Young, MBA
Citrix Technology Professional
Solutions Architect
Entisys Solutions
Twitter: @youngtech
Web: entisys.com
Personal Blog: itvce.com
