VDI-in-a-box

13 Oct, 2011Uncategorized
VDI-in-a-box

Over 60% of the cost to deploy VDI is in the hardware infrastructure (shared storage and servers). By eliminating this expensive infrastructure, and running on commodity servers, VDI-in-a-box dramatically lowers VDI costs. For example, here is the breakdown of the cost to deploy 30 virtual desktops, assuming a directory server (e.g. Active Directory) and a filer for user data are already in place:

Server: $100 to $150 per desktop. This assumes a commodity server with 8 CPU cores, 32GB of RAM and 250GB of storage costing $3000 – $4500. A machine of this size can serve at least 30 desktops.

Hypervisor: $0 to $50/desktop. With the free version of XenServer, the cost is $0. With VMware, the cost would be $50/desktop based on retail prices.

VDI-in-a-box: $160/Concurrent User with Built-in HDX. This is the list price for VDI-in-a-box.

Microsoft VDA license: $0 to $100/desktop per year. The Microsoft Virtual Desktop Access (VDA) license may be required to access the virtual desktops. Microsoft is making VDA free-of-charge to customers under Microsoft Software Assurance (SA) — otherwise the list price is $100 per year.

For $260 – $460/virtual desktop, the entire setup to deploy virtual desktops is in place. To access the virtual desktops, you can either use repurposed PCs or thin-clients — customers often use a mix of both.

 

By making the cost of virtual desktops commensurate with the acquisition cost of PCs, VDI-in-a-box generates an immediate return on your investment. This does not even include the ongoing operational savings gained from centrally managed virtual desktops. Furthermore, with VDI-in-a-box, you have the flexibility of starting small and scaling on demand without needing to over provision.

 

 

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