I denne sesjonen går vi gjennom og demonstrerer en VDI-løsning basert på Microsoft-teknologi. Her vil vi også snakke en del om Service Pack 1 til Windows 7 og Windows Server 2008 R2, med spesielt fokus på Dynamic Memory i Hyper-V og RemoteFX, som begge er viktige teknologier for VDI.

1. MS VDI OVERVIEW
Morgan Simonsen, Atea

2. Agenda
• VDI components
• Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2
Service Pack 1: A VDI enabler
• VDI Security

3. Introducing Windows 7 and
Windows Server 2008 R2 Service
Pack 1
• One service pack for Windows 7 and
Windows Server 2008 R2
• Availability:
– Windows Update
– Slipstream
– Download
• Two major changes:
– Hyper-V Dynamic Memory
– RemoteFX

4. RemoteFX & Dynamic
Memory

5. RemoteFX
• RemoteFX based on IP aquired by Microsoft when they bought Calista
Technologies
• RemoteFX is not a stand-alone product but an addition to existing RDP
technologies
• RemoteFX’s most prominent feature is graphics virtualization
– GPUs present in the server will be virtualized and shared across multiple
virtual desktops
• RemoteFX enables user to:
– Work remotely in a Windows Aero desktop environment
– Watch full-motion video
– Enjoy Silverlight animations
– Run 3D applications
• RemoteFX works for both virtual and session based desktops
– Session Based desktops do not use GPU virtualization
• RemoteFX also provides generic USB virtualization

6. RemoteFX Requirements
• Only supported on Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 and Windows 7 SP1
• The CPU in the RemoteFX server must support Second-Level Address
Translation (SLAT)
– Intel: Extended Page Tables (EPT)
– AMD: Nested Page Tables (NPT)
• Service Pack 1:
– The RemoteFX server (RDP or Hyper-V) must have Service Pack 1
– If VDI; the VM must have Service Pack 1
– The client must have Service Pack 1
• VDI:
– VM Memory: Windows 7 x86: at least 1024 MB/Windows 7 x64: at least 2048
MB
– Windows 7 VM must be Enterprise or Ultimate
• RemoteFX is optimized for LAN speeds
– You must select the LAN connection type to get a session that uses
RemoteFX. If you select any other connection type, your session will not be
optimized for the LAN and will not use the RemoteFX 3D adapter

7. RemoteFX Requirements - GPU
• GPU - At least one graphics processing unit (GPU)
is required on the RemoteFX server
– The GPU driver must support DirectX 9.0c and DirectX
10.0.
– If more than one GPU is installed in the RemoteFX
server, the GPUs must be identical.
– The GPU must have sufficient dedicated video
memory that is separate from system memory
– For Hyper-V Live Migration the servers must use the
same GPU and driver
• Any GPUs with an XDDM driver must be disabled
– This includes onboard management adapters used for
KVM over IP

8. RemoteFX Requirements - Misc
• RemoteFX for RD Session Host server
hardware requirements
– If you are using RemoteFX on an RD Session Host
server, the processor on the RD Session Host
server must support Streaming SIMD Extensions
(SSE2).
• The RemoteFX encoder (ASIC) is optional and
can be installed for additional scalability on
the RemoteFX server
– The hardware encoder card must be installed in
an x4 speed PCI-express slot or greater.

9. Enabling RemoteFX on a Remote
Desktop Session Host
• Set the maximum color depth to 32 bits per pixel
– Group Policy: Computer
ConfigurationPoliciesAdministrative
TemplatesWindows ComponentsRemote Desktop
ServicesRemote Desktop Session HostRemote
Session EnvironmentLimit maximum color depth
• Enable RemoteFX compression
– Regsitry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwarePoliciesMicrosoft
Windows NTTerminal
ServicesfAllowRemoteFXCompression

10. RemoteFX Clients
• RemoteFX requires RDP 7.1 (Windows 7)
• RemoteFX supports/will support:
– Rich clients
– Thin clients
– Ultra-thin clients
• A new version of the RDP client will be
released
• Down-level support is not yet determined

11. RemoteFX Recommendations
• Enable Hyperthreading in BIOS of Hyper-V
server
• Ensure you are using a LAN connection with
at least 10Mbps and less than 20 ms latency
• Set the RemoteFX screen capture rate to the
highest (best) value by using Group Policy
• Enable Windows Aero in the VM
• Use the LAN option in Remote Desktop
Connection
– If not; RemoteFX will not be used

12. Dynamic Memory
• Memory management enhancement for Hyper-V
– Enables Hyper-V administrators to pool available
memory on a physical host and dynamically distribute
it to any virtual machine(s) running on that host.
– As the workloads on that physical workload change,
requiring more or less memory, Dynamic Memory will
let administrators change the memory allocation to
their VMs without service interruption
• Not like VMWare’s overcommit; you still cannot
allocate more memory than you physically have
• Uses baloon-driver

13. REMOTEFX/DYNAMIC
MEMORY DEMO

14. The Microsoft VDI Technology Stack
Partner Enterprise Partners
Technology Deployments such as
User Profiles Roaming Profiles
and Data Folder Redirection
Application
Delivery
VDI
Suites
Desktop and
Session
Delivery
Virtualizatio
n Platform

15. Windows Server 2008 R2:
The core of VDI - Remote Desktop Services and VDI
Architecture
System
RD Session Center and
RD Web Host with App-V
Access RemoteApp
RD Client
RD Connection
RD Gateway Broker RD Virtualization
Host
Active Licensing
Directory® Server

16. Windows Server 2008 R2:
Why Sessions?
• Session Virtualization scales more users per server than VDI
• App-V works in both VDI and Sessions
• The same RDP connection protocol is used in both
• Much of the service infrastructure is shared
• Upsides for VDI:
– VDI offers better user operating system isolation
– VDI has better native application compatibility
– VDI allows users to be admins of their own images
• Upsides for Session Virtualization:
– Session Virtualization requires less hardware than VDI
– Sessions are cheaper than VDI desktops
– Server management is less than VDI
Remote Desktop Services enables both session virtualization and VDI!

17. Windows Server 2008 R2:
Desktop Centralization Choices
• Windows Server 2008 R2 Session • Windows 7 Desktop or
Virtualization Virtual Desktop (VDI)

18. VDI Guest VM Considerations
Deployment Choices
• Provides virtual machine-based, centralized desktops for individual
Personal users that can be fully customized based on user profiles
Virtual • Allows users to perform specialized tasks that require administrator
access to their desktop
Desktop • Enables users to access their personalized desktop from any
computer while retaining the last saved state
• Provides virtual machine-based, centralized desktop based on a
Pooled
pool of virtual machines that are shared by multiple users
• Allows users to perform standardized routine tasks and have access
Virtual to common applications (such as Microsoft Office)
Desktop • Rolls back the state upon logoff to provide a “clean” desktop for the
next user’s session, but the previous user’s state can be saved
offline

19. Guest VM Considerations
The case for Personal Virtual Desktops
Its all about the user
• Specifically suits knowledge workers (typical office worker profile)
• Those that walk away/disconnect and then want to reconnect
Considerations:
• Assign image through Active Directory Users and Computers
• Provide an individual dedicated image per user
– Minimize image duplication using SAN de-duplication if image storage is a concern
• Minimize direct image management
– Roaming Profiles
– Folder redirection
– Utilize Application Virtualization (App-V) or RemoteApp for application delivery and
servicing
• Service the operating system with your enterprise management tools and
leverage single tooling
Result: Easier to manage, more personalized and integrated with current tools

20. Guest VM Considerations
The case for Pooled Virtual Desktops
Its all about the user
• Specifically suits task workers (typical call center profile)
• User logs off, the VM resets and then just connect to the next VM to use applications
Considerations:
• Same scenario can also be delivered through Session Virtualization, and cheaper
• User just connects to pool of VM’s through the Broker
• Clustering generally doesn’t matter
• With Citrix, the SAN doesn’t even matter
• Minimize direct image management
– Roaming Profiles
– Folder redirection
– Utilize Application Virtualization (App-V) for application delivery and servicing
• Guest VM Operating System updates can be very painful
• If pooled is the best choice for you, ensure you consider Citrix XenDesktop on
Hyper-V
– Also consider RDSH as this provides similar scenario support and scales better
Result: Potentially less complicated, but less personalized and more difficult to manage

21. Guest VM Considerations
Why can Pooled be difficult?
Will a single master image and separation of the user state
with linked clones work?
• What happens when you need to service the image? Can the
user state differencing tolerate change of the master image?
When the Master Image needs to be serviced the corresponding
linked clone suffers a catastrophic break
• Solution is to duplicate the master, update it and create new
pool with new linked clones
• This is required every time a single master is updated with
• Operating System patches
• Anti-malware Updates
• Anything else on the OS

22. Guest VM Considerations
Why can Pooled be difficult?
Will a single master image and separation of the user state
with linked clones work?
– Customer reports are highlighting that updating single
master/linked image desktops without pool recreation
aren’t working as expected
– Nasty corruption problems
– Some customers switching from pooled to PVD
• Bad story: switching and leaving the linked clone
architecture in place
• However: Citrix XenDesktop on Hyper-V does the pooled
model very well with its provisioning server

23. Building the Base
What do I need to start?
• Hardware required:
– One or two appropriately specified servers for the number of users
required
• Example:
– Preferably dual quad Nehalem or equivalent AMD based processor
– Optional: Second server purely for client VM’s
– 16-32GB or more of RAM
– RAID 5 (preferably RAID 0+1) disk subsystem
– One or more hardware clients (to the scale of the POC)
• Software required – VDI Standard Suite and/or:
– One Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise
– Optional: HYPER-V Server 2008 R2
– One or more copies of Windows 7 Enterprise Edition
– Any applications required (Microsoft Office etc)
– Add App-V or SCCM for rapid application management and delivery
– Add System Center Virtual Machine Manager for improved VM
management
• Configuration details available at:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd941616(WS.10).aspx

24. VDI USER EXPERIENCE

25. More information
• Microsoft TechNet Remote Desktop guides
• Microsoft Infrastructure Planning and
Design (IPM) Guides
• Microsoft Answers ™
• Citrix: Ask the Architect
• www.v-alliance.net
• www.citrixandmicrosoft.com