ESG Lab Validation Report: vWorkspace with Microsoft Hyper-V System Center

According to ESG research, 59% of organizations have not yet virtualized tier-1 applications, with  performance cited as a top challenge when it comes to implementing a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). Predictable performance is a critical concern when several users are running a variety of applications in a shared environment. A burst of I/O activity from one desktop (e.g., a user first logging on) can lead to poor response times and lost productivity for other users. To get the most of their VDI investments, IT management needs a VDI solution that’s easy to deploy and manage as it scales to accommodate thousands of users.

This report reveals the results of ESG Lab testing that evaluated the performance, scalability and manageability of Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 with Hyper-V Server virtualization technology and vWorkspace. During testing we automated the policy-based deployment of virtual desktop and TS/RDSH sessions running on 40 Hyper-V enabled industry standard servers with direct attached storage. Deployment of  3,000 virtual desktops took 41 minutes and vWorkspace HyperCache reduced I/O requirements by 88% compared to a similarly configured SAN-attached configuration. Performance scaled linearly on a Hyper-V-enabled VDI infrastructure managed with System Center 2012.