Atlantis Ilio 2.0 Software Virtual Appliance, Starting at $150/Desktop

Atlantis Computing, Inc., in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) storage and performance optimization solutions, announced ILIO 2.0, a software virtual appliance that complements VMware and Citrix virtual desktop deployments to cut the cost of storage normally required, boost the user experience and make it possible for IT organizations to use anti-virus agents in virtual desktop images.

Previously only available as a hardware appliance, ILIO 2.0 can be installed on any hardware server to drive the cost of a virtual desktop to below that of a physical PC while making the experience better than a PC. ILIO can cut VDI CAPEX up to 75 percent by using up to 20 times less storage and enables more storage options including the use of lower cost SAN, NAS or local disks.

ILIO 2.0 installs in minutes and comes with an automated configuration wizard. It is deployed by Citrix and VMware channel partners into existing Citrix XenDesktop and VMware View VDI deployments to either support more users on the same infrastructure, or address current scalability and performance issues.  

"CB Richard Ellis deployed VMware View 4.5 with Atlantis ILIO to save millions on desktop costs, provision desktops more quickly and make it easier to support a distributed workforce across EMEA," said Rory Clements, VMware Architect at CB Richard Ellis. "CB Richard Ellis recognized that VDI will ultimately give us a competitive advantage by delivering an agile and flexible workspace for our users."

VDI lowers desktop costs, gives users mobility between devices, and makes organizations more agile. However, VDI adoption has been slowed by high deployment costs associated with storage and poor user acceptance typically linked to desktop performance.
 
VDI Storage Reduction and Performance Boost
The largest expense in VDI deployments is storage, which can consume up to 80 percent of the total VDI budget. The root cause of VDI storage problems is that conventional SAN and NAS storage were not designed to handle the tremendous IO traffic generated by thousands of virtual desktops running Windows XP or 7, and can consequently only deliver the throughput needed to support VDI by increasing the number of storage disks and controllers well beyond the storage capacity required.

ILIO is software that optimizes how Windows XP and Windows 7 interact with shared VDI storage. It processes all VDI traffic locally at the Windows NTFS protocol level – within the same server or rack – to reduce the amount of IO traffic going to storage and eliminate the huge burden normally placed on a storage array by hundreds or thousands of virtual desktops.

ILIO also de-duplicates in line all VDI images before they reach storage. It effectively eliminates the need to store up to 90 percent of Windows image components, further reducing the amount of storage required for a VDI deployment.
 
ILIO software IO processing enables the deployment of VDI with much less storage and offers IT organizations a choice of storage options including lower tier storage and locally attached drives to further drive costs down.

VDI User Experience
"As an alternative to adding more storage, CB Richard Ellis used VMware View 4.5 tiered storage with the Atlantis ILIO virtual appliances to offload IOPS from the existing storage system and process IO locally within the hypervisor and rack, which solved the desktop performance problems without adding any hardware," stated Clements.
 
Replacing the dedicated hard drive of a physical PC with a shared storage infrastructure can create performance problems for VDI users if the virtual desktops do not have access to very large amounts of storage. That in turn can lead to user dissatisfaction and put the entire VDI project at risk.

ILIO addresses the virtual desktop performance problem without investing in additional storage infrastructure. It eliminates the storage bottleneck by delivering locally in software within the server or the rack a very large amount of IOPS to boost all aspects of virtual desktop performance, including boot time, logons, profile loading, applications and productivity tasks, as well as virtualized applications such as Microsoft App-V, VMware ThinApp and Symantec SVS.

VDI Security Optimization
"Anti-virus and endpoint security are a must have for all enterprise desktops, whether they are physical or virtual," said Brian Foster, senior vice president, product management at McAfee. "McAfee Management for Optimized Virtual Environments AntiVirus (MOVE AV) is designed specifically to optimize resources in high density virtual environments. The combination of Atlantis ILIO and McAfee MOVE AV can deliver up to a 100 percent density increase with better performance than a physical PC, while reducing storage costs by as much as 90 percent. We look forward to working with Atlantis to help customers accelerate and secure their VDI deployments."

Implementing VDI should not mean forgoing desktop security. Yet traditional anti-virus solutions significantly impact the performance of virtual desktop environments, so much so that running a virtual desktop with anti-virus enabled can cut in half the number of virtual desktops that a server can host.

"We are proud to be helping customers such as CB Richard Ellis to overcome the storage, performance and security challenges of VDI," said Bernard Harguindeguy, CEO, Atlantis Computing. "With Atlantis ILIO 2.0, we are enabling Citrix and VMware channel partners to deliver highly optimized virtual desktops based on their favorite technology and hardware."

New in Atlantis ILIO 2.0

• Software Virtual Appliance – Atlantis ILIO is now delivered exclusively as a software virtual appliance.
• Better Storage Reduction – 20 percent better write IOPS offload for increased storage reduction
• Faster Desktop Performance – 30 percent faster desktop performance
• Automated Installation – Auto-configuration wizard configures Atlantis ILIO 2.0 and storage in 8 minutes.

Pricing and Availability
Atlantis ILIO 2.0 has been available to many of Atlantis Computing customers since December 2010 and is now available to all its channel partners with pricing starting at $150 per desktop.