Colby-Sawyer College Deploys VDI PCIe SSD Storage

NexGen Storage, Inc. announced its n5
Series storage system has been implemented by Colby-Sawyer
College for its campus-wide virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI).

The NexGen n5 Series storage system is a
PCIe SSD storage system designed to manage
performance, just like capacity, using storage QoS.

With the NexGen n5 storage system,
Colby-Sawyer College achieved:

• $28 storage cost per desktop
• 5X more IOPS in 80% less rack space
• An 81% reduction in client boot times
• 518% more capacity (GB) per rack unit

"We were initially drawn to the ease
and simplicity of the NexGen solution, but what separated NexGen from other
options was its QoS capabilities," said David Blaisdell, assistant IT
director, Colby-Sawyer College. "NexGen’s
performance levels and Storage QoS capabilities enable it to fully handle our
demanding VDI workload spikes and deliver consistent performance to other
application workloads simultaneously. What’s more, it delivers all this at an
extremely low cost of $28 per desktop."

New Hampshire-based Colby-Sawyer College has been on the forefront of
employing innovative IT technologies. It implemented VDI to support its
administrative staff, faculty, smart classrooms, distance learning and remote
learners. The college’s virtualized IT environment includes mixed application
workloads and will support 600 VDI desktops when deployed.

When its virtual desktop management threatened to overwhelm its existing
storage infrastructure, it conducted an evaluation of the
available storage options and selected NexGen due to its QoS-driven storage system performance during boot storms and virus scans, and cost advantages.

Also important to Colby-Sawyer College was the quick deployment and limited
management overhead of the n5 Storage System. It also viewed the ability
to make a single purchase that could satisfy the capacity and performance needs
for the projected size of the VDI environment as a strong advantage.

"Unlike traditional storage
infrastructures that cause organizations to silo or limit virtual desktop
infrastructures, NexGen allows users to isolate VDI workloads within a shared
storage environment ensuring ample performance during peak workload, virus
scans and ‘boot storm’ periods without impacting the performance of other
applications," said Rick Merlo, VP of sales, NexGen Storage. "We also offer the industry’s only
solid-state performance guarantee so organizations know they will have the
performance they need, 24/7, even in the most demanding mixed workload
environments."

n5 storage systems provideeconomics in part because IT admins
can run other workloads along with VDI on shared storage. With control
over application storage performance within VDI environments, organizations are
able to consolidate, reduce storage footprint and save money from both a $/IOP
and $/GB perspective.