DataCore Virtual Desktop Server Introduced in Europe

At CeBIT 2013, DataCore Software Corp. showcased the latest advances in its SANsymphony-V Storage Hypervisor and introducing the DataCore VDS (Virtual Desktop Server) software platform to European solution providers in search of simple, affordable VDI solutions to target SMBs.

Showcases SANsymphony-V Storage Hypervisor Advances
At the Virtualization & Storage Forum, organized by DataCore’s distribution partner Arrow ECS and CeBIT, DataCore presented its latest SANsymphony-V performance acceleration and auto-tiering enhancements, more powerful CDP capabilities, greater scalability, support for Windows Server 2012 and optimized integration of flash-based storage to speed up mission-critical tier-1 applications.

New Software Product line
DataCore VDS – The Virtual Desktop Server
It is designed to cost-effectively deploy and serve virtual desktops. Its a VDI application-specific use case that applies DataCore’s architectural advantages to make it practical to deploy persistent ‘stateful’ virtual desktops at lower cost with performance.

Powerful ‘Stateful’ Virtual Desktop Solution
True virtual desktops are ‘stateful’ (or persistent), they deliver a similar user experience as if a user is on a physical desktop or laptop PC. With ‘stateful’ virtual desktops an end-user is assigned a VM for their own use to run applications, to browse, to do downloads. Turn the virtual desktop off and then back on and it retains the ‘State’ of what you were doing, it is just like when you close and open a laptop.

DataCore VDS addresses SMB market demand
for cost-effective solutions
SMBs want to adopt desktop virtualization for the same reasons large enterprises do – to reduce desktop management costs, improve productivity and increase business agility, but they often find enterprise solutions overkill for smaller environments.

Unlike VDI offerings aimed at ‘Big Companies’ on the market which are complex and require many 1000’s of desktops to justify the high costs involved, DataCore VDS lowers the complexity and reduces the cost per VDI instance. The solution is priced and sized for SMBs and departmental users. It addresses the market demand with cost-effective and simple to use solutions designed to meet the budgets and needs of 50 to 200 virtual desktop deployments. It makes economically possible to not sacrifice performance and a ‘true’ desktop user experience.

Objective: Great User Experience
Other VDI approaches tend to be complex, costly and inefficient. Also, they are difficult to install and manage. While the ultimate objective is to provide users with a virtual desktop that performs and works as well or better than a physical computer, this objective is the first to be sacrificed due to the high costs needed to achieve the ‘true’ desktop experience and responsiveness that end-users expect. Storage has been the major barrier and cost factor. Current VDI approaches have had to use expensive storage networks, enterprise storage arrays, fast disks, SSDs and shared storage to achieve needed performance. However the economics do not make sense. The cost of storage has limited VDI deployments only to large companies with big budgets.

DataCore VDS Benefits
It is an easy and affordable virtual desktop solution designed for SMBs. It deploys on a single server, and includes the tools Windows administrators need to rapidly deliver centrally-managed virtual desktops to any user for less than the cost of new PCs.

The DataCore VDS architecture eliminates up to 75% of VDI costs without compromising performance and most importantly the user experience.

DataCore VDS is:

• Simple and Fast to Install, Administer and Use: Runs on off-the-shelf servers; any storage. Easy for administrators to use.
• Affordable and Storage Efficient: Uses a fraction of storage compared to other VDI architectures.
• Performance Optimized Architecture: Delivers ‘best in class’ price performance. Optimally manages I/O traffic and caches to achieve high performance.
• Powerful ‘Stateful’ Virtual Desktop Computing Solution: True desktop computing.

"DataCore VDS addresses a major new business market opportunity, and for us, it is a real ‘sweet spot’. It allows us to deliver simple and affordable VDI solutions well matched for 50 to 200 virtual desktop environments. Unlike highly complex VDI solutions that may be cost-effective for very large 1000 or more desktop projects, DataCore VDS removes many implementation barriers and greatly reduces the cost per virtual desktop instance,"  says Jürgen Thurau, senior consultant at DataCore partner IT-On.NET GmbH. " Small and medium enterprises can finally operate a VDI economically to improve productivity and reduce costs. We are extremely optimistic and ready to work with the DataCore to establish DataCore VDS solution successfully in the marketplace."

"We are not moving away from our core business, we are doing what we do best. DataCore VDS is fundamentally a storage solution that leverages Microsoft virtualization capabilities and DataCore’s powerful architectural advantages to makes VDI practical and affordable," states George Teixeira, CEO and president, DataCore.

Product Pricing, Roll Out and Availability
DataCore VDS will be released in April in Europe where select partners have already been trained. The solution will be made available during Q2 exclusively in Europe through network of trained and authorized EMEA based solution providers.

Pricing starts at under €4.600 for a software license able to support 50 virtual desktops.