X-IO X-Pod for VDI

Balanced storage from X-IO Technologies, coupled with Cisco UCS servers creates solution stack that ensures high performance for virtual desktop and hosted application workloads

X-IO announced the launch of X-Pod for VDI, a converged, flash-enabled infrastructure solution developed with Cisco UCS and VMware Horizon View. The architecture aims to take the guesswork out of correctly sizing VDI solutions, while delivering predictable and consistent performance – from the first desktop, to the last.

X-Pod for VDI has been designed to help customers ensure their virtual desktop environments are operating at optimum and consistent performance and reliability levels, overcoming some of the more pressing issues affecting the implementation of successful VDI projects. It is the result of extensive benchmarking of the X-Pod core components including Cisco UCS server and networking hardware together with X-IO’s flash-enabled Intelligent Storage Element (ISE) systems. Recent real-world testing of X-Pod for VDI found the solution delivered an ultra-high performance desktop experience to 1,500 users at up to 97% concurrency. (Benchmark testing information)

The launch of X-Pod for VDI comes hot on the heels of the introduction of X-IO’s VDI Emergency Response program that aims to diagnose, treat and heal VDI deployments globally. With many VDI deployments failing due to a lack of storage capacity provisioning and poor performance, X-IO and its channel partners are already seeing many examples where its Intelligent Storage Element solution has helped eliminate those threats and get VDI implementations back to full health. 

Gavin McLaughlin, VP WW marketing, X-IO, said: “When discussing VDI architectures with our customers, we found the same concerns time and time again. The market is a confusing jumble of over-hyped statistics that do not necessarily provide the real world, true use case figures needed by end users. With this in mind, we have worked with real-world benchmark tools such as Login VSI to ensure that any benchmarks carried out are true reflections of user actions rather than synthetic workloads.“

X-Pod for VDI utilises X-IO’s Continuous Adaptive Data Placement (CADP) software that automatically places hot spot data onto faster solid state drives in near real-time in order to deliver high performance at full capacity utilisation.

David Grant, SVP EMEA, Westcon Group: “As one of Cisco’s largest distributors, X-Pod for VDI is a compelling proposition for our partners and their customers and it fits perfectly with our portfolio of solutions. More and more organisations are looking at deploying VDI, but are faced with the challenge of managing all the different components to underpin the infrastructure. This new validated solution stack eliminates all of those headaches, and gives our customers a platform to ensure a successful VDI deployment.“

McLaughlin concluded: “When it comes to deploying virtualised desktop deployments, it’s clear that there is a dangerous combination of misleading marketing statistics and implementation pitfalls out there. The purpose of the X-Pod for VDI solutions is to provide enough insight and proof points into the performance and sizing of a VDI with Cisco UCS Servers working in conjunction with the X-IO ISE 700.“