Maniilaq Health Services Got VDI Performance on Dell EqualLogic

PernixData, Inc., in virtualizing server flash, announced that Maniilaq Health Services, a nonprofit corporation that provides health services to the people of the Northwest Arctic Borough of Alaska, is using PernixData FVP to deliver an optimal VDI experience while reducing storage costs.

Maniilaq relies heavily on VMware Horizon View for VDI, and was planning an upgrade from version 4.6 to 5.3. Wayne Hogue, VDI administrator and VMware expert at Maniilaq, was concerned that the new version would create storage performance issues because it required more I/O resources.

“We had a major challenge supporting 700 VDI desktops; 150 of which are typically running simultaneously at any given time,” said Hogue. “The biggest issue was the amount of time it took to power on the desktops. For example, it took so long to launch Windows XP that people would go get a cup of coffee while they waited for the login screen.”

Hogue didn’t want to invest in more storage capacity to get more IO/s as his Dell EqualLogic array was only at 40% capacity utilization, so he looked to GCSIT, his solution provider for a better option. GCSIT wanted to increase Maniilaq’s storage performance without disrupting their existing storage.

GCSIT recommended using server side flash with FVP as it is an inline solution that would work well with his existing storage.

Kurt Bunker, chief solutions architect, GCSIT, said: “Dell’s EqualLogic is fantastic for capacity and data services. When you combine it with PernixData FVP for storage performance, it’s the perfect marriage.”

Implementation of FVP was a breeze. Completely plug and play, Hogue implemented the technology without having to touch the VMs or modify his existing storage infrastructure.

“With PernixData FVP, I was able to virtualize all server side flash into a clustered acceleration tier that enables IT administrators to quickly, easily and cost-effectively scale-out storage performance – and do so completely independent of storage capacity,” said Hogue.

Benefits of FVP include:

• Reduction in VDI boot-up times from 45 to 8s – an 82% drop in latency
• Read and write performance for all VMs
• Extended support for 700 VMware virtual desktops in 12 clinics, spanning 360,000 square miles
• More IO/s from server side flash (400,000) versus 10,000 from SAN upgrade
• Major cost savings with the ability to avoid a $50,000 SAN upgrade.

“The PernixData solution saves us time, money and plenty of headaches, but equally important is its ability to grow with Maniilaq over time. The technology provides the cleanest way to scale storage performance and truly ‘future proofs’ our VDI deployment for years to come,” concludes Hogue.