Companies are virtualizing their desktop environments to improve security, increase workforce flexibility, and simplify desktop and application management. For small and medium companies, however, the cost of the backend infrastructure for virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) remains an obstacle to adoption. Software-defined storage can help solve this challenge by providing a costeffective storage solution that delivers performance and scalability for future growth. This paper describes a converged VDI appliance—based on Citrix XenDesktop, Citrix XenServer, NexentaStor Software-Defined Storage, and industry-standard x86 servers with local storage—and reveals how it performed in tests of scalability and reliability.
