- #Citrix Vdi Azure Windows 10 VDI Environments
- #Citrix Vdi Azure Series Support Premium
- #Citrix Vdi Azure Code Repositories Fit
Citrix Vdi Azure Windows 10 VDI Environments
Microsoft Azure Virtual Machine SKU SizesWhen it comes to running Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) in the public cloud, Azure allows both EA and CSP agreements to set up Windows 10 VDI environments. The mobile-first, cloud-first is a very rich canvas for innovation it is not the device that is mobile, it is the person that is mobile.Fast virtual machines in azure architecture citrix virtualization system components to be tested throughout this azure virtual desktop virtualization tool. With Citrix on Azure, your company can experience cost reductions, improved productivity and better scope for innovation. With workforces changing, now is the time to embrace a cloud-first VDI approach.
Microsoft Azure Virtual Machine SKU SizesCitrix on Azure has almost zero CAPEX costs and lower, more visible, OPEX costs which can reduce the price of storage by up to 80 percent. But, what is the best virtual machine size for the WVD workload? This research will answer that specific question. This new Windows 10 multi-session operating system is only allowed to run on the Microsoft Azure-platform. Microsoft calls this operating system “Microsoft Windows 10 Enterprise multi-session”. All these points sum up that Azure makes for a better choice.When it comes to running Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) in the public cloud, Azure allows both EA and CSP agreements to set up Windows 10 VDI environments.With the release of the Windows Virtual Desktop service (WVD) on Azure, Microsoft has released a new Windows 10 operating system which can host multiple user sessions on the same virtual machine.
Citrix Vdi Azure Series Support Premium
There is a vCore to core overcommit ratio of 2 vCPUs to 1 Core.The Dsv3-series support premium storage and run on the Intel® Xeon® Platinum 8272CL processor (second generation Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors), Intel® Xeon® 8171M 2.1GHz (Skylake), Intel® Xeon® E5-2673 v4 2.3 GHz (Broadwell), or the Intel® Xeon® E5-2673 v3 2.4 GHz (Haswell) processors with Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 and feature Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology. This virtual machine is using hyperthreading, so all the vCores are scheduled on the lCores of the physical CPU. The number of cores compared to the virtual memory is in balance and usable for a EUC workloads. For this research the following SKUs are selected for validation:The Dsv3-series VM is, from a vCPU and vMEM-ratio, a good candidate for EUC workloads. The advantage of this IaaS approach is that the customer does not need to manage the whole virtualization stack since this is the responsibility of the cloud service provider.With the Azure lock-in of Windows 10 multi-session, the choice of hardware resources is limited to the virtual machine and storage SKUs available on the Azure platform.
This VM has a vCore to core overcommit ratio of 2 vCPUs to 1 Core.The F-series virtual machines feature 2-GiB RAM and 16 GiB of local SSD temporary storage per CPU core and are optimized for compute intensive workloads. The D1-5 v2 sizes offer a balanced combination of vCPU(s), memory, and local disk for most production workloads.The F-series VM is optimized for Compute workloads and therefore has a lower vCPU to vMEM ratio compared to the previous D-series specified above. There is a vCore to core overcommit ratio of 1 vCPUs to 1 Core.The Dsv2-series virtual machines run on the Intel® Xeon® Platinum 8272CL processor (second generation Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors), Intel® Xeon® 8171M 2.1GHz (Skylake), Intel® Xeon® E5-2673 v4 2.3 GHz (Broadwell), or the Intel® Xeon® E5-2673 v3 2.4 GHz (Haswell) processors with the Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0. This VM has less vMEM compared to the Dsv3-series. The only difference here is that hyperthreading is not used on the physical CPU. It uses the same underlying CPUs as the Dsv3-series.
Citrix Vdi Azure Code Repositories Fit
Many applications such as development and test servers, low traffic web servers, small databases, micro services, servers for proof-of-concepts, build servers, and code repositories fit into this model.For more information about Azure Compute Units see the Microsoft documentation. These workloads don’t require the use of the full CPU all the time, but occasionally will need to burst to finish some tasks more quickly. Although this VM is not recommended for regular EUC workloads.More information about the burstable VM rules can be found here.No overcommit ratio for Bs-series VMs is documented by Microsoft.Bs-series are economical virtual machines that provide a low-cost option for workloads that typically run at a low to moderate baseline CPU performance, but sometimes need to burst to significantly higher CPU performance when the demand rises. This VM is a good candidate for applications with a high memory and low CPU demands. Customers can benefit from the CPU banking and crediting model of this burstable VM when the CPU is not utilized intensively. These virtual machines are suitable for scenarios like batch processing, web servers, analytics, and gaming.The Bs-series VM is a cost-efficient burstable virtual machine.
MSCIO is not part of this research and therefore MCSIO is not enabled. Citrix VDA version 1912.1 LTSR is used, as this is the most commonly used version at the time of writing.The machines used are created using Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Service from the Citrix Cloud offering, running in a non-persistent scenario. All required applications including, Microsoft Office 2016 x64 are installed using a post-OS installation task sequence in MDT. Microsoft recommends to always use the latest version for performance and reliability. Infrastructure and configurationWindmulti-session is used as the default operating system from the Azure Gallery. Most of this SKUs are covered in this research.
Since Windows 10 multi-session is a multi-session OS the SBC “rule of thumb” on-premises user density calculation is applied: SKU* Please note CPU speed can vary due to host placement in the Azure platform.Rule of thumb explained: Number of users based on CPU (multi-session)Medium-Heavy user weight = 800 MHz per user.Number of users is = vCPU * CPU-speed / user-weight.Example: D4S_v3 = 4 vCPU * 2300 MHz / 800 Mhz = 11,5 users (rounded: 11 users)Rule of thumb explained: Number of users based on memory (multi-session)Number of users = (Total MEM – 4 GB OS reservation) / user-weight.Example: D4S_v3 = (16 GB – 4 GB OS reservation) / 1 = 12 usersLower user density due to hyperthreading and CPU exploit mitigationsThe expectation is that the overcommit ratio of 2 vCPU to 1 Core will have an impact on the user density on the Dsv3-series and Fsv2-series VMs. ExpectationsFor on-premises sizing there are different calculations for VDI- or SBC workloads. The on-premises GO-EUC AD is leveraged for authentication by using a site-to-site VPN.The default testing methodology is used for this research.
There is a possibility this is caused by fact that the Dsv3-series and B-series VMs are using hyperthreading. The D4s_v3 and B4ms can host two users less than expected. There is a little difference between the calculated density and the measured density on the Dsv3-series and B-series VMs. ResultsBased on the expectations the user density can be validated based on CPU or MEM bottleneck.When investigating the user density, the rule of thumb for on-premises SBC-sizing still applies to Windows 10 multi-session on Azure.
In theory the VM could be started on different virtualization hosts with different type of CPUs in the Azure West Europe datacenter. As multiple runs are executed, performance consistency can be investigated by comparing the CPU usage over multiple runs.During this research the CPU performance is consistent between the different runs.Citrix MCS will power off and destroy the VM after each run and will rebuild and power on the VM at a new run.