Cisco Cisco HyperFlex HX220c M4 Node White Paper

 

 

© 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public. 

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Executive Summary 

The lack of a simple and efficient IT platform designed for easy consumption by application workloads is adding to 

the cost of doing business. Cisco HyperFlex Systems

™

 addresses this need while also including the desirable 

features of flexibility and consistent management. 

The Cisco HyperFlex

™

 platform reduces the time needed to deploy the required computing, storage, and network 

infrastructure for desktop virtualization to two hours or less, an order of magnitude faster than with some converged 

systems, which typically require two weeks. 

Citrix XenDesktop and XenApp provide a complete desktop and application virtualization solution that meets 

customer needs for all use cases, from simple task worker environments to the most demanding remote graphics 

workstations. All methods of application and desktop delivery can be deployed quickly from a single platform. The 

Citrix solution provides users with the freedom to access their mobile workspaces from any device, anywhere, 

while providing IT with a more secure and lower-cost alternative to standard Microsoft Windows application and 

desktop deployments. 

When using Citrix XenDesktop as the broker for virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI,) Cisco recommends using Citrix 

Provisioning Services (PVS) for pooled, nonpersistent Microsoft Windows virtual Citrix XenDesktop machines and 

for virtual Citrix XenApp servers. PVS allows IT to simplify the image management of virtual or physical machines 

by using a golden Windows OS image to which multiple machines can boot. This single-image OS delivery 

platform allows nearly immediate use of new computing capacity as it is brought online.  

The studies reported in this document found that Citrix PVS delivers optimal boot times and end-user experience 

for deployments of more than 500 seats. 

Citrix XenDesktop performance on the Cisco HyperFlex platform provides industry-leading baseline and sustained 

Login VSI response times that are 2.5 times faster than that of the leading hyperconverged competitor.

1

 For the 

tests performed in this study, Login VSI index average end-user response times were 1.02 seconds or less with the 

cluster at the full 1000-user load.  

Reference Architecture Overview 

This section defines current IT Infrastructure challenges and presents a high-level view of the solution and its 

benefits. 

Document Purpose 

This document describes a virtualized solution platform with eight Cisco HyperFlex HX220c M4 Nodes for up to 

1000 Citrix XenDesktop virtual desktops. It provides design and sizing guidelines to help you build solution 

platforms similar to the one tested. This document is not intended to be a comprehensive guide to every aspect of 

this solution.  

Solution Purpose 

Cisco HyperFlex Systems are built on the Cisco Unified Computing System

™

 (Cisco UCS

®

) platform. They offer 

faster deployment and greater flexibility and efficiency at a competitive price while lowering risk for the customer. 

                                                 

1

 

Based on comparison of Login VSI Analyzer baseline response times for the Cisco HyperFlex platform running Citrix 

XenDesktop 7.8 as described in this document with data from 

, Nutanix Reference 

Architecture, Version 2.0, May 2016, RA-2035