Daniel Feller

I've spent the last month or so discussing the top 10 mistakes seen on desktop virtualization implementation so you can learn from other's mistakes. I've discussed 9 different things so far and they were: 10.  Not calculating user bandwidth requirements 9.    Not considering the user profile 8.   Lack of Application Virtualization Strategy 7.  Improper Resource Allocation 6.  Protection from Anti-Virus 5. Managing the incoming storm 4. Not Optimizing the Desktop Image 3. Not using your Cache Wisely 2. Using VDI Defaults And now it is time for the #1 thing that people mess up with desktop virtualization. Storage. Actually, this shouldn't be a surprise at all if you pay any attention to the blogosphere. There have been numerous discussions on this exact topic. If you haven't yet, I'd suggest you read the white paper by Ruben Spruijt and Herco Van Brug Storage Deep Im... (more)

Get Ready for Cloudbursting

Just about every customer I've ever talked with has a common challenge, "How do we plan for cyclical surges in user activity?"  Depending on your business area, this could be a critical area of planning. Take for example, the retail sector.  We just came out of the end-of-year holiday spending season where retail stores typically see more foot traffic  and Internet-based traffic.  The increase in web traffic is several multiples higher than during other times of years.  If these organizations don't plan the infrastructure appropriately, their sites will become unavailable and c... (more)

Windows 7 Migration Is Here

The migration to the new operating system was a challenge. We had a mass of people going to each user's desktop to copy their data and  rebuild the operating system.  We thought we planned appropriately but ran into all sorts of issues like: We didn't have the correct hardware drivers for some of the computers, which required searching the Internet and oftentimes using try and error until we found the right driver.  There were too  many occasions where we were unable to find a driver for the new operating system.  We just hoped the user wouldn't notice. We sometimes found out th... (more)

Clash of the Titans - Users, iPads and IT

The iPad was released, and people were happy. People brought the iPad to work, and users were excited. Users connected the iPad to the corporate environment and IT got scared. If you went to the Apple store and did a demo of the iPad, you might have noticed the installed Citrix Receiver (honestly, did anyone actually demo these things before buying? I bet most of us just bought it without playing around with it). But, let’s say you did demo and you selected the Receiver, what would you have seen? Windows Applications. Yes, Windows Applications on the iPad.  I admit, that is pretty ... (more)

Local Storage or Shared Storage, That Is the Question

Previously I've talked about how using local storage can help reduce the costs of desktop virtualization.  Paul Wilson tested this type of environment to determine that it is indeed possible.  So we have a new design decision, which way will you go? Before making the decision, you have to determine if local storage is good enough for your environment or if you need shared storage. Local Storage Local storage is the storage located within the server running a hypervisor (XenServer, Hyper-V, vSphere).  By using the local drives, the following are important considerations to remembe... (more)