yesterday I attended the”Citrix XenDesktop 3 Architecture” technical session. This session was a very useful session because it gives a lot of useful tips to design a XenDesktop environment.

I’ll give you a top ten of tips for using in a design:

1 – Make sure you’re using Provisioning Server (included in Platinum edition) to save on storage costs, and desktop maintenance costs

2 – Invest in solid hardware capable of running a Server virtualization platform (XenServer – preferred , VMware, Hyper-V) with sufficient resources (Lots of memory and CPU)

3 – Calculate up-front how many users are using a complete desktop ate the same time

4 – Define user groups up-front into Task Workers (same thing everyday with same software) and Knowledge workers (variable software with variable resource needs)

5 – Create a simple architecture defining a maximum of 3 images per OS

6 – Provide your applications your desktops using application delivery technology (XenApp – preferred , Softgris, Installfree)

7 – Calculate how many users will login simultaneously (this will make the creation of Pools easier)

8 – Use Workflow studio to provision more desktops when needed (this will maybe make your design up-front more difficult but it will save costs on the longer term)

9 – Create solid procedures around the desktop lifecycle to make sure you only provide the right amount of vm’s

10 – Use a solid workspace management system to make sure users get the right applications and settings in the right environment (RES Powerfuse is a good example)

I hope this will help you build a solid and fast XenDesktop VDI environment. Please comment is I forget something or you have additional tips.

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