Looking For The Run Down on VMware’s New

Horizon Cloud Offerings?

On February 7th, 2017, VMware announced their new generally available offering “Horizon Cloud“. VMware Horizon Cloud enables the delivery of cloud-hosted or on-premises virtual desktops and apps to any device, anywhere, from a single cloud control plane. The Horizon Cloud delivers Cross-Cloud Architecture, a Clear Path to the Future, Digital Workspace Experience, and Redefines Cost and Complexity.

Below you will find a brief bullet list of information on Horizon Cloud to include top level changes compared to Horizon Air offering, purchasing process, deployment options, virtual desktop options, and considerations for each option, etc.

Horizon Cloud Public Page:  http://www.vmware.com/cloud-services/desktop.html

Top Level Changes in Horizon Cloud:

• Horizon Air currently does not offer App Volumes, vGPU-enabled desktops, and standard pricing model
• Current Horizon Air customers will continue to run in vCloud Air (vCA) data centers
• SoftLayer Data Centers for Horizon Cloud Hosted
• Desktop Disaster Recovery (DR) no longer offered with Horizon Cloud Hosted
• Horizon Cloud Services offers App Volumes (Private Beta), vGPU-enabled desktops (Private Beta), vIDM support, and Instant Clones

Considering which offering:

• Cloud Hosted VDI –
  • Seasonal Businesses
  • Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Contract/Temp employees
  • No existing VDI environment or expertise
  • Wants a managed solution
  • Prefers a predictable OPEX payment model
  • Needs to scal up/down quickly
• On-Premise VDI (Horizon 7) –
  • BYOD
  • Branch Offices
  • Security
  • Leverage existing VDI environment and expertise
  • Has strict security or compliance mandates
  • Needs onm-premises infrastructure for performance
  • Wants strict IT control, including management on-premises
  • Wants to utilize a perpetual license
• Hybrid VDI –
  • BYOD
  • Branch Offices
  • Desktop Replacements
  • Is interested in the cloud but not ready to commit
  • Has strict security or compliance mandates
  • Needs on-premises infrastructure for performance
  • Simplicity and speed of deployment is a priority
  • Requires flexibility in desktop configurations

Comparisons in Use Case Options:

• Kiosk Mode – Horizon 7 (On-Premise) ONLY
• Smart Card Authentication – Horizon 7 (On-Premise) ONLY
• RDSH Desktops & Apps – Horizon Cloud-Hosted & Horizon 7 (On-Premise)
• NVIDIA vGPU – Horizon Cloud-Hosted (Private Beta) & Horizon 7 (On-Premise)

Purchasing Process:

1. Step 1:  Choose User licensing
   1. Named User (NU) – (1) dedicated user per license
   2. Concurrent User (CCU) – Shared licenses (one user logged in at a time)
2. Step 2:  Choose your Infrastructure
   1. Buy Hosted Infrastructure from VMware – Cloud-based infrastructure
   2. Buy On-Premises Infrastructure from partner – vSAN Ready Nodes or HCI Appliance
3. Step 3:  Horizon Cloud Add-Ons
   1. Direct Connect (1/10 Gps)
   2. Additional IP Addresses
   3. 1TB Hard Disk Storage (can be used for AppStacks, Writable Volumes, UEM, and Utility server (E:/Drive)
   4. With more to come

Deployment Options:

• Horizon Cloud with Hosted Infrastructure
  • Meant for…
    • OPEX model of utility based pricing
    • Scalability on demand
    • Minimal internal expertise required
    • Remote locations where building data center capacity is impossible
  • Offering comes with –
    • Production Support
    • Services that include Corp. Network Services setup (via VPN)
    • Administrative training
    • REST API access for programmatic pool management
    • Desktop capacity based on what you purchased
    • (10) images that are fully customizable
    • Free software endpoint clients
    • Supports 2-Factor authentication –
      • Radius
      • RSA SecurID
      • VMware Verify with vIDM
      • DOES NOT provide 2FA for Horizon Amin console
    • Utility Server for free – to use as AD/DNS/DHCP, UEM, File Server, etc. (CANT be used as application or database server)
      • Tenant accessible
      • Uses the Professional Desktop Specification (2vCPU & 4GB vRAM) – can be upgraded
      • Transactional based applications are not allowed and customers should use IaaS
      • Encrypted hard disks not allowed
  • End Customer or Service Provider Provides –
    • Desktop Management
    • Access devices (end-point)
    • Applications
    • Image creation, deployment, and maintenance
    • OS licenses
  • Benefits:
    • Cloud Simplicity –
      • Fully hosted & managed infrastructure
      • Enterprise security with dedicated infrastructure
      • (3) global locations and counting
    • Fast Time-to-Value –
      • Add capacity in days, not months
      • Configure and deploy desktops in minutes
    • Most Comprehensive DaaS Solution –
      • Persistent, Floating, Apps, and vGPU-enabled desktop options
      • Blast Extreme & PCOIP connection protocols
      • Configure your own capacity
    • Predictable Economics –
      • Consumption-based pricing let you pay “as-you-grow”
      • No capital expenditure
• Horizon Cloud with On-Premises Infrastructure
  • Meant for…
    • Hybris OPEX/CAPEX model
    • Management infrastructure in the cloud
    • On-Premises virtual desktops & apps on (HCI) Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (e.g. VxRail)
    • Minimal internal expertise required and easily scalable
  • Benefits:
    • Bridge to the Cloud –
      • Cloud adoption at your own pace
      • Sensitive data resides on premises
      • Proximity reduces latency issues
    • Backed by ecosystem of partners –
      • Growing ecosystem of certified partners
      • Dell, EMC, QCT, Hitachi, and more
    • Radically simple on-premises VDI –
      • Easy to deploy HCI appliances
      • Automated updates & no more management infrastructure
      • Turnkey solution yields faster time-to-value
    • Linear scalability –
      • No CAPEX for service
      • Centralized cloud management
      • Right-sized HCI appliances
• On Premises (Horizon 7):
  • Meant for…
    • CAPEX model
    • Greater flexibility in desktop options
    • Scalable to customer requirements
    • Feature rich management

On-Premises Infrastructure Options: (more certified servers coming in the future)

• Dell –
  • R730
  • R730xd
• EMC –
  • EMC VxRail160 Hybrid
  • EMC VxRail200 Hybrid
  • EMC VxRail160 All-Flash
  • EMC VxRail200 All-Flash
  • EMC VxRail240 All-Flash
  • EMC VxRail280 All-Flash
• Quanta Cloud Technology (certification pending) –
  • QuantaGrid D51B-1U
  • QuantaPlex T41S-2U (4-Node)
• Hitachi Data Systems (certification pending) –
  • V210
  • V210-F

Virtual Desktop Purchase Options:

• STANDARD Capacity (everyday use) –
  • (1) UNIT = (1) vCPU / 2GB vRAM / 30GB Storage
  • Desktop Options –
    • Value = (1) Unit
    • Professional = (2) Units
    • Premium  = (4) units
    • Performance = 8) units
    • Hosted Apps Server = (8) units
• WORKSTATION Capacity (High Performance/GPU-enabled) –
  • (1) UNIT = (4) vCPU / 16GB vRAM / 120GB Storage / 2GB NVIDIA Video Memory
  • Desktop Options –
    • ProfessionalWS = (1) unit
    • PremiumWS = (2) units
    • PerformanceWS = (4) units