This content was produced in partnership with Cisco.
With so much working from home these days, it’s important to have an infrastructure in place that allows for a seamless transition between remote locations and offices. One way to solve this problem is to extract all of the data and applications that reside on a person’s laptop and have the data instead reside on a system architecture within the customer’s data center. This allows centralized management of applications, data and system backups. Patches and app updates can then be prioritized. Thus, VDI allows a laptop or personal computer to access required data and applications within a consistent user interface. An added benefit is that if the company laptop is stolen, a new one can be sent to the employee and they can access their virtual desktop and be productive immediately. A smart way to approach data center infrastructure for VDI is to leverage cloud computing, specifically Cisco’s future-ready UCS X-Series modular systems, for converged and hyperconverged infrastructure.
Cisco’s Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solutions for the X Series provide a remarkably flexible, scalable, and high-performance provisioning and management tool for any organization or business that needs it. But here’s the most important point: it’s not just for work-from-home situations. The technology offers widespread and scalable deployment for just about any form of implementation for any industry. IT organizations benefit from all the technology the Series X has to offer, including high server performance, 100G networking, Nvidia GPU support both on the server compute node and through a dedicated node, comprehensive management tools, in a fully scalable chassis. And because it’s future-ready and modular, upgrades and streamlined performance are always within reach – you don’t have to worry about upgrading all your hardware to keep up with performance and software improvements.
Let’s take a closer look at what Cisco VDI infrastructure really has to offer and how The latest and greatest from NVIDIA play a role.
Keep it simple, virtually and otherwise
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There is a wide range of professional roles across a number of vertical markets that VDI can cater to. One type of user is called “Power User”, and it is a job role where they work with applications that generate very complex renders. The job requires larger amounts of memory and Intel CPU processing cycles, which impacts overall system performance – so they are a high power user. One way to lighten power loads is to add NVIDIA GPUs to the setup. A graphics processing unit (GPU) can perform the application renderings, removing CPU load inside the server. Of course, this offers many advantages in terms of performance and user experience.
Cisco’s technology delivers a future-ready infrastructure, ready for almost anything, with a remarkably simple operating model – organizations benefit from simple setup, easy deployment and implementation, managed from Cisco Intersight. The result is an ideal platform on which the leading “broker” VDI Citrix and VMWare solutions can be deployed. With Cisco solutions, customers can deploy highly advanced systems and architecture more easily than ever.
Some of the benefits include:
- Service performance and availability
- Operational profitability
- Labor productivity
- Reduced CapEx and OpEx through centralized upgrades
- Cloud-managed and up-to-date security
- Future-Ready Hardware with Cisco UCS X-Series
It’s a great platform for any business that wants a centrally managed infrastructure with less hassle and improved uptime. But it is also highly scalable, ideal for IT departments, with cost effectiveness and performance superior to most on-premises solutions. Organizations can switch over quite easily, realizing significant cost savings through server consolidation, energy savings, and potentially application license savings, but without sacrificing the power and performance they expect.
How do employees benefit from it? They can work from anywhere, on any endpoint, at any time without losing access to the tools they need most — and best of all, without anyone having to manage multiple forms. hardware, different application versions, patch management and everything else. the IT overhead associated with it.
The key to “future proof” is flexibility and scalability
When it comes to a future-proof solution, the primary focus is on the hardware behind the scenes, and in Cisco’s systems, which is governed by the X-Series architecture. Yes, as time passes and more powerful hardware is needed, new compute nodes can easily be added to the X-Series chassis, all managed by Cisco’s cloud-based systems management tool, Cisco Intersight. Cisco VDI technology, using Citrix or VMware Horizon, enables more workloads with higher requirements, while now using more efficient hardware. Unlike traditional rackmount servers, with UCS all of that power is still delivered through a smaller, more manageable form factor. It is overall more convenient and uses a single multifunctional management tool for administrators and IT.
Cisco says the UCS X-Series “rethinks what a server can and should be.” It is adaptable, scalable and remarkably efficient. By deploying these systems, companies save time on IT and digital operations. IT teams had to completely rethink their operating models to adapt to the new remote and hybrid workforce. Even with teams returning to the office, the same concerns will persist, especially around security and dynamic endpoint management. Yet with VDI solutions, it doesn’t matter whether you’re managing 500 to 5,000 users, or where they connect and work from – home, office, or remote – instant access and flexibility are always there.
What is NVIDIA’s place?
At the heart of these UCS X-Series systems for accelerated VDI are NVIDIA’s powerful GPUs and software, and not just graphics-intensive capabilities. Breakthroughs in AI, data analytics, IT and managed services, accelerated computing, and more are all supported and driven by NVIDIA and Cisco technologies. The NVIDIA A16 and A40 are perfectly suited to support the vast majority of power user needs, while the NVIDIA A100 Tensor Core GPUfor example, complements AI infrastructure and makes a huge performance difference for Cisco customers.
On the server side, hardware works together to deliver unprecedented performance and experiences to users connecting from anywhere in the world. GPU-accelerated virtual desktop solutions improve the user experience in several ways. Yes, performance is improved, but the associated systems are capable of so much more than your average desktop solution. Graphic and visual design, game development, software development, AI processing, 3D rendering of any kind – all of these activities benefit from NVIDIA-GPUs. Distributed workers get the power they need for any task, and they don’t need to upgrade a single item – it’s accessible from any endpoint, whether from a work laptop, office desktop, or other fully remote platform.
Boost your data solutions
No one environment will be the primary driver of cloud computing adoption. Just as organizations and IT workers adapted to a sudden shift to hybrid working conditions a few years ago, it will happen again with many returning to offices and shifting IT workloads moving from the cloud. to on-premises deployments in the data center. . It makes no sense to manage the hardware needed on traditional platforms with old-fashioned methods, especially when data centers are maintained in-house. A more cost-effective, flexible, and frankly better performing solution is to offset the technology by implementing Cisco’s VDI platform(s). It allows for the same paradigms as a BYOD environment, but with much more secure and better maintained solutions behind the scenes.
Some real world uses are:
- Management of centrally accessible virtual desktops that are delivered to end users on their choice of endpoints — they choose where and how to connect.
- High-performance, storage-intensive virtual desktops that require peak performance, such as in graphic design and development.
- Efficient and seamless use of applications, across all workstations, with appropriate software updates and security patches deployed remotely.
- Ultra-flexible scaling of computers, storage and network with dynamic workload demands – more power can be accessed almost instantly when needed.
- Access to next-gen hardware without any major internal upgrades, but also fully accessible from any device, anywhere.
- Unlock instant access to a centralized, fully managed data solution without adapting, installing, or upgrading onsite hardware.
In a world where infinitely more power and performance is needed, and where demand from the average workforce is constant, it makes sense to deploy a centrally managed solution like Cisco VDI technology. Why handle it all yourself when you have the full support of industry experts, with the hardware and resources to back it all up?
NVIDIA and Cisco are collaborating to deliver just that, in virtual desktop and cloud technologies that truly transform the end-user experience. If you have lingering questions, and like most things, the best way to figure it out is to experience it for yourself, or rather experience it with the rest of your team(s). .
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