Daas

Recent trends in IT – Desktop as a Service

Recent Trends in IT - Desktop as a Service Harshal. S. Bidkar & Ajinkya. A. Khavare DKTES’s Textile & Engineering Institute, Rajwada Ichalkaranji, Maharashtra. [[email protected], [email protected]]

Abstract -- In an era where the Internet is continually redefining the way we compute, the traditional corporate PC increasingly seems out of place. While still a gateway to many of the applications and services provided by IT, PCs are having trouble keeping up with the high - paced and dynamic nature of today’s global business environments. IT departments find PCs harder and more costly to manage than ever before while users, who are demanding greater computing mobility and flexibility, are often frustrated by the limitations of their current desktop systems. At the same time, emerging trends in cloud and utility computing are reshaping the way in which corporations consume and manage IT. The ability to outsource non-strategic IT assets and purchase them as a service can help lower the cost of IT while allowing corporate technologists to focus more on applications and technologies that provide their organizations with a true competitive edge. “DaaS” (Desktop as a Service) is the name given to such a service that sees the emergence of cloud and utility computing as an opportunity to transform the corporate PC from a static, distributed device into a virtualized and centralized asset. In this paper, we present the past history associated with Corporate PC’s then VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) i.e. virtualized client desktop and lastly DaaS and its architecture with a Case Study: Pike County School District.

Keywords: DaaS, cloud computing, VDI, TCO, etc. I. THE CHALLENGE OF PHYSICAL CORPORATE PC’S Corporate PCs have become a millstone of modern IT departments. On one hand they are required to deliver an everincreasing number of critical applications and services to endusers. On the other, they have become increasingly costly and complex to manage and secure, while at the same time further underutilized in terms of their physical capacity. There are many different views on what’s so complex about managing corporate PCs. While there are a number of challenges inherent in managing the software layers of these devices (primarily the OS, applications and data), it is the physical aspects of PCs that create many headaches for IT. The following IT challenges are associated with the management of physical PCs: •

IMAC (Install, Move, Add and Change) – Although it is possible to automate portions of PC management,

DKTES’s Textile & Engineering Institute, Rajwada Ichalkaranji

•

•

•

there are many elements of a PCs lifecycle that have to be handled in person. Prime examples include provisioning a new PC, moving the location of a PC or upgrading its physical resources (i.e. CPU, memory or disk) Security – Physical PCs are inherently insecure because of their portable nature. Laptops can be easily lost or stolen as can desktops, especially those in less secure branch facilities. Underutilized – While most research pegs average x86 server utilization at around 10-15%, estimates put the average utilization of corporate PCs at less than 5%. Rapidly depreciating assets – According to a study by the Federal Reserve Board of San Francisco, PCs depreciate in value roughly 50% per year.

Users are also challenged and limited by the physical nature of their corporate PCs. They have come to demand much greater flexibility from IT and, thanks to the advances in communications services, expect to be able to work at anytime from anywhere. However, due to the physical makeup of their corporate PCs, end-users still struggle with the following limitations: •

•

•

•

Mobility – Many of users’ application and data assets are tethered to their physical machine, making them difficult to access from other locations either inside or outside the office. Availability – The physical and distributed nature of today’s corporate PCs make them hard to troubleshoot in the event of a system failure. In many cases, getting a user back online requires a desk side visit. Managing multiple devices – Users are amassing an increasing number of devices (i.e. multiple PCs, Smartphone, etc.) and having a separate physical machine for work is becoming more and more burdensome. Separation of personal and business computing – Users are increasingly using computing for their personal needs and, in many cases, are forced to physically switch between different environments throughout the workday to perform different computing tasks.

Page 1 of 7

Recent trends in IT – Desktop as a Service

II.

VIRTUAL DESKTOP INFRASTRUCTURE (VDI) – THE ANSWER? Many organizations have experienced firsthand the transformational power and benefits of server virtualization. Those same organizations and many others are expecting to be able to realize similar benefits by moving to a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) model, which is defines as client computing architectures that leverage server-hosted virtual machines. The idea behind Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is to run desktop operating systems and applications inside virtual machines that reside on servers in the data center. Desktop operating systems inside virtual machines are also referred to as virtual desktops. Users access the virtual desktops and applications from a desktop PC client or thin client using a remote display protocol and get almost the full features as if the applications were loaded on their local systems, with the difference being that the applications are centrally managed. Key benefits of VDI: • Dramatically reduced desktop deployment complexity – With VDI, provisioning new desktops is about deploying virtual machines as opposed to physical desktops. For example, an IT admin can copy an existing golden VM image, assign it to a user and the process is done. This is in comparison to having to target a physical machine with a traditional OS image and all the complexity that entails (i.e., device drivers, location of the machine, etc.) •

•

•

applications and data) become easier to manage. In addition, because users access their virtual desktops via PC remoting technology, it is possible for IT to finely control the movement of data either into or out of these systems. Finally, having all the desktops in a centralized location makes implementing and managing compliance systems and policies simpler. Customizable end-user experiences – Unlike shared services server-based computing solutions which deliver an alternate and locked down client experience, VDI enables users to work in an authentic client OS environment and to personalize that environment to their liking. “Instant-on” desktops – With VDI architectures, it is possible to offer a “instant-on” desktop experience by enabling users to reconnect to their server-hosted virtual machines without the need to wait for the system to boot or to wait for the traditional logon process to complete. When the user reconnects to their system, it’s in the same state that they left it the last time they used it (down to the last letter they may have been typing).

The Challenges with VDI: Despite the many promise of VDI, the solution has some significant challenges, most of which ironically are associated with the physical aspects of deployment. •

• Improvement in management, security and compliance – Because all VDI desktops are centralized into wellconnected data centers, their software layers (OS, •

Solution stacks complexity – In-house VDI deployments are by their nature multi-sourced, involving component technologies that are provided by different vendors. This makes it very difficult to put together a reliable end-to-end solution. Cost structures – Today’s enterprise data center and virtual infrastructures are optimized for hosting servers, not for desktops. Therefore, enterprises that implement VDI on their existing virtual infrastructure quickly learn that it will be almost impossible for them to meet their TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) objectives. Operational complexity – Because VDI solutions span many organizational silos, no single team is responsible for managing and troubleshooting. This can create disputes between internal IT departments that can leave end-users worried about the overall quality of service delivery.

Therefore, while many organizations believe in the promise of VDI, those that have started implementation realize that an innovative approach is needed if they are going be able to reach the scale and TCO that they desire. III. Fig : 1 Virtual Desktop Infrastructure

DKTES’s Textile & Engineering Institute, Rajwada Ichalkaranji

DESKTOPS AS A SERVICE (DAAS) – TRANSFORMING THE CORPORATE PC

Page 2 of 7

Recent trends in IT – Desktop as a Service

The PC represents a general purpose technology whose time to be delivered as an outsourced utility service has finally arrived. At the physical layer, the majority of corporate PCs are almost identical. Their “personality” or differentiation comes from a combination of their specific software configuration and user-level customization. It is exactly these software layers that can be preserved in the move from physical to virtual desktops by leveraging machine virtualization (hypervisor) technology. We can compare the same with examples such as electricity, the goal is to move the generation of capacity (in this case, client computing cycles) from being internally produced to being consumed as an outsourced service, and doing so without disrupting the tool ultimately being delivered to the employee (in this case, traditional desktop computing environments). DaaS model allows just this – for a service provider to own and operate the physical infrastructure that powers virtual desktops while enterprises retain control over the provisioning, management and licensing of the virtual desktops they use. The primary difference between the VDI & DaaS solutions is that with VDI, enterprise IT owns and operates the virtual desktop hosting environment; with DaaS, the hosting infrastructure is run by a service provider, which then offers virtual desktops as a service to enterprises on a subscription basis. This outsourcing arrangement creates a fundamental separation between the management of the hosting infrastructure (handled by the service provider) and that of the virtual desktops (still the responsibility of the enterprise). Thus, DaaS can be summarized as the only solution that gives enterprise IT the full benefits of a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), without having to incur the costs or risks associated with selecting, owning and managing the physical resources. We have summed up some responsibilities with DaaS as opposed to VDI in Figure: 3.

IV.

IMPLEMENTATION OF DAAS USING DESKTONE’S VIRTUAL-D PLATFORM Desktone Inc. provides the only virtual desktop hosting platform that enables desktops to be delivered as an outsourced subscription service. The Desktone Virtual-D Platform integrates all enabling technologies into a single, automated, self-service platform. By offering DaaS, Desktone simplifies large-scale desktop provisioning and management, transfers transforms virtual desktop infrastructure costs from CAPEX (CAPital EXpenditure) to OPEX (OPerating EXpenditure), provides greater protection of physical resources and corporate information, and increases business agility—all of which reduces desktop total cost of ownership. V. VIRTUAL-D PLATFORM ARCHITECTURE Desktone’s DaaS approach consists of two distinct tiers: enterprise and service provider. Key to enabling DaaS is the fact that the Virtual-D Platform integrates all VDI functionality while separating the enterprise and service provider tiers. The Virtual-D Platform is a set of components and services that align with the enterprise and service provider tiers, enabling the delivery of highly scalable DaaS environments. The two tiers are joined together with Desktone’s Access Fabric—a set of distributed services that associates authorized users with their virtual desktops. See Figure: 4 for architecture. A. Enterprise Tier: Within this tier the system provides operational automation, virtual machine lifecycle management, desktop monitoring and reporting, and supports access to virtual desktops from thin, rich or repurposed clients. It includes 1. Desktone Virtual-D Enterprise Center -- A web-based management interface for the enterprise desktop administrator. Designed to support large user populations, it provides virtual resource management, virtual desktop administration and template lifecycle management. The Virtual-D Enterprise Center allows enterprises to continue using the infrastructure, best practices and skill sets already employed for managing desktops in the physical world, including those for OS and application deployment, Active Directory, Help desk, and security policies. 2. Desktone Virtual-D Portal -- A self-service, policybased portal that enterprise users can access from any browser. With the Virtual-D Portal, users can access their existing virtual desktops as well as manage those virtual desktops or even create new ones, all without relying on a system or desktop administrator. In addition, the Virtual-D Portal assists users in troubleshooting issues that may arise and also allows

Fig : 2 Desktop As A Service

DKTES’s Textile & Engineering Institute, Rajwada Ichalkaranji

Page 3 of 7

Recent trends in IT – Desktop as a Service

them to submit requests for additional virtual desktop resources. B. Service Provider Tier: The platform includes the software, tools and best practices needed for service providers to build and easily manage a virtual desktop utility grid for delivering DaaS, while integrating with their existing network and distribution infrastructures. Designed specifically to enable highly scalable, multitenant DaaS environments, this portion of the platform is comprised of Desktone Virtual-D Elements that are managed by the Desktone Service Grid 1. Desktone Virtual-D Elements -- The building block of a virtual desktop utility grid, Virtual-D Elements are racks that include all the hardware, virtualization resources and software required to support virtual desktops. Built as self-contained, independent modular units of desktop service delivery, Virtual-D Elements make it easy for service providers to scale their DaaS environments. Service providers can build Elements themselves using Desktone’s Virtual-D Element blueprint, or can get them pre-fabricated from authorized Desktone partners. 2. Desktone Service Grid -- A software framework that ties individual Virtual-D Elements into a virtual desktop utility grid. The Service Grid creates a loosely coupled “federation” of Elements, manages pools across Elements, and collects data on Element status. C. Desktone Access Fabric: The Access Fabric links the two separate worlds of the enterprise and the service provider. It is a set of distributed services that provides the association between authorized users and their virtual desktop infrastructure. Through its DNS-like architecture, the Access Fabric brings carrier-class scalability to the VDI model. It’s an intelligent, highly scalable system that automatically delivers best-fit desktops according to user entitlements, policies, access location and available resources. VI. BENEFITS OF DAAS DaaS provides a number of benefits that go well beyond those associated with internally deployed VDI solutions. We divide them as benefits for Enterprises and benefits for Service providers. A. Benefits for Enterprises: 1. Dramatically reduced desktop TCO – Because they outsource the physical infrastructure powering their virtual desktops, enterprises are immediately able to achieve a positive ROI (Returns On Investments). In

DKTES’s Textile & Engineering Institute, Rajwada Ichalkaranji

addition, they are able to convert CAPEX (in the form of the multi-sourced components of an internal VDI deployment) into OPEX, where they pay only for the virtual desktops that they use. All of this translates into reduced desktop TCO that’s achieved at the outset of a goal that most enterprises hope to achieve in 18 to 24 months when deploying VDI internally. 2. Improved manageability & flexibility -- With DaaS, enterprises are able to quickly deploy and scale virtual desktop environments. Again, this is because the physical infrastructure is already available from the service provider. This capability enables IT to deliver on many challenging types of projects (both short- and long-term), such as scaling up desktop environments for seasonal work or quickly deploying desktops for offices in new geographic markets. 3. Reduced environmental impact -- DaaS allows enterprises to minimize their carbon footprint on both the back- and front-end of their VDI environment. On the back-end, because the physical infrastructure is hosted by a service provider, the enterprise data center is relieved of the additional power and cooling requirements normally associated with VDI. On the front-end, enterprises can either extend the life of their existing PCs by repurposing them as VDI-only clients or can transition to true thin clients and greatly reduce power consumption on end-user desks. 4. Improved end-user productivity -- Because DaaS is delivered by a service provider with a Service Level Agreement (SLA), users can expect better availability of their desktops than can be delivered with physical PCs, which often require a desk side visit when things go wrong. In addition, because Desktone DaaS provides global virtual desktop from just about anywhere. B. Benefits for Service Providers: 1. Provide an offering that enterprises want but aren’t equipped to implement -- The interest in VDI solutions across many different industries is becoming increasingly evident. However, also becoming clear is the challenge of deploying VDI internally. Service providers have the unique opportunity to build a VDI infrastructure free from the constraints of the enterprise data center and also to leverage economies of scale to enable DaaS as a low-cost service for many different vertical markets. 2. Leverage existing assets -- Service providers have the core assets (in the form of hosting facilities and data networks) that are critical for enabling DaaS. They also

Page 4 of 7

Recent trends in IT – Desktop as a Service

have extensive experience in offering related hosting services and, therefore, have the backend management and billing systems necessary to provide desktops as a monthly subscription service. 3. Capture new service revenue -- Service providers currently use many of their hosting assets to power commodity service offerings that are under increasing competitive pressure. DaaS allows service providers to use the same infrastructure to offer a new and unique offering that is highly differentiated from anything else in the marketplace. 4. Flexible Service Offerings -- DaaS can be delivered either as a hosted offering in a premise. In either case, the service provider owns and operates the physical virtual desktop infrastructure and the enterprise consumes the offering as a service. In addition, service providers can layer value-added services on top of the base DaaS offering. These could be in the form of network-based offerings, such as remote access to the virtual desktops, or managed desktop offerings such as OS and application deployment, level 1 end-user support, etc. VII.

CASE STUDY – PIKE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT Pike County School District is in the rural foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Pike County, Kentucky. It includes 15 elementary schools, three middle schools, five high schools, and two day treatment centers. The school district is committed to offering equitable and safe educational environments, and enabling a successful learning experience for all students. A. The Challenges: Pike County School District is committed to ensuring that all of its students, administrators and teachers can access the IT resources they need, whenever they’re needed. However, with a limited budget and just seven IT professionals supporting 25 schools that are spread across 700 square miles, this was quite challenging. 1. Limited funding -- Schools traditionally purchase new PCs when funding is earmarked for computing resources. However, because funding levels are never enough to replace all their PCs at once, especially when they are cut, they end up doing so on a staggered basis. The result is disparate environments and no parity for the user experience. This inequality means that students and teachers can't run the same versions of software and they can't leverage the newest educational and administrative applications.

DKTES’s Textile & Engineering Institute, Rajwada Ichalkaranji

2. IT serviceability hassles -- The disparity also presents challenges for IT management, since it is difficult for the school IT departments to support so many different computers, operating systems and applications for all of the schools and grade levels. If they want to keep their environment as uniform as possible, they have opt for lowest-common denominator technologies. Scaling their IT environments up or down, as student populations change, is also extremely difficult.

3. Limited computer access -- Teachers, administrators and students don't have universal access to their computers. They can't use their applications from other classrooms or from home. 4. Internet control concerns -- Schools grapple with internet control issues. They need to make sure that students who use the internet for schoolwork are not accessing inappropriate content, and they need to guard against malware that could be introduced into the network if people download unauthorized software. B. The Solution – DaaS: Pike County had been looking for a way to resolve these issues for several years but never found a solution that would work. Then they posted a request for proposal for virtual desktops, and IBM responded with the right solution. In June, 2008, Pike County signed a five-year agreement with IBM, which would provide Virtual Infrastructure Access desktop hosting services. The service includes IBM storage, System x servers, and VMware virtualization technology aggregated through the Desktone Virtual-D Platform. The Desktone solution is an enabling technology for IBM’s delivery of desktops as a service. The service helps Pike County quickly realize the full benefits of centralized virtual desktops without having to build and deploy the infrastructure internally, and it dramatically reduces desktop TCO and transforms virtual desktop infrastructure costs from CAPEX to OPEX. Because it is architected along two tiers (enterprise and service provider), the Desktone Virtual-D Platform lets Pike County maintain ownership and control over its Windows OS images, applications and all relating licensing, while outsourcing the physical data center infrastructure powering the virtual desktops to IBM. C. The Results -- Pike County rolled out the DaaS infrastructure to seven of its schools on a trial basis, and is now in the process of extending it county-wide

Page 5 of 7

Recent trends in IT – Desktop as a Service

5. Easy scalability -- If the student population grows, or shrinks, they can respond quickly by altering the number of desktops.

1. Equitable access with existing equipment -- All of Pike County’s DaaS-based desktops now operate in the same way, with the same great performance, regardless of how old the hardware is, what version operating system it runs, and how much memory it has. Once its roll-out to the schools is complete, Pike County plans to extend the DaaS deployment to home-bound students and teachers as part of its business continuity/disaster recovery plan. 2. Simple desktop manageability: Reduce images from 40 to 1-- IBM helped Pike County create a standard image that is used on all the client devices. Before, Pike County had a different image for every machine and model. They probably had close to 40 images, which was very time-consuming for limited team of technicians to manage. Now they we have a standard image and centralized infrastructure and it is much easier for them to support our entire district. 3. 64% cost savings over self-implemented system -Because of budget constraints, Pike County could not have afforded to implement a virtual desktop infrastructure itself. They did a cost savings analysis comparing what it would have taken for them to build and deploy 1,400 centralized virtual desktops ourselves, verses what it’s costing now through this service. The DaaS solution represented a 64% savings for the TCO of each workstation. Equally important, they are no longer so dependent on funding levels because they don't have to continually upgrade computing resources. 4. Dramatic performance improvements -- Before, it could take 10 minutes to connect to the internet because of all the scripts on the machines and slow processors. Once users are connected, performance – particularly for audio and streaming media – was sketchy. Now, users can connect right away and performance is “fantastic”. Their internet access speed is 10 times faster than it used to be. This has a huge impact on students, who are the major users of the new DaaS infrastructure. This has been phenomenal for them since they can tell that the virtual desktops are much faster than physical desktops. Everything works better, there aren’t interruptions, and the students are much more engaged.

DKTES’s Textile & Engineering Institute, Rajwada Ichalkaranji

6. Controlled internet access -- All users and desktops can go through a controlled access point to the internet, enabling you to filter content, control software downloads and minimize the risk of viruses. VIII. CONCLUSION The key takeaways from this paper are as follows: • Physical corporate PCs are having difficulty keeping up in today’s dynamic business and IT environments. • VDI promises to make PCs more cost effective, manageable and secure by transforming them into internally delivered network services. • Enterprises are struggling with their internal VDI deployments due to solution complexity and cost. as well as internal IT organizational challenges. • DaaS allows enterprises to consume the benefits of VDI as an outsourced subscription service delivered by service providers. • DaaS allows enterprises to realize the benefits of VDI without the cost and risk associated with deploying their own internal solution. • DaaS allows service providers to build a new and highly differentiated service offering that meets the growing need of enterprises. • The Desktone Virtual-D Platform is the solution that enables DaaS or virtual desktops that are delivered as a truly outsourced subscription service. IX. • • • • • •

REFERENCES

http://www.vmware.com/products/resources/desktop/vdm_2.1_revi ewers_guide.pdf http://www.vmware.com/products/resources/desktop/ vdi_strategy.pdf http://www.desktone.com/downloads/public/collateral/Virtual-DFact-Sheet.pdf http://www.desktone.com/downloads/public/collateral/DesktoneDesktops-as-a-Service-Whitepaper.pdf http://www.desktone.com/downloads/public/collateral/ReducingDesktop-TCO-with-Desktone-DaaS.pdf http://www.desktone.com/platform/tour.php

Page 6 of 7

Recent trends in IT – Desktop as a Service

Fig : 3 Responsibility with DaaS as opposed to VDI

Fig : 4 TCO summary for DaaS as opposed to VDI

Fig : 5 Desktone’s Desktop As A Service Architecture

DKTES’s Textile & Engineering Institute, Rajwada Ichalkaranji

Page 7 of 7