Virtualization by Davis: “SDK Samples: Sharp Printers Supported in XenApp Environments” plus 6 more

SDK Samples: Sharp Printers Supported in XenApp Environments
Paper: Best Practices for Oversubscription of CPU, Memory and Storage in vSphere Virtual Environments
AMD launched AMD FirePro S10000 server graphics card
Paper: N series Reference Architecture for Virtualized Environments
Four steps to “Apps and Desktops as a Service” using Citrix XenApp 6.5
The Big Switch to SDN and CloudStack (Guest post from BigSwitch)
How Hyper-V Dynamic Memory improves virtual server density

SDK Samples: Sharp Printers Supported in XenApp Environments

Posted: 13 Nov 2012 11:19 AM PST

SDK Samples: Sharp Printers Supported in XenApp Environments

Sharp Printers Supported in XenApp Environments (more)

Paper: Best Practices for Oversubscription of CPU, Memory and Storage in vSphere Virtual Environments

Posted: 13 Nov 2012 02:23 PM PST

VKernel, now part of DELL has released a paper titled:"Best Practices for Oversubscription of CPU, Memory and Storage in vSphere Virtual Environments". The paper which can be downloaded after registration contains 13 pages and is written by Scott D. Lowe and provides insight in the pros and cons of oversubscription of Processing, Memory and Storage resources. Scott also details how far oversubscription should be taken before it becomes dangerous.

Scott uses vOps Server Explorer, for which VKernel recently released version 6 as the tool to monitor the resources. He details the metrics to watch when oversubscribing and gives some insight in just how far resource overcommitment can be taken.

The paper contains the following sections:

Resource Management and Oversubscription
Processing Resource Management
Memory Resource Management
Storage Resource Management
Resource Overcommitment
Oversubscribing Processing Resources
Oversubscribing Memory Resources
Oversubscribing Storage Resources
Conclusion

Labels: Paper, VKernel

AMD launched AMD FirePro S10000 server graphics card

Posted: 13 Nov 2012 11:49 AM PST

Yesterday, November 12, AMD announced AMD FirePro™ S10000, a server graphics card intended to be the most powerful and would be used for high-performance computing (HPC) workloads and graphics intensive applications.

The AMD FirePro S10000 is supposed to be the first ultra high-end card and would bring high performance computing and visualization to a variety of disciplines. With dual GPUs at work, it would be possible to experience high throughput, low latency transfers allowing for quick compute of complex calculations requiring high accuracy.

Its performance makes the server graphics card compatible for virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) and workstation graphics deployments as it would be possible to process a large amount of information rapidly.

Among the features of AMD FirePro S10000 Server Graphics:

Compute Performance: The AMD FirePro S10000 is the most powerful dual-GPU server graphics card ever created, delivering up to 1.3 times the single precision and up to 7.8 times peak double-precision floating-point performance of the competition's comparable dual-GPU product. It also boasts an unprecedented 1.48 TFLOPS of peak double-precision floating-point performance3;
Increased Performance-Per-Watt: The AMD FirePro S10000 delivers the highest peak double-precision performance-per-watt – 3.94 gigaFLOPS – up to 4.7 times more than the competition's comparable dual-GPU product3;
High Memory Bandwidth: Equipped with a 6GB GDDR5 frame buffer and a 384-bit interface, the AMD FirePro S10000 delivers up to 1.5 times the memory bandwidth of the comparable competing dual-GPU solution4;
DirectGMA Support: This feature removes CPU bandwidth and latency bottlenecks, optimizing communication between both GPUs. This also enables P2P data transfers between devices on the bus and the GPU, completely bypassing any need to traverse the host's main memory, utilize the CPU, or incur additional redundant transfers over PCI Express®, resulting in high throughput low-latency transfers which allow for quick compute of complex calculations requiring high accuracy;
OpenCL™ Support: OpenCL has become the compute programming language of choice among developers looking to take full advantage of the combined parallel processing capabilities of the FirePro S10000. This has accelerated computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided engineering (CAE), and media and entertainment (M&E) software, changing the way professionals work thanks to performance and functionality improvements

David Cummings, senior director and general manager, Professional Graphics, AMD, declares:

The demands placed on servers by compute and graphics-intensive workloads continues to grow exponentially as professionals work with larger data sets to design and engineer new products and services, the AMD FirePro S10000, equipped with our Graphics Core Next Architecture, enables server graphics to play a dual role in providing both compute and graphics horsepower simultaneously. This is executed without compromising performance for users while helping reduce the total cost of ownership for IT managers.

Labels: AMD, VDI

Paper: N series Reference Architecture for Virtualized Environments

Posted: 13 Nov 2012 11:04 AM PST

IBM has released a draft paper titled:"N series Reference Architecture for Virtualized Environments". The Paper which IBM calls Redbook contains 76 pages and is still in draft but not less interesting because of that. The final release is expected at the end of January 2013.

The paper covers how IBM addresses data storage and compute challenges with IBM System Storage N series solutions, in conjunction with IBM servers and networking solutions, by providing deployment guidelines, workload estimates and best practices resulting in a Reference Architecture for virtualized environments using VMware vSphere, IBM System x Server/BladeCenter, IBM System networking and IBM System Storage N series.

The following topics are covered.

Architecture
vSphere and N series integration
Server
Networking
Storage

Labels: IBM, Paper

Four steps to “Apps and Desktops as a Service” using Citrix XenApp 6.5

Posted: 13 Nov 2012 09:18 AM PST

Citrix has been in the "Apps and Desktops as a Service" business for over 20 years and in this blog I want to share my personal and general guidelines for deploying "Apps and Desktops as a Service" using Citrix XenApp 6.5: Overview Step 1 - Install and configure the Citrix license server Step 2 - Install and configure Citrix XenApp Step 3 - Install and configure Citrix Web…

The Big Switch to SDN and CloudStack (Guest post from BigSwitch)

Posted: 13 Nov 2012 08:21 AM PST

Learn from Big Switch Networks how software defined networking integrated with Citrix CloudPlatform and XenServer enables you to accelerate cloud services delivery, increase compute utilization, and increase the agility of your cloud.