VDI - WHY BRAZOS COUNTY CHOSE

TO WAIT: AN INEXPENSIVE SUCCESS

STORY

Billy Melzow – Brazos County

Tate Turnipseed – Brazos County

Chris Case – Sequel Data Systems Inc.

About the Presenters

Billy Melzow – Senior Network Administrator

Tate Turnipseed – Network Administrator

Chris Case – CEO Sequel Data Systems

About Brazos County

Fleet of 800+ Workstations

4 year refresh cycle

IT Department Employees:

20 Total

Sequel Data Systems, Inc. Overview

HP Elite Virtualization Partner

VMware Premier Partner

Developed Virtualization Practice in 2004

Expanded into Virtual Desktops in 2008

Over half of our revenues derived from the public

sector space (K-12, Hi-Ed, State and Local

Government)

Part of the DIR contract for HP, VMware, and Services

Sequel Data Systems, Inc. Overview

Company Founded in 1986 as a Digital Equipment Corporation VAR

HP Elite Partner

Virtualization

Blades

Converged Infrastructure

Enterprise Storage

Networking

Business Critical Services (BCS)

VMware Premier Partner

Part of the DIR contract for HP, VMware, and Services

Vertical Markets

Corporate

Emerging Growth Accounts

Financial

Healthcare

Oil and Gas

K-12

Higher Education

Local Government

Customers

Services

Server Consolidation Services

VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) Services

Disaster Recovery Services

Design and implementation for all HP lines including MSA,

LeftHand, EVA, 3PAR

Backup and Recovery Systems

HP Blade / x86 Server Design, Integrity Servers

Networking Services

Microsoft Services – Exchange, SQL, AD, etc.

Sequel Data Systems, Inc.

http://www.sequeldata.com/schedule-mobile-data-center

What do we do with the truck?

Trade Shows

Lunch n Learn

Private Showings

Scheduled shows

VMUGS

Presentation and Discussion

Walk through EPCC questions, run through our

environment.

Questions and Answer Session.

Contacts

Chris Case

President/CEO

chris.case@sequeldata.com

512.731.2382

Chris Baker

Sales Manager

Chris.case@sequeldata.com

512.918.8841

Robert Raab

N. Texas/Oklahoma Account Manager

Robert.raab@sequeldata.com

512.918.8841

Jason Vitanza

Director of Services

Jason.vitanza@sequeldata.com

512-918-8841

Sequel Data Systems, Inc. Headquarters

11824 Jollyville Rd, Suite 400

Austin, Texas 78759

512.918.8841

www.sequeldata.com

What did Sequel provide?

Hardware: HP

Software:

VMware View

VMware ThinApp

Liquidware Labs Profile Unity

Liquidware Labs Stratusphere Fit

Professional Installation

Onsite engineer

Reasons to research VDI

Request from management

ROI

Seamless migrations

Software updates

User proofing systems

Fewer support calls

We know VDI works

Research

In-house testing

Talked other government entities around Texas

VDI Issues and Roadblocks

Hardware Issues

Software Issues

Deployment Roadblocks

Hardware Issues

Server side hardware had to be purchased in 100

virtual machine increments

ESXi host maintenance difficulties

Non-USB peripheral incompatibility

Key features built around auto logoff mentality

Software Issues

Reported issues with VDI and AMCAD

Lack of end user experience customization

Degradation of audio and video

Multi-monitor support

3rd party profile management

Software Issues cont.

ThinApp and application deployment

90+ unique applications

Spread around 30+ departments

Deployment of software:

ThinApp all 90+ applications prior to deployment

Very time consuming process to perfect and test

Create many golden images to fit each software outfit

Create virtual machine pools for each golden image

Less flexibility

Deployment Roadblocks

Inability to deploy whole offices at a time

Must maintain current refresh scheme

Split fleet

~400 virtual machines

~400 physical machines

Split staff geared towards different troubleshooting

goals

Deployment Roadblocks

Must maintain current physical support

Implementation and maintaining virtual support

systems

Potential Proof of Concept (POC) things to look out for...

Have a revert procedure planned out

Self-contained system

IP Addressing, Subnets, and Firewall Rules

Licensing

Profile Unity

HP SAN Cluster

Vmware ThinApp

Vmware View

Microsoft

Closing

Satisfied with overall experience working with VDI

and Sequel Data Systems

Opened our eyes to find creative and effective

ways to better our service and support