I wrote a blog on RDSH (including XenApp) licensing and the options available with NVIDIA GRID vGPU and GPU-passthrough a few weeks ago, which you can read – here (including support for multi-monitor and resolutions). Since then my colleague Luke has added some more information in a blog where he outlines various case studies including many on vApps, which is worth a read here:
Luke answers how many licenses and what type you will need for various use cases, answering questions such as:
- Q: I am deploying Citrix XenDesktop for 5000 global users, using two data centers, to meet a follow the sun productivity goal. The data centers are also backup sites to each other. I expect at most 1200 users at each of our three regional areas to be on during their workday, connecting to their closest data center, but there is some overlap (people working late or starting early) so I am architecting with a buffer for a total of 1500 virtual desktops. I need to be able to run all users from either data center of one should go down. My users are all engineers and their apps require Quadro.
- Q: I am deploying virtual desktops but using XenApp to do so, and am looking for improved end user experience, for 1000 users. At any given time I expect no more than 850 users to be connected. I have no other desktop delivery method.
- Q: I chose to run XenApp on a bare metal host, so no hypervisor (I would question the decision to forgo the flexibility and manageability of virtualization), delivering three Microsoft Office applications so . I have 500 users but expect no more than 350 of them to be connected at any given time. I have no Virtual desktops for these users.
- Q: I have 250 engineers using CATIA and similar apps, they must have Quadro drivers, but usually only 200 of them are working at any given time. I also have 1000 knowledge workers that range from sales to support, their apps do not need Quadro but perform much better with GPU (=happy users), of those I typically see 800 actively on their desktops. I am deploying VMware Horizon. We have a set of web apps that all 1250 employees use for time keeping, expenses, and safety training, these I am delivering with XenApp.
There is a lot of information on GRID licensing in our knowledge base – just search on “GRID licensing” on our KB home page here:
Highlights include:
- There is a video overview in KB from Jason and lots of FAQs. http://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4148/kw/xenapp%20licensing
- A fairly recent FAQ: http://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4183/kw/xenapp%20licensing
Licensing Documentation:
Of course one of the best references is the official licensing guides on the GRID resources page (under deployment guides) here: http://www.nvidia.com/object/grid-enterprise-resources.html. In particular these two are useful:
- NVIDIA GRID Packaging and Licensing Guide (PDF 1.57 MB)
- GRID Licensing User Guide (PDF 1.6 MB)
Questions
Any questions – ask below or on the support NVIDIA GRID forums at https://gridforums.nvidia.com
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