Tegile, Cisco, VMware Team on VDI Hybrid Storage Architecture

Hybrid storage vendor Tegile Systems has teamed with Cisco Systems (CSCO) and VMware (VMW) on a new reference architecture for an integrated desktop virtualization solution to lower risk, improve performance, efficiency and flexibility in virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) deployments.

In February, Tegile launched a new partner program, pledging high margins, top-notch support and VDI sales opportunities, as the company moves to sell exclusively through the channel. The vendor's new collaboration with channel-friendly vendors Cisco and VMware should yield compounded benefits for channel partners.

According to Tegile, its solution with Cisco and VMware—which it touted as simple, unified and scalable—lowers capacity and CPU use requirements in VDI environments, freeing up more resources to accelerate I/O performance. It combines Cisco Unified Computing System B200 M3 servers, Cisco Nexus Switching 5000 series platform, Tegile Zebi HA2100 storage array and VMware View 5.1 with VMware vSphere 5.

In testing of 1,000 virtual desktops running average desktop user workloads, Tegile’s Zebi hybrid storage array—featuring inline deduplication and compression—prompted “significant reduction” in storage required to host the virtual desktops, according to Tegile. In addition, the test met boot, login and steady-state requirements specified by VMware View Planner and offered an 83 percent capacity savings vs. compression-only solutions, the company noted.

Tegile is positioning the Zebi hybrid array as marrying the performance of solid state drives with the low cost per terabyte of traditional, high-capacity disk drives. The arrays combine Tegile’s Metadata Accelerated Storage Systems (MASS) technology, high-performance DRAM, solid state flash, Intel (INTC) Xeon processors and high-speed Ethernet or fibre channel. The result, according to Tegile, is seven times the performance and up to 75 percent less capacity required than legacy arrays.

According to Tegile, features of the VDI reference architecture include:

“By validating a proof-of-concept architecture with Cisco UCS for desktop virtualization, VMware and Tegile Zebi storage arrays, we are able to quantify how the interoperable solution will benefit our joint customers and improve the end user experience by allowing them to be productive anytime, anywhere through VDI deployments,” said Courtney Burry, VMware Product Marketing director.