SCIENCE

Pivot3 introduced the Pivot3 vSTACVDI, a stackable virtual desktop infrastructure appliance which delivers a unified high-performance compute and storage platform for VMware View environments. Delivered through Pivot3's production pilot program-(P(3)) for VMware View (see separate release), Pivot3 vSTAC VDI provides customers with a low cost production starter kit and complete VDI out-of-the-box experience for environments of 50 to 1000 virtual desktops.

"The typical desktop administrator deploying virtual desktops in an SME environment is not a storage administrator, so they need help mastering critical storage challenges," said Amita Potnis, sr. research analyst, Storage Systems, IDC. "The biggest obstacle facing VDI deployments is the need to deploy both a simple and affordable virtual desktop infrastructure to non-SAN experts. The Pivot3 vSTAC appliance approach meets these unique needs."

Delivering Simple, Scalable, Cost-Effective VDI

Pivot3 vSTAC VDI doesn't just simplify storage; it eliminates it as a VDI obstacle. Key features of the Pivot3 vSTAC VDI appliance include:

-- High-performance VDI Platform -- Users can run over 100 virtual desktops on each vSTAC VDI Appliance and scale VDI compute, storage and network resources linearly by adding appliances. Storage performance is automatically load-balanced across appliances to ensure that virtual desktops receive the optimal resources, regardless of which appliance they are running on.

-- Simplify VDI Design -- With the Pivot3 Configuration Tool users can configure a VDI deployment in minutes. This simple planning utility converts a few user inputs regarding desktop virtualization user profiles into a proposed infrastructure configuration complete with ROI calculations.

-- Speed VDI Pilots -- The vSTAC appliance model allows customers an opportunity to start with a low entry cost, single pre-configured appliance as a pilot and then add additional appliances dynamically as they scale out more production desktops. This means that there is no discontinuity in architecture from pilot to production and a predictable ROI.

-- "Scale-as-you-grow" low entry cost appliance model -- Simple plug-and-play appliance model, consolidates server and storage resources into a single hardware platform to reduce power, cooling, rackspace and cost over systems with separate physical servers and physical storage. Allows for simple future planning with the same cost basis at one hundred virtual desktops or ten thousand virtual desktops.

-- Eliminate Storage as a VDI Barrier -- VDI has a set of demanding storage requirements that can be daunting to administrators familiar with desktops and servers. Pivot3 has found a way to bypass the steep learning curve on storage and avoid the heart-stopping investment required by over-provisioned conventional SAN or NAS systems. The appliance approach allows administrators to respond quickly to changing desktop demands in the field.

-- Advanced architecture -- Unlike other virtual storage appliances, the Pivot3 vSTAC VDI is not capacity, or performance limited. The product has been designed from the ground up to provide for linear and seamless scalability and maximum capacity and performance throughput by eliminating the use of unnecessary meta-virtualization layers and data movement, as well as capacity draining file replication.

-- Proven approach -- Unlike other virtual storage appliances, the Pivot3 stackable appliance model has been proven in hundreds of customers and thousands of appliances where there has been a need to deliver a cost effective solution into a customer with little to no SAN storage expertise.

"Our ability to build and deliver seamlessly unified shared storage and virtual server appliances that are purpose-built to address modern virtual server, big data and surveillance workloads has provided us with the expertise to tackle the VDI market," said Olivier Thierry, CMO, Pivot3. "Each vSTAC VDI appliance is tuned to deliver a high-performance VDI experience combining 20 threads of compute power, 96G of RAM, 3TBs of storage, along with a 200G Solid State storage tier. Our simple appliance model enables us to speed VDI trials and simplify designs, while reducing CAPEX and OPEX by up to 40 percent, while eliminating storage as a barrier to VDI deployments."

Product Availability and Pricing

Pivot3 vSTAC VDI is shipping in November. Pricing starts at $350 per desktop.