Azure Virtual Desktop on Cisco Microsoft Azure Local White Paper
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Cisco UCS on Azure Local is a hyper-converged infrastructure solution that combines compute, storage, and networking on industry-standard x86 servers and components. It is designed to run virtualized workloads on premises using validated hardware, with the option to connect to Azure services for cloud-based backup, site recovery, and more. The solution leverages Microsoft-validated hardware to ensure optimal performance and reliability and supports technologies such as NVMe drives, persistent memory, and Remote-Direct Memory Access (RDMA) networking. Cisco Azure Local offers cloud-based management, fault tolerance, massive resilient storage, scalability, reduced operating expenses, enterprise-class performance, exceptional availability, and automatic Azure Local operating system updates.
Microsoft Azure Local provides a highly available and scalable software-defined hyperconverged solution powered by the purpose-built Azure Local 23H2 Operating System. Azure Local 23H2 is a hyperconverged Windows Server 2022-based cluster that uses validated hardware to run virtualized workloads on premises. You can also, optionally, connect to Azure services for cloud-based backup, site recovery, and more. Cisco’s Azure Local solutions use Microsoft-validated Cisco UCS® C-Series rack servers, optimized to ensure performance and reliability and include support for NVMe drives, persistent memory, and Remote-Direct Memory Access (RDMA) networking.
Cisco Azure Local is a solution that combines several products:
● Choice of Cisco UCS C-Series servers connected to Cisco Nexus® 9300 top-of-rack switches
● Azure Local OS 23H2
● Windows Admin Center (optional)
● Azure services
Azure Local – Baseline reference architecture
Azure Local (formerly Azure Stack HCI) provides a complete SW stack delivered from Azure that can address any number of workload challenges from AI to VDI. Consider the following scenarios for a hyperconverged solution to help you determine if Azure Local is the solution that best suits your needs:
● Refresh aging hardware. Replace older servers and storage infrastructure and run Windows and Linux virtual machines on premises and at the edge with existing IT skills and tools.
● Consolidate virtualized workloads. Consolidate legacy applications on an efficient, hyperconverged infrastructure. Tap into the same types of cloud efficiencies used to run hyper-scale data centers, such as Microsoft Azure.
● Connect to Azure for hybrid-cloud services. Streamline access to cloud management and security services in Azure, including offsite backup, site recovery, cloud-based monitoring, and more.
Hyperconverged efficiencies
Azure Local solutions combine highly virtualized compute, storage, and networking on industry-standard x86 servers and components. Combining resources in the same cluster makes it easier for you to deploy, manage, and scale. Manage with your choice of command-line automation or Windows Admin Center.
Achieve industry-leading virtual machine performance for your server applications with Hyper-V, the foundational hypervisor technology of Microsoft cloud solutions, and Storage Spaces Direct technology with built-in support for NVMe, persistent memory, and Remote-Direct Memory Access (RDMA) networking.
It helps keep applications and data secure with shielded virtual machines, network microsegmentation, and native encryption.
Hybrid-cloud capabilities
You can use cloud and on-premises resources working as a hyperconverged public-cloud infrastructure platform. Your team can start building cloud skills with built-in integration with these Azure infrastructure management services:
● Azure Site Recovery for high availability and Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS)
● Azure Monitor, a centralized hub, with AI-powered advanced analytics, to track what’s happening across your applications, network, and infrastructure
● Cloud Witness, to use Azure as the lightweight tie-breaker for cluster quorum
● Azure Backup for offsite data protection and to protect against ransomware
● Azure Update Management for update assessment and update deployments for Windows VMs running in Azure and on premises
● Azure Network Adapter to connect on-premises resources with VMs in Azure through a point-to-site VPN
● Azure File Sync, to sync your file server with the cloud
● Azure Arc, the software stack management tool provided by Microsoft, which allows you to manage your data no matter where it resides, whether on premises (on Azure Local) or in the cloud (on Azure)
Cisco Azure Local architecture
Cisco Azure Local is a robust, scalable, and efficient solution for hybrid-cloud environments. Cisco Azure Local offers several benefits:
● Cloud-based management: Cisco Intersight® provides end-to-end system management, integrating with Microsoft Azure Local systems for seamless cloud management. It also offers the capability to turn individual processor cores on/off, so you can customize the use of system resources to your workload requirements. This also provides you the capability to control your Azure Local Operating System (OS) costs, because Microsoft typically charges $10/core/month for the OS.
● Fault tolerance: built-in resiliency ensures continuous availability, handling storage, server, and switch failures without complex management steps
● High performance: utilizes all NVMe storage for high application performance, reducing complexity and cost
● Reduced operating expenses: integrated storage with enterprise-class performance allows for streamlined management of the entire Microsoft environment
● Enterprise-class performance: supports up to 16 servers with the latest Intel® Xeon® processors, ensuring enough bandwidth for large workloads
● Scalability: easily scale from 1 to 16 servers, in increments of one, with flexible configuration options for processor cores, memory, and storage
● Exceptional availability: no single point of failure, with automatic reassignment of workloads in case of server or switch failures
● Automatic updates: Azure Local OS is automatically updated from Azure, ensuring security and up-to-date software
● Range of Cisco Nexus 9300 platform switches: offers flexibility in switch choices, running either NX-OS or Cisco ACI®, validated by Cisco and Microsoft
● Global support: supported by Cisco and Microsoft, ensuring timely resolution of support issues
The Cisco® solution for Azure Local architecture must be implemented as described in Cisco Validated Designs. Cisco provides a specific set of PIDs for ordering validated configurations. These PIDs include all of the required components that comprise the solution, but allow the design to be customized for your workloads.
Cisco Azure Local physical topology
The data center is expected to have infrastructure services such as DNS and Active Directory. WDS (Windows Deployment Service) and DHCP are also recommended to expedite deployments. These services must be accessible through the ToR (Top-of-Tack) or EoR (End-of-Row) network switches that connect the Cisco UCS C240 M6 and M7 rack servers (or, optionally, Cisco UCS C220 M7 rack servers) that are part of the Cisco solution for Azure Local in the data-center infrastructure.
The architecture has a data fabric and a management fabric. The servers connect to the data fabric using dual 100Gb connections. The Cisco 9300 platform switches provide this data fabric, which provides Layer-2 connectivity and carries all the Azure Local network traffic (management, compute, and RDMA storage traffic). Server management is facilitated through an Out-of-Band (OOB) management network that connects the server’s dedicated management port to an OOB management switch with 1GbE links. The servers with Azure Local OS 23H2 provide a rich set of software-defined services that are the core of this solution.
Cisco Azure Local physical topology
To learn how to deploy the Cisco solution for Microsoft Azure Local, see Cisco Validated Design.
Microsoft provides Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD), a cloud-based Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solution. It allows users to access Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD), a cloud-based VDI platform hosted by Microsoft Azure. With AVD, organizations can empower their workforce with remote access to essential resources through a centralized and efficient platform.
AVD desktops and applications can be run from anywhere, providing a secure and seamless remote desktop experience.
Here are some of its key highlights:
● Deliver a full Windows experience with Windows 11 or Windows Server. Use single-session to assign devices to a single user, or use multisession for scalability.
● Offer full desktops or use RemoteApp to deliver individual applications
● Present Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise and optimize them for multiuser virtual scenarios
● Install your line-of-business or custom applications you can run from anywhere, including applications in Win32, MSIX, and Appx formats
● Deliver Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) for external usage
● Replace existing Remote Desktop Services (RDS) deployments.
● Manage desktops and applications from different Windows and Windows Server operating systems with a unified management experience
● Host desktops and applications on premises in a hybrid configuration with Azure Local
With AVD, organizations can empower their workforce with remote access to essential resources through a centralized and efficient platform. A multicloud strategy is a rational approach from an economic perspective for enterprises. This model enhances the business's responsiveness to operational needs — that is where Cisco comes in, providing the Cisco Azure Local solution for AVD deployments on premises.
Azure Virtual Desktop on Azure Local reference architecture
Azure Virtual Desktop Deployment
The deployment of Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) can be summarized in a few key steps:
1. Ensure that your Azure subscription is linked to Azure Active Directory (AD). For example, your on-premises Active Directory can be synchronized using Azure AD Connect.
2. Choose the virtual machine configurations and deploy session hosts in the host pool.
3. Install the required applications.
4. Configure access for users.
By following these main steps, you will be able to successfully set up your AVD environment.
Here is an example of the Azure Virtual Desktop Host Pool deployment process on Azure Local.
Note: The image and the VM network used by virtual desktops have to be set up prior to initiating the Deploy Azure Virtual Desktop wizard.
In the Azure portal, select your Azure Local cluster and click Deploy Azure Virtual Desktop.
Use the wizard to set up a new host pool containing the Virtual Machines (VMs) that will function as desktops.
Click on the Resource group field.
Click on Create new and give the resource group a descriptive name.
Note: If you have an existing Resource Group that you prefer to use, please select that one instead.
Click on Host pool name and give the host pool a descriptive name.
Select Desktop in the Preferred app group type dropdown list.
From the Host pool type dropdown list, select Pooled. This option was used for evaluation purposes.
Note: Pooled: these desktops are shared among multiple users, enabling them to access and use the same virtual machine.
Personal: these desktops are dedicated to individuals, providing a unique virtual environment.
From the dropdown list, choose Load balancing algorithms. We used Breadth-first for evaluation.
Note: Azure Virtual Desktop supports two load-balancing algorithms:
● Breadth-first load balancing, which distributes user sessions evenly across the session hosts in a host pool
● Depth-first load balancing, which saturates a host with user sessions until the host reaches its session limit, at which point the load balancer directs new connections to the next host, continuing this process until all hosts are full
The Max session limit value of a host pool’s properties can be configured. We used a single session for the evaluation. Click on Next.
Select Custom location and the Image that will be used by the desktop.
Provide details for the virtual desktops.
Provide details for Active Directory.
Provide details for Virtual machine administrator account. Click on Next.
Click on Create new and give the new Workspace a descriptive name.
Note: If you have an existing Workspace that you prefer to use, please select that one instead.
Click on Next.
Click on Next.
Click on Create.
It is essential to test the virtual desktops to ensure they fully meet the expected performance and accessibility standards.
One of the tools available for assessing Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) environments is Login Enterprise, developed by Login VSI. This industry-standard software simulates human-centric workloads to benchmark the capacity and performance of Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solutions. Cisco Technical Marketing utilizes Login Enterprise to evaluate Cisco VDI architectures for Cisco Validated Designs (CVDs).
Login Enterprise tests Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) through a custom connector that enables virtual users to connect through the AVD brokering service. All components of Login Enterprise can be deployed in Microsoft Azure, including the Virtual Appliance and Launchers, which support AVD testing. For configuration details, please refer to the Login VSI documentation.
About Login VSI
Login VSI helps organizations proactively manage the performance, cost, and capacity of their virtual desktops and applications wherever they reside – traditional, hybrid, or in the cloud. The Login Enterprise platform is 100 percent agentless and can be used in all major VDI and Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) environments, including Citrix, Omnissa (formerly the End-User Computing division of VMware), and Microsoft. With 360° proactive visibility, IT teams can plan and maintain successful digital workplaces with less cost, fewer disruptions, and lower risk. Founded in 2012, Login VSI is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and Amsterdam, Netherlands. Visit www.loginvsi.com.
This testing approach is beneficial for Continuous Testing, Load Testing, and App Compatibility testing with Login Enterprise.
Load testing with Login Enterprise Dashboard
Load testing with Login Enterprise results
App Compatibility testing with Login Enterprise dashboard
App Compatibility testing with Login Enterprise results
Cisco UCS for Azure Local offers a range of benefits that enhance business operations through a hybrid-cloud computing approach. It provides rapid scalability and hybrid-cloud deployment, allowing businesses to transform into digital organizations by modernizing applications. The platform is designed for agility, adaptability, and efficiency, enabling faster digital transformation and quick deployment of desktops and applications. Cisco UCS for Azure Local integrates seamlessly with existing networking infrastructure, offering an all-NVMe design for rapid data read/writes and up to a 100G end-to-end design for efficient data movement. It ensures consistent server configuration with Cisco Intersight server profiles and allows management of on-premises cloud environments through the Azure portal or Windows Admin Center. Additionally, it provides global world-class support from Cisco and Microsoft, ensuring a streamlined support experience.
While this paper does not detail exhaustive testing of AVD on the Cisco UCS for Azure Local design, the reader should take away that we have shown the ability to deploy AVD onto Azure Local with Cisco UCS so that you can get started on your own deployments and follow the Microsoft documentation to assist your efforts. Cisco has a long history of experience with various VDI management software alternatives, and now this testing provides proof that Cisco UCS for Azure Local is a powerful infrastructure choice for AVD deployments. We hope you will investigate this option further.
Discover more about Cisco UCS Solutions for Microsoft Azure Local by clicking here.
Vadim Lebedev, Technical Marketing Engineer, Cisco Systems, Inc.
Acknowledgments
Sanjeev Naldurgkar, Technical Leader, Cisco Systems, Inc.