So far Citrix released a number of interesting resources about its VDI platform XenDesktop, including a Modular Reference Architecture and a Performance Assessment and Bandwidth Analysis for Delivering XenDesktop to Branch Offices.
Coupled with independent comparisons of its features, like the Burton Group’s Virtual Desktop Evaluation Criteria or the PQR’s VDI Smackdown, these resources are precious to understand the Citrix’s offering.
Now the company adds one more piece, by releasing a Design Handbook:
Citrix also published the transcript of a recent webcast about the XenDesktop scalability, co-hosted with Microsoft and HP. One of the answers is especially interesting:
Q: What would you estimate the ratio of virtual machine to server CPU core to be?
A: It depends mostly on the processor. My experience with Intel Nehalem processors is that the maximum VM Density per core is around 11 for a medium workload. However, I would not recommend running at 11 for that workload, I would probably plan for 9-10 per core to leave some headroom for burst capacity. Keep in mind also that those numbers are taken without an anti-virus solution in place.