VM /ETC

Cost comparison: Virtual vs. Vista desktop management is a great article from Barb Goldworm published on techtarget.com explaining the costs of implementing virtual desktops and comparing those costs to upgrading existing desktops to Vista. Working through Barb’s cost model should be mandatory homework for any company trying to decide if they should use VDI or begin another PC refresh project. I am going to high-lite some points with quotes from the article and then provide my own opinion. Personally, I believe VDI is a great solution for specific application scenarios, but is probably not a good solution for replacing hundreds (or more) of users’ desktops – both from a cost angle as well as an implementation and administration angle. I am curious to hear from the community about costs associated with migrating to VDI as well.

“For many IT organizations, the cost of eventually upgrading distributed desktops to Vista (including hardware, software and labor), along with the long-running problem of managing distributed desktop software (operating system releases and patches, as well as applications), has caused many IT managers to re-evaluate their desktop strategy. Against the backdrop of the benefits and continuing adoption of server virtualization, have we reached the point where the smartest next move is to implement virtual desktops instead of doing another round of Windows upgrades on PCs?

To answer this question, both tangible issues (cost) and intangible issues (which eventually translate to costs in one way or another) must be considered. The actual costs will vary significantly based on such factors as the hardware a customer has today (and thus the specific hardware upgrade costs), the server virtualization solutions being used, the types and workloads of the various desktop users (since that affects the user/server ratio) and so on. This tip lays out a model for estimating the costs of each approach for your customers.”

A big cost factor here and throughout the rest of the article is the cost of administrating the chosen solution. Administration includes connectivity, security, support, updating and monitoring. The article mentions considering intangible costs such as these, but doesn’t really account for them in the model. The cost of the labor to implement the solution is covered, however.

There is a detailed paragraph explaining the software costs of Microsoft’s VECD licensing options for VDI:

“There are two VECD options. Users connecting to Vista VMs from rich-client PCs that are already licensed for Windows (any version) can purchase an add-on subscription to their Windows Client Software Assurance option called VECD for Software Assurance, at an estimated retail price of $23 per year. Users connecting from thin clients that are not licensed for Windows can purchase VECD thin-client subscriptions at $110 per desktop. Pricing is different for the two options, assuming that rich clients already include a full Windows license and the thin clients do not. These VECD options are only available through a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement or volume licensing. (Although it is not well-publicized, the VECD licenses also allow downgrading to previous Windows versions, so this pricing can be applied for VMs running XP or previous versions as well.) Customers not on Software Assurance must purchase a retail Vista license for each VM at the same cost as a physical desktop. The standard cost for upgrading the desktop OS to Vista is between $199 and $299 per desktop.”

Barb explains the costs associated with either upgrading current client hardware to run Vista or buying new desktops.

“Allowing for pricing variance, it could cost $300 to $400 to upgrade each PC, or $1,500 to $2,000 a pop to buy new Vista-capable PCs. Labor involved in upgrading both the hardware and software must be added to the upgrade numbers, whether done by the customer or offered as part of a bundled Windows upgrade service.”

Next the cost of each virtual desktop is examined by determining a unit price for the virtual infrastructure hosting the VMs. There is a paragraph analyzing the back-end costs of server hardware, the SAN, VMware Enterprise Licensing including Virtual Center, VDM or any Broker, and labor costs for implementing.

“Prorating the server hardware costs per VM adds roughly $350 to $400 per VM. That brings the estimated total to $700 per VM, excluding the user interface device (since in our example, the user is connecting from the existing PC acting as a thin client). To include thin-client devices for new users, add $150 to $300 per user for just the thin client or as much as $900 for an integrated all-in-one thin client (which includes the monitor and keyboard), bringing the total cost to between $900 and $1,600.”

Finally, the article summarizes the cost analysis with a direct comparison and shows neither option is more cost effective today.

“The simplified bottom-line pricing comparison (using the very rough example numbers given here) is this: Upgrading a physical desktop to Vista might cost $300 to $400 (per desktop) in hardware costs and $200 to $300 in software costs, totaling $500 to $700 per physical desktop. Delivering Vista through a virtual desktop architecture (VMware’s VDI in this example) and continuing to use existing PCs as rich clients accessing virtual desktops might cost $700
per VM desktop in infrastructure costs and $23 per VM desktop, if using VECD, totaling $723 per virtual desktop.”

The last page of the article discusses some intangibles like advantages of deploying and managing virtual desktops as opposed to physical desktops.

So, from a cost perspective “it’s a wash”. Or is it? In my opinion, what is missing is the fact that the reality of migrating all of your users to VDI is more expensive when you consider implementation.

You might need to reconfigure your networking and add trunking and VLANs. You are going to have to purchase and configure a lot more ESX hosts, which are going to take up more network ports, and also expand your SAN architecture. These are just some quick examples. Not to mention a major assumption of the article’s cost comparison was that users would not get new thin clients but instead would use their existing PCs. Well, what OS are those PCs running to provide the connection to the VMs? You just doubled your desktop infrastructure! Are you going to use Windows on the physical desktop too? If not, Linux may be a cheap licensing alternative, but you have to do your PC refresh project anyways to get it installed. You still have to support your old desktops too.

Finally, imagine the following scenario and it’s performance implications on your VI for your VDI users – It’s 9 a.m. or 1 p.m. and all of your users just logged on to their VMs. They open Outlook, Excel, Word, and instant messaging. Of course they start up iTunes, browse YouTube and listen to internet radio too.

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