I’ve written and seen numerous blogs/tweets about how great the new storage optimization feature is for XenApp and XenDesktop. I’ve read how this feature can reduce IOPS from an average of 15 IOPS per Windows 7 user down to 0.1 IOPS. I’ve read how this feature functions by creating a small RAM buffer within each VM. I’ve seen tweets showing crazy IOPS numbers on using standard, spinning disks.

In fact, I’ve done some of this analysis and was completely blown away by the results.

But who cares? Who cares if my IOPS are reduced by 99%?

Unfortunately, unless you are responsible for storage, you probably don’t care.  But what if this drastic reduction in IOPS had a direct impact on the user experience?  And from someone who uses VDI remotely 100% of the time, the user experience is what I really care about.

Let’s see what the new RAM Cache with Disk Overflow feature can do for the user experience…

What impresses me the most is that the workload used isn’t some crazy operation that a typical user wouldn’t really do.  You can easily see the improvement to the user experience with something as simple as browsing a few web pages.

And all of this is done

• Without complex configurations
• Without expensive SANs
• Without SSDs
• Without additional hardware
• Without additional licenses
• Without a learning curve

From the virtual mind of Virtual Feller
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