This document describes the results of work done by VMware in conjunction with Dell to create a scalable server and storage architecture for VMware View environments. The configuration presented here uses a building block approach for sizing VMware View environments built on VMware Infrastructure 3, Dell PowerEdge 2950 servers and Dell EqualLogic PS5000X iSCSI storage arrays.

Each building block has been designed and tested to support 64 virtual desktops (8 per core) running a workload commonly referred to as a “knowledge” or “information worker” (workload characteristics will be defined later in this document). This worker profile runs a set of business applications common to many corporate desktops today and is an ideal candidate for desktop virtualization.

Designing and testing a server and storage building block for a typical worker profile allows organizations to use the configuration presented here as a reference for their own deployments. The building block has been sized and tested according to both VMware and Dell best practices. This reduces the time, effort and complexity of initial sizing exercises and allows IT staff to focus on deployment using a proven server and storage configuration as a baseline.