Whitepaper

Dell Desktop Virtualization

Solutions and AppSense

Dell Desktop Virtualization Solutions and AppSense

Contents
Introduction 03
Target audience 04
Quick start guide to AppSense 04
AppSense workspace management 05

Enterprise-scalable workspace management 05

Key concepts 05
Dell Desktop Virtualization Solutions (DVS) 07
Integrating AppSense with Dell Desktop Virtualization Solutions

07

Pre-installation checklist 07

Server virtual machines 07

Database solution 07
Installing AppSense workspace management 08
Architecture optimization 08
AppSense configuration management 08
Tested and validated 09
Summary 11

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Dell Desktop Virtualization Solutions and AppSense

Introduction
Dells Desktop Virtualization Solutions (DVS) offer industry-leading virtual desktop architectures
built on high performance Dell Blade Servers and Dell Equal Logic storage. This architecture
is designed to deliver a consistent, predictable desktop experience to users while ensuring
the highest levels of availability and performance.
The manageability, performance, and user experience of a DVS environment can be further
optimized through the use of workspace management technology. By decoupling the userspecific components of a desktop from the underlying fabric, workspace management
enables a personalized experience even when the user is running on a standardized and
highly scalable DVS technology fabric.
Dell and AppSense have partnered to test, validate and certify AppSense workspace
management for use with the Dell DVS architecture. This implementation guide will detail
the requirements for integrating AppSense with Dell DVS, provide a working knowledge of
how to set up the AppSense workspace management components to support the DVSdelivered desktops and their users, and provide resources for architects and administrators
to obtain more information.
AppSense workspace management ushers in a new era for IT with the first complete solution
to unlock the user layer from devices, operating systems, and apps. For the first time, IT
needs to manage only a single instance of the user, eliminating the arduous task of running
unique configurations on every device.
This transformative technology profoundly simplifies the management of todays mobile
workers, migrations, and the exploding number of user devices. Isolating the user layer lets
IT precisely administer users without impairing their experience. Tens or hundreds of
thousands of users can now be easily managed with policy templates, and automatically
reconfigured by device, location, or application. The user experience remains secure,
predictable, and personalized, with bullet-proof reliability. Lockdown policies meant to constrain
configurations are no longer necessary. IT can give users complete freedom of choice to use
whichever devices suit them, and deploy a user-specific desktop to any device in any location
at any time. Furthermore, AppSense reduces operation costs as managing desktop
configuration is now automated, and fewer desktop images are required as standardized
components can be configured and personalized for each individual user.
AppSense solves user complexity by satisfying three essential requirements:
DE-COUPLE: Isolate the user layer and all user-specific information from applications, operating
systems, and devices
MANAGE: Centrally store and manage all aspects of the user, including user-based corporate
policy, personalization settings, user rights, and user-introduced applications
DEPLOY: Share each unique user instance on-demand with any device in any location and
delivered by any method
Please note that this architecture guide is not designed to provide step-by-step instructions
for the installation of AppSense workspace management. Installation guidance can be found
in the relevant AppSense Installation and Administration Guides. This architecture guide is
designed to provide guidance on the proper way to configure each component, including
prerequisites, storage placement, server sizing, and performance expectations after setup
is complete.

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Dell Desktop Virtualization Solutions and AppSense

Target audience

Quick start guide

to AppSense

The Dell DVS and AppSense workspace

management Architecture Guide is designed
to give Systems Administrators, Architects,
and Deployment Consultants an overview
and introduction to the technical workings
of the joint solution. A general familiarity
with server, storage, and operating system
concepts is expected. This architecture
guide can be combined with the AppSense
Enterprise Design Guide (EDG) to provide
for high availability and multi-site solutions.

Architects interested in setting up a proofof-concept project featuring AppSense

workspace management solutions should
logon to appsense.com/evaluate
Access credentials to myAppSense.com
will be delivered as part of this evaluation.
myAppSense.com is the AppSense portal,
where customers and partners can acquire
AppSense software, log trouble tickets,
browse the knowledgebase, and download
whitepapers and other technical information.
An AppSense Proof-of-Concept Guide is
available from myAppSense.com, which will
guide the user through the individual steps
to rapidly and reliably get AppSense product
solutions up and running.

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Dell Desktop Virtualization Solutions and AppSense

AppSense workspace management

Enterprise-scalable workspace management
AppSense is uniquely capable of meeting the performance and scalability requirements of even
the most demanding Dell DVS environments through enterprise-class capabilities such as:
n Three-tier backend architecture based on proven technologies such Microsoft Internet
Information Server (IIS) and Microsoft SQL Server.
n Comprehensive management controls that allow policies and automated actions to be
specified at global, group, or individual user levels through a straightforward graphical
user interface.
n On-demand streaming of user personalization information to DVS desktops on an as
needed basis, minimizing network traffic and accelerating user logon times.
n Integrated self-healing and user personalization snapshot and rollback capabilities to
minimize demands on help desk staff.
n Seamless

user roaming between DVS and native Dell Desktop and Laptop machines.

By combining the high-performance infrastructure provided by Dell DVS with the deployment
flexibility of AppSense, IT organizations can deliver a high quality user experience without
maintaining tight control over IT operations and infrastructure costs.

Key concepts
AppSense workspace management includes a full suite of user-centric management capabilities
that address diverse capabilities such as:
n User

personalization and policy management

n Application

and network access control, including granular user rights management

n Performance

assurance on shared server-based computing infrastructure

The initial focus of Dell DVS and AppSense workspace management integration and testing
is on user personalization and policy management, so the technical details in the following
sections specifically refer to this element of AppSense workspace management.
The components introduced in this section should be well understood before beginning
an AppSense installation. More information can be found it the relevant Installation and
Administration Guide available from www.myAppSense.com (credentials can be obtained
by contacting your local AppSense sales representative, or requesting a product evaluation
from www.appsense.com).
The AppSense product set has been designed as a three-tier architecture to scale to meet
the needs of the most demanding enterprises. Depending upon the features being enabled,
one or more agents are installed on a managed endpoint device. In the case of DVS,
these agents will be installed in the base desktop image. An Application Server based on
Microsoft IIS serves as a communication tier, responsible for sending information between a
product agent on an endpoint and the third tier, a database based on Microsoft SQL Server
that is responsible for data storage and optimization.
This architecture offers tangible benefits to the enterprise. Microsoft SQL Server and IIS
are in widespread use, and industry best practices can be applied directly to an AppSense
infrastructure to provide for performance optimizations, high-availability, and disaster
recovery. Additionally, by investing in highly scalable solutions such as SQL Server, an
AppSense infrastructure can comfortably handle tens of thousands of concurrent users, and
reliably manage the deployment of tens of thousands of desktop sessions.

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Dell Desktop Virtualization Solutions and AppSense

This architecture guide focuses on the AppSense Environment Manager and AppSense
Management Center products. The key components of this infrastructure are as follows:
1. AppSense Management Server: The AppSense Management Server (AMS) provides
centralized administrative functions for AppSense workspace management. The AMS is
responsible for the deployment of AppSense product agents and configurations, and if
configured serves as a central repository for AppSense event logging.
2. AppSense Personalization Server: The AppSense Environment Manager Personalization
Server (EMPS) delivers personalization settings into a running desktop session. When a user
opens an application managed by AppSense Environment Manager, the Personalization
Server retrieves any settings for that user related to the application, and streams them into
the desktop session via HTTP or HTTPS.
3. Client Communications Agent: The CCA allows for communication between a managed
endpoint device and the Management Server. The CCA ensures that the latest AppSense
Environment Manager Agent and configuration are correctly deployed and installed on the
endpoint. The CCA is also used to deploy other AppSense product agents and configurations
required for AppSense functionality added in the future. The CCA communicates with the
Management Server over either HTTP or HTTPS on standard defined ports. The CCA can be
deployed in several ways; please consult the Administration guide for guidance on proper
deployment of the CCA.
4. AppSense Environment Manager Agent: The EM Agent is responsible for the delivery of
both policy and personalization. Policy actions are stored in a local configuration (XML file),
which is processed by the agent to carry out the necessary actions such as drive mappings
or printer mappings. The EM Agent is also responsible for delivering personalization when a
user runs a managed application. EM Agents are stored in the Management Database so
that they can be downloaded to managed end points via the Management Server, or the
EM Agent can be pre-installed in a gold build. Every managed endpoint needs to have the
agent installed. The EM Agent once installed runs, amongst other processes, a primary
service called EMAgent.exe
5. AppSense Environment Manager Configuration: The AppSense Environment Manager
Configuration (EM Config) is a user-generated XML file that defines the behavior of the
Environment Manager product. A Config is generated by an administrator via the EM
Console, and deployed to an endpoint machine via the AMS. The EM Agent uses the EM
Config to enforce policy actions and to enable Personalization for the logged-in user.
See Figure 1 below for a graphical representation of an AppSense Environment Manager
infrastructure. Each of the key concepts above are identified in the picture.

Figure 1: AppSense Environment Manager infrastructure

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Dell Desktop Virtualization Solutions and AppSense

Dell Desktop
Virtualization
Solutions (DVS)

Integrating AppSense with Dell Desktop

Virtualization Solutions

The Dell Integrated Solution Stack (ISS)

is a completely configured and tested
solution constructed from Dell hardware,
software and services, including
PowerEdge servers, EqualLogic
storage, PowerConnect networking
and Dell validated OEM software from
Citrix and VMware. You can use the
validated ISS configurations to reduce
the complexity that goes into transitioning
to a desktop virtualization environment,
simplify solution deployment, create
solution stability and accelerate your
return on investment.

To integrate AppSense workspace management into the Dell DVS architecture, first ensure
that the DVS architecture is configured to meet Dell best practices.

The Dell Integrated Solution Stack (ISS)

maps over 50,000 hours of testing and
validation into optimized Dell virtual
remote desktop (VRD)/virtual desktop
infrastructure (VDI) configurations that
address both IT and user requirements.1

Organizations using DVS may elect to use foundational desktop virtualization software from
leading partners such as Citrix and VMware. The AppSense workspace management
environment is designed to work with heterogeneous desktop environments. Whether an
organization deploys Citrix, VMware, or even a combination of the two, AppSense will
function seamlessly even as users roam across disparate elements of the DVS environment
or even to and from native PCs.
Pre-installation checklist
An AppSense infrastructure requires two virtual machines to support the Management Server
and Personalization server roles. Additionally, each server requires a dedicated database.
The prerequisites for these systems are listed below.
Server Virtual Machines
n Windows
n IIS

and ASP.Net features

n Windows
n BITS

Authentication Extensions for IIS

Extensions for IIS

n Microsoft
n 2

2003 or later; Windows 2008 R2 or later Recommended

.NET 3.5 SP1 installed

vCPUs

n 4GB

of RAM (or greater)

n Infrastructure

Datastore (SATA)

In this configuration, the AppSense Personalization Server will support up to 5,000

concurrent users based on internal testing. The AppSense Management Server, configured
as above, will support the management of 5,000 desktops without logging centralized
enabled, or 2,500 desktops with centralized event logging enabled.
Database solution
n 2

Databases required

n Personalization
n Management

Server database

Server database

n Dedicated

database server is not a requirement

n Dedicated

database server instance is not a requirement

n User

account with SA-level rights to the database server, for database creation during
AppSense Server Install2
n Service account with login permissions to database servers, for AppSense agent and
service use
n Database
n Two

Server VM on Infrastructure Datastore (SATA)

additional virtual disks available to Database Server VM

n VMDK

or RDM for SQL Database files

n VMDK

or RDM for SQL Transaction Log files

n These VMDK / RDM disks should be on dedicated volumes as per DVS best practices for
databases

http://content.dell.com/us/en/enterprise/d/flexiblecomputing/vdi-integrated-solution-stack.aspx

2
To create the databases without providing SA-level credentials, see the document titled Installing AppSense
Personalization Server with Limited Database Privilege.pdf, available from AppSense

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Dell Desktop Virtualization Solutions and AppSense

The sizing of an AppSense database is an

inexact science, and requirements vary from
customer to customer. Specific requirements
related to user count, expected number of
managed applications, and existing Microsoft
SQL Database solutions could all change
the database solution.
AppSense best practice recommends that
existing SQL best practices be applied to
the Management and Personalization
databases. Existing backup policies,
replication policies, and HA/DR policies can
be applied to provide these benefits to the
AppSense infrastructure.
Should a new database server be required
to support a SQL solution specific to the
DVS architecture, that machine should be
provisioned on the Infrastructure Datastore
similar to the Management and Personalization
Server machines. Additionally, two separate
datastores should be made available to this
machine. One datastore should be used for
the databases themselves, and one should
be used for transaction log files.

Installing AppSense workspace management

The installation process requires the following general steps:
1. Install Microsoft SQL Server (if required)
2. Create service account for SQL communication within Active Directory
3. Install AppSense Management Server into provisioned machine
4. Configure AppSense Management Server
5. Install AppSense Personalization Server into provisioned machine
6. Configure AppSense Personalization Server
7. Deploy Client Communications Agent to managed endpoint
8. Deploy AppSense Environment Manager Agent to managed endpoint
9. Create AppSense Environment Manager configuration via AppSense Environment
Manager console
10. Deploy AppSense Environment Manager to managed endpoint
Architecture optimization
As previously discussed, AppSense can deliver benefits to any desktop infrastructure,
including virtual machines managed by Citrix XenDesktop and VMware View. Test results
covered in this architecture were obtained during tests performed on Citrix XenDesktop,
and this section covers the best practices for enabling that architecture with workspace
management. Testing with VMware View is planned, and best practices for workspace
management with that infrastructure will be published separately.
Both Citrix XenDesktop and AppSense Environment Manager leverage several HTTP-based
network services for the delivery of desktop and user information. It is pertinent for stability
to not overload the default HTTP port 80. Architects should make the following changes to the
relevant services, following the steps laid out in the relevant product administration guide.
AppSense configuration management
The AppSense Environment Manager solution processes the instructions contained in the
Environment Manager Configuration assigned to a desktop to enforce policy management
actions on the desktop and to setup personalization functionality. One key capability
available when using AppSense Policy Management is the ability to apply policy actions at
Computer Startup. This allows an enterprise to drastically condense the number of unique
images that are managed, while still allowing for disparate use cases by dynamic configuration
of the desktop at startup. For instance, assuming the proper language packs are installed
into the image, an AppSense Computer Startup action could be configured to provide
desktops in different languages to different users connecting from different countries, all
based off of a single desktop image. To accomplish this, AppSense recommends installing
both the Environment Manager Agent and the Environment Manager Configuration into the
private image that will be used for desktop deployment.

Service

Recommended
Port

Method

AppSense Environment
Manager Agent Service

8080

AppSense Environment
Manager Personalization
Server Console

AppSense Client
Communications Agent
(CCA) Service

8080

AppSense Management
Center Console;
AppSense CCA Installer

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Dell Desktop Virtualization Solutions and AppSense

Tested and validated

Dell and AppSense have collaborated to test and validate the AppSense Architecture Guide.
The AppSense solution was configured according to the best practices outlined in this
architecture guide. The Dell DVS solution built on Citrix XenDesktop 5.0 was configured
according to Dell best practices. The LoginVSI 3.0 tool was used to simulate load across
user sessions to test performance and capability. Results of that test effort are summarized
in this section.
Testing revealed that this architecture guide resulted in no impact to expected user counts
on the Dell Desktop Virtualization Solutions infrastructure. Workspace management benefits
can be delivered to users at full DVS densities and operational efficiencies. Testing was
performed at 120% of expected per-server load (in terms of the number of active user
desktops under test), and the LoginVSI tool reported no significant degradation of response
times for application usage within each session. See Figure 2 below, VSIMax for Dell DVS,
and Figure 3, Dell DVS and AppSense workspace management, on the following page.

VSIMax for Dell DVS

20000

Minimum
Minimum response
Response
Average
response
Average Response
Maximum
Maximum response
Response
VSI
response
VSI index
Index Average

Calculated response times

15000

10000

5000

VSImax not reached

0
0

10

20

30

40

Connected desktops
Figure 2: VSIMax for Dell DVS

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Dell Desktop Virtualization Solutions and AppSense

Baseline testing with the LoginVSI tool leverages Microsoft Roaming User Profiles to keep
track of user personalization and per-user settings. The personalization server functionality
within AppSense workspace management replaces the need for roaming user profiles and
allows organizations to deploy locked-down, optimized, read-only mandatory profiles, which
greatly speeds user logon time as well as environment stability. The joint test project
revealed an 83% reduction in disk space needed for user information for the AppSense
Personalization Server solution versus roaming profiles, which represents a dramatic cost
savings for storage and user management infrastructure.
During full-load testing, the Dell DVS infrastructure provided ample computational and storage
resource to support the AppSense workspace management solution. The Dell EqualLogic
storage arrays and Dell M610 Blade Saervers, as configured for the DVS solution, provide
an ideal solution with which to integrate the workspace management feature set. AppSense
supports approximately 5,000 concurrent users per personalization server and approximately
5,000 managed desktops per management server, with both AppSense servers designed as in
Section 6. Full-load testing confirmed that the AppSense infrastructure specified in this
architecture guide will provide ample capacity for the DVS solution.

DellDVS
DVSand
and
AppSense
management
Dell
AppSense
Userworkspace
Virtualization
20000

Minimum
Minimumresponse
Response
Average
Average response
Response
Maximumresponse
Response
Maximum
VSI index
Index response
Average
VSI

Calculated response times

15000

10000

VSImax not reached

5000

0
0

10

20

30

40

Connected desktops

Figure 3: Dell DVS and AppSense workspace management

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Dell Desktop Virtualization Solutions and AppSense

Summary
Dells Desktop Virtualization Solutions take the guesswork out of VDI deployments by
providing fully tested and integrated solutions that enable anytime, anyplace access to
productivity resources without exposing those resources to outside threats. AppSense
workspace management allows for a fully personal user experience built on top of
standardized, high-performing Dell DVS architectures, resulting in improved security, high
user acceptance, and successful virtual desktop implementations.

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Twitter:
@appsense

email us:
iwanttoknowmore@appsense.com

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Australia
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264 George St,
Sydney, NSW
2000
Australia
T +61 (0) 2 9258 1862
australia-info@appsense.com
France
AppSense France
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75009 Paris
T + 33 01 5343 5148
france-info@appsense.com
Germany
AppSense GmbH
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85630 Grasbrunn/Mnchen
Deutschland
T +49 89 559 9970
de-info@appsense.com
Netherlands
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Entrada 501
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The Netherlands
T +31 20 3701282
benelux-info@appsense.com
Nordic region
AppSense AS
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2004 Lillestrm
Norway
T +47 41 43 23 30
nordics-info@appsense.com

2014, AppSense Limited. AppSense is a registered trademark of AppSense

Limited in the US, UK and other countries worldwide. All rights reserved. All other
trademarks are the property of their respective owners. The information in this
document is believed to be correct at time of printing but no representation or
warranty is made as to its accuracy or completeness.