Sizing and Performance benchmark testing – Windows Virtual Desktop

Introduction

In this article, we will take a look at Azure Virtual Machine benchmarks to better understand which Virtual Machines are better suited to deploy with Windows Virtual Desktop.

One of the most common question’s I’m regularly asked, is , “ How do I get the most value for money ($/£) in terms of performance and user experience when using Windows Virtual Desktop “ .

The motivation for this research and article was based on the following questions:

What is the formula of success for better performance when implementing a Windows Virtual Desktop Environment (WVD)?
How do I get more bang for buck and how do I ensure my customers have the best possible experience when using Windows Virtual Desktop?
Are GPU’s a mandatory requirement for the best possible experience even though, graphics applications are not always in use?

I’m sure you will find this article interesting….

Microsoft Sizing Guide for WVD:

Microsoft have suggested the following sizing and Virtual Machine specifications when deploying a Windows Virtual Desktop Environment.

Workload type
Maximum users per vCPU
vCPU/RAM/OS storage minimum
Example Azure instances
Profile container storage minimum

Light
6
2 vCPUs, 8 GB RAM, 16 GB storage
D2s_v3, F2s_v2
30 GB

Medium
4
4 vCPUs, 16 GB RAM, 32 GB storage
D4s_v3, F4s_v2
30 GB

Heavy
2
4 vCPUs, 16 GB RAM, 32 GB storage
D4s_v3, F4s_v2
30 GB

Power
1
6 vCPUs, 56 GB RAM, 340 GB storage
D4s_v3, F4s_v2, NV6
30 GB

You can read more from Microsoft here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/remote/remote-desktop-services/virtual-machine-recs

This article, keeps clear of the topic “user density” as the context of this article is focused on user experience. The totalMaximum number of users you can get on one box is a different testing process and should be tested separately using the correct tools.

as a quick start for sizing, Its suggested that you follow the maximum users per vCPU detailed in Microsoft’s document as a baseline. Link is above…

PCMARK 10 from UL

Before we get into the details of the findings, I wanted to thank UL for providing me with a press licence that gives me the opportunity to complete this testing. Some may be familiar with UL when building custom PC’s or gaming. Some of the Products include PCMARK 10, 3DMARK and SERVERMARK.

A bit of information about PCMARK 10.

PCMark 10 is the latest version in UL’s series of industry standard PC benchmarks. PCMark benchmarks measure complete system performance using tests based on real-world apps and activities. In PCMark 10, these tests reflect the common tasks performed in the modern...