Testing the VMware OS Optimization Tool

VMware OS Optimization Tool

A couple of months ago VMware released a beta tool to help optimize your image for your VDI/RDS deployment, when you look at the VMware OS optimization tool it will report possible optimizations for your image and if needed it can execute the optimizations so you have an optimized image based on the recommendations from VMware.

As we’re all trying to utilize hardware as much as possible I figured to go and try to see what this tool actually does and how much using this tool would improve in terms of increasing desktop density. I went out and search for this tool and found it here: VMware OS Optimization Tool

What is the VMware OS Optimization Tool?

From the website:

The VMware OS Optimization Tool helps optimize Windows 7/8/2008/2012 systems for use with VMware Horizon View. The optimization tool includes customizable templates to enable or disable Windows system services and features, per VMware recommendations and best practices, across multiple systems. Since most Windows system services are enabled by default, the optimization tool can be used to easily disable unnecessary services and features to improve performance.

 

The tool will also let you remote analyze/optimize an image, show you optimization history and will be able to manage templates so you can create your own optimization templates too:

Screen Shot 2014-10-13 at 13.34.33

 

Comparing the Optimization Tool with the Optimization Guide?

VMware also wrote a Windows 7 and Windows 8 optimization Guide earlier, this guide can be found here: VMware Horizon with View Optimization Guide for Windows 7 and Windows 8 and when you compare the PDF with the Optimization Tool you’ll find there’s more in the Tool than there is in the PDF:

VMwareOSOptimizationTool001

 

Getting some results!

I was wondering how much you would gain from using this tool so I’ve setup a test environment of VMware Horizon 6 and LoginVSI 4.1. First I did a test with a Windows 7 x64 Enterprise image optimized using the PDF and I did a second test using the same image optimized via the Optimization Tool, both using the same server hardware and VMware View environment keeping all parameters the same, except for the used image/template to perform the test.

When I used the VMware Optimization Tool I got up to 16% more desktops during the same test then when I was using to test the results from the PDF. Basically it’s safe to say that it’s well worth exploring this VMware Optimization Tool and see what the best results are for you. Please keep in mind that this tool will probably disable features you’re using so be sure to only use the optimizations that won’t make a difference in the user experience.

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Kees Baggerman

Kees Baggerman is a Staff Solutions Architect for End User Computing at Nutanix. Kees has driven numerous Microsoft and Citrix, and RES infrastructures functional/technical designs, migrations, implementations engagements over the years.

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