Azure Virtual Desktop with GPU | 5 Tips for Virtual Desktop Computing for SolidWorks

A virtual desktop with GPU can be used for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) in the following way:

1. A virtual machine is created on a server or cloud platform with a dedicated GPU, which can handle the graphics-intensive workload required for CAD.
2. The user accesses the virtual machine through a remote desktop connection, which allows them to use the virtual desktop just as they would a physical desktop.
3. CAD software is installed on the virtual machine, and the user can run the software as if it were installed on their own computer.
4. The GPU in the virtual machine handles the processing and rendering required for CAD, providing high-quality graphics and smooth performance.
5. The user can save their work on the virtual machine or transfer it to their local machine for further editing.

Using a virtual desktop with GPU for CAD provides several benefits, including the ability to work remotely and collaborate with team members in real-time, as well as access to high-performance computing resources that may be prohibitively expensive to acquire and maintain on-premise.

Virtual Desktop with GPU Background

If you haven’t already heard of Virtual Desktop with GPU, you will. Those of us who remember (vaguely) the days of mainframe computers might remember the concept of a virtual terminal. In those days, the terminals were extremely simple, with green text on a black screen. The mainframe computer-managed scores or hundreds of these terminals.

Today we need a lot more complicated system than the old “green screens.” There have been some moves towards this kind of capability. Virtualization with VMWare and HyperV are forms of the old “terminal” model but are generally limited to servers. There has been Citrix and Remote Desktop Services (used to be Terminal Services) which are also similar. The problem has been that desktop and laptop computers are just more convenient than using these technologies.

In the last couple of years, Microsoft Azure has allowed breakthroughs in this area. Windows Virtual Desktop is a technology from Microsoft that allows one computer (a server) to run multiple copies of Windows 10 simultaneously. The idea of this virtual desktop with GPU computing model is to swap out the high-end computers we use day to day, for “dumb terminals” that access our Windows 10 in the cloud.

This article by on virtual desktop computing for SolidWorks explains the process thoroughly.

Here are 5 things to understand about Windows Virtual Desktop

Virtual Desktops are usually implemented along with Virtual servers and Office 365. In those environments, your server and stored files on network drives are all in a single virtual environment. Here are some of the advantages.

1. Adding a new desktop for a new employee is easily done the same day – sometimes within the hour.
2. Even high-end software like SolidWorks or Pro Engineer can run in a WVD environment.
3. The computer hardware is often provided (excluding monitors) with the subscription
4. The hardware is always up to date.  There is no “replacement” cycle every 3 to 5 years
5. Your office becomes virtual. People can work from anywhere they have internet, with no performance impact

Keep in mind that this is also a very effective way to work remotely and allow remote access to all your applications and data.

How does this really work?

Without getting too complicated, you run a pretty beefy server and install a special copy of Windows 10. You then “spin up” as many desktops as that server can handle. A server with 48GB of RAM would comfortably run 13 of these desktops without too much trouble. The users are sharing the CPU and RAM with everyone. There are efficiencies because RAM usually used for basic functions isn’t duplicated on every computer.

The really amazing thing is that you can even run your CAD workstations with this model.

This must be slower than having computers at work, right?

Not really. In the real world, there are a lot of bottlenecks when you use a computer. The network speed between your computer and the server is a big one. So is the speed of your own computer’s CPU and RAM, as well as hard drives.

Servers are WAY faster than regular users’ desktops. They have much better hardware with much better speeds. The Windows Virtual Desktop with GPU is running on a server. The file server is attached more or less physically directly to that server. The speed of the network between the two is 10x or 100x what you would find in a typical office.

How much does this Cost?

Let’s compare 2 situations so we can do an apples-to-apples example.

If we add up the costs of the two sides we get the following:

The Windows Virtual Desktop with GPU environment comes to about $9,200 a month managed by your partner. The desktop “dumb terminals” are included but monitors are extra.

The DELL environment runs at about $175,000 in the first year and about $75,000 a year per year after that. I am using about $75,000 of annual management costs for the environment including cloud backups. That’s based on a pretty standard Managed Services arrangement or hiring a full-time network administrator. The WVD environment is managed and the break-even will be somewhere around year 4 or 5 – which is when you’ll need to replace the desktops and servers again.

If you want to buy hardware, never maintain it, and run it into the ground, then Windows Virtual Desktop won’t make sense to you. If you want an ultra high-performance system that you never have to worry about and that costs about the same as buying all the hardware yourself – then you’re probably better off with the Windows Virtual Desktop.

Want to learn more?

Are you are interested in learning more about Windows Virtual Desktop for your company? Give us a call and we can help you understand the choices. The Sabre IT Solutions team are experts with Microsoft Azure and WVD. We are Azure experts and resellers and as such can provide significant price benefits over the standard cloud. We can take care of every detail of your cloud migration, and provide you with clear, easy-to-understand pricing. Sabre IT has been hosting customers in the Azure cloud for over 5 years now. We understand how it can fit your business and offer our advice for free.

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