Nexenta, the global leader in Software-Defined Storage (#softwaredefinedstorage) (SDS), in collaboration with VMware, today announced support and validation of NexentaConnect across all VMware Horizon deployment scenarios.

IT organizations deploying desktop and application virtualization using VMware Horizon can achieve optimal performance, simplification of deployment and lower cost of their infrastructure with Nexenta. NexentaConnect solutions provide:

• File services (NFS & SMB) to all Virtual SAN hosted virtual machines
• Folder and volume level snapshots and replication
• I/O acceleration
• Increased density
• Seamless and validated integration with VMware Horizon, vSphere and VMware Virtual SAN
• Data compression and deduplication

NexentaConnect solutions support Horizon across the following scenarios:

• Standalone software deployment
• Converged infrastructure
• On top of VMware Virtual SAN
• As part of EVO: RAIL hyper-converged platforms

The NexentaConnect, VMware EVO: RAIL, and VMware Horizon hyper-converged solution can now provide users day one access to a full VDI solution from the desktops through the user profiles and data without the need for any additional hardware.  This validated architecture continues the joint approach at a performant and cost effective software-defined VDI strategy between VMware and Nexenta.

"NexentaConnect for VMware Horizon opens up new opportunities for infrastructures looking to increase flexibility, scalability and cost-effectiveness with software-defined, hyper-converged solutions,” said Eric Burgener, research director at IDC. “By deploying solutions like the integrated Nexenta and VMware solution, organizations can achieve high performance, provide file services (NFS & SMB) to all VSAN hosted virtual machines and take advantage of additional software-defined storage options for virtual desktop environments. These types of solutions allow organizations to be more agile, simplifying storage deployment and management so they can focus on their desktop virtualization and business goals.”

“Storage deployment, configuration and management continue to get in the way of customers’ goals to achieve the benefits of virtual workspaces. Our work with Nexenta allows us to leverage software-defined storage as the enabler for a cost effective and capable Horizon implementation,” said Sumit Dhawan, SVP and GM, Desktop Products, End-User Computing, VMware.

Thomas Cornely, Chief Product Officer at Nexenta said, “We continue to educate and share our latest solutions in collaboration with VMware to our partners and customers, and VMware PEX is a great platform for us to do so.  OpenSDx is rapidly gaining momentum and will be the focus at this event as we demo our latest solutions with VMware.”