One of the most common questions I get asked is, “Which MyCloudIT architecture is best, Basic or Standard?” While MyCloudIT offers various architectures, we are going to focus on comparing the Basic architecture to the Standard architecture. This comparison is the same whether you are using a RemoteApp or RDS architecture.
In many instances, people will choose the Basic architecture because they think fewer VMs will cost less. When, in reality, it doesn’t quite work that way. A Basic architecture only supports a single Session Host server, where as a Standard architecture supports numerous session host servers. For a Basic architecture, as you add additional users to your environment, you will have to increase the size of your single session host server. If you are curious about running a single, large session host server versus multiple smaller session host servers, make sure to read my previous blog on the cost comparison to better understand the difference and what it could mean for your architecture as you scale up. As we discussed, since a Basic architecture only supports a single session host, as you add additional users, you must increase the size of your session host server.
Back to the question, Basic or Standard? The answer is… it depends. Deciding on whether to choose Basic or Standard depends on the number of users you will support in the short and long term. If you are building a solution that will support over 6 users in the next few months, start with a Standard architecture. If you feel you will stay below 6 users for the foreseeable future, the Basic architecture should be sufficient. But this is not an absolute answer because the resource demands of your applications will ultimately impact the number of users each session host can support. If you have applications that are CPU and processor intensive, you may not be able to get 6 users on a single session host. Believe it or not, browsers are some of the biggest consumers of CPU and RAM, so having users only use browsers may be more demanding than the traditional office applications.
Can I convert my Basic architecture to a Standard architecture? There is not an automated way to make that conversion. Our support team can make the conversion for you, for an additional fee. It usually takes about 2 hours to convert a Basic architecture to a Standard architecture. Keep this in mind as you are deciding between a Basic architecture and a Standard architecture.
While I wish I had a clear-cut answer to the question, we can at least get close to a clear-cut answer if we can clearly determine the number of users and all the applications the users will be using. Once we have that information, we can usually predict the amount of resources required. But, if you aren’t sure, my suggestion is to deploy the Standard architecture because it will provide more scalability and allow for multiple collections, which could save you time and money in the long run.
Want Future Tips Emailed Right to Your Inbox?
