F5 Solutions for VMware View

F5 Networks Offers Simplified Access Management, Hardened Security, and WAN Optimization
for the VMware Branch Office Desktop Solution

Branch Office Desktops with

Key benefits LAN Convenience
• Local and global intelligent The VMware® Branch Office Desktop™ solution addresses the business and technical
traffic management with single challenges of deploying endpoint devices outside the datacenter in remote locations. Branch
namespace and username office workers expect the same level of performance, security, and convenience from their
persistence support virtual desktops as end users who are being served from a primary datacenter.
• Architectural freedom of VMware and F5 have worked together to provide a solution that addresses these challenges—
combining Virtual Editions with from local and global intelligent traffic management to securing and simplifying the user
physical appliances access experience and optimizing WAN connectivity for application traffic. This solution
• Optimized WAN connectivity ensures that branch office users have secure, easy, and quick access to their virtual desktops
between branches and primary while providing IT with the architectural choices and freedom of a flexible deployment model.
datacenters Together, VMware and F5 provide customers with the agility, reliability, and efficiency
needed to successfully deploy virtual desktops to branch offices and remote locations.

Fig. 1: High-level architecture of F5 solutions for VMware Branch Office Desktop

F5 Streamlines Deployments of Branch Office Desktops

F5 and the VMware Branch Office Desktop solution offer an efficient and effective way for
IT to support end users across branch office locations. The joint solution offers simplified
access management, hardened security, and optimized WAN connectivity between the
branch locations and the primary datacenter. Furthermore, the ability to deploy F5’s Virtual
Editions (VE) in the branch offices while using high-performance physical appliances in the
main datacenter provides IT with the highest degree of architectural freedom available.

The F5 BIG-IP product family is a system of integrated application delivery services that work
together, either as Virtual Editions or on the same purpose-build hardware. Services range
from load balancing and SSL offload, to network security, application security, access control,
and much more. The modular BIG-IP system is built on the TMOS platform, which offers
tremendous scalability and customization. You can start with one specific function to meet
your current business needs and budget, and add more capacity and functionality as your
IT agility. Your way. application and business demands change.
 2

SOLUTION OVERVIEW
F5 Solutions for VMware View

TMOS provides several unique features that enhance IT’s BIG-IP distributes View connection requests based on
control over virtual desktop environments. pre-defined business policies, datacenters, network
conditions, the user’s location, and application
BIG-IP iRules, an event-driven scripting language, allows
performance.
administrators to modify BIG-IP actions based on traffic
inspection. You can fully customize your policies based on F5 Single Namespace and
Global 500 users, devices, access points, and more. F5 offers a Username Persistence Solutions
Industrial specifically designed and tested iRule to help improve By deploying BIG-IP Global Traffic Manager (GTM), a
Manufacturing username persistence of View client sessions, particularly single namespace (for example, https://desktop.
Company Selects valuable for organizations using multiple View pods, or example.com) can be provided to all end users.
serving View from more than one datacenter. In addition, BIG-IP GTM and BIG-IP LTM work together to ensure
F5 for Virtual that requests are sent to a user’s preferred
BIG-IP has a unique wizard-based configuration system
Desktop called iApps that allows users to quickly configure their datacenter, regardless of the user’s current location.
Deployment systems using F5’s pre-tested best practices for application Furthermore, BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)
F5 enhances the deployments. This helps minimize configuration errors validates the login information against the existing
access management and reduces deployment time from hours to minutes.F5 authentication and authorization mechanisms such
and security for a has developed and maintains an iApp specifically in as Active Directory, RADIUS, HTTP, or LDAP.
Global 500 Industrial support of the latest version of VMware View. Whenever
In addition, BIG-IP LTM works with the F5 iRules
Manufacturing users disconnect, they can get reconnected to their
scripting language, which allows administrators to
Company in the original View server and session, eliminating the need for
configure custom traffic rules. F5 Networks has
following ways: the View server to rebuild the user’s virtual desktop,
tested and published an innovative iRule that
accelerating access and avoiding loss of information.
maintains connection persistence based on the
• Single sign-on username, irrespective of the device or location. This
The BIG-IP product family gives you granular control,
• Secure remote access scalability, and flexibility that are not available with other means that a user can change devices or locations
traffic-management technologies. and log back in to be reconnected to a desktop
• Logins per second identical to the one last used.
• AAA services F5 Solutions for VMware View WAN Optimization
• Regulatory compliance The Branch Office Desktop is a validated solution BIG-IP WAN Optimization Manager (WOM) speeds
architecture offered by VMware and VMware Ready up data transfers over the WAN and enables traffic
Partners. F5 provides tightly integrated offerings to meet the between datacenters to be optimized, encrypted, and
Source: Senior IT Architect, Global
500 Industrial Manufacturing needs of organizations looking to securely support end users highly available. BIG-IP WOM accelerates file transfers,
Company across devices and locations. There are several key enterprise application traffic, database replication,
Research by TechValidate (TVID: components to F5’s solutions for the VMware Branch storage replication and backup, and more between
A49-4B0-270) Office Desktop: branch locations as well as primary datacenters.

Secure Access Management Summary

BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is a high-
performance SSL-VPN solution that provides unified The VMware Branch Office Desktop Solution is a
global access to your virtual desktop environment. BIG-IP powerful architecture that leverages technology
offers integration with authentication, authorization, and from VMware and F5 Networks. The joint solution
accounting services (AAA) as well as enables convenient provided enables organizations to improve security
single sign-on to streamline the authentication process while reducing costs and complexity—thereby fully
across devices into a single quick and easy step. delivering on the promise of fast, easy, and always-
available virtual desktops.
Local Traffic Management
BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is an Application Delivery
Networking (ADN) solution that provides intelligent load Learn More
balancing of the View Security and Connection Servers. For additional information about F5 solutions for
BIG-IP LTM also provides traffic management as well as VMware View including the Branch Office Desktop
application security, acceleration, and optimization. Solution, please visit http://www.f5.com/view or
contact at F5 at [email protected].
Global Traffic Management
BIG-IP Global Traffic Manager (GTM) is designed to load
balance amongst multiple geographically distributed sites.
IT agility. Your way.
F5 Networks, Inc. 401 Elliott Avenue West, Seattle, WA 98119 888-882-4447 www.f5.com

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