UK managed services provider ebb3, specialising in accelerated computing on VDI and AI platforms, has standardised on the ControlUp DEX platform to enhance the management of clients’ Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) environments and corporate endpoints used by hybrid office workers.
Most ebb3 clients use CAD/CAM applications, leveraging server-based grid technology from NVIDIA, such as Catia, Enscape, Revit, Rhino and Twin Motion, and to run these graphics-intensive solutions
in a VDI environment requires specialised configuration and accurate monitoring to ensure heavy workload demands are properly optimised by the backend compute.
ControlUp enables ebb3 to proactively monitor clients’ systems to improve the overall digital employee experience, streamline the control of IT, reduce costs and enable the optimisation of VDI systems, including Citrix, Omnissa (formerly VMware) and Microsoft, across both public and hybrid cloud deployments.
Jav Fiaz, ebb3’s Technical Architect & Senior Platform Engineer, says that ControlUp enables ebb3 to deliver the service quality that customers in construction, architecture, motorsports and the public sector depend on.
He said: “We design, install and manage our clients’ VDI solutions so the real-time monitoring provided by ControlUp is absolutely crucial to guarantee service quality, given we’re signing multi-year contracts. ControlUp is our eyes and ears – our feelers out into client environments if you like. Other solutions might poll every two, three or five seconds. That’s too slow. You’d miss problems like why latency is occurring and then not be able to fix root causes quickly. This then impacts the users’ perception and views about their digital workspaces.”
ControlUp helps ebb3 with the sizing and capacity planning of servers so that applications are properly implemented, with real-time monitoring of GPU, CPU, memory and IO usage during user acceptance testing and after rollout to ensure systems are responsive and work as expected.
“With ControlUp, we can spot rogue workflows which result in burst usage affecting the overall performance health of the VDI system. This has the potential to impact staff productivity and their ability to meet demanding project deadlines. This could be because someone is downloading lots of massive files or not optimising a large 3D model properly which then causes bottlenecks. We can set up alerts and triggers using ControlUp to identify issues before they become problems.”
He adds that with the boom in remote working, ebb3 is also using ControlUp’s physical endpoint DEX platform to monitor devices used by staff at home.
“Someone logging a support ticket complaining of intermittent performance issues might attribute the problem to the VDI platform. But by using ControlUp, we can drill down into the user session and see if it’s another issue like the speed of their home Wi-Fi connection or position in a building that’s causing latency. It makes problem-solving super-fast,” he said.
Other benefits include support for multiple technology stacks in VDI/DaaS (e.g. Citrix, Omnissa and Microsoft) and endpoints; ease of use; simple deployment using a cloud-based management platform; and technical support.
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