Virtual desktops provide employees with the flexibility they long for in today’s remote working scenario. They also help businesses optimize resource utilization, reduce costs, and enhance productivity.
However, new-age applications demand extensive resources and real-time data processing, which can cause lag when accessing virtual desktops remotely. You might have experienced video buffering or applications opening slowly on virtual desktops. In a highly productive work environment, lag is unacceptable.
A solution to this is GPU acceleration. GPU acceleration implies integrating a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) with the virtual desktop’s CPU. GPU-enabled virtual desktops boost virtual desktop performance by offering parallel processing features and giving employees a real-time desktop experience.
In this article…
In this blog, we will discuss the reasons why you experience lag while accessing virtual desktops and how GPU acceleration can offer a lag-free experience.
Why Does It Mean to Feel Laggy?
When accessing virtual desktops on remote endpoints, several reasons can prevent you from getting a physical desktop-like experience. For instance,
- When playing a video or conducting video conferencing, you might experience a frame delay, or the video and audio may be out of sync.
- The pointer might not respond in real-time when using input devices like a mouse or keyboard.
- Installed applications, browsers, and folders might not open instantly.
In the case of virtual desktops, lag can occur even in the best of VDI environments. However, consistent lag can significantly hamper employee productivity and reduce satisfaction.
What Makes a Virtual Desktop Laggy?
Your virtual desktop can experience lag for various reasons, as it involves delivering virtual desktops from servers to remote endpoints over a network. An issue in any of these three can cause lag.
Server-Side Processing Issues
Virtual desktops are created on servers (preferably cloud) hosted in a data center environment. Any server or data center issue can cause lag in virtual desktops. Another reason is when the servers cannot handle a sudden influx of users.
When multiple virtual desktops utilize CPU, memory, and disk I/O simultaneously, the server may struggle to keep up, causing slowdowns across sessions.
Network Latency
A virtual desktop is delivered to endpoint devices through both internal and external networks. Any issue with network performance can cause lag and even downtime. Therefore, if you are experiencing any lag, you should check your internet connection for latency and speed.
Inefficient Storage System
In the case of VDI, virtual desktops are created on remote servers with all the IT resources and storage pooled together. Therefore, when accessing virtual desktops, the storage management system must be able to store, manage, and retrieve data in real-time. Otherwise, it can cause lag in accessing documents and folders.
Improper Configuration
Sometimes, when virtual desktops are configured incorrectly, the IT resources fail to accommodate the applications installed. For instance, businesses might create virtual desktops with 8 GB of RAM for the accounting team.
However, when a new application gets installed, the RAM requirements might increase to 16 GB. If the IT team fails to modify the configuration, it can cause lag throughout your VDI system.
Unplanned Security Systems
Deploying an advanced data security environment for virtual desktops is imperative. However, it must be planned in a way that does not hamper performance. Sometimes, incompatibility between different security tools can cause lag in virtual desktops.
Rely on our secure, high-performance Virtual Desktop Infrastructure designed for your remote workforce.
What is GPU Acceleration?
GPU Acceleration refers to the process of deploying a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) in conjunction with a CPU to accelerate its performance.
GPUs offer parallel processing capabilities that can handle multiple workloads simultaneously. In the case of virtual desktops, GPU acceleration can facilitate diverse user cases due to enhanced performance.
Let’s discuss how GPU acceleration can fix the lag issue.
How Can GPU Acceleration Fix the Issue
Enhanced Graphics Rendering
A conventional virtual desktop does not suffice when it comes to graphics rendering. GPUs were initially built for graphics rendering. It involves resource-intensive visual effects, animations, and transitions that only a GPU can handle. Working on a GPU-enabled virtual desktop ensures all visuals are processed instantly, giving you a real-time experience.
Smooth Video Playback
When you watch videos on a virtual desktop, does it take time to buffer? You may also experience that the audio and video are not in sync. GPU acceleration enables users to watch videos, even in 4K, as if they were watching them on their television.
It is because a GPU offloads the video decoding workloads from the CPU, ensuring faster processing of video frames. It is especially beneficial for online client meetings and webinars.
CPU Resource Management
A CPU working in tandem with a GPU reduces its utilization and increases efficiency. Using resource-intensive applications on a stand-alone CPU can overwhelm the CPU’s processing power and cause excessive heating or even malfunction.
However, with GPU acceleration, parallel processing tasks are offloaded to GPUs, reducing lag and increasing the CPU’s lifespan.
Running Diverse Workloads
Various workloads and applications, like Power BI and 3D modeling, are resource-intensive and can be run only on a GPU-accelerated virtual machine. Implementing GPU acceleration allows you to run diverse applications without worrying about lag. It empowers companies to provide high-end computing to remote staff or contractors without compromising performance.
Accomplishing Multiple Tasks
Employees use different applications and open multiple browsers simultaneously when working on a virtual desktop. It can cause lag as CPU utilization increases significantly. It also hampers the user experience, as switching between applications takes time. With GPU acceleration, employees can work on multiple applications without worrying about performance.
Real-time Video Conferencing
Video conferencing tools like Microsoft Teams utilize multiple functions, such as camera, mic, and screen sharing. They require real-time data processing, which can utilize considerable CPU resources.
Consequently, employees might experience frozen screens and dropped frames. GPU-powered virtual desktops enable real-time communications, easy data sharing, and more.
Benefits of Choosing GPU-Powered Hosted Virtual Desktops
GPU acceleration enhances virtual desktop performance. However, there are two ways to implement it. You can either deploy GPU-based virtual desktops in-house or choose hosted virtual desktop services, which are services offered by cloud providers that provide GPU-accelerated virtual desktops on a subscription basis.
Here are some perks of opting for hosted virtual desktops.
Multiple GPU Options
Various GPUs available in the market offer diverse capabilities. For instance, NVIDIA L40S specializes in inference tasks, whereas NVIDIA H100 can be used for NLP. The hosted VDI provider lets you choose from many GPUs. You can change the GPUs anytime as per your business requirements and pay accordingly.
No Total Cost of Ownership
In an in-house scenario, businesses must invest in hardware, tools, and physical space to create a GPU-enabled VDI environment. It elevates their capital expenses to a point where ROI seems implausible.
In the case of hosted virtual desktops, you are working remotely on virtual desktops hosted on the provider’s virtual desktop infrastructure. Therefore, capital expenses are reduced significantly.
Scalability
As the workforce expands, businesses need to provision more virtual desktops that work simultaneously. Not scaling the IT infrastructure could lead to total resource utilization, causing lag. However, scaling means investing in more hardware (servers, GPUs) and office space.
Hosted virtual desktop providers offer automated scalability on the cloud. Hence, whenever your business grows, you can provision as many desktops as you want without worrying about scalability.
Security
Data security is paramount to all businesses. Hosted virtual desktop providers offer advanced data security to protect your workload against the entire threat landscape. Some security measures include 256-bit data encryption, multi-factor authentication, Intrusion Detection and Prevention (DDoS), DDoS prevention, virus protection, and Identity and Access Management.
Disaster Recovery
A natural disaster can cause irreparable infrastructure damage and data loss to the VDI setup. Hosted virtual desktop providers deploy disaster recovery solutions that ensure continuous operations even in the case of a natural disaster.
Round-the-clock Customer Support
Hosted virtual desktop providers offer 24/7 customer support. Their expert team is capable of handling niche technical issues with ease. Moreover, they also take care of IT maintenance, monitoring, management, and upgrades. It enables you to have a compact in-house IT team, reducing IT overheads and efforts.
Guaranteed Uptime
Hosted virtual desktop providers are obligated to mention a guaranteed uptime in their SLA. The best providers offer uptime as high as 99.9% to customers, ensuring all-time availability and high-performance operations.
Switch to high-speed, secure Virtual Desktops built for performance, scalability, and your remote teams.
Adopt GPU Acceleration for a Lag-free Virtual Desktop Experience
Constant lag when accessing virtual desktops can frustrate your employees, degrading their productivity and experience. Lag can be caused by several issues, such as a lack of resources, network bandwidth issues, or running multiple applications. Adopting GPU acceleration enables parallel processing for virtual desktops, ensuring lag-free operations.
However, implementing GPU acceleration in-house can lead to added costs and efforts for your VDI team. A more viable alternative is to outsource it to a third-party hosted VDI provider. GPU-enabled hosted virtual desktop services give you access to high-performance desktops on a subscription basis.
Ace Cloud Hosting offers high-performance GPU-based virtual desktops with 24/7/365 customer support, disaster recovery, 99.99 percent uptime, enterprise-grade security, and more. You can customize the pricing plan according to the business requirements. Book a free consultation today or start your 7-day Free Trial Now!
