Achieve Low Latency and High Availability with Cloud Cache

Cloud Cache is an FSLogix solution that enables storage of FSLogix Profile and Office Container data in multiple locations on-premises and in the cloud, thus providing high availability to non-persistent Windows computing environments. In a Microsoft Azure environment, Cloud Cache saves frequently accessed (hot) data in a local cache, lowering latency. Organizations can leverage Cloud Cache for increased storage reliability and performance.

Definition of Profile Containers and Office Containers

FSLogix provides organizations with a reliable profile management solution, the hallmark features of which include Profile Containers, Office Containers and the aforementioned Cloud Cache.

Profile containers store user profiles in non-persistent virtual environments. You can use a location on your network to store Profile Containers to avoid copying potentially large user profiles from the server to the virtual desktop, which can increase login and logout times.

Office Containers store portions of the user profile that contain Microsoft 365 data, leading to performance improvements in Office applications in non-persistent virtual environments. For example, if you find large Outlook .ost files are loading slowly, you can use Office Containers to reduce the wait time significantly.

Profile Containers and Office Containers are used together to separate non-Office profile data from Office data. This way, when you encounter any issues with one or the other, you can delete the affected container and recreate it without impacting the unaffected part.

In a non-persistent Windows virtual environment, applications may not operate properly without workarounds when remote storage is used for profiles. Worst case, some applications are not supported entirely, e.g., OneDrive. With Profile and Office Containers, user profiles appear as if they are stored on a local drive, thus avoiding this issue.

If you’re using Windows 10, Microsoft 365 and Remote Desktop Services, and you meet FSLogix licensing requirements, you should look at how you can use these technologies, stand-alone or in combination with each other, for your non-persistent computing needs.

Improved Usage of Azure Storage with Cloud Cache

When used with Cloud Cache, Profile and Office Containers become highly available and high performing, since a local cache that is replicated across multiple remote locations is insulated from any issues related to network connectivity and storage. The advantage becomes more obvious when you use Cloud Cache on Azure.

Native support allows Cloud Cache to use Azure Page Blobs more efficiently. Because Azure charges storage fees based on capacity and activity, a local cache that optimizes read and write operations means lower overall costs since there are fewer operations performed on the cloud. There are also fewer roundtrips between the server and virtual desktops, allowing applications to enjoy full, native-like performance on the latter. Moreover, network resources are consumed more efficiently because traffic between server and desktop is minimized.

Cloud Cache separates your applications from their storage. This downtime is transparent to your desktops—they don’t impact your applications at all since everything is saved to the local cache first. Thus, there is no impact on your environment if the connection to your storage becomes unusable.

Automatic Replication of Container Data with Cloud Cache

Without Cloud Cache, you can configure a backup environment where a virtual desktop can transition from a main virtual hard disk (VHD) file to a backup one, in case of main VHD failure. Under this setup, data is replicated manually between the two separate VHD files. However, the replication process can be complicated since VHDs are locked during use. When the backup pushes through, it can also take a toll on your network resources.

Cloud Cache solves this issue by automatically replicating the data between the two locations. Moreover, you can also set multiple locations for your profile data. When one location goes down, another takes over seamlessly. Even setup is easy as there is no need to take one location offline while doing the replication. You can even add another location and wait for the data to propagate to it. Instead, Cloud Cache takes over and pushes the changes to the new location without impacting your other resources.

Use Cases for Cloud Cache

Cloud Cache offers several advantages over other profile management solutions, including the following:

Storage continuity without dependence on hardware: Since profile data can be spread over several locations on-premises, in the cloud or both, you can stop relying on storage hardware and its failover capabilities.
Easier backup of profile data: You don’t need to lock containers to back them up, preventing users from accessing them in the process. Instead, your backup becomes transparent to users—you can back up their data knowing that they will just be transitioned to another container in the meantime.
Migration of profiles without downtime: When migrating profiles, you can replicate data from the old to the new location without taking anything down. You can then transition users to the new profiles without impact.
Painless disaster recovery: With profile data available anywhere, your disaster recovery strategy is practically assured. Cloud Cache makes active-active failover, where profile data is available most of the time, a reality.
Easier transition to a Cloud-based environment: Desktops and applications running on the cloud are here to stay. Cloud Cache makes this transition easier since you can configure it to place your users’ profile data anywhere. It even allows you to back up profile data to another cloud provider so that in extreme cases where your primary provider fails, you can move your virtual desktops to the other cloud provider easily.

Managing FSLogix Profile Containers with Parallels RAS

Parallels® Remote Application Server (RAS) supports FSLogix Profile Containers out of the box. Using the Parallels RAS Console, you can manage and configure FSLogix Profile Containers easily, as if these are located on the local host.

Parallels RAS can automate the deployment of the FSLogix agent across your virtual desktops and physical machines. It can also configure your non-persistent Windows environment in a way that eliminates manual registry changes or scripts.

Check out how Parallels RAS makes it easy to manage FSLogix Profile Containers by downloading the trial.