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Confirm everything on this page is in place before you start deploying MacStadium VDI. Items that vary by deployment model are called out in each section.

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Mac hosts

Apple’s software license agreement limits each host to two concurrent macOS VMs. Plan your host count accordingly: divide your peak concurrent user count by two and round up.

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Hardware specifications

MacStadium VDI supports any Apple silicon Mac meeting the following requirements. Intel-based Macs are not supported.
SpecificationMinimumRecommended
ProcessorApple silicon (any M-series)M2 Pro, M4 Pro, or higher
RAM8 GB32 GB
Storage256 GB1 TB+
Ethernet1 GbE10 GbE
macOS13 (Ventura) or later14 (Sonoma), 15 (Sequoia), or 26 (Tahoe)
MacStadium provisions and manages the Mac hardware. Contact your MacStadium account team to confirm host availability and reserve capacity before you begin setup.

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Control plane

The control plane runs on a dedicated machine separate from your Mac hosts. It hosts Docker (for the management UI) and acts as the Ansible control node.
RequirementMinimum
Operating systemmacOS or Linux
CPU2 vCPUs
RAM4 GB
Disk20 GB
NetworkSSH access to all Mac hosts

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Software

Install the following on the control plane machine before setup:
SoftwarePurpose
Docker and Docker ComposeRuns the management UI
AnsibleRuns orchestration playbooks
uvPython package manager used by the orchestration layer
Python 3.xRequired by Ansible and the orchestration layer
sshpassRequired for Ansible playbooks that SSH into VMs via the host as a jump proxy

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Accounts and licenses

ItemNotes
MacStadium accountRequired for all deployments
Orka Engine license keyProvided by MacStadium at onboarding
VDI broker subscriptionAny platform that supports macOS VDI, such as Citrix DaaS or HP Anyware
AWS account with EC2 Mac capacitySelf-Hosted (AWS) only

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VDI broker

Before setup, confirm you have:
  • An active VDI broker subscription and Delivery Controller configured
  • The installer for macOS (for Citrix DaaS, a .dmg file; MacStadium recommends hosting it in S3 with a presigned URL)
  • An enrollment token for registering VMs with your Delivery Controller

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Identity provider

MacStadium VDI uses your VDI broker’s identity integration. You need one of the following:
  • Active Directory (on-premises or Microsoft Entra ID)
  • Okta
  • Any SAML 2.0-compatible provider your VDI broker supports
No MacStadium-specific identity configuration is required. Supported platforms: Jamf, Kandji, and Intune. MDM is not required to run VMs, but it’s the recommended way to manage configuration profiles, compliance reporting, and app deployment in production. If you plan to use MDM, have your MDM server URL and an enrollment invitation ready before you seal your golden image. See MDM enrollment for a full walkthrough.

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Capacity planning

Use the following to size your deployment before onboarding.

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Host count

Each host runs a maximum of two macOS VMs. Divide your peak concurrent user count by 2 and round up, then add 10 to 15 percent for maintenance windows, rolling updates, and peak headroom.
Concurrent usersHosts needed
105
2513
5025
10050
For dedicated (persistent) desktops, size for your total user count rather than peak concurrency: each user holds a VM whether they’re logged in or not. For pooled (non-persistent) desktops, size for peak concurrency, typically 60 to 80 percent of total users.

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VM resource defaults

ResourceDefault
vCPUs per VM2
RAM per VM4,096 MB
Max VMs per host2 (Apple EULA)

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RAM guidance by workload

Workload typeRAM per VMRecommended host RAM
Standard office / browser-based4 GB16 GB
Developer / Xcode / compilation8 GB32 GB
Heavy creative / ML inference8 to 16 GB64 GB+ (Mac Studio)
Start conservative. MacStadium hosted deployments can add nodes without re-architecting. It’s easier to add hosts than to right-size VM RAM after users are in production.