Overview and Architecture

MacStadium VDI: Apple Silicon hosts, Orka Engine virtualization, Ansible provisioning, and Citrix VDA. macOS virtual desktops without shipping hardware.

MacStadium VDI delivers enterprise-grade macOS virtual desktops accessible from anywhere, combining Apple hardware, Orka Engine virtualization, Ansible-based orchestration, and the Virtual Desktop solution of your choice (Citrix VDA for macOS is the example we’ll use in these guides). This solution extends your existing Citrix investment to include macOS, enabling:

• Rapid provisioning of macOS VMs in minutes instead of weeks
• Flexible deployments across any Apple Silicon hardware, data center, or cloud vendor
• Repeatable macOS VMs that simplify workload virtualization and support hybrid environments
• Data security with centralized storage and VM management
• MDM integration supporting tools like JAMF and Kandji for desktop configuration

Unlike traditional approaches requiring physical Mac procurement and shipping, MacStadium VDI provides instant access to macOS resources through familiar Citrix Workspace clients.

Prerequisites

• A macOS device with Apple Silicon
• MacStadium VDI software installed
• A VM or container configured to run generated Ansible playbooks
• macOS 13 (Ventura), 14 (Sonoma), 15 (Sequoia), or Tahoe (26) Note: macOS Tahoe is supported by Engine and the Citrix VDA. The HP Anyware engine Cloud Access only supports access through macOS Sequoia.

For Citrix VDI deployments:

• Firewall and network configured as outlined in: System Requirements | Citrix Virtual Delivery Agent for macOS
• An active Citrix DaaS or CVAD subscription
• Citrix Workspace app 2402 or later
• Citrix VDA for macOS downloaded to your macOS device from Citrix Downloads.

Architecture Diagram

Citrix VDA for macOS supports macOS Ventura (13), Sonoma (14), Sequoia (15), and Tahoe (26). MacStadium provides multiple base images to choose from during provisioning. Note that Intel-based Mac devices are not supported.

For the latest compatibility information, see: Citrix VDA for macOS documentation.

Supported Hardware Platforms

MacStadium VDI supports any Apple Silicon Mac that meets the following specifications:

Minimum specifications per Orka host:

• Apple Silicon processor (any M-series chip)
• 8GB RAM
• 512GB storage
• 1GB Ethernet
• macOS 13 (Ventura) or later

Recommended specifications per Orka host:

• M2 Pro, M4 Pro, or higher
• 16GB+ RAM (32GB+ recommended for high-density deployments)
• 1TB+ storage
• 10GB Ethernet (recommended)
• macOS 14 (Sonoma), 15 (Sequoia), or 26 (Tahoe)

Apple licensing limitation: Each physical Mac can run a maximum of two concurrent macOS VMs due to Apple’s EULA restrictions. To deploy additional VMs, provision additional physical Mac hosts.

Capacity planning

The 2-VM-per-host ceiling is the constraint that shapes every MacStadium VDI deployment. Here’s how to size from it.

Resource overhead per host:

• Host OS and Orka Engine: ~2GB RAM, ~20GB disk
• Each Citrix VDA VM: 4-8GB RAM (8GB recommended for development workloads)
• Usable RAM per host after overhead: total RAM minus 2GB

Hosts needed by user count:

Concurrent users	Hosts needed	Notes
10	5	Minimum viable pilot
25	13
50	25
100	50

This assumes one VM per concurrent user. For dedicated (persistent) deployments, size for your total user count, not just peak concurrency — each user holds a VM whether or not they’re logged in. For pooled (non-persistent) deployments, size for your expected peak concurrency, typically 60-80% of total users.

RAM guidance by deployment type:

Workload	RAM per VM	Recommended host spec
Standard office / browser-based	4GB	16GB host RAM
Developer / Xcode / compilation	8GB	32GB+ host RAM
Heavy creative / ML inference	8-16GB	64GB+ host RAM (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.

MacStadium hosted: Select any bare metal Mac configuration meeting the above requirements from Cloud-hosted Bare Metal Macs | MacStadium

On-premises deployment: Any supported Mac model works provided it meets the minimum specifications listed above.

Required Accounts and Credentials

• Orka Engine access
• Citrix Cloud/DaaS credentials (or alternative VDI tool credentials)
• Ansible control node access
• macOS device credentials