Today's the big day. November 16, 2009. XenDesktop 4 is here! The final XD4 software has been posted to the Downloads page on MyCitrix and both Evaluation and Retail licenses are now available. Likewise, final XD4 documentation has been published on our eDocs site. So I'd like to publicly congratulate our Engineering team for delivering a truly outstanding product release. 

The enhancements in XenDesktop 4, summarized in a previous blog post, have resulted in the most comprehensive desktop virtualization solution on the planet. With FlexCast, we deliver the best desktop for each user in the organization; a hosted shared desktop (Terminal Services / RDS), a hosted VM-based desktop (now including Windows 7), a blade PC or rack workstation based desktop, a local streamed desktop, or virtual apps on a physical laptop or desktop. And our HDX technologies ensure an optimized user experience for every access scenario. You can learn about HDX in my recent 18-minute video seminar with Sridhar Mullapudi on CitrixTV, which includes demos of many new HDX features.

So download an evaluation copy and check it out for yourself. Now is the time to rethink your desktops and join our desktop virtualization revolution!

Derek Thorslund
Citrix Product Strategist, HDX

With the release last month of HDX 3D for Professional Graphics as a feature of XenDesktop, Citrix now offers two alternatives for delivering high-end 3D graphics from hosted applications. Let's compare these two solutions.

HDX 3D Pro Graphics on XenDesktop

Our premier solution for 3D professional graphics is based on hosted Windows desktops and works with either the XenDesktop 3 or XenDesktop 4 Desktop Delivery Controller. HDX 3D Pro Graphics features our most advanced technologies for data compression, making XenDesktop the best solution on the market for delivering 3D graphics to remote workers. For top level performance, we offer GPU-based compression, leveraging NVIDIA graphics processors with 96 or more CUDA cores. The compression level is automatically adjusted based on bandwidth. Just below that is CPU-based JPEG XR compression (no special GPU required). JPEG XR (the 'XR' stands for 'Extended Range'), formerly known as HD Photo, is an ISO/IEC standard for high dynamic range image encoding. These compression options are supported by the HDX 3D online plug-in for Windows, a special version of the ICA client. With advanced compression and other clever innovations, HDX 3D Pro Graphics delivers a good experience even at 2 Mbps and 200 ms roundtrip latency. And, of course, it delivers a high definition "like local" experience on high bandwidth, low latency connections.

Application compatibility is excellent with HDX 3D Pro Graphics because the applications run on a standard Windows XP operating system (and Windows 7 support is in development). It doesn't matter whether the applications use DirectX/Direct3D or OpenGL or whatever. HDX 3D supports True Color, important when a very large number of colors, shades, and hues need to be displayed, as with high quality photographic images or complex graphics. Customers are already using HDX 3D to work with models with more than a million parts, and 64-bit OS support is coming soon, which will enable huge amounts of memory to be addressed.

These comments from our customers sum it up best:
• So far this is the only product to have anywhere near acceptable performance
• Everyone is loving it
• 50 to 75% better than our existing solution
• In pure Swedish, it is "sh$@#ing good"!
• At 1.5 Mbps it is still very usable
• We have been extremely impressed

HDX 3D on XenApp for Windows Server 2008

For many organizations, HDX 3D on XenApp provides a great solution for delivering professional graphics, since Windows Server 2008 now enables a graphics card to be used for 3D rendering on Terminal Services / Remote Desktop Services. While hardware acceleration is limited to DirectX/Direct3D-based applications, that may be all you need depending on the specific applications your end users require. OpenGL based applications are CPU-rendered but they perform much faster on 64-bit Windows than on 32-bit so you may find that to be adequate. Of course, if you really need hardware acceleration for your OpenGL applications, go with HDX 3D Pro Graphics on XenDesktop.

Compression options with HDX 3D on XenApp are not quite as extensive as on XenDesktop but are generally sufficient for intracontinental WAN access. The highest level of compression is obtained by selecting Heavyweight JPEG, a special variant of JPEG that uses arithmetic encoding instead of the normal Huffman encoding. It gives a further reduction in bandwidth of around 10 to 20% without changing the pixel quality at all (compared to standard JPEG), at the cost of higher CPU consumption. With Progressive Display, users get a responsive experience even over WAN/Internet connections because images are delivered with lossier compression while being moved and quickly resolve to full resolution when motion stops.

A single graphics card in the server can support multiple concurrent users, depending on their usage characteristics. I spoke with a customer using an entry-level NVIDIA FX 370 GPU and they support four concurrent users on an HP 360 G5 server with a dual-core Xeon processor and 4 GB of memory running 32-bit Windows Server. They estimate that they will be able to support 12 to 16 simultaneous users on a dual quad-core server with 64-bit Windows Server and 32 GB of memory. Again, it depends on the application and the work profile of the users. A more powerful GPU, like the NVIDIA FX 5600 or 5800, will help with scalability, too.

HDX 3D on XenApp supports lossless compression (important in Healthcare), but color depth with DirectX hardware acceleration is currently limited to 16-bit High Color. True Color support (16 million colors) is offered with CPU-based rendering, and True Color with GPU hardware acceleration is planned for the near future, making HDX 3D on XenApp a great option for delivering PACS applications over hospital campus networks.

A Look Ahead

How will these technologies evolve in the future? 64-bit Windows XP and Windows 7 support is planned for HDX 3D Pro Graphics on XenDesktop, and True Color support is coming soon for HDX 3D on XenApp. Windows Server 2008 R2 is likely to bring some benefits, too. And as the graphics and hypervisor vendors introduce GPU virtualization, we expect to leverage that on both XenApp and XenDesktop; some exciting progress in this area is already happening in the lab. Expanding the VM Hosted Apps feature of XenApp to encompass 3D graphics apps would be a natural step.

Tell Us about Your Experience with HDX 3D

If you're using either of the HDX 3D technologies described above, I'm sure other customers would like to hear your story. Please tell us about the 3D applications you deliver, your data center and network, and how your users are benefiting.

Derek Thorslund
Citrix Product Strategist, HDX

The virtual desktop revolution is here! XenDesktop 4 further widens Citrix's competitive lead with FlexCast™ technology to deliver the best Windows desktop for everyone in the organization, from task worker to power user. And XenDesktop 4 is an HDX-focused release that provides the best "high definition" user experience in the desktop virtualization market, with better reliability and higher availability than a traditional PC.

From the more than 70 new features in this release, allow me to introduce you to some key new capabilities of XenDesktop 4:

• HDX MediaStream for Flash (client-side rendering). While server-side rendering remains Citrix's foundational approach for delivering multimedia content of all sorts, HDX MediaStream for Flash provides an outstanding optimization for Windows online plug-in (client) users on low latency network connections. Leveraging the user device for direct content fetching and rendering, it delivers a high definition user experience and improves server scalability and network bandwidth efficiency by an order of magnitude. This technology supports Flash animations, videos (including HD), and IE-based Flex apps, even video conferencing applications. Citrix competitors do not offer a client-side rendering option for Flash.
• HDX MediaStream enhanced delivery of server-rendered video. New dynamic frame rate adjustment works in conjunction with bandwidth estimation to optimize video and graphics delivery over WAN and Internet connections. Where bandwidth is plentiful, full frame rate (30 fps) server-rendered video delivery is now available by modifying a registry key [new default is about 24 fps]. When compared to competitors' server-side rendering, XenDesktop 4 uses significantly less bandwidth to deliver equivalent quality.
• Enhancements to HDX Adaptive Orchestration. SmartRendering has been enhanced with more intelligence to dynamically select between server-side and client-side video rendering. SmartRendering now considers not only user device type and codec availability but also the real-time bandwidth and latency of the network connection.
• FlexCast™ desktop delivery technology. Different types of workers across the enterprise need different types of desktops. Some require simplicity and standardization, while others need performance and personalization. With FlexCast™ delivery technology, IT can deliver the best desktop for every user, every time. XenDesktop 4 is much more than just a VDI solution. For task workers where personalization is not needed or desired, XenDesktop 4 supports Hosted Shared Desktops, providing a locked down, streamlined and standardized environment with the lowest cost per user. For design engineers and other power users, HDX 3D for Professional Graphics delivers GPU-enabled desktops hosted on blade or rack workstations.
• Expanded USB support, including webcams. HDX Plug-n-Play now supports isochronous USB remoting, enabling LAN-connected users to plug in a webcam and enjoy HDX RealTime video conferencing with popular applications such as Microsoft Office Communicator and Skype. This release also supports specialized keyboards (in particular, the Bloomberg keyboard) and dictation devices such as the Philips SpeechMike.
• Media Foundation support for HDX MediaStream client-side rendering. Media Foundation (MF) is Microsoft's new framework for digital media, used by Windows Media Player for certain media types on Windows Vista and Windows 7. With XenDesktop 4, multimedia rendering through Media Foundation can, depending on network latency and packet loss, be offloaded from the XenDesktop VDA server onto the user's Windows or Linux device, greatly improving server scalability. Media Foundation support extends our HDX MediaStream competitive advantage to the latest Windows platforms.
• New audio codec technology. With the new "Optimized for speech" codec, HDX RealTime delivers clear audio quality to softphone and voice chat users with very modest bandwidth consumption (less than 20 Kbps). HDX MediaStream server-rendered video and music playback benefits from the new "High definition" codec which provides CD-like sound quality. These enhancements leverage version 11.2 of the Citrix online plug-in for Windows.
• HDX Plug-n-Play flexible multi-monitor support. Application compatibility with multi-monitor configurations has been improved and users now have greater control via the Desktop Viewer toolbar. Supported multi-monitor configurations include special arrangements such as U, L, T, reverse L and inverse T. Screens can be of different sizes, resolutions and orientations.
• Expanded OS support, including Windows 7. The XenDesktop 4 VDA platform introduces support for Windows 7 (non-Aero) 32-bit and 64-bit, Windows Vista 64-bit and Windows XP 64-bit. With XenDesktop 4, migrating to Windows 7 is as fast and simple as configuring a single master image and assigning users. In addition, the new Citrix online plug-in 11.2 and Web Interface 5.2 releases both support user devices running Windows 7. Smartcard support has been added for Windows 7 and Windows Vista, for Windows online plug-in users.
• HDX IntelliCache with Citrix Branch Repeater provides tokenized compression and data de-duplication, dramatically reducing bandwidth requirements and improving performance for users at branch office locations. XenDesktop 4 Platinum Edition has been tested with Branch Repeater 5.5. Our measurements indicate a 25 times reduction in bandwidth when using HDX IntelliCache with HDX MediaStream to deliver videos to branch offices.
• Single sign-on and password control are now included with XenDesktop 4 Platinum Edition, powered by Citrix Password Manager 4.6 SP1, increasing application security while providing users with fast, automated logon to Web, Windows and host-based applications.  
• Service level monitoring and reporting. XenDesktop 4 Platinum Edition offers enhanced EdgeSight technology to monitor, alert, troubleshoot, and report on the Citrix XenDesktop infrastructure. Administrators can quickly determine where a problem may exist and take action to deliver higher service levels. New summary reports now make it easier than ever to manage a XenDesktop implementation.
• New EasyCall™ features. With EasyCall call forwarding, users can make and receive voice calls when they're out of the office, using the office telephone system. EasyCall reduces telephone expenses while providing users the convenience of click-to-call dialing right from their virtual desktop. A new portal, accessible from browsers and iPhones, empowers users to add EasyCall conferences to their calendar and manage call forwarding to multiple telephone numbers.
• Active Directory multi-forest support enables virtual desktops to be delivered to users located in different Active Directory forests from that in which the XenDesktop infrastructure servers are registered.
• Site Failover provides a disaster recovery, high availability solution in conjunction with Citrix NetScaler™. Web Interface now supports configuration of a list of disaster recovery farms. When none of the farms in the normal farm list can be reached, Web Interface will automatically try the farms in the disaster recovery list.
• Site Roaming enables a user to travel to a site served by a different data center, logon at a Citrix Ready thin client, and connect to his or her own virtual desktop even though it is not hosted at that site. Users can always access their own virtual desktops and data, regardless of where they connect from.
• RDP support. XenDesktop 4 enables users on a locked-down device where they cannot install the Citrix Receiver or online plug-in to access their virtual desktop using RDP. This capability also simplifies moving up to XenDesktop from other desktop virtualization solutions.
• Extended SDK. The Citrix WFAPI SDK is a collection of APIs allowing software developers and system administrators to access specific features of XenDesktop. It has been extended to add several new functions requested by the development community.

No doubt about it, with XenDesktop 4 the desktop virtualization revolution has begun! Find out more at www.citrix.com/xendesktop4.

Derek Thorslund
Citrix Product Strategist, HDX

Learn more about Citrix XenDesktop 4

• Official Press Release - http://citrix.com/xd4/pressrelease
• XenDesktop 4 Virtual Launch Event - http://citrix.com/citrixlive
• XenDesktop 4 Web Site - http://citrix.com/xd4
• XenDesktop 4 Executive Video - http://citrix.com/xd4/video
• XenDesktop Developer Network - http://community.citrix.com/cdn/xd
• XenDesktop 4 Blogs- http://citrix.com/xd4/blogs
• XenDesktop Product Page - http://citrix.com/xendesktop/

Follow XenDesktop on http://twitter.com/xendesktop

As announced on August 31st, HDX 3D for Professional Graphics is now available for download. There's also lots of great documentation on HDX 3D Pro Graphics now on our Support site (scroll down to the bottom of the Product Documentation for XenDesktop 3 page). Or if you are just looking for a high-level overview, be sure to visit hdx.citrix.com.

Here are some highlights of this new XenDesktop feature:

• Supports the delivery of 3D professional graphics applications, both OpenGL and DirectX based, which need graphics hardware (GPU) acceleration for optimal performance.
• Works as an add-on to XenDesktop 3 and XenDesktop 3 Feature Pack 1.
• Automatically adjusts compression based on bandwidth and available resources. Delivers full HDX user experience on a LAN (100 Mbps) and very usable, interactive experience over a WAN (2 Mbps or above, with up to about 200 ms roundtrip latency). Makes desktop virtualization viable and practical for design engineers, architects, and other professional graphics users.
• Supports high resolution monitors (e.g. 1920 x 1200). For best results over limited bandwidth WAN connections, resolutions of 1280 x 1024 or below are recommended.
• Provides a real-time image quality configuration tool with an easy way to switch between a sharper image or smoother motion (great when working on  a limited bandwidth connection).
• HDX 3D host workstation (e.g. blade or rack workstation in the data center) is supported on Windows XP SP3 32-bit Professional.
• HDX 3D online plug-in for Windows (client) is supported on Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Vista. The plug-in is supported on both 32-bit and 64-bit OS versions.

Download a free Eval and try it out!

Derek Thorslund
HDX Product Strategist

The Support Forum for our HDX MediaStream for Flash trial release recently included a post that raises some interesting concerns about how client-side rendering fits with the server-based computing model. To paraphrase the post:

"Citrix has always been the server-based computing company that wanted everything moved into the datacenter. That includes all code execution. Now, with HDX, some of the code is executed on the endpoint, which means it's not SBC all the way anymore. Moving execution code to the endpoint means you will create application dependencies at some point. It's not only KVM that's sent to the endpoint anymore. My opinion is that SBC should always be client platform independent."

A great impetus for me to shed some light on Citrix's strategy for HDX and multimedia virtualization...

Although the term "server-based computing" is no longer in vogue, there's no denying the tremendous benefits of centralizing the complicated stuff in the data center where it's easier to manage. And strategically, we view server-side rendering of multimedia content (including Flash) as a critical, core capability. This is the foundational technology that covers all the bases. Server-side rendering works whether the content is Flash or Silverlight or Windows Media or QuickTime or whatever. Server-side rendering works regardless of whether the user device (client) has the applicable media player (e.g. Adobe Flash Player) installed on it, or the applicable codec. And it works with all operating systems for which we offer our client or Citrix Receiver online app plug-in. Therefore, we've continued to invest in improving the delivery of server-rendered multimedia content with new codec technology and other technological advances.

But client-side rendering can be used opportunistically to great advantage when it fits. In those cases, offloading media processing to the endpoint reduces the load on the server and helps improve overall server scalability (number of concurrent users), sometimes by as much as an order of magnitude. Eliminating rendering and recompression on the server also generally results in less network bandwidth consumption since the native media format is already highly compressed.

My view is that there's a fine line here. Running a browser plug-in like the Adobe Flash Player on the endpoint may be about as far as many customers would want to go with client-side media processing. Why? As you go farther, you increase the complexity of managing the user device and could lose a key benefit of the virtual desktop model (although client-side virtualization technologies can certainly mitigate that). 

So it all comes back to HDX Adaptive Orchestration, which is the key to our multimedia virtualization strategy. HDX Adaptive Orchestration includes SmartRendering, which intelligently and dynamically evaluates available resources (user device, network, server) and determines whether to stick with the foundational technology of server-side rendering or opportunistically leverage the endpoint device. Administrative policies factor in, too, especially when there are security and management considerations.

With upcoming improvements to frame rate (already 20 fps in XenDesktop 3 FP1) and audio quality (see my video on project Ulysses), server-based multimedia delivery keeps getting better. But even though it can deliver an excellent multimedia user experience, that will always come at the cost of server capacity and network bandwidth. So a multi-dimensional solution that can leverage client-side resources if they're available provides the best of both worlds. 

Derek Thorslund
HDX Product Strategist & Sr. Manager, XenDesktop Product Management

I've noticed more and more inquiries lately about delivering softphones using virtualization technology. XenApp 5 for Windows Server 2008 and XenDesktop 3 Feature Pack 1 introduced audio subsystem enhancements that now enable online softphone delivery with voice-over-ICA using the Bidirectional Audio feature of HDX RealTime. And some softphones, like Cisco IP Communicator, can be delivered to the user device with our offline plug-in. But understandably, not everyone is ready to take the plunge and throw away their telephones! So it is very interesting to hear the comments of customers who are using XenApp or XenDesktop to deliver softphones in "control mode" where the softphone application is used together with a physical telephone set. They're experiencing valuable benefits despite taking a more cautious approach to IP telephony.

Awhile back, I blogged about publishing the Avaya IP Softphone. Yesterday I had a chat with Tom Balthasar of Cellino and Barnes, a law firm in New York State that uses a ShoreTel IP phone system and delivers ShoreTel's Call Manager softphone to over one hundred employees using Citrix technology. Tom provides his users with complete virtual desktops that they can access whether they're in the office or remote. With Call Manager, users find it very convenient to dial from the directory rather than punch in numbers on the keypad. And they get visual access to voice mail and PBX features. When there's a weather emergency, employees can work remotely using Call Manager along with their home telephone or mobile phone. When they make outbound calls with Call Manager, the ShoreTel IP phone system calls them first, and then adds the called party. The Caller ID seen by the person they're calling shows "Cellino and Barnes", transparently maintaining the same service as if they were in the office.

The PBX operators use ShoreWare Operator Call Manager, also delivered as an online application, which gives them advanced call management features and shows them the status of all lines. If an operator is out due to illness or vacation, an operator at another location can easily fill in.

Tom loves the fact that his IT department doesn't need to maintain applications like Call Manager on each user's PC. Everything is centralized in his data center. All his users need is the Citrix online plug-in.

ShoreTel announced Citrix Ready certification of the ShoreWare Call Manager suite in 2008. 

Derek Thorslund
HDX Product Strategist & Sr. Manager, XenDesktop Product Management

In case you missed it, here's a very short video by Michel Buis that showcases the performance of the trial release of HDX MediaStream for Flash in delivering a Flash animation.

I was recently chatting with one of my contacts in the GIS space about 3D graphics delivery from XenApp and XenDesktop, and he passed on an intriguing observation from a mutual customer. Apparently, on the same hardware, OpenGL applications perform much better under 64-bit Windows Server than they do under the 32-bit OS.

ESRI ArcScene, for example, is a 32-bit OpenGL application with 3D graphics. Running on XenApp, the graphics rendering is done in software -- that is, by the CPU -- since Windows Terminal Services does not provide GPU acceleration for OpenGL (you'll need our Prism technology for that). The rendered graphics can then be delivered over a WAN/Internet connection using HDX 3D Progressive Display. On 32-bit Windows Server, the performance of the 3D rendering was disappointing, but on the 64-bit OS it is very usable. I'm not sure why; we have a hunch that it might be thanks to the 64-bit OS being able to leverage the SSE4 registers on the CPU.

If you have any insights on this, or any experience running OpenGL apps on XenApp under Windows Server 64-bit, please share your comments!

Derek Thorslund
HDX Product Strategist

I posted a high-level training video (webinar style) about the trial release of HDX MediaStream for Flash on Citrix TV (the Underground channel) a few weeks ago. Meant to blog about it sooner, but now you know!  

Derek

P.S. If you've had a chance to evaluate the trial release, please complete our brief survey.

Are you using Wyse V class thin clients? Then I think you'll be interested in this new Tech Preview release from Wyse.

TCX Flash Redirection is a complementary solution to HDX MediaStream for Flash that enables users of Wyse thin clients to experience improved Flash performance. How does it compare with HDX MediaStream for Flash? Whereas HDX MediaStream for Flash is currently just for Windows-based PCs and thin clients, TCX Flash Redirection supports Wyse Thin OS (WTOS) 6.3.0.

TCX Flash Redirection doesn't actually redirect the native Flash media stream to the client; the Flash Player still runs server-side. So I wouldn't expect any substantial improvement in server scalability. But the resulting images are "redirected" over a separate virtual channel, allowing for greater control of frame rate and compression, thereby delivering an improved user experience. Also, TCX Flash Redirection works together with TCX Rich Sound to provide high quality audio.

You can see TCX Flash Redirection in action on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4rPs84-FgY.

The solution works both with XenDesktop (Windows XP Pro and Vista VMs) and with XenApp (Windows Server 2003).

Here's some early feedback from a customer in Australia: "I am using [Wyse] V10L 6.3.0 on Citrix [XenApp] PS 4.5 and the Flash stuff is GREAT!"

Param Desai, Director of Product Management at Wyse, informs me that the Tech Preview is publicly available for customers via Wyse systems engineers and sales managers. So try it out and let us know what you think!

Derek Thorslund
Product Strategist, HDX Multimedia Virtualization

In case you missed it, there's a brief video up on Citrix TV in which Thomas Nikl of our Advanced Solutions Group shows the latest iteration of project Prism (which you may remember as the 3D Accelerated Bitmap Remoting subproject of Apollo/HDX). Prism is an enhancement to HDX 3D for XenDesktop focused on delivering high-end professional graphics applications (e.g. CAD, CAM, GIS) to remote users. Prism leverages GPU hardware on the host (typically a blade or rack mount workstation) to render the OpenGL or DirectX graphics, then uses advanced compression technology to deliver the resulting images over a standard DSL or equivalent Internet connection. Look closely and you'll notice that this recent build supports Windows XP virtual desktops (whereas my previous post on this topic showed a Vista desktop).

 
Derek Thorslund
Product Strategist, HDX Multimedia Virtualization

Have you had a look at the trial release of HDX MediaStream for Flash yet? Early feedback has been very positive. Jason Langone of Infinite Group / Systems ArchiTECH.com wrote this of his experience with HDX MediaStream for Flash: "The first time I walked by a XenDesktop virtual instance playing a video on YouTube I had NO idea it was a virtual desktop. Yes, it's that good." Check it out! The benefits of HDX are clear.

Here are some of the comments we've received so far from folks evaluating HDX MediaStream for Flash:

• "It works great -- just like watching it on the desktop."
• "Very impressive!"
• "Wow, quality looks great!"
• "It works really well. I have compared performance with and without it, and it is pretty impressive."
  

So give it a try and let us know what you think!

Derek Thorslund
Product Strategist, HDX Multimedia Virtualization

[May 20: This post originally contained the video by Michel Buis that is referenced in Jason Langone's recent article as being "indicative" of the results he experienced with HDX MediaStream for Flash, but since Michel's video shows Windows Media Player rather than Flash, that created some confusion and I have removed it. I'll write a new post shortly with a video of HDX MediaStream for Flash playing YouTube content, which is the experience that Jason wrote about. Meanwhile, you can see this technology playing a high definition Flash video in my earlier blog post with David Stone.]

XenDesktop 3 Feature Pack 1 is now available for download, and with it, a Trial Release of HDX MediaStream for Flash. The trial release (downloadable here) also supports XenApp on Windows Server 2003 and 2008.

Try it out! Here are some cool websites that highlight the superior performance of this new technology:

• StarTrekMovie.com
• MarkeTrac.NYSE.com
• 007.com
• FreedomAndPartners.com
• Tokbox.com (video chat)
• IKEA.com 

Enjoy!

Derek Thorslund
Product Strategist, HDX Multimedia Virtualization

The upcoming release of Feature Pack 1 for XenDesktop 3 in early May marks two significant steps forward in the delivery of Adobe Flash content from XenDesktop.

First of all, a Trial Release of HDX MediaStream for Flash is being introduced that offloads the rendering of Flash content to the user's Windows PC or Windows XP Embedded desktop appliance. This results in a "high definition" user experience when using Internet Explorer to access Flash content including animations, videos and applications. And it reduces server and network load, resulting in higher scalability. The Trial Release, suitable for "proof-of-concept" evaluations, will give the market an early look at the industry's first and only Flash acceleration solution for virtual desktops.

Comments from customers who participated in our alpha program for this new technology were extremely positive. One wrote: "It's a lot of fun impressing my co-workers with the performance, especially with our training content. Another way I like to 'flex the muscles' of Flash acceleration is to go to www.gametrailers.com, open a high definition Flash video in a published IE instance and watch it run with super smooth performance with nearly no impact on the Citrix server. It's jaw dropping to those who are familiar with the old limitations of Flash and Citrix." Some people have even been using this technology for Flash-based video conferencing (yes, you can plug in a webcam!) and to run Adobe Flex applications. And by the way (I'm sure Sridhar will blog about this), the Trial Release supports XenApp, too!

Secondly, Feature Pack 1 also introduces improved performance for server-side video rendering. This is valuable for customers unable to run the Flash Player on the user's access device. With Feature Pack 1, you'll notice a marked improvement in video quality thanks to an increase in frame rate and other optimizations. Besides benefiting server-rendered Flash content, this improves QuickTime and Silverlight video playback, too. In fact, it also delivers a better experience with PowerPoint animations and similar effects. And even when available network bandwidth is less than ideal, XenDesktop continues to deliver a decent video experience while other solutions degenerate into a "slide show".

81% of Citrix customers surveyed need to deliver training videos and eLearning courses to their users, and many of these are Flash-based. Add to that the widespread use of Flash on web sites and the growth of Flash-based applications, and there's no doubt that these two big advances in Flash content delivery will be a hit.

Derek Thorslund
Product Strategist, HDX Multimedia Virtualization

If you have a Direct3D based application that consumes a lot of CPU running on Windows Server 2003, consider hosting it on XenApp 5 for Windows Server 2008. The reason? Under WS08, Direct3D apps can take advantage of graphics processing hardware on the server to do the graphics rendering. As a result, you'll likely find that you can provide better performance to your users and increase the number of concurrent users per server compared to using software rendering (see my earlier blog post). The one key limitation is that the apps must run in 16-bit (5-6-5) color mode ("High color") since the solution does not currently support 24-bit or 32-bit color. Also, running on a hypervisor is not yet possible, until the hypervisor and graphics vendors introduce GPU virtualization technology.

DirectX hardware acceleration can be used together with the Progressive Display feature of HDX 3D. One customer recently commented that the bandwidth requirement to deliver a particular Direct3D graphics application with good performance using these technologies was 1.5 Mbps for the first user plus 0.5 Mbps for each successive user. This has made XenApp a very attractive platform for delivering the application to their remote users.

Derek Thorslund
Product Strategist, HDX Multimedia Virtualization

As I promised in my blog post about SmartRendering (a key aspect of HDX Adaptive Orchestration), here's a video that demonstrates a new Citrix technology for leveraging the graphics processor on the user's PC or deskop appliance to locally render DirectX graphics. HDX Adaptive Orchestration queries the graphics capabilities of the endpoint device and intelligently determines how to combine client-side and server-side rendering. Furthermore, rendering decisions can be made based on available network bandwidth or application characteristics. The result is a high definition user experience, increased server scalability and optimal use of network bandwidth. This video shows how the Windows Aero desktop and WPF-based data visualization applications can be delivered using DirectX command remoting while an OpenGL-based GIS application is delivered using accelerated bitmap remoting.

Derek Thorslund
Product Strategist, Multimedia Virtualization

The senior architect at a major bank recently told me how they use Wyse TCX USB Virtualizer to deliver the Cisco IP Communicator softphone from XenDesktop to LAN-connected users. The Wyse V10L thin clients are equipped with Netcom GN 2000 USB headsets. He reports that the audio quality over USB is "excellent" and bandwidth consumption appears to be minimal. Sounds like a great solution for delivering potentially any softphone from XenDesktop to Wyse thin clients and desktop appliances!

So what about users who don't have a Wyse thin client? As part of the expansion of our HDX RealTime technologies, Citrix is near to completing the development of an enhanced audio subsystem for XenDesktop, comparable to what we have in XenApp 5 for Windows Server 2008. The HDX RealTime audio subsystem will provide broad compatibility with softphones and the "voice chat" feature of Unified Communications applications. And later this year, look for news of further enhancements to HDX RealTime with the Ulysses audio codec technology that I blogged about some time ago, designed to provide outstanding audio quality with minimal bandwidth consumption. These enhancements are aimed at improving the multimedia virtual desktop experience for on-premises users while establishing a foundation for future support of VoIP for remote workers.

Derek Thorslund
Product Strategist, Multimedia Virtualization

Interested in Multimedia Virtualization? Here are some new capabilities that we are now announcing:

• HDX MediaStream for XenDesktop. HDX is a set of technologies designed to deliver a high-definition user experience for virtual desktops and applications. HDX MediaStream accelerates the delivery of a variety of multimedia formats including WMV (and WMV HD), WMA, MP3, and MPEG-4. This is done by leveraging the power of the endpoint device to render the multimedia content. HDX Adaptive Orchestration (see my SmartRendering blog post) provides for automatic fallback to server-side rendering if the client is not equipped for local rendering.

• HDX MediaStream for Linux. Version 11.0 of the Linux client will soon be available for download, introducing multimedia acceleration just as in our Win32 and WinCE plug-ins. This client supports both XenDesktop and XenApp.
  
  

Also, the new 11.1 version of the Citrix Desktop Receiver, introduced in conjunction with XenDesktop 3, offers improved performance for LAN users by making better use of available network bandwidth. This enhancement, part of HDX Broadcast, is especially valuable when working with graphics and multimedia.

And there's more to come . . . I just need more time to blog!

Derek Thorslund
Product Strategist, Multimedia Virtualization

A key strategic concept that guides the Citrix Multimedia Virtualization Initiative (project Apollo) is "SmartRendering". This term describes the intelligent, automated combination of server-side and client-side rendering of graphics and media streams. SmartRendering considers such factors as the attributes of the application, the capabilities of the client and the server, and the characteristics of the network, to ensure an optimal user experience and the most efficient use of computing resources.

Many exciting new developments lie ahead as we extend SmartRendering to how we will deliver Aero desktops (introduced in Vista and enhanced in Microsoft's upcoming Windows 7 release with "Aero Peek"), next generation applications (such as data visualization applications built on Windows Presentation Foundation), Flash videos (including HD videos rendered with Adobe's H.264 codec) and 3D professional graphics (OpenGL and DirectX).

Although SmartRendering is a technology with lots of innovation and evolution still to come, it already plays an important part in how XenApp and XenDesktop deliver multimedia/graphics content in our currently shipping releases. Our software continually monitors the network and dynamically adjusts how it sends data to the client. And it constantly makes decisions about how best to render the GDI/GDI+ graphics used in most applications today. Often, SmartRendering will send GDI commands over the wire to be rendered by the graphics processor (GPU) on the client device, offloading the server to maximize scalability. In other cases, SmartRendering will determine that it is more efficient to render the graphics on the server and send a compressed bitmap image over the wire, with SuperCaching to eliminate redundant transmissions.

SpeedScreen Multimedia Acceleration, based on Citrix's RAVE technology and included with XenApp since Presentation Server 3.0 (introduced in 2004), also employs SmartRendering. If the user's device is capable of decoding a video using its own resources, SpeedScreen Multimedia Acceleration leverages the client's CPU and the appropriate codec, with automatic fallback to server-side rendering when needed. The result is a high definition user experience and outstanding server scalability. Very soon, you'll see this feature in XenDesktop, too, and supported by our Linux plugin (client) for both XenApp and XenDesktop.

Other vendors are starting to implement similar techniques. Wyse offers TCX Multimedia and has announced its Collaborative Processing Architecture which "intelligently divides the workload between the server and client, reducing the need for larger servers". And Microsoft's upcoming Windows Server 2008 R2 release will deliver multimedia content "by redirecting multimedia files and streams so that audio and video content is sent in its original format from the server to the (Windows 7) client and rendered using the client's local media playback capabilities."

In an upcoming blog post, I plan to show you a video demonstration of a new SmartRendering capability now under development at Citrix that leverages a DirectX 9 or better graphics processor on the endpoint for client-side rendering of the full Aero desktop experience. And it doesn't require Vista or Windows 7 on the user's device. So stay tuned because SmartRendering is going to get even more powerful!

Derek Thorslund
Product Strategist, Multimedia Virtualization

In this 4-minute video I interview Nitin Desai, team lead for the 3D professional graphics subproject of our Apollo multimedia virtualization initiative, and he demonstrates a high-end CAD application - CATIA V5.19 from Dassault - running on XenDesktop with graphics hardware acceleration. This technology, available as a Tech Preview, enables organizations to deliver DirectX and OpenGL applications and large 3D models over DSL-like network connections while keeping their intellectual property safe within the data center.

Derek Thorslund
Product Strategist, Multimedia Virtualization