Recently, I have heard many talk about how to deliver better application experience over WAN to branch users with flat or shrinking IT budgets?

Is delivering a better IT experience to branch or mobile users truly "priceless"? Or do you really need to demonstrate ROI?

It usually takes a lot longer than a year for something to become a 'cliche'. But the current global economic recession has created one of the quickest 'cliches' - 'Flat is the new Growth!' - flat revenues, and flat IT budgets alike.

Faced with flat or shrinking IT budgets, many organizations are clearly and rigorously prioritizing the highest ROI projects, focusing on doing more with less. Increasingly, the following lexicon has taken on a new level of significance and has become part of the IT budgeting process - time-to-ROI, payback time, hard or direct ROI, soft or indirect ROI and so on.

WAN Optimization is one of the very few technologies where IT spend is actually growing while spend on many other technologies is shrinking. In earlier blogs, I blogged about how good the user experience can be with the right WAN optimization solution. But if you are an IT decision maker, you are looking for hard dollar ROI to justify those investments.

We recently published a web-based ROI calculator, designed to show our customers the great savings opportunities available with Citrix Branch Repeater for XenApp and XenDesktop customers. Why don't you try out the calculator and let us know your feedback? We are looking to updating this tool soon based on your feedback.

You may cut and paste the URL in your browser: http://www.citrix.com/English/ps2/products/feature.asp?contentID=1858204.

I look forward to your comments or feedback.

Happy ROI!,

Sai

When Citrix first announced NetScaler VPX at Synergy in May, we also announced that we would offer a virtual appliance for Branch Repeater that will be generally available in the first half of 2010. We want to get your input on where, when and how you will use Branch Repeater VPX.

Keep in mind that Branch Repeater is a symmetric solution which means it requires an appliance at both ends of a WAN connection. Today these must be physical appliances but with the upcoming VPX form-factor, one or both could be virtual appliances.

So when, where and how will you use a virtual Branch Repeater? Take our quick poll and then share your comments.

What if you could deliver online (published) apps through XenApp 6 times faster to your branch office workers? Or increase XenApp ICA print throughput by 38 times?

Well, now you can accelerate ICA with Branch Repeater and XenApp. Find out the benefits for yourselves by downloading Turbocharge applications to your branch offices CTX122321 whitepaper. 
Please share with us your experiences, results and thoughts.

Sai

Other relevant blogs: http://community.citrix.com/blogs/citrite/saia/

Are you a XenApp customer or partner wondering how to further accelerate the delivery of XenApp to branch office workers? And yet not upgrade your WAN bandwidth? And save a ton on OPEX for WAN services? Well, you can now check out the success story about how Neogen used Branch Repeater to:

• Accelerate XenApp ICA performance by 400 percent at branch offices
• Reduce IT help desk calls by 15 percent
• Raise throughput on existing bandwidth by six times
• Achieve 35 percent savings in operational expenses for WAN services

Happy accelerating!

Sai

Back in 2007 Citrix was one of the first companies to introduce a software-based WAN optimization client to address this need. Initially called WANScaler Client, our software client has evolved and is now called Repeater Plug-in for Citrix Receiver.

As the name implies, the client is now packaged as plug-in for Receiver for Windows. As with all plug-ins, you can use Citrix Dazzle and Citrix Merchandising Server to easily distribute the software to remote users. Once installed, the software appears as the acceleration plug-in under the "Advanced" tab within Receiver and immediately begins accelerating all application traffic.

Not using Citrix Receiver yet? Don't worry. Repeater Plug-in is available as a MSI that can run standalone without Receiver.

Repeater Plug-in for Citrix Receiver supports the same set of acceleration features as the previous WANScaler Client. This includes TCP flow control, compression and application protocol acceleration for CIFS, FTP, HTTP and now MAPI - also added in Branch Repeater 5.5. The plug-in is compatible with leading VPN solutions including Citrix Access Gateway. With Access Gateway we actually accelerate the traffic within the secure SSL tunnel. In fact, just this week we published a performance report showing how you can Turbocharge Access Gateway by up 50x. Check it out.

Ever got frustrated with how long it takes to email a large report or presentation after incorporating your manager's feedback? Or found yourself in a plane wishing the email downloaded faster when the flight attendant asks you to turn off your 3G-equipped laptop? Or wished for a solution that could deliver email 50 times faster?

Did you know our WAN optimization solution, Citrix Branch Repeater, delivers superior user experience and application performance not only for branch office users but also for remote and teleworkers?

No one feels the need for speed more than a remote user or a teleworker with a low-bandwidth or a high- latency network connection. These users typically use an SSL VPN, such as Citrix Access Gateway, to connect to their corporate network and access email, intranet portals, other applications and data. When your IT augments secure remote access (Access Gateway) infrastructure with Branch Repeater, you can benefit from both secure and accelerated remote access.

Well, now we have two reports that demonstrate ways to use Branch Repeater to augment your Access Gateway infrastructure and the resulting benefits of accelerating secure remote access.

You can download the Turbocharge Access Gateway Performance Report - CTX121034 from the Citrix Knowledge Center. The report explores the benefits of using Access Gateway and Repeater plug-ins for Citrix Receiver together:
• 50x faster Microsoft Outlook and Exchange (MAPI) workflows
• 50x faster Microsoft SharePoint (HTTP) workflows
• 30x faster Windows File Shares (CIFS) workflows

I think you will want to try out the benefits of turbocharged remote access. Check out the Turbocharge Access Gateway Deployment Guide and Reference Architecture - CTX121035 if you want to conduct a POC (proof of concept) or a demo to convince your IT or other decision makers. You will be your end-users hero for providing them with an accelerated yet secure remote access.

Over the next few weeks I will be blogging about some of the cool new features in Branch Repeater 5.5.

First up -- Exchange (MAPI) acceleration.

Everyone knows that Microsoft Exchange is the dominant enterprise email server commanding over 65% of the market. Most end users connect to their company's Exchange Server using a version of Microsoft Outlook installed on their desktop. MAPI (or Messaging Application Programming Interface) is the application layer protocol that Outlook email clients use to communicate with an Exchange Server.

As businesses have centralized their Exchange Servers in the datacenter, MAPI has become a top protocol operating over the WAN. By its nature MAPI is a "chatty" protocol which means it performs poorly in WAN environments. Branch Repeater 5.5 now automatically detects MAPI connections and responds by pipelining multiple MAPI messages together for transport across the WAN. By eliminating protocol chattiness, Branch Repeater makes Outlook/Exchange significantly faster over high latency connections.  

Large email attachments are another cause of poor email performance. Branch Repeater addresses this issue by automatically compressing and de-duplicating email attachments.

The results are nothing short of stunning. In many cases you will see performance improvements of 10, 20 or even 50x.

Beyond accelerating the end-user experience, this feature also has a dramatic impact on reducing network bandwidth consumption. Imagine a user in a branch office emailing a 10MB attachment to ten other people in that office. Without Branch Repeater, the entire 10MB file must be transmitted to the Exchange Server and then transmitted back to the branch office ten times - once for each recipient. With Branch Repeater, the attachment is only transmitted across the WAN once.

Branch Repeater's Exchange (MAPI) acceleration is not just for branch offices. The Repeater Plug-in for Citrix Receiver brings this functionality to individual remote users working from home or on the road. Now you don't have to wait forever to download that large attachment while working in your hotel room.

Earlier I said that most users connect to their company's Exchange server using a locally installed version of Outlook. That makes sense since many users need offline access to their email. But wait a minute... XenApp also provides offline access to applications with application streaming. And guess what? A streamed version of Outlook talks MAPI too. So whether you have locally installed Outlook clients or are streaming Outlook with XenApp -- you need to try out Branch Repeater 5.5 in your network.

I am glad to share with you all the news about our Citrix Branch Repeater 5.5. Building on our momentum with XenApp optimization (via the ICA acceleration feature) released earlier this year, we announced today the availability of our newest Citrix Branch Repeater 5.5. Among the many benefits this release delivers, check out the following key highlights:

•  Microsoft Exchange (MAPI) optimization accelerates Exchange email for branch and mobile users by up to 50X while reducing bandwidth consumption. You also get these benefits if you are streaming Microsoft Outlook with XenApp or Microsoft App-V because streamed Outlook application behaves just like a native application from a network perspective - a streamed Outlook will talk MAPI to the Exchange server in the datacenter.  Here is a sneak peek of email acceleration benefits from an upcoming performance whitepaper (available soon): 
   
  
  
   
• Branch Repeater with Windows Server 2008  enables consolidation of essential branch services with Microsoft's most advanced server operating system - Windows Server 2008. Customers now have a choice of deploying Branch Repeater appliances built on either Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2008. As before, we continue to offer the non-Windows version of Branch Repeater as well.

• • Of the many powerful capabilities in the Windows Server 2008 operating system, the Read-Only Domain Controller (RODC) feature is one I would like to highlight.  RODC allows you to securely deploy Domain Controller in a branch office for faster Windows authentication and login times. This also helps improve the security posture of IT infrastructure in branch offices.
• With the availability of Repeater Plug-in for Citrix Receiver Branch Repeater now provides WAN acceleration benefits for the already easy-to-use Receiver software client. Receiver provides a consistent and intuitive user experience, and simplifies client distribution and updates. For instance, if you want a single client that provides secure access, SSL VPN client and WAN optimization benefits, then Citrix Receiver is a great way to simplify the client distribution and improve the user experience. This now truly provides simple, fast and secure access to applications from anywhere, whether you are working remotely or in a branch office. I encourage you to try it out and share your experiences with us. 
  

Stay tuned for a series of blog posts that explore some of the features in detail.

I encourage you to check out the newest Branch Repeater 5.5 and share your experiences with me at sai.allavarpu@citrix.com.

Sai

Check out the newest Branch Repeater customer case study posted on citrix.com at http://citrix.com/English/aboutCitrix/caseStudies/caseStudy.asp?storyID=1855157
 Lately I have been discussing with partners and customers about how enterprises pursuing M&A strategy or with distributed branch offices often face the kind of challenges that Consolidated Graphics faced. Enterprises with far flung offices and locations are now looking at ways to reduce the cost of delivering applications to branch offices while improving user experience and productivity. Check out the case study to see how Consolidated Graphics:

• • Enabled datacenter consolidation for cost savings
  • Simplified IT administration
  • Doubled throughput on existing T1 lines, avoiding need for network upgrades
  • Improved the user experience at branches

Happy reading!

Sai
Twitter:@SaiAllavarpu

Citrix Branch Repeater: http://www.citrix.com/English/ps2/products/product.asp?contentID=1350184

Several Citrix products have been nominated for the 2009 Information Security Magazine / SearchSecurity.com Readers Choice Awards:

• NetScaler, Application security: Web application firewall, application/code vulnerability assessment/QA, Web services security
• Access Gateway, Remote access: IPsec, SSL VPNs and other remote access products
• Branch Repeater, Other: Branch optimization/application acceleration solution

Thanks to your support, last year we won the Bronze Award under the 'remote access' category for Citrix Access Gateway and the Bronze Award under the 'application security' category for Citrix App Firewall.

While technically not a security product, Branch Repeater does play a role in building a secure IT infrastructure. Branch optimization allows businesses to centralize applications and data in secure datacenters without sacrificing end-user performance.

Surveys have already gone out to readers of Information Security and SearchSecurity.com via e-mail. If you received one of these surveys please take a few minutes and vote.

Cloud Networking is fast

You can create a complete end-to-end network from the datacenter to the cloud. All cloud servers communicate securely over SSL VPN.

Between the datacenter and the Amazon EC2 cloud is a site-to-site SSL VPN built with Vyatta. On the XenApp server in the cloud runs the Citrix Accelerator which connects back to the Citrix Branch Repeater/WANScaler at the datacenter, to accelerate data connections. The Citrix Accelerator makes cloud computing fast, Vyatta makes it secure.

The reason for using Vyatta site-to-site SSL VPN between the datacenter and Amazon EC2 cloud is there needs to be a secure network between the two for the transfer of data. The Vyatta AMI (Amazon Machine Image) can also function as a complete router and firewall. The Vyatta SSL VPN router provides security with scalability.

As you can see from the network diagram and video, complete routing from the datacenter to the Amazon cloud network is seamless. Data resides at the datacenter and is accessed, over the SSL VPN, by the Application running in XenApp. The remote user connects to XenApp, runs the application, and the application delivers the data to the remote user, quickly and securely.

To get your own cloud, go here.

Configurations used

Vyatta SSL VPN (V1) - Datacenter Configuration
Vyatta SSL VPN (V2) - Cloud Configuration
Windows VPN Client - Cloud Configuration

Links for this solution

Vyatta - go here
Amazon EC2 - go here
XenServer is Free! - go here
XenApp - go here
XenApp VPN Client - go here
Dell Server - go here
IP Addresses - go here

Watch This

Read more news like this.

Its powerful AppExpert!

With Citrix Synergy fast approaching, it's time to get the word out on an exciting addition to the Citrix Booth.  This year we've carved out an area where attendees can go deep (very deep) with not only Citrix product architects and gurus, but industry experts from Intel, Marathon and Oracle.  Our experts have been prepped that no question on the topic of the hour is too technical; so bring your implementation questions, and we'll whiteboard up best practice solutions to get you moving toward a successful deployment. 

Our schedule runs whenever the Expo hall is open, so please come by and try to stump our experts.  As you can see, we have some meaty topics for your enjoyment.

~~~~~

Ask the Experts Schedule

Sunday May 3^rd

7:00 PM - To VPN or not to VPN

7:45 PM - Citrix XenServer on Intel® Server Products: Your recipe for Virtualization Success

8:30 PM - EdgeSight Scalability and Resiliency

9:15 PM - How XenDesktop Works

Monday May 4^th

7:00 PM - Supporting External Users with Smart Card Authentication

7:45 PM - HA Design Decisions in Virtualized Environments

8:30 PM - Considerations to Maximize XenDesktop Performance

9:15 PM - Real-World PVS Deployment Considerations

Tuesday May 5^th

12:30 PM - StorageLink Deployment Considerations

1:15 PM - Delivering Oracle Applications with Citrix XenApp and Citrix NetScaler

2:00 PM - Deploying Branch Repeater and Access Gateway Plugins

2:45 PM - XenApp Server Scalability

Wednesday May 6^th

12:30 PM - XenApp Application Streaming Deep Dive

1:15 PM - Fault Tolerant SAP Delivery with the Citrix Delivery Center

2:00 PM - Leveraging NetScaler for Disaster Recovery

2:45 PM - Deploying Branch Repeater for XenApp 

Have you been hearing about the new Citrix HDX Technologies? Have you heard that HDX enables branch office users to get that "high definition" XenApp experience? Are you still trying to figure out what this all really means?

• What is driving branch offices to virtualize their applications
• What are branch offices doing about the WAN
• What Citrix Branch Repeater does for XenApp
• How HDX Broadcast and HDX IntelliCache deliver a high-def branch experience

The whitepaper (CTX120455) is available for download on the Branch Repeater section of the Citrix Knowledge Center.

Does your organization deliver virtual applications to the branch office over a sloooow WAN link?
Are you tired of trying to fix all of your WAN issues with a bigger and more expensive WAN connection?

There has to be a better solution...
Citrix Branch Repeater and XenApp work in concert to deliver a "high-definition" branch office experience, drastically improving the XenApp experience to branch office users. Using Citrix HDXTechnology, Branch Repeater and HDX IntelliCache adaptively orchestrate with XenApp to disable the native ICA compression used for optimizing single-user sessions.

Just how much better?

• Branch Repeater reduces XenApp traffic by up to 95 percent, increasing file transfer throughput by up to 20 times and increasing print traffic throughput by up to 33 times.
• Together these enhancements allow customers to serve up to 4x more XenApp users in each branch without upgrading bandwidth.

Learn more about ICA Optimization, how to deploy the components, and see the High Definition branch experience yourself in this exciting demo, which can also be found on the Branch Repeater demo page of Citrix.com.

Have you ever wished your VPN connection was faster?
Do you need to take a lunch break when downloading your sales presentation over your VPN?

Did you know that you can Turbo Charge Access Gateway with Citrix Branch Repeater and make these headaches go away? Citrix Branch Repeater can accelerate all editions of Access Gateway by adding Branch Repeater to your Citrix Delivery Center environment. The Citrix Repeater and Access Gateway Plug-ins seamlessly deliver the fastest secure access solution. Granular Access Gateway policies enable the IT Administrator to fine tune when and how a user's connection is turbo charged.

Learn more about Turbo Charging Access Gateway; how the components are deployed, and see the Turbo Charge experience yourself in this exciting demo. View the video in full size and learn more about Access Gateway here.

Citrix and Microsoft announced our first joint appliance this year at Citrix Synergy. The new Citrix Branch Repeater combines the powerful WAN optimization of WANScaler with several key native infrastructure services from Windows Server. The embedded presentation below provides a technical overview of Citrix Branch Repeater.

(click here to see the presentation in full screen)

You can watch a brief demo of Branch Repeater (from the Synergy keynote) below -

The Branch Repeater Admin Guide is available here. Download the Installation Guide here. You can read a Tech Note on how to discover Citrix Branch Repeater with Microsoft Systems Center Operations Manager here.

Monitoring the Wanscaler This is the fouth video in the four part series of configuring a Wanscaler environment for FTP demonstrations. The first in this series is Configuring the W2K3 machine. The second is configuring the XPclient, third is configuring the Linktropy Wan simulator, and fourth is monitoring the Wanscaler

Configuring the Linktrophy. This is the third video in the four part series of configuring a Wanscaler environment for FTP demonstrations. The first in this series is Configuring the W2K3 machine. The second is configuring the XPclient, third is configuring the Linktropy Wan simulator, and fourth is monitoring the Wanscaler

Configuring the XPclient. This is the second video in the four part series of configuring a Wanscaler environment for FTP demonstrations. The first in this series is Configuring the W2K3 machine. The second is configuring the XPclient, third is configuring the Linktropy Wan simulator, and fourth is monitoring the Wanscaler

Configuring the W2K3 server for FTP transfer. This is the first video in the four part series of configuring a WanScaler environment for FTP demonstrations. The first in this series is Configuring the W2K3 machine. The second is configuring the XPclient, third is configuring the Linktropy Wan simulator, and fourth is monitoring the Wanscaler.