Xen Cloud Platform (XCP) 0.1 is an effort by several community members to create a complete open source virtual infrastructure solution (Hypervisor + Management Toolstack) as a reference architecture for cloud deployments.
This 0.1 release provides a stable platform on which to build, and to provoke community discussion about the final form that XCP 1.0 should take. Developers, testers, and users are all invited to try the XCP 0.1 solution and help drive the community toward the future release of XCP 1.0.

The base platform proposed contains the following features:

• Latest Xen 3.4.1
• Linux 2.6.27 Kernel
• Windows PV Drivers, Microsoft Certified (Binary Only)
• XAPI Enterprise-class Management Tool Stack
  • VM Lifecycle: Live snapshots, checkpoint, migration
  • Resource Pools: Safe live relocation, auto configuration, DR
  • Host Configuration: Flexible storage management, networking, power management
  • Event Tracking: Progress, notification
  • Secure Communication using SSL
  • Upgrade and Patching Capabilities
  • Real-time Performance Monitoring and Alerting
• Basic SR-IOV Support
• CDROM and Network Host Installer
• Full Featured "xe" CLI and web services API

For more information, please visit these sites:

General Product Info - http://www.xen.org/products/cloudxen.html
XCP Roadmap - http://www.xen.org/products/cloud_roadmap.html
User and Developer Support - http://www.xen.org/products/cloud_support.html
Source and Binary Distributions -http://www.xen.org/products/cloud_source.html
XAPI Toolstack Developer Guide - http://wiki.xensource.com/xenwiki/XAPI_Developer_Guide

All questions on the XCP 0.1 release should be directed to these mailing lists:

XAPI Toolstack Questions -xen-api
Developer Questions - xen-develwith XCP in subject line
User Questions -  xen-userswith XCP in subject line

Hi all,

In June 2009, Michael Harries and I gave the closing keynote at Citrix iForum 2009 in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia where we demonstrated some exciting new technologies and innovative ways of thinking.

Below is a video of the two of us demonstrating how easy it is to provision and experiment with Citrix Delivery Center components using the Amazon EC2 Cloud and Citrix C3 Lab.

Regards,

Adam

Cost Savings, Green Benefits and Improved Server Management.

Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTXS), the global leader in application delivery, recently announced that leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) manufacturer SAP AG will be virtualizing an estimated 500 servers with Citrix® XenServer™ by the middle of 2009. SAP has also deployed Citrix® XenApp™ application virtualization technology to deliver applications to both SAP employees and external partners. In addition, SAP expects to receive the benefits that a combined XenServer and XenApp solution provides - such as streaming standardized workload images and superior management functionality - which the company anticipates will generate a 35 percent savings in terminal server costs.

SAP was looking to consolidate its server infrastructure and also wanted to create a much more flexible and dynamic computing architecture. Following an extensive test of XenServer, the company decided to move forward with a multi-stage roll-out of the server virtualization solution onto 500 servers, initially in the company's Saint Leon Rot, Germany office. In the next phase of the project, the servers that power the worldwide training centers will be virtualized, followed by the project management division with several hundred development, test, and support environments. After the server virtualization project in Germany is complete, the roll-out will continue at the end of 2009 to SAP's offices in Asia and the United States.

SAP has also deployed Citrix XenApp application virtualization technology to deliver more than 40 applications, including Microsoft Office and the SAP Business Suite software, to its entire user base. In total, there are more than 50,000 end users who access the XenApp infrastructure to work on tasks such as product development and support.

XenServer is FREE !

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When you hear the term "Cloud Computing", do you see the big, beautiful, puffy white cloud we typically see on a calm summer day or do you see a dark, menacing thunderhead that spells impending doom?  Probably a little bit of both (isn't that always how life is?).  Cloud Computing has great potential to provide significant savings and automation to any business' IT environment, so why haven't you started moving to the cloud?  Probably because some things scare the hell out of you, like the following:

1. Security: Do I really trust a third party to hold my corporate data? Many cloud computing providers have extensive security processes in place to help mitigate this concern, but this data is the lifeblood of your organization.  If it is stolen, your entire business might be at risk.  It doesn't matter how many assurances you have from a 3rd party, losing the data might spell the demise of your organization or open you up to expensive lawsuits.
2. Compliance: Depending on your organization, you might have to adhere to different restrictions to gain a certain compliance certification.  Ever hear of PCI-DSS or HIPAA?  These are the ones most people think of, but there are many more depending on your industry.  How easy will it be for you to prove you are in compliance when you systems are in the cloud? 
   

If these are some of your major concerns with moving to the cloud, does that mean you are stuck running your IT like you have been, or is there still a way for you to implement cloud-based efficiencies into your own IT environment? 

Let's make this simple, cloud computing is essentially using technology to provide a dynamic, scalable computing environment where resources are virtualized and delivered over the Internet securely.  OK, definitions are always good, but how do I put this into practice?  By using the Citrix Delivery Center.  The CDC is a set of solutions that, when integrated, provides a virtual, dynamic, scalable application delivery solution securely over the Internet. An application is simply what you need to do your job, which could be a web application, windows application or even a desktop. 

Let's break the key areas of cloud computing down further:

1. Virtual:  This is an easy one.  First, you virtualize your servers in the data center. This will allow you to more fully utilize ALL of your hardware resources. Through XenServer virtualization, which is free by the way, you can use all of your server for any number of different workloads at the same time. You bought the hardware, might as well use it without waste.
2. Dynamic: An SAP server is not just an SAP server. A XenApp server is not just a XenApp server.  These servers can be anything you want them to be based on the current business situation.  Need a new XenApp server, no problem, just use Provisioning Services, which is part of Citrix Essentials for XenServer or Hyper-V, to deliver a new XenApp server in 30 seconds.  Need to reduce the number of XenApp servers while adding capacity to SAP? Use Provisioning Services to do just that without adding new hardware.  The time it takes to build a new SAP or XenApp server is roughly 30 seconds and this entire process can be automated by designing appropriate workflows for your business with Workflow Studio.
3. Delivery: The first question is what do you want to deliver? Desktops or applications?  How about both?  Use the underlying virtual and dynamic infrastructure to deliver a virtual desktop (XenDesktop), which is correctly populated with the right applications for the user with XenApp application delivery.  Not into virtual desktops yet? No problem, but I bet you are using applications.  Use XenApp to dynamically deliver the applications to any endpoint.
4. Scalable: Scalability means getting the most bang for the buck.  First, you need to use the infrastructure that is best aligned with your delivery solution. Are you using XenApp for application delivery, then your most scalable solution is XenServer due to the optimizations to make XenServer optimized for the XenApp workload.  What about web applications?  Many of the communication tasks a typical web application does can be offloaded by NetScaler.  This means your web server can support many more users because the expensive processing tasks are handled by the optimized NetScaler.
5. Security: Last but not least is security.  Remember, a cloud is going over the internet and you had better make sure your communication is secured.  NetScaler has the Access Gateway functionality to provide SSL-VPN access.  If you are only delivering desktops and applications with XenDesktop and XenApp, your environment is even more secure because all traffic occurs on two ports (ICA and CGP).  This means there is no need to install a full-blown SSL-VPN client on your devices. All you need is a web browser.  Don't forget about your data, that is your lifeblood.  Use NetScaler to create policies to disallow saving files on the endpoint, or printing, or even running certain applications from unapproved locations. Last, but definitely not least, are the web applications the organization is delivering.  We need to make sure sensitive information is kept hidden, like social security numbers and credit card numbers.  We also want to make sure our web applications are hit by different web attacks, like SQL injection, cross-site scripting, etc.  The Application Firewall component of NetScaler protects us. 
   

Does it seem like a lot to take in? Remember, the goal is to turn your environment into an enterprise cloud, which requires you to re-think how you deliver applications to your users. Of course you get the most cloud-like environment by doing the entire suite but the nice thing about the Citrix Delivery Center is that you can pick and choose the options you need. They all plug into each other to create a unified enterprise cloud environment.  I encourage you to take a closer look at the Citrix Delivery Center to see what you can do to your IT environment to achieve the  efficiencies of enterprise clouds.

Daniel

Just about every customer I've ever talked with has a common challenge, "How do we plan for cyclical surges in user activity?"  Depending on your business area, this could be a critical area of planning. Take for example, the retail sector.  We just came out of the end-of-year holiday spending season where retail stores typically see more foot traffic  and Internet-based traffic.  The increase in web traffic is several multiples higher than during other times of years.  If these organizations don't plan the infrastructure appropriately, their sites will become unavailable and customers will go elsewhere. 

Also, ever hear of web sites going offline because the site couldn't support the unexpected surge of traffic because of a release of a new product, or the first day of concert ticket sale, or the first day of American Idol online voting?  What about your business? Aren't there certain times each month or year where usage rates significantly increase for some of your applications?  Month-end or year-end cyclical surges are huge design factors when determining the size/scope of an infrastructure.  Most organizations plan for the surges by adding more hardware and infrastructure, but is this really the right path?  You end up spending more money on systems you only need for 2-5% of the time.   Is there a better way of dealing with the surge? 

Of course there is... Cloudbursting.  The premise is to use the cloud in times when excess capacity is required so you only pay for what you use. Instead of spending tens of thousands of dollars on your own infrastructure that is rarely used, you spend hundreds of dollars for your usage time in the cloud.  The big challenge with Cloudbursting is enabling the cloud to deliver your applications just-in-time.  In order to have a successful cloudburst, the following needs to happen:

1. Determine when excess capacity is required
2. Quickly enable  enterprise applications in the cloud
3. Seamlessly distribute user requests between the enterprise and the cloud
4. Dynamically reduce capacity as the needs decrease
5. Execute the entire process automatically, seamlessly and efficiently
   

Does this sound too good to be true? Being able to implement a Cloudburst is completely possible with the Citrix Cloud Center (C3). 

1. First, Citrix NetScaler is used to dynamically route users to your enterprise applications.  Part of the decision making process of the NetScaler is to determine utilization of the enterprise application, either based on connections, bandwidth or even CPU utilization.  When a threshold is reached, NetScaler sends out a warning about the need for more capacity. 
2. Citrix Workflow Studio receives the request for more capacity and kicks off a series of automated workflows that does the following:
   1. Instruct a cloud-based Citrix XenServer to boot up.
   2. Instruct Citrix Provisioning Server to deliver the appropriate application workload as a new virtual machine on XenServer.
   3. Populate NetScaler with address information about the new cloud-based workload
3. At this point, extra capacity is available in the cloud. NetScaler will use the address information obtained from Workflow Studio to load balance requests between the cloud-based application and the enterprise-based application.  As the load balancing continues, NetScaler will continue to monitor the application capacity levels, which will start the entire process over again and potentially spin up a new virtual server.
   

The entire process can happen in a matter of seconds.  New capacity is online in the time it takes to boot a server.  We are able to successfully add more capacity in the cloud, but we are not done yet.  We are trying to save money so we also want to be able to reduce capacity in a timely manner.  Just like before, the Citrix Cloud Center is able to do this.

1. As capacity decreases, NetScaler will reach a low-level threshold and tell Workflow Studio to reduce capacity.
2. Workflow Studio will kick off a series of workflows that does the following:
   1. Instruct NetScaler to stop load balancing requests to a particular application server.
   2. NetScaler will update its load balancing tables to remove the identified server
   3. Workflow Studio will monitor the identified server and wait for all user sessions to complete. Once this happens, Workflow Studio will instruct the server to shut down.  If no more virtual machines are running on the particular XenServer, Workflow Studio will instruct the XenServer to shutdown.
      

So, what do we get with the Citrix Cloud Center and Cloudbursting?

1. NetScaler provides us with the ability to identify when excess capacity is required and also allows us to seamlessly distribute loads between the enterprise and the cloud without users knowing from where their applications originated.
2. XenServer (with Provisioning Server) allows us to deliver a new application workload in the time it takes for a server to boot. Only one workload image is maintained as the application workload used in the cloud is the exact same workload delivered within the enterprise.
3. Workflow Studio creates an automated solution that orchestrates the entire process from adding more capacity to reducing capacity. 
   

You tell me, is cloudbursting a viable alternative to building massive enterprise infrastructures that sit idle 95% of the time?  I think it is. 

Daniel

 I interviewed Kurt Roemer for this topic.  Kurt is Chief Security Strategist for Citrix Systems and a member of the CTO Office. He's a seasoned information security veteran with more than 20 years experience in networking, applications, and the evolving Web services infrastructure markets. He has designed, implemented, and assessed solutions and policies for Fortune 1000, mid-size, and government organizations worldwide.  Roemer is a CISSP and has spoken at a wide variety of leading industry shows and conferences across the globe including BITS, CSI, RSA, Networld+Interop, Japan's inaugural Web Application Security Forum, Society for Information Management, ITEC, SecureAsia and numerous regional ISSA and InfraGard conferences.  He has also appeared as a security expert on CNN, Fox Business News, and the Fox News Channel and is well known for his popular "Web Hacking Live" sessions. Prior to joining Citrix, Kurt held roles as CTO/CSO at NetContinuum and headed up information technology practices at Micron Electronics, NetFRAME and Hewitt.

Q: Kurt, isn't Cloud Computing competitive with Citrix?
A:  In some ways, yes, but in many ways interest in Cloud Computing actually creates opportunities for Citrix.  Our NetScaler and XenServer products are good examples of this.  Both   NetScaler and XenServer are powering major cloud providers today.  We also have partners, such as 3Tera, who are hosting applications, using XenApp and XenDesktop, on the Cloud.

Q: It seems to me that Cloud Computing requires that you really trust the provider - after all you are turning over your valuable data to them - is this a consideration?
A: Yes.  The old security mantra was that physical security trumps all. With the Cloud you lose control over physical security.  The actual servers could be anywhere the provider decides to put them, factoring in availability and least cost.  This is significantly different than a SaaS model, especially as you factor in access to data, backups, encryption keys and other security concerns.
When you sign an agreement with a provider you agree to pay for a certain amount of storage and resources like applications and are committed service levels.  You lose control over the assets in some respects and therefore the security model must be refactored.

Q: The security concerns with this must make security professionals uncomfortable.  Tell me more about what Citrix has to offer to improve this situation.
A: The fundamentals are encryption of data and access control to data.  Citrix has recently introduced the Citrix Cloud Center, which is composed of several Citrix offerings.  Access Gateway and NetScaler address encryption, and Access Gateway provides authentication services.  In addition to the security features, the Citrix Cloud Center provides geo-location with NetScaler (where the user can be connected to different hardware in different regions in the world, but yet have all the same applications and capabilities), local data caching with WANScaler and orchestration with Workflow Studio.  Citrix is also working with key ecosystem partners to enable end-to-end security in the cloud model.

Q: What is the future of security in Cloud Computing?
A:  The ultimate solution is data level security.  After all, sensitive data is the domain of the enterprise, not the Cloud Computing provider.   Security will need to move to the data level so that enterprises can be sure their data is protected, wherever it goes.  For example, with data level security, the enterprise can specify that this data is not allowed to go outside of the US.  It can also force encryption of certain types of data, and permit only specified users to access the data.  It can provide compliance with PCI.  We are working with several partners in the data security area.

One of the most requested features from Service Providers and Enterprises is IP Address Management (IPAM). I can't tell you how many times I have listened to customers ask for a platform that manages IP Addresses effectively on a large scale, even to the point of managing disparate classes and subnets. What happens when two companies merge, do you munge spreadsheets or do you have this software yet? It's not only the software that is unique but that it runs as a XenServer VM in Para-Virtualized mode, meaning it is high-performance. Even better is these run in linux.

Nixu Software specializes in software designed for DNS, DHCP and IP address management. To run Nixu Products in a virtual machine environment, simply download the ISO installation media from their website and boot up a new virtual machine. The installation media auto-installs the entire server stack.

Unlike traditional computing appliances that require specific hardware to run on, Nixu Products provide a quick and cost-efficient way to migrate and consolidate core network services such as DNS and DHCP to virtualized computing environments. By streamlining tedious network and system management routines, Nixu Products offer exceptional availability and ROI.

Here are some of the Highlights of using NIXU DNS and DHCP in a XenServer VM:

• Centralized IP Address Management
  • Merge/Join IP Blocks
  • Split IP Blocks
  • Subnets in use – report
  • Subnets free – report
  • Addresses in use – report
  • Addresses free – report

• Runs in XenServer as a VM, optimized for Para-Virtualization
  • Supports pv-ops

• Supports IPv6
• Uses secure communication between secondary name servers, using keys
• Role based administration
  • Assign subnets to administrative domains

• Supports BIND syntax
  • For the BIND junkies

• Has a configuration checker
• Automated installation and maintenance reducing management overhead
• Centralized management of all nameservers
• Hardened design for security

WATCH this video tip:

Download the Nixu / XenServer Integration Guide.

Read about Nixu Software here.

Download Nixu Software here.

Read about Citrix XenServer 5.0 here.

Download Citrix XenServer 5.0 here.

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Am I the only one who has trouble understanding Cloud Computing?  Is Instant Messenger considered cloud computing? Is my company's enterprise deployment of XenApp on XenServer considered Cloud Computing? Is the iTunes store considered Cloud Computing?  Why is Cloud Computing so hard to figure out?  Well, look at it from a different perspective.

Have you ever laid down on the grass and looked at the sky and tried to figure out what a cloud looked like?  You might think one cloud looks like a puppy and another looks like an airplane while someone else thinks your puppy looks like Homer and the airplane looks like a TV.  Trying to find shapes in the clouds is all based on your perception, just like if you try to get a definition of cloud computing from 5 different people, you will most likely get 5 different ideas. 

Of the many discussions I've had on this topic, I always hear some very similar comments. 

• Isn't Cloud Computing just a new name for the ASP model that Citrix was involved with years ago?
• Is Cloud Computing just the new term for SaaS? 
• Is the Cloud just a new name for the Internet?
  

Well, let's take a very brief look back before we get into the cloud...

ASP

I think one of the problems with understanding cloud computing is many people have been involved with Citrix for a long time. If you have been involved, you will remember the ASP model. In the ASP model, a 3rd party would host your applications for you, typically providing remote access with MetaFrame.  So instead of you having to hire people to manage your set of MetaFrame servers hosting Office 97, you would pay a 3rd party to do it for you.  You would access your applications using a secure connection (Citrix Secure Gateway) over the Internet.   You wouldn't have to worry about managing the servers or providing the data center space/power.  Instead of paying these large up-front costs, you would get a static, recurring bill based on the number of servers hosted.

SaaS

After the ASP model faded into memory, we got into the SaaS (Software as a Service) model.  In this model, a software vendor will host their proprietary applications to their subscribing customers.  When you hear SaaS, you always hear about SalesForce.com.  Well, Citrix Online is SaaS as well.  Citrix Online hosts the GoToMeeting/GoToWebinar/GoToMyPC/GoToAssist services and users access these services across the Internet.  Users are charged a recurring bill, and do not have to worry about maintaining and supporting the underlying infrastructure.  The SaaS model has been very successful because one would expect the people who know the best way to deliver an application are the ones who developed the application to begin with. 

Cloud Computing

Now we get into Cloud Computing.  Cloud computing can take on many different shapes, just like the clouds in the sky.  But one thing is common, all delivered services occur over the Internet, which is THE CLOUD. Cloud computing is essentially granting the ability to allow any user, on any device, from any location to get access to their applications and data. 

As I see it, Cloud Computing is a big white board waiting for organizations to make their requirements known.  Do you want a Test/QA environment to do whatever? This is cloud computing. Do you want someone to deliver office productivity applications for you? That is cloud computing. Do you want to have all of your MP3s stored on an Internet storage repository so you can get to it from any device?  That is also cloud computing.

I think the big thing with Cloud Computing, which helps differentiate it from the ASP model, is that the environment is dynamic, meaning that a server is not a SAP server or an Exchange server or a SharePoint server. A server is instead anything you want it to be with server virtualization and server provisioning.  So instead of a SAP server or a SharePoint server, we now have SAP and SharePoint workloads than can be moved and provisioned to any infrastructure available. It can be scaled up or down based on changing needs and defined rules.   With Cloud Computing, making these changes does not require rebuilding systems, it happens automatically and only involves resetting parameters.

If these are core requirements for any cloud provider, Citrix Cloud Center(C3) is able to help deliver the cloud-based solution. 

• With Citrix XenServer Cloud Edition, we can help provide the dynamic workload provisioning
• With Citrix NetScaler, we can provide the optimized, compressed and secured connections required for Cloud-based connections
• With Citrix WANScaler, we can provide the efficient link between the cloud and the enterprise infrastructure
• With Workflow Studio, we can create and implement automated workflows that will manage and maintain the environment for us
  

So, the next time you talk about Cloud Computing, remember it is very similar to the dynamic clouds in the sky, Cloud Computing can be pretty much anything. One thing is common though, you need an underlying infrastructure that is dynamic, optimized, secured and automated. 

Daniel