Mac users out there have long been asking for and waiting for a rich and secure remote access experience with Access Gateway solutions. Now the wait is over. Mac users can now download the Access Gateway plug-in for Mac from MyCitrix.

Access Gateway team has made available Mac OX X plug-in for Access Gateway 4.6 Standard Edition and Access Gateway 9.1 Enterprise Edition:

- The user experience of the plug-in conforms to the native Mac experience, providing rich user experience.

- Mac users can securely connect to their remote applications, leveraging pre- and post-authentication endpoint scans to confirm to their corporate security policies. For stronger security, when the remote Mac user logs off,  the plug-in also destroys any session data (cache, cookies, etc) on the client.

- With globalization features, the plug-in brings this new experience to English, French, German, Spanish and Japanese users.

If you are a Mac user, I encourage you to go to the downloads section on MyCitrix and select Citrix Access Gateway from the drop-down menu of 'Search Downloads by Product", then find "Access Gateway Plug-in for Mac OS X, Version 1.0.2.23" under the Clients section.

If you are using this new plug-in, please share your experience with me and what you would like to see next.

Sai

Are YOU ready to Get The Facts about Citrix XenDesktop & VMware View?

Learn how YOU can be the hero!

http://tinyurl.com/CitrixandVMwareGetTheFacts

We look forward to seeing you there!

Jessica Demers

DC & MD Field Sales Manager

 For those who travel for business the need for offline access to your desktop has always been a requirement but with internet coverage growing .....Broadband WiFi, cellular data cards, and now even on commercial flights with Delta and other airlines offering en route satellite based internet service things are changing.   Last week flying back to Atlanta I thought I would pony up the $9.95 and see how my vista xendesktop performed at 34,000 ft and 520kts. I was excited to find great usability and performance. Here is the recorded xendesktop session I  posted below. 
http://goview.com/?id=d7f6c237-1844-45da-9f04-aba5d9add98b

I recently recaped the desktop virtualization news at Synergy. During Synergy, there was a lot of rich technical and product information presented on XenDesktop.

If you were unable to attend the event or missed any of these technical sessions, we have packaged up all the technical goodies into a 3 part webinar series that will be available both live with Q&A and on-demand. I highly encourage you to go through all these events; it will be time well-spent learning about desktop virtualization and XenDesktop with presenters presenting content that they have built based on hands-on knowledge.

Here are the three topics:

Effectively planning a technical migration from physical PCs to Citrix XenDesktop   This technical session will provide a clear, detailed process for helping your customers upgrade from existing physical PCs to centrally managed virtual desktops using XenDesktop.  Early customer implementations and best practices will be offered as guidance for handling both small-scale and large-scale migrations. When: Monday, May 18th; 1 PM ET / 10 AM PST* *
Register here: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/157171272

Citrix XenDesktop 3 Architecture and HDX User Experience: A Comparison Versus VMware View The new Citrix XenDesktop 3 provides high definition user experience and higher scalability, making it the leading virtual desktop solution. This technical session will cover the architecture and design of XenDesktop 3, including Citrix's HDX technology. Attendees will learn about the key technical advantages of XenDesktop over other virtual desktop products including VMware View. When: Tuesday, May 19th; 1 PM ET / 10 AM PST* *
Register here: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/665923001

Citrix and Intel:  Manage Once and Stream to Many Local DesktopsThis technical session will focus on the unique, single image management capability of XenDesktop and the best practices for streaming the entire desktop environment to local PCs across large-scale virtual desktop deployments. When: Wednesday, May 20th; 1 PM ET / 10 AM PST 
Register here: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/211934248

Please share your feedback with comments on the blog, so that we can continue to enhance our technical content for you.

Citrix and Wyse are working together to meet end-user demands. The Wyse Viance desktop appliance is purpose-built to work in concert with the delivery capabilities of Citrix XenDesktop. Together, this joint solution provides a virtual desktop that offers the best user experience, simplest administration, lowest cost of ownership, as well as a significantly lower environmental impact.

To learn more, attend the upcoming live webinar with Citrix, Wyse, and ESG. Join ESG's leading virtualization analyst Mark Bowker as he discusses desktop virtualization's impact on the endpoint device and how user experience is closely tied to the success of desktop virtualization deployments.

By attending this webinar you will discover how you can benefit from XenDesktop and the out-of-the box Wyse Viance solution by:
• Reducing hardware and software costs by 40%
• Reducing IT operations costs by 30%
• Reducing worker downtime by almost 90%
• Increasing staff productivity up to 80%

Webinar Details:
Deliver Desktop Virtualization with Thin Clients
Date: March 25, 2009
Time: 8:00 am PST, 11:00 am EST, 4:00 pm GMT
Duration: 60 minutes
Speakers: Mark Bowker, Analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group
Calvin Hsu, Director, XenDesktop Product Marketing, Citrix Systems
Hector Angulo, Product Manager, Wyse Viance Series, Wyse Technology

Register now at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/747643175.

Do you use XenApp? Thinking about it? Heard of it?  Want to make it better?  Are you alive?   If you answered Yes to any of those questions, then I highly encourage you to attend the XenApp Deep-Dive TechTalk series.  Each TechTalk focuses on one aspect of making your XenApp environments easier, better and more available.

Part 1: Simplifying the Migration to XenApp 5 with XenServer (Register)

The first TechTalk on February 2nd at 1PM Eastern Time is focused on a task I did not like doing when I was an XenApp admin (although it was called MetaFrame back then)... XenApp Migrations.  Each release of XenApp has some pretty cool features to help make the users more productive or make the environment easier to manage and XenApp 5 is no exception.  So the big question is why aren't you migrating?  Is it because it takes too much time? Is it because it is too difficult?  A few months ago I blogged about the possibility of simplifying XenApp migrations with the use of XenServer (here and here).  This TechTalk will tell you if it is indeed possible.    Who knows, I might speak for 1 minute and say it doesn't help at all, but I highly doubt that will happen .  If you want to find out if XenServer helps and how, you will just have to tune into the upcoming TechTalk to find out

Part 2: Simplifying Desktop Delivery with XenApp (Register)

A lot of talk lately is virtual desktop this and virtual desktop that.  Well, this TechTalk is also focused on the virtual desktop, but not in a way you would expect. Most people talk about virtual desktops as a new way of managing the desktop infrastructure and how XenDesktop is the best solution.  This TechTalk, on February 3rd at 1PM Eastern Time is focused on the XenApp portion of desktop delivery.  How can and should we use XenApp to make the virtual desktop solution easier?  What best practices are there for application delivery and integration into XenDesktop? Tune in to find out.

Part 3: High Availability for XenApp with XenServer and NetScaler (Register)

Is your XenApp environment delivering mission-critical applications?  What happens if a physical server fails, or a hard drive crashes, or a internet link dies or an entire data center goes offline?  As we all know, XenApp contains many different components and each one is critical to the proper operation of the environment.  This TechTalk, on February 4th at 1PM Eastern Time, will provide some of the best practices for providing fault tolerance and high-availability to XenApp environments.  Don't leave your XenApp users in the dark if the lights go out.

I'm sure everyone will learn something or at least come away with a new perspective or idea on how to use and improve their XenApp environments.  I know I'm looking forward to getting some of your comments on your environments and how they can be made better.  Hope to see many people there.

Daniel

I've had a great opportunity to travel the world this year and meet with a wide range of our customers and partners. I've been struck with the number of CIO's, IT Managers and Admin's who are consistent in their frustrations and questions around finding a better way to manage desktops. In one meeting with the IT team of a Japanese company with more than 100,000 employees, the CIO summarized this well with his comment, "We can't go on with the current desktop model as we need to reduce the overall cost of IT while continuing to deliver innovation to our businesses". I hear something similar to this in customers large and small across geographies and industries. This is a classic headache looking for aspirin IT challenge. The next part of the conversation generally turns into something like: "We know we have a problem, but how do we work our way out of this mess?".

VDI, What is all the fuss?

The cost and complexity of the current default model of: purchase personal computer's/laptop's, install standard operating environment, deploy with user, then patch/fix/secure & repeat is hitting the breaking point. Maybe this is just the edge of the pendulum swing between mainframe/dumb terminal to networked PC, but it's clear that there is a big "headache" today. Desktop Virtualization represents a new way forward that can be radically simpler than the current managed desktop model. The benefits of desktop virtualization are now within the reach of every organization. Customers deploying XenDesktop are seeing total cost of ownership per desktop reducing 10%-40% annually, time to value is pretty much instantaneous and information security is significantly increased.

After a recent customer event I had one IT manager ask me, "so for my 5,000 desktops I can use just one image of XP and manage 1 copy rather than 5,000? Wow, my management challenge just disappeared". With ah-ha moments like this, you can see why more and more organizations are making the move to centralized delivered desktops. The current economic headwind that businesses are facing is creating an opportunity for every company to take a look at current models and make large scale changes to emerge from this downturn in a stronger position. With this in mind here are a few principles and key points when considering Desktop Virtualization.

1) One size DOESN'T fit all

As we worked with customers to define and develop XenDesktop, we attacked the biggest pain point first -> the cost of delivering and managing desktops inside the company on the local area network. We partnered with a number of our hardware partners to build a new class of end user device called a Desktop Appliance - meeting a base level of capabilities to ensure a great user experience and options to increase capabilities over time. The Desktop Appliance combined with XenDesktop becomes the primary device for Office Workers and delivers a user experience better than a desktop PC.

Desktop virtualization can provide a user customized desktop for Office Workers; however it is an over-kill for task workers and does not address the needs of mobile workers. Task Workers include call center agents, retail clerks and shop floor workers, generally accessing a set of specific applications. A shared server based desktops (delivered by XenApp) combined with a traditional Thin Client device is the most secure and cost effective way to deliver applications to this group of users - 20 million task workers operate in this model every day. When you consider that a shared server can accommodate the needs to 300-400 users vs 30-50 virtual desktop users per server for VDI, the cost comparison is fairly straightforward. Mobile workers include sales execs, service personnel and executives who carry a laptop and need their applications with them on the road, both on and off the network. Application virtualization is the best solution for cutting down the cost of managing applications for mobile worker laptops. Citrix has a long history supporting mobile workers and now we have the only product, XenApp, that acts as a single application hub that can deliver line of business applications hosted from the data center and productivity applications like Microsoft Office streamed to run locally on the users laptop for offline use in locations like airplanes and at customer offices.

2) IAATHUX - It's All About the User Experience

I'm a virtual desktop (XenDesktop) user and it really is a fresh, personal & fast experience every time I log-in. My XenDesktop starts up faster than I can get a cup of coffee and absolutely screams when I launch and use applications throughout the day -> apps and data live close together on servers in the data center. Knowing there is no spinning hard drive or humming fans makes me feel good about reducing power and air conditioning in our offices. With anytime, secure remote access, I can work from home with my customized desktop when needed and not make unnecessary off-hours trips to the office. I have accessed my virtual desktop from all locations, broadband, our small regional sales offices, offshore during my international trips. With the EasyCall feature of XenDesktop set to make calls from the office, or the users cellphone or home telephone, I can be productive with voice and data access from anywhere - and see significant savings in my cellphone & telephone bills.

3) The Desktop: Just Another Datacenter Workload?

Server virtualization is primarily focused on the wringing efficiency from under-utilized servers. Virtualizing desktops, on the other hand, is more an end-to-end solution including servers, networks and client devices. Defining the desktop as Operating System + Applications + User Profiles is useful to highlight the key components. The dynamic assembly of these components and delivery as a service are critical to realize the cost advantages of desktop virtualization and improved user experience.

4) App Virtualization: Key to Succesful VDI

In much the same way that having a single copy of the operating system to be delivered to all users, application virtualization can deliver a single image of each application across a broad range of users. XenApp delivers applications on a hosted or streamed basis to virtual desktops (in addition to physical desktops). Keeping individual copies of applications for each user and maintaining these across users just doesn't make sense and destroys the cost benefits of desktop virtualization. Managing each application separately from the desktop image is the only way to make the virtual desktop projects cost effective.

5) Storage, storage and more storage - Why Storage is a Critical Factor

The first versions of early virtual desktop infrastructure seemed designed to increase IT's spend on back end storage. Virtualizing applications and managing them separately, as explained above, not only helps in cutting down the cost of desktop and application management but also becomes one of the key factors in reducing the storage requirements of the desktop images. In addition, this virtual desktop image along with applications should be dynamically assembled and provisioned into a virtual desktop on-demand at the time when a user logs on. XenDesktop has been architected to optimize storage requirements by dynamically assembling users' desktop at the time when they logon. The only unique storage required for each user is their profile and application data. This approach has unlocked the business case for Desktop Virtualization using any hypervisor - XenServer, Hyper-V or ESX.

6) Real distance, real networks

With the move to centralized data centers and more virtual workforces, the distance between users and their desktops and applications is increasing. Hence, the delivery of the virtual desktop is equally important regardless of where the end user is. Citrix has a long history with delivery applications over networks ranging from current high speed 1Gb networks with lots of bandwidth and low latency to the skinniest of networks with high latency and failure rates. Our larger customers operate with 10's of thousands of users operating across public and private networks built with wired and wireless network infrastructure from different network infrastructure vendors including Cisco, Juniper, Nortel and others. Since application and networking professionals have lots of hands on experience with Citrix traffic on their networks, we decided to have the same proven virtual delivery protocol, Citrix ICA, in both XenApp and XenDesktop.

7) Client Hypervisor - Fact vs. Fiction

Based on the strategy above, all task workers and office workers should have their desktops centrally hosted in the datacenter, enabling them to securely access their desktop from anywhere. For mobile workers, who need to work offline, I expect more innovation to come where IT can virtualize and stream full desktop images to laptops. Citrix is helping to make this a reality by working closely with the Xen.org, Xen Client Initiative (XCI) to create a fast and free embedded hypervisor for laptops, PC's and PDAs. XCI is an exciting and fast-moving initiative driven by all the biggest names in microprocessors, BIOS, PCs and laptop hardware. Because when it comes to client hypervisors, trying to build something proprietary and closed simply won't cut it. Anything that doesn't have broad, open and compatible implementation across the industry is likely to fail. An embedded client hypervisor will, of course, provide a foundation to deliver local virtual desktops. However, a client side hypervisor alone is not enough for IT to have a complete solution. At Citrix, we're working on a complete solution that integrates a client side hypervisor, application and desktop streaming, application and desktop hosting, and end user profile and context management - this complete solution will ensure that the mobile users can quickly get their personalized desktop and their applications available to them offline and IT can centrally manage the lifecycle of the desktop at lowest possible cost.

In our experience to date with XenDesktop in the market, I've been pleasantly surprised at both the level of interest and speed at which our customers are deploying virtual desktops. It seems that the headache with current desktop management crosses industries, geographies and customer size and that many of these organizations are reaching for the aspirin or already starting to breath a sigh of relief with their virtual desktops.

If you are interested in a third party evaluation of XenDesktop, check out this InfoWorld test by Paul Venezia:  http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/09/16/38TC-citrix-xendesktop_2.html

Gordon Payne,
Senior Vice President
Delivery Systems Division

In this chat with the XenDesktop program team, we chat more about VDI and what it represents as well as some of the core functionalies of XenDesktop. I didn't forget to ask some hard questions around princing and why users should choose XenDesktop over other VDI solutions.

Cheers,

Gus Pinto
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