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

Did Brian Maddenmake a valid point about VDI and desktop virtualization that most people missed?  

Brian discussed a VDI€‰challenge, user-installed applications, which was in response to a desktop virtualization postI recently wrote about the same topic. Brian's premise was that each user needs to be able to install their own applications and should be allocated 2 virtual desktops:

1. First one locked down by IT
2. Second one is open where users would have full control

When I first read this I thought, well yes that would work but talk about a nightmare situation.  Many of the comments posted were extremely funny and I encourage you to read them (especially the one that said "Steve Ballmer must be smiling"). But seriously, if you think about what Brian is saying, it does have validity, if done correctly.

Sure there are tools/solutions that can allow users to install their own applications but we should not open the flood-gates and allow users to install whatever they desire. Not only are you looking at a management nightmare, but you are also looking at security risks, legal risks, and productivity risks.  What I can see happening is an environment that is suited to what the user needs. Something like the following...

1. Each user gets their IT-delivered desktop that includes all known corporate applications.  These applications are delivered into the desktop either through installation, streaming or hosting.  Users will inevitably try to install apps/plugins/tools into the corporate-delivered desktop.  The app will work until the user reboots (assuming shared image mode).  Once rebooted, the app is gone and the cycle starts again.  If the application is a new business requirement, there must be an IT process in place where users can request a new application. IT must have SLA's in place that allows them to assess the validity of the request, profile the application and deliver it to the virtual desktop in a timely manner (a few days to a week). Until the application is ready for delivery by IT, the user can continue to install or request a second virtual desktop (step 2 below).
2. Each user has the "ability" to self-service a second virtual desktop that can be used as a "playground".  Many power users have a need to install, test, evaluate different tools to make their jobs easier. Most users only need these applications for a few days or weeks, at least until a project is complete. Other users only need the application until IT is able to properly deliver the application into their corporate-delivered desktop.   This is where a second virtual desktop, i.e. a self-service desktop, could be requested. This is something like Brian recommended, 2 desktops. But the second desktop is only used if it is needed and requested through a self-service process. Of course because IT does not know what users will do to this desktop, proper security precautions must be taken into account.  With this option, users would have the ability to:
   1. Select the OS
   2. Select the life of the desktop (days, weeks or months)
   3. In the background, workflows are initiated that creates a new desktop, assign it to the user, and allow changes to be stored within the writable, user image.  When the timeframe expires, the desktop is deleted from existence.  

This option solves many of the challenges users experience in a virtual desktop world.  How to install temporary applications. How to use a new business application until IT is able to assess and deliver it properly.  

The point is that we must understand the users and their needs.  Most users can get along perfectly well with the applications delivered from IT.  But a sizeable portion of the user group needs autonomy, freedom, experimentation... A Playground. The one size desktop does not fit all.  Some user's might have two different desktops, others only 1.  We need to change the way we think about delivering desktops to users.  And in order to meet user expectations, we need systems (technical and process oriented) in place that can accommodate the users in a timely manner.

• Twitter: @djfeller
• Ask the Architect - Next-Generation site
• Questions - Then Ask The Architect
• See me talk about designing your XenDesktop solution on Citrix Live

Daniel - Lead Architect - Worldwide Consulting Solutions

My friends in HP Solutions Engineering tell me that historically capacity planning for server deployments was not a trivial task given the range of variables to consider, not to mention the time and therefore the expense required to do it right. And now add virtualization variables to the mix and capacity planning tasks can be even more challenging. YET, effective capacity testing can supply a big payoff by ensuring that your virtualized environment can be the best it can be, and that you gain all the cost savings and flexibility improvement benefits promised by virtualization. See here for a recent HP post on capacity planning in virtualized environments.

Of course it is not surprising that there are a number of innovative tools out there to assist in these efforts for Citrix environments, including HP LoadRunner, a popular load testing tool used for planning XenApp deployments, and the Citrix EdgeSight for Load Testing server sizing and application performance testing solution.

We have a excellent new technical resource for capacity planning with ESLT - the recently released "Using EdgeSight for Load Testing ..." white paper developed by HP and Citrix describes how to implement ESLT tools and scripts to characterize scalability for various HP ProLiant servers with XenServer and XenApp. This paper is a great addition to the ever expanding set of technical papers published on XenApp and XenServer - visit here to browse the entire library.

Don't forget to register for the Citrix Live! Virtual Event, Secrets, Lies and VDI happening Oct 20^th and visit the HP sessions and exhibits! Enjoy.     
 

It's no wonder that the recent announcement of Citrix XenDesktop 4 is the hot buzz around town. Citrix XenDesktop 4 delivers optimized delivery for every user, making it the best way to manage applications and the best user experience. It is the first-ever solution to provide all the desktop and application delivery technologies needed to bring desktop virtualization to every user.

So now that you've heard the news, it's time to get geared up with partner Sales Tools designed especially for Citrix XenDesktop 4. This includes a whitepaper about the future of desktop virtualization, a whiteboard, technical overview presentation, proof of concept quick demo kit, a product reference card, and a whole lot more. 

Also, in store for you is a FREE Citrix XenDesktop 4 training offer, where you can gain an overview of the Citrix XenDesktop 4 technology in less than an hour! In this training course, you'll learn about key product features, editions, strengths, and how XenDesktop addresses traditional desktop management challenges. Also covered are the key aspects of FlexCast delivery, architectural diagrams, and the steps to move to desktop virtualization.

For added insight, get the complete 411 at the Citrix "Secrets, Lies and VDI" event being held tomorrow, Oct 13 just for Citrix partners. This is not-to-miss event that will unravel the myths and uncover the truth about VDI to give you a clear, strategic view of desktop virtualization today. You'll get a complete understanding of what desktop virtualization really means. Some of the event features include a Keynote Address and sessions, as well as Ask the Expert Q&A. Registration is still going on - don't miss out!

Okay, now you have it - complete sales tools, free training, and a super, hot event!

Virtualization - it's a Citrix world now!

Greg Shields recently posted an article on TechTarget's SearchServerVirtualization.com site listing the "five best free tools for Microsoft Hyper-V management".

Greg included Citrix Essentials for Hyper-V - Express Edition on his excellent list of Hyper-V tools -

Read Greg's entire list here.

Express Edition Download
http://www.citrix.com/ehvexpress

Citrix Essentials for Hyper-V Step by Step Part 1

StorageLink Deep Dive Webinar - http://community.citrix.com/blogs/citrite/barryf/2009/04/13/StorageLink+-+Essentials+for+Hyper-V+Deep+Dive+Webinar

StorageLink Demo Videos
http://www.citrix.com/ehv

StorageLink Overview - http://community.citrix.com/blogs/citrite/barryf/2009/02/23/StorageLink+in+Essentials+for+Hyper-V

Provisoning Services Overview - http://community.citrix.com/blogs/citrite/barryf/2009/03/20/Provisioning+for+Hyper-V+with+Citrix+Essentials

Lab Manager Overview - http://community.citrix.com/blogs/citrite/barryf/2009/03/19/Essentials+for+Hyper-V+with+Lab+Management

StorageLink Install Install Guide - http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX120789
StorageLink User Guide - http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX120791

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The release of Windows Server 2008 R2 brings many new features to Hyper-V.

A new release of Hyper-V for Windows Server 2008 also means that a new of release of Citrix Essentials for Hyper-V is coming.

Citrix just made the beta version of Citrix Essentials 5.5 for Microsoft Hyper-V available for download.

Citrix Essentials 5.5 for Hyper-V, otherwise known as the 'R2' release of Citrix Essentials, supports the latest Hyper-V and System Center enhancements now available in Windows Server 2008 R2 (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/hyperv-main.aspx ). In addition to supporting R2, Citrix Essentials adds new disaster recovery capabilities to Hyper-V with StorageLink Site Recovery.

Here's a glimpse of some of the new goodies available in Citrix Essentials 5.5 for Microsoft Hyper-V:

Site Recovery
Why put a bunch of idle physical hardware at remote recovery sites when you can accomplish your DR objectives with virtualized servers using Hyper-V? Server virtualization with Hyper-V gives your IT organization an extremely cost-effective approach to disaster recovery, while the new Site Recovery capabilities included with Citrix Essentials gives you the control you need to implement, manage, and test your DR solution.

Site Recovery uses StorageLink technology (http://community.citrix.com/display/ocb/2009/07/20/Essentials+for+HyperV+-+StorageLink+Step+by+Step+Part+1 ) to unlock underlying storage array replication services, giving you the toolset you need to enable remote fail-over strategies for their Hyper-V environments. You can use StorageLink Site Recovery to set up native storage remote mirroring services, then test the recoverability of virtual infrastructure at remote sites through the staging capabilities included with Site Recovery. Instant clones of recovery VMs can be created and placed in isolated networks where you can test recovery without impacting ongoing data replication or access to critical Hyper-V infrastructure.

Additionally, you can use workflow orchestration tools in Citrix Essentials and Windows Server 2008 Clustering to build out a completely automated DR solution for your Hyper-V infrastructure.


R2 Integration
This release of Citrix Essentials coincides with the R2 release of Windows Server 2008 to ensure you can take full advantage of advanced management and automation included with Citrix Essentials for Hyper-V. It supports the latest Windows Server® technologies, including the R2 releases of Hyper-V and System Center Virtual Machine Manager. Citrix Essentials integration with the R2 release of Hyper-V and System Center includes the simplified setup and administration of shared storage assets required for Microsoft Failover Clustering and Live Migration.


Windows 7 Support
Most IT organizations will spend the coming months testing Windows 7 in their labs as they prepare to roll it out to their users. Citrix Essentials 5.5 for Hyper-V includes updates to its lab management capabilities, including support for Windows 7. Automated lab management in Citrix Essentials automates the setup and tear-down of unique workload configurations, including builds of Windows 7, using self-service template libraries for rapid provisioning and enables cross-team collaboration on common virtual environments. With automated lab management, organizations can accelerate the process of moving workloads through development and testing, and into the live production environment, while reducing virtual machine sprawl and minimizing setup or configuration errors and delays.

Grab the beta and go for a test drive.

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A new FREE self paced online training class for Essentials for Hyper-V is now available.

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h2.CEV-100-1W Getting Started with Citrix Essentials for Hyper-V

In this course, learners will be introduced to Citrix Essentials™ for Hyper-V™ and gain the knowledge needed to perform basic installation and configuration tasks. Through online simulations, students will install and configure key features and explore product capabilities, such as virtual storage management, provisioning services, lifecycle management and workflow studio.

Audience

This course is designed for IT professionals, architects, systems engineers, server administrators, engineers, Citrix Partners and Microsoft Partners.

Preparatory Recommendations
Prior to taking this course, it is recommended that students possess the following knowledge/experience:
• A basic knowledge of the purpose and goals of virtualization technology
• An intermediate familiarity with Microsoft® Hyper-V
• An understanding of computing architecture, including network and storage devices, device drivers and operating systems
• Basic experience installing and administering Windows Server™ 2003 or Windows Server 2008
• Intermediate knowledge of network devices and site architecture, including configuring vLANs
• Basic knowledge of storage terminology and technologies, including partitions, SANs, LUNs, iSCSI, and NFS and CIFS file shares

Key Skills
Upon successful completion of this course, learners are able to demonstrate the following objectives:
• Identify requirements and process for a basic implementation of Essentials for Hyper-V
• Describe the key features including:
o Dynamic provisioning
o StorageLink
o Lab management
o High availability
• Execute basic functions including product installation, and demonstrate familiarity with the Administrative consol and user interface for basic operations and maintenance
• Describe the high-level concepts of Workflow Studio

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Between speaking at Microsoft Tech Ready, a much needed vacation and travel for some meetings, I have not had the opportunity to close out this series of posts. Here is the next one.

In this section of the StorageLink Step by Step Series, Steve takes you through how to add storage to existing Hyper-V virtual machines using StorageLink.

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In Part 1, Steve Umbehocker reviewed the installation of the StorageLink component of Citrix Essentials for Hyper-V. In Part 2, Steve reviewed the initial configuration of StorageLink after it has been installed. In Part 3 of the StorageLink Step by Step Series, Steve covers connecting to Storage Systems via the StorageLink Manager console. In Part 4, he covers how to create storage repositories (SRs) with the StorageLink console. Next, on Part 5 Steve takes you through how to create Hyper-V virtual machines from storage templates.

Express Edition Download
http://www.citrix.com/ehvexpress

StorageLink Deep Dive Webinar - http://community.citrix.com/blogs/citrite/barryf/2009/04/13/StorageLink+-+Essentials+for+Hyper-V+Deep+Dive+Webinar

StorageLink Demo Videos
http://www.citrix.com/ehv

StorageLink Overview - http://community.citrix.com/blogs/citrite/barryf/2009/02/23/StorageLink+in+Essentials+for+Hyper-V

Provisoning Services Overview - http://community.citrix.com/blogs/citrite/barryf/2009/03/20/Provisioning+for+Hyper-V+with+Citrix+Essentials

Lab Manager Overview - http://community.citrix.com/blogs/citrite/barryf/2009/03/19/Essentials+for+Hyper-V+with+Lab+Management

StorageLink Install Install Guide - http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX120789
StorageLink User Guide - http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX120791

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Over the past couple of years I've had a number of customers and prospectives ask me for different ways of evaluating XenApp because they wanted to show someone how it worked really quickly without having to use their production system. Or, they got the Receiver for iPhone but didn't have their system configured to use it. Or, they were meeting with the head of another department at work and wanted to show them the power of application virtualization with Citrix XenApp.

Well, now you can with 3 easy ways to get an evaluation system to meet your specific needs.

• Eval in the Cloud - A pre-configured, rapid evaluation system that anyone can use to see the power of virtualizing applications for themselves. This system is great for anyone from an end-user to a non-technical family member. It requires no investment or hardware and doesn;t need any installation since it's already configured. EVAL LENGTH: 2 hours, 1-User

• Evaluation Virtual Appliance - A completely pre-configured virtual machine system running XenApp, the EVA runs on Xen or Hyper-V and helps your quickly virtualize your own apps and deliver them to anyone. It's got an illustrated quick start guide that leads you through the process of profiling, publishing and accessing applications. You can even add the machine to your domain. It's perfect for the techie that's new to XenApp but who doesn't want to get their hands covered in grease. This system is also perfect as a test bed for applications and application compatibility. It's also useful for testing scripts created with Workflow studio. Some admin's have even found it helpful for stdying up to take Citrix certification exams. EVAL LENGTH: 60-days, 99-User

• Product Media - This is XenApp installation media that is downloadable from Citrix.com. You can also order physical media from customer care. The great thing here is you'll have everything you need to create a completely customized evaluation environment including licenses which we've made available online. EVAL LENGTH: 90-days, 99-User

So the net-net is that there is now an evaluation option for nearly any scenario and you now have more options for getting demo or evaluation XenApp environments up and running with very little effort, if any at all. Check these options out for yourselves at the XenApp evaluation center.

Please let us know what you think.

Sincerely,
Vinny Sosa

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I remember when I was in the field, among the many things that partners wanted were better options for evaluating Citrix XenApp. The reason is because they have many prospects calling on them asking for an evaluation but no way to service them - either because of lack of resources or lack of budget or committment from the customer. See, customers come in many phases of preparedness. Some are just learning about application virtualization and just want to kick the tires on something. Others have budget and are seriously committed to finding the right solution. You've got to have options that help you bring the early stage folks up to the qualified lead level while limiting the amount of resources needed by you to get them there. So, as I see it, customers fall into three main categories and we have an evaluation solution for each - Mr. Newbie - This type of prospect knows very little about application virtualization. They think it could be the answer but they don't know yet. They also don't have budget to have a proper evaluation system set up, much less the hardware on which to configure it. For these types of prospects, the Citrix XenApp evaluation in the cloud is perfect. It gives them a pre-configured, rapid evaluation system that they can use to see the power of virtualizing applications for themselves. This system is also great for quick sales calls as it is temporary and completely configured and easy for a sales person to register for on a last minute notice. It requires no investment or hardware for the customer either and no "freebie" engineering resources from you. Perfect for satisfying folks who are just not sure about anything yet without putting them off.

*Vinny Sosa* Technical Mktg Mgr, XenApp @vinnysosa

• Mr. Cheap - This type of prospect knows a bit about application virtualization and may have the hardware to run their own evaluation system but want free help from you to set it up. As a partner, you're stuck because your engineering time is money so you need to charge for this. At the same time, you don't want to say no and just send them away to bark up another partners tree. This is the perfect use case for the Citrix Evaluation Virtual Appliance. It's a completely pre-configured virtual machine system running XenApp. it runs on Xen or Hyper-V and helps customers quickly virtualize their own apps and deliver them to their own users. It's got an illustrated quick start guide that leads them through the process of profiling, publishing and accessing applications. They can even add the machine to their domain. It's still a basic system with none of the Platinum level features turned on which makes it a handy way to get their foot in the door without trampling on your value-add and without adding any unnecessary complexity to your sale. This also leaves lots for you to discuss when you finally come on site to sell them your services and expertise. Licenses are also available online and the system will support 99 users and timeout in 60 days. The system can even be expanded if you wish by adding the Platinum features with a manual installation.

• Mr. Custom - This type of prospect knows what application virtualization is to some degree and they aren't afraid of getting their hands dirty. They likely have budget to solve a particular problem and they might also have the time and resources to do it themselves. They likely have hardware that they can use and the know-how to read documentation (ahem ). This is the kind of customer you want to be dealing with. You'll either sell them evaluation services that will roll into a deal with implementation and support services or watch from the side-lines guiding their evaluation as it progresses and sell them product, implementation and support services at the end. In any case, this type of evaluation will leverage XenApp media that is downloadable from Citrix.com or you'll give them physical DVD media. Great thing here is we've made licenses available online as well so it's easier for you to obtain for them or for them to obtain themselves. Another great thing is that the eval is limited to 90 days. Additionally, you'll be dealing with a more knowledgeable customer so the design phase should go a lot smoother if you know what you're doing. On the downside, if you don't know what you're doing the same will be easier by the knowledgeable customer to sense so be prepared and send in your very best.

So the net-net is that there is now an evaluation option for nearly any type of customer and the best part about it is that you now have options for limiting the involvement of profitable engineers and also for empowering your sales team to do more on their own. Check it out for yourselves at the XenApp evaluation center.

Please let us know what you think of these new evaluation options.

Sincerely,
Vinny Sosa

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On the run up to VMworld 2009, there seems to be an increasing amount of activity on the subject of user personalization in VDI. Gartner has written about dynamic workspace includng user personalization as a key element of the stack. What does it mean? What is user personalization all about? And, where does it need to be? Let's take a closer look.

Aren't all PCs supposed to be personalized? What's the big deal?

Personalization of the desktop is really all about making the working experience for the user as effective as possible. Sure this means users have photos of their family or favorite sports team as their wallpaper, but personalization is more than that! Think about all the things you have done to make your personal computer your own - from toolbar settings to your email signature, to applications you have installed since being supplied with your machine. Then think about how IT is able to manage the user-specific component of this machine - corporate policy, user access rights, PC lifecycle management, patching and security updates. It's a constant struggle between IT who needs to manage the PC and the user to wants to personalize it. The more personal the PC, the less control IT has over that machine and the more expensive it becomes to manage.

Does desktop virtualization help or hurt the cause for users?

The emergence of desktop virtualization provides a real opportunity to address this long-standing struggle. Those assets of the desktop that are common to many users, including corporate OS and apps, can now be standardized and automatically delivered 'on-demand' to users from a central source. In fact, the only way to get scalable and cost effective virtual desktops is with single instance management of the corporate OS and applications - as with Citrix XenDesktop. A 'corporate' OS can be dynamically provisioned into a virtual image, and likewise, corporate applications can be delivered on-demand onto the virtual desktop as needed. The result? A scalable, low-management, low-storage, low-cost corporate desktop for all employees. The third key component of this scalable virtual desktop is personalization - so that you can make each user's virtual desktop personal.

So, how do you pick the right solution?

Based on my interactions with customers successfully implementing virtual desktops, I have come to a conclusion that there are 5 key requirements that you need to consider for delivering personalized virtual desktops:

1. Starting with managed user profiles or equivalent - A system that can store user settings and personalization changes. A system that can provide an easy and fast way to manage the settings for users. This is included as part of XenDesktop and gets you started with your personalized virtual desktops.
2. Getting On-demand 'personality' - To increase the responsiveness of the desktop and logon, only provide parts of the user personality required by the user at the time when needed. Why load what a user is not going to use?
3. Allowing user-centric configuration - This may be a bit counter-intuitive to personalization; however, role based configuration is a critical component of making every user's desktop 'personal'. It starts with configuring which applications a user has access to. XenDesktop (with XenApp as an application management system) offers the ability to control the applications. IT may need more granular control - such as what printers users will need and what drives they can access.
4. System self-healing from user errors - To be able to automatically roll back to pre-configured user settings in case any personalized changes made by zero conflict centralized configurations.
5. Ensuring visibility - Giving IT the ability to see into the user environment and solve potential problems before the user gets involved creates a continuously improving desktop estate as well as reducing costs

How do you get it going?

We have included #1 and parts of #3 in Citrix XenDesktop. To address other requirements that cover comprehensive enterprise-level control and management of personalization, I have seen customers successfully use the combined solution of Citrix XenDesktop and AppSense Environment Management to good effect. In addition, AppSense Environment Management is also able to offer Enterprise-level scale to cover not just your virtual desktops but also your physical environments, or environments where you may be using multiple technologies such as XenApp published/hosted or streamed apps to physical PCs and XenDesktop.

So when you hear about 'user personalization' or 'user profiles', look deeper into the details of what's being discussed. Successful (low-cost, high adoption) VDI requires the ability to use a single instance of OS and apps on demand across an entire company. I have seen that customers have successfully combined Citrix XenDesktop with AppSense Environment Management to ensure user adoption across all platforms for thousands of users, and it's being considered as the most complete solution for delivering personalized virtual desktops.

What to expect in coming weeks?

I expect to see more point solutions and some technology acquisitions and OEMs. However, they have two fundamental shortcomings, in my opinion:

• They are built only with the perspective of user personalization. Any user personalization product needs a solid desktop virtualization solution.

• They solve one of the requirements I listed above and may not be enough to address all of enterprise requirements.

As you are doing your assessment on personalization, I encourage you to review this list of requirements that I have seen in successful implmentations of virtual desktops. Also, I'd love to hear your comments on other requirements around personalization that I haven't covered here.

ICA Proxy for XenApp using CAG

Citrix Access Gateway™, a member of the Citrix Delivery Center, is an SSL VPN to securely deliver any application with policy-based SmartAccess control.

Citrix XenApp™, also a member of the Citrix Delivery Center™ product family, is the industry's de facto standard for delivering Windows-based applications with the best performance, security and cost savings.

By centralizing applications and data in secure datacenters, IT can reduce the costs of management and support, increase data security and facilitate business continuity.

We at Citrix are often asked how to deploy a CAG in front of a XenApp server farm, to proxy application delivery over the ICA protocol, securely. The CAG secures XenApp delivered applications by serving as a proxy for those applications. CAG proxies the ICA connections delivered from XenApp, and then wraps those applications with HTTPS or SSL to secure the traffic before it leaves your organization.

This is possible by following the steps in the deployment guide. This guide is specific to the Citrix Access Gateway Standard Edition (AGSE), which is different hardware & software from the Citrix NetScaler Access Gateway Enterprise Edition (AGEE).

Download the deployment guide.

Its Powerful Citrix Developer Network!

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Best Practices for Deploying and Managing Hyper-V Infrastructure

Date: Thursday, August 27, 2009
Time: 2:00 PM Eastern; 11:00 AM Pacific

Join Microsoft and Citrix as they explore best practices for deploying and managing Hyper-V. Learn how to rapidly provision Hyper-V infrastructure, reduce your Hyper-V storage footprint by over 50%, increase I/O performance by up to 30%, and much more.

Discover how Microsoft System Center together with Citrix Essentials for Hyper-V helps you effectively manage and automate the delivery of virtual and physical infrastructure for your Hyper-V deployments, including how the solutions:

• Rapidly provision virtual and physical infrastructure
• Improve storage utilization with the seamless storage integration
• Conquer VM sprawl and take back control of virtual labs
• Maximize performance and resource utilization

REGISTER NOW.

About the Presenters:

Gordon Mangione; VP, Emerging Virtualization Products; Citrix Systems, Inc.
Gordon Mangione leads the Advanced Products group at Citrix, where he is specifically focused on building products for the Microsoft platform. Previously, Mr. Mangione was responsible for product operations with a focus on engineering, support and services at XenSource before its acquisition by Citrix. Prior to that, Mr. Mangione held several VP roles at Microsoft, where he was responsible for Exchange, SQL Server and incubating the security business.

Dai Vu; Director, Virtualization Solutions Marketing; Microsoft Corporation
Dai Vu leads the team responsible for Hyper-V product marketing and marketing solutions built on Microsoft virtualization products and technologies. His team works closely with solution partners to define, develop, and market joint solutions to drive horizontal and business solution scenarios enabled by virtualization technologies. Previously, Dai was responsible for mid-market/channel strategic initiatives on the Server and Tools Strategy and Planning Team. Prior to Microsoft, Dai was Program Director at IBM and Engagement Manager at McKinsey and Company.

REGISTER NOW

Oracle EBS 12.1 runs on XenApp

Citrix XenApp™, a member of the Citrix Delivery Center™ product family, is the industry's de facto standard for delivering Windows-based applications with the best performance, security and cost savings. XenApp is the most complete application virtualization system available with the ability to virtualize applications on both the client side and server side, delivering them on demand based on the user, the application or the location (online or offline).

By centralizing applications and data in secure datacenters, IT can reduce the costs of management and support, increase data security and facilitate business continuity. XenApp Platinum Edition adds critical capabilities for application performance monitoring, secure remote access, WAN optimization and single-sign-on application security.

Citrix XenApp is compatible with Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1. Organizations of any size can deploy XenApp on industry standard servers anywhere in the datacenter, on a single server or across all cloud computing datacenters. This simple integration takes Enterprise applications into the virtual realm, allowing customers to run Oracle on Virtual Machines, within XenServer, delivered to the end user through XenApp.

Tap into the power of AppExpert!

Oracle EBS 12.1 is integrated with Citrix NetScaler

Deployed in front of Web servers, NetScaler application delivery controller models combine load balancing and content switching. Potential benefits include application acceleration, content caching, SSL acceleration, network optimization, and application performance monitoring in a single built-for-purpose hardware platform. Unlike other approaches that require multiple point products, NetScaler is an all-in-one appliance that is easy to deploy, configure, and operate with AppExpert Visual Policy Builder GUI-based tools, AppExpert Templates, and multiple wizards.

NetScaler 9.1 is available in both hardware-based (NetScaler MPX) and application-based deployments (NetScaler VPX). All deployment options available in version 9.1 are compatible with Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1. Organizations of any size can deploy NetScaler VPX on industry standard servers anywhere in the datacenter. NetScaler VPX enables load balancing, application acceleration, application security and server offload to become virtual appliance-based services that can be easily and dynamically deployed; on-demand and anywhere in the datacenter. Whether installed on a single server or across all cloud computing datacenters.

Download the Citrix NetScaler, Oracle EBS 12.1 Deployment Guide.

Download the Citrix NetScaler, Oracle EBS 12.1 Data Sheet.

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We've been working hard on the next major release of Citrix Receiver for iPhone, although our team is confident we did a good job implementing the first few releases, we decided to continue innovating. With that been said, our next major release will be focused on a highly improved user experience, and many innovative features!

During an usability study we have acknowledged 20 pixels of "waisted" space within the XenApp session, and 20px in a mobile device is like gold, specially when you only have a 320 x 480 viewable area.

I'm talking about the iPhone Status bar.

This bar indicates, time, carrier, signal strength, wireless mode, battery, bluetooth, etc... The status bar is visible most of the time, except in rare occasion, like when playing full screen movies, pictures, games, etc.

Today I would like to turn to you to help me make a decision on how to regain those 20px back, after all, we are designing this product for you, and getting your input this early is very valuable to us.

The question is pretty simple, we have 3 option, Solid (as is today), Translucent (see thru), Hidden. Which one do you like the most?

Best regards,
Gus pinto
twitter.com/guspinto

I moved to California from London just over 11 months ago. Obviously there is a significant cultural and climatic shift involved and a settling in period is a necessity to find your feet. Having travelled all over the world I have embraced as many aspects of different cultures and enjoyed experimenting.

One such aspect I have noticed here in California and in fact right throughout the US is the love of cheese.  A meal  smothered in cheese is normally accompanied by a side dish of, guess what, MORE cheese. Normally I reserve this dairy delight for a cracker or with some wine but 'Here' it is on everything.

Ordering a Cheeseburger with no cheese always raises a quizzical look from the waitress and a thought process which starts with "You are weird" and progresses to "Is he a serial killer?". Even the lactose intolerant demand that their lunch, dinners and daily snacks have heavy cheese content. Asking colleagues, "why do they have so much cheese on their food?" the simple answer was, "it tastes so good with cheese".

One technically gifted colleague decided to explain this using the analogy that Citrix XenApp and Microsoft Remote Desktop Services(the technology formerly known as Terminal Services) have the same relationship as cheese and hot meals(zzzz). The hot meal is the platform, Microsoft, and the cheese is the value-add, XenApp, which brings the  meal to life. Beating this analogy to a quick death, then Citrix has a number of cheeses, Citrix XenDesktop, Essentials for Hyper-V and Branch Repeater which embrace and extend the Microsoft Platform to supply a sumptuous meal.

All of these great combos can be found here at the New Microsoft/Citrix Community Portal where we've consolidated all related news, blogs, articles, videos, etc... into the feeds section of this page. We've also created an area that highlights all related forum threads and postings. Look for answers to your burning questions, participate in an existing discussion, or you can tell us if our cheese is good or if it stinks - let me remind you that all the best cheeses stink  

PS Does eating cheese in the evening give you nightmares? 

Join Citrix CTO Simon Crosby and VMware Technical Marketing Manager Scott Drummonds as they debate virtualization at the recent Thrilla event in California.

For the past 2 years, Citrix and VMware have used the blogosphere as their virtual sparring ground for a debate on hypervisor performance. While each vendor has contributed a wealth of information on virtual infrastructure performance to the online community, both continue to passionately disagree on how their respective hypervisors stand up to enterprise-class production workloads, as well as how best to measure performance in virtual environments

Click below to view the full presentation:
http://www.catalyst.burtongroup.com/Na09/PlayerVideo011.html

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In this section of the StorageLink Step by Step Series, Steve takes you through how to create Hyper-V virtual machines from storage templates.

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In Part 1, Steve Umbehocker reviewed the installation of the StorageLink component of Citrix Essentials for Hyper-V. In Part 2, Steve reviewed the initial configuration of StorageLink after it has been installed. In Part 3 of the StorageLink Step by Step Series, Steve covers connecting to Storage Systems via the StorageLink Manager console. In Part 4, he covers how to create storage repositories (SRs) with the StorageLink console.

Express Edition Download
http://www.citrix.com/ehvexpress

StorageLink Deep Dive Webinar - http://community.citrix.com/blogs/citrite/barryf/2009/04/13/StorageLink+-+Essentials+for+Hyper-V+Deep+Dive+Webinar

StorageLink Demo Videos
http://www.citrix.com/ehv

StorageLink Overview - http://community.citrix.com/blogs/citrite/barryf/2009/02/23/StorageLink+in+Essentials+for+Hyper-V

Provisoning Services Overview - http://community.citrix.com/blogs/citrite/barryf/2009/03/20/Provisioning+for+Hyper-V+with+Citrix+Essentials

Lab Manager Overview - http://community.citrix.com/blogs/citrite/barryf/2009/03/19/Essentials+for+Hyper-V+with+Lab+Management

StorageLink Install Install Guide - http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX120789
StorageLink User Guide - http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX120791

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In what could quite possibly be the best quote from any 80s movie, the character Mike Damone said in Fast Times at Ridgemont High "wherever you are, that's the place to be." Well, that's definitely true if you're visiting the new Citrix Community page for Intel.

Within this one page you'll have all information on the Citrix and Intel relationship available at your fingertips...or mouse click so to speak.  

Interested in learning about Citrix's latest activities with Intel? We know your time is valuable and that's why we've consolidated all related news, blogs, articles, videos, etc... into the feeds section of this page. We've also created an area that highlights all related forum threads and postings. Look for answers to your burning questions, participate in an existing discussion, or post a new thread. Epitomizing the true nature of community... this page is here for you!  

Did you know that Citrix and Intel are working together to jointly develop a bare-metal Type-1 client hypervisor? Learn about and stay up to date on our joint collaboration of Citrix XenClient. View demos, read blogs and let us know what you think about this upcoming solution.

But it doesn't stop there! Get information and results on our joint product validation, benchmarking and scalability tests. You can even let us know how you're working with Citrix and Intel solutions together in our Community Verified area.

You're only one click away from all things Citrix and Intel. Stop by the Citrix Community page for Intel and check back often! And don't forget to follow us on Twitter!

To finish off with another Damone line, "isn't this great?"