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We have recently released an update for the Health Monitoring & Recovery SDK, and it is now available for download.
The popularity of the Health Monitoring & Recovery (HMR) feature, included with XenApp 4.5 Platinum and Enterprise editions, has greatly increased during the last few months among Citrix customers. This feature monitors the health of XenApp by periodically executing multiple tests and by starting a recovery action if any of those tests fails.
Citrix provides multiple HMR tests out-of-the-box for the administrators to configure, but customers and third parties can use this SDK to develop additional tests.
Some of the improvements in this update of the SDK include:
- Improved error handling.
- Support for additional test formats.
- Additional sample tests.
- Support for Windows Server 2008.
We are planning a future video blog regarding HMR in general and about the SDK in particular. So, stay tuned!
In the mean time, you can check the Citrix Presentation Server Administrator's Guide or a prior posting about the feature for more information.
Enjoy!
Aureliano Lopez-Martin
Senior Product Manager, XenApp SDKs
New Gartner® report highlights gains
Citrix NetScaler™ accelerates the performance of internal and externally-facing web application up to 5x, while simultaneously protecting web applications from unplanned downtime and preventing the theft of valuable business data. Citrix NetScaler also lowers the cost of delivering web applications by reducing consumption of network bandwidth and server resources. New MPX-class solutions provide the highest application delivery solution performance.
According to Gartner research data:
- Q4 2007 marks the third quarter in a row that Citrix NetScaler has increased market share at the expense of our competition
- Citrix was the only one of the top three vendors to gain market share in Q4. Although F5 remains the overall market share leader, their portion of the advanced ADC market fell 2.5% in Q4. Cisco's share fell by 1% in Q4.
- Citrix NetScaler has increased market share every year since 2004
See the press release at: http://citrix.com/English/NE/news/news.asp?newsID=1340547
Several striking aspects:
- All presentations about security in a virtualized environment were mobbed. People were pretty angry when turned away at the doors of the presentation rooms, but fire marshall regulations prevented people from standing at the back. It appears this is the "next interesting thing" in security, and there is great curiosity. On the reality side, there were very few products / technology for sale to address the potential issues. I believe there are a great many startup companies currently in stealth mode in this area.
- The days of radical and revolutionary change in security from the late '90's and early '00's are way over. The big vendors seem to be just pulling together "fix it all" suites as best they can through acquisitions.
- Michael Chertoff's presentation was a tad scary: he mentioned that government agency computers are all interconnected, and that security is not consistent across all agencies (some have 24/7 monitoring for security and some don't). This is bad for the obvious reason - just like in the movies, the bad guys can find an innocuous-looking, under-protected entrance and get to the agencies of interest. The other scary part was that Mr. Chertoff seemed to think 24/7 monitoring was the main thing. I'd tend to focus on preventative measures, vulnerability assessment, intrusion detection, user training, Identity and Access Management, strong authentication and other areas as well, but they were not mentioned.
- Bruce Shneier's presentation on security rationalization was provocative. He focused on the separation between reality, feelings and models by "experts" when it comes to assessing security risks. One example was the Tylenol scare, and it was successfully addressed from a commercial standpoint by adding hermetic seals to bottles. It made people feel better. The reality is that a syringe could inject poison pretty easily, but people feel better. He also introduced the notion of "security theatrics", where the media and security vendors exaggerate risks and cause people to feel bad when the reality just doesn't match. Interesting concept.
RSA Conference is growing: attendance was estimated at 17,000
Last week I had a really fun opportunity. I was asked to kickoff a New Hire Orientation Class of new Citrites. I had 2 glorius hours to spew forth everything I knew about our products, the Application Delivery Infrastructure, and the all new Citrix Delivery Center.
Mark Twain said, "It usually takes me more than three weeks to prepare an impromptu speech." I didn't have three weeks, but I did want to make sure these newly minted Citrites were able to explain the Citrix Delivery Center. To make sure you understand it, just go to this link: Citrix Delivery Center
As you can see, there's so much to say about the topic. So, to make it easy, I resorted to an old trick I've used all through my marketing career - Start with the Customer in Mind!
IT departments all build out in pretty much the same way.
They start with a pain point > they research and find a solution > they justify the expenditure> and they add it to "THE STACK".
The customer stack has server(s)>operating system(s) > optional hypervisor > database> middleware > applications > networks > appliances> devices > users.
And Citrix has: Access Essentials, Access Gateway, Application Firewall, Application Gateway, EasyCall, EdgeSight, GoToAssist, GoToMeeting, GoToMyPC, GoToWebinar, NetScaler, Password Manager, Provisioning Server for Datacenters, Provisioning Server for Desktops, WANScaler, Workflow Studio, XenApp, XenDesktop, XenServer
So after sketching all of this out on the whiteboard, I told the class it was time for the pop quiz. They had to explain where all of the products overlaid the customer point of view. Since mine was the first presentation, the look of panic on their faces was priceless! But, the point stuck. The Citrix Delivery Center helps partners explain a logical end-to-end application delivery infrastructure that customers can leverage over many pain points. Some products are key for end to end virtualization across applications, servers and desktops, while others are supporting products that enhance the value of a complete solution from one vendor. Have a look at the Citrix Delivery Center. It's a great platform for great products!
I've always been impressed by librarians. They always seemed to go about their work with quiet efficiency. It was amazing how once I'd taken a look through the card catalog, they would pull up ten times the information on the topic using a variety of sources. They may not have been experts on the topic, but they sure knew how to find the experts!
We've added our own librarian to My Citrix. With over 3,000 pages of information and another 3,000 pages of resources, it's not always easy to separate the wheat from the chaf in My Citrix. The Reference Desk function of My Citrix is an excellent chaf separater. Located right on the home page, you can select a Citrix product, business need or industry solution and instantly get all the content separated into categories. Need a case study for XenApp? No problem. How about a Selling and Positioning presentation for NetScaler? What features are in the latest release of XenServer? Presto!
Check it out. The Reference Desk will become your first stop! Take that Dewey Decimal! 
Don't miss out on the great new Presentation Server Platinum training opportunity just announced at Summit this week! See details below.....
StayCurrent, a promotion offering accelerated, in-depth technical training on Citrix Presentation Server(TM) Platinum Edition. Intended to encourage partners to update their skills, the promotion features an accelerated training course that combines several courses adding up to 11 days of training in five days. The course is offered at the promotional rate of $2,500, which is 55 percent off current pricing. This offer is also valid through the next Citrix Summit partner event (October 2008).
Partners may access further information on this training program and others by going to www.citrix.com/partnertraining and logging in with a valid My Citrix account.
Go for it!!!!