I was away for a couple of week, but I'm back and very excited to tell you about the HDX Plug-n-Play for USB storage device. HDX Plug-n-Play for USB storage is another HDX/High Definition eXperience feature introduced in XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2. I believe this new feature will really eliminate many headaches for XenApp administrators and end users alike. So imagine, users now have the ability to plug-in their USB thumb drive/USB stick and use it with their XenApp delivered application at any time; before launching the application or while they are in the middle of working with the application. Effectively, users now have a local-like experience when interacting with a USB stick or USB disk drive.

For those not familiar with how USB storage worked prior to Feature Pack 2, let me explain... Let's say you are working with Microsoft Powerpoint delivered to you via XenApp. A co-worker stops by, hands you a USB stick and asks for a copy of the Powerpoint. Naturally, your instinct tells you to plug in that USB stick, go to Powerpoint - File - Save As... <bzzzz - wrong!>. Prior to Feature Pack 2, users must first plug in the USB stick before starting the Powerpoint. Otherwise, XenApp would not recognize and map the thumb drive in the session. Needless to say, it's not very natural, and couldn't be any less instinctive.
Many customers & admins I talked to are raving about this new feature in XenApp! They are excited because they no longer need to "re-train" users how to use USB drives with XenApp. IT no longer have to field support calls on why they don't see the USB stick in the application. Applications delivered with XenApp become ever more transparent to the end users...and that's a great thing!

How do I enable this feature? This feature is enabled by default. So, if you have policies to not allow use of USB sticks, you'll need to disable this feature in the registry by following the instructions below or in eDocs.

On XenApp 32-bit edition
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Citrix\Policies\DisableUSBRedirection
On XenApp 64-bit edition
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Citrix\Policies\DisableUSBRedirection

Type: DWORD
Values:
1 = redirection disabled
0 = redirection enabled

Now, I also want to point out that this feature, like the HDX MediaStream for Flash is currently available on XenApp 5 for Windows Server 2003. Support on Windows Server 2008 is forth-coming and I'll be sharing more information on this site in the near future.

So, there you go... XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2 makes life easier for admins and end users, again! And if you missed my first post on how XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2 delivers a local-like experience with Adobe Flash content, take a look at HDX MediaStream for Flash
But wait! Tomorrow, Ola Nordstrom from our Security team will post our HDX Easter-egg feature called Secure Clipboard Control. Very cool feature for customers who require better control of information flow in an XenApp session. So, stop back tomorrow!

Learn more about Citrix XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2

• Official Press Release - http://citrix.com/English/NE/news/news.asp?newsID=1857726
• XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2 release Web Site - http://citrix.com/xenapp/featurepack2
• XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2 Executive Video - http://citrix.com/xenapp/fp2/video
• XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2 Release Webinar - http://citrix.com/xenapp/fp2/techtalk
• XenApp feature matrix by platform, version and edition - http://citrix.com/xenapp/comparativematrix
• XenApp Expert Series videos for this release - http://citrix.com/xenapp/fp2/expertseries
• XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2 Blogs- http://community.citrix.com/blogs/tag/xa5fp2
• Download XenApp technology previews - http://citrix.com/xenapp/techpreviews
• XenApp Product Page - http://citrix.com/xenapp/

Follow XenApp on | | | [|http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2130967&trk=hb_side_g|Follow XenApp application

It's been a very hectic week and a bit since Citrix announced XenDesktop 4. As owner of the Trade-up to XenDesktop 4 program for XenApp customers, I have been fielding lots of questions from partners, analysts, customers and Citrites as the word has been spreading rapidly. I thought it would be a good idea to follow up with a blog post series that captures many of the questions and answers.

Before I get into the first question, let me do a quick refresher on the program. First, the program is designed to make it very easy and attractive for any XenApp customer to trade-up to XenDesktop 4. Any customer, who is current on Subscription Advantage (SA) that Trades-up all their licenses to XenDesktop 4 at once, gets 2 XenDesktop 4 user or device licenses for every 1 XenApp concurrent license. The pricing is such that they save 80% off the purchase of new XenDesktop 4 licenses. If a customer doesn't want to trade up all their licenses at once, they can trade-up a portion of them and receive 1 XenDesktop 4 user or device license for every 1 XenApp CCU. Pricing is set such that the customer saves up to 70% off the purchase of new XenDesktop 4 licenses. In both cases, customers can use their existing SA renewal budget to fund the bulk of the Trade-up. This program is similar to the Upgrade to XenApp Platinum that we introduced to coincide with the launch of Platinum in Q1 of 2007 and was very well received by our customers. In fact approximately 70% of the upgrades to Platinum happened at SA renewal time.

If a customer has expired SA, no problem. They can Trade-up any Enterprise or Platinum licenses going back to MetaFrame XP. Pricing is set such that the customer saves up to 50% off the purchase of new XenDesktop 4 licenses.

In all cases, customers get another year of Subscription Advantage and when they renew, they do so at the lower XenDesktop 4 rate.

One of the first things that comes up is - "who should consider the Trade-up?" Before I answer, consider the following two key points. XenDesktop 4 contains all the functionality of XenApp (including the latest goodies introduces in XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2 like VM Hosted Apps, HDX enhancements for Flash and Power and Capacity Management) as well as all the latest XenDesktop 4 features (such as FlexCast Delivery Technologies). Customers who Trade-up and implement XenDesktop 4 can leverage all their XenApp experience to deliver apps the way they always have and full virtual desktops as well. What is even cooler is point two. If you Trade-up your licenses now, you don't have to implement XenDesktop 4 until you're ready. Your current XenApp implementation will run on your new XenDesktop 4 licenses. You can update your infrastructure when you're ready. One last little pitch. XenDesktop 4 works with any existing storage management and server virtualization infrastructure (including VMware).

All that said really any customer who has a concurrency ratio of 2:1 or less or multiple users per device should consider the Trade-up. If your organization is thinking about desktop virtualization now or in the future, you should consider the Trade-up. If you're about to embark on a desktop refresh with Win 7 and are looking at ways to reduce desktop management costs, consider the Trade-up.

Let's look at an example of a customer who has 1,000 licenses of XA Platinum at a 2:1 concurrency ratio and is considering Trade-up (Please note that prices here are SRP. No volume discounting has been applied). Of course, first thing they would do is go to the Trade-up calculator to check out the dynamics. If the customer Trades-up 100% of their licenses, they'd get the 2-for-1 and would have 2,000 XenDesktop 4 user or device licenses. To fund the Trade-up, they'd take their $50,000 of budgeted SA renewal and add $45,000. Now they have the ability to deliver full virtual desktops as well as applications. The renewal rate of SA the following year would be based on the $35/user or device and would be $70,000. Not bad considering they have more than twice the functionality they had before and double the number of licensed users or devices. Plus, the licensing flexibility gives the customer to provide access unlimited virtual devices per user or unlimited users per virtual device depending on whether they choose a per user or per device model.

We worked hard to make it easy for our customers to add desktop virtualization to their working XenApp implementations, to minimize risk and to reward them for their loyalty.

Probably enough for the first post. More to come.

Bill Hartwick, Sr. Director of Product Marketing for XenApp

Over the last couple of months there has been lots of communication around the XenApp 5 FP2 release.

One of the components of XenApp that was updated with FP2 which hasen't received much publicity is the Web Interface 5.2 update.

I would like to take sometime to share with you what is new in this release.

For those of you who haven't had a chance to review the new features, see the list below, then watch my video for an overview of each feature and basic use case.

New features in Web Interface 5.2

• XenApp VM Hosted Apps
• XenDesktop User Roaming
• Disaster Recovery
• New Management Console
• Secure Ticket Authority Redundancy

David
Twitter - http://twitter.com/citrixreadiness
Citrix Support on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/citrixsupport

Award nominations for Citrix

Citrix wanted to let you know that some of our products have been nominated for the SYS-CON Virtualization Reader's Choice Award and the Cloud Computing Readers' Choice Awards. These awards recognize excellence in the virtualization and cloud-based software, solutions or services provided by the industry's top vendors.

We wanted to let community members know about this nomination, since the final award winners will be determined through a public voting process. The voting period for these awards is now open and will end on Oct. 23 .

If you feel inclined to vote for a Citrix product for one of these awards, we would appreciate your support! To vote, please visit the Virtualization Readers' Choice Awards and the Cloud Computing Readers' Choice Awards voting pages. You will need to include your e-mail address and select one product in each category. Then, place your vote by clicking "vote now" on the bottom of the Web page. Award winners will be announced the week of Nov. 2.

Thank you for your consideration!

Don't miss this webcast as our Systems Engineers discuss the new technical features and benefits of XenDesktop 4. Find out why XenDesktop is the most flexible way to centralise and deliver your desktops.

In this webinar you will learn:

• What's new in the latest version of XenDesktop 4
• Best practices for upgrading to the latest release

Click below to learn more:
http://www.citrix.com/English/NE/events/event.asp?eventID=1857244

In this session you will learn about the key improvements in Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, and new license bundles from Microsoft in addition to how Citrix and Microsoft continue to innovate together to further develop and enhance desktop virtualisation.

In this webinar you will learn:

• What's new in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2
• About new virtual desktop licensing bundles from Microsoft
• How Microsoft and Citrix work together to deliver virtual desktops

Click below to learn more:
http://www.citrix.com/English/NE/events/event.asp?eventID=1857900

You are invited to the next meeting of the New York Metro Citrix Users Group.

The User Group provides members with an opportunity to share and learn about common issues and utilization of Citrix® technology. Additional discussions include technology design and infrastructure, enterprise solutions and ideas, trends, and upcoming activities of interest.

Agenda:
4:00 Opening Remarks - Mediator
4:05 Citrix Announcements - Citrix
• Product Updates
• Beta Announcements
• Tech Releases
4:30 Application Virtualization - Streaming
• Citrix
• Symantec
• Microsoft
4:45 Citrix VPX - Citrix
5:15 Open Discussion - ALL
• Feature Requests
6:00 Next Meeting - Agenda Requests

This event will be hosted by Ivan Carrasco, Corporate Network, Depository Trust Clearing Company and supported by Citrix Systems.

Click below to learn more:
http://www.citrix.com/English/NE/events/event.asp?eventID=1857032

You are invited to the next meeting of the New York Metro Citrix Users Group.

The User Group provides members with an opportunity to share and learn about common issues and utilization of Citrix® technology. Additional discussions include technology design and infrastructure, enterprise solutions and ideas, trends, and upcoming activities of interest.

Agenda:
4:00 Opening Remarks - Mediator
4:05 Citrix Announcements - Citrix
• Product Updates
• Beta Announcements
• Tech Releases
4:30 Application Virtualization - Streaming
• Citrix
• Symantec
• Microsoft
4:45 Citrix VPX - Citrix
5:15 Open Discussion - ALL
• Feature Requests
6:00 Next Meeting - Agenda Requests

This event will be hosted by Ivan Carrasco, Corporate Network, Depository Trust Clearing Company and supported by Citrix Systems.

Click below to learn more:
http://www.citrix.com/English/NE/events/event.asp?eventID=1857031

You are invited to the next meeting of the New Jersey Citrix User Group

Twitter: http://twitter.com/nycctxusrgroup

The User Group provides members with an opportunity to share and learn about common issues and utilization of CITRIX technology. Additional discussions include technology design and infrastructure, enterprise solutions and ideas, trends, and upcoming activities of interest.

Agenda

• 9:00AM Opening Remarks - Mediator 9:15AM Citrix Announcements - Citrix Product Updates
• Beta Announcements
• Tech Releases 9:45AM Scheduled Presentation - TBD
• Feature Requests 10:30AM Open Discussion - ALL

Click below to learn more:
http://www.citrix.com/English/NE/events/event.asp?eventID=1858386

Citrix Online Plug-in for Mac - Version 11.0 の English-On サポートを開始！

先日リリースされた Citrix Online Plug-in for Mac - Version 11.0では、日本語OS上で、英語製品をサポートする English-On サポートのテストが実施され、これで晴れて、Mac クライアントの日本語環境での使用がサポートされました(テクニカルサポート
の提供を含みます)。

Citrix Online Plug-in for Mac - Version 11.0 からの接続先として、下記環境に対するテストが実施されました。

• 日本語 Citrix XenApp 5.0 (for Windows Server 2008)
• 日本語 Citrix XenApp 5.0 FP2 (for Windows Server 2003)
• 日本語 Citrix XenDesktop 3.0
  

Citrix Online Plug-in for Mac - Version 11.0 のダウンロードはMyCitrixから可能です。

Citrix Online Plug-in for Mac - Version 11.0
https://www.citrix.com/English/ss/downloads/details.asp?downloadId=1856482&productId=163057

Citrix Online Plug-in for Mac - Version 11.0 Readme
http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX122226

Plug-in for Macintosh Administrator's Guide
https://www.citrix.com/site/resources/dynamic/dlshareddocs/Citrix_Plugin_for_Mac_Administrators_Guide.pdf

また、先日リリースされた Access Gateway Plug-in for Mac OS X Version 1.0.2.23 は、日本語へローカライズされており、Access Gatewayを通じたセキュア接続も日本語のMac環境から行えます。

Access Gateway Plug-in for Mac OS X, Version 1.0.2.23
https://www.citrix.com/English/SS/downloads/details.asp?downloadId=1857838&productId=15005

Citrix Online Plug-in for Mac - Version 11.0 から Citrix XenApp 環境へ接続した際のイメージです。

Two weeks ago, we introduced XenDesktop 4, an exciting new product line that I personally believe will make virtual desktops a mainstream reality for the first time ever.

The initial response to XenDesktop 4 has been overwhelmingly positive. Over the past two weeks, I've had countless conversations with customers, prospects and partners. In the course of these discussions, three themes in particular seem to have struck a real chord:

• Customers of all sizes like the fact that XenDesktop 4 with FlexCast goes well beyond VDI-only products, giving them the flexibility to deliver any type of virtual desktop to any user - from one, centralized solution.
• Including XenApp as a built-in feature makes virtual desktops far more cost effective and gives customers one seamless solution for desktop and application delivery.
• Many customers have commented on the long list of enhancements to our HDX™ technology and can't get wait to get their hands on it to try out, plus test the 90% bandwidth savings in comparison to other solutions.

Amidst all the positive responses, however, it also became clear that we missed a few important things on the licensing and packaging front in our initial announcement. Feedback from numerous surveys and 1:1 conversations found that some customers needed additional flexibility to license virtual desktops based on devices, rather than users. Other customers new to desktop virtualization told us they needed a simple "VDI-only" solution with more flexible licensing to make the transition easier as they ramp up. Finally, we heard from a number of K-12 and university customers who needed a simpler, more cost-effective program customized for the unique needs of the eductional market.

So what do we think about these suggestions? The short answer is "we agree". Your feedback has been invaluable in helping us make sure XenDesktop 4 enables the broadest set of virtual destkop scenarios possible. As a result, we've decided to make three important new enhancements to XenDesktop 4:

1. NEW device-based licensing option.
2. NEW VDI Edition available in both user/device and CCU licensing
3. NEW Campus-wide Licensing Program for customers in the education industry

Flexible licensing based on user or device

Customers in some industries have scenarios where multiple users share the same device. These situations include retail kiosks, warehouses, branch banks, labs, and the like. To help with these situations, we've decided to enhance XenDesktop 4 licensing to offer more flexibility by adding a new device license option - available at the exact same price as the user-based license. This means that users can access their XenDesktop from an unlimited number of devices with the user-based license option, and devices powered by XenDesktop can be used by an unlimited number of users with the device-based license option. As a result, your XenDesktop 4 product license can now be assigned to either a user or a device. Please also note that our user licensing doesn't require you to manage a bunch of named users or specific device lists. We've tried to make it as simple, easy and flexible as possible.

A killer "VDI-only" solution for people getting started with virtual desktops available in user, device or CCU licensing

While most customers were overwhelmingly positive about the power of FlexCast to deliver any type of virtual desktop to any type of user or device, we found many customers were still just testing the waters with VM-based "virtual desktop infrastructure" projects, commonly referred to as VDI. These customers wanted a flexible, VDI-only solution they that could trial in a wide variety of VDI use-cases. Because many were just getting started, they also needed flexible licensing that made it easy to ramp up as they got more familiar with the technology.

In response, we're creating the new XenDesktop 4, VDI Edition available for $95 per user/device, or $195 per concurrent user (CCU). XenDesktop 4, VDI Edition gives customers the ability to deliver best-in-class VDI-based desktops with a true HDX experience, and scale them up with our built-in provisioning services, profile management, and StorageLink™ technology. As with all the XenDesktop editions, the new VDI edition lets customers use any hypervisor, including XenServer or Hyper-V (both of which ship with all XenDesktop editions) as well as VMware ESX or vSphere. I'm confident customers who compare the alternatives will conclude that XenDesktop 4, VDI Edition is hands down the best VDI product on the market, at a far better price than any other competing solution.

Desktop Virtualization in Education is ready to go Campus-Wide

K-12 and university customers told us that they love XenDesktop 4 and want to use its desktop and app virtualization capabilities across a broad diversity of students, faculty, labs, and administrative facilities. They also want the flexibility to deliver either the full Windows desktop, or just some applications to a wide variety of use cases, including enabling access from smart phones, etc.

To address this customer requirement, we're adding the Citrix Campus-wide Licensing Program. This program, available starting November 16th, will offer extremely compelling prices to accredited educational institutions in K-12 and university campuses who adopt XenDesktop 4 for campus-wide use.

Putting it all together

Citrix XenDesktop™ 4, VDI Edition - Best-in-class VDI-only solution available at $95 per user or device, or $195 per CCU
Citrix XenDesktop™ 4, Enterprise Edition - Enterprise-class desktop virtualization solution available at $225 per user or device
Citrix XenDesktop™ 4, Platinum Edition - Best-value comprehensive desktop virtualization solution available at $350 per user or device

Remember, the user-based licenses are available not for per named users but the users as they login to their virtual desktops. You do not have to manage the user lists yourself.

Thanks for making XenDesktop 4 even better

Thanks to all of you who provided all the great feedback over the past couple of weeks. Your input was invaluable in helping us understand the additional use cases we missed the first time around. In short, your input helped make XenDesktop 4 even better, and for that, we are grateful.

As we approach the General Availability date for XenDesktop 4, I'm more excited than ever about the impact this product is going to have on customers of all sizes, across every industry sector. The best part of my job is watching the reaction of customers when they see XenDesktop in action. Even more fun is talking to end users who have discovered the power and flexibility of virtual desktops and would never go back to a traditional installed desktop. That's the power of desktop virtualization. And, XenDesktop 4 makes it real for even a broader set of use cases now!

As previously announced, three legacy Citrix Certified Enterprise Administrator™ (CCEA) and Citrix Certified Integration Architect™ (CCIA) certifications will expire on June 30, 2010. After this date, these credentials will no longer be current and will be listed as "expired" on Certification Manager transcripts. These certifications are:

• CCEA for MetaFrame XP Presentation Server

• CCEA for MetaFrame Access Suite3.0

• CCIA for MetaFrame XP Presentation Server

So how do you update or keep your certification valid if you hold one of the above?

Before Expiration Date of June 30, 2010

• You may take advantage of update paths* for the new Citrix Certified Enterprise Engineer™ (CCEE) and CCIA for Virtualization, available in January 2010. With the update path, only one exam is required for updating to CCEE and one additional (two total) exams are required for CCIA. To learn more about the update paths, visit www.citrix.com/CCEEupdate or www.citrix.com/CCIAupdate

After Expiration Date of June 30, 2010

• If you have achieved three or more requirements towards the Citrix Certified Enterprise Administrator (CCEA) for Citrix XenApp (Presentation Server 4), complete the track. Doing so will extend the validity of your CCEA and enable you to take advantage of the CCEE and CCIA update paths.

• If you have not made any progress towards updating your CCEA or CCIA, begin completing requirements for the new CCEE for Virtualization. The new, streamlined requirements consist of a total of five exams, and if you possess any of the recent Citrix Certified Administrator™ (CCA) or Citrix Certified Advanced Administrator™ (CCAA) certifications, you may have already fulfilled part of the requirements.

*PLEASE NOTE: The update path is recommended for seasoned professionals who possess knowledge of, or hands-on experience in, Citrix virtualization technologies. For those without experience in these technologies, following the complete CCEE and CCIA paths is recommended. Please note that individuals with versions of the CCEA and CCIA for XP expired in 2005 are not eligible to use the update path and are encouraged to take one of the two courses of action indicated above now. Visit Certification Manager to confirm your certification status.

If you have any questions about this expiration notice, or about how to maintain your certification status, contact training@citrix.com.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I look forward to your comments or feedback.

Happy ROI!,

Sai

AppSense, the leading provider of User Environment Management solutions for the enterprise, are pleased to announce full support for Citrix XenDesktop 4,a groundbreaking new Citrix product designed to make virtual desktops a mainstream reality for hundreds of millions of corporate employees for the first time ever.

"AppSense has been working closely with Citrix and our joint customers for many years and we commend Citrix on this bold and significant move. By combining two market-leading products and introducing FlexCast technology to accommodate every user type, Citrix has been instrumental in further reducing the barriers to mainstream virtual desktop adoption," said Charles Sharland, Chairman and CEO, AppSense. "As an enterprise solution recommended by Citrix to provide comprehensive desktop personalization for all users, we look forward to providing our Citrix customers a way to scale their virtual desktop estates at lowest cost and with maximum user adoption."

AppSense, a Citrix partner of over 10 years with some 4,000 joint customers around the world, provides technology solutions that enable low-cost, standard desktop images to be delivered to employees as fully personalized desktops. This ensures maximum user adoption from just a few corporate base images, reducing cost, complexity and risk. Their User Environment Management solution is the only technology to provide on-demand desktop personalization across all delivery methods and operating system versions.

Based on this unique level of customer experience, AppSense is well positioned to work in conjunction with Citrix FlexCast to provide centralized management of the user personality for task workers, knowledge workers and power users in both server and client-hosted desktop environments.

"We look at the desktop in a different way at AppSense," states Pete Rawlinson, VP WW Marketing at AppSense. "We effectively separate the desktop into three layers; corporate operating system, corporate applications and the user. By managing all aspects of the user independent of the desktop, IT are able to standardize the corporate operating system and applications, delivering them on-demand only when needed. The combination of Citrix XenDesktop 4 and AppSense User Environment Management enables companies to truly eliminate unnecessary desktop management costs while ensuring users of all types receive the very best working experience - even in the most heterogeneous environments."

This layered model looks to be the way forward for mainstream virtual desktop adoption, as Rachel Chalmers of The 451 Group states:

"Separating out operating systems and applications and provisioning them dynamically means that desktops can be assembled per session and disposed of when the session is over. To make all of this work like a physical PC, though, administrators need to store stateful user settings and preferences elsewhere. Separating out this layer of user data is what we call user virtualization. Citrix ecosystem vendors pioneered the art of maintaining these user profiles in terminal services environments, and AppSense has led the way in adapting it to desktop virtualization."

AppSense will be a sponsor at the upcoming CitrixLive global online event on October 20, 2009, "Secrets, Lies and VDI: Dispel the Myths and Uncover the Truth about Desktop and Application Virtualization".

Click here to register your place…

Now that XenDesktop 4 includes numerous ways to deliver virtual desktops, (Greater description of the FlexCast technology), we need to take a look at how those applications are integrated into:

1. Hosted/Shared desktops
2. Hosted VM-based desktops (VDI)
3. Hosted Blade PC desktops
4. Local Streamed desktops
5. Virtual Apps to Installed desktops
6. Local VM-based desktops

(BTW, this also aligns with a CIO magazine article on Desktop Virtualization's 5 most important flavors) 

And this is a question that Cole M sent into Ask the Architect.  As always, the short answer is "It Depends", but I try to do a little better than that in the latest Ask the Architect Video. 

Daniel - Lead Architect

Follow me on Twitter: @djfeller

Follow the latest in desktop virtualization

Send Desktop Virtualization questions to: AskTheArchitect@Citrix.com

We are proud to announce that several Citrix virtualization solutions have been nominated for both the SYS-CON Virtualization Reader's Choice Award and the Cloud Computing Readers' Choice Awards. We have been nominated in many categories and we are honored to be nominated for these awards. Citrix XenDesktop and XenServer have been nominated for two awards each. Thus, proving that Citrix has the best-in-class end-to-end solution for the enterprise (but you already knew that).

Casting your vote and voicing your opinion is easy, simply click on the links below and cast your vote for Citrix!

Virtualization Readers' Choice Awards

-Best Application Virtualization - Citrix XenApp
-Best Desktop Virtualization Platforms - Citrix XenDesktop
-Best Device Virtualization - Citrix Receiver
-Best Network Virtualization - Citrix NetScaler
-Best Server Virtualization Platforms - Citrix XenServer
-Best VDI - Virtual Desktop Infrastructure - Citrix XenDesktop
-Best Virtualization Management Tools - Citrix Essentials

Cloud Computing Readers' Choice Awards

-Best Cloud Infrastructure Solution - Citrix XenServer
-Best Cloud Services - Citrix C3 Product Line

About the SYS-CON Virtualization Reader's Choice Award:

SYS-CON Virtualization Readers' Choice Awards and Cloud Computing Readers' Choice Awards recognize excellence in the virtualization and cloud-based software, solutions or services provided by the industry's top vendors. To determine these top vendors and products, SYS-CON is asking readers to vote on nominated products.
The voting period for these awards is now open and will end on Oct. 23. To vote, please visit the Virtualization Readers' Choice Awards and the http://cloudcomputing.sys-con.com/general/rcawardsvote.htm voting pages. You will need to include your e-mail address and select one product in each category. Then, place your vote by clicking "vote now" on the bottom of the Web page. Award winners will be announced the week of Nov. 2.

( Citrix employees our vote --@Citrix.com has already been counted )

Thank you for your support!

Citrix Geek Speak is an event format that allows Citrix, Citrix partners, other IT resellers and customers to exchange their know-how in free discussions following a defined subject around the main subject "Desktop Virtualization".

Date: 11/12/2009
Time: 14.30 CET - 21.00 CET
Location:
Europaplatz 1
CH-6005 Luzern
Switzerland
Hosted by: Citrix Central Europe
Venue: KKL Luzern / Kultur- und Kongresszentrum

Click below to learn more:
http://www.citrix-eventservice.de/geek-speak/termine-und-orte/#2009-11-12

Citrix Geek Speak is an event format that allows Citrix, Citrix partners, other IT resellers and customers to exchange their know-how in free discussions following a defined subject around the main subject "Desktop Virtualization".

Date: 11/2/2009
Time: 14.30 CET - 21.00 CET
Location:
Karlsplatz 13/011
A-1040 Wien
Austria
Hosted by: Citrix Central Europe
Venue: Technische Universität Wien / Hörsaal 6

Click below to learn more:
http://www.citrix-eventservice.de/geek-speak/termine-und-orte/#2009-11-02

Citrix Geek Speak is an event format that allows Citrix, Citrix partners, other IT resellers and customers to exchange their know-how in free discussions following a defined subject around the main subject "Desktop Virtualization".

Date: 10/27/2009
Time: 14.30 CET - 21.00 CET
Location:
Kurfürsten-Anlage 52-60
69115 Heidelberg
Germany
Hosted by: Citrix Central Europe
Venue: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG / Print Media Academy

Click below to learn more:
http://www.citrix-eventservice.de/geek-speak/termine-und-orte/#2009-10-27

At Citrix Education, we are often asked the following question:

What is the difference between CXA-201-2I Implementing Citrix XenApp 5.0 for Windows Server 2008 and CTX-1259BI Citrix Presentation Server 4.5 and XenApp 5.0 for Windows Server 2003?

The easiest answer to this is simply, the operating system. CTX-1259BI applies to XenApp 5.0 for Windows Server 2003 and CXA-201-2I applies to XenApp 5.0 for Windows Server 2008. However, the more complicated answer is...a lot of smaller differences, like features.

During the development of courseware, Citrix products, including XenApp, continue to evolve and change. We manage this constant change in two primary ways:

1. We plan an update/maintenance cycle
2. We include features late in development (if they have been announced)

These two approaches, while capturing most changes, cannot reflect all changes to the product. That's why you may see a difference between what the courseware describes and what you can actually view in the live product. This, essentially, is the other fundamental difference between CXA-201 and CTX-1259. They each represent XenApp (on a different OS) at different times in XenApp evolution.

CXA-201-2I, available October 2, 2009, is the latest full course update on Citrix XenApp. It contains the most current and complete picture of XenApp on Windows Server 2008. CXA-201-1I, was the first release for the WS 2008 platform, and released in May of 2009. The features included in that course reflected XenApp 5 and nothing that has happened since...clearly, it was time for an update! Learn more about the delta between CXA-201-1I and CXA-201-2I (document also posted below).

In November 2009, we will release an update to CTX-1259BI. It will contain information including Feature Pack 2. Because it is available after the release of CXA-201-2I, it will become the course with the most current feature set of XenApp (WS 2003). Learn more about the delta between CTX-1259BI and CTX-1259CI (document also posted below).

In short, the main difference is the OS. The best choice for which class to take should be based on the OS on which you wish to learn. Or, if you are preparing for a platform migration from 2003 to 2008, we recommend CXA-201. To stay up to the minute current on new XenApp features, you can always reference the XenApp product pages.

If you have any questions or suggestions for the next release of XenApp courseware, please send them to training@citrix.com. We want to hear from you!

CXA-201 version overview

CTX-1259 version overview