VDI is not stupid. Recently, Eric S. Perkins on his blog proclaimed that VDI is Stupid. Well, actually, the way our competitors have been treating VDI is problematic; which might have led to Eric's assertion that VDI is stupid. So, I want to take this opportunity to go over some of his concerns.

One important point on VDI - VDI is not merely another server workload and must not be treated as such. This is perhaps why many of our competitors' VDI implementations have failed and have also created significant costs for their customers. Furthermore, VDI is not for every user in the enterprise - it is best suited for certain environments.

Desktop virtualization, on the other hand, is a more comprehensive solution that encompasses VDI. By separating the three core components of the desktop - OS, apps, and user profile - into three different layers, desktops are managed centrally and dynamically assembled for users regardless of the location and device the users are logging in from. The separation of the three core layers provide tremendous flexibility for IT to manage users desktops.

Citrix has been in the desktop virtualization space for a long time (admittedly we never talked about it as desktop virtualization) and have various forms of it available to our customers. Beyond VDI, Citrix FlexCast allows IT to delivery desktops to all users desktops in different scenarios:

• For task workers sharing a similar set of applications, the most secure, cost-effective approach is Hosted Shared Desktops.
• For office workers who need more personalized desktops, Hosted VM-based VDI Desktops is often the best approach. By running each user's desktop in a dedicated virtual machine, this option combines the benefits of central management with full user personalization.
• For technical workers and power users who run professional graphics applications such as CAD/CAM, GIS; Hosted Blade PC Desktops ensures dedicated processing power for each user.
• Local Streamed Desktops leverage the local processing power of rich clients, while centralizing single-image management of the desktop. This is a quick and cost-effective way for anyone to get started with desktop virtualization by leveraging existing PC resources while keeping datacenter overhead to a minimum.
• Virtual Apps to Installed Desktops offer many of the ROI and management benefits of a fully virtualized desktop with minimal setup costs. Although virtual apps run on the local device, they managed centrally.

Regardless of what type of virtual desktop you pick for your users, user experience is the most important aspect of desktop virtualization. Based on Citrix's 20 years experience working with the end users, we are very sensitive to how users interact with their work environment. So when we created XenDesktop, a huge focus is placed on making the user experience much better than a local PC - with our HDX technology.

With regards to VDI being just another propaganda or niche solution. Gartner estimates by 2013, the desktop virtualization market will be at $65billion. And we are seeing this explosive growth at Citrix. There are real business issues our customers are addressing with desktop virtualization. You can see all these real world testimonials on our website.

Administrators are used to the idea, that running applications under Application Streaming will permit poorly written applications to run in a multi-user terminal services environment.   For example, if the application wants to write to the \Windows directory, no problem; the application will believe that it wrote there and later if it reads the same stuff, it will see what it put there and generally, the application will work. What is less known is that that Application Streaming and XenApp publishing can be used to reduce the rights of the application at execution so that it has a reduced chance of hurting the machine.

Privilege vs. Isolation

Isolation and "privilege" are different things. Running the application "isolated" does not mean that the application can't do powerful things.   An administrator privilege ISOLATED application CAN still perform privileged operations such as adding new users to the machine, marking them as administrators and adding them to the remote desktop group where the evil doer can then remotely login, as a non-isolated administrator and easily do evil things. 

Not a problem for XenApp hosted execution

To be clear, none of this is important for XenApp hosted execution.  Here, the user is already a user and stripping power from the user to get them to user power is a "nop" because they were a "user" to start with.  This discussion of "privilege" reduction is more of a Windows XP client side, or hosted desktop statement where "admin" power users are the norm.   On Windows XP, unless you're very good at locking down the machine the end user will be running as an "Administrator" and this is not desired.  How can you make this happen as little as possible?  How can you get MOST of the applications to run with the least privilege possible?

Brain damaged applications

Some applications even CHECK to see if they are admins and refuse to run if they are not.   Awesome!  If you can't figure out how to code it, demand admin rights machine wide!    You can easily hit a situation where 90% of your desktop applications will run fine without admin rights, yet you have no choice but to make the user a full blown administrator because some small subset of the applications demand admin rights; or perhaps, even really need them.

What about the "normal" applications that don't need admin rights, or at least don't need admin rights when run under isolation?  It would sure help if we could at least make the "all powerful" user be a "lowly user" for the purposes of the majority of application execution, even if the user is really an administrator.  You can, and XenApp makes this easy.  First, some history.

DropMyRigthts

Go back in time and take a look at this 2006 technet article from Microsoft on Least User Access and a description of the DropMyRights utility by Michael Howard.   Excellent stuff and here is a related set of blogs from Aaron Margolis of Microsoft who seems to have a passion for running apps as a user!   The output of this early work was a command line utility called DropMyRights which would duplicate the user's logon token, strip the powerful rights - and then use the modified token to launch the application.  Good stuff.  As an example, here is the .BAT file I used to use to launch MS Outlook.

• dropmyrights "%PROGFILES%\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\OUTLOOK.EXE"

The idea of running apps on forced user privilege on Windows XP was not unique to App Streaming, but we did wrap pretty GUI around it and wrapped application publishing around it to make it easy to use - and then we didn't tell anyone it was there.  To be fair, most of the usage was server side, so it wasn't as important, but hosted desktops are changing this.

The XenApp publishing system makes this dropping of user rights accessible via easy to use GUI.

Access Management Console

Here's the AMC screen that controls this setting.  Notice that this "stripping of rights" is controlled in the AMC - not in the streaming profiler.  Could it be controlled in the profiler?   Sure.  Both of these tools are nice GUIs which could accomplish the same goal, so yes, it could be controlled in the profiler, but it isn't.  One could even make a really good argument that it is in the wrong place and SHOULD be in the profiler because this is where the admin is that knows more about the application.  I would agree, but it wouldn't matter, it's still in the publishing console whether or not this seems like the right place.  

 
When I wrote the draft for this post, I did it in a place without internet access, so I couldn't easily check the default.  I wrote that SURELY! the default is that we strip the rights before launching the app.  Surely, Shirley, what ever you call it, the default is the other way; by default, the launch leaves the user's token alone and launches the app using what ever power the user has according to logon.  If you CHECK the box, then the Access Management Console tells the Citrix IMA to tell the Citrix Web Interface to tell PNAgent to tell the Streaming Client that it should strip power from the user for the purposes of running this stream to client application.  Where the application will permit it, You should set the checkbox.

XenApp server side, it won't change anything;XenApp Client side, it will ensure that the application is launched using a user token that has "lower power".  Lower power is better...

Here are some other writings on Application Streaming related to this:

•  Enhancing the Security of Application Streamingfor Desktops

Enjoy!

Joe Nord

Citrix Systems Product Architect - Application Streaming

先週はITPro EXPO 2009のCitrixブースにご来場いただきありがとうございました。また関係各位にご協力いただき大変感謝しております。なお、同イベントにおいてXenDesktop 4がITPro EXPO Award 2009のZDNet Japan賞に選ばれました。スタッフのみなさんで徹夜して準備した甲斐がありました。

http://itpro.nikkeibp.co.jp/article/NEWS/20091030/339835/?ST=keitai

The Citrix Workflow Studio Evaluation Virtual Appliance (EVA) is now available. This EVA provides you with 30 days to evaluate a pre-configured virtual machine running Windows Server 2008 that has Workflow Studio 2.0 already installed and configured with all activity libraries and the sample workflows from CDN. Download the EVA and review the Getting Started guide .

If you have any questions leave a comment or contact me directly

While a mandatory based profile solution was the original approach (something we leveraged in the earliest releases), we are not going to return to that method. Let me explain why and get your thoughts and opinions on this.

One request that has been commonly voiced has been around a mandatory style implementation. While previously we had leveraged a mandatory profile as the base, for many reasons we moved away from that approach. One key reason was to save time that the merging process required (the copying of the mandatory down first and then copying of all the net changes). All in the spirit of logon speed. Another key reason is that it really was not a mandatory profile anymore. Profile management captured all the net changes from that base mandatory. So no settings were enforced or re-written at next logon. Basically it was a holder of starting settings when a profile was loaded. But the net changes were always re-applied over the base so nothing was ever enforced. So in the end, you needed to leverage Group Policy to enforce any permanent settings anyway.

It's also been explained that having a mandatory approach enables customers without Group Policy delegation to have a means to control the profile settings. And mandatory by itself is a great solution albeit the limitations on the breadth of personalization - which the amount of personalization afforded by a mandatory solution is probably adequate for many scenarios. While you can redirect folders like My Documents, Favorites, Cookies and others, the ability to change anything registry related is prevented e.g. wallpapers, application configurations and such. But if you try to combine this with something like Profile management to enable those changes, how are you going to restrict what does not get saved? You would need to create an exclusion list of all the settings you want enforced (and thus excluded from being saved). Doable on a few settings but it will get unwieldy really fast. And I am willing to bet it's going to be harder than Group Policy to manage before long. In the end, it seems capturing all the settings and using Group Policy to enforce setting as required is the way to go and thus the direction for our profile management solution.

Finally, let's address the capability of having a base profile to start with. We do offer a template profile capability which you could think of as a Global Default User profile. When a user logs onto Windows and does not have an existing profile (be it local, mandatory, roaming or TS), Windows creates a new profile for that user based on the Default User profile located on that current machine. The fun of this is unless you want to sync all the Default User profiles across all the machines a user might likely log onto for the first time, the starting profile will different (although often only slightly) from user to user. Might not be a big deal initially or on smaller scales, but will be more problematic as your environment expands and grows.

The purpose of the template profile is to enable a consistence starting point for a new profile being created no matter the machine. The template profile can leverage a copy of the mandatory profile you use today but you just need to rename the NTUSER.MAN back to NTUSER.DAT (so no you can't use the same one as both the template and a mandatory). And the template profile has to be complete (e.g. the entire directory structure and NTUSER.DAT). Also keep in mind that this is used for profile creation. So changing the template is fine, but only affects new profile being created and not existing ones. Need to change or enforce a setting for all users? Then we are back to using Group Policy for those situations.

So that is where we stand today with our Profile management feature (a feature of both XenApp (Enterprise and Platinum) and XenDesktop (Advanced, Enterprise and Platinum). Of course this is always open to debate and discussion if you have scenarios that illustrate weaknesses to this approach that Citrix should pay more attention to addressing.

DABCC will be hosting a webinar Nov 4, 2009 on Web Interface customization leveraging Extentrix Web Optimizer ... details here: http://www.dabcc.com/media.aspx?id=647

You can register through the above link. Key topics covered:

– Make your Web Interface "look and feel" consistent with your corporate and intranet web sites
– Quickly add custom graphics and themes
– Simple and easy to use interface and available quick start templates get you up and running quickly
– Unrivaled support for mobile devices

My role allows me to speak with many different people (customers, technologists, coworkers, administrators, etc). I've been able to see presentations comparing the different desktop virtualization solutions out there.  One of the problems I see is that many of the solutions only focus on one aspect of desktop virtualization, and that is the VDI model. 

VDI is only one aspect of the entire desktop virtualization solution.  This is a concept that many fail to comprehend. For example, I attended Gartner ITExpo last week and was amazed at how many people I talked to only thought about the VDI scenario (you know VDI, allowing you to have a remote virtual desktop running on a hypervisor in the data center).  When I talked to people about the other options, I could see their eyes light up.  

If you are reading this and only know about the VDI version, the I suggest you take a look at FlexCast to get a better understanding at all of the different options out there (FYI, even the CIO magazine identifies there is more to desktop virtualization than VDI). But in a nutshell, here's the deal... desktop virtualization includes:

1. Hosted shared desktop
2. Hosted VM-based VDI desktop
3. Hosted blade PCs
4. Streamed local desktop
5. Virtual Apps to installed desktops
6. Local VM-based desktop

I want to focus on the Streamed local desktops scenario. This is the one that really got people's attention at Gartner.  Why?  Because most organizations do not do a big bang effect of replacing their end point devices. Instead, most have a rolling lifecycle where each year a portion of the endpoints are upgraded and over the course of 3-4 years the entire desktop environment has been upgraded. Once the process completes, it starts over, never ending.  
 
Let's now say you are embarking on a desktop virtualization project.  It seems like  a waste of resources and money to idle those desktops that are only 1 year old. They are powerful enough to run Windows 7 and the latest applications, so why would we not use the hardware we already have?  This is where the streamed local desktop comes in. It uses the same XenDesktop infrastructure, the same OS images, the same application layer and the same personalization layer.  The only thing that changed is the hardware layer.  
 
As money always seems to speak louder than words, think about it this way: If you have 3,000 desktops and they are replaced every 3 years on a rolling cycle, that means 1,000 of those desktop are less than 1 year old.  If you estimate 50-100 virtual desktops on a hypervisor (XenServer, ESX or Hyper-V) then you need 10-20 fewer physical servers, which is a substantial cost savings (and even greater if you are using a hypervisor that costs money).

So I encourage all of you to not think about the VDI-only solution but instead to look at your environment as a whole. Chances are you will see that VDI-only might work for you, but probably isn't the best way to run your business. Think about it this way... You can create documents in Notepad, but would you really base your business on a solution that only does one thing, or would you use a more complete solution like Microsoft Word that gives you options?  

Daniel - Lead Architect - Worldwide Consulting Solutions

• Twitter: @djfeller
• For the latest desktop virtualization information visit the Ask the Architect - Next-Generation site
• Questions - Then Ask The Architect

I have recently returned from Gartner ITExpo in Orlando.  It was quite interesting, especially some of the thoughts they had around the economy and impending recovery.  One thing stated during the conference should not be a surprise to anyone, during a recession you save your money by not taking on any new projects. By not implementing beneficial upgrades to your systems. By not delivering newer versions of your applications to users.  

This does have the benefit of saving money, but this can only go on for so long.  Eventually, your competitors will stop saving and start expanding. Where will you be?  

We are at a very unique inflection point that can have lasting ramifications to your IT infrastructure.  We are:

1. Coming out of a recession. We are very likely to see a slew of projects going across the tables to install this or upgrade that. So it is looking like the next 1-2 years will have IT taking on a lot of tactical projects.
2. Getting ready for a major operating system upgrade with Windows 7. Whether you are ready or not, Windows XP doesn't have much time left, and most people are skipping Windows Vista. How are you going to migrate?
3. Able to do things that were unheard of in previous years. We can virtualize a massive server into small chunks, we can do the same to an operating system, applications, and the user's personalization layer and deliver it to any type of device imaginable (phones, PCs, MACs).  

So what does this mean? It means you can continue running your environment like you have for the last 10-20-30 years, or you can ask yourself one simple questions: "Is there a better way?"

We have a very profound opportunity to correct the issues of the past.  And if we do it correctly, the resources required to update, maintain and support our environment will greatly reduce.  So when the next recession comes around, your organization will be ready with a fast and streamlined approach towards maintaining your IT environment as well as continuously providing new services.  But where to begin?  

Take a look at your infrastructure. What area requires a lot of time and resources to maintain?  Probably your desktop environment.  Let's investigate and fix it, but let's do it right.  Make sure you look at all aspects

1. The users: what do they need and how do they work
2. The devices: what type of devices, what capabilities
3. The locations: where are they located, what bandwidth pipes are available
4. The applications: how many are there, what level of dependencies do they have, who uses what

This information is critical.  This is what you need if you want to do the desktop virtualization solution correctly, from day 1.  Is it going to be something you can do in 10 minutes? No. Is it something you can implement in 1 hour? No. Why?  Because we are taking something that is seriously complex and trying to create a solution that can scale and simplify our lives. So during the next recession, we won't have to stop delivering new services, but can forge ahead and beat your competition with an entirely new delivery solution.  
Daniel - Lead Architect - Worldwide Consulting Solutions

• Twitter: @djfeller
• Ask the Architect - Next-Generation site
• Questions - Then Ask The Architect

We have had a great discussion going about user-installed applications and the need/risks associated with this type of solution. One of the comments I received in favor of allowing users to install applications was around Firefox. For those of you who don't use Firefox, there are thousands of add-ons a user can install to customize their browser experience. I personally have about five different add-ons configured with my Firefox implementation.

Now I've been advocating the need for IT to have a process in place that can handle the expansion of the application pool for the users as needed by:

1. Taking user requests for new applications/tools
2. Validating the need
3. Delivering in a timely manner

This is all well and good until we get to the topic of these add-ons. I don't expect any IT organization to have a requirement to support the add-ons. There are thousands of them. Think about it, do you really expect your IT to be spending time messing with these add-ons? And what would it look like for the user? A Firefox application with thousands of add-ons? CRAZY (I do wonder at what point that app would crash. Maybe need a MythBuster episode on it)

All of the sudden, I had a very enlightening experience. I just got my new XenDesktop 4 environment built. I went in an started to personalize my environment, including my 5 Firefox add-ons (remember I'm using pooled desktops from a single base image with roaming profiles). The next day, when I logged onto my virtual desktop, my Firefox starts up and BAM all of my add-ons are still there?!?!

I did some investigation into this. Well, this is an example of an intelligent application design. The add-ons are located within the user's profile (the roaming portion). User's are able to customize the Firefox application without any special tools/utilities. The discussion about Firefox and the add-ons is now a non-issue as the application manages this for us.

So, 1 application down, only 999,999 to go   The point is you need to test before deciding if something will or will not work.

Daniel - Lead Architect - Worldwide Consulting Solutions

• Twitter: @djfeller
• Ask the Architect - Next-Generation site
• Questions - Then Ask The Architect

With the release last month of HDX 3D for Professional Graphics as a feature of XenDesktop, Citrix now offers two alternatives for delivering high-end 3D graphics from hosted applications. Let's compare these two solutions.

HDX 3D Pro Graphics on XenDesktop

Our premier solution for 3D professional graphics is based on hosted Windows desktops and works with either the XenDesktop 3 or XenDesktop 4 Desktop Delivery Controller. HDX 3D Pro Graphics features our most advanced technologies for data compression, making XenDesktop the best solution on the market for delivering 3D graphics to remote workers. For top level performance, we offer GPU-based compression, leveraging NVIDIA graphics processors with 96 or more CUDA cores. The compression level is automatically adjusted based on bandwidth. Just below that is CPU-based JPEG XR compression (no special GPU required). JPEG XR (the 'XR' stands for 'Extended Range'), formerly known as HD Photo, is an ISO/IEC standard for high dynamic range image encoding. These compression options are supported by the HDX 3D online plug-in for Windows, a special version of the ICA client. With advanced compression and other clever innovations, HDX 3D Pro Graphics delivers a good experience even at 2 Mbps and 200 ms roundtrip latency. And, of course, it delivers a high definition "like local" experience on high bandwidth, low latency connections.

Application compatibility is excellent with HDX 3D Pro Graphics because the applications run on a standard Windows XP operating system (and Windows 7 support is in development). It doesn't matter whether the applications use DirectX/Direct3D or OpenGL or whatever. HDX 3D supports True Color, important when a very large number of colors, shades, and hues need to be displayed, as with high quality photographic images or complex graphics. Customers are already using HDX 3D to work with models with more than a million parts, and 64-bit OS support is coming soon, which will enable huge amounts of memory to be addressed.

These comments from our customers sum it up best:
• So far this is the only product to have anywhere near acceptable performance
• Everyone is loving it
• 50 to 75% better than our existing solution
• In pure Swedish, it is "sh$@#ing good"!
• At 1.5 Mbps it is still very usable
• We have been extremely impressed

HDX 3D on XenApp for Windows Server 2008

For many organizations, HDX 3D on XenApp provides a great solution for delivering professional graphics, since Windows Server 2008 now enables a graphics card to be used for 3D rendering on Terminal Services / Remote Desktop Services. While hardware acceleration is limited to DirectX/Direct3D-based applications, that may be all you need depending on the specific applications your end users require. OpenGL based applications are CPU-rendered but they perform much faster on 64-bit Windows than on 32-bit so you may find that to be adequate. Of course, if you really need hardware acceleration for your OpenGL applications, go with HDX 3D Pro Graphics on XenDesktop.

Compression options with HDX 3D on XenApp are not quite as extensive as on XenDesktop but are generally sufficient for intracontinental WAN access. The highest level of compression is obtained by selecting Heavyweight JPEG, a special variant of JPEG that uses arithmetic encoding instead of the normal Huffman encoding. It gives a further reduction in bandwidth of around 10 to 20% without changing the pixel quality at all (compared to standard JPEG), at the cost of higher CPU consumption. With Progressive Display, users get a responsive experience even over WAN/Internet connections because images are delivered with lossier compression while being moved and quickly resolve to full resolution when motion stops.

A single graphics card in the server can support multiple concurrent users, depending on their usage characteristics. I spoke with a customer using an entry-level NVIDIA FX 370 GPU and they support four concurrent users on an HP 360 G5 server with a dual-core Xeon processor and 4 GB of memory running 32-bit Windows Server. They estimate that they will be able to support 12 to 16 simultaneous users on a dual quad-core server with 64-bit Windows Server and 32 GB of memory. Again, it depends on the application and the work profile of the users. A more powerful GPU, like the NVIDIA FX 5600 or 5800, will help with scalability, too.

HDX 3D on XenApp supports lossless compression (important in Healthcare), but color depth with DirectX hardware acceleration is currently limited to 16-bit High Color. True Color support (16 million colors) is offered with CPU-based rendering, and True Color with GPU hardware acceleration is planned for the near future, making HDX 3D on XenApp a great option for delivering PACS applications over hospital campus networks.

A Look Ahead

How will these technologies evolve in the future? 64-bit Windows XP and Windows 7 support is planned for HDX 3D Pro Graphics on XenDesktop, and True Color support is coming soon for HDX 3D on XenApp. Windows Server 2008 R2 is likely to bring some benefits, too. And as the graphics and hypervisor vendors introduce GPU virtualization, we expect to leverage that on both XenApp and XenDesktop; some exciting progress in this area is already happening in the lab. Expanding the VM Hosted Apps feature of XenApp to encompass 3D graphics apps would be a natural step.

Tell Us about Your Experience with HDX 3D

If you're using either of the HDX 3D technologies described above, I'm sure other customers would like to hear your story. Please tell us about the 3D applications you deliver, your data center and network, and how your users are benefiting.

Derek Thorslund
Citrix Product Strategist, HDX

There has been a lively discussion going on in the VDI related Blogosphere kicked off here by Dan Feller and Brian Madden here. This issue of whether or not to allow "User Installed apps "exemplifies the dichotomy that IT Pros struggle with architecting a system that meets the business challenges of security, cost, and compliance plus at the same time satisfying the needs of knowledge workers with high demands and expectations.

As VDI expands from task oriented deployments to broader general purpose PC replacement scenarios this issue is likely to gain more attention. Most companies don't condone user installed apps but many do allow users to have administrator rights to their work PC and may look the other way regarding what an individual installs on their own. When it comes time to virtualize everything for VDI however now they need to pay attention. But how big an issues it ?

Dan indicates from an IT best practice standpoint it is better to develop an effective workflow that speeds and automates the IT approval, packaging, and delivery of new apps that individuals need to be productive. Will knowledge workers accept this solution ? As the commenter's indicate, this works for some but not all situations. Brian Madden proposed another alternative, just give the power users a second VM for unique/personal apps. Keep the corporate VM pristine under IT control and let users have their own separate sandbox if warranted. This may be a bit of a brute force solution but would work If the costs are justified. I like it because I do it myself now, although I use lab VM's as a sandbox vs IT delivered VM's. The commenter's however also found issues with this solution due to costs plus compliance issues about what SW/data gets installed into those user VM's. Some offered up BYOC as a solution if users really needed their own environment. There are many 3rd parties looking to enable User Installed apps as well, however even if the technical challenges are solved will IT support/endorse/allow this? Let me put forth another option/proposal, sometimes when I'm on a system thats not mine or a thin client I connect to my home PC via GoToMyPC and keep it running as long as I need it. This gives me access to apps that are not provided by IT, I have all the freedom to install what ever I want and IT doesn't need to deal with infrastructure costs or compliance issues. Yes this assumes that the power user has their own powered on PC and GoToMyPC does not currently have all of the features I might want for this solution, but you get the idea.

Let us know what you situations you face, is it a problem and do you see a solution for it? If you have another idea or comments on the above, please share it.

As the first opportunity to really interact with customers and partners on a large scale after the XenDesktop 4 and FlexCast announcements, Tuesday's CitrixLive!was a really exciting day for many of us at Citrix.  Ron Lott, Frank Anderson and I had the opportunity to do the Q&A sessions for FlexCast, our name for the uniquely numerous methods Citrix has of delivering virtualized desktops and applications, all under one product, XenDesktop 4.  As my XenDesktop counterpart SME, Frank is an incredibly savvy technologist and fellow Citrite, with a rather impressive employment history with some of Citrix's largest and most successful partners, customers, and XenApp rollouts.  I knew him when he was at Disney and Emory, but have really enjoyed watching him work over the last couple of years in a vital role on our XenDesktop product team... just a great guy to work with.  But I digress...

Back to FlexCast and the delivery options:

Simply put, FlexCast is all about enabling the broadest class of capabilities under a single product from a single vendor, in order to enable IT buyers and engineers to focus on the right implementation for their environment and users, without getting caught up in what many are finding to otherwise be a costly, multi-vendor solution that usually doesn't quite cut it.

After some of the questions on FlexCast during the CitrixLive! Event on Tuesday I thought it would be a good idea to start a blog series about FlexCast On-Demand Apps by presenting the matrix of application and desktop delivery options included in XenDesktop 4.  Dan Feller has posted a quick video over in his "Ask the Architect" Blog that goes into this as well.  Dan's posts are always a great resource so please check them out.  In follow on posts we will go into more detail about specific implementations from this matrix, which grows much larger when you take into account that some users actually use multiple desktops and scenarios, sometimes all at the same time.

In the matrix I have included traditional installation as "End-point Installed", not to include it as part of FlexCast, but to acknowledge it in perspective to the options enabled by FlexCast. 

I have also separated "Online streamed/app-v" and "offline application streaming/App-V" in order to clarify the target platform for these on-demand delivery types. "Offline" in the Citrix vernacular describes the ability of an execution platform to run an isolated app without requiring an active connection to to a back-end XenApp server. 

App Type \ Desktop Type	Hosted Shared Desktop	Hosted VM-Based Desktop	Hosted Blade  Desktop	Local Streamed  Desktop	Local VM-Based  Desktop	Installed Desktop
Online Installed
Online Streamed to Server
Online App-V Streamed to Server*
Offline Application Streaming
Offline Microsoft App-V**
End-point Installed***		3rd Party	3rd Party	3rd Party	3rd Party	3rd Party

    * Requires Microsoft VDI Suite - Premier
  ** Requires Microsoft VDI Suite - Standard
*** Manual or 3^rd Party ESD installs are not part of FlexCast 

As you can see, there are 28 discreet options to be considered for any single desktop implementation. This can at first sight be a little overwhelming.  I would argue that this is much less overwhelming than being forced into one particular desktop or application delivery solution and then trying to address all of the complexities of a growing number of access scenarios (i.e. are all of the users on campus? How many branches do we have to serve and what are the idiosyncrasies of each one?  What do you mean the CEO is working from a remote island with crappy internet access, next week, but still wants to work like they are on the dedicated 10Gb link we installed in his office yesterday)  OK, maybe that last one was a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point. 

With all of the other considerations to take into account, being hobbled by any solution that can only address the problem in a single, specific way, because that is all it can do, is often like painting a car with push broom, yep the paint will go on, but is the end result really what you were hoping for?  Citrix FlexCast pretty much covers every consideration that needs to be taken into account for cost effective desktop and application delivery.  Especially in light of current economics and increasing budget constraints, let alone consumer based end-user expectations that are outpacing the current capacity of corporate IT to deliver acceptable usability and service levels.

In the flexibility line of thought and in light of all of the pressure we are all under in a down economic climate, I'd like to share an excerpt that hit me from one of my favorite books while I was looking at this matrix and reflecting on the great opportunities that On-Demand Apps and XenDesktop 4 introduces.

All three quotes are from one book, they are not in sequence but they cover three thoughts...

The opportunity: 
"Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go."
 
The Trap to avoid:

"You can get so confused that you'll start in to race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.

The Waiting Place...for people just waiting."
 
The Reward for getting it right:

"Oh! The Places You'll Go!

You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed. You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead. Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest."

Wow, I almost feel like Stuart Smalley after that one, anyway thanks for allowing me the tangent, and oh yes, thanks Dr. Seuss, one of the 20th centuries greatest philosophers!

Now, back to business... I am looking for the community to help this blog series evolve by asking questions, sharing examples, and pushing us to deliver more in those areas where you have real pain but no real solution yet.  These are the things that I would really like to be talking about, so let's have at it!

Kurt

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

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。