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We always make a pretty big deal of XenDesktop being an open desktop virtualization solution. Particularly on the subject of hypervisor support, XenDesktop treats the 3 big vendors equally (Microsoft, VMware, plus our own XenServer). But, just like in life, some are more equal than others! Just using your existing production server virtualization infrastructure can unnecessarily drive up the cost and complexity of your XenDesktop deployment. The point is that Citrix has made a commitment to leverage XenServer and Citrix Essentials to the nth degree to make it the best platform for XenDesktop. That is besides the obvious fact that Citrix Essentials for XenServer is built into XenDesktop (so that makes it free, as in free beer). See more on XenDesktop editions at: http://www.citrix.com/English/ps2/products/subfeature.asp?contentID=1685000
So it is pretty important that XenDesktop users consider the benefits of Citrix Essentials 5.5 and XenServer 5.5 which are now available for download. XenDesktop 3 has been tested on XenServer 5.5 and is fully compatible and supported by Citrix. And if you are already using XenServer 5, just click on the "check for updates" link. A download is available on http://www.citrix.com/lang/English/lp/lp_1688615.asp.
Here are some key benefits of XenServer which establishes it as the obvious choice for a XenDesktop deployment:
| Best Bets for VDI Hypervisor Infrastructure |
XenDesktop on VMW ESX |
XenDesktop on XenServer/ Essentials 5.5 |
|---|---|---|
| Open Architecture | Limited integration with storage vendors. |
Full integration with any third party storage vendor. |
| Single Vendor Solution | Multiple vendors |
One "throat to choke" for virtual desktop troubleshooting and support. |
| Easy Management | Complex support |
Elegant design requiring minimal patching and updates. |
| Low Cost | Expensive ESX licenses needed |
XenServer included in XenDesktop license. |
The StorageLink™ technology in Citrix Essentials ensures that XenServer is certified to work seamlessly with virtually every third-party storage infrastructure, array and backup system on the market today. The 5.5 release also adds the ability to fast clone and provision virtual machines, simplifying volume virtual desktop deployment. Watch a video covering these and other technologies on our blog: http://community.citrix.com/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=71237761
For more details, please refer to http://www.citrix.com/essentialsxenserver
When using XenDesktop on XenServer, Citrix is there to support the entire solution. In a mixed XenDesktop + VMware solution, troubleshooting and support will often be more costly and complex.
XenServer is better integrated into XenDesktop than ESX, making for a better overall management experience for IT. ESX introduces unneeded complexity to a desktop virtualization solution. XenServer will require less patching and maintenance due to a simpler and more elegant design. For example, in the past 2 years since its release, XenServer 4.0 has required just 5 patches (link). By comparison, in the 18 months since its release, VMware has issued 200+ patches (link) and updates for ESX 3.5. Many VMware users were also bitten by the high-profile Update 2 bug last August (link).
And, just to remind you once again, Citrix Essentials for XenServer is included in every XenDesktop license.
| XenServer 5 (as part of XenDesktop Enterprise Edition) |
VMware vSphere 4.0 - 20 Servers | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Capabilities: Multi-server management, resource pools, XenMotion, HA, workload balancing | |
Capabilities: Multi-server management, resource pools, vMotion, HA, DRS | |
| 20x Citrix XenServer | Included | vCenter Server + 3 Year Gold Support | $7,670 |
| 20x Essentials for XenServer, Enterprise | Included | vCenter Server Heartbeat, 3 Yr Gold Support | $15,347 |
| 1 Year support contract | $1,500 | vSphere Enterprise, 3 Yr Gold Support : (40 processors) |
$176,608 |
| Total 3-year cost | $4,500 | Total 3-year cost | $199,625 |
Now that I have convinced you to give XenServer 5.5 a try, I should mention how easy it is to move your desktop VMs over. XenServer's Enhanced Conversion Tools make it a breeze to convert virtual machines created in the VMDK format (commonly used by VMware) into the VHD format. The new XenConvert tools also make it easy to seamlessly convert between any of the common open virtualization format packages, including OVF (open virtualization format), OVA (open virtual appliance) and XVA (XenServer virtual appliance). For more details, have a look at: http://community.citrix.com/blogs/citrite/richcr/2009/06/23/Citrix+XenConvert+2.0.1+Released%21
The bottom line is that there is really no reason not to give XenServer a try for virtual desktops. It has always been provided as part of XenDesktop and, now, the new features of XenServer 5.5 and Citrix Essentials 5.5 are compelling reasons to choose it for any virtual desktop deployment.
Comments (7)
Jul 01
Anonymous says:
You just forgot to mention ESX doubles the VM density on the same host. Memory s...You just forgot to mention ESX doubles the VM density on the same host. Memory sharing is aggressive running dozens of the same OS images. Needs to add the additional hardware costs to your calculation.
This number of patches you mention is partially correct, does not apply to ESXi. ESXi has a smaller footprint, is more secure, and requires minimal patching.
Also, many patches are for specific components, smaller improvements, driver updates (maybe a driver you are not using).
Regards,
Fernando
Anonymous replies:
Jul 01
Anonymous says:
Fernando, The article is about XenDesktop on XenServer. The licensing com...Fernando,
The article is about XenDesktop on XenServer. The licensing comparison is correct based on the fact that you can get 2x the number of XD vms on XenServer than on ESX. You cannot make a comparison with View because it only runs on ESX.
The only apples to apples comparison is to say how many desktop vms you can get on the same hardware using the two products, which is not discussed in this blog entry.
Regards,
Chris
Jul 01
Anonymous says:
Hey Chris, I am not comparing with View. I am saying that ESX can achieve much ...Hey Chris,
I am not comparing with View. I am saying that ESX can achieve much more VM density compared to XenServer, even using XD, and this affects your cost comparison.
Specially with lots of desktops VMs running, the page sharing will be huge, and as a result, ESX excels on this area. This is proven already on may independent benchmarks.
You mention "2x the number of XD vms on XenServer than on ESX", and I can only see this as a typo right ? This is very untrue.
Fernando
Jul 01
Anonymous says:
Fernando, The article is about XenDesktop on XenServer. XenDesktop runs b...Fernando,
The article is about XenDesktop on XenServer. XenDesktop runs better on XenServer than it (XenDesktop) does on VMware. As with XenApp (41% more), XenDesktop achieves a higher density on XenServer than it does on VMware.
Chris
Jul 01
Anonymous says:
"XenDesktop runs better on XenServer than it (XenDesktop) does on VMware". No..."XenDesktop runs better on XenServer than it (XenDesktop) does on VMware".
Not true. ESX delivers dramatically more desktop VMs per host, and that changes the cost comparison. That can higher as 100% more XP images per host compared to XenServer.
You carefully avoided to deny that, because you know this is the case :-D
Jul 01
Anonymous says:
Another point: XenServer does not have Resource Pools. Citrix use the term , b...Another point: XenServer does not have Resource Pools.
Citrix use the term , but they are not true resource pools. ESX can slice available resources in different pools, and XS cannot do that.
ESX is expensive, but you do not get all the features and resources using XenServer.
Jul 02
Anonymous says:
I 90% agree with this but the VMware commenters here also raise some valid point...I 90% agree with this but the VMware commenters here also raise some valid points.
However when upgrading XenServer 5 to 5.5 is stopped talking to our SR which is on our IBM SAN. Without any obvious solution we reverted back to 5.0.0 (update 3) and all was OK again. This has also caught a few people out judging from the Citrix communities..
My point here is XenServer 5.5 is great (snapshots at last in the gui) but be vigilant too. I can say that when we completed our POC with XenDesktop in both a XenServer and ESX setup XenServer just seem to have that little edge performance whys not much in it though.
Luckily we only chose to adopt 5.5 in our development lab.
Dan.
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