About Me

Daniel Feller (bio) is a Lead Architect for the Worldwide Consulting Solutions team at Citrix Systems.

He is charged with helping organizations architect the next-generation desktop, including desktop virtualization, VDI, client hypervisors, and application virtualization. Dan explores this topic on his Ask the Architect site.

Dan can be reached via email at AskTheArchitect@citrix.com or on Twitter.

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White Papers

Windows XP Optimization Guide for Virtual Desktops

Description: If Windows XP is still your desktop operating system of choice and it is going to be used within a virtual desktop environment, you need to optimize it appropriately. The optimizations will help deliver a better user experience and greater scalability on the hypervisor of choice (XenServer, Hyper-V, or ESX).
Publish Date: 18 Feb 2010

XenDesktop Modular Reference Architecture

Description: The architecture explained within this white paper is a recipe for creating a scalable XenDesktop environment using any required FlexCast option.  This reference architecture discusses how to configure the controllers, imaging layer, applicaiton layer and the desktop layer. 
Publish Date: 01 Feb 2010

High-Availability for Desktop Virtualization - Reference Architecture

Description: In environments where desktop virtualization is a critical business resource, it is imperative that the solution remains available even if a component or data center is lost. This reference architecture looks at all levels of the entire XenDesktop solution, and provides an architecture for creating a highly-available solution.
Publish Date: 29 Oct 2009

High-Availability for Desktop Virtualization - Implementation Guide 

Description: Implementing a desktop virtualization solution oftentimes requires an investigation and implementation of the high-availability options.  This white paper provides step-by-step instructions for enabling high-availability in XenDesktop within a single site and across multiple sites.
Publish Date: 29 Oct 2009

Virtual Applications or Virtual Desktops

Description: Trying to decide between virtual desktops and virtual applications is oftentimes challenging.  By understanding the core expectations and requirements for each delivery method helps make this decision easy.  This white paper focuses on the decision and how to identify the most appropriate type of delivery solution.
Publish Date: 03 Sept 2009
 

XenDesktop Design Handbook

Description: The XenDesktop Design Handbook contains a collection of the best practices for designing a XenDesktop solution. The handbook is meant to be used by consultants and architects in the designing of an appropriate XenDesktop solution with a focus on: User communities, infrastructure, personalization, and maintenance.   
Publish Date: 07 Jul 2009
 

Designing an Enterprise XenDesktop Architecture for 10,000 Users

Description:This white paper creates a recommended solution for an organization based on their unique requirements and workforce characteristics. In brief, the organization is a worldwide organization with 10,000 users spread across four global data centers with users located in corporate offices, regional offices, small branch offices, home offices and virtual offices. 
Publish Date: 05 May 2009
 

Simplifying Application Delivery into the Virtual Desktop ? Reference Architecture

Description: Virtualizing applications from a desktop is a proven method for reducing the number of required desktop images. This not only eases management but also makes the solution easier to implement.  This reference architecture provides an example of how Citrix XenApp can seamlessly integrate applications into a virtual desktop seamlessly through numerous application delivery approaches.
Publish Date: 20 Mar 2009
 

Simplifying Application Delivery into the Virtual Desktop ? Getting Started Guide

Description: For those familiar with Citrix XenApp and wish to leverage the infrastructure, the Getting Started Guide provides a high-level framework for the seamless integration. The white paper focuses on XenApp farm modifications and Citrix Receiver configuration, which results in an end-to-end solution for desktops and applications.
Publish Date: 20 Mar 2009
 

Simplifying Application Delivery into the Virtual Desktop ? Implementation Guide

Description: Organizations that have built or are building a XenApp application delivery solution are able to quickly leverage their infrastructure to greatly simplify and speed up implementation of virtual desktops. This implementation guide shows step-by-step how to complete the integration successfully.
Publish Date: 20 Mar 2009

TechTalk Webinars

Windows 7 Migration - Overcoming Past Challenges

Migrating to Windows 7 is going to happen, but how are you going to overcome the challenges with past desktop operating system migrations? How will you deal with the old hardware, application compatibility, personalization migration and user support? These items must be addressed if you are going to be successful.  This TechTalk discusses how desktop virtualization can help overcome these challenges.
Date: 08 Mar 2010

1,000 users in 90 Days

Is moving to a virtual desktop going to take you years to implement?  What if you could get 1,000 users on a virtual desktop environment in 90 days?  It is possible, but you have to follow a proven architecture and methodology brought to you by Citrix Consulting. Learn how by listening to this TechTalk
Date: 16 Dec 2009

Successfully Migrating Users to Virtual Desktops

We've heard the debate from numerous people across numerous platforms... Should I use TSE or VDI for my organization? When should I use XenDesktop if I already have XenApp?  What type of virtual desktop do my users require? What options do I even have? This is a big question and one that deserves a good discussion.
Date: 03 Sept 2009

Creating an Enterprise VDI Solution with XenDesktop

Once you decided to use XenDesktop as your VDI solution, how do you create your enterprise design?  Would you believe there are essentially 4 things you need to know in order to create your XenDesktop design?  Based on those four items, you can design the entire infrastructure.  Listen to find out what they are and how to do it.
Date: 12 Aug 2009

Virtual Desktops or Virtual Applications: Selecting Your Best Solution

Once a XenDesktop solution is designed and built, it?s time to move users over to the virtual system.  The cutover needs to be smooth and seamless for the users or else they will revolt. The migration will take time, and could give the users a bad first impression of the overall solution if it is not done correctly. This TechTalk looks at the challenges and potential solutions to solving your migration woes.
Date: 11 Aug 2009

Take Your Apps with You: App Streaming & Offline Access

Virtual desktops don?t just mean the ones that are hosted in the data center running on a hypervisor.  A virtual desktop could be running on a workstation device.  A challenge with the virtual desktop model is offline mobility. How do you allow users to remain productive even when there is no network connection? This TechTalk focuses on the application portion of the offline challenge.
Date: 5 Jun 2009

Simplifying Desktop Delivery with XenApp

Description:  A lot of talk lately is virtual desktop this and virtual desktop that.  Well, this TechTalk is also focused on the virtual desktop, but looks at the XenApp portion.  How can and should we use XenApp to make the virtual desktop solution easier?  What best practices are there for application delivery and integration into XenDesktop? Tune in to find out.
Date: 3 Feb 09

Podcasts

Michael Keen and Eric Perkins take part in this discussion about desktop virtualization, VDI and customer implementations.  Both of these guys have very strong feelings around desktop virtualization and whether it is the right approach and best approach.  This podcast discusses:

• Desktop virtualization and if/when it is the right approach
• Real world requirements
• Most important tools to help drive a desktop virtualization project

Guest: Michael Keen (Alliance Technologies) and Eric Perkins
Date: 4 Dec 2009

 Download: 13.0 MB

Doug Demskis, Sr. Architect for Citrix Consulting, details the architecture for a 60,000+ XenDesktop environment. Doug not only focuses on the overarching architecture of the solution, but also discusses required changes to an organization going down the desktop virtualization path. In this podcast we discuss:

• ? Overall global architecture
• ? Discussion of user images and application integration
• ? Operational challenges

Guest: Doug Demskis, Sr. Architect, Citrix Consulting
Date: 16 Nov 2009

 Download: 13.1 MB

Sandy Kingdon, Dynamic Desktop Architect for CSC's Dynamic Desktop initiative, provides an insider's view into one customer's VDI implementation. Ultimately planned for 40,000 users, Sandy discusses the overall architecture, the production implementation of the first 1,000 users, plans for scaling to 10,000 users by year-end 2009 and the challenges of introducing a desktop virtualization model. In this podcast we discuss:

• ? Overall architecture and how it is split between Americas and EMEA
• ? Integration of: Citrix XenDesktop, VMware ESX, AppSense Environment Manager
• ? Managing application integration and user-installed applications
• ? User experience challenges for remote workers (you might be surprised what they are!)

Guest: Sandy Kingdon, Dynamic Desktop Architect, CSC
Date: 22 Sept 2009

 Download: 3 MB

About This Site

Welcome to the Ask the Architect - Next-Generation Desktop community
With so much discussion around the value, the features and the options of desktop virtualization, the architecture cannot be ignored. Even if the best solution is selected, the implementation will fail unless it is properly designed and architected.  This site strives to provide an understanding, through numerous means, of the practices and examples of desktop virtualization implementations.  This site will provide:

• Videos answering your architecture questions as they relate to desktop virtualization
• White papers focused on best practices and reference architectures
• On-demand TechTalk webinars discussing how desktop virtualization can be designed to solve your challenges
• Podcasts with leading industry architects discussing what they have designed and experienced implementing desktop virtualization solutions

Take part in this community to offer your insights and experiences, because that is the only way we all will learn and benefit. If you have desktop virtualization architecture questions, please email AskTheArchitect@Citrix.com and you might see your question answered in an upcoming Ask the Architect video.
Thank you and enjoy