Today at Citrix Synergy™, the event where virtualization,
networking and cloud computing meet, Citrix Systems, Inc. announced
a new version of Citrix XenServer® with significant new storage and
networking innovations that change the game in both server and
desktop virtualization for customers of all sizes. The new release
comes on the heels of reports showing XenServer continuing to gain
market share in server virtualization.
XenServer Continues Surge in Market Share
XenServer continues to gain market share at a rapid pace, fueled
by a powerful free version, rapid pace of innovation, simpler
management and extensive penetration in high-growth areas like
desktop virtualization and cloud computing (see blog: “What’s
Driving the Surge in XenServer Market Share?”). XenServer passed a
new milestone this week with more than 50,000 enterprises worldwide
now deploying the product in production for server virtualization,
including more than 50 percent of the Fortune 500. New XenServer
production activations continue to accelerate and are now growing
at a rate of more than 1,000 new servers activated per day.
XenServer also continues to gain share among cloud providers,
building on the presence of the open source Xen hypervisor, the
most widely deployed virtualization platform in the cloud. In
addition to its gains in server and cloud environments, XenServer
is now also the most widely used hypervisor for virtual desktops,
hosting an estimated 2.5 million VDI-based desktops.
New Optimizations for VDI Dramatically Lower the Cost of
Storage
Desktop virtualization is one of the hottest technologies in IT
today, enabling customers to deliver Windows desktops and apps as
an on-demand service to any device. One of the most popular forms
of desktop virtualization involves hosting personalized desktop
images for each user in the datacenter on a server virtualization
platform like XenServer. While this form of virtualization –
commonly referred to as VDI (virtual desktop infrastructure) – has
many key advantages, it requires upfront capital expenditure,
especially high storage costs, in the datacenter. The new XenServer
release introduces a major breakthrough storage optimization
technology for VDI called IntelliCache™, substantially lowering the
costs of storage.
Unlike traditional server workloads, dynamically provisioned
virtual desktops running in the datacenter generate a tremendous
amount of disk activity, slowing performance and ballooning the use
of expensive network storage. About 80 percent of these write to
disk when using shared image desktops, however, involve temporary
or non-persistent data that doesn’t need to be saved in an
expensive SAN or NAS system. The new XenServer IntelliCache
technology identifies this traffic and caches it instead in local,
server-side disks, improving performance and cutting the cost of
VDI storage substantially. The new IntelliCache technology is
included in the free version of XenServer at no additional charge,
and will be supported in an upcoming release of reference
architecture for Citrix XenDesktop® 5.
New Integrated Virtual Switching Simplifies Cloud
Adoption
One of the biggest inhibitors to adopting external cloud
services is securely unifying existing network and cloud resources
into a single pool of capacity that can support the seamless
migration of services between the datacenter and external cloud
providers. The latest release of XenServer addresses this challenge
by integrating Distributed Virtual Switching (DVS) technology,
which leverages industry standard protocols like OpenFlow to create
an integrated network fabric that makes it easy to seamlessly
manage on-premise and off-premise resources. As a result, IT
administrators can now manage network traffic globally, providing
network fault tolerance, improving traffic isolation, and binding
network policies and “personalities” to each VM that stay with them
as they move across virtual boundaries, including external cloud
environments. The new virtual switching capability is included in
the free version of XenServer at no additional charge, with
advanced controls available in upgrade editions.
Key Facts and Highlights
The latest release of XenServer adds an extensive list of
innovative new features for desktop, server and cloud workloads,
including:
- Advanced Storage Optimization for
VDI – New XenServer IntelliCache technology makes hosted VDI
deployments far more cost effective by offloading all temporary
desktop read-write traffic from expensive SAN and NAS storage
systems onto server-side spinning disks or high speed solid state
drives (SSDs).
- Integrated Virtual Switching –
The addition of the Open Virtual Switch and Distributed Virtual
Switch Controller bring greater visibility into the XenServer
networking layer, while providing distributed fine grained
networking configuration and control policies that follow a VM
migration – within the datacenter or into the cloud.
- Advanced VM Protection and
Recovery – New VM protection and recovery allows IT
administrators to schedule automatic snapshots of VM disk and
memory states and archive the images to a specified storage
location to ensure the continuity and ongoing protection of
critical data.
- Easy Web-Based Management
– Building on end user self-service capabilities introduced
in XenServer 5.6, the new XenServer Web Management Console gives
administrators a simple way to provide application owners direct
access to the VMs they are responsible for. The new web-based
console can be accessed from any browser for simple daily
management tasks, or to delegate daily management to individual
owners.
Availability and Pricing
XenServer 5.6 Feature Pack 1 will be available in Q4. The new
VDI storage optimizations enabled via IntelliCache technology will
be supported in an upcoming release of reference architecture for
XenDesktop 5, the company’s open and comprehensive desktop
virtualization solution that delivers any type of virtual desktop
and application, to any device, anywhere.
Quotes
Simon Crosby, CTO, Datacenter and Cloud Division,
Citrix
“Innovating for the desktop and cloud is priority one for us.
Not only are cloud and desktop the next frontier in the
virtualization of IT, but markets where Citrix has a long history
of leadership. That operational history provides deep insights that
allow us to deliver new innovations and value to our customers.
While XenServer has already proven to be the preferred platform for
the desktop and cloud, with these new innovations, we expect
another upward inflection in the adoption and standardization of
XenServer.”
N. Louis Shipley, Group VP and GM, XenServer Product Group,
Citrix Systems
“The addition of the IntelliCache technology in XenServer is a
massive leap forward for customers looking to leverage the power of
virtual desktops. With XenDesktop and IntelliCache, customers
will not only have all the capabilities needed to create and
manage a virtual infrastructure at a fraction of the cost of
competing products, but they can also leverage it to dramatically
reduce the costs of their VDI implementations. It is innovations
like these that will ultimately expose the 500 million
corporate desktops that exist today to the power of virtualization
and ensure Citrix continues to grow in both leadership and market
share.”
Matthew Eastwood, Group Vice President, Enterprise Platform
Group, IDC
“Open virtual switching delivers the ability to pool network
resources, isolate traffic and seamlessly scale capacity. When
combined with server virtualization, these features make cloud
computing – whether public, private or hybrid – attainable for any
organization. Citrix virtualization and networking technologies are
already used daily to power the world’s largest and most demanding
cloud and internet sites – adding DVS in the virtualization
platform is the glue that brings XenServer and NetScaler
together.”
Related Links and Announcements
- Expert blog: “What’s Driving the Surge
in XenServer Market Share?” by John Humphreys, Senior Director of
Product Marketing, Citrix
- Expert blog: “XenServer Project
"Cowley" Beta Now Available” by Bill Carovano, Senior Director of
Product Management, Citrix
Follow us online
- Citrix Synergy 2010 and Citrix Synergy
Press pages
- XenServer page
- Twitter: @Citrix, @xenserverarmy,
@Citrix_Synergy, #citrixsynergy, #xenserver
- Citrix on Facebook
About Citrix Synergy
Born as a user conference more than 10 years ago, Citrix
Synergy™ will present the best ideas from leaders in
virtualization, cloud computing and networking to help you build a
simpler and more cost-effective IT environment. Citrix Synergy
Berlin takes place October 6 to 7, 2010, at the Estrel Hotel and
Convention Center. Citrix Synergy San Francisco will be held May
25-27, 2011 at Moscone West Convention Center. More information is
available on the Citrix Synergy web site at
http://www.citrixsynergy.com.
About Citrix
Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTXS) is a leading provider of
virtual computing solutions that help companies deliver IT as an
on-demand service. Founded in 1989, Citrix combines virtualization,
networking, and cloud computing technologies into a full portfolio
of products that enable virtual workstyles for users and virtual
datacenters for IT. More than 230,000 organizations worldwide rely
on Citrix to help them build simpler and more cost-effective IT
environments. Citrix partners with over 10,000 companies in more
than 100 countries. Annual revenue in 2009 was $1.61 billion.
For Citrix Investors
This release contains forward-looking statements which are made
pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The forward-looking statements in
this release do not constitute guarantees of future performance.
Those statements involve a number of factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially, including risks associated
with revenue growth and recognition of revenue, products, their
development and distribution, product demand and pipeline, economic
and competitive factors, the Company’s key strategic relationships,
acquisition and related integration risks as well as other risks
detailed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Citrix assumes no obligation to update any
forward-looking information contained in this press release or with
respect to the announcements described herein.
The development, release and timing of any features or
functionality described for our products remains at our sole
discretion and is subject to change without notice or consultation.
The information provided is for informational purposes only and is
not a commitment, promise or legal obligation to deliver any
material, code or functionality and should not be relied upon in
making purchasing decisions or incorporated into any contract.
Citrix®, Citrix Synergy™, IntelliCache™, XenServer® and
XenDesktop® are trademarks of Citrix Systems, Inc. and/or one or
more of its subsidiaries, and may be registered in the U.S. Patent
and Trademark Office and in other countries. All other trademarks
and registered trademarks are property of their respective
owners.
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