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Report on Endpoint Virtualization … November 17, 2008

Posted by Roel Gydé in Application virtualization, Server Virtualization, desktop virtualization.
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Recently Symantec has commissioned a study on ‘Endpoint Virtualization’, finally the document is freely available. It has taken some time but here are the main results:

  • More than a quarter (28 percent) of respondents said at least 40 percent of their organizations’ IT resources are spent on managing operating system and application delivery to endpoint devices
  • 76 percent of respondents said their organizations have implemented some form of endpoint virtualization technology into their IT infrastructures
  • 36 percent of respondents said at least a quarter (26 percent) of their entire 2009 IT budget is earmarked for endpoint virtualization initiatives
  • 52% of those that have enabled endpoint virtualization, do this with Microsoft or Citrix

There are some ’strange’ results, 76% confirm that they are using endpoint virtualization, unfortunately it is completely unclear how this is divided over application virtualization (XenApp, WTS), application streaming (XenApp, ThinApp, App-V), Desktop Virtulization (XenDesktop, MS VDI, VMware VDM) or OS Streaming (Provisioning, …). It would have been nice if this information would also be made available, afterall, Microsoft and Citrix take 52% of the complete share for their account, but is that on XenApp or WTS or App-V or with Citrix Provisioning Server, completely unclear.

Furthermore Symantec pops up with an 8% marketshare (fourth place) after Microsoft, Citrix and VMware. Believing that Symantec has built-up a marketshare of that size in such a short time, only confirms our toughts, a more detailed division is required between:

  • Server side application virtualization (XenApp, WTS)
  • Client side application virtualization (XenApp, App-V, ThinApp, …)
  • Desktop Virtualization
  • OS Streaming

However, the report clearly indicates that virtualization is being adopted in all layers of the infrastructure. Recent studies have shown that approximately 14% of the x86 servers are virtualized according to Citrix.

Already testing Windows 7 and Citrix Provisioning Server? November 3, 2008

Posted by Roel Gydé in Data Center Management.
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If you haven’t, don’t worry … Rich Crusco has tested it for you … more information on the boot partition and PvS and other ‘nice to knows’.

Microsoft getVirtualnow – Xendesktop live demo on Hyper-V September 21, 2008

Posted by Roel Gydé in Uncategorized.
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Robin Brandl (Microsoft Technology Evangelist for Citrix) being interviewed by Joey Snow (Technet Edge) during the Microsoft getVirtualnow event. A live demo of XenDesktop running on Hyper-V using Citrix Provisioning Server and Microsoft App-V.

Citrix Provisioning Server 5.0 coming up … May 22, 2008

Posted by Roel Gydé in Uncategorized.
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Get some details about the new Citrix Provisioning Server 5.0 … from Citrix Synergy in this video

  • New user interface with better hierarchy
  • Roll based administration
  • Microsoft SQL & VHD support
  • W2K3 & W2K8 64bit support
  • Release foreseen end of summer 2008
  • Snap-in for MMC
    .

VMware behaves like a 2-year old child ?! May 22, 2008

Posted by Roel Gydé in Uncategorized.
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VMware tries to kill XenDesktop on its release-day (article at Virtualization.info) :VMware sent a letter to its partners completely destroying the value of the Citrix solution. Among the other claims, VMware states that the product marketing message is misleading and confused the press, that the software is complex, poorly integrated and most of all built on a platform that has an uncertain future.

There is one thing that I do not get at all, everytime Citrix makes a strategic announcement or rebranding VMware follows with kindergarden-response.

  • Citrix moves to XenServer, XenDesktop and XenApp, VMware suddenly decides that Thinstall is not a good name and rebrands it to Thinapp

VMware indicates that the Citrix solution is poorly integrated, yet Citrix has purchased companies that have been around in virtualization for over many years and integrated these company to offer a complete portofolio. Furthermore these companies have shown to be market-worthy.

  • Citrix offers provisioning services for desktop OS & server OS under the name of Provisioning Server. This was the result of the acquisition of Ardence. Currently VMware can not offer the same flexibility with that little needed storage as Citrix Provisioning Server.
  • Citrix offers paravirtualization services for servers under the XenServer brand. This was the result of the acquisition of XenSource, the open source company that actually had an important position in the XEN open source project, which still exists and to which Citrix often commits code.

Probably VMware is a little afraid of the joint-development that is taking place between Microsoft & Citrix, which will result into the possibility to move Hyper-V VMs to XenServer and vice versa. VMware is not invited to that party. Furthermore Microsoft employees often indicate that Citrix is the best party to work with when Microsoft solutions do not fit as Citrix is Microsofts’ largest ISV worldwide.

End-to-End Virtualization does not end with Server-, Desktop- or Application virtualization it also requires good network access (secured, f.e. Citrix Access Gateway), optimized traffic (Citrix Wanscaler), secured DMZs (Citrix Application Firewall).

Before I lower myself to a 2-year old kid, like VMware is currently doing, I am going to round of this post. Probably this fighting will go on for a while. But remember VMware is getting agressive into the following market: 7% of de servers in the world are virtualized and 0,01% of the desktops (a guess). That means that there is an open market of 192,99% and they behave as a 2-year old kid. What a shame for a public company. They should know better !