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#XenMobile and the #Citrix Mobile Workspaces Architecture – #BYOD

This is a great blog post by Christopher Campbell and good picture to show the overall capabilities and architecture of the Citrix offering!

You’ve heard us talk about Mobile Workspaces and if you’re a techie you’re probably wondering if Citrix really has the architectural components (a complete, comprehensive and fully integrated architecture) that can deliver any app and data to any user on any device over any network?

Well let’s first identify a few of the market leading technologies that make up the Citrix Mobile Workspaces solution:

  • XenApp mobilizes and secures Windows apps on any device
  • XenDesktop securely delivers virtual Windows desktops and apps on any device
  • XenMobile manages and secures mobile, web and SaaS apps on mobile devices
  • GoToMeeting empowers people to meet and collaborate with anyone, anywhere
  • ShareFile shares and syncs corporate data securely from any location
  • NetScaler optimizes and secures app delivery and on any network
  • CloudPlatform orchestrates and provisions apps, desktops and IT services from any cloud

OK, OK. We know you have the products but do they really integrate?

Yes. Don’t believe me? Well as they say a picture is worth a thousand words. This is what the Mobile Workspace Architecture looks like.

OK. I get it.  You have the architecture but that doesn’t necessarily translate to a seamless user experience.

Still don’t believe huh? Well this is what the user experience looks like.

XenMobile is a key ingredient in delivering a mobile workspace.  Along with XenApp and XenDesktop it allows organizations to deliver on giving users access to any app from any device. In fact, if you’re an existing XenApp or XenDesktop customer, XenMobile seamlessly plugs into your existing architecture.

If you’re a XenDesktop or XenApp customer this is what your environment probably looks like.

Now this is what you need to enable EMM for BYO and COPE (Corporate Owned, Personally Enabled) devices and add that MDM, MAM, Secure Email, Secure Data…

Continue reading here!

//Richard

 

Choose your #Citrix #NetScaler … wisely… – via @hlouwers

This is a question I get a lot and I must say that Henny Louwers did answer it well in this blog post!

I spend a lot of my time breaking down the different models of Citrix NetScaler appliances and different Software Editions within the Citrix NetScaler portfolio.

I decided to set up a blog about this since the path is usually pretty much (lengthy but) the same. This does not mean the answer is always easy because there are a lot of questions that need to be answered.

The first thing I would like to get off my chest is the following: Stop seeing/selling the Citrix NetScaler as a replacement for Secure Gateway. It is so much more than that. I often have discussions with various engineers and consultants telling me that Citrix NetScaler is so expensive for a Remote Access solution because Secure Gateway always used to be free. No offense but a Citrix NetScaler solution belongs to the networking department, not the Citrix XenApp sys admin department. Or maybe limited.

That leads me to the first difficult thing of a Citrix NetScaler project. The adoption of the Citrix NetScaler appliances to the networking guys of an organization. They need to embrace the solution to make this a success. For some reason they too see it as a ‘’Citrix’’ solution. For that reason one of the most important meetings to setup is usually with the networking guys to try to explain the L3-L7 functionality of the Citrix NetScaler solution. When they realize it competes with F5, Juniper, Cisco, etc then we are on the right track.

NetScaler Gateway or NetScaler Standard Edition

Usually the first question of a customer is regarding something simple like replacing the Remote Access solution. Since the NetScaler is going to be the main platform for publishing Citrix publications a NetScaler Gateway can be considered as a valid option. This is when I tell a customer it would be wise to spend a little extra on the NetScaler Standard Edition since this would leverage the solution be having full load balancing capabilities (among others). When you compare prices between the NetScaler Gateway and NetScaler Standard Edition you will see that the Standard Edition will be somewhat more expensive but I for one think that it is worth the difference given the feature set that come with the Standard Edition. Of course the NetScaler Gateway can always be upgraded to a NetScaler Standard Edition (or higher) if you will.

Another feature of Citrix NetScaler Standard Edition is the ability to run Citrix Web Interface on the appliance. Honestly, I do think is not really that important anymore….

Continue reading here

//Richard

#Citrix Introducing #CloudBridge 2000 and 3000

Ok, this is interesting!

Citrix is pleased to announce the new WAN-optimization appliances: CloudBridge 2000 and CloudBridge 3000. These appliances come loaded with our WAN-optimization and XenDesktop acceleration technologies including rich protocol optimization, advanced TCP flow-control, adaptive compression and smart acceleration.

This blog highlights some of key features of these appliances.

Un-matched Scalability: A pay-grow offering that is unique in the WAN-optimization industry

Using the pay-grow offering, CloudBridge 2000 can be scaled from a throughput of 10 Mbps to 20 Mbps and further to 50 Mbps with just a license upgrade. Similarly CloudBridge 3000 can be scaled from 50 Mbps to 100 Mbps and further to 155 Mbps. This avoids the cost, time and logistics overhead associated with a forklift replacement. So if you have small office and expect to grow in future then these appliances are ideal for you.

 

 

 

Series 2000 3000
Application Large Branch/Small Enterprise Medium Enterprise
Licensed Bandwidth 10/20/50 50/100/155
Concurrent HDX Sessions 100/200/300* 300/400/500*
Pay-to-Grow Yes Yes
Disk Storage 600 GB SSD 4 x 600 GB SSD
Interfaces Four 1 GigE Copper FTW

2 x 1 GigE Cu (HA/Mgmt)

6 – GigE Cu or 4 – Fiber FTW

2 x 1 GigE Cu (LOM/Mgmt)

Power Supplies 1 x 300 watt 2 x 300 watt, hot swap
* Session count is limited by link bandwidth, no session count is enforced.  Published numbers are for guidance only.

Built-in reliability

CB 2000 and CB 3000 models come prepackaged with Network bypass cards for the traffic interfaces. This ensures that the traffic to your network is never interrupted, even in case of power failure to the appliance.

Also with these models do not contain any rotating disks. Instead they use SSDs as storage resulting in enhanced disk-access speed and…

Continue reading here on the blog post and also look at this Service Delivery Network video where you can look at Citrix’s story on how enterprise and cloud networks are unified into a service delivery fabric that optimizes and secures applications and data.

//Richard

#Citrix #CloudBridge Connecting to Microsoft #Azure – Technology Preview

February 19, 2013 Leave a comment

This is really interesting!!! Can’t wait to try it out, I just got Azure up and running with a couple of VM’s in it and will set this up and try it ASAP! 🙂

CloudBridge Connecting to Microsoft Azure

Release Date: Feb 15, 2013

 
Citrix CloudBridge connects enterprise datacenters to external clouds and hosting environments, making the cloud a secure extension of the enterprise network.

This technology preview offers standard based secure connectivity to Microsoft Azure. With this enhancement, a customer can  connect their enterprise data center to the Azure VPN gateway and access the IaaS and PaaS offerings from Microsoft. 

The following are the key points to note :

  • Secure L3 connection to Azure VPN gateway
  • CloudBridge deployment on the enterprise data center only. It is not running inside Azure
  • No WAN Optimization or L2 extension supported in this solution since it needs deployment of CloudBridge on the Azure end as well.

Images and Licenses:

We are making available virtual appliances running on XenServer (xva images). These appliances need EVAL licenses. Please follow links to sign-up and get these EVAL licenses.

To get started:

  1. For the XenServer images of CloudBridge, please download from the list below
  2. Get and activate an EVAL license via the get license link for NetScaler VPX and follow the instructions. CloudBridge license is shared with NetScaler VPX Platinum Edition.

Helpful Resources:

  1. Download the CloudBridge@Azure Tech Preview deployment guide from the link below the Download section
  2. For help with licensing the instance, refer to the NetScaler VPX licensing guide
  3. New to NetScaler/CloudBridge? Documentation, knowledge base articles, additional tutorials and other information is available on the NetScaler Knowledge Center

Have Questions?

Go to the CloudBridge discussion forum to get help from…

Continue reading here!

//Richard