Archive
Another great blog : Virtualizing XenApp Hosted Shared Desktops on Hyper-V
Thanks a lot for this blog post!
“My latest adventure into density testing for Citrix solutions centers on XenApp (XA) Hosted Shared desktops. For those unfamiliar with the XA Hosted Shared model, it combines application and session virtualization, relying on a single OS instance on a Citrix XA server to publish familiar Windows desktops and applications. The Hosted Shared model centralizes application delivery and management (securing data and applications in the data center), and it scales well to support large user densities. It is designed to provide a locked-down, streamlined, and standardized environment with a core set of applications, making it ideally suited for task workers where personalization is less of a focus. While the XA server can be hosted directly on a bare-metal server on Windows Server 2008 R2, my recent testing explores the densities you can achieve when XA runs in a virtualized environment.”
Continue to read here!
//Richard
Vulnerability in Citrix Receiver with Online Plug-in for Windows could result in arbitrary code execution
Severity: Medium
Description of Problem
A vulnerability has been identified in the Citrix Receiver with Online Plug-in for Windows that could potentially allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code on the client device in the context of the currently logged in user.
This vulnerability is present in all versions of the Citrix Receiver for Windows up to and including version 3.2 and all versions of the Citrix Online Plug-in for Windows up to and including version 12.1.
For more information click here!
//Richard
Interesting – Citrix acquires Beetil
Today Citrix announced that it has acquired Beetil!
“Beetil helps technical support professionals provide exceptional customer assistance and streamline technology costs through the delivery of easy-to-use, yet powerful incident tracking, end user self-service, configuration, change management and release management functionality.
The acquisition enables Citrix to expand the capabilities of its market-leading, cloud-based support product line, Citrix GoToAssist, with the addition of an integrated IT service desk solution. As a result, Citrix has the ability to offer support professionals an essential set of cloud-based services from a single platform for remote support, monitoring and service desk management.”
To read the complete announcement click here!
I must dig a bit deeper into this acquisition and see how it fits the overall Citrix offerings!
Citrix does need something in this space but most of all I’d like to see something happening in the “ITSM-area”, today I find most of the products to be technology driven and an enabler for functionality, but not so much how you can integrate all these technologies into a managed service E2E.
//Richard
OpenStack vs. CloudStack – IaaS – PaaS – XaaS
Ok, so what are your thoughts, findings and view on which will become or already is the best solution out there for IaaS/PaaS services?
I must admit that this is not my area of expertise but it’s an area of interest and I like reading about it to get more up to date on where they are from a service readiness perspective. Are they ready for enterprise usage, or are enterprises stuck in their mindset of adopting the open source initiatives and technologies that exists around them. If yes; then why? Is it due to that it doesn’t fit the existing way of how they buy or deliver existing IT services, or is the technology not ready from an ITSM point of view with SD, SLA, SLO and delivery models that we have with the “old” traditional technologies like vSphere, XenServer and Hyper-V if you put a large enterprise organization and governance on top of it?
BYOD = reality or just a vision? – Part 2
Ok, where did we end part 1.. yes, it was around my personal view around why it’s not that easy for enterprises to adopt a BYOD concept similar to what we at EnvokeIT have.
(If you haven’t read part 1 you can do that here.)
So why can we work this way and not the enterprises, well there are many answers to that question. One reason may be that they have IPR etc that is important to protect and a legacy IT environment that has been around since the mainframe era with a lot of in-house developed apps, it’s a legacy that we newcomers don’t have! And they also have a much more complex organization with difference roles and requirements. It’s sometimes hard to tell a developer to work on any device with no development tools installed locally and only work in a remote desktop which requires him/her to be online. These users would perhaps want to be able to perform their development work from their vacation cabin up north with limited connectivity or wherever they can’t be connected. And the whole world doesn’t have the connectivity that we in europe are used to.
Oldie that’s worth another look…Logon Optimization Guide – XenApp/XenDesktop
Ok, it’s been around for some time. But we every now and then find a lot of implementations where the architect/SME that built the environment haven’t thought of the basics and best practises that are documented and out there for free!
Citrix Logon Optimization Guide – XenApp/XenDesktop
Have another go at reading it, just as a reference/checklist! 😉
Cheers!
//Richard
Citrix XenServer Multiple Security Updates
Ok, seems like we may have to update some XenServers… Have a look at this Security Bulletin for multiple Citrix XenServer Security updates.
//Richard
BYOD = reality or just a vision? – Part 1
BYOD – Bring Your Own Device – Part 1
Consumerization of IT, BYOD, BYOC and all the fuzz about that we shall and already have started to use our personal devices at work, or that our employer doesn’t provide us with a company asset anymore. So many definitions and models, it’s like asking someone what the definition of Cloud is. You’ll get all the different answers about what a ‘Private’, ‘Public’ and ‘Personal’ Cloud is etc. But where are we really?
Five steps to designing your enterprise mobility strategy
Ok, I must agree with Nathalie here in her post. It’s a strategy from a “Citrix” point of view of course which is aligned with their overall message…
Five steps to designing your enterprise mobility strategy
/Richard
Citrix Receiver for HTML5 is finally released!
Go download it and try it out!
Receiver for HTML5 is now available for Chrome and Firefox browsers. Receiver for HTML5 is a zero install client allowing connection through a browser to XenApp and XenDesktop. The combination of the Receiver for Web and HTML5 provides a fallback option for environments where a native client is not available or an option.
Key new features include:
- Google Chrome (version 19+) & Mozilla Firefox (version 11+) browsers on Windows and Mac desktops
- In-session Tool bar that can move and close
- Copy/Paste text
- Key to send Ctrl+Alt+Del to desktop session
- External access of XenApp applications and XenDesktop via Access Gateway
- Direct internal access of XenApp applications
- Performance enhancements
Will download and try it out ASAP to see if it’s useful and delivers a good user experience!
Cheers!
/Richard
The IT Melting Pot! 