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Today's the big day. November 16, 2009. XenDesktop 4 is here! The final XD4 software has been posted to the Downloads page on MyCitrix and both Evaluation and Retail licenses are now available. Likewise, final XD4 documentation has been published on our eDocs site. So I'd like to publicly congratulate our Engineering team for delivering a truly outstanding product release. 

The enhancements in XenDesktop 4, summarized in a previous blog post, have resulted in the most comprehensive desktop virtualization solution on the planet. With FlexCast, we deliver the best desktop for each user in the organization; a hosted shared desktop (Terminal Services / RDS), a hosted VM-based desktop (now including Windows 7), a blade PC or rack workstation based desktop, a local streamed desktop, or virtual apps on a physical laptop or desktop. And our HDX technologies ensure an optimized user experience for every access scenario. You can learn about HDX in my recent 18-minute video seminar with Sridhar Mullapudi on CitrixTV, which includes demos of many new HDX features.

So download an evaluation copy and check it out for yourself. Now is the time to rethink your desktops and join our desktop virtualization revolution!

Derek Thorslund
Citrix Product Strategist, HDX

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PCoIP is VMware's latest attempt at delivering a decent user experience for a virtual desktop. After failed attempts with RDP, Sun Ray, RGS and TCX, VMware View 4 is betting that a software version of the PCoIP protocol will deliver the great user experience customers demand from a VDI solution.

I've been in the virtualization business for many years. Currently I lead the HDX technology for XenDesktop. In the past I've worked on tons of projects for the ICA protocol including CGP, Secure Gateway, and Thinwire. In recent years I've led the Apollo project which has created technologies now in XenDesktop 4 like HDX MediaStream for Flash, HDX 3D Pro Graphics, HDX RealTimeand HDX Broadcast. So I've watched with amusement as VMware attempts to position PCoIP as the next great remoting protocol. The three most amusing 'marketing' tactics about PCoIP are:

PCoIP bets on UDP as the foundational transport for graphics
One of the major design flaws in PCoIP is that it relies exclusively on UDP for deliver bitmaps. UDP is valid for some narrow use cases but PCoIP relies on it entirely. When you need a reliable transport, TCP is a much better option. The fact that PCoIP has application-layer packet reliability shows you need reliable delivery for desktop graphics. If all you are doing is playing a video, fine... but that's not what a virtual desktop is all about. You may not know this but many years ago, ICA supported a datagram-based protocol with application-layer reliability just like PCoIP. Since then, we have learned that TCP is the ideal transport for delivering desktop graphics over the network. It is also friendlier to firewall and network infrastructure. And it is cheaper to deploy as customers can leverage their existing network infrastructure.

PCoIP claims bitmap remoting is the best way to deliver graphics
Another interesting aspect of PCoIP is that the protocol is based on the idea of sending bitmaps. No wonder, since their hardware solution used as input the DVI port of the graphics card. It is interesting that VMware claim that sending bitmaps is better than sending graphic primitives. This is a half truth. While sending bitmaps make sense in some scenarios, sending graphic primitives is much more efficient in other scenarios. Think of this, what is more efficient when sending a 400x300 rectangle with black borders and white background? As a bitmap or sending a RECT command with both upper left and lower right coordinates? The key is to be smart about it and know when one scenario makes more sense than the other. That's what we call SmartRendering. Getting this right is very hard and it has taken us years of fine tuning. But a half truth is convenient because sending bitmaps is the easiest thing to do, after all, that's all most graphic remoting protocols can do.

PCoIP relies primarily on the server to do all the heavy lifting
PCoIP also focuses on the use of server resources to deliver the graphics. But you soon realize that does not get you far enough. I have spoken with countless customers asking us to solve their scalability issues with playing Flash multimedia. I'm sure VMware have shown some YouTube videos to get people excited but you have to look at the CPU and bandwidth consumption. The Flash player uses up lots of CPU, so if your only available solution is server-side rendering then you are going to need a lot of servers. Customers need solutions that scale, are cost effective and leverage their computing resources in the data center and also on the user device. PCoIP fails to do this because it is an incomplete protocol.

Delivering a complete solution takes time and it's hard, very hard. I see PCoIP making some of the same mistakes we made 15 years ago. I congratulate them for trying, but they have a long way to go.

To deliver a great user experience you not only need a robust protocol, you need all the components in the delivery infrastructure working together to optimize the delivery of virtual desktops and applications. This is what we are doing with HDX at Citrix.

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With the release last month of HDX 3D for Professional Graphics as a feature of XenDesktop, Citrix now offers two alternatives for delivering high-end 3D graphics from hosted applications. Let's compare these two solutions.

HDX 3D Pro Graphics on XenDesktop

Our premier solution for 3D professional graphics is based on hosted Windows desktops and works with either the XenDesktop 3 or XenDesktop 4 Desktop Delivery Controller. HDX 3D Pro Graphics features our most advanced technologies for data compression, making XenDesktop the best solution on the market for delivering 3D graphics to remote workers. For top level performance, we offer GPU-based compression, leveraging NVIDIA graphics processors with 96 or more CUDA cores. The compression level is automatically adjusted based on bandwidth. Just below that is CPU-based JPEG XR compression (no special GPU required). JPEG XR (the 'XR' stands for 'Extended Range'), formerly known as HD Photo, is an ISO/IEC standard for high dynamic range image encoding. These compression options are supported by the HDX 3D online plug-in for Windows, a special version of the ICA client. With advanced compression and other clever innovations, HDX 3D Pro Graphics delivers a good experience even at 2 Mbps and 200 ms roundtrip latency. And, of course, it delivers a high definition "like local" experience on high bandwidth, low latency connections.

Application compatibility is excellent with HDX 3D Pro Graphics because the applications run on a standard Windows XP operating system (and Windows 7 support is in development). It doesn't matter whether the applications use DirectX/Direct3D or OpenGL or whatever. HDX 3D supports True Color, important when a very large number of colors, shades, and hues need to be displayed, as with high quality photographic images or complex graphics. Customers are already using HDX 3D to work with models with more than a million parts, and 64-bit OS support is coming soon, which will enable huge amounts of memory to be addressed.

These comments from our customers sum it up best:
• So far this is the only product to have anywhere near acceptable performance
• Everyone is loving it
• 50 to 75% better than our existing solution
• In pure Swedish, it is "sh$@#ing good"!
• At 1.5 Mbps it is still very usable
• We have been extremely impressed

HDX 3D on XenApp for Windows Server 2008

For many organizations, HDX 3D on XenApp provides a great solution for delivering professional graphics, since Windows Server 2008 now enables a graphics card to be used for 3D rendering on Terminal Services / Remote Desktop Services. While hardware acceleration is limited to DirectX/Direct3D-based applications, that may be all you need depending on the specific applications your end users require. OpenGL based applications are CPU-rendered but they perform much faster on 64-bit Windows than on 32-bit so you may find that to be adequate. Of course, if you really need hardware acceleration for your OpenGL applications, go with HDX 3D Pro Graphics on XenDesktop.

Compression options with HDX 3D on XenApp are not quite as extensive as on XenDesktop but are generally sufficient for intracontinental WAN access. The highest level of compression is obtained by selecting Heavyweight JPEG, a special variant of JPEG that uses arithmetic encoding instead of the normal Huffman encoding. It gives a further reduction in bandwidth of around 10 to 20% without changing the pixel quality at all (compared to standard JPEG), at the cost of higher CPU consumption. With Progressive Display, users get a responsive experience even over WAN/Internet connections because images are delivered with lossier compression while being moved and quickly resolve to full resolution when motion stops.

A single graphics card in the server can support multiple concurrent users, depending on their usage characteristics. I spoke with a customer using an entry-level NVIDIA FX 370 GPU and they support four concurrent users on an HP 360 G5 server with a dual-core Xeon processor and 4 GB of memory running 32-bit Windows Server. They estimate that they will be able to support 12 to 16 simultaneous users on a dual quad-core server with 64-bit Windows Server and 32 GB of memory. Again, it depends on the application and the work profile of the users. A more powerful GPU, like the NVIDIA FX 5600 or 5800, will help with scalability, too.

HDX 3D on XenApp supports lossless compression (important in Healthcare), but color depth with DirectX hardware acceleration is currently limited to 16-bit High Color. True Color support (16 million colors) is offered with CPU-based rendering, and True Color with GPU hardware acceleration is planned for the near future, making HDX 3D on XenApp a great option for delivering PACS applications over hospital campus networks.

A Look Ahead

How will these technologies evolve in the future? 64-bit Windows XP and Windows 7 support is planned for HDX 3D Pro Graphics on XenDesktop, and True Color support is coming soon for HDX 3D on XenApp. Windows Server 2008 R2 is likely to bring some benefits, too. And as the graphics and hypervisor vendors introduce GPU virtualization, we expect to leverage that on both XenApp and XenDesktop; some exciting progress in this area is already happening in the lab. Expanding the VM Hosted Apps feature of XenApp to encompass 3D graphics apps would be a natural step.

Tell Us about Your Experience with HDX 3D

If you're using either of the HDX 3D technologies described above, I'm sure other customers would like to hear your story. Please tell us about the 3D applications you deliver, your data center and network, and how your users are benefiting.

Derek Thorslund
Citrix Product Strategist, HDX

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I was away for a couple of week, but I'm back and very excited to tell you about the HDX Plug-n-Play for USB storage device. HDX Plug-n-Play for USB storage is another HDX/High Definition eXperience feature introduced in XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2. I believe this new feature will really eliminate many headaches for XenApp administrators and end users alike. So imagine, users now have the ability to plug-in their USB thumb drive/USB stick and use it with their XenApp delivered application at any time; before launching the application or while they are in the middle of working with the application. Effectively, users now have a local-like experience when interacting with a USB stick or USB disk drive.

For those not familiar with how USB storage worked prior to Feature Pack 2, let me explain... Let's say you are working with Microsoft Powerpoint delivered to you via XenApp. A co-worker stops by, hands you a USB stick and asks for a copy of the Powerpoint. Naturally, your instinct tells you to plug in that USB stick, go to Powerpoint - File - Save As... <bzzzz - wrong!>. Prior to Feature Pack 2, users must first plug in the USB stick before starting the Powerpoint. Otherwise, XenApp would not recognize and map the thumb drive in the session. Needless to say, it's not very natural, and couldn't be any less instinctive.
Many customers & admins I talked to are raving about this new feature in XenApp! They are excited because they no longer need to "re-train" users how to use USB drives with XenApp. IT no longer have to field support calls on why they don't see the USB stick in the application. Applications delivered with XenApp become ever more transparent to the end users...and that's a great thing!

How do I enable this feature? This feature is enabled by default. So, if you have policies to not allow use of USB sticks, you'll need to disable this feature in the registry by following the instructions below or in eDocs.

On XenApp 32-bit edition
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Citrix\Policies\DisableUSBRedirection
On XenApp 64-bit edition
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Citrix\Policies\DisableUSBRedirection

Type: DWORD
Values:
1 = redirection disabled
0 = redirection enabled

Now, I also want to point out that this feature, like the HDX MediaStream for Flash is currently available on XenApp 5 for Windows Server 2003. Support on Windows Server 2008 is forth-coming and I'll be sharing more information on this site in the near future.

So, there you go... XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2 makes life easier for admins and end users, again! And if you missed my first post on how XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2 delivers a local-like experience with Adobe Flash content, take a look at HDX MediaStream for Flash
But wait! Tomorrow, Ola Nordstrom from our Security team will post our HDX Easter-egg feature called Secure Clipboard Control. Very cool feature for customers who require better control of information flow in an XenApp session. So, stop back tomorrow!

Learn more about Citrix XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2

• Official Press Release - http://citrix.com/English/NE/news/news.asp?newsID=1857726
• XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2 release Web Site - http://citrix.com/xenapp/featurepack2
• XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2 Executive Video - http://citrix.com/xenapp/fp2/video
• XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2 Release Webinar - http://citrix.com/xenapp/fp2/techtalk
• XenApp feature matrix by platform, version and edition - http://citrix.com/xenapp/comparativematrix
• XenApp Expert Series videos for this release - http://citrix.com/xenapp/fp2/expertseries
• XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2 Blogs- http://community.citrix.com/blogs/tag/xa5fp2
• Download XenApp technology previews - http://citrix.com/xenapp/techpreviews
• XenApp Product Page - http://citrix.com/xenapp/

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Citrix XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2 for Windows Server 2003 has a very cool feature called Secure Clipboard Control. The technical folks may know this feature as "Read-Only Client Drive Mapping and Clipboard", but the end results are the same: it further mitigates risks of data leakage.

Granting remote users CDM access is great because they can open local files with server published apps. But they also have the ability to save server documents locally thereby increasing the probability that confidential data leaks out beyond the enterprise. Some customers have tried to tackle this problem by disabling CDM and clipboard altogether, but that does not offer users flexibility - what if administrators want to only let users save documents back on the server? This is where the new Secure Clipboard Control setting can help. It is a really simple feature for administrators to configure, yet provides an added level of flexibility (users can save documents to the server, but cannot save documents to the local device) administrators didn't have before.

To enable the feature in the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Cdm\Parameters, create a DWORD value with value name ReadOnlyMappedDrive and value data 1.

To enable one way clipboard In registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Citrix\wfshell\Virtual Clipboard, create a DWORD value with value name ReadOnly and value data 1.

After rebooting the server all users that connect will only be able to read documents from their mapped drives and will only be able to copy and paste text into a published application. Data that is copied into the published application clipboard (via CTRL-C) will not show up in the client's clipboard paste buffer. Whenever the user tries to save a file to a mapped drive they will get an error saying they don't have permission to write to the location because XenApp has the drive open in read-only mode.

For now both settings are server wide so remote users will have to be confined to specific machines where the settings are enabled. You can find out more about this feature at CTX123002 and in Citrix eDocs here.

Learn more about Citrix XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2

• Official Press Release - http://citrix.com/English/NE/news/news.asp?newsID=1857726
• XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2 release Web Site - http://citrix.com/xenapp/featurepack2
• XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2 Executive Video - http://citrix.com/xenapp/fp2/video
• XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2 Release Webinar - http://citrix.com/xenapp/fp2/techtalk
• XenApp feature matrix by platform, version and edition - http://citrix.com/xenapp/comparativematrix
• XenApp Expert Series videos for this release - http://citrix.com/xenapp/fp2/expertseries
• XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2 Blogs- http://community.citrix.com/blogs/tag/xa5fp2
• Download XenApp technology previews - http://citrix.com/xenapp/techpreviews
• XenApp Product Page - http://citrix.com/xenapp/

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In case you missed it, on September 16, 2009, Citrix announced our much anticipated release of XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2. My colleague, Vinny Sosa, did an awesome job detailing the three categories of focus for the release in his blog post. Over the next few days, I will be sharing more of my thoughts about the HDX (High Definition Experience) features that will lay to rest any fears you have about performance and user experience with regards to hosted application delivery! I'll talk about the why these features are important to our customers, and more importantly, what you need to enable and configure these features for your XenApp infrastructure.

The first topic I want to cover is HDX MediaStream for Flash. So, what is it and why is it important? Well, instead of using your XenApp server to process and render the Flash application or video (impacts your server scalability - bad), HDX MediaStream for Flash leverages resources available on the user's Windows device. Thus, resulting in two key benefits: 1) users are happy (good) because they have a local like experience with the Flash content (no more A/V sync issues or video jitter), and 2) administrators can free up server resources to do more important things or accommodate more users. Needless to say, I'm very excited about this feature in Feature Pack 2. And hopefully by now, I've piqued your interest as well.

Ok, so... here is the even more exciting part - enabling HDX MediaStream for Flash for XenApp.

First, let's look at the system requirements:

On your XenApp server,

• XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2 for Windows Server 2003
• Internet Explorer (7 & 8) with ActiveX support

On the user's Windows client device, you'll need:

• Adobe Flash Player 10 installed
• Citrix online plug-in 11.2

Second: enabling HDX MediaStream for Flash.

Well, once you've install XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2, HDX MediaStream for Flash is enabled on your XenApp server by default. That's it - very simple! Now, if you need to disable this feature, you can do so through the Group Policy Object Editor.

And what happens if the user doesn't have sufficient resources to render the Flash content locally? In that case, XenApp will intelligently fall-back to the server-side rendering that exists in XenApp prior to Feature Pack 2.

See? Short, sweet and simple. My next blog will cover HDX Plug-n-Play for USB storage, and a bit of an Easter-egg feature called Secure Clipboard control! So, stay tuned!

Learn more about Citrix XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2

• Official Press Release - http://citrix.com/English/NE/news/news.asp?newsID=1857726
• XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2 release Web Site - http://citrix.com/xenapp/featurepack2
• XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2 Executive Video - http://citrix.com/xenapp/fp2/video
• XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2 Release Webinar - http://citrix.com/xenapp/fp2/techtalk
• XenApp feature matrix by platform, version and edition - http://citrix.com/xenapp/comparativematrix
• XenApp Expert Series videos for this release - http://citrix.com/xenapp/fp2/expertseries
• XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2 Blogs- http://community.citrix.com/blogs/tag/xa5fp2
• Download XenApp technology previews - http://citrix.com/xenapp/techpreviews
• XenApp Product Page - http://citrix.com/xenapp/

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    Three years ago, one of our premier customers came to us and asked us to build a platform that would allow them to deliver 3D applications remotely. There were a few products in the market at that time, both software and hardware based, that could support remote access for 3D graphics. But all of them required at least 5Mbps and latencies below 75 milliseconds. The customer's requirement was for us to build a solution that provided a usable experience with 2Mbps of bandwidth and tolerate up to 150ms round trip latency.    Thus began our journey to create the best 3D virtualization platform. The project has had many names over the years:  Pictor, Apollo and Prism. We have invested hundreds of man-years of effort and filed multiple patents. Today I am proud to say that we have accomplished what we set out to do three years ago. We have created XenDesktop 4 - a breakthrough desktop virtualization platform for 3D graphics.

    3D graphical applications, like CATIA, Pro/ENGINEER, Autodesk, etc. are used daily by CAD/CAM designers in the manufacturing sector. Research scientists use 3D graphical applications for oil exploration in Oil and Natural Gas companies. These are computationally challenging applications that need high end GPUs (graphical processing units) manufactured by companies like nVIDIA and AMD. These applications often require the most advanced workstations - fastest possible CPU and GPU and the largest amount of memory.

    3D applications are difficult to virtualize because performance is key in these applications. The CPU-GPU interaction has been designed to optimally deliver the highest number of frames per second (fps). Any software that is inserted in the middle can reduce the fps delivered to the user and cause a poor user experience. For example, for some complex models with hundreds of thousands of rendering triangles the workstation may create 2-3 frames per second. If the virtualization platform reduces the display rate to 1-2 fps, the difference is perceptible, and the end user will not want to use the application.

    In XenDesktop 4, we have extended the latency tolerance optimizations already presented in our HDX technology and added a few new compression algorithms, including some that use the GPU itself to do compression. The result is a 3D virtualization platform that meets the market requirements and delivers the best possible user experience. On the LAN, our solution can perform even better than locally installed applications, because server side GPUs can be more powerful than desktop GPUs. On the WAN there is no other solution that can deliver a usable experience at 2Mbps with 150 ms round trip latency.

    You will see this technology platform bear fruit in other areas that affect larger numbers of users. The new Microsoft OS - Windows 7  - leverages the GPU to deliver cool 3D graphical user interfaces. Our experience with high-end 3D graphics will help us effectively solve these problems for millions of users as they migrate to Windows 7. Stay tuned.

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Recently, I have heard many talk about how to deliver better application experience over WAN to branch users with flat or shrinking IT budgets?

Is delivering a better IT experience to branch or mobile users truly "priceless"? Or do you really need to demonstrate ROI?

It usually takes a lot longer than a year for something to become a 'cliche'. But the current global economic recession has created one of the quickest 'cliches' - 'Flat is the new Growth!' - flat revenues, and flat IT budgets alike.

Faced with flat or shrinking IT budgets, many organizations are clearly and rigorously prioritizing the highest ROI projects, focusing on doing more with less. Increasingly, the following lexicon has taken on a new level of significance and has become part of the IT budgeting process - time-to-ROI, payback time, hard or direct ROI, soft or indirect ROI and so on.

WAN Optimization is one of the very few technologies where IT spend is actually growing while spend on many other technologies is shrinking. In earlier blogs, I blogged about how good the user experience can be with the right WAN optimization solution. But if you are an IT decision maker, you are looking for hard dollar ROI to justify those investments.

We recently published a web-based ROI calculator, designed to show our customers the great savings opportunities available with Citrix Branch Repeater for XenApp and XenDesktop customers. Why don't you try out the calculator and let us know your feedback? We are looking to updating this tool soon based on your feedback.

You may cut and paste the URL in your browser: http://www.citrix.com/English/ps2/products/feature.asp?contentID=1858204.

I look forward to your comments or feedback.

Happy ROI!,

Sai

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The virtual desktop revolution is here! XenDesktop 4 further widens Citrix's competitive lead with FlexCast™ technology to deliver the best Windows desktop for everyone in the organization, from task worker to power user. And XenDesktop 4 is an HDX-focused release that provides the best "high definition" user experience in the desktop virtualization market, with better reliability and higher availability than a traditional PC.

From the more than 70 new features in this release, allow me to introduce you to some key new capabilities of XenDesktop 4:

• HDX MediaStream for Flash (client-side rendering). While server-side rendering remains Citrix's foundational approach for delivering multimedia content of all sorts, HDX MediaStream for Flash provides an outstanding optimization for Windows online plug-in (client) users on low latency network connections. Leveraging the user device for direct content fetching and rendering, it delivers a high definition user experience and improves server scalability and network bandwidth efficiency by an order of magnitude. This technology supports Flash animations, videos (including HD), and IE-based Flex apps, even video conferencing applications. Citrix competitors do not offer a client-side rendering option for Flash.
• HDX MediaStream enhanced delivery of server-rendered video. New dynamic frame rate adjustment works in conjunction with bandwidth estimation to optimize video and graphics delivery over WAN and Internet connections. Where bandwidth is plentiful, full frame rate (30 fps) server-rendered video delivery is now available by modifying a registry key [new default is about 24 fps]. When compared to competitors' server-side rendering, XenDesktop 4 uses significantly less bandwidth to deliver equivalent quality.
• Enhancements to HDX Adaptive Orchestration. SmartRendering has been enhanced with more intelligence to dynamically select between server-side and client-side video rendering. SmartRendering now considers not only user device type and codec availability but also the real-time bandwidth and latency of the network connection.
• FlexCast™ desktop delivery technology. Different types of workers across the enterprise need different types of desktops. Some require simplicity and standardization, while others need performance and personalization. With FlexCast™ delivery technology, IT can deliver the best desktop for every user, every time. XenDesktop 4 is much more than just a VDI solution. For task workers where personalization is not needed or desired, XenDesktop 4 supports Hosted Shared Desktops, providing a locked down, streamlined and standardized environment with the lowest cost per user. For design engineers and other power users, HDX 3D for Professional Graphics delivers GPU-enabled desktops hosted on blade or rack workstations.
• Expanded USB support, including webcams. HDX Plug-n-Play now supports isochronous USB remoting, enabling LAN-connected users to plug in a webcam and enjoy HDX RealTime video conferencing with popular applications such as Microsoft Office Communicator and Skype. This release also supports specialized keyboards (in particular, the Bloomberg keyboard) and dictation devices such as the Philips SpeechMike.
• Media Foundation support for HDX MediaStream client-side rendering. Media Foundation (MF) is Microsoft's new framework for digital media, used by Windows Media Player for certain media types on Windows Vista and Windows 7. With XenDesktop 4, multimedia rendering through Media Foundation can, depending on network latency and packet loss, be offloaded from the XenDesktop VDA server onto the user's Windows or Linux device, greatly improving server scalability. Media Foundation support extends our HDX MediaStream competitive advantage to the latest Windows platforms.
• New audio codec technology. With the new "Optimized for speech" codec, HDX RealTime delivers clear audio quality to softphone and voice chat users with very modest bandwidth consumption (less than 20 Kbps). HDX MediaStream server-rendered video and music playback benefits from the new "High definition" codec which provides CD-like sound quality. These enhancements leverage version 11.2 of the Citrix online plug-in for Windows.
• HDX Plug-n-Play flexible multi-monitor support. Application compatibility with multi-monitor configurations has been improved and users now have greater control via the Desktop Viewer toolbar. Supported multi-monitor configurations include special arrangements such as U, L, T, reverse L and inverse T. Screens can be of different sizes, resolutions and orientations.
• Expanded OS support, including Windows 7. The XenDesktop 4 VDA platform introduces support for Windows 7 (non-Aero) 32-bit and 64-bit, Windows Vista 64-bit and Windows XP 64-bit. With XenDesktop 4, migrating to Windows 7 is as fast and simple as configuring a single master image and assigning users. In addition, the new Citrix online plug-in 11.2 and Web Interface 5.2 releases both support user devices running Windows 7. Smartcard support has been added for Windows 7 and Windows Vista, for Windows online plug-in users.
• HDX IntelliCache with Citrix Branch Repeater provides tokenized compression and data de-duplication, dramatically reducing bandwidth requirements and improving performance for users at branch office locations. XenDesktop 4 Platinum Edition has been tested with Branch Repeater 5.5. Our measurements indicate a 25 times reduction in bandwidth when using HDX IntelliCache with HDX MediaStream to deliver videos to branch offices.
• Single sign-on and password control are now included with XenDesktop 4 Platinum Edition, powered by Citrix Password Manager 4.6 SP1, increasing application security while providing users with fast, automated logon to Web, Windows and host-based applications.  
• Service level monitoring and reporting. XenDesktop 4 Platinum Edition offers enhanced EdgeSight technology to monitor, alert, troubleshoot, and report on the Citrix XenDesktop infrastructure. Administrators can quickly determine where a problem may exist and take action to deliver higher service levels. New summary reports now make it easier than ever to manage a XenDesktop implementation.
• New EasyCall™ features. With EasyCall call forwarding, users can make and receive voice calls when they're out of the office, using the office telephone system. EasyCall reduces telephone expenses while providing users the convenience of click-to-call dialing right from their virtual desktop. A new portal, accessible from browsers and iPhones, empowers users to add EasyCall conferences to their calendar and manage call forwarding to multiple telephone numbers.
• Active Directory multi-forest support enables virtual desktops to be delivered to users located in different Active Directory forests from that in which the XenDesktop infrastructure servers are registered.
• Site Failover provides a disaster recovery, high availability solution in conjunction with Citrix NetScaler™. Web Interface now supports configuration of a list of disaster recovery farms. When none of the farms in the normal farm list can be reached, Web Interface will automatically try the farms in the disaster recovery list.
• Site Roaming enables a user to travel to a site served by a different data center, logon at a Citrix Ready thin client, and connect to his or her own virtual desktop even though it is not hosted at that site. Users can always access their own virtual desktops and data, regardless of where they connect from.
• RDP support. XenDesktop 4 enables users on a locked-down device where they cannot install the Citrix Receiver or online plug-in to access their virtual desktop using RDP. This capability also simplifies moving up to XenDesktop from other desktop virtualization solutions.
• Extended SDK. The Citrix WFAPI SDK is a collection of APIs allowing software developers and system administrators to access specific features of XenDesktop. It has been extended to add several new functions requested by the development community.

No doubt about it, with XenDesktop 4 the desktop virtualization revolution has begun! Find out more at www.citrix.com/xendesktop4.

Derek Thorslund
Citrix Product Strategist, HDX

Learn more about Citrix XenDesktop 4

• Official Press Release - http://citrix.com/xd4/pressrelease
• XenDesktop 4 Virtual Launch Event - http://citrix.com/citrixlive
• XenDesktop 4 Web Site - http://citrix.com/xd4
• XenDesktop 4 Executive Video - http://citrix.com/xd4/video
• XenDesktop Developer Network - http://community.citrix.com/cdn/xd
• XenDesktop 4 Blogs- http://citrix.com/xd4/blogs
• XenDesktop Product Page - http://citrix.com/xendesktop/

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As announced on August 31st, HDX 3D for Professional Graphics is now available for download. There's also lots of great documentation on HDX 3D Pro Graphics now on our Support site (scroll down to the bottom of the Product Documentation for XenDesktop 3 page). Or if you are just looking for a high-level overview, be sure to visit hdx.citrix.com.

Here are some highlights of this new XenDesktop feature:

• Supports the delivery of 3D professional graphics applications, both OpenGL and DirectX based, which need graphics hardware (GPU) acceleration for optimal performance.
• Works as an add-on to XenDesktop 3 and XenDesktop 3 Feature Pack 1.
• Automatically adjusts compression based on bandwidth and available resources. Delivers full HDX user experience on a LAN (100 Mbps) and very usable, interactive experience over a WAN (2 Mbps or above, with up to about 200 ms roundtrip latency). Makes desktop virtualization viable and practical for design engineers, architects, and other professional graphics users.
• Supports high resolution monitors (e.g. 1920 x 1200). For best results over limited bandwidth WAN connections, resolutions of 1280 x 1024 or below are recommended.
• Provides a real-time image quality configuration tool with an easy way to switch between a sharper image or smoother motion (great when working on  a limited bandwidth connection).
• HDX 3D host workstation (e.g. blade or rack workstation in the data center) is supported on Windows XP SP3 32-bit Professional.
• HDX 3D online plug-in for Windows (client) is supported on Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Vista. The plug-in is supported on both 32-bit and 64-bit OS versions.

Download a free Eval and try it out!

Derek Thorslund
HDX Product Strategist

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In case you missed it, here's a very short video by Michel Buis that showcases the performance of the trial release of HDX MediaStream for Flash in delivering a Flash animation.

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As I promised in my blog post about SmartRendering (a key aspect of HDX Adaptive Orchestration), here's a video that demonstrates a new Citrix technology for leveraging the graphics processor on the user's PC or deskop appliance to locally render DirectX graphics. HDX Adaptive Orchestration queries the graphics capabilities of the endpoint device and intelligently determines how to combine client-side and server-side rendering. Furthermore, rendering decisions can be made based on available network bandwidth or application characteristics. The result is a high definition user experience, increased server scalability and optimal use of network bandwidth. This video shows how the Windows Aero desktop and WPF-based data visualization applications can be delivered using DirectX command remoting while an OpenGL-based GIS application is delivered using accelerated bitmap remoting.

Derek Thorslund
Product Strategist, Multimedia Virtualization

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In case you missed it, there's a brief video up on Citrix TV in which Thomas Nikl of our Advanced Solutions Group shows the latest iteration of project Prism (which you may remember as the 3D Accelerated Bitmap Remoting subproject of Apollo/HDX). Prism is an enhancement to HDX 3D for XenDesktop focused on delivering high-end professional graphics applications (e.g. CAD, CAM, GIS) to remote users. Prism leverages GPU hardware on the host (typically a blade or rack mount workstation) to render the OpenGL or DirectX graphics, then uses advanced compression technology to deliver the resulting images over a standard DSL or equivalent Internet connection. Look closely and you'll notice that this recent build supports Windows XP virtual desktops (whereas my previous post on this topic showed a Vista desktop).

 
Derek Thorslund
Product Strategist, HDX Multimedia Virtualization

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It has been a few weeks since we released the trial for HDX MediaStream for Flash and I would like to share a few tips about this feature as well as highlight some of the capabilities in the trial release. First on the list is Window-less Mode.

Windowless mode allows web pages to overlay HTML content over the Flash player. This is important in certain scenarios like navigation menus that show on top of the flash player. Without windowless support, those sites would not be very usable. Here is an example of MSNBC.com with and without windowless support:

Flash content in windowed mode Flash content in windowless mode

Notice how the Flash ad on the left side covers part of the navigation menu while the one in the right does not. Flash in windowless mode allows the browser to do this. HDX MediaStream for Flash supports this mode even though the Flash player is rendered on the client while the browser is rendered on the server. Logic would dictate that since Citrix HDX renders the flash on the client device, any flash would always show up on top of any content in the browser. But not so. Here at Citrix, we've figured out how to retain this functionality so that users get a seamless experience.

It's easy to see how HDX MediaStream for Flash makes it easier for IT to choose XenApp and XenDesktop for application management and desktop delivery while preserving the experience that users are accustomed to. Stay tuned for more in my "Did you know" series on HDX MediaStream for Flash.

More of my blog posts on HDX MediaStream for Flash:

HDX MediaStream for Flash Tech Preview
Window-less Mode support in HDX MediaStream for Flash
Volume Synchronization in HDX MediaStream for Flash
Windows Scaling Support in HDX MediaStream for Flash
Multiple Tab Support and Diagnostics with HDX MediaStream for Flash

Follow me and my friends on twitter - Juan Rivera, Derek Thorslund, XenApp Team, XenDesktop Team

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With HDX MediaStream for Flash, the flash content is rendered on the client device while the player is rendered on the server side. This makes application management easy for administrators but poses some challenges for our engineers when it comes to preserving the "like-local" user experience. One such challenges is what happens when the user changes their volume locally.

We found a way to synchronize the volume of the Flash player on the client with the volume settings on the server. When the desktop is muted, the Flash player running on the client will be muted as well. HDX MediaStream for Flash even allows granular volume control by synchronizing the individual volume setting for each browser window with the Flash player instances on that particular browser. That means you can have a different volume setting for each browser running on the server and have the Flash players on the client respect each browser's volume setting.

It's easy to see how HDX MediaStream for Flash makes it easier for IT to choose XenApp and XenDesktop for application management and desktop delivery while preserving the experience that users are accustomed to. Stay tuned for more in my "Did you know" series on HDX MediaStream for Flash.

More of my blog posts on HDX MediaStream for Flash:

HDX MediaStream for Flash Tech Preview
Window-less Mode support in HDX MediaStream for Flash
Volume Synchronization in HDX MediaStream for Flash
Windows Scaling Support in HDX MediaStream for Flash
Multiple Tab Support and Diagnostics with HDX MediaStream for Flash

Join me and my friends on twitter - Juan Rivera, Derek Thorslund, XenApp Team, XenDesktop Team

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The Citrix Receiver desktop plug-in or Desktop Receiver (both used with XenDesktop) allow scaling the remote desktop to any viewable size. HDX MediaStream for Flash supports this scaled mode as well. The Flash content can be scaled to the appropriate size with minimal impact on performance. It even allows you to play videos in scaled mode without affecting the frames per second. Check this feature in action below:

It's easy to see how HDX MediaStream for Flash makes it easier for IT to choose XenApp and XenDesktop for application management and desktop delivery while preserving the experience that users are accustomed to. Stay tuned for more in my "Did you know" series on HDX MediaStream for Flash.

More of my blog posts on HDX MediaStream for Flash:

HDX MediaStream for Flash Tech Preview
Window-less Mode support in HDX MediaStream for Flash
Volume Synchronization in HDX MediaStream for Flash
Windows Scaling Support in HDX MediaStream for Flash
Multiple Tab Support and Diagnostics with HDX MediaStream for Flash

Join me and my friends on twitter - Juan Rivera, Derek Thorslund, XenApp Team, XenDesktop Team

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Multi-tab Browser Support

One of the limitations in the trial release of HDX MediaStream for Flash is that only one tab per browser process can be accelerated. This is a bigger issue in Internet Explorer 7 where all tabs run in the same process. In Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) some tabs run in different process.

But there is a way to force IE8 to run all tabs in separate processes. Follow this link to learn more about how to configure IE8 in such mode.

In the final release of HDX MediaStream for Flash, multiple tabs will be supported in both IE7 and IE8 out of the box.

Is HDX MediaStream for Flash running?

HDX MediaStream for Flash is so seamless that you may not even know it's running. Of course, that's by design. There are, however, a number of ways to know if it is running. My personal favorite is looking at a cyan block of color where the Flash player is shown. The cyan color shows for a little bit before the Flash player shows up.

We also created a diagnostic tool for HDX MediaStream for Flash. This tool can tell you if it is running correctly and if not, it can tell you what could be wrong. The information it collects can be easily sent to our support email alias to help our engineers assist you with your questions.

This tool is open source and can be downloaded here.

It's easy to see how HDX MediaStream for Flash makes it easier for IT to choose XenApp and XenDesktop for application management and desktop delivery while preserving the experience that users are accustomed to. Stay tuned for more in my "Did you know" series on HDX MediaStream for Flash.

More of my blog posts on HDX MediaStream for Flash:

HDX MediaStream for Flash Tech Preview
Window-less Mode support in HDX MediaStream for Flash
Volume Synchronization in HDX MediaStream for Flash
Windows Scaling Support in HDX MediaStream for Flash
Multiple Tab Support and Diagnostics with HDX MediaStream for Flash

Join me and my friends on twitter - Juan Rivera, Derek Thorslund, XenApp Team, XenDesktop Team

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I just wanted to announce an upcoming TechTalk I'm delivering on the new HDX Technologies included within the upcoming XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2 release.  As you know, HDX refers to a series of technologies that deliver a high-definition experience for both XenApp and XenDesktop users.

In this particular session, I'm going to do a technical deep dive on the latest HDX features include in XenApp 5 Feature Pack 2.  Each feature will include an overview, configuration details, and deployment considerations to help you maximize your XenApp deployments and help you provide the best possible experience to your end users.  The features included in this presentation are:
-HDX MediaStream for Flash
-HDX Plug-and-Play for Thumb Drives
-Secure Paste

The TechTalk is this Thursday, October 1 (1pm to 2pm EST).  To sign up for the session, visit this link: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/907190776

I hope to see you there!

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XenApp Expert Series - Informational, News, Interviews (2009) The show where we interview the experts to get you the latest research and technology news on XenApp application virtualization. Host Vinny Sosa (@vinnysosa) interviews Product Strategist Derek Thorslund (@derektcitrix) to help everyone understand the HDX Technology stack. This is part one of multiple videos that will dig deeper into HDX technologies. Episode 3, Season 1.

Listen to this episode

• Listen to archived episodes:
  • Episode 2: Profile Management with David Wagner
  • Episode 1: Power Management with Sridhar Mullapudi

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Download XenApp technology previews

Learn more about Citrix HDX

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XenApp Expert Series - Informational, News, Interviews (2009) The show where we interview the experts to get you the latest research and technology news on XenApp application virtualization. Host Vinny Sosa (@vinnysosa) interviews Citrix Engineer and Graphics Guru Juan Rivera (@juancitrix) on the HDX MediaStream for Flash and graphics remoting. How it works, why is it important and general technical musings are prevalent in this information packed episode. Episode 4, Season 1.

Listen to this episode

• Listen to archived episodes:
  • Episode 3: An Overview of HDX with Derek Thorslund
  • Episode 2: Profile Management with David Wagner
  • Episode 1: Power Management with Sridhar Mullapudi

Follow XenApp on

Download XenApp technology previews

Learn more about Citrix HDX

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