- Dell introduces the First Multi-User 2U Rack Workstation for Virtualized 3D Applications on Citrix XenDesktop on
- smsPasscode 6.1 released with new enhancements
- Citrix and NVIDIA team up on GPU hardware virtualization
- Igel announces new ARM-based System on Chip (SoC) thin client
- NComputing introduces new cheap HDX thin Clients for Citrix Desktop and App Virtualization Deployments
The Cloud Storage Problem
User Rating:
/ 1
When talking about a cloud computing system, it's itching my entire body. Why, you might ask? Well, let's be frank, the buzz word "Cloud Computing", is just that buzz or what?
Am I insane? Well, why would I say such a unintelligent thing? Well, in my book, Cloud Computing is to some extent just another word for ASP, remember that? Yes, and I don't mean Active Server Pages, but Application Service Provider.
I used to work for one for 5 years. when the Cloud Computing phrase came along I was just thinking, yet another buzzed up word for ASP.
In many ways it is, and in many ways it's different. It's the same in terms of hosting something, that be a App, Desktop(VDI) or Files somewhere but in your own data center. Or, that's not quite right either, because you also have Private Cloud, which in the short term means that you provide a Cloud, but it's hosted internally within your company.
Public Cloud, on the other hand is much like the good old ASP, as it's different. Different in the way it's scalable is one thing, but also different in what new issues we face.
Security, is one thing! Take file sharing for one, it's a good example as to where the problem begins.
In EU and in non-EU countries here in Europe, like Norway, if you are a governmental or state owned company, you are actually not allowed to save your files outside of the country. So, here is where the problem with the likes of DropBox, Box.net and Citrix ShareFile begins. These "companies" can't utilized the benefits that such flexible storage and sharing of files give the users. Why? Because, the Cloud providers can't open up a data center in each and every freaking country in the world! Now, I know this works great for the US, since many cloud provider data centers are located there, and then the files are actually within the country. But, for European governmental companies, it's a different story. Would you trust that your sensitive company data was hosted in a data center somewhere in the world?
I guess not, for some it's fine, for others that are governed by law it's not.
I've talked to a lot of customers the last year, about a emerging problem, called Dropbox. why?, because the users share there files from Dropbox. Company intellectual property shared by the employees via Dropbox, because it's simple and fast. Still, the companies have no control. That's where I would welcome a type of use our good sharing software like Citrix ShareFile, Dropbox or something else, inside your data center.
Yes, move the Public Cloud, into the companies data center, and it becomes a Private Cloud. Hosting the files, giving the users a easy and fast way of sharing there files with each other.
If we go just 3-5 years back the biggest issue back then was the USB stick, and how important intellectual company property became stolen. Either with a virus on the USB stick or buy good old theft.
Now, we face another more sophisticated problem, that of storage for one, but also where is it stored.
So, I have full confidence that some bright minds somewhere has the intention of bringing their cool software to the Private Cloud. Giving us the option to serve all aspects of the Cloud in a data center near you.
Please, feel free to share your thoughts on this issue buy commenting on this article.
My take on Citrix bringing the Receiver to Facebook
User Rating:
/ 0
I'm in the plane right now blogging from some 40.000 feet, love how technology evolves with time! Free Wifi in this Norwegian flight is really good and cool. Enough of me blogging from high hights, Citrix really had a spectacular show lined up for us at this years Citrix Synergy 2011 in Barcelona. Think that it's actually the best keynote that I've been in! And I've been to like Synergy and Summit and iForum since back in 2001. Love the Follow me data stuff Citrix has going on, love the App-DNA acquisition. The latter a good add on for all XenApp customers as they now will get a tool that can asses applications before implementing them into the solution. A lot of cool others stuff has been shown also, like TaaS the tools-as-a-service stuff, and the HDX on a Chip stuff that really is a way for Citrix to tie them selvs into the Hardware manufactures. The one thing that I actually thought was cool was the HTML 5 stuff Citrix is doing inside Facebook. Cool, is the word, but do we really want it?
Let's face it, Facebook is more of a social platform for people to connect. I use Facebook for my friends, so my personal account is well yeah, personal, that me. Now this website, has a page, and that is a public offering. Now, I'm not quite sure if any big companies would like their users to start Applications or Virtual Desktops from within Facebook. There is a security issue maybe, there might be other reasons, like they've shutdown access to Facebook which is a trend, because people used to much time on Facebook during working hours.
I might be wrong with this, but for me personally, I will use it, but for big organizations and corporations, I'm not sure if they will allow it... but then again, it's all about consumerization and making stuff available from un-traditional places!
Microsoft hits back with Windows 8
User Rating: / 0
Imagine this - touchscreen enabled laptop (I don't care about the brand!) with Citrix Receiver, delivering Windows 8. Now, that's a new ball game. I woke up this AM and watched the Windows 8 HD Video review, that was announced while I was a sleep. I must say, way to go Microsoft. Microsoft has really been a subject to battering the last couple of years, mostly due to the rise and success of Apple with their products. I myself, have not fallen to the helms/realms?? of Apple, and still use a laptop, Lenovo as a matter of fact. Just last week, during Citrix Synergy 2011 San Francisco the Apple fans of the CTP group (Citrix Technology Professionals). We’re tweeting about that next year the rest of the CTPs would all have Apple MacBook’s. Well, guess what, that was my plan, but now I'm once again blown away by a great OS that I know a thing or two about, that I know my way around and all that.
Windows 8 looks promising imagine delivering Windows 8 with Citrix XenDesktop vNext, to every device with the Citrix Receiver. That's the Wow factor that Citrix is showing today, and it surely is the Big Wow factor of the upcoming years as well. My iPad running Windows 8 delivered with Citrix Receiver is just somewhat a geeky dream come true. This will mean that Apple need to go with the flow, when it comes to Virtualization. As the awesome (Dr.) Gus Pinto showed on stage at Citrix Synergy 2011, Citrix Receiver delivering MAC OSx virtualized from XenDesktop, this means that Apple need to get into the Virtualization game, or risk losing market share. It's no secret that Citrix showed off XenClient almost 2 years ago at Citrix Synergy 2009 Las Vegas, running a virtualized MacBook Pro with XenClient installed on it. Many reasons perhaps that XenClient still is not able to be installed on a MacBook; I guess the rumor is that Apple won't allow it.
Nevertheless with Windows 8, Microsoft is hitting back hard. The HW vendors need now to put touch enabled screens to a broader line of laptop modules, and also touch enabled widescreen monitors, not to mention the impact this can have on regular HD TV's. Imagine Microsoft ThinPC vNext embedded into a Samsung 3D HD TV, another wet geeky dream! With Citrix delivering the full Windows 8 experience in full HD and maybe 3D as well!
The future is bright people, can't wait to get my hands on Windows 8!
CUG Norway XenZone
User Rating: / 0
Next week here in Norway, Citrix User Group Norway is hosting their second XenZone event. As a part of the board for CUG Norway, I'm proud of this event!
We have 30 speakers lined up from both Norway and abroad, and 3 CTP's (Citrix Technology Professionals) including René Vester, Jeroen van de Kamp and me - Alexander Ervik Johnsen.
Check out www.xenzone.no for more info! We also have a GeekSpeak Live Local which includes the 3 CTP's mentioned and also David Hald from smsPasscode and Bjørn Uddal from AppSense.
Hope you will join us for 2 days packed with sessions and a great Party that is always a blast!
XenApp or XenDesktop or both? That is the question!
User Rating: / 0
2010 saw the dawn of the Desktop Virtualization Wars, and also stiffer competition on the Server Virtualization market. All of 2010 I went around talking to customers both in Norway and also in other places on this globe about Virtual Desktops can do for them. The question it got the most was, what is happening to XenApp, is it going away? Well, I'm probably not the right guy to ask that question(under NDA and all that stuff), but I can take you down a road where we can talk a bit why XenApp still is important and why you should care about Desktop Virtualization and XenDesktop. So why should you do XenDesktop when you have a perfectly worked about business delivery strategy with XenApp in place? Well, it's all back to the apps! If some of you came to the GeekSpeak Live Tonight "show" at Synergy San Francisco 2010 and Synergy Berlin 2010, you might have heard us CTPs talk about Applications. Yes, the same disucssion comes up all the time, the apps. As long as there will be a company that makes the Windows platform(or any other operating system based platform), there will be apps. If these apps are delivered from the cloud/Internet or hosted on a OS somewhere, there will be apps. Apps will also have compability issues. Take a bank or any other organisation for that matter, they have several apps that A: Are to old, and just work, so they will not move it, B: to expensive to change and rewrite for 64-bit OS's or C: are to mission critical to the organisation that they will not risk downtime at all, in a change to a new system process.
So, what does this really mean? Well, IT's job is to give access to these apps, right? In doing so they have for many years, delivered them with XenApp. Being a secure, remote solution and time and money saving method, we all know the drill. So, where does this leave us? Now that Microsoft develops only 64-bit server operating systems, this means that all these apps that are either 16-bit or 32-bit, and just don't want to work in a 64-bit environment will be a huge challenge. Also, I've talked a lot to customers during 2010, that have said that they can't upgrade to XenApp 6, because of these apps that don't work in a 64-bit environment. These customers still run on XenApp 5 or older versions, and this is where the Virtual Desktop enters! With a Virtual Desktop delivered with XenDesktop, you can still provide the look and feel that remote users are used to connecting with, and combat the application compability issue! Why, because you can move the "problem apps" into an operating system that it works in, like Windows XP or Windows 7 32-bit, and deliver it to the user. This also benefits the user, because the already published applications can be integrated into the Virtual Desktop, so the user can access them via either their start menu, Dazzle or the Web Interface. IT gets lover TCO because of less downtime, less management and can deliver any application to any user regardless if they are 16-bit, 32-bit or 64-bit apps. XenApp can run on the latest version, with the applications that are compatibile, while the other applications run in a Desktop environment.
What is the bottom line?
The bottom line is that in combinding these different delivery mechanismes that we got, at the end of the day, we have more to manage yes, but it's simpler to manage, because apps are usually a "no brainer" to install in a Virtual Desktop.
Please, I want a discussion around the topic, because so many people have so many different opinions on the subject! So, use the comment field or FaceBook!
Awards
Connect on Twitter
Become a Ervik.as Partner
Find us around the web
