I would like to call one thing straight away. 2015 is the year where GPUs become standard in XenApp and XenDesktop solutions. Where 2014 saw the rise of GPUs, 2015 will be the year where the customers really see the value of having them on standard XenApp and XenDesktop servers. Where basic applications like all Internet Browsers, Adobe and Office apps now use more and more HW acceleration. In fact standard browsers like Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Mozilla FireFox all have HW acceleration turned on by default! This means that more systems get the need for graphics enabled by default, not only for the users that demand their own vGPU or their own GPU, because they use CAD, CAM or other applications that have high GPU consummation. No, every user will get the need for more gpu power to get their session running as smooth as possible. You might have seen my WebGL based demos during 2014, if not you can see them here:

https://www.ervik.as/citrix/xendesktop/4205-xendesktop-7-1-hdx-3d-webgl-demo

https://www.ervik.as/citrix/xendesktop/4230-xendesktop-7-5-hdx-3d-demo

The reason behind the WebGL demos was to raise awareness around that actually there is also a shift on the Internet side of things. More and more websites and web based applications also now use WebGL, which again raises the need for a vGPU or a GPU attached to the XenApp/XenDesktop environment.

So, where does this leave us? Well, although vGPU and GPUs in Citrix environments might have been like more niche than mainstream the time has now come, to start thinking about deploying XenApp servers with vGPUs. 

Gunnar Berger, CTO Desktops and Applications over at Citrix made this video back in November 2014 about the Intel Iris Pro running XenDesktop. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkN_D6JVyNA

Intel also jumped on the GPU bandwagon last year with a big announcement last may at Citrix Synergy. When Intel get their Iris Pro chips into more and more HW systems, it will be a definite message of mainstream for vGPU and GPUs alike in XenApp deployments. While NVIDIA and to some extent, ATI will have the more demanding “hard core” 3d/cad/dac/cam users with their HW. This all comes down to cost, and prices will go down as the technology evolves. If you are planning to build up new solution or replace old XenApp or XenDesktop HW platforms then you should take a serious decision into whether to have GPUs or not in the new system.

Also, please cast your vote for if your XenApp or XenDesktop environment will include a GPU during 2015 here -> https://no.surveymonkey.com/s/635SCCT