XenServer 7.1 is an industry-leading, open source platform for cost-effective application, desktop, cloud, and server virtual infrastructures.

XenServer 7.1 enables organization of any size or type to consolidate and transform compute resources into virtual workloads for today’s data center requirements, while ensuring a seamless pathway for moving workloads to the cloud.

New in XenServer 7.1 Enterprise Edition:

• PVS-Accelerator
• Automated Updates
• Live Patching
• Linux V2V Migration
• Nutanix HCI support
• Long Term Service Release
• Aligned product lifecycle dates with XenApp & XenDesktop
• XenServer Enterprise Entitlement for all XenApp & XenDesktop customers

New Features and Improvements in XenServer 7.1

XenServer 7.1 introduces enhanced features and functionality for application, desktop and server virtualization use cases. Major themes for this release are simplified maintenance, enhancements to Citrix Provisioning Services (PVS) and support for Nutanix Hyperconverged Infrastructure. All XenServer 7.1 features are now available to all licensed XenApp/XenDesktop customers.

PVS-Accelerator (Enterprise Edition)

Citrix XenServer and Citrix XenApp/XenDesktop development teams have jointly developed and enhanced the existing Provisioning Services (PVS) solution to maximize the benefits customers receive from their Citrix Application and Desktop Delivery solutions. The new PVS-Accelerator feature dramatically reduces network traffic in XenApp and XenDesktop deployments in order to achieve greater virtual server and desktop density, faster boot times during boot storms, and overall improved server and desktop performance. This feature is available when PVS 7.13 is used in conjunction with XenServer 7.1

XenServer Nutanix Integration
Citrix has been working closely with Nutanix to seamlessly integrate XenServer 7.1 into the Nutanix Hyperconverged Infrastructure product. This is available within the Nutanix AOS 5.0 Tech Preview release, and enables Nutanix customers to leverage the unique capabilities of XenServer.

Automated Updates Using XenCenter (Enterprise Edition)

The Install Update wizard in XenCenter has got a whole lot smarter, automatically determining which hotfixes are required to bring a pool up-to-date and enabling customers to update multiple pools in a single pass of the wizard.

XenServer Live Patching (Enterprise Edition)
In an industry-first, XenServer 7.1 delivers the ability to seamlessly apply patches to a running system without requiring host reboots. This capability will be applicable for select Linux kernel and Xen hypervisor hotfixes, which will consist of both a live patch, which will be applied to the Control Domain (Dom0) memory of the host, as well as a hotfix to update the disk image of the host (through the Automated Updates mechanism). This ensures that following any future reboots, the applied patches persist.

Long Term Service Release (LTSR)
As a Long Term Service Release, XenServer 7.1 is available with a 10-year servicing option, comprised of 5 years of standard support, plus an optional 5 years of extended support.

Additional XenCenter Improvements
vCPU Hotplug for Linux VMs Standard and Enterprise Editions
Ability to change the Control Domain (Dom0) memory using XenCenter

Performance Improvements
Improved SMB performance Enterprise Edition
Significant reduction in the time taken for VM Import/Export operations

Support for New Guests XenServer 7.1 supports the following new guest operating systems:

• Windows Server 2016
• SLES 11 SP4
• CentOS 6.8, 7.3
• RHEL 6.8, 7.3
• Oracle Linux 6.8, 7.3
• Scientific Linux 6.8
• NeoKylin Linux Advance Server 6.5
• NeoKylin Linux Advance Server 7