In case you missed them this month, Citrix published 2 KB articles detailing the End Of Life support plans for their current XenDesktop products. 

XenDesktop 3 is end of life at the end of this year, and there won’t be patches after 10/28/10.  XenDesktop 4 however, will be supported through 5/2014.

XenDesktop 3 – http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX124351 
XenDesktop 4 – http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX124352

It’s interesting to me that XD3 which was released in February 2009 will have it’s support pulled so soon while XD4 is slated to have support until 2014.  From my perspective, it seems that most of the XD3 implementations where still in Test/Dev while XD4 has made inroads into production environments making support of the product more critical and requiring the customers to upgrade more of an issue.  I would imagine that from now to 2014, at least 2 more major revisions will be released to the public. XenDesktop 6 anyone?

As published on VMwareInfo.com:

As published on VMwareInfo.com:

In environments where you might be so inclined to run XenApp Published applications over your XenDesktop sessions, the default behavior for the ICA protocol is to map a client’s local drives all the way through the sessions. (Pass-through ICA)  See image below :

This may not be the desired user experience if the XenDesktop session is the user’s Main desktop.  Users might need to access files saved to the local XenDesktop drives from within their published XenApp applications.

Changing a quick registry value on the XenDesktop machine will correct this issue.  From the Support article : http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX238200

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Citrix\ICA Client\Engine\Configuration\Advanced\Modules\ClientDrive
Create the Reg Value: NativeDriveMapping
Reg Type: REG_SZ
Add the Value: True

This value will yield the desired results illustrated below :

Most companies now have plans to investigate and use the latest form of virtual desktop in the very near future.  There are many POC’s (proof of concepts) going on as we speak and many more are planned. Citrix, Microsoft, VMware and others are all vying for a piece of this large market potential.

Let’s consider the following situation for a company: 8,000 users, 1,200 servers. Virtualizing the 1,2000 servers in the datacenter  saves money, power, is easier to manage etc. So with a consolidation ratio of 20:1 (to make the math simple) we would then have to manage only 60 servers as opposed to 1,200.

On the other hand, if the plan were to take ALL 8,000 users and virtualize their desktops into the datacenter, even with double the consolidation ratio of 40:1, this would mean managing another 200 servers. Add to this the additional expensive datacenter storage, power, electricity, real estate, etc. “plus” still having to work with end user devices. While the hosted vdi solution does work in many cases, a complimentary solution is on the horizon.

So what’s a company to do? Stay Physical with Virtual.

We would suggest that companies begin to deploy the virtual desktop on a server hypervisor to gain experience, conduct their POC and understand the end user experience first hand. However, once the desktop hypervisor is available and tested for scalability and reliability, and with the use of provisioning technology,  a company can begin to deploy their provisioned and secure virtual desktops  throughout the organization by using existing PC’s or instituting BYOP (bring your own PC) with the proper PC configuration.

The BYOP model, with a client hypervisor (e.g. XenClient from Citrix – available Q1 2010) allows IT to provision a secure corporate desktop to an end user’s device, while at the same let the end user have complete control and freedom to conduct his personal business on the same desktop.

It‘s a great time to be in the thick of things and as always “If It’s Virtually Possible, We Do it!!

by Myron Bari – November30, 2009 (mbari@ipm.com)

For the past several quarters when my colleagues meet with CIO’s and their team, they are confronted with the statement “I don’t have any money!”.

Upon further analysis that statement usually means that the client does not have any money for CAPEX (capital expenditures).

However, all companies spend considerable dollars every year on OPEX (operating expenses).

OPEX normally includes maintenance for current hardware & software, staff compensation, utilities, rent, courier services, supplies (tapes,paper etc.)

IPM has  found considerable opportunity to lower OPEX for clients by investing in new technologies. Comparing the status quo cash flows  to the new solution cash flows, adding in a NPV (net present value) and ROI calculation usually results in an an opportunity for the CIO (with or without IPM) to present a legitimate and reasonable proposal to a client’s CFO in his/her language.

This methodology assists us to focus on insuring that a project has a realistic benefit for the client. Summarizing this analysis in a simple to understand spreadsheet allows for valuable discussion and partnership.

It‘s a great time to be in the thick of things and as always “If It’s Virtually Possible, We Do it!!

by Myron Bari – November 8, 2009 (mbari@ipm.com)

How wonderful would it be to hear time after time,  and especially from our most demanding executives. “My corporate desktop experience is awesome. Thank you!!”.

Well, two weeks ago, Citrix raised the bar again with their XenDesktop 4 announcements. To see what all the buzz was about, I spent 6 minutes viewing the Most Watched Video on Citrix TV. Citrix TV – The New User Experience. Watching CNN, YouTube, 3D graphics and more.

No wonder that our clients who are using XD 3.5 or XenApp are asking for XD4 to be configured as soon as possible and are engaged in XenDesktop POC’s. Besides adding 50 plus technical enhancements to this new version, they also have a very compelling licensing upgrade model which is being explored by most of our clients.

Around 1996, I remember working on my DOS machine at the office and my Windows 95 machine at home. Like millions of of other users, we needed to understand why we could not get the same user experience at the office. Eventually the home user experience was adopted by the IT community and the gap was closed.

History is now repeating itself. Millions of us are doing really “kool” things at home. And the same end user demands are leading the way again to our corporate world . We just want to turn on any device (any where, any time, and any place) and with the addition of our corporate secure profile, see text, TV, video, music, photo’s, 3D graphics  and much more.

Our  IT corporate world is on the verge of closing the gap and  making our end user’s experience awesome, again!!

It‘s a great time to be in the thick of things and as always “If It’s Virtually Possible, We Do it!!

by Myron Bari – October 24, 2009 (mbari@ipm.com)

So from the last article,“I Stream”, “You Stream”, Let’s all Stream!!, we assume that your organization has 100 applications that need to be accessed by many users from their desktop and you are in charge of  designing the next desktop architecture (hosted,  server-based, physical desktop) or any combination of the above. We already streamed 85 applications since they were ”streamable”. It would seem that you would now have to “install” all of the remaining 15 applications on the base image.

But what happens if  out of the 15 remaining applications, 8 are used by all of the end users and the other 7 are used by only a handful of end users?

From a design standpoint, you would like to have as few applications on your base image (only install 8 to the base image) since these applications are used by most of your end users. For example – Microsoft Office suite, Adobe Acrobat, etc.

How can you keep your base image from being cluttered  with these other 7 applications and still provide access to them for those end users who need them? To the rescue Citrix has recently announced  XenApp FR2, a technology we can use for these 7 applications.

• VM hosted apps – this technology enables customers to host and deliver applications from centralized virtual machines running desktop operating systems for the fastest rollout of apps and 100% app compatibility.

So now your base desktop image remains lean and agile!!

Agile because the 85 applications are now,  in most cases, platform independent.Since we packaged the applications on XP, the same package can most likely be used to stream the application on Windows 7.

It‘s a great time to be in the thick of things and as always “If It’s Virtually Possible, We Do it!!

by Myron Bari – October 12, 2009 (mbari@ipm.com)

Being back two weeks from attending this year’s ILTA (International Legal Technology Association), I am still absorbing the wealth of knowledge I gained during the conference. I am very glad that I took the time to attend!!

There were lots of attendees, close to 1,000,  and a constant buzz – it was definitely an IT “legal industry event”.

The theme resonating throughout the conference was Deliver More with Less($)

I spent significant time attending the Executive sessions in order to better  understand the current thoughts of  C-Level executives and how they deal with their business challenges. What keeps them up at night? How do they deliver the best end-user experience in a cost effective manner without sacrificing QOS.

Several executive presentations that will stick in my mind for a long time are the messages delivered by Peter Lesser, Gene Viscelli & Anthony DeCerce, as well as, the one delivered by Lorey Hoffman, Paul Wittekind and Lance Rea. When referring to engaging with a partner, the comment, “I bet my job” , resonated in everyone’s ear. This comment depicted to me the the “out of box” thinking of such individuals. They discussed “innovation” vs. “invention” and the trust that they place in the companies they partner with to deliver outstanding QOS. The ability to reduce operational costs by 60%, while saving their firm $1.5 million, was just one of the few great milestones accomplished by these seasoned “innovators”.

Another key presentation focused on Virtual Technologies — one that is certainly dear to everyone,  whether they are part of the legal community or not. Technologies from Citrix/VMware/Microsoft  was on everyone’s agenda and strategic plan. The challenge is how to deliver to the end user the best possible experience to his or her end device (desktops, laptops, PDA’s, thin clients etc.) The presentations discussed the new Citrix’s XenDesktop, VMview and Microsoft AppV.  A few case studies discussed investment, business requirements and end goals. No discussion of a preference between the technologies was truly drilled down..

ILTA organized their sessions into competencies for the legal community: Executive, Business, Technology, Accounting. It was a pleasure being able to navigate through the different sessions as one focused on a certain trend or topic of interest. I gained the most out of attending the executive sessions which gave me a clear understanding of the message being transferred by C-Level Management.  Individuals at firms who’s purpose is to seek the advice and direction of their Trusted Advisors as well as peers and colleagues to come up with innovative ways to  better enhance their “end-users experience”.

I spent time looking at many technology (hardware/software) companies but focused on meeting with the legal applications software companies. From a strategy standpoint, I believe that it is incumbent upon Professional Services Organizations who focus in the legal community,  and are proud when it comes to making legal applications “fly” in their environments leveraging emerging technologies, (Citrix, EMC, Microsoft, RSA, VMware, etc.) that should partner with the companies all law firms use and rely on for their day to day business. It will enable both (PSO’s & the legal application vendors) to strengthen their focused by aligning and be familiar with each other’s strengths and use each other’s name when asked for a referral of “who do you recommend is the best for”.

A common term I overheard was BYOP (bring your own PC). I can have two, or more, environments on my PC – personal version where what I do is my business, all my traffic goes out to the internet – and a “secure & managed” corporate version which lets me run my corporate applications by just clicking an icon. At which point, I’m no longer tied or “chained” to a corporate policy as to what they believe is the best for me but let me be the judge of that as long as my personal and business lives don’t overlap.

The buzz I kept hearing everyone I spoke to is how to manage their desktop strategy and the compelling event now is the coming of Win7. How will I migrate my end users to Win7 ?, solve lots of the current issues with the current physical desktop model and “delight” the end user experience? I am confident that Jacques BenSimon’s, IPM’s CTO, forthcoming article, It’s A Jungle Out There, will help many clients crystallize and begin to document their customized desktop strategy and then “vigorously” test the new technology in a Pre-Production environment.

I’m grateful for been involved in the legal community and look forward to an exciting 2010!

by Avi Deutsch – September 11, 2009 (adeutsch@ipm.com)

Having been in the field of technology since the early 70’s, from my days @ NYU’s Courant School and then followed by 12 years @ Big Blue (IBM), it never fails to amuse me that many of my technology colleagues do not see themselves as end users. And the trend continues!!

Now why is that? Could it be that since technology is KEWL, that’s enough? Not if you are like me >> an end user!!!

A few weeks ago I was sitting with a large client of IPM, in a very fancy conference room, talking about a current project. In attendance was the Director of Operations, the CIO and the Chairman of the technology committee. The Chairman made sure that we understood that an end user’s perception of how IT was helping or hindering him or her from doing their job was of primary importance. “Slow application performance, choppy screen refreshes, long boot up times are not good. We may have the most sophisticated technology in the datacenter known to man, however,our end users would just like to be able to do their work; easily and consistently. I turn on my TV or my Blackberry, and my programs and applications appear and function , all the time!!”

IPM has been involved with end user perception for many years.  Most of our projects have to do with presenting applications to many end users on various desktop platforms. We call it – APPPPS – applications, perception, profiles, policies, provisioning and scripts.

As an end user, I want great corporate applications that I perceive as working very, very well. I am relying about our IT department to keep my profiles and policies consistent. Provision my desktop seamlessly and use scripts in the background to enhance my perception.

I believe that Datacenter projects should be geared towards my technology colleagues. I also believe that Application Delivery & Desktop projects must be geared towards end user perception.

So how do you measure end user perception? There are lots of sophisticated software & tools to measure latency, response time, etc which in most cases need to utilized. However, I have found that the first and last measure of end user perception is accomplished when we ASK the end user! I suggest that we find out what the aches and pains there are before the project begins and also after we have performed our technical magic.

If end users perceive that  they are happy with their application delivery & desktop experience, and of course get their work done,  I think we are adding significant value to their organization.

Hoping that my life as an end user, and yours, becomes like living on cloud 9

It‘s a great time to be in the thick of things and as always “If It’s Virtually Possible, We Do it!!

by Myron Bari – September 22, 2009 (mbari@ipm.com)

It is quite evident when speaking to IPM clients, that they exhibit an advanced and highly sophisticated palate for Mom’s cooking with both vanilla AND chocolate flavorings. This is exhibited in various forms. It started with homemade ice cream and most recently expanded  into the world of IT.

While IPM’s clients have grown up and been nurtured with Mom’s (Microsoft’s) motherly love, who has guided them to new heights and sophistication for many years, they initially fell in love with Chocolate (Citrix). They added chocolate flavorings  “any place, anytime and anywhere”. To everyone’s amazement, chocolate flavoring enabled our clients to spend more quality time at home with their families. Right after dinner, with a chocolate flavored dessert placed neatly on their lap or nearby desk, they did not have to rush back to the office to finish their latest assignment or presentation. Life was blissful and Mom was very happy!!

Subsequently, Mom seemed to say it was OK to add Vanilla (VMware) flavorings. In fact, lots of Mom’s cooking was enhanced by “special” flavorings of Vanilla. There was Vanilla lite (for those on a diet), Vanilla Standard &  Vanilla Enterprise. Vanilla flavorings became a regular staple at Mom’s dinner table  and many of  her favorite dishes were flavored with BOTH vanilla AND chocolate. So much so that our clients were hoping to continue in this state of bliss for many more years.

As time passed on, our clients continued to consume  lots more delicious Vanilla flavorings, to the point that Mom decided that she should make her own additive to “her” food. Alas, a family feud was beginning to boil. Imagine our clients uneasiness, sitting at a family event with Mom, using both Vanilla AND Chocolate flavorings, on “her” food, and she was not happy

It was then very predictable and not be outdone, that Vanilla decided that they should also make a brand of Chocolate.

So now, Mom is not happy with Vanilla, Vanilla starts to fight with Chocolate, Chocolate fights back and argues with Vanilla and at the same time Chocolate mixes its own flavorings specifically to enhance Mom’s cooking.

Chaos and disparagement ensues in Mom’s kitchen. At which point, Mom decides that to add additional sophistication to her cooking, she is not only going to cook for those clients who are physically and virtually joining her at her home, but also for those who have departed to the clouds. (Mom’s new line of cooking, “Cloud 2010 Dishes”,  will be published shortly).

And our clients are now caught in the middle of this “contentious” family feud looking for a few simple recipes on how to return to the former state of bliss.

I have no real solution today on how to guide our clients though this maze and have dedicated myself to finding a solution for our clients and will send updates over the next few months.  As always, first and foremost, our clients needs, are paramount.

I am confident that Mom will prevail, as she always has, and that the current flavorings will either melt away or find a way to make peace with Mom. Please note Mom’s cooking has persevered over other flavorings which she was not happy with and they include:  Nuts (Novell & Netscape), Walnuts (WordPerfect) and many more.

Now if we could only go back to the days of the Vanilla & Chocolate Ice Cream Sundae.

It‘s a great time to be in the thick of things and as always “If It’s Virtually Possible, We Do it!!

by Myron Bari – September 8, 2009 (mbari@ipm.com)

Well I am on my way back from VMworld 2009, which was held in San Francisco, to New York and am glad that I attended!!

There were lots of people, about 11,000,  and constant buzz – it was definitely an IT “industry event”.

Big theme — Deliver IT As A Service (similar to Amazon EC2)

Significant time was spent in the General & Break Out sessions on the new features of vSphere (with the new integration of storage, power, switches, etc.) Some very good reasons to upgrade from VI3 etc. — increased performance & functionality.

The stage was set for controversy when both Microsoft & Citrix were restricted to very small 10×10 booths and could not bring in any servers or workstations – only PowerPoint slides. They could not show any non-VMware based software – No HyperV, No Xenserver, No XenDesktop – basically No, No, No .

I attended the VMware partner meeting on Monday afternoon – they reviewed the overall company strategy and gave more specifics on vSphere and cloud talk (start with internal clouds, prepare for external clouds, move a little into the cloud, and then try to get out of cloud and then have a similar experience whichever cloud you are on. Hoping I can get on Cloud 9 soon. Overall message > vSphere technology is far ahead of HyperV and XenServer. Stay with vSphere and all is good.

Next Presentation was focused on View — helping the end user deal with his end device (his desktop, his laptop, his iPhone etc.) The presentations discussed the new View (kind of a catchy phrase) and mentioned their main competitor in this space >> Citrix!!! A few examples were given of how Terminal Server/XenApp does not work as well as View. No discussion of how View compares to XenDesktop. It is apparent that the new View has been improved, especially with the planned PC over IP protocol, as opposed to RDP. View certainly warrants looking at and based on client requirements, let me repeat, based on client requirements, we need to understand the best solution for the client. Interesting link at www.vmware.com/go/costperappcalc.

VMware has organized their solutions into competencies for the partner community: Datacenter, Desktop, Development & Test, and Cloud Services. A partner needs to begin with Datacenter and then can add any of the other three. Additional intellectual property on Partner Central & Partner University. Also discussed was the concept of a VPractice leader (virtual practice), who would insure that the virtualization technologies products that clients buy, would be delivered using proven professional services best practices.

Spent time looking at many technology companies and, in particular, met with the Presidents of Appsense & Wyse. From a strategy standpoint, these two companies are also working to make their solution work with XenDesktop (or XenApp) and View. Appsense’s Environment Manager has picked up significant traction and is scalable and repeatable for many environments. Wyse continues to improve the endpoint devices and the end user experience. These two technologies are poised for growth!! Also checked out and met with LiquidWare (how do I know which desktops are good candidates for virtualization, and now that I am using desktop virtualization – what is happening).

Discussed the upcoming Xen Client (hypervisor for the laptop, PC, etc) with Simon Crosby. Getting poised for BYOP (bring your own PC). I can have two, or more, environments on my PC – personal version where what I do is my business, all my traffic goes out to the internet – and a “secure & managed” corporate version which lets me run my corporate applications by just clicking an icon. At that point I am sent to either an XA or XD environment etc.

Everyone I spoke to is working on their desktop strategy and the compelling event now is the coming of Win7. How will I migrate my end users to Win7, solve lots of the current issues with the current physical desktop model and “delight” the end user experience? I am confident that Jacques BenSimon’s, IPM’s CTO, forthcoming article, It’s A Jungle Out There, will help many clients crystallize and begin to document their customized desktop strategy and then “vigorously” test the new technology in a Pre-Production environment.

It‘s a great time to be in the thick of things and as always “If It’s Virtually Possible, We Do it!!

by Myron Bari – September 3, 2009 (mbari@ipm.com)