Synergy 2011: Citrix updates XenClient, Receiver and HDX

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Citrix has introduced a range of refreshed versions of its virtualisation and app delivery products.

During its Synergy 2011 conference in San Francisco yesterday, the company launched XenClient 2, the latest iteration of Citrix’s bare metal hypervisor.

Citrix has opened up the type 1 hypervisor’s compatibility, meaning it can now bring virtual desktops to an estimated 45 million PCs and laptops – over three times what the first XenClient could manage.

XenClient 2 also comes with greater graphics support for companies who require richer experiences.

“XenClient 2 truly allows you to bring personal clouds and business clouds together,” said John Fanelli, vice president of product marketing for enterprise desktops and applications.

“We’ve really focused in on making this much more accessible… and offer a simple user experience.”

For organisations who want desktop virtualisation but need strong security and the ability to manage big workloads, Citrix has introduced XenClient XT.

Aimed predominantly at the public sector, it allows organisations to run numerous “securely isolated desktop computing environments” on one physical system.

The “trusted boot capability,” based on Intel Trusted Execution Technology, will check XenClient XT against known good configurations on every boot, to prevent outside tampering.

Receiver updates

Citrix has also moved to ensure Receiver - the client that brings together businesses’ various apps – is open to wider audiences.

The client can now run on over 1,000 different PC and Mac systems, 149 smartphones, 37 tablets and 10 different kinds of other thin clients.

Receiver can also work on top of the Google Chrome, HP webOS, iOS and Android operating systems.

Follow Me Apps and Follow Me Data capabilities were shown off too, allowing users to have their apps and data appear across devices on which they run Receiver.

To provide security in the Follow Me features, files and applications themselves are encrypted, rather than devices, which Citrix believes is the more suitable model for protecting businesses.

The Receiver iPad app has also been updated with faster application switching, better graphics, 40 per cent less bandwidth use, double pass encryption and jailbreak detection.

Hardcore

Citrix also announced the biggest update ever of its HDX technology, designed to improve performance and bandwidth efficiency within XenDesktop deployments.

For a graphics boost, Citrix has made improvements to Flash redirection, and added command remoting of DirectX and GDI+ graphics, integrated HDX 3D Pro and Microsoft RemoteFX technology.

Enhancements to the HDX WAN Optimisation technology has attempted to tackle latency issues over long distances, especially for Flash content, as Citrix tries to make WAN feel like LAN.

“HDX now brings crystal clear capabilities and top quality over long distances,” Fanelli added.

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