Has Citrix cut VDI deployment storage burden by 99%?

Citrix claims to have cut the storage IOPS burden of deploying VDI solutions by 99% with its latest update of XenApp and XenDesktop.

The virtualisation firm has tried to tackle the storage costs associated with deploying VDI, where customers were forced to buy expensive SSDs and high-end storage arrays to deal with the high Input/Output Operations Per Second (IOPS) requirements of VDI.

With version 7.6 of XenApp and XenDesktop, it claims a new single image management feature on the software uses commodity servers and RAM to drop the IOPS load on storage by 99%.

Mark Bowker, senior analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group said: "The new enhancements to Citrix Provisioning Services have the potential to greatly improve user experience without the need for customers to purchase expensive storage acceleration solutions."

Citrix has also restored popular features to its XenApp and XenDesktop range with the latest product refresh.

The 7.6 update to the firm’s virtualised desktop and application products includes the return of its database resiliency feature and anonymous log-on.

The first feature means the software will continue working as normal despite a temporary loss of a database connection, while the second ensures users can immediately access a virtual desktop and authenticate once inside an application.

Citrix claimed the return of anonymous logon combines with ‘application pre-launch’ and ‘session linger’ features to deliver instant app access.

A new feature will also improve the user experience of Windows apps on mobile devices, the firm said.

Its update to the HDX Mobile software development kit means developers can customise Windows apps to be mobile-friendly, enabling GPS location tracking, picture and video capture capabilities and screen rotation, it said.

Migration

The XenApp and XenDesktop 7.6 Platinum editions also use Citrix AppDNA application migration technology to simplify app migrations to the latest version of Windows.

Several features of the 7.6 versions also integrate with their counterparts on versions 6.5 as Citrix attempts to push more users to upgrade to 7.6 – migration tools will soon be available to help them transition.

Rakesh Narasimhan, group VP & GM, desktops and apps, Citrix, said: "This new release positions customers to take advantage of the operational and cost benefits of the cloud, also supports hybrid and on-premises data centre deployments, yet continues to deliver the features and performance people need to work productively on any device in any location."

Citrix aims to release version 7.6 come September in the UK.