Citrix Introduces Next-Generation XenServer

Today, Citrix announced XenServer® 6.5, the newest release of the company’s commercial virtualization platform based on the open-source Xen Project hypervisor. XenServer now offers a full 64-bit kernel architecture that allows customers to take advantage of the latest hardware and OS platforms, and supports enterprise-grade networking, storage and workload management. XenServer supports Intel® Trusted Execution Technology (Intel® TXT), which provides tamper detection of the hypervisor, preventing applications running on a potentially compromised machine. New to this release, asset tagging enables workload geo-tagging, providing users with a way to restrict workloads to run in a particular location for security reasons. XenServer further extends the company’s industry-leading GPU virtualization capabilities supporting NVIDIA GRID™ vGPU™ technology and delivers a 50 percent increase in server density for delivering high-end 3D graphics applications in virtual desktops. With its next-generation kernel architecture supporting both enterprise-grade and carrier-grade features, XenServer is the most comprehensive, cost-effective and open virtualization platform choice for enterprises and service providers.

To meet with the demands of the evolving mobile enterprise, customers need cloud infrastructure technology that maximizes the flexibility and efficiency of both end-user workspaces and datacenter operations, all in a secure manner. XenServer is a crucial piece of this cloud infrastructure, running mission-critical workloads for some of the world’s largest communication service providers, cloud service providers and enterprises. As an example, 50 percent of XenDesktop® deployments are run on XenServer. Benefits to enterprise and service provider customers include increased operational agility and flexibility by delivering new and existing workloads more quickly, reliably and in greater quantities; enhanced IT efficiencies through higher infrastructure utilization and consolidation ratios; and lower TCO of datacenter operations by maximizing and optimizing infrastructure and capacity utilization.

New Architecture Delivers Improved Performance

The new 64-bit kernel architecture has resulted in dramatic improvements in networking and storage performance, providing customers with a powerful virtualization platform for running new and existing workloads in their workspace and datacenter environments. As part of this release, enterprise-class features for workload balancing (WLB) and distributed virtual switch controller (DVSC) have also been re-introduced. All these improvements now extend XenServer as the lead choice of some of the largest and most sophisticated clouds in the world.

Industry-leading GPU Virtualization with NVIDIA GRID vGPU Technology

XenServer is the industry’s only open enterprise-grade and carrier-grade virtualization platform delivering highly-scalable GPU virtualization support for NVIDIA GRID vGPU technology and native cloud integration for CloudPlatform™, and other non-proprietary cloud management platforms. With a 50 percent increase in server density, customers using XenDesktop and XenApp® to deliver high-end 3D graphics apps can now achieve a greater density of desktops using XenServer, resulting in dramatically reduced costs and improved end-user experience.

Quotes

James Oh, Head of Cloud Quality Assurance, Korea Telecom

“It’s no exaggeration to say that over the past four years, our cloud has grown tremendously as a result of the performance and reliability of Citrix XenServer. The stability and performance of the Citrix XenServer hypervisor has undoubtedly contributed to the growth of our cloud in terms of quality, profitability and competitiveness as an IaaS provider. We look forward to continuing to grow as a global IaaS cloud provider by delivering competitive, reliable and high-performance services based on Citrix XenServer. KT currently has 3,000 hosts running in its KT public cloud and private cloud IaaS Service – most are operated and managed by Citrix CloudPlatform, which is one of the best Citrix products.”

Tobias J. Kreidl, PhD, Academic Computing Team Lead Information Technology Services, Northern Arizona University

“XenServer has helped NAU virtualize scores of servers that previously ran standalone - with more flexibility and higher availability than ever before. Being able to bring up a brand new XenDesktop/XenApp environment consisting of several hundred clients hosted under XenServer in just a few months attests to the confidence we had and have in this product and platform. Citrix listens to what its customers say, and strives to be cognizant of the needs and desires of its user community. The flexibility in XenServer to migrate VMs and storage around has virtually obviated the need for system administrators to come in at 3AM to perform maintenance tasks with XenServer allowing us to maintain 99+ percent uptime while keeping normal working hours.”

Mark Balch, Director of Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) Software and Solutions, Cisco

“The improved performance and graphics virtualization capabilities of Citrix XenServer 6.5 are a powerful complement to Cisco UCS policy-driven infrastructure and provide our mutual customers with enhanced abilities to run mission critical workloads with superior economics and improved agility.”

Gary Radburn, Head of Workstation Virtualization, Dell

“Dell is excited to extend our offerings in the virtualized graphics workstation market with the introduction of the Citrix XenServer 6.5. We’ve been working closely with Citrix in advance of the launch to test and fully certify the new platform to run on the Dell Precision R7910 rack workstation, providing an optimal solution for organizations seeking unparalleled graphics performance in a virtualized environment.”

Andrew Cresci, General Manager, NVIDIA GRID

“By enabling remote use of high-performance 3D applications and virtual desktops, Citrix XenServer and XenDesktop on NVIDIA GRID vGPU have resulted in dramatic performance improvements and cost savings for customers like Textron Inc. This is the result of Citrix and NVIDIA partnering to take advantage of the capabilities of the underlying platform with the release of XenServer 6.5.”

Mark Bowker, Senior Analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc.

“Citrix is sending a clear signal to its customers with the latest release of XenServer 6.5 with the introduction of dramatic performance changes and 50 percent improvement in 3D graphics density. XenServer is one of the only truly open choices for enterprises, service providers and enterprises around the world. Citrix provides cloud infrastructure that companies need today to unlock the potential of modern applications across an integrated product portfolio which can be used to build a cloud in an open, carrier-grade network with feasible economics.”

Availability

XenServer 6.5 is available for download today.

Related Links

• Blog: XenServer 6.5 is Out

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About Citrix

Citrix (NASDAQ:CTXS) is a leader in mobile workspaces, providing virtualization, mobility management, networking and cloud services to enable new ways to work better. Citrix solutions power business mobility through secure, personal workspaces that provide people with instant access to apps, desktops, data and communications on any device, over any network and cloud. With annual revenue in 2013 of $2.9 billion, Citrix solutions are in use at more than 330,000 organizations and by over 100 million users globally. Learn more at www.citrix.com.

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