Dell recently announced support for Citrix’s soon to be released product- XenClient. We will talk about what attendees were discussing at Citrix Synergy as well as get Kong’s techie report from Synergy.



Technical Community - Background Reading


http://www.delltechcenter.com/page/Citrix

www.citrixsynergy.com

www.citrix.com/xenclient

http://en.community.dell.com/dell-blogs/b/direct2dell/archive/2010/05/13/2010-a-dell-odyssey-from-a-direct-desktop-revolution-to-a-ubiquitous-client-evolution.aspx


Chat Transcript



Dell-KongY Today's talk will cover Citrix Synergy. In March, Dell, Citrix and Microsoft announced a partnership around virtual desktops and virtualized applications focused on Citrix XenDesktop and Citrix XenApp.
Dell-KongY Citrix Synergy was where Dell announced the Efficient Workforce and Flex Computing Solutions.
Dell-KongY The technology behind the Efficient Workforce is Citrix XenClient. You can download a trial kit from here: http://www.citrix.com/english/ps2/products/product.asp?contentid=2300325
Dell-KongY The Dell TechCenter links on Citrix http://www.delltechcenter.com/page/citrix
Dell-KongY The show for me started with a Geek Speak Live session. On stage were Citrix CTO Simon Crosby, a few Citrix architects, and two Burton Group analysts.
Dell-JeffS I thought your story about the truck with the thin client was interesting.
Dell-JeffS I mean, who doesn't need a desktop in their vehicle?
Dell-KongY Thanks Jeff for mentioning that. There was much picture taking and water cooler talk about the truck.
Dell-JeffS What's the technology behind it?
Dell-KongY I actually bumped into customers who work in the construction field and energy industries who found it compelling.
Dell-KongY Citrix XenClient supplied the technology behind it, which highlighted Michael's message of "anytime, anywhere, and with any means that you choose."
Dell-JeffS Citrix XenClient was one of the big announcements, right?
JC Is there a specific supported hardware list for Citrix XenClient, and if so do you know which Dell Latitudes are on it?
Dell-KongY JC, here’s our announcement http://content.dell.com/us/en/corp/d/press-releases/2010-5-12-flex-efamily-lati.aspx
Dell-KongY The current message is that validation work is still in process; no model numbers yet.
Dell-KongY I have a feeling that it will coincide with the publishing of the Business Ready Configurations and Reference Architectures.
Dan_Thomas Is Citrix XenClient a stand-alone, client-based thing, or does it connect to a server?
Dan_Thomas I'm not clear on what Citrix XenClient is and how it differs from XenServer. Is it sort of a basemetal VM Server for client hardware?
Dell-KongY Citrix XenClient is a bare-metal hypervisor that runs directly on the client device hardware. It can allocate resources and allow multiple operating systems to run side by side in isolation.
SimpleSimonwhere Can you tell me more about the differences between Citrix XenClient and VMware Views’ local cache mode?
Dell-KongY Citrix XenServer is the enterprise side. It requires server class hardware and storage for "cloud" virtualization.
Dell-KongY Citrix XenClient is a type 1 hypervisor. It does not need an operating system to run on.
Dell-JeffS Found this announcement overview deck on the Citrix Synergy site: http://www.citrix.com/site/resources/dynamic/additional/synergy_sf_2010_pressbriefingdeckmay13.pdf
Dell-KongY I hear that VMware is working on a type 1 hypervisor as well; www.citrixsynergy.com is a great link to get to all of the content related to Synergy.
Dell-KongY In terms of technology demos, the Citrix HDX demo was pretty sweet. It showcased an HD movie while playing a 3D multi-user online video game.
Dell-KongY Not really a great example of a workplace use case but cool nonetheless.
Dell-KongY Wyse also had a cool demo with its Zero Client box.
Dan_Thomas VMware has ESX, but you can't connect to the console locally.
Dell-JeffS Wyse brings back green-screen memories. It’s a bit different now, I bet.
Dell-KongY Five minutes of the box and you're ready to take your virtual desktop everywhere you want to go with your smart mobile devices.
JC Did Wyse demo Windows 7 on a Zero Client?
Dell-KongY Yes. I recall that it’s product marketing director was on stage with Citrix CEO Mark Templeton
JC As I understand it, there is no roadmap for the Dell OptiPlex FX160 for Windows 7.
JC What were some of the other highlights besides Citrix XenClient? Anything around virtualized applications?
Dell-KongY JC, I'll have to check with the Product Group Team on the Dell OptiPlex FX160 for Windows 7.
Dell-KongY AppSense and LanSchool also had good demos. LanSchool does digital classrooms and its booth demo was well done in terms of highlighting what lies ahead for digital classrooms and mobile learning.
Dell-KongY Kaviza pegs itself as offering turnkey virtual desktops. It won the Synergy award for best valued solution -> $500 for deploying between 25-50 virtual desktops.
Dell-KongY What I really liked about Citrix Synergy was the 2-hour session where you could meet and talk to the Citrix architects.
Dell-KongY Thank you all for joining today's chat. I’m sorry our featured guests could not make it today.
Dell-KongY Next week's chat will cover performance http://www.delltechcenter.com/page/05-25-10+performance+team+roundtable+on+r910%2fm910%2fr810+and+r710+nehalem-ex+and+westmere-ep+%28intel+x