Today I joined the VMware communities podcast. The topic of this podcast was VMware View and John Dodge of VMware was on the phone. I’ve heard some interesting things today, which I think are worth sharing.

• Win7 support? In the next release. Read the rest of this entry »

Today Citrix announced XenApp 6, which will be available starting March 24th. XenApp6 will only be available on Windows 2008 R2 (x64 only). Alongside XenApp 6, Citrix will also make available XenApp 5 Feature Pack 3 for Windows Server 2003 and 2008. 

XenApp 6 offers major new enhancements that simplify computing for IT, including easier central management, enhanced enterprise scalability and seamless integration with Microsoft technologies like App-V and Windows Server 2008 R2. XenApp 6 also improves productivity for end users with extensive new high-definition HDX™ technology enhancements and simplified self-service access to apps from any device, including PCs, Macs, laptops and smart phones.

Read the entire XenApp 6 announcement.

Reasons to upgrade (IMHO):

• AppCenter simplifies application management with a single, more intuitive console.
• HDX RealTime collaboration enables real-time audio and video collaboration using Microsoft Office Communicator and VoIP softphones.
• HDX Plug-n-Play for Windows portable USB devices ensures a seamless user experience with expanded USB support for POS interfaces, webcams, microphones, scanners and more.
• App-V integration enables IT to manage and deliver both Citrix and Microsoft virtual applications on demand from a single point with Microsoft App-V.

Reasons NOT to upgrade:

• Windows 2008 R2 = x64 only! You might have (a) business critical application(s) which won’t work on a 64-bit OS.

Aaron Black from VMware posted a VMware View and ThinApp Integration Guide on his blog.

“The guide discusses several of the topics covered in the previous posts but brings it all together with some task based scenarios that walk you through initial setup and configuration with screenshots and sample scripts.”

The guide should give answer to the following questions:

1. Should I stream all my ThinApp packages from a fileshare or deploy them into the VMs?
2. Where you I put my ThinApp packages? On the C:, the User Data Disk, a fileshare?
3. How do I manage updates after the packages are in use?
4. Will users keep their unique settings like toolbar buttons when running ThinApps from different desktops?
5. How do I manage shortcuts and FileTypeAssociations for multi-user VMs?

It’s a straight-forward guide and it describes the different setup tasks between Persistent and non-persistent desktop.

Quest Software announced the availability of the newest version of Quest vWorkspace, a desktop virtualization solution for simplifying the provisioning, management and use of virtual desktops. In addition to its support of the VMware platform, vWorkspace also now supports VMware Linked Clones, which reduce shared storage disk space requirements. Other new features enhance the end-user experience and expand desktop platform choices. vWorkspace manages, provisions and brokers connections, transforming the desktop infrastructure into an on-demand service with optimized user experience for LAN and WAN.

Read the rest of this entry »

As I was playing around with XenDesktop 4, I had some trouble connecting the Citrix Desktop Delivery Controller to the vCenter server. And as 95% of Xendesktop deployments are on VMware VI or vSphere, I thought this tip could be useful for you as wel. Read the rest of this entry »