XenDesktop | A Regal IT Preferred Solution
Desktop Delivery at its Best 

• Greatly Reduced Server Requirements  — 1000 concurrent users can be hosted from just 25 highly-equipped servers.  This is a 50% reduction in server hardware to host the same number of users.   This is because the base platform has moved over to the XenServer 5 codebase, which significantly improved the performance of XenApp servers when virtualised.  If you are currently running XenDesktop, moving to the latest edition will really make the green folks in your organisation happy.
• The Best User Experience – High Definition User Experience (HDX)  —Citrix is the dominate force for delivering desktops over any type of connection to any type of device.  Citrix XenDesktop is currently able to stream multimedia to low-bandwidth clients with connections “just above a standard modem”.  Next on their roadmap is to be able to deliver 3D rendering and fully-functional CAD. 

Also, with XenDesktop 3, is the ability to use a wide range of plug-and-play USB devices like iPods, smart cards and PDAs.  Some web cams will work but Citrix don’t officially support this yet.   

 Profile Management was added to XenDesktop 3.   

Fully-functioning multimedia across WAN links + plug-and-play USB devices + centralised profile management makes XenDesktop way better than any other VDI solution on the market. 

• An Application Delivery System - not just VDI — Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is getting more attention than server virtualisation.  According to Google Trends, people search for “VDI” more often than “server virtualisation” by a factor of 100.  However, Citrix’s solution is much more than just VDI.  It’s an end-to-end application delivery platform.  Citrix’s solution encompasses application packaging and delivery, profile management, desktop virtualisation and delivery, desktop streaming to standard PCs, application performance monitoring and WAN acceleration.

One other thing to note is that a single operating system base image can be used for both the VDI-based server delivered desktops as well as the standard PCs that have their operating system streamed to them across the LAN.
 

Is it Time to Deploy in your Environment? 

• There are many reasons to deploy Citrix XenDesktop in your environment.  The most important one is Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). 

On-going support costs will be reduced.  When there is a single base operating system image, a single application image, real-time profile assembly and it is controlled and delivered centrally, high-level support tickets to your senior team will stop.  Most support calls will be resolved by saying “have you rebooted yet?” 

There will be little need to refresh your workstations every two to three years, because much of the horsepower will come from the data centre.  And, when a PC does need to be replaced, it can be replaced with thin client, which in-turn has its own very compelling TCO story to tell. 

If you are considering a large-scale workstation refresh in the near future, you are a perfect candidate for this solution.