March 2007 Entries
VMWare has published a nice white paper a while back about the scalability and performance implications of running many Citrix Presentation Servers hosted on Virtual Machines. Since I have been doing a lot of work with VMware currently and scaling of Citrix Presentation Server on VMware I would bring the light back on it. The white paper presents data showing the number of Citrix sessions you can sustain when running Citrix Presentation Server 4.0 inside a virtual machine, and then measures scalability...
Customising Microsoft Office Suite installations for Terminal Services or Citrix In the Citrix and Microsoft Terminal Services world of today you no longer need a special transform (OST file) to install the Microsoft Office Suite on a to a Microsoft Windows 2000 or 2003 server with Terminal Services enabled, or then on a Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server computer (If there are still an out there). Microsoft Office setup now recognizes that it is running under Terminal Services, and therefore...
How many virtual machines can I really get on a VMware ESX server , may be 70 VM servers ? well might be able to now.. I have been a HP fan for years, but whilst spending time in the Industry and becoming almost agnostic to tin now, I have found myself in the server based computing and new world of virtualisation, were the time of large servers seems to be coming of age. Published by InfoWorld (Dec 2006) Top five rack-mount servers http://weblog.infoworld.com...
Citrix Whitepaper - Accelerating Microsoft Windows Vista Migrations with Citrix Presentation Server 4.5 For many organizations, it is not a question of “If” they will migrate to Windows® Vista™, but “When”. This is causing companies to start asking the difficult questions such as: When will their mission-critical applications support Vista? When will enough of their PCs be upgraded to meet system requirements? When can they complete regression testing and workarounds for any uncovered compatibility...
Frameworkx the guys that brought you Remote Desktop Sidebar Gadget 1.3.0.0 Released brings you Windows Services Installation Manager (WinSIM) WinSiM (Windows Services Install Manager) allows administrators and developers easy access to install, uninstall and edit Windows Services. WinSiM (Windows Service Install Manager) also provides an intuitive interface allowing administrators and developers to control every aspect of the Windows services platform. WinSiM requires no installation. (Quite a nice...
Microsoft SoftGrid 4.1 SP1 and 4.2 With SoftGrid 4.1 Service Pack 1 and SoftGrid version 4.2 coming up we wanted to share a little information about these releases and what they'll bring to the table. Nothing will be released until we are satisfied with the quality of the code so as always, dates are subject to change: SoftGrid 4.1 Service Pack 1 SoftGrid 4.1 SP1 is mostly a hotfix and critical updates release, improving overall system stability and compatibility. A noteworthy improvement is the...
BriForum Europe 2007 will take place Monday, October 8 through Wednesday, October 10, 2007, at the NEMO Science Center in Amsterdam. We're working on getting the website up right now, but we wanted to get this information out there since lots of people have been emailing and asking about it. The “call for presentations” aspect from last year (where we invited everyone from the community submit and present presentations) was a huge success, and we’ll be giving everyone the opportunity to speak at...
Citrix Systems plans to expand its Desktop Server product into three different offerings, including one where OS components are streamed on demand to a PC or thin client over the network, using technology from its acquisition last year of Ardence. Lou Shipley, VP and general manager of the Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based ISV's management systems group, said that today, Desktop Server is a connection broker between Microsoft's RDP and Cirix's ICA. In the next version of the product, however, he said...
Dennis Damen and Daniel Nikolic have just released version 1.1 of their LoadGen tool. This tool is completely free for simulating loads of up to 150 users per server. (You can buy licenses for more users if you want to go higher than that.) The idea behind LoadGen is that it is a dirt-simple tool that can run and manage user simulation scripts against Citrix , Provision Networks, or Terminal Server server-based computing environments. Tim Mangan wrote an in-depth review of an early version of this...
There are some limitations when you using Outlook 2007 in a Citrix or Microsoft Terminal Services environment. Microsoft Outlook 2007 has features that are disabled went installed on a Citrix or on Terminal Services environment, these are as follows. Offline store (OST) files.Features that rely on the OST (for example, Cached Exchange Mode and Offline mode) are not supported with Terminal Services. Forms Designer and the Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript) editor.You can view a custom...
DigitalPersona, Inc., the guys that make Microsoft Fingerprint authentication reader, announced the availability of DigitalPersona Pro 4.1 for Active Directory. Really good solutions very accurate and works well.. Well worth a look at. The new solution extends the security and convenience of DigitalPersona’s authentication solution to users who require secure remote access using Citrix and Microsoft Terminal Services from wherever they connect to their corporate network. DigitalPersona Pro 4.1 comes...
Try RecordTS from TSfactory (Cláudio Rodrigues), if you are looking for a solution to archive RDP / Citrix ICA traffic for later playback. RecordTS is the first remote desktop protocol (RDP) and now Citrix ICA recording solution available in the market for Windows platforms. Your Terminal Services and Remote Desktop "Security Camera"Many companies today have turned to using Terminal Servers or Citrix Servers as a replacement for the regular user environment in an effort to cut equipment cost, decrease...
As I published back October last year (2006) http://geekswithblogs.net/e... Thanks to Doug (www.dabcc.com) and Citrix User Group - New Zealand reminding us. ---------------------------... Tolly group has published a very interesting article about the findings of their performance comparison between the Citrix...
Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 and Next-Generation AMD Opteron™ Processors Increase the Business Value of Virtualization - Whitepaper from Microsoft. click for to download the whitepaper from source Extract The Next-Generation AMD Opteron processors offer even more virtualization-specific features including energy-efficient DDR2 memory, which offers greater memory bandwidth, improved memory RAS, and cost savings. Plus, Next-Generation AMD Opteron processors provide a seamless upgrade path to quad-core,...
Palm Announces Update to Windows Mobile 6 Coming for Treo 750 Smartphone - available later this year Palm have just literally announced that they will provide an upgrade to their Treo 750v to Windows Mobile 6! For AT&T and Vodaphone customers, life's about to get really good - the upgrade will also add High-Speed Download Packet Access (HSDPA), enabling faster download speeds on 3G/UMTS/HSDPA networks. You can read more details about the upgrade HERE...
Other Terminal Services Core Improvements in Microsoft Windows Server "Longhorn" In addition to all the well known features such as the TS Gateway, TS Remote Programs, and TS Web Access, Microsoft Windows Server "Longhorn" introduces few of other core improvements to Terminal Services: Terminal Services Single Sign On / "Client User Passthrough."Terminal Services Single Sign On / Passthrough feature allows a Remote Desktop user to seamlessly logon to a remote system using the current credentials...
Other Terminal Services Core Improvements in Microsoft Windows Server "Longhorn" In addition to all the well known features such as the TS Gateway, TS Remote Programs, and TS Web Access, Microsoft Windows Server "Longhorn" introduces few of other core improvements to Terminal Services: Terminal Services Single Sign On / "Client User Passthrough."Terminal Services Single Sign On / Passthrough feature allows a Remote Desktop user to seamlessly logon to a remote system using the current credentials...
Ever needed a list of Native x64 Software from Microsoft. (this list is a Native list and doesn't include applications that support x64 environments, such as Office) All of the following Microsoft Windows Server products are available in native x64 versions: Windows Server 2003 R2Three Windows Server x64 editions are available:Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard x64 EditionWindows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise x64 EditionWindows Server 2003 R2 Datacenter x64 Edition Windows Server code name "Longhorn"Windows...
RTO have annouced the availablity of RTO Discover™ is a new solution that addresses the need for an automated tool that will be used by enterprise IT managers and staff to get an accurate, real-time understanding of their complex IT infrastructure that has 1000s of applications, servers and network devices. Based on the previous experience of Tscale and the guys at RTO this should be a corker of an application, and should do exactly what it says on the tin. I tried the DEMO version for the DST and...
Enterprise x64 - 4 way Opteron Server hardware cost comparison for enterprise applications, hosting, vmware or server based computing. If you are thinking of running large amount of virtual machines, server based computing, enterprise applications, hosting or HPC you need to find the best, bang for buck / price performance. To this end, I've been reviewing the enterprise 4 way Opteron servers and comparing the exact like for like spec's on vendor websites comparing prices on Opteron boxes. Some interesting...
Ever wondered what features apply to what versions of Citrix Presentation Server, need a quick and simple reference document? I have a below posted a link to a Citrix Presentation Server Comparasion Matrix, this Matrix compares versions of Citrix Presentation Server from 4.5 right back to Citrix Metaframe 1.8.. (Yes right back then) not a lot of features back then.. Very useful document, if you are looking to compare versions, features for understanding reasons to updgrade or migrate from x version...
List of Terminal Services fixes / updates in Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 KB811211 Your multiprocessor Microsoft Windows 2000 Server-based computer or multiprocessor Windows Server 2003-based computer may stop responding, and the keyboard may not work correctly Terminal Server KB896679 The shadow session is disconnected between two Web client computers that are running Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP Terminal Server KB899266 Error message when you try to paste data into Excel 2003 during...
Clients can be prevented from authenticating by the mechanisms that Kerberos authentication uses to prevent "replay" attacks. In a replay attack, a malicious user captures the network traffic and replays it to trick the authenticating server into accepting the attacker as a legitimate user who is providing credentials. Kerberos authentication prevents a replay attack by using two mechanisms: • The Kerberos client on the local computer encrypts a timestamp inside the authenticator and then sends it...
Citrix have been buying again, this time a smallish company up in Edinburgh, Scotland call ThinGenius. The technology acquired in this acquisition will provide a leading load-testing solution for any application delivery infrastructure that utilizes the Citrix ® ICA® protocol – most notably Citrix Presentation Server™ and Desktop Server environments. This acquisition extends the application performance visibility that Citrix EdgeSight™ currently offers and brings much needed functionality to the...
A common source of pain among those who work with VMware, Virtual PC or Virtual Server is the need to copy data to a virtual floppy disk. If you're migrating from one VM platform to another and need a Ghost boot floppy, for example, then you may need to set up the virtual floppy disk twice (once for each VM format). Of course, if you have a physical floppy drive in a system, then this is not necessary since any VM can bind to the physical floppy drive. If you need a virtual floppy drive that can...
Among the four updates Microsoft pegged as "recommended, important" today, are : Usual monthly revamp of the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool (KB890830) and Outlook 2007 or 2003 Junk email filter (KB931766) or (KB931764) Two others that are slightly more interesting are: Windows Media Format 11 SDK (software developer's kit) code (KB929399). Microsoft said that the update corrected a problem that some portable music players had in synchronizing data with subscription services. Subscription...
It seems that every company know to man in the Thin Client / Server based computing space is jumping into to Virtualisation these days. Neoware Expands Reach Into Virtualization Market. Personal computer virtualization is the next step in the evolution of thin client computing. It brings together the application and infrastructure control that IT managers seek, with the familiar PC environment that end-users want. Virtual computing means that desktops and mobile devices can make for a more robust...
Today Microsoft released Service Pack 2 for the operating systems listed below. Windows Server 2003, x64 Editions Windows Server 2003 R2, x64 Editions Windows Server 2003 Compute Cluster Edition with Service Pack 1 Windows Server 2003 Storage Server R2, x64 Editions Windows XP Professional, x64 Edition Please let us know any thoughts on Service Pack 2, (performance, stability, etc...)Whats new: Starting with this version of Windows Server 2003 with SP2, Remote Installation Services is replaced by...
SWsoft announced it has joined the HP ProLiant Partner program -- bringing together award-winning SWsoft Virtuozzo server virtualization software and HP ProLiant servers to help optimize customers' IT infrastructures. The two companies have validated Virtuozzo operating system (OS) virtualization software running on HP ProLiant servers. The solution creates virtual environments that can consolidate several servers into one physical server, using either Linux or Windows, which improves utilization...
Terminal Services x64 Scaling and Performance of Windows Server 2003 x64 whitepaper from Microsoft. Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003 Terminal Server lets users run Microsoft Windows®-based applications on a remote computer that is running one of the Windows Server 2003 family of operating systems. This white paper contains results, analyses, and sizing guidelines for Terminal Services on x64-based versions of Windows Server 2003. Hewlett Packard worked in cooperation with Microsoft to perform the initial...
Thinstall, the leading Application Virtualization solution provider, today announced a further extension of their OEM relationships in Europe with the addition of CapaSystems A/S of Denmark. This relationship will empower CapaSystems to bundle Thinstall's Application Virtualization Suite with their existing CapaInstaller(R) Virtualization Solution (CVS), providing their many IT customers with "Thinstalled" solutions. "IDC believes the market will increasingly implement virtualization in a growing...
It's March, so it must be CeBIT, "the world's largest trade fair showcasing digital IT and telecommunications solutions for home and work environments". Next week, vendors, IT professionals, the public, analysts and the press — a crack squad from ZDNet UK among them — will descend upon Hannover for the annual 26-hall extravaganza that last year accommodated over 6,200 exhibitors and some 430,000 visitors.Among the themes expected to emerge from this year's show are: virtualisation and IT infrastructure...
In case you missed the original announcement, Intel has posted three chalkboard videos describing virtualization. Now, all three videos are online. These videos introduce virtualization technology and point out the differences between sofware and hardware based virtualization. They explore existing and emerging usage models of Virtualization: Server consolidation, disaster recovery, development/testing, load balancing, fast provisioning, etc They introduce the next generation of Intel(R) Virtualization...
Don’t miss this four part TechTalk webinar series as product managers, engineers and architects discuss the new technical features and benefits of upgrading to Citrix Presentation Server 4.5. MARCH 13, 1:00 PM EST: Presentation Server 4.5 overview Application Streaming to desktopsRegister Now MARCH 15, 1:00 PM EST: Graphics Acceleration with SpeedScreen ICA Client enhancements Register Now MARCH 20, 1:00 PM EST: Web interface Active Directory Federated ServicesRegister Now MARCH 22, 1:00 PM EST:...
The second generation of VMware ACE is designed to deliver the only controlled and easily managed enterprise-class virtualization product for deploying desktops to any PC, providing a rich virtual desktop environment to end users while maintaining the control required by the governing IT organization. "IT administrators need tighter desktop control and management because they are tasked with supporting increasing numbers of workers who use equipment over which they have no control," said Jerry Chen,...
While at the Citrix Ardence EMEA partner conference, Brian Madden was able to sit down and speak with Pete Downing from Ardence. Pete is an SE with Ardence and Brian was able to have a discussion around how Ardence works. In this interview, Pete explains how Ardence actually works--how they share disk images, how they deal with shared computer names and SIDs, and how the network connectivity takes place. This conversation is an excellent addition to his white paper that he wrote last year about Ardence....
Best practices for deploying Citrix on vmware ESX If you are currently using or planning to use VMware ESX Server for a Citrix Presentation Server environment, you might want to check out Vincent Vlieghe's post on his Blog site, virtrix.blogspot.com. In it, he has compiled quite a list of helpful tips based on his own personal experience as well as the experiences of others from the VMware User Forum. You can read Vincent's post, here. The goods: Virtual Infrastructure 3 Windows 2003 Std (or Enterprise)...
Thanks to Arlindo Alves (Microsoft Belgium) and Andrew Dugdell for this one Check it out, it's 5:47 long, and jump to 5:00 to see Jeff Woolsey's hot-add another NIC to a VM whilst it's running! Longhorn - Windows Server VirtualizationIn this demo you will see: Windows Server Virtualization running on Server Core managed from another Windows Server Longhorn box 64-bit hosts and 32-bit hosts and a Linux running on the same server core box An 8-core virtual machine System Center Virtual Machine Manager...