Citrix Desktop Server 1.0: What it is and isn't

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Citrix announced the release of Citrix Desktop Server (CDS)--their brand-new dynamic desktop delivery product--last week. Earlier this week I spoke with some folks at Citrix and filled in some of the gaps in my knowledge about what exactly CDS will and will not be.
Written by:
Brian Madden
Publication Date:
April 19, 2007
Tags:
Citrix, VDI
Doc #Id: 698


Citrix announced the release of Citrix Desktop Server (CDS)--their brand-new dynamic desktop delivery product--last week. On Monday Gabe Knuth shared a few thoughts about it. Earlier this week I spoke with some folks at Citrix and filled in some of the gaps in my knowledge about what exactly CDS will and will not be. I think the easiest way to share this information is just to make a list of bullets:

  • CDS Version 1.0 will be available to buy and download very soon, most likely on April 27.
  • CDS is a brand-new product from Citrix. This means that if you have subscription advantage (SA) on Citrix Presentation Server (CPS), you will not get CDS.
  • CDS will give you three options for providing remote desktops: Blades, VDI, and TS-based
    • The blade option will let you connect users to datacenter blade PCs running the desktop OS for a user.
    • The VDI option is VM vendor-agnostic, meaning that Citrix doesn't care whether you use Xen, VMware, Microsoft, Virtual Iron, etc. to power your back-end desktop VM environment.
    • The TS-based option is more-or-less like publishing a desktop in Presentation Server, where the CDS product will be an add-on to Terminal Server. Existing Presentation Server customers would probably just use regular Presentation Server for this. However, most CDS customers will be different people than CPS customers, and Citrix wanted to build CDS so that it could deliver all types of desktops to users.
  • One Citrix Web Interface site will work for both CDS and CPS deployments.
  • There will only be one "edition" of CDS (i.e. no standard, advanced, etc.). It will cost USD $75 per named user, and will include one year of SA.
  • CDS is being written by the Virtualization Systems Group (VSG) within Citrix. This is the same group that's responsible for Presentation Server and the app streaming stuff. CDS and CPS share the same codebase and much of the same architecture.

Fundamentally the technology powering CDS is not really that new for Citrix. For example, CDS Version 1 will not include the PortICA technology. At this point Version 1 is more about connecting desktops to users. Version 2, which they are already working on, will most likely include PortICA, and may even include Ardence in some way.

Longer term, Citrix has many more thoughts about the direction of CDS. Their ultimate goal is to make delivering a desktop as easy as publishing a desktop via Presentation Server today (which can be done in just a few clicks). They want to extend this "just a few clicks" simplicity into all modes of desktop delivery--VDI, TS, or blades.

I personally haven't had a chance to actually install and play with CDS yet, but I'm hoping to after BriForum (next week!).

Reader Comments
Okay Citrix: is it DDI or VDI?
Thursday, April 19, 2007 4:01:25 AM
...so after I wrote this article, I went to Citrix.com to read the fud about CDS. And take a look at the "...Dynamic Desktops leverage the benefits of virtualization by decoupling the virtual desktop from the physical device. Desktop virtualization enables centralized delivery and management of the entire desktop. There are many benefits to this approach including ....

For many organizations, the optimum solution is to use both application virtualization and desktop virtualization together to provide

So much for DDI, eh?
RE: Okay Citrix: is it DDI or VDI?
Thursday, April 19, 2007 5:21:30 AM
Well we can hope they fully integrate their terms soon, but it can't be easy.. now everyone just got to know the 'Access' Term and now that has been changed for App delivery, and to make matters worse they now put focus on their different underlaying parts.. like we discussed on the Streaming Server now becoming 'the streaming feature of Presentation Server' .. :)
 
Lets just hope the ones who have to bridge between Vendor and Customer are able to deliver a message which makes sense ;) in the middle of this huuuge mess that is the citrix products today :-)
 
Loving the App Delivery brand.. not so much caring for the millions of mixed messages on components, services, products etc..
 
/Rene
CDS questions
Thursday, April 19, 2007 6:07:17 AM
Brian, thanks for the info but a few things are still unclear to me. You wrote:
 
CDS Version 1 will not include the PortICA technology
 
Does this mean it will connect to the blades and VDI using RDP? If so, will RDP be used all the way from the client or will a "double-hop" mechanism be used (ICA to RDC, RDP to target)? If it will use RDP all the way does it mean it will also use RDP to connect to the Terminal Servers? If so, what will be installed on the Terminal Servers? If double-hop is use, will CDS include Password Manager for SSO?
 
You also wrote:
 
At this point Version 1 is more about connecting desktops to users
 
I assume this means no published applications (seamless windows), correct? Also, do you know which client will be used?
 
Since there will be only one version of CDS it will be very interesting to see what it provides for $75. I guess we will find out in approximately 8 days.
 
Dan
http://ericomguy.blogspot.com
RE: CDS questions
Thursday, April 19, 2007 9:43:10 AM
Hi,
 
PortICA means the ICA functionality will be added to XP and Vista, SpeedScreen technologies, multiple monitor support etc. can be included. We will see what will be included..
 
Ruben Spruijt
VDI \ DDI \ Virtualisation
Thursday, April 19, 2007 7:50:39 AM
Had to read it a couple of times earlier, and re-read the Citrix articles to get my head round it all.  I previously just figured that VDI covered three ways of desktop delivery; on VMs, on Blades or Terminal Server.  Citrix then called their version DDI, to distance it from the VM-reliant side, but then lumped the VM aspect into their DDI strategy.  Then the VM aspect is being referred to as VDI, with the Blade and TS aspects being referred to as just that, but all under the banner of VDI \ DDI. They're talking about virtualisation, but under the heading of DDI.  I was also confused how the TS part of their DDI solution differed from the current CPS, and probably only in that the TS session would be brokered.  Then add on top of all this Streaming, and things get even more interesting - streaming to workstations, terminal servers or VM or Blade VDI sessions! (sorry, shouldn't call the Blade one VDI).
fantastic
Thursday, April 19, 2007 10:09:42 AM
wow this is very exciting, i haven't been this excited since hmmmmmm windows 95
 
this is a great idea and it can only get greater and greater as long as citrix guys input into this
 
once they've got this on the market to sell it'll wipe the floor with microsoft in the way that microsoft can deliver apps. people will be moving to citrix hand over knuckle as it only costs $75 per user and with the way the £ is against the $ uk users will benefit even more than the usa which isn't quite fair as i bet it was usa guys that developed this.
RE: fantastic
Friday, April 20, 2007 10:06:40 AM
ORIGINAL: citrixusa

wow this is very exciting, i haven't been this excited since hmmmmmm windows 95

this is a great idea and it can only get greater and greater as long as citrix guys input into this

once they've got this on the market to sell it'll wipe the floor with microsoft in the way that microsoft can deliver apps. people will be moving to citrix hand over knuckle as it only costs $75 per user and with the way the £ is against the $ uk users will benefit even more than the usa which isn't quite fair as i bet it was usa guys that developed this.

 
There is also the option of people going straight to the horses mouth and buying from Endeavors Technology and using the Appexpress products directly, which incidentally both Microsoft and Citrix have just recently settled out of court on patent issues for the streaming technology.  I'm sure the last time I saw a price from Endeavors it had a lower per seat price than $75, of course this could have changed.
 
Uve Gotta Laugh
www.letstalkaboutshares.blogspot.com
What's taking so long for PortICA
Thursday, April 19, 2007 11:30:55 AM
This Desktop Server would be cool, if there weren't already a complete end-to-end VDI Solution on the market that does all of this, published applications, SSL Gateway, web interface, plus adds all the last mile features like universal printing, USB redirect, handheld sync, performance management, profile management, environment lockdown... to TS, VM or Blade PCs, all for $100 per concurrent connection.
 
If you already have a Citrix Infrastructure, looking at Citrix for VDI solutions makes sense, but if you have no current Citrix INfrastructure, there are much better, less expensive products out there.
 
Oh yeah, I'm referring to that dirty word "Provision Networks" Virtual Access Suite (VAS).
RE: What's taking so long for PortICA
Friday, April 20, 2007 8:29:06 AM
Patrick,
 
In regards to your comments made about “Citrix infrastructure” – It is important to note that integration with workstation devices to Citrix Desktop Server comes by way of ICA, even if it is currently in a double-hop offering (RDP encapsulated within ICA).  This means CDS leverages a very large ICA presence through the client support at the endpoint devices.  And, no matter what solution one goes with, infrastructure such as a web server, database service, etc. will be required.
 
Frank