Citrix integrates delivery tools

Citrix will on Monday unveil an integrated software delivery suite aimed at firms wishing to move all or part of their application, desktop and server infrastructure.

The Citrix Delivery Centre (CDC) family consists of four primary product lines: XenServer, XenApp, NetScaler and XenDesktop – the latter due for release in the second quarter. Citrix Provisioning Server, WANScaler for optimisation, Access Gateway for security and EdgeSight for performance monitoring will also be integrated into CDC.

The forthcoming XenDesktop product is designed to deliver virtual Windows desktops from firms' datacentres. Since only a few tested operating system images are needed when using this tool, less storage is required and all data is kept in the datacentre rather than on local hard disks. However, Citrix SpeedScreen technology is also required to ensure adequate display performance for desktops.

“It’s an overarching concept, which firms could roll out as a single entity or pick and choose which components they require,” said Klaus Oestermann, Citrix application network group vice president. “We’re aiming at large enterprises with a datacentre set-up, which they’re either running themselves or which they have outsourced.”

To enable IT administrators to manage the disparate systems and processes making up CDC, a new product called Citrix Workflow Studio has also been announced. However, firms will also have to wait until the second quarter for a technology preview.

Oestermann outlined further plans to integrate software technology from QuickTree, which was acquired last September, directly into Citrix's NetScaler application delivery appliance to secure and boost the performance of XML-based systems and web services.