About two and a half years ago I published the ultimate Citrix XenDesktop 7.x internals cheat sheet, version 1.0 and it turned out to be a big hit. In the meantime, it has been viewed over 80.000 times already. All the more reason to start working on version 2.0. Since I have been writing about Citrix technologies for the last couple of years I have built up a broad archive, which I can now partly (re) use and re-write to come up with an even more detailed edition, version 2.0 of the Citrix XenDesktop 7.x internals cheat sheet. I would strongly advice you to download a .PDF copy – If you like the blogpost, you’ll love the .PDF, trust me! It includes a full Table of Contents making it easier to navigate.
For your convenience – 100+ Citrix XenApp & XenDesktop FMA facts listed!
I like, no wait, I love lists… there, I’ve said it. But no, really, I think (bulleted) lists are one of the best ways to share facts and knowledge. That’s also why I used multiple lists in my book, dozens of them containing hundreds of bulleted (FMA) facts. Throughout the various chapters I highlight multiple so-called ‘FMA facts’, 116 in total to be exact and I conclude each chapter with a list of key takeaways. This post is meant to share with you most of the FMA Facts that I came up while writing The FlexCast Management Architecture, though I did slightly alter quite a few of them.
Citrix XenDesktop Essentials – all facts listed!
A couple of days ago Citrix shared with us the pricing and purchasing options of their latest Citrix Cloud based service, XenDesktop Essentials. This post is meant to clear up a few misconceptions and to answer one or two questions you might have. Due to license restrictions, Microsoft didn’t allow Windows desktops to be offered from multi tenant cloud platforms. As a result of current changes to their Windows 10 PUR, or Product Use Right agreement this has now changed. Windows 10 desktop machines are soon to be available from the Azure cloud/Marketplace Read on to learn more…
What’s new with XenApp & XenDesktop 7.12?
I can’t remember the last time I wrote about one of the new XA and/or XD releases, I think it was version 7.5. However, with version 7.12 comes the new and improved LHC, which is something a lot of ‘us’ have been waiting for. Or at least were/are curious about. Go here to find out more about the LHC, now part of the FlexCast Management Architecture, I covered it in detail. And while writing I thought I’d cover some of the other (new) 7.12 features as well.
Citrix Call-Home, a potential successor for Scout — here is what you need to know
Citrix Call Home according to the e-docs pages “Call Home collects diagnostic data and then periodically uploads telemetry packages containing that data directly to Citrix Insight Services for analysis and troubleshooting”. A nice summary, but of course there is a bit more to it. Below I have put together a brief ‘did you know that’ overview, a somewhat different format then what you are used here on basvankaam.com — let me know what you think.
Presenting… The Remote Display Analyzer!
Back in November 2015, at the E2EVC conference in Lisbon Bram and Barry first introduced us to their latest and greatest community contribution, the Remote Display Analyzer. And I can tell you, it was very well received *understatement* It seemed that this was something a lot of IT folks were waiting for. Today you have the opportunity to try it out for your self. Read on to learn why this tool will make all the difference when working with and/or troubleshooting the different HDX codes available from Citrix today. Keep an eye on basvankaam.com for any future updates.
An in-depth look at the Citrix FMA Server VDA… The one that (almost) got away!
Ever since the introduction of XenDesktop 7, where the FMA took over and XenApp was integrated, a lot has been written with regards to its components, services, agents and so on. What surprises me though, is that the Server VDA is (almost) never mentioned, while this is, or at least was a brand new component. Never before was it optional to install a (relatively) lightweight agent onto a XenApp server, it was basically all or nothing.
Citrix… What they’re missing or might need to work on. Just thinking out loud here.
During the last year or so I had couple of interesting discussions (trough CUGC, Twitter, real life etc.) on what Citrix might need to do from a business and application development perspective. Perhaps sell some of their products, reinvent, recode or reinvest in existing technology, innovate (which they’re doing) perhaps buy another company and so on and so forth. Of course it’s always easy to judge or come up with comments like these being a so-called sideline critic, but it’s not my intention to be the ‘wise guy’ here, I’m just thinking out loud, that is all.
My personal Community Edition… The best of August 2015!
The amount of useful, interesting, fun to read, watch or listen to, community content in the form of blog posts, webinars, podcasts, presentations, tools etc. being shared each month can be overwhelming. It’s hard to keep track. Here are some of my personal picks during August. Enjoy!
Citrix IMA vs. FMA… XenDesktop components and terminology cheat sheet
This post is meant to provide you with a quick comparison, a cheat sheet if you will, between the two architectures. As you all (should) know by now, with the introduction of XenDesktop 7.x XenApp became part of the Flexcast Management Architecture, or FMA in short, and with this came certain terminology and conceptual changes. Here I would like to show you how each former 6.5 (IMA) XenApp component has its equivalent in the FMA world. Although technically there are some differences, on the functional side of things there is not much between them. To be clear, I’m not focusing on features that are in IMA and (still) not in FMA.