Citrix has announced the latest generation of its core application virtualisation product, XenApp 5, now includes XenServer for server virtualisation and improved management capabilities.
The new features to Citrix XenApp 5 will be generally available on March 16, 2009 and there is no additional cost to existing customers on Citrix's Subscription Advantage program.
The XenApp 5 feature pack update can be downloaded from MyCitrix.com.
The inclusion of XenServer in XenApp 5 marks Citrix's first significant attempt to consolidate its Xen server virtualisation technology acquired with XenSource in late 2007 and its traditional application serving platform.
Citrix Systems' vice president of XenApp product marketing Mick Hollison said as a core component of the Citrix Delivery Center product family, XenApp is now more valuable in helping organisations manage and deliver applications using fewer resources by adding “hundreds of dollars in value on top of what they already get with XenApp for no additional cost”.
XenServer will now be available as a core feature of all editions of Citrix XenApp allowing organisations to virtualise XenApp server workloads.
Enhancements in XenApp 5 include the ability to manage a XenApp server image in a central location, and dynamically provision it to many XenApp servers across a distributed environment.
There is also new user profile management in XenApp 5 eliminating profile reconciliation problems like write and overwrite issues when accessing user settings on different devices.
XenApp 5 also includes local application virtualisation which allows streaming centrally-managed applications to an end-user’s PC or laptop and running them locally in a virtualised environment, including when the user is disconnected from the network.
The announcement coincides with SAP's decision to deploy XenServer to virtualise 500 of its internal servers.