Thursday, November 22, 2018

Microsoft acquires FSLogix

Ø  FSLogix specializes in solving common challenges seen in virtual desktop environments when deploying Office 365 and non-persistent desktops
Ø  FSL was in initial days focused on tech called Cloaking for application management in Windows world (turn on and off individual applications)
Ø  One use case of Cloaking is that you can build a single base Windows image that actually has all your apps in it & you can use that single base image for all your users. Depending on the rights of the user when they log in, the cloaking software will automatically hide and un-hide the right combination of apps the user needs, it works for both physical and VDI
Ø  To enable cloaking FSL has File System Filter Driver, which is managed by a set of rules that you configure via the FSLogix Apps RuleEditor
Ø  To address the problem of Large windows base Image FSL created App Containers, which is similar to what AppVolumes is doing
Ø  App Container is used in something that FSL call Profile Containers. By creating a VHD for each user’s profile with FSL’s Profile Migration Utility, one can connect to Outlook OST files solving the issue of OST caching and the behavior of Outlook in online mode when used with Office 365
Ø  The way FSL interacts with the VHD you only have to open up one SMB connection to the VHD, rather than mounting it as a sort of network drive.
o   Solving Outlook search so you can search for any of your emails easily.
o   Roam OneDrive for Business user data between PCs to negate the need to resync that data each time you log on to a different PC.
o   Skype for Business Global Address List (GAL) roaming.
Ø  A key feature of FSL Office Containers is their ability to enable Cached Exchange Mode for Outlook in RDSH and non-persistent VDI env
Ø  Windows Virtual Desktop , Announced sep ~ 2018 in Ignite
o   It’s delivered via Azure (speed, scale, security, and compliance).
o   It’s the only cloud-based service that delivers a multi-user Windows 10 experience
o   It can be used for Office 365 Pro Plus

For many years, Citrix and more recently VMware have owned the desktop virtualization market, MS had limited investment into the market, leaving both Citrix and VMware be the leader but now MS looks to be working actively in the space. 1st Windows Virtual Desktop then Multiuser windows 10 and now FSL. Giving credence to the notion that endpoint OS belongs to DC

Monday, September 10, 2018

Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktop 7 1808


Æ Product Name change - Citrix Virtual Apps (former name: XenApp) Citrix Virtual Desktop (former name: XenDesktop)
Æ Citrix have also changed their release cycle to follow built version + YYMM (Year, Month) and is following Microsoft how they name their release built for Windows OS/Server
Æ Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops: Provided as a cloud service and as an on-premises product. Deliver Windows, Linux, web, and SaaS applications or full virtual desktops from any cloud: public, on premises or hybrid. Virtual Apps and Desktops was formerly XenApp and XenDesktop.
Æ Citrix Workspace app: The Citrix Workspace app incorporates existing Citrix Receiver technology as well as the other Citrix Workspace client technologies. It delivers additional capabilities to provide end users with a unified, contextual experience where they can interact with all the work apps, files, and devices.
Æ Citrix Content Collaboration and Citrix Files for Windows: The access, collaboration, workflows, rights management, and integration features of ShareFile are now available in the Citrix Content Collaboration component set. Citrix Files for Windows allows you to access your Content Collaboration files directly through a mapped drive, providing a native Windows Explorer experience.
Æ Citrix Hypervisor: The technology from XenServer for virtualization infrastructure, based on the XenProject hypervisor, is now Citrix Hypervisor.

(New names)
(Old names)
Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops
Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop
Citrix Workspace app
Incorporates Citrix Receiver and extensive enhancements
Citrix SD-WAN
Citrix NetScaler SD-WAN
Citrix Secure Web Gateway
Citrix NetScaler Secure Web Gateway
Citrix Gateway
Citrix NetScaler Unified Gateway
Citrix Content Collaboration
Citrix ShareFile
Citrix Files for Windows
Citrix ShareFile Desktop App, ShareFile Sync, ShareFile Drive Mapper
Citrix Hypervisor
Citrix XenServer
Citrix Provisioning
Citrix Provisioning Services