Archive for December 2009

NetScaler MPX vs. VPX – differences

29. December 2009 by Tony.

The NetScaler VPX virtual appliance has some decisive differences from its MPX hardware counterparts. While the performance differences are well documented, some of the finer networking related points are a bit obscure and not readily discoverable. While none of them are likely to be show stoppers, it’s important to be familiar with the limitations.

Here’s a short table I’ve assembled describing the impact of the hypervisor on the NetScaler virtual appliance as compared to the network stack of the MPX:

MPX VPX
Native 802.1q VLAN Tagging Tagging is defined on the hypervisor. XenServer is limited to 7 tagged networks and 16 on VMware.
Native 802.3ad Link Aggregation 802.3ad is not supported by XenServer. Source Level Balancing (SLB) NIC bonding is the closest parallel and offers NIC redundancy with great performance. But not all switches work well with SLB so be sure to test under load, plug both links into a single switch, or skip SLB entirely in favor of native NetScaler device failover.
Device Fail-over Failover is supported between VPX devices through NetScaler’s native redundancy mechanism. So there’s no need for XenMotion or VMotion support with the VPX.
Dedicated SSL Chipset No SSL chipsets are available to the VPX, but none the less, it is capable of 300 3DES and 1000 RC4 sessions. At double the VPN capacity, VPX makes a great upgrade path from Secure Gateway by providing a full SSL-VPN, Smart Access, and improved security.

Licensing Changes in VPX 9.1 Build 100.3:
For VPX appliances only, the 9.1_100.3 license software will check the MAC address of the FIRST INTERFACE listed. In previous builds, the license software checked the MAC address of the NEWEST INTERFACE. For VPX customers who upgrade to 9.1_100.3, this change will invalidate licenses on VMs which had more than one interface. They will need to revisit MyCitrix.com licensing portal to re-host their license. CTX122426 – NetScaler VPX Licensing Guide has been updated with the rehosting instructions.

VPX owners are allowed to relicense their VPX system up to 3 times.

References: XenServer Administrator’s Guide: Chapter 4, Networking

thanx to Richard Davis for this blog !

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Will Oracle buy Citrix?

29. December 2009 by Tony.


[According to the Briefing.com financial news site, software giant Oracle - not even finished with its $7.4bn acquisition of Sun Microsystems - is sniffing around middleware and virtualization maker Citrix Systems and may be interested in acquiring the company.

That Oracle would be interested in buying Citrix is totally plausible. Oracle has its own implementation of the open source Xen hypervisor. When it became clear that Red Hat was going to shift to the KVM hypervisor, Oracle looked around for another set of Xen tools and snapped up Virtual Iron, which had its own variation on the Xen theme. But in August 2007 Citrix bought XenSource.] Full Story Here

 

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Virtual Desktop Challenge

22. December 2009 by Tony.


Just plain funny:

Welcome to the Virtual Desktop Challenge with Brian Madden. Play this “Jeopardy” style game and test your knowledge in the virtual desktop space. Top point scorers are eligible for prizes so play now and see if you are an expert on virtual desktop!

http://www.virtualdesktopchallenge.com

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E-Guide: Expert Guide to Matching Virtual Desktops with Your Users’ Needs

21. December 2009 by Tony.

ABSTRACT:

Today’s businesses are tasked with providing the most effective work environment for their users, while meeting budgetary restrictions and maintaining security initiatives. In this expert E-Guide, brought to you by SearchVirtualDesktop.com and Citrix, you will discover how virtual desktops can be used to meet the growing demands of today’s businesses. Gain insight into the significant benefits associated with virtual desktop technology and explore the top ways VDI can be used to improve the security of your organization. Learn how to determine whether or not available virtual desktop technologies will meet your users’ needs and enhance their work capabilities. Get it here

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Things to think of before VDI deployment

21. December 2009 by Tony.

During any VDI implementation, independent of the product you plan to utilise, some key components need to be properly and carefully designed in order to avoid pitfalls further down the track, or prepare the infrastructure for future growth.

VDI designs should also go through assessment process, just like any other deployment in the physical world, that should take care for the following: Read More

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