Last year, Citrix revealed that the latest version of its VDI solution, XenDesktop, will be licensed on a per-user / per-device basis rather than the concurrent licensing model Citrix customers have been accustomed to.

To help ease the transition from concurrent licensing, Citrix introduced a Trade-Up promotion that included a 2-for-1 deal for customers that traded up ALL of their existing licensing.

The original Trade-Up program ended on June 30th, 2010. However, Citrix has recently announced an extension to its popular program until Dec 31, 2010.

Learn more about Citrix XenDesktop and calculate your savings

Trade-up to Citrix XenDesktop Now

Read EqualLogic Frameless Architecture: Part 1

Video Transcript:
The last couple points that I’d like to make, and again, many of our competitors have this frame-based architecture on their SANS, and these are SANS where you need to purchase a specific model number so the majority of those SANS can grow to a specific amount of drives.  With EqualLogic, with our frameless, virtualized architecture, a single EqualLogic group can easily grow to more than 600 terabytes.

A couple points on the frame-based SANS, first and foremost; your frame-based SAN goes up to a fixed number of drives and you have two storage processors.  Even as you add more and more drives to your frame-based SAN, adding spindles or drives doesn’t always equal adding performance that you need for your applications.

Today with VMware or Hyper-V or Xen server, if you’d like to give your virtual  machine more horsepower, which you do on the server side, is you give that virtual machine more processor or cache.  On a frame-based SAN, even if you give it more drives, you’re still going through those same two storage processors.

Also frame-based SANS, features and functionality are licensed separately.  Not only that, as an example snapshots, clones, remote replication, thin provisioning, advanced management; any of those features and functionality are licensed separately from when you buy the storage processors and the disks.  Not only are the features licensed separately, but you  have to pay software maintenance per feature and something else that not a lot of people know today is some features are licensed based on a fully loaded SAN.  What that means is say you purchase a SAN that can grow up to 120 drives and for the next couple years you only load up 30-60 drives.  Remote replication and some of those other features are licensed for a fully loaded SAN, so you’re actually paying more because you haven’t fully populated that SAN with those features and functionality.

With a frame-based SAN, 3-5 years from now and you’re ready to upgrade or move to a new frame-based SAN, it’s a forklift upgrade.  Or there is a migration that could take days or weeks, and that equals downtime and you may have to have someone actually fly in from somewhere to provide those services migrating or upgrading from one frame-based SAN to another frame-based SAN is going to cause downtime.

Then lastly, is death by nickels and dimes as I call it.  All the features of the frame-based SAN you have to pay for, so there can be hidden costs.  If you purchase a brand new SAN, you implement it, and all of a sudden you need advanced features like snapshots, clones, advanced integration with those snapshots and clones, with VMware, or Hyper-V or Exchange or Sequel.  That feature and functionality wasn’t looked at as a requirement with the initial purchase of the SAN.  You have to go back to management and have to ask them for even more money.

With EqualLogics frameless or virtualized SAN, when you purchase the EqualLogic array, everything is included; snapshots, clones, remote replication, thin provisioning, advanced management, advanced integration.  When you purchase a SAN, you should get everything included.  You shouldn’t ever have to go back to your manager and say Woops!  You should never  have to go back to your partner or Dell and say you’re adding Exchange 2010 or some new type of virtualization solution, how much will that cost?  Oh, and by the way, not only do you get everything, all of the features and functionality, but all updates and future releases, there is no additional cost.  So again there are no hidden costs with EqualLogic array.

As we looked at a little earlier, whether you have one EqualLogic array or 16, within that virtualized group or architecture, EqualLogic will do all of the automatic and dynamic load balancing for you.  Between drives, within EqualLogic arrays, between EqualLogic arrays, even between the EqualLogic arrays between the Ethernet interfaces, on the PS4000 or the PS6000.

Because of the frameless, virtualized architecture, when you’re ready to buy another EqualLogic array, if you’ve even purchased a single array and it’s 3-5 years down the road, you can buy a brand new EqualLogic array, make sure that both are on the latest firmware, and it’s a seamless upgrade and migration without any downtime whatsoever.  So you add your new EqualLogic array to your existing EqualLogic group, you can simply go into group manager, or the management interface, right click on your three-year old array and simply say ‘delete member’ from group.  When you do that the old EqualLogic array will copy all of its data to the new EqualLogic array in the background.  Because of the frameless, virtualized architecture there is absolutely no downtime.

See a live EqualLogic product demo

Learn about Dell storage

So Citrix changes names and terminology every so often, right?  OK, that’s the understatement of the century!

From MetaFrame to MetaFrame Presentation Server, to Presentation Server, to XenApp + XenDesktop, to XenDesktop with FlexCast.. whew!  I may have even missed a few

Citrix FlexCast is.. well.. watch the video!

Citrix FlexCast: Overview

Different types of workers across the enterprise need different types of desktops. Some require simplicity and standardization, while others require high performance and personalization.

XenDesktop can meet these requirements in a single solution with its unique FlexCast™ delivery technology.

With FlexCast™, IT can deliver every type of virtual desktop – each specifically tailored to meet the performance, security and flexibility requirements of each individual user. There are five delivery options:

FlexCast for Apps: Hosted Shared, Hosted VM, and Streamed

Allows any Windows® application to be centralized and managed in the datacenter, hosted either on multi-user terminal servers or virtual machines, and instantly delivered as a service to physical and virtual desktops. Optimized for each user device, network and location, applications are delivered via a high speed protocol for use while connected or streamed via Citrix application virtualization or Microsoft App-V directly to the endpoint for use when offline.

Local VM

Local VM desktops extend the benefits of centralized, single-instance management to mobile workers that need to use their laptops offline. When they are able to connect to a suitable network, changes to the OS, apps and user data are automatically synchronized with the datacenter.

Streamed VHD

Streamed VHDs leverage the local processing power of rich clients, while providing centralized single-image management of the desktop. This approach offers an easy, low-cost way for customers to get started with desktop virtualization by leveraging existing PC resources and keeping datacenter overhead to a minimum. It can also be ideal for government and university labs that use diskless PCs for maximum data security.

Hosted VDI

Hosted VDI desktops offer a personalized Windows® desktop experience, typically needed by office workers, which can be securely delivered over any network to any device. This option combines the benefits of central management with full user personalization, and can generally support up to 150 desktops per server.

Hosted Shared

Hosted Shared desktops provide a locked down, streamlined and standardized environment with a core set of applications, ideally suited for task workers where personalization is not needed – or allowed. Supporting up to 500 users on a single server, this model offers a significant cost savings over any other virtual desktop technology.

Citrix extended its 2-for-1 trade up promotion until the end of 2010

Learn how end-to-end virtualization with Dell EqualLogic and VMware vSphere, View, and SRM provides inherent disaster recovery and business continuance.

Coming soon:

-Indianapolis      -Toledo
-Columbus          -South Bend
-Cincinnati          -Detroit

Want to keep in the loop with our Code Red seminar series?

Join the conversation on Twitter with the #ULCodeRed hash tag to:

• Network with attendees
• Connect with presenters, Dell, VMware, and more
• Ask questions
• Give Feedback

Trade Up has been extended until Dec 31, 2010!

Three different ways to save            

Trade-up all at once
Trade-up all of your XenApp licenses at once and receive two XenDesktop 4 licenses for each XenApp license. You save up to 80 percent on XenDesktop 4. Requires active Subscription Advantage.

Trade-up a subset
Trade-up a subset of your XenApp licenses and receive one XenDesktop 4 license for each XenApp license. You save up to 70 percent on XenDesktop 4. Requires active Subscription Advantage.

Trade-up XenApp, Presentation Server, or MetaFrame
Receive one XenDesktop 4 license for each XenApp license and save up to 50 percent on XenDesktop 4. For customers with expired Subscription Advantage.

Trade-up and save

Last Thursday UltraLevel held our Secrets, Lies, and VDI event at Sulivan’s Steakhouse in Indianapolis, IN.  It was a fun drive down from Detroit and a great opportunity for us to mastermind. We created something very special on the trip back up, which I expect will be nothing short of viral once we finish it, so stay tuned for that one!

Sulivan’s is a great venue . It has all the panache that you’d expect from an upscale steakhouse as well as great food. Perhaps a little crowed for our 60+ group, but it all worked out. With the tight squeeze it was really difficult to position the camera, so we did the best with what we had and put together these clips for you. Of course you can view all of our videos by visiting UltraLevel’s YouTube Channel.

Mike Butz, UltraLevel CEO and President, started things out with his keynote speech on the origins and history of server-based computing:

Next up was Chris Nowland from Lakeside Software presenting Systrack Virtual Machine Planner- a tool we have found to be indispensable in the planning our our virtualization projects. We’re not the only ones that think so; VMware has just partnered with Lakeside to offer View bundled with Systrack VMP.

Dell gave a fantastic and impressive demonstration of the EqualLogic iSCSI SAN. Unfortunately we weren’t able to capture it on video, but here’s an entertaining YouTube video demonstration of how fast and easy setting up a Dell EqualLogic SAN really is.

Introducing our brave and bold CTO, Jeremy Wilkinson, who believes so much in our desktop virtualization solutions that he ran the entire presentation from a Citrix XenDesktop VDI session that was being delivered from our datacenter in Troy, MI.

Jeremy is going to steal the show from this point forward beginning with him redefining the desktop.

Jeremy talks about Microsoft Hyper-V R2 and then on to the new Live Motion Feature.

Jeremy explains the importance of decoupling applications from the desktop, using MS App-V or Citrix XenApp, when delivering VDI desktops.

Jeremy explains the difference between Citrix XenApp (formally MetaFrame and Presentation Server) application virtualization and streamed applications. Essentially, first is remotely delivered and the latter is packaged for local execution.

In his last topic, Jeremy compares and contrasts Citrix XenDesktop and VMware View desktop virtualization solutions.

In closing UltraLevel President, Mike Butz talks about Jack Wilson at Amerisure.

Last, but certainly not least, a couple attendees share their feedback on the event. Here’s Roger Dearnaley from Sataria Distribution.

Drew Johnson with Auction Broadcasting Company REALLY loved the event, but I’m sure winning the grand prize Dell Laptop helped a bit..

Did you find the videos informative? Would you like to attend a future UltraLevel event? What’s a hot topic for you? Leave us a comment and let us know what you think! To get more information on these technologies and how UltraLevel can help you, contact UltraLevel.

We have some great end of year promos for FREE Dell EqualLogic SANs and Dell servers as well as some special virtualization bundles. Take a look.

Buy a Dell EqualLogic PS4000 Array and Get a FREE Dell R410 Server

Buy a Dell EqualLogic PS4000 Array and Get Remote Installation Services and 1 Year Dell Pro Support FREE

Buy 3 Dell EqualLogic PS6000 Arrays and Get 1 FREE

Dell / Citrix Server Virtualization Starter Kit

Dell / Citrix Server Virtualization Standard Kit

Can’t quite seem to convince your bean counter to approve your Dell SAN purchase? Then you might want to pass this along:

Under the 50% bonus deduction provision contained in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), businesses can immediately deduct half the cost of new equipment placed in service this year.  The remainder is deducted over the typical 5-7 year life of what is spelled out in the tax code.

Combine the above with the provision that allows companies to deduct up to $250,000 immediately for things like copiers, phone systems, computers (and SANs), and office furnishings, etc and businesses could:

• Expense up to $250,000 of the cost under Section 179.
• Take 50% depreciation on any remaining qualified cost of that equipment and then..
• Get Regular depreciation beyond that up to $800,000.00 where it begins to fall off and goes away after $1,050,000.00.

We work with CIT quite a bit for customer financing (mostly Dell equipment & EqualLogic SANs). Here’s a CIT document you can pass along to finance. Now’s the time to lease.

Read about the small businesses benefit from Section 179 deduction

Our Secrets, Lies, and VDI Detroit and Grand Rapids events were a smashing hit! Over 150 people RSVP’d.

The response was so great that UltraLevel is extending the series to Indianapolis, IN and Toledo, OH. Stay tuned for dates and venues.

Last week UltraLevel posted one of the first Citrix XenDesktop 4 announcements released by Citrix. Nine days and two NDA partner webinars later, we’re convinced that you won’t want to miss the first public XenDesktop 4 webinar for Citrix customers scheduled on October 20th. I don’t want to ruin the surprise, but get ready for a few bombshells in regards to major product feature and licensing changes – who, Citrix? They never do that, right?

Seriously though, I think that the changes will yield great benefit in most scenarios. First of all, XenDesktop edges out XenApp as the new Citrix flagship product although it will include “all of the features of XenApp”. In order to align with an enterprise-wide desktop usage model, XenDesktop 4 will now be licensed on a per named user basis rather than concurrent connection. Citrix will be offering special incentives for current XenApp customers that want to upgrade their licenses to XenDesktop 4.

It’s no secret that Citrix has been known to borrow a page or two from Microsoft’s play book from time to time, and named user licensing has got to be one of the most significant Microsoft alignments to date. It will make it much simpler to plan for and manage a desktop virtualization initiative. Customers will purchase a XenDesktop named named user license and a Microsoft VECD license for every user, hence the convergence of XenApp and XenDesktop (although XenApp still lives as a separate standalone product, but that’s another post).

Calling all Citrix customers! Register for the Citrix XenDesktop 4 public debut webinar on Oct 20th.