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Citrix Acquires VMLogix

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Citrix earlier this week announced several key additions to its Citrix OpenCloud infrastructure platform for cloud providers. To further accelerate its OpenCloud strategy, Citrix also announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire VMLogix, a provider of virtualization management for private and public clouds.

The acquisition of VMLogix is expected to close in the third quarter of 2010, subject to the satisfaction of closing conditions.

It will add key lifecycle management capabilities to the Citrix OpenCloud platform, making it easy for cloud providers to offer infrastructure services that extend from pre-production and quality assurance, to staging, deployment and business continuity.

The acquisition will also allow Citrix to add an intuitive, self-service interface to its popular XenServer virtualization platform – a key component of the OpenCloud framework – enabling end users to access and manage their own virtual computing resources in on-premise private cloud environments, much like they set up virtual services in large public clouds like Amazon or Rackspace today.

Citrix also announced plans to expand its OpenCloud platform to include enhanced networking and interoperability capabilities.

These new additions will include the ability for customers to seamlessly manage a mix of public and private cloud workloads from a single management console, even if they span across a variety of different cloud providers. All of these enhancements will be available to the more than 600 service providers worldwide who are now certified to deliver services based on the Citrix OpenCloud platform.

Facts and Highlights:

New additions to the Citrix OpenCloud infrastructure platform include:

  • Open Lifecycle Management – The VMLogix acquisition will add open virtual lifecycle automation and self-service capabilities that support all leading virtualization platforms. These capabilities will make it easier for IT teams to build, share and deploy production-like environments on-demand in both private and public clouds, and migrate virtual workloads between production stages with a single mouse click – even across different hypervisors. By giving users self-service access to a single pool of computing resources, cloud providers can help customers reduce capital expenses and improve flexibility, even across diverse virtualization and cloud environments.
  • Open Cloud Interoperability – To accelerate cloud interoperability, Citrix will also be integrating the Citrix OpenCloud infrastructure platform with OpenStack, the open-source orchestration and management technology it is co-developing with Rackspace, NASA, Dell, and more than 20 other leading technology and cloud service providers. The OpenStack orchestration capabilities perfectly complement the Citrix OpenCloud platform by adding key cloud management functions and enabling cloud providers to give customers open integration as well as a more consistent view of both private and public cloud workloads. In booth #1219 at this week’s VMworld conference, Citrix will be demonstrating the ability to manage workloads across XenServer virtual machines running in an on-premise private cloud, and VMs running in a public-cloud environment using OpenStack – all from a single management console.
  • Open Cloud Networking – The Citrix OpenCloud platform will also be adding powerful new virtual switching capabilities that leverage the Open vSwitch project, and support the OpenFlow protocol, an emerging industry standard that pools the resources of per-host virtual switches to create a dynamic, distributed, policy-controlled cloud fabric. These new capabilities will make it easier for cloud providers using the Citrix OpenCloud platform to create isolated, multi-tenant cloud environments, while offering dynamic, per-flow control, and per virtual-interface policies. They will also enable rich packet processing capabilities at the network edge, including the ability to leverage advanced application networking capabilities in Citrix NetScaler, another key component of the OpenCloud platform.

A Look At The New Citrix XenDesktop Release

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Citrix Systems earlier this week announced a new release of Citrix XenDesktop that extends the benefits of desktop virtualization to enterprise laptop users with the addition of two new technologies: Citrix XenClient and Citrix XenVault.

Together, these two technologies make it easy for IT to incorporate mobile laptop users into a unified enterprise desktop virtualization strategy with unparalleled security and simplicity – including corporate-owned laptops managed by IT, as well as user-owned devices brought in by contractors or employees in a BYOC (bring your own computer) program.

Desktop virtualization is rapidly growing in popularity as a more secure, flexible way to deliver Windows desktops to business users in any location. With this new release, companies of all sizes can now deploy a single desktop virtualization solution that seamlessly supports both desk-based and laptop users in just about any scenario. With laptop users representing half of the workforce in many companies, today’s announcement represents a major milestone that significantly expands the reach of desktop virtualization to millions of new users.

Most mobile employees today do the majority of their work on company-owned laptops. For these workers, the best solution is a virtual desktop that runs directly on their laptop. This approach gives IT all the central management and security benefits of server hosted virtual desktops (VDI), combined with all the flexibility and ability to be disconnected from the network that come with traditional, locally installed desktops. And because the desktops runs in a local VM at all times, users never have to go through the cumbersome time consuming process “checking-out” their virtual desktop by downloading it from a central server each time they leave the office. These new capabilities are all enabled by the new XenClient technology, a groundbreaking client-side hypervisor developed in close collaboration with Intel, and optimized for the Intel Core vPro technology.

With the addition of the new XenClient and XenVault features, XenDesktop extends its lead as the most comprehensive and flexible desktop virtualization solution on the market.

Key Facts and Highlights (XenClient):

  • Enables Virtual Desktops “To Go” – XenClient is a client-side hypervisor that enables virtual desktops to run directly on client devices. It provides all the security and central management of VDI, while allowing users to seamlessly work online or disconnected without any cumbersome check-in or check-out requirements, just as they would with a traditional locally installed desktop. While XenClient can be run on any supported PC hardware, it is ideally suited to corporate-owned laptops.
  • Control for IT, Flexibility for Users – XenClient makes it easy for IT to deliver a secure, centrally managed corporate desktop environment to laptop users without compromising user experience. They can even set up a second personal virtual desktop on the same laptop, giving users full freedom, without compromising corporate security.
  • Centralized Backup and Recovery – When disconnected from the network, XenClient operates just like a traditional installed desktop. As soon as users connect to the network, it automatically synchronizes any changes with the datacenter, ensuring full centralized backup of all corporate laptops. If a laptop is ever lost or stolen, users can easily restore their full desktop environment exactly like it was to a new laptop, while data on the original laptop can be wiped remotely.
  • Portable and Persistent Desktop Images – By separating the operating system from the underlying hardware, desktop images can now be created, secured, deployed and moved across any supported hardware, greatly reducing the maintenance burden on IT and simplifying disaster recovery for laptop users.
  • Expanded Hardware and Device Support – XenClient now also includes several new capabilities that were not supported in the initial beta release. These include multiple usability and security enhancements, new synchronization features, and expanded support for hardware platforms, wireless adapters and USB-based devices such as webcams, iPads, iPhones, Androids, BlackBerrys and Windows Mobile devices.
  • Optimized for Intel vPro – The XenClient hypervisor was designed jointly with Intel to work seamlessly with the underlying hardware. Intel Core vPro processors are designed to provide the best experience for end-users and IT through use of Intel hardware-assisted virtualization, management and security technologies.

Key Facts and Highlights (XenVault):

  • Protects and Isolates User Data – The new XenVault technology automatically and transparently saves any user data created by corporate apps into an encrypted folder, ensuring that it is protected at all times from unauthorized users.
  • Ideal for Contractors and BYOC – Because XenVault supports both virtual and physical desktops, it is an ideal solution for contractors and employee-owned laptops where users don’t want IT installing software on their personal laptops. When a contract is over, an employee terminates, or the laptop is lost or stolen, corporate data remains secure, and can even be wiped remotely.
  • Supports XenApp and App-V – XenVault automatically encrypts data created by any corporate app that is delivered by Citrix XenApp (or the XenApp feature of XenDesktop) or Microsoft App-V.

The new XenClient and XenVault technologies will both ship in the new XenDesktop 4, Feature Pack 2 release, available at the end of September. XenClient is available at no additional charge for XenDesktop Enterprise and Platinum editions customers with current Subscription Advantage agreements.

XenVault is enabled through a plug-in to the Citrix Receiver software client, which is available at no additional charge to all XenDesktop and XenApp customers. Citrix XenDesktop, including the new XenClient and XenVault technologies, will be demonstrated in the Citrix booth #1219 at VMworld San Francisco, Aug. 30 – Sept. 2.

Citrix Reports Q2 2010 Financial Results, Shares Soar

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Citrix Systems today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010, sending its shares soaring.

In the second quarter of fiscal 2010, Citrix achieved revenue of $458 million, compared to $393 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2009, representing 17 percent revenue growth.

Net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2010 was $48 million, or $0.25 per diluted share, compared to $43 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, for the second quarter of fiscal 2009.

Net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2010 includes approximately $13 million in income tax expense, or approximately $0.07 per diluted share, for the settlement in principle the company reached with the Internal Revenue Service related to transfer pricing issues as previously announced.

Non-GAAP net income in the second quarter of fiscal 2010 was $78 million, or $0.41 per diluted share, compared to $72 million, or $0.39 per diluted share, in the comparable period last year. Non-GAAP net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2010 includes the $13 million tax expense, or approximately $0.07 per diluted share, as noted above.

Both periods exclude the effects of amortization of intangible assets primarily related to business combinations, stock-based compensation expenses, charges recorded in connection with the restructuring program that the company implemented in January 2009 and the tax effects related to those items.

In reviewing the second quarter results of 2010, compared to the second quarter of 2009:

  • Product license revenue increased 15 percent;
  • Revenue from license updates grew 13 percent;
  • Online services revenue grew 18 percent;
  • Technical services revenue, which is comprised of consulting, education and technical support, grew 35 percent;
  • Revenue increased in the America’s region by 17 percent, increased in the EMEA region by 11 percent and increased in the Pacific region by 31 percent;
  • Deferred revenue totaled $686 million, compared to $538 million on June 30, 2009;
  • GAAP operating margin was 16 percent for the quarter and non-GAAP operating margin was 26 percent for the quarter, excluding the effects of amortization of intangible assets primarily related to business combinations, stock-based compensation expense and charges recorded in connection with the 2009 restructuring program;
  • Other income decreased 83 percent primarily due to losses on the re-measurement of non U.S. dollar denominated financial statement balances;
  • Cash flow from operations was $103 million, compared with $86 million in the second quarter of 2009; and
  • The company repurchased 2.2 million shares at an average price of $46.74 or $101 million.

Citrix management expects to achieve the following results during its third fiscal quarter of 2010 ending September 30, 2010:

  • Net revenue is expected to be in the range of $450 million to $460 million; and
  • GAAP diluted earnings per share is expected to be in the range of $0.31 to $0.32. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share is expected to be in the range of $0.48 to $0.49, excluding $0.08 related to the effects of amortization of intangible assets primarily related to business combinations, $0.16 related to the effects of stock-based compensation expenses, certain charges recorded in conjunction with the company’s 2009 restructuring program, and $(0.06) to $(0.08) for the effect of the differential between the GAAP and non-GAAP tax rates and tax effects related to these items.
  • Interest income is expected to be $4 million.
  • Adjusted tax rate is expected to be in the range of 23% to 24%.

The above statements are based on current expectations. These statements are forward-looking, and actual results may differ materially.

Does Shift happen ?

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Last week’s announcement of RHEL 6 Beta not including Xen anymore probably is the start of a new era in open source virtualization. While the signs were on the wall since RedHat acquired Qumranet it has never been more visible.

The tone has been set …in the same week RedHat announces RHEL6 Beta with only KVM support, Canonical announces 12000 UEC Deployments. UEC is Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud , it’s their Eucalyptus implementation, or should we say integration ?
12000 deployments of UEC sounds like a lot, maybe a bit too much to believe today … ,

It’s probably too early to say that there are more KVM than Xen deployments today (certainly taking into account Amazon’s giant Xen deployments ) , but when talking to different ISP’s and Cloud Vendors you feel that there is a trend towards preferring KVM over Xen.

The biggest argument for KVM today is the fact that you can turn any recent Linux box into a Virtual Machine container with a couple of comands. The fact that KVM is part of the Linux Kernel and doesn’t require you to add extra components to your distibution makes it a lot easier to deploy and validate as opposed to a Xen setup that still needs extra changes and isn’t in the main kernel.

Today main reason why people are still considering Xen in some projects is legacy hardware not having a VT chipset yet … lots of older hardware can be put to good use with the performance that Xen’s paravirtualization brings .

When given choice of KVM / Xen or VirtualBox for their future Open Source virtualization deploymetns, Almost 50% of the people questioned plan on using KVM for their next deployment, as opposed to only about 30% planning to use Xen.

So at first KVM was being ignored, then being laughed at for not being a dedicated hypervisor but being part fo the Operating System .. and now apparently it’s time for the fight … and what a fight .

With much sadness we read Simon Crosby’s FUDitorial about RedHat’s KVM adoption.

When people start calling OEL a “superior enterprise version of RHEL” a red light starts flashing for me , so is Oracle planning to acquire Citrix any time soon ? As the only way to explain Simon talking about RHEL not being available for download and no sources being availble at all, I can think off is that he is already thinking about how to please his next employer.. Simon’s reaction tries to make the RedHat move look insignificant for some, for others it might be the drop that makes them really switch to KVM as it clearly is full of FUD regarding to RedHat

Oracle was betting heavily on Xen, Sun was also putting a lot of effort into xVM, however the Sun xVM effort seems to wander off towards more VirtualBox efforts. Obviously Citrix won’t head towards KVM anyh time soon .. but the big question is .. what will the masses do ?

VMware ready for “war” with Citrix

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Yesterday at “VMworld day 0” (the partner and developer day) at the partner briefing, VMware VP of Field Operations Carl Eschenbach was sounding pretty confident about the future of desktop virtualization.

VMware has been banging the VDI drum for a few years now. So far VMware has signed up a little over 7000 customers, good for +1M seats. Yet Citrix still has higher top of mind awareness when it comes to centralized end-user computing environments.

VMware is confident that with upcoming new releases of VMware View and the PC over IP protocol (developed together with Terradici) they can offer a much richer experience than Citrix with XenApp.

A few quotes from this presentation are too good to leave out:

“We started with desktop products 11 years ago. We know more about this field than anyone else.”

The money quote though came right at the finish:

“Citrix better buckle up, because they’re going to war with us, and we’re ready!”

Is The Virtualization Market “Up For Grabs”?

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Read-worthy article from InternetNews writer Stuart J. Johnston, claiming that the virtualization market is up for grabs based on a report by Information Technology Intelligence (ITIC), who surveyed 700 corporations worldwide and found that server virtualization deployments “have remained strong throughout the ongoing 2009 economic downturn.”

Among its conclusions are that Microsoft, despite a late start in most virtualization markets, is becoming the come-from-behind favorite, at least in the area of application virtualization.

“Thanks to the summer release of the new Hyper-V with live migration capabilities, with Hyper-V 2.0, Microsoft has substantially closed the feature/performance gap between itself and VMware’s ESX Server,” the report states.

Another top level take away for Microsoft: “Three out of five — 59 percent of the survey respondents — indicated their intent to deploy Hyper-V 2.0 within the next 12 to 18 months.”

“With Hyper-V, Microsoft has a very credible, competitive offering,” DiDio toldInternetNews.com. “Hypervisors, in general, have been commoditized” due to Microsoft’s commodity approach to virtualization.

For instance, Citrix is the market leader in desktop virtualization with a 19 percent market share.

In the same market, Microsoft holds a 15 percent share and VMware has 8 percent.

That doesn’t mean, however, that Microsoft will have the whole pie.

Full report is here.