Leostream Connection Broker

Release: Leostream Connection Broker 6.2

August 28, 2009 by Robin Wauters Leave a Comment

Leostream just released an update to its VDI connection broker. The company focused on adding support for Citrix in the last major update, and now, with this release, they’ve focused on support for Microsoft technologies.

Features of the Leostream Connection Broker 6.2 include:

Installation & Management

Easy installation as a virtual application: Connection Broker 6.2 virtual application provides native installation on a Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V or Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 hypervisor;
Native support for Hyper-v based virtual machines: Simplified discovery and machine power control.

End-user Experience Pack – Connection Broker provides a complete set of features to create an optimal end-user experience with Microsoft desktop virtualization software, including:

Windows 7 support: Full support for Microsoft’s new Windows 7 operating system;
RDP 7 support: Full support for the new remote desktop protocol (RDP) 7, with its high-performance enhancements such as bi-directional audio and rich graphics;
Multimonitor support: Leostream supports multiple monitors with RDP and a wide range of additional protocols;
USB management: USB pass-through policies allow administrators to manage classes of devices or individual devices, depending on need. USB policies can be combined with other Leostream policies, such as location-based ones, to support the exact implementation of business rules;
Location-based printing: Administrators can specify a list of network printers to connect to a particular group of clients based on their location. End-users can select local printers when connected to remote desktops;
Single Sign On for RDP: Provides seamless access to all versions of Windows virtual desktops from any client device, including Windows 2000, 2003, XP, Vista, and RDP 7;
User profile support: Consistently offers the same desktop to the user who travels or changes physical location;
Extensive flexibility in assigning users to resources such as desktops, applications and sessions: Leostream’s powerful policy capabilities are natively available in Microsoft environments.

Leostream Updates Connection Broker

July 16, 2009 by Robin Wauters Leave a Comment

Leostream today announced new functionality has been added to its vendor-neutral connection broker that simplifies the management of virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). Already the most effective technology of its kind for VDI deployments in heterogeneous environments, the Leostream Connection Broker 6.1 now also features enhanced policy and reporting capabilities, power control for physical machines, Web browser access to Citrix XenApp applications, and bulk delete, refresh and release actions for even easier IT administration.

The latest version closely follows the April release of the Leostream Connection Broker 6.0. Leostream’s goal has long been to anticipate market demand for virtualization solutions and continually build upon its already mature connection management technology to meet this demand. This is especially important for enterprises that need to handle the multi-vendor environments that invariably exist in larger-scale virtualization projects. As a result, the Leostream Connection Broker provides organizations with the capability to integrate existing technology easily and achieve the maximum ROI for end-user computing.

The Leostream Connection Broker, delivered as a virtual appliance, is the software management layer that ties desktop images in the data center to users’ thin client, laptop, desktop or Web interface. It allows enterprises to provide end-users with a virtual desktop experience equal or superior to traditional desktops. End-users can access their virtual desktop from any machine, regardless of location, due to the technology’s ability to direct users to their own virtual desktop image. IT managers can also maximize the virtualization of existing resources by easily integrating an array of clients, back-end systems and viewers. Additionally, the product integrates with existing data center infrastructure without changes, including authentication services and SSL VPN systems, and provides a rich set of policies for the exact implementation of business rules for users and machines.

Particular highlights of Leostream Connection Broker 6.1 include:

Policy Enhancements: Expanded flexibility of policies offers “granular customization” to suit an enterprise’s precise needs.
- Policies can now be applied to hard-assigned desktops, providing consistent policy application for all types of machine assignment.
- Policies now allow administrators to offer as many resources as desired to the end-user, but can limit the number of machines actually assigned to a set limit, improving control of license usage.
- Power control and release policies make it easier to reuse power and assignment options.
Enhanced Reporting: New reporting features have been added to give IT greater insight and control. A metrics report provides information on disk usage and load averages for all Connection Brokers in a cluster, with another report summarizing the setup of all policies.
Web Browser Access to Citrix XenApp: An extension of the Connection Broker’s current XenApp functionality, end-users can now launch Citrix XenApp desktops and applications via the Connection Broker Web browser.
Access and Power Control for Physical Machines: The Connection Broker can make Microsoft SMS server calls to power up physical machines. This Wake-on-LAN feature allows users the convenience of starting and accessing physical machines from remote locations, while providing enterprises with greater control over power use.
Bulk Actions for Improved IT Management: Bulk delete, refresh and release actions bring improved ease-of-use to IT administrators.

Leostream Pushes Connection Broker 6.0

June 1, 2009 by Robin Wauters 1 Comment

Leostream announced late last week a new version of its vendor-neutral connection broker. The Leostream Connection Broker 6.0 features native support for Citrix XenServer, along with additional highlights including extended monitor support, an enhanced Web interface, more powerful USB device management and reporting capabilities.

The Leostream Connection Broker, which is delivered as a virtual appliance, is the software management layer that ties desktop images in the data center to users’ thin client, laptop, desktop or Web interfaces. With it, enterprises can provide end-users with a virtual desktop experience equal or superior to that of traditional desktops. End-users can access their virtual desktop from any machine, no matter where they are located, due to the Connection Broker’s ability to direct users to their own virtual desktop image.

For IT, the Leostream Connection Broker allows managers to maximize the virtualization of existing resources by easily integrating an array of clients, back-end systems and viewers. In addition, management can rest assured that its virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) is secure. The Leostream Connection Broker integrates with existing authentication and security protocols without changes, providing a rich set of policies for exact implementation of business rules for users and machines.

With its new version, the Leostream Connection Broker 6.0 offers native support for Citrix XenServer, easily installed as a virtual appliance on Citrix XenServer 5. As a result, enterprises can now create a VDI entirely on XenServer. This new capability builds on Leostream’s previous Citrix offerings. This includes Leostream’s long-standing Citrix Ready verified support for XenServer Centers and the more recent addition of XenApp Integration for delivering desktops and applications side-by-side. With Leostream, organizations can deliver Citrix desktops simultaneously with other virtual, physical or bladed desktops or Terminal Server sessions, create pools of Citrix desktops or applications for delivery to different groups of users, and assign desktop and application pools based on end-user policy and location.

The Leostream Connection Broker 6.0 also provides extended monitor support. Virtual desktops can be split or spanned across multiple screens with no degradation of performance. This enables IT to provide virtual desktops to end-users accustomed to multiple monitors.

Additional enhancements in the Leostream Connection Broker 6.0 include:

More Powerful USB Device Management: End-users can attach and employ USB devices on virtual desktops with the same ease-of-use as physical desktops, while IT management has complete visibility and control over which USB devices are permitted;
Enhanced Reporting: IT can now monitor resource usage; and
New Integration with Syslog Servers: New integration features allow for more effective compliance and auditing.

Leostream (Finally) Ships Connection Broker 5.3

February 10, 2009 by Robin Wauters Leave a Comment

Leostream Corporation, a developer of virtual hosted desktop software, has finally gotten around to updating its Connection Broker software to version 5.3.

To get an idea of what changed, you can check the release notes here (PDF).

Here’s a quick run-down:

Citrix XenApp support when used with Leostream Connect (Windows and Linux® version) and Wyse thin clients.
Remote upgrade feature for Leostream Connect client
New > Status > Downloads page with links for downloading the Leostream Agent, Leostream Connect, and Leostream Documentation
New ability to specify multiple authentication server addresses inside one record on the > Users > Authentication Servers page
New Domain option on the Test Login option on the > Users > Users page
Allow additional special characters on smart card logins
Enhanced USB support in policies when used with Leostream Connect version 2.2
Context sensitive help for Connection Broker forms
The Templates pool has been removed from the > Resources > Pools page. Please, use VMware® VirtualCenter to view the templates you use for provisioning
Bulk upload feature, to import users, desktops, and clients from a CSC-file.
Additional columns available on the > Users > Users page to list Active Directory attributes for users