Citrix Virtual Apps (formerly WinFrame, MetaFrame, Presentation Server and XenApp) is an

application virtualization Application virtualization is a software technology that encapsulates computer programs from the underlying operating system on which they are executed. A fully virtualized application is not installed in the traditional sense, although it is stil ...

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...

produced by

Citrix Systems Citrix Systems, Inc. is an American multinational cloud computing and virtualization technology company that provides server, application and desktop virtualization, networking, software as a service (SaaS), and cloud computing technologies. C ...

that allows

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

applications to be accessed via individual devices from a shared

server Server may refer to: Computing *Server (computing), a computer program or a device that provides functionality for other programs or devices, called clients Role * Waiting staff, those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending customers and su ...

or cloud system.

Product overview

Citrix Virtual Apps is application virtualization software that delivers centrally-hosted Windows applications to local devices without the necessity of installing them. It is the

flagship product A core product or flagship product is a company's primary promotion, service or product that can be purchased by a consumer. Core products may be integrated into end products, either by the company producing the core product or by other companies ...

for Citrix and was formerly known under the names WinFrame, MetaFrame, and Presentation Server. Citrix Virtual Apps software uses FlexCast Management Architecture (FMA), a proprietary architecture for Citrix virtualization products. It delivers individual applications, as opposed to entire desktops, to devices. It is also used with

Citrix Workspace Citrix Workspace (formerly Citrix Workspace Suite) is a digital workspace software platform developed by Citrix Systems. Launched in 2018, it is Citrix Systems' flagship product. Citrix Workspace is an information retrieval service where users c ...

to deliver apps as part of a complete virtual desktop environment. With Citrix Virtual Apps, Windows applications can be used on devices that typically could not run them, including

Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...

computers,

mobile device A mobile device (or handheld computer) is a computer small enough to hold and operate in the hand. Mobile devices typically have a flat LCD or OLED screen, a touchscreen interface, and digital or physical buttons. They may also have a physical ...

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

Chromebook A Chromebook (sometimes stylized in lowercase as chromebook) is a laptop or tablet running the Linux-based ChromeOS as its operating system. Initially designed to heavily rely on web applications for tasks using the Google Chrome browser, Chromeb ...

s, and

Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...

computers. Conversely, it enables otherwise incompatible apps to run on Windows desktops. Citrix Virtual Apps is accessed on all devices via

Citrix Receiver Citrix Workspace App (formerly Citrix Receiver) is the client component of XenDesktop and XenApp, developed by Citrix Systems. It was released initially in 2009. Product overview Citrix Receiver is the client component of XenDesktop or XenApp. D ...

. The software can be delivered from on-premises

data center A data center (American English) or data centre (British English)See spelling differences. is a building, a dedicated space within a building, or a group of buildings used to house computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunic ...

s or public, private, or hybrid clouds.

History

The precursor to Virtual Apps was called WinFrame, a

multi-user Multi-user software is computer software that allows access by multiple users of a computer. Time-sharing systems are multi-user systems. Most batch processing systems for mainframe computers may also be considered "multi-user", to avoid leaving t ...

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...

based on

Windows NT 3.51 Windows NT 3.51 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft and oriented towards businesses. It is the third version of Windows NT and was released on May 30, 1995, eight months following the release of Windows NT ...

. Released in 1995, WinFrame was one of the first products distributed by Citrix. At this stage of the product development Citrix Systems licensed the Windows NT 3.51 base operating system from Microsoft. The core development that Citrix delivered was the MultiWin engine. This allowed multiple users to logon and execute applications on a WinFrame server. Citrix was to later license the MultiWin technology to Microsoft, forming the basis of Microsoft's Terminal Services. Repackaged versions of Windows 95, with Citrix WinFrame Client included, were also available from Citrix. MetaFrame superseded WinFrame in 1998. The product was renamed several times: it became MetaFrame XP in 2002, MetaFrame XP Presentation Server in 2003, and then was rebranded as Presentation Server in 2005. Each of these products focused on remote access of applications and server-based computing. In 2008, the product was renamed XenApp. The "Xen" was taken from the company's acquisition of XenSource in 2007. Between 2010 and 2012, Citrix issued two updates of XenApp. XenApp 6 launched in 2010 and included a new central management console called AppCenter. In 2012, XenApp 6.5 was released and this update included a new feature called Instant App Access, which aimed to reduce application launch time. In 2013, version 7.0 was released. This update combined XenDesktop and XenApp into one application called XenDesktop under the Flex Management Architecture (FMA). Prior to this, all versions of XenApp used the company's Independent Management Architecture (IMA). In 2014, version 7.5 was released as XenApp, separate from XenDesktop, but it was also built on FMA. In 2018, XenApp was rebranded Citrix Virtual Apps. In 2022, Citrix Virtual Apps was rebranded Citrix DaaS.

External links

References

{{Remote administration software Citrix Systems Cloud computing Centralized computing Remote desktop protocols Remote desktop Virtualization software