Citrix Virtual Desktops (formerly XenDesktop) is a

desktop virtualization Desktop virtualization is a software technology that separates the desktop environment and associated application software from the physical client device that is used to access it. Desktop virtualization can be used in conjunction with applicatio ...

product.

History

The virtualization technology that led to XenDesktop was first developed in 2000 through an

open-source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...

hypervisor A hypervisor (also known as a virtual machine monitor, VMM, or virtualizer) is a type of computer software, firmware or hardware that creates and runs virtual machines. A computer on which a hypervisor runs one or more virtual machines is calle ...

research project led by Ian Pratt at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

called

Xen Xen (pronounced ) is a type-1 hypervisor, providing services that allow multiple computer operating systems to execute on the same computer hardware concurrently. It was originally developed by the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory an ...

Project for x86. Pratt founded a company called XenSource in 2004, which made a commercial version of the Xen hypervisor. In 2007, Citrix acquired XenSource, releasing XenDesktop version 2.0 in 2008. The company continues to release updated versions, with XenDesktop 7.6 featuring HDX technology enhancements for audio, video and

graphics Graphics () are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone, to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary usage, it includes a pictorial representation of data, as in design and manufacture ...

user experience, as well as a reduction in storage costs associated with virtual desktop deployments as a result of improvements to Citrix provisioning services. In 2018, the software was renamed Citrix Virtual Desktops.

Product overview

The product's aim is to give employees the ability to work from anywhere while cutting

information technology management Information technology management or IT management is the discipline whereby all of the information technology resources of a firm are managed in accordance with its needs and priorities. Managing the responsibility within a company entails many o ...

costs because desktops and applications are centralized. XenDesktop also aims to provide security, because

data In the pursuit of knowledge, data (; ) is a collection of discrete values that convey information, describing quantity, quality, fact, statistics, other basic units of meaning, or simply sequences of symbols that may be further interpreted ...

is not stored on the devices of end users, instead being saved in a centralized datacenter or cloud infrastructure. Citrix developed the software for use by medium to large

enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterprise ...

customers. Citrix Workspace is able to manage and deliver applications and desktops using a

connection broker In software engineering, a connection broker is a resource manager that manages a pool of connections to connection-based resources such as databases or remote desktop In computing, the term remote desktop refers to a software- or operating s ...

called Desktop Delivery Controller. It supports multiple

hypervisors A hypervisor (also known as a virtual machine monitor, VMM, or virtualizer) is a type of computer software, firmware or hardware that creates and runs virtual machines. A computer on which a hypervisor runs one or more virtual machines is calle ...

, including Citrix Hypervisor, VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V and Nutanix Acropolis to create

virtual machine In computing, a virtual machine (VM) is the virtualization/emulation of a computer system. Virtual machines are based on computer architectures and provide functionality of a physical computer. Their implementations may involve specialized hardw ...

s to run the applications and desktops. The software allows for several types of delivery methods and is compatible with multiple architectures, including desktops and servers, datacenters, and private, public or hybrid clouds. Virtualized applications can be delivered to virtual desktops using Virtual Apps.

Release history

* Version 7.5 - March 26, 2014 * Version 7.6 - September 30, 2014 * Version 7.6 Feature Pack 1 - March 31, 2015 * Version 7.6 Feature Pack 2 - June 30, 2015 * Version 7.6 Feature Pack 3 - September 30, 2015 * Version 7.6 LTSR - January 11, 2016 * Version 7.7 - December 29, 2015 * Version 7.8 - February 24, 2016 * Version 7.9 - June 1, 2016 * Version 7.11 - September 4, 2016 * Version 7.12 - December 7, 2016 * Version 7.13 - February 23, 2017 * Version 7.14 - May 23, 2017 * Version 7.15 LTSR - August 15, 2017 * Version 7.16 - November, 2017 * Version 7.17 - February, 2018 * Version 7.18 - June, 2018

References

{{reflist , 32em Citrix Systems Cloud computing providers Centralized computing Remote desktop