Dear all,



Citrix is adding features to cut the cost of desktop virtualization and improve the user experience in the new version of its XenDesktop platform, it said on Wednesday.



In XenDesktop 3, Citrix is introducing a new way to deliver desktops. Using the Desktop Streaming feature companies will be able to stream the bits needed to execute the operating system from a server to the endpoint over their LAN.



So, for example, power users can take advantage of the processing power on the desktop, but the IT department can still manage everything centrally in the data center, according to Calvin Hsu, director of product marketing at Citrix.



"This works best if you either have a fairly high-powered thin client or a number of standardized PCs at the endpoint," he said.



When using Desktop Streaming, companies should aim for as little hardware differentiation as possible, because when you stream the desktop image it actually has driver information and hardware configuration information in it, according to Hsu.



"Fewer variables means more users can leverage a single image of that desktop," said Hsu.



The setup also means that you need fewer servers in the datacenter, because the desktop is executed on the endpoint and not on the server.



- Rajeev