Citrix, Intel To Deliver Xen-based Client Virtualisation Solns

Citrix Systems has announced that it will develop new application and desktop delivery solutions optimised for Intel Core 2 desktops and Centrino 2 laptops with Intel vPro technology. Under an agreement with Intel Corporation, Citrix plans to produce a new class of virtualisation solutions that will optimise the delivery of applications and desktops to Intel Core 2 and Centrino 2 processor-based devices.
The hypervisor-based virtualisation solution will bring both mobile and office users the benefits of centralised desktop virtualisation with a personalised PC environment. As a result, mobile and office workers will be able to take advantage of enterprise-scale virtualisation without sacrificing security, manageability, performance or mobility.
At the heart of the new solution from Citrix will be a bare-metal Xen-based desktop hypervisor optimised for Intel Virtualisation technology and other features of Intel vPro technology. This new client hypervisor, which will be made available to PC manufacturers and enterprises worldwide, will enable IT professionals to dynamically stream a centrally managed corporate desktop, and all related applications, directly into a secure, isolated client-based virtual machine (VM). This new technology will be productised in an upcoming solution from Citrix code-named ‘Project Independence’.
The combination of centralised desktop and application management with a secure, personalised and mobile user experience will enable enterprises to reduce the escalating cost of managing an increasingly mobile workforce while enhancing security and always-on access to corporate applications for Citrix and Intel end users worldwide.
“Citrix and Intel have worked together to lead the development of the open source Xen hypervisor, which has brought a new level of openness, security and scale to server virtualisation,” said N Louis Shipley, Group VP and general manager, XenServer product group at Citrix Systems. “Extending that collaboration to the client will enable our Citrix Delivery Centre infrastructure to communicate directly with Intel-based devices, changing the game in desktop virtualisation in a way that benefits customers of both companies.”
“This collaboration is aimed at producing a client virtualisation solution that provides excellent capabilities in every key category from centralised image management to a rich, mobile end-user environment,” said Gregory Bryant, vice president, Intel Business Client Group, and general manager, Digital Office Platform Division. “This solution also will expand on the management and security capabilities of Intel vPro technology to help IT with its increasingly important objective of reducing costs while providing tools for greater productivity.”