[THIN] Re: Citrix to give away XenServer FREE

Nicely summed up in your article Joe.

Also some good info from Roger Klorese of the Product Marketing team for
Citrix XenServer
http://community.citrix.com/blogs/citrite/rogerkl/2009/02/23/Setting+Fre
e+the+VMs+-+or+-+the+100+Per+Cent+Solution

He also posted some info in Simon Crosby's blog...
http://community.citrix.com/blogs/citrite/simoncr/2009/02/23/Free%2C+as+
in+Virtual+Infrastructure...
"Remember that the new free XenServer does not include high
availability, advanced StorageLink storage integration, persistent
performance management, or monitoring -- which continue in Enterprise
Edition and Platinum Edition -- or dynamic provisioning services --
which continue in Platinum Edition."

-----Original Message-----
From: thin-bounce@freelists.org [mailto:thin-bounce@freelists.org] On
Behalf Of Joe Shonk
Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 12:00 AM
To: thin@freelists.org
Subject: [THIN] Re: Citrix to give away XenServer FREE

Ugh, no... That was true on Sunday, by that all changed Yesterday
(hence
the thread).

The Free Edition of Xen Include all the features of Standard and most
the
features of Enterprise (minus StorageLink and HA).

So you get:
World-class 64-bit Hypervisor (had to put that it in)
Manage multiple XenServers
Resource Pools
XenMotion
Shared Storage (but not the StorageLink integration)

Shameful plug:
http://www.theshonkproject.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id
=58&
Itemid=1

-----Original Message-----
From: thin-bounce@freelists.org [mailto:thin-bounce@freelists.org] On
Behalf
Of Stefan Timmermans
Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 6:18 AM
To: thin@freelists.org
Subject: [THIN] Re: Citrix to give away XenServer FREE

Jan,

The Free edition supports:
Xencenter (free !)
Xenconvert
Windows & Linux Guests

The Standard Edition supports on top of that:
VLAN
Managing multiple XenServers

The entreprise edition supports on top of that:
XenMotion
Shared IP storage
Resource Pools
Qos on Storage (disk IO/VM) and Network (NIC IO/VM)

Platinum edition supports on top of that :
Server Provisioning License

Regards,

Stefan

-----Original Message-----
From: thin-bounce@freelists.org [mailto:thin-bounce@freelists.org] On
Behalf
Of Jan
Sent: dinsdag 24 februari 2009 13:29
To: thin@freelists.org
Subject: [THIN] Re: Citrix to give away XenServer FREE

So what features are included in the free version? They didn't list
much in the announcement.

On 2/23/09, Greg Reese <gareese@gmail.com> wrote:
> looks official now......
>
> http://www.citrix.com/English/NE/news/news.asp?newsID=1687130
>
> the free Xen server, not MS buying anything.
>
> Greg
>
> On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 9:34 AM, Andrew Wood
> <andrew.wood@gilwood-cs.co.uk>wrote:
>
>> Microsoft won't buy Citrix - there's no technology that Citrix have
that
>> Microsoft don't already have in-house. Citrix sales generate
Microsoft
>> revenue - there is no reason that MS needs to take them on board and
there
>> never really has been imo
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* thin-bounce@freelists.org [mailto:thin-bounce@freelists.org]
*On
>> Behalf Of *Greg Reese
>> *Sent:* 21 February 2009 18:59
>> *To:* thin@freelists.org
>> *Subject:* [THIN] Re: Citrix to give away XenServer FREE
>>
>>
>>
>> So Citrix can give Xen away, erode market share from VMWare, and once
>> Citrix has completed this feat, Microsoft will once and for all break
down
>> and buy Citrix after all these years thus solidifying themselves as
the
>> leader again.
>>
>> Greg
>>
>> On Sat, Feb 21, 2009 at 11:55 AM, Steve Greenberg
<steveg@thinclient.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>> A very important factor to consider here is the larger market picture
>> otherwise known as the 800lb Gorilla!!!
>>
>> . Microsoft has made it clear that virtualization will be a feature
of
the
>> OS going forward. MS fully intends to bundle the hypervisor and sell
the
>> managment toolsi that is the new market landscape.
>>
>> In light of that Citrix is best positioned to embrace reality and
leverage
>> it to support and sell their whole product line.
>>
>> No XEN is not as mature as VMWare but that only matters if you
actually
>> need the additional features. XEN actually is a better hypervisor
with
not
>> as good tools, but serves a big segment of the market well. Most of
all
it
>> performs and integrates really well with XenApp and XenDesktop and
>> Provisioning Server.
>>
>> As a result we are delivering amazing integrated solutions with
support
>> from a single vendor-without huge and complex storage requirements...
>> .
>> VMWare is great but it ends where people need the most help-
Application
>> Delivery!!
>>
>>
>> At one time it was inconceivable that hokey MS products could ever
replace
>> Novell or that free LINUX would ever be adopted in the Enterprise.
>>
>> From my point of view in the near future Citrix will rapidly advance
in
>> adoption because it saves real money and solves the more painful
>> issues......
>>
>> Steve Greenberg
>>
>> Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
>> ------------------------------
>>
>> *From*: "Stefan Timmermans"
>> *Date*: Sat, 21 Feb 2009 14:37:55 +0100
>>
>>
>> *To*: <thin@freelists.org>
>> *Subject*: [THIN] Re: Citrix to give away XenServer FREE
>>
>> Dear all,
>>
>>
>>
>> Let me give you a brief feature list of Xen
>>
>>
>>
>> Xenserver uses ext3/LVM of Linux > < Vmware uses propriepary
VMFS1/VMFS2
>> volumes with limitations in number of files and file depth and
copying to
>> and from other deives (imports/exports)
>>
>> Xenserver has Xenmotion = Vmotion
>>
>> Xenserver has NIC Bonding (since Xen5) = NIC bonding VMware
>>
>> Xenserver has intiuitive Xen commands = Vmware improved on that too
in
ESX
>> 3.X
>>
>> Xenserver offers performance data = vmwate does that too
>>
>> Xenserver has Xentools = VMware Tools
>>
>> Xenserver was les then 1/3 of the Vmware Price and some suggest that
on
>> Vmworld Xen will be offered free
>>
>> Xenserver has Xenapp temlates that are optimised for Xenserver ,
only 2
>> to
>> 7 % overhead compared to physical according to Tolly an independent
>> performance report
>>
>> Enclosed
>>
>> Xenserver offers High availability meaning resource pools and
hostfailure
>> ,
>> vmware failover !
>>
>> Xenserver offers Datacenter failover beit on another way then VMwares
>> solution to automate the whole stuff and generate report
>>
>> Xenserver has an HCL http://hcl.xensource.com/, surely not as
>> comprenhensive as Vmware !,
>>
>> Xenserver uses paravirtualisation & hardware assist runs only on
Intel/AMD
>> supporting 64 bit CPUs VT or alike CPUs (this is no problem anymore
>> eversince august 2006 and later)
>>
>> Xenserver is working (with HW vendors) / might already have
Xenserver
>> from
>> USB/Solid State Drives
>>
>> Xenserver uses the Xenserver diskformat (xva) but you could as easily
>> store
>> your files in VHD (MS Hyper V ) format !
>>
>> XenServer is linked to XenDesktop & Citrix Provisioning server
allowing
to
>> store VHD
>>
>> Xenserver adds in paravirutalisation for older Redhad (Entreprise
Server
>> 3)
>> & Suse versions (Suse 9/10) or just as well directly deploy
>>
>> Native Linux virtualisation embedded in te Linux distribution
>>
>> Xenserver is very tightly integrated with NetApp (NAS , Network
attached
>> storage) and the latter supports de-deplucation, meaning that if you
store
>>
>> 10 windows images of windows, it optmises storage that if it findes a
file
>> on 10 systems, only one file will be kept. The NETAPP add-on allows
>>
>> to keep track of files on the storage block level ! (no-one can
better
>> compare files then on blocklevel, consider the way Acronis TrueImage
&
>> Ghost
>> made backup on block level)
>>
>> Xenserver initially supported NAS, SAN over HBS but no High
Availibility
>> in
>> Xen 4/4.1 (has change though from Xen 4 to Xen 5) and Iscsi exists
as
>> well
>> (though not sure if this one supports HA).
>>
>> Xenserver DOES not need an standard/entreprise edition of some DB
vendor.
>> Actually all its data is tored on all XenServers. One being the
master,
>> all
>> the other ones are standby slaves
>>
>> That guanatee the operations .Should the master fail, you can't add
an
Xen
>> to the cluster, but need to run 2 commands basically telling that the
>> master
>> is dead and nominate a new candidate
>>
>> As the master .Basically the good old Windows NT PDC and BDC stuff
.If
the
>> PDC broke , you could logon on but can't make changes. All without
>> performance hit.
>>
>> Xen can be configured to work with a spare Xenserver (an empty
Xenserver)
>> making it the preferred choice to failover.
>>
>> Xenserver is tighly integrated with Xendesktop (a broker front-end
with
>> NOT
>> based on RDP and ICA (and this upports more device redirection then
any
>> RDP
>> based solution !!!!!)
>>
>> XenServer is integrated with Xitrix Provisioning servern this one van
>> stream application to you Xenapp/Citrix Presentation Server 4.5 /5
farms
>> and
>> auto load Desktops/Server on your Xenserver !
>>
>> All you needto do is make several windows/OS builds and set Windows
ACLs
>> on
>> it. One user is member of finance and loads on a vmware its Windows
XP
>> with
>> his office & Finance apps
>>
>> Another guy , belongin to another Global Group has an ERP profiles,
starts
>> its virtual workstation and loads his ERP desktop. Amazing, it really
is.
>>
>> Moreover, you could even operate Diskless Servers (or blades) all
over
the
>> world, and provision those to run an image (Windows XP only requires
>> 150MB
>> to travel the network, Vista 250MB)
>>
>> Which are executed on the diskless device making use of the remote
devices
>> mem/CPU and NICs, but writing/caching over the wire.
>>
>> VMware is still ahead as it comes to DRP (restore) business. On the
HA
>> level Xen is up to Vmware.
>>
>> Xen has NFS/CIF support allowing to create SMB/CIFS NFS mount of your
ISO
>> builds of Linux/Windows from within XenCenter
>>
>> Xen has the xe command line util allowing from a windows device
connected
>> to the server/xencenter to launch xen (linux) administration commands
just
>> as
>>
>> You can in the Xen linux console !
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> AND still
>>
>>
>>
>> IT people tend to have problems to absorb all the technology is
coming
>> out.
>> We all work in our corners believe me .
>>
>> Once you know Vmware very well , are you going to concede your
knowledge
>> and go for another vendors solution do you think ?
>>
>> Many won't. But in these economic climat we might be forced . so the
>> current climat is kind of an Citrix/Xen opportunity.
>>
>>
>>
>> I work for an major IT company and see that storage technology
refreshes,
>> network technology refreshed ad
>>
>> Platform technology refreshes could easiliy run your design that you
>> propose if you don't have the complete picture.
>>
>>
>>
>> I feel that the Citrix organisation is very smart in developing new
>> technologies and makes smart acquisitions, but when it comes to
market
>> their
>> stuff ???
>>
>> I went initially to an Partner Exchange event and saw all this in
action
!
>> I really said, Vmware is off the market. Vmware will be the second
Novell.
>> but no it isn't.
>>
>> Actually Xen suffers from the strong footprint of Vmware and its
channels
>> , just as Linux (on corporate level) suffered form the Marketing of
>> Microsoft.
>>
>> I fear that Citrix might decide to burry XenServer it customers are
not
>> soon stepping in. I think the free price is their last attempt.
>>
>>
>>
>> However making it free is not a good idea in these economic
circumstances,
>> it offers other IT service companies arms to sell in these hardtimes,
but
>> it
>> doesn't bring
>>
>> money to Citrix does it ? They'd better spend their money in
commercials
>> and distribution channel support and contact hardware vendors to get
their
>> stuff tested and certified and offer possibilities. To buy the
product in
>> a
>> single package with the Hardware vendors box !
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> So they still have some work to do, but does it pay off ? Is the
whole
>> acquisition of Xensource merely a cashdrain ?
>>
>> We soon find out if this last attempt will pay off. If I was the CIO
I
>> would do otherwise. I would aggressively attack the ITproviders and
>> Hardware vendors
>>
>> And offer integrated solution.
>>
>>
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Stefan Timmermans
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------
>>
>> *From:* thin-bounce@freelists.org [mailto:thin-bounce@freelists.org]
*On
>> Behalf Of *Berny Stapleton
>> *Sent:* vrijdag 20 februari 2009 16:48
>> *To:* thin@freelists.org
>> *Subject:* [THIN] Re: Citrix to give away XenServer FREE
>>
>>
>>
>> I know shared storage is available in ESX, I have it and am using it
now.
>>
>> I didn't know Citrix had shared storage on XenServer, what are they
using
>> for a filesystem?
>>
>> Berny
>>
>> 2009/2/20 Joe Shonk <joe.shonk@gmail.com>
>>
>> What do you mean? Shared storage is available now with VMware ESX
and
>> XenServer. Microsoft is slated to have shared cluster support in Win
2008
>> R2.
>>
>>
>>
>> Joe
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* thin-bounce@freelists.org
[mailto:thin-bounce@freelists.org]*On
>> Behalf Of *Berny Stapleton
>> *Sent:* Friday, February 20, 2009 7:44 AM
>>
>>
>> *To:* thin@freelists.org
>> *Subject:* [THIN] Re: Citrix to give away XenServer FREE
>>
>>
>>
>> Oh one more thing, lets see who gets their finger out first to do
shared
>> storage out of the box. (Yes, I know RedHat has it with GFS, but I
haven't
>> exactly heard of a lot of people using it)
>>
>> VMWare supports this now with their FS (VMFS) on EMC and NetApp.
>>
>> 2009/2/20 Berny Stapleton <berny@technology.net.au>
>>
>> Xen in different flavours can be gotten from anywhere. MS is giving
it
>> away
>> with Windows 2003 R2, Xen is available in multiple Linux kernels and
>> distributions. So effectively, yes, it is free now.
>>
>> VMWare have given out ESXi for nothing, but it's the management tools
that
>> cost (VMotion etc)
>>
>> If Citrix release all their management tools and everything else for
>> nothing, then the problem for VMWare then becomes "What are you guys
>> selling, and why should I buy it?". Mind you, that would effectively
>> destroy
>> the market.
>>
>> Berny
>>
>> 2009/2/20 Andrew Wood <andrew.wood@gilwood-cs.co.uk>
>>
>>
>>
>> But essentially its free **now** isn't it - its free for servers if
you're
>> not going to do any management on them?
>>
>>
>>
>> The hypervisor component is a mere bagatelle imo .. all the major
players
>> are looking to support the same image type - its essentially 'all
cars
run
>> on petrol' -it's the management of the virtual services, the feeding
and
>> the
>> watering of them for enterprise solutions - that's where the
development
>> and
>> license cost is going to go ... as well as services obviously.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* thin-bounce@freelists.org
[mailto:thin-bounce@freelists.org]*On
>> Behalf Of *Greg Reese
>> *Sent:* 20 February 2009 12:39
>> *To:* Thin
>>
>>
>> *Subject:* [THIN] Re: Citrix to give away XenServer FREE
>>
>>
>>
>> Microsoft is going to love watching a price war.
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>>
>> On Feb 20, 2009, at 1:47 AM, Berny Stapleton
<berny@technology.net.au>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Umm, I think EMC still own part of them, but they were seperated
and
>> floated.
>>
>> > How come I get the feeling that VMWare is the next Novell!
>>
>> I hadn't thought about that, but everyone seems to be rallying around
Xen,
>> and if VMWare don't drop their price, it could well be a right
thrashing
>> for
>> them.
>>
>> Berny
>>
>> 2009/2/20 Greg Reese <gareese@gmail.com>
>>
>> Vmware is still an emc company right?
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>>
>> On Feb 19, 2009, at 10:57 PM, "Steve Greenberg"
<steveg@thinclient.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Not a bad choice this week but after next week the rumors are
strong
>> that not only is Citrix going to give away the hypervisor, but also
the
>> Enterprise features such as Xen Motion and storage repositories. It
will
>> get
>> very interesting, very quickly if this really happens!!
>>
>>
>>
>> How come I get the feeling that VMWare is the next Novell!?!!?! J
>>
>>
>>
>> *Steve Greenberg*
>>
>> Thin Client Computing
>>
>> 34522 N. Scottsdale Rd D8453
>>
>> Scottsdale, AZ 85266
>>
>> *(602) 432-8649*
>>
>> www.thinclient.net
>>
>> *steveg@thinclient.net*
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------
>>
>> *From:* thin-bounce@freelists.org
>> [mailto:thin-bounce@freelists.org<thin-bounce@freelists.org>
>> ]*On Behalf Of *Jan
>> *Sent:* Thursday, February 19, 2009 3:24 PM
>> *To:* thin@freelists.org
>> *Subject:* [THIN] Re: Citrix to give away XenServer FREE
>>
>>
>>
>> Wow... we recently bought VMware ESX for 7 servers. I'm wondering if
that
>> was a bad fiscal choice in light of this.
>>
>> On Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 5:04 PM, Tim <timothylanderson@gmail.com>
wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> *Error! Filename not specified.*
>>
>>
>> Free XenServer virtualization hypervisor helps Citrix, partners say
>>
>> *Error! Filename not specified.*
>>
>>
>>
>> By Colin Steele, Site Editor
>> 19 Feb 2009 | SearchSystemsChannel.com
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> The server virtualization hypervisor wars are heating up. Citrix
plans to
>> give away XenServer
>>
5<http://citrix.com/English/ps2/products/product.asp?contentID=683148>--
>> its Xen hypervisor, along with live migration, native Windows and
Linux
>> support and other advanced features -- for free.
>>
>> Rest of article at....
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
http://searchsystemschannel.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid99_g
ci13
48572,00.html?track=NL-738&ad=690018&Offer=CHSYunsc219&asrc=EM_USC_59068
81&u
id=1857222
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
************************************************
For Archives, RSS, to Unsubscribe, Subscribe or
set Digest or Vacation mode use the below link:
http://www.freelists.org/list/thin
Follow ThinList on Twitter
http://twitter.com/thinlist
Thin List discussion is now available in blog format at:
http://thinmaillist.blogspot.com
Thinlist MOBILE Feed
http://thinlist.net/mobile
************************************************

************************************************
For Archives, RSS, to Unsubscribe, Subscribe or
set Digest or Vacation mode use the below link:
http://www.freelists.org/list/thin
Follow ThinList on Twitter
http://twitter.com/thinlist
Thin List discussion is now available in blog format at:
http://thinmaillist.blogspot.com
Thinlist MOBILE Feed
http://thinlist.net/mobile
************************************************

************************************************
For Archives, RSS, to Unsubscribe, Subscribe or
set Digest or Vacation mode use the below link:
http://www.freelists.org/list/thin
Follow ThinList on Twitter
http://twitter.com/thinlist
Thin List discussion is now available in blog format at:
http://thinmaillist.blogspot.com
Thinlist MOBILE Feed
http://thinlist.net/mobile
************************************************
#####################################################################################
Confidentiality and Privilege Notice
This document is intended solely for the named addressee. The information contained in the pages is confidential and contains legally privileged information. If you are not the addressee indicated in this message (or responsible for delivery of the message to such person), you may not copy or deliver this message to anyone, and you should destroy this message and kindly notify the sender by reply email. Confidentiality and legal privilege are not waived or lost by reason of mistaken delivery to you.
#####################################################################################
************************************************
For Archives, RSS, to Unsubscribe, Subscribe or
set Digest or Vacation mode use the below link:
http://www.freelists.org/list/thin
Follow ThinList on Twitter
http://twitter.com/thinlist
Thin List discussion is now available in blog format at:
http://thinmaillist.blogspot.com
Thinlist MOBILE Feed
http://thinlist.net/mobile
************************************************