2D and 3D graphic applications are hot to get virtualized these days after CEO Mark Templeton, CITRIX and CEO Jen-Hsun Huang, NVIDIA annonced, you can virtualize GPU intense applications on any device at Citrix Synergy in Anaheim, May 2013.

Autodesk is all ready a part of the Citrix ready program so you can virtualize CAD applications on Citrix, NVIDIA technologies.

PTC is following this  new trend and at their PTC LIVE event in Anaheim, June 2013, their Executive VP Mike Campbell from PTC announced the certification of PTC Creo 2.0 M060 as Citrix Ready, so you now can run their application in a Virtualized Citrix, NVIDIA environment from any device with the Citrix Receiver.

PTC Creo can now be run on any device, anywhere. PTC unveiled PTC Creo for virtual desktops yesterday at PTC Live Global 2013

Enjoy the press announcement from PTC below

/Poppelgaard

Collaborates with IBM, Citrix and NVIDIA to deliver new IP protection, performance and deployment advantages for PTC Creo design teams

NEEDHAM, MA – June 10, 2013 - PTC (Nasdaq: PMTC) announced its PTC Creo® design and analysis applications will be available and supported in a Virtual Desktop environment.  Five of the leading apps,PTC Creo ParametricTM, PTC Creo DirectTM, PTC Creo LayoutTM, PTC Creo Options ModelerTM andPTC Creo Simulate, have been verified as Citrix Ready.  Starting with PTC Creo 2.0 M060, these applications will be supported by PTC when running on virtualized desktops on an IBM server through a Citrix and NVIDIA-powered integration. PTC’s support for virtual desktop configurations will enable customers to realize improved performance when working with large assemblies stored on a remote server, while ensuring IP protection of the design data and streamlining administration and deployment of PTC Creo.   It will also grant users the freedom to work on a wider variety of operating systems – including mobile – through the Citrix Receiver and NVIDIA GRID vGPU technology.

In design and manufacturing today, customers face increased pressure to reduce IT costs, while improving flexibility and performance. They need to have the ability to get global teams up and running quickly in new locations, and they need all teams to be able to easily access the latest software installation by updating a single server.  Virtualization of PTC Creo design and analysis applications can help IT managers accomplish this.

“Some power users experience network bandwidth limitations when they work with their largest assemblies, simply because they need to move a lot of data from a PTC Windchill server to their local workspace.  This inefficiency slows the design process for some of our customers’ most proficient users,” said Mike Campbell, Executive Vice President, CAD Segment, PTC. “But now imagine working on huge assemblies in PTC Creo with little to no network latency impacting your part load times because all of the data is right there – potentially on the same server rack as PTC Windchill – and is therefore almost immediately available.  You actually have a better user experience than if you tried loading the data across the network to your local machine.”

“We want to thank IBM, Citrix and NVIDIA for collaborating with us in this initial process and we’re looking forward to many other PTC partners certifying their virtualization hardware/software with us,” continued Campbell.

In addition to the performance edge, running PTC Creo in a virtualized environment offers customers a level of IP protection that is not available with alternate deployment methods. Company data stays on its servers, allowing customers complete freedom to collaborate with external design partners in real time utilizing the same design data. By supporting virtual desktops, PTC also empowers users to use a device of their choice, be it a device powered by Windows, Mac OS X or any of the major mobile platforms as well – iOS, Android, and Windows Mobile. This will add an additional element of flexibility and accessibility for PTC customers by eliminating the need for every member of the extended development team to have a Windows-based device solely dedicated to design or analysis tasks.

Certifications and Availability

The Citrix Ready program helps customers identify third-party solutions that are recommended to enhance virtualization, networking and cloud computing solutions from Citrix.  PTC Creo applications completed a rigorous verification process to ensure compatibility with Citrix XenDesktop® with Citrix HDX 3D Pro and an NVIDIA GRID K2 board with two high performance NVIDIA KeplerTM GPUs, providing confidence in joint solution compatibility.

In addition to Citrix verifying PTC Creo applications as Citrix Ready®, PTC has tested and certified the complete virtual technology configuration consisting of PTC Creo 2.0 M060 running on IBM iDataPlex dx360 M4 server, Citrix XenServerTM and XenDesktop with HDX 3D and NVIDIA GRID K2 graphics boards.  PTC Creo certification provides customers with assurance that the specific certified configuration has been thoroughly tested by PTC and that PTC expects PTC Creo will run without issue on the certified configuration.

PTC Creo Parametric is running in our first certified configuration at IBM Booth #326.

PTC expects PTC Creo 2.0 M060 will be available in late June. The timing of any product release, and any features or functionality thereof, are subject to change at PTC’s discretion.

Additional Resources:

• PTC Creo resource page
• IBM iDataPlex dx360 M4 server
• Citrix XenDesktop with HDX 3D
• NVIDIA Grid
• PTC Page on Citrix Ready Xchange Marketplace

PTC, IBM, NVIDIA and Citrix have collaborated to test an entire solution stack comprising the IBM iDataPlex dx360 M4 server, NVIDIA GRID graphics boards, Citrix XenServer, Citrix XenDesktop HDX 3D Pro and the following PTC applications: Creo Parametric, Creo Direct, Creo Layout, Creo Options Modeler and Creo Simulate. Together, we are meeting the needs of any Creo user, from the PLM user who needs to view complex 3D models from any device, anywhere, to the most demanding design engineer.

While various manufacturing companies such as John Deere and Vestas Wind Systems have been using XenDesktop HDX 3D Pro to deliver PTC applications for a long time, this public endorsement will give many more customers the confidence to virtualize the Creo application suite.  What is more, the new technologies available in XenDesktop 7 and new releases of Citrix Receiver, as announced at Citrix Synergy, address a wider variety of users than ever before, and more cost effectively. So now all PTC customers can enjoy the benefits of the Citrix approach to centralization of applications, namely:

• Intellectual property containment – 3D models and other confidential data never leave the datacenter, and file copies from central repositories like the PTC Windchill server are not necessary.
• Improved speed and performance when dealing with large models – Overall system performance is even better than local since transferring large files from central stores to user endpoints is no longer needed.  This greatly improves productivity since users don’t have to wait for large file copies from one location to another.
• Anywhere access – With Citrix Receiver available on any device including Windows, Mac, iOS, Linux and Android, the entire solution is accessible from any device, anywhere.

Source

PTC press release

Derek Thorslund blogpost

At Citrix Synergy 22th May 2013, Citrix announced Citrix XenDesktop 7 where Citrix XenDesktop and XenApp is 1 product now and not as seperat products.

NVIDIA announced at Citrix Synergy, that it is unleashing the full graphics potential of enterprise desktop virtualization with the availability of NVIDIA GRID™ vGPU™ integrated into Citrix XenDesktop 7.

NVIDIA GRID vGPU technology addresses a challenge that has grown in recent years with the rise of employees using their own notebooks and portable devices for work. These workers have increasingly relied on desktop virtualization technologies for anytime access to computing resources, but until now this was generally used for the more standard enterprise applications. Performance and compatibility constraints had made it difficult for applications such as building information management (BIM), product-lifecycle management (PLM) and video-photo editing.

Two decades ago hardware-based graphics replaced software emulation. Desktop virtualization solutions stood alone as the only modern computing form without dedicated graphics hardware. As a result, an already busy virtualized CPU limited performance and software emulation hampered application compatibility.

The situation began to improve a year ago with the introduction of the non-virtualized GPU in Citrix XenServer. But efficiency gains were limited because each user still required a dedicated GPU.

With the introduction of new HDX GPU sharing and deep compression techniques in XenDesktop 7, NVIDIA and Citrix customers can immediately take advantage of the hosted-shared form of desktop virtualization to deliver rich, graphics-intensive applications. Using the Microsoft Windows Server RDSH and XenDesktop 7 platform can enable the sharing of GPUs across multiple user sessions.

Furthermore, the combination of Citrix XenServer and NVIDIA GRID vGPU technology allows customers to efficiently share GPUs across multiple virtual machines. This allows businesses to address a broader set of users with their desktop virtualization infrastructure across a spectrum of verticals, including:

• Architects, engineers and contractors using computer-aided design (CAD) tools, like Autodesk BIM.
• Manufacturing businesses that want to automate the connection between product design and operations using PLM tools, like Enovia 3DLive, PTC Windchill PLM Connector and SIEMENS Teamcenter software.
• Digital-content creation workers using video and photo editing tools, like Adobe® Photoshop® software.
• Health-care specialists using picture archiving and communication system (PACS) applications, like GE Centricity EMR.

Citrix CEO and President Mark Templeton introduced XenDesktop 7 with NVIDIA GRID vGPU technology today in his opening keynote address at the Citrix Synergy 2013 user conference.

“With NVIDIA GRID vGPU, even the most intensive graphics applications can be delivered by XenDesktop 7,” said Bob Schultz, vice president and general manager, Desktops and Applications Group at Citrix. “Now businesses can provide their users with the performance that they expect and need for engineering, design and video applications, while centrally securing and managing valuable intellectual property and sensitive information.”

“For the first time, NVIDIA GRID vGPU gives users of virtualized desktops the performance, stability and compatibility of hardware-accelerated graphics,” said Jeff Brown, vice president and general manager of the GRID business unit at NVIDIA. “Millions of those involved in everything from product design to manufacturing to supply chain management can now enjoy the benefits of desktop and application virtualization with NVIDIA GRID vGPU technology.”

Leading Citrix Resellers Endorse NVIDIA GRID
M7 Global Partners, a consortium of the top nine Citrix platinum-level IT providers in the U.S., announced its support for NVIDIA GRID vGPU technology. Collectively, the group reaches thousands of clients around the world. M7 customers looking to deploy visually rich applications in businesses of all sizes, healthcare settings and schools have expressed interest in the capabilities of the NVIDIA GRID vGPU.

“I’ve been selling desktop virtualization solutions for 18 years and the single greatest source of pain in that time has been customers who want to centralize the delivery of graphics-intensive applications,” said Mike Strohl, CEO of Entisys Solutions, Inc., Agile360 and founding partner of M7 Global Partners. “The NVIDIA GRID vGPU is a game changer. At Entisys and across M7 we look forward to not only holding the spear, but to being at the tip of it as we bring to market this amazing technology, which our customers have truly been asking for.”

NVIDIA GRID vGPU technology is being shown in NVIDIA’s booth 303 and in the XenServer demonstration area at Citrix Synergy in Anaheim, Calif., through May 24. General availability is expected later this year. More information is available at NVIDIA GRID.

Source

Press release

Citrix have released a new version of Optimization Pack 1.3 for Microsoft Lync 2010

Citrix HDX RealTime Optimization Pack for Microsoft Lync version 2010 provides a highly scalable solution for delivering real-time audio-video conferencing and VoIP enterprise telephony through Microsoft Lync in XenDesktop, XenApp, and VDI-in-a-Box environments. HDX RealTime Optimization Pack leverages your existing Microsoft® Lync infrastructure and inter-operates with other Microsoft® Lync® endpoints running natively on devices.

HDX RealTime Optimization Pack consists of both client and server components:

• The client component, called Citrix HDX RealTime Media Engine, is integrated with the Citrix Receiver on the endpoint device and performs all signaling and media processing directly on the user device itself, offloading the server for maximum scalability, minimizing network bandwidth consumption and ensuring optimal audio-video quality.
• The server-side (and virtual desktop) component, Citrix HDX RealTime Connector, is a connector to the Microsoft® Lync® client that drives the RealTime Media Engine on the endpoint. The RealTime Connector runs in the virtual server environment alongside Microsoft® Lync® and communicates signaling information over a Citrix ICA virtual channel to the RealTime Media Engine running on the user device.

Source

Download Citrix Optimization Pack 1.3 for Microsoft Lync here (Require MyCitrix ID)

Hi all, I am proudly to announce I’m doing a Webinar at NVIDIA GTC Express, 20th June 2013.

What is NVIDIA GTC Express

GTC Express is a year-round extension of the great content that attendees of GPU Technology Conference have become accustomed to. Each month GTC Express features innovative and thought-provoking webinars, presented by some of the most talented developers, engineers, and research scientists pursuing GPU-enabled work and sharing how GPUs are transforming their fields of work.

GPUs are changing the science of computing, as well as mission critical practical applications. Make GTC Express part of your on-going education! GTC Express is free to the entire GPU community.

Title: GPU Accelerated XenDesktop for Designers and Engineers

If you’ve ever wanted to virtualize your CAD or professional video graphics application and have the exact same local experience on a secure central platform, then this webinar provides insight on how to get there. Join Technology Evangelist, Thomas Poppelgaard, and learn how Citrix XenDesktop®, XenApp® and XenServer®, in combination with NVIDIA GRID VGX, makes it possible to virtualize 2D/3D applications from any device, anywhere, while keeping your data and intellectual property safe and secure.

date: Thursday, June 20, 2013 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM PDT Register for the webinar here its free

Source

Check out all the NVIDIA GTC express Webinars here

This is one of my favorite tools for benchmarking.

Login VSI have released a new version of their famous industrial benchmark tool Login VSI 4.0, a major new release of its flagship product Login VSI, the industry standard performance and scalability testing tool for Virtual Desktop Infrastructures and Server Based Computing environments.

VDI and SBC performance testing now easier and more realistic than ever with Login VSI 4.0

New Login VSI 4.0 dramatically improves ease of installation, test creation and test management, and offers unparalleled production level realism in workload patterns, datasets and test execution.

The design of this new version has been driven by extensive customer feedback programs, and production testing projects executed at multiple customer and vendor sites, including the tests done for the acclaimed independent research project Virtual Reality Check. Login VSI 4.0 makes testing of VDI and SBC environments easier and more realistic than ever before.

Improved ease of installation

The test image footprint of Login VSI has been reduced by almost 90%. This makes the tool not only easier to install, but also easier to integrate and deploy. Centralization of management, updates and logging makes the use of Login VSI more efficient than ever. Direct Desktop Launch (DDL) mode enables large-scale testing with minimal infrastructure.

Improved ease of test creation

The new intuitive and workflow oriented user interface of Login VSI 4.0 offers step-by-step test creation and wizard based test configuration for all important brokers and languages. The new workload editor introduces a new meta language which makes the customization of workloads very transparent and efficient. The new benchmarking mode enforces strict testing standards, providing industry standard results that are objective, comparable and repeatable.

Improved test realism

The duration of the standard workloads has been increased from 14 to 48 minutes loops. Also the way in which segments and applications start has been improved to better reflect real world user behaviour. The datasets used in the workloads now offer 1000 different documents per type, more and larger websites, and a video library in every format, all to ensure a real world variety in data usage. The execution of the workloads is improved through the introduction of phasing, allowing for real world production user scenarios.

Improved test insight

The new dashboard offers real-time test feedback, including progress, launched and active sessions, elapsed time and time left of the test in progress. The industry standard index VSImax has been further refined, enriching scalability results (max number of users), with objective baseline performance results (independent of tested load). Automated reporting with out of the box report ready graphs for all used settings, response times, and other data enhances the level, and choice, of information generated by the Login VSI analyzer.

“Login VSI is the industry standard for SBC and VDI testing and benchmarking, as is well demonstrated by the large number of technical papers that are available based on results from our benchmarking suite” says Eric-Jan van Leeuwen, CEO of Login VSI B.V. “The ease of use, and improved realism, of this new version of Login VSI will enable both vendor and end-user organizations to build and protect well performing virtual desktop environments”.

Login VSI 4.0 Pro is now available for all customers on active support and maintenance. Version 4.0 of the free Login VSI Express can be downloaded at www.loginvsi.com/download. More information about Login VSI and related services can be found at www.loginvsi.com.

About Login VSI

Login Virtual Session Indexer (Login VSI) is a vendor independent benchmarking tool to objectively test and measure the performance and scalability of Virtual Desktop Infrastructures and Server Based Computing environments by simulating unique user workloads. Leading IT-analysts recognize and recommend Login VSI as the de-facto industry standard benchmarking tool for VDI and SBC. Login VSI can be used to test VMware Horizon View, Citrix XenDesktop and XenApp, Microsoft Remote Desktop Services or any other Windows based hosted desktop solution. Login VSI is the standard tool used in all tests that are executed in the internationally acclaimed Project Virtual Reality Check. For more information visit www.loginvsi.com.

Source

Read more about LoginVSI here