Category Archives: Unified Communications

Miscellaneous IT, Mobile, Unified Communications

What You May Have Missed From Citrix Synergy 2013

By Randy Becker, Consulting Architect, LogicsOne

Citrix held its most important event of the year for customers and partners at the end of May. I have been attending these events for many years and this had to be the largest attendance I have ever seen. I was told that 60% were first-time attendees. There was plenty of excitement, and those of you who know Mark Templeton know that he tied in great classic rock to the event. The theme was “Going Mobile,” and what else to lead things off but The Who’s classic “Going Mobile.”

So what were the highlights of the event? Mark talked about two CEO meetings he recently attended. These meetings were focused on DOS and MAC. Yes, DOS and MAC are back, but in a very different way. DOS = Don’t Add Stuff and MAC = Moves Adds and Changes. DOS focuses on doing more with what you have and leveraging technologies that reduce complexity. MAC is reduce the number of and costs associated with moves, adds and changes.

I would say that the predominant message of this conference was providing the mobile workforce the tools (applications) they require to perform their job. This is not a new message; this has been the pervasive message from Citrix for many years. The real twist here is that customers are now really able to work and perform their jobs with devices like tablets from Apple, Samsung, and others. It is my opinion that delivering Windows applications to these devices still has its limitations. It isn’t that they don’t work; it’s that the application may not be conducive to a touch pad device. Citrix offers their Mobility Pack to address some of these limitations, and I have customers successfully using Windows applications delivered by XenApp and XenDesktop to iPads.

So what does all this mean? Well, for one, Citrix recently acquired Zenprise, an MDM solution. Zenprise sits in Gartner’s magic quadrant with Mobile Iron and Air Watch. We have had a lot of fun with this one, and yes, Citrix performed a find and replace on the Z and substituted with a X. This acquisition puts Citrix in a unique position when combined with the rest of the product suite. XenMobile is the complete solution set that Citrix is marketing as an all-inclusive MDM solution.

I think two of the challenges Citrix is going to face with XenMobile are the overlap in existing products, mainly their existing MDX solution set and the complex implementations associated with MDM solutions. The challenge here will be to keep the best of both products and provide an integrated console. I would expect the overlap and integrated console will be addressed in the near future. Don’t get me wrong, I have attended a number of training sessions and I was able to easily build my own XenMobile MDM environment and enroll my iPad and iPhone and push some apps down in an afternoon hands-on session. When I was done, I was even able to perform a selective wipe and remove my corporate managed apps with ease. Citrix spent a little time up front to get the APNS cert squared away. Apple doesn’t make it easy for large corporations to manage Apple devices.

Project Excalibur, now XenDesktop 7, is the most significant release we have seen yet to date, to be released in the June timeframe. Included in this we will now see the integration of XenDesktop and XenApp in one platform. This is a major product change, and the end of Independent Management Architecture (IMA), replaced with XenDesktop’s FlexCast Management Architecture (FMA). This will mean a clean install for XenApp customers, again. To combat the whole XenDesktop is complex, Citrix did an amazing job reducing consoles and simplifying the install. I never minded the extra consoles; it just amazed me that it takes so long to integrate them. As Mark Templeton said, two consoles, eight clicks and 20 minutes and you have a working environment. I’m a strong advocate for proper planning and design, so this is fine for a POC. Spend the time up front before the “20 minutes” to install. Now the two consoles are not 100 percent accurate if you want Provisioning Server (PVS), and I almost always recommend that you include this in your delivery solution.

The two primary consoles are Desktop Studio; this is where you perform all of your configuration and Desktop Director, the place you go to manage and support your users. The interface to Desktop Director ROCKS! We continue to see Citrix develop support tools that makes everyone’s lives easier, including the users. XenDesktop also allows for easy publishing of single applications on desktops, so if you need backward for forward compatibility this is even easier than before.

XenDesktop 7 also has better integration with high-end video adapters from NVidia and two new K adapters for two different purposes. We are now seeing that you need Graphic Processors for even Knowledge Workers in VDI using standard office applications. This is different than the need for high-end graphics cards for software like Solid Works and AutoCAD. Two different requirements and two different cards and solutions that can be integrated, check out these cards from NVidia.

Web Interface is now dead with the release of XenDesktop 7. It has been replaced with StoreFront. Customers should be focusing on moving to StoreFront even for existing deployments. No big changes here for the end users. On the back-end there are significant changes in terms of flexibility and scale. To make it easy for users, one can download Citrix Receiver and all they need to know to get setup and access to applications is their email address. This auto provisioning is amazingly easy, and I highly recommend that this be included in any implementation.

There was some significant news on the NetScaler front. A new code update, HDX Insight, an additional high-end model and an expansion of the partner solutions running on NetScaler SDX. SDX is physical hardware, with a hypervisor using virtualized NetScaler instances with dedicated hardware to each instance. Partners like Palo Alto and BLUECAT will be able to leverage the SDX platform. More to come on these announcements but we can all see where this is going. Cisco and Citrix have formed a very strong partnership including the NetScaler as a Cisco Validated Design (CVD). Cisco is now using the NetScaler as their go to Application Delivery Controller (ADC) and XenDesktop on Unified Computing System (UCS). Customers are also going to be able to add HDX Insight for the NetScaler; this will give additional monitoring visibility into all traffic flowing through the NetScaler including High Definition User Experience (HDX). For those of you not familiar with HDX, think of HDX protocol as ICA on steroids.

One announcement that didn’t get much attention is the Mac Desktop Player. I think this is part of XenClient and allows for the checking out of a Windows desktop. Almost everyone that has a Mac uses some type of virtualization layer to run Windows on a Mac now. I assume we will see more information on this once it goes into tech preview.

In summary, some key takeaways:

  • Citrix Redefines Enterprise Mobility with XenMobile Enterprise
    Citrix XenMobile Enterprise Edition combines mobile device, app and data management, a unified corporate app store, mobile productivity apps and “one-touch” live support into an inclusive solution for delivering mobile services to business. Worx App and Citrix MDX app container technology to add features like data encryption, password authentication, secure lock and wipe, inter-app policies and micro VPNs to mobile applications.
  • Citrix Continues to Expand Enterprise Mobility Strategy with XenDesktop 7
    XenDesktop 7 is the first release of Project Avalon, a multi-phased initiative to deliver Windows as a cloud service. XenDesktop 7 offers integrated Windows app and desktop mobility, easier deployment options and simplified management, all delivered through a new, cloud-style architecture. Current XenDesktop and Citrix XenApp customers will find the new architecture easier than ever to deploy, manage and support. XenDesktop 7 represents the state-of-the-art in app and desktop virtualization, enabling any business to mobilize Windows apps and desktops and deliver them as a cloud service to any device. XenDesktop 7 breaks the bonds between application workloads and delivery infrastructure so that multiple versions of Windows Server and desktop operating systems may be run side by side, including newly enabled support for Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8.
  • HDX Insight with NetScaler Insight Control
    This is a really powerful tool to give admins and support personnel full end user experience visibility for the HDX protocol, as well as other applications being delivered by the NetScaler. HDX Insight runs as an appliance and collects data on the NetScaler using AppFlow.
  • ShareFile Mobilizes and Secures Enterprise Data Everywhere
    With the Synergy announcement, Citrix is uniquely positioned to mobilize user data everywhere, including data within SharePoint and network drives and public cloud storage on Microsoft Azure, while providing IT with comprehensive control to secure enterprise data everywhere.
  • Citrix announced new Citrix ShareFile innovations for mobilizing and securing enterprise data, including StorageZone Connectors for SharePoint and network drives, new Citrix-managed StorageZone options with Microsoft Windows Azure and unique integration with Citrix XenMobile.

All in all, a successful event!

Disaster Recovery, Featured, Network, Network Infrastructure, Storage, Unified Communications, VoIP

Huh? What’s the Network Have to Do with It?

By Nate Schnable, Sr. Solutions Architect

Having been in this field for 17 years it still amazes me that people always tend to forget about the network.  Everything a user accesses on their device that isn’t installed or stored locally, depends on the network more than any other element of the environment.   It’s responsible for the quick and reliable transport of data. That means the user experience while working with remote files and applications, almost completely depends on the network.

However, this isn’t always obvious to everyone.  Therefore, they will rarely ask for network related services as they aren’t aware the network is the cause of their problems.  Whether it is a storage, compute, virtualization or IP Telephony initiative – all of these types of projects rely heavily on the network to function properly.  In fact, the network is the only element of a customer’s environment that touches every other component. Its stability can make or break the success and all important user experience.

In a VoIP initiative we have to consider, amongst many things, that proper QoS policies be setup –  so let’s hope you are not running on some dumb hubs.  Power over Ethernet (PoE) for the phones should be available unless you want to use bricks of some type of mid-span device (yuck).  I used to work for a Fortune 50 Insurance Company and one day an employee decided to plug both of the ports on their phone into the network because it would make the experience even better – not so much.  They brought down that whole environment.  Made some changes after that to avoid that happening again!

In a Disaster Recovery project we have to take a look at distances and subsequent latencies between locations.  What is the bandwidth and how much data do you need to back up?   Do we have Layer 2 handoffs between sites or is it more of a traditional L3 site to site connection?

If we are implementing a new iSCSI SAN do we need ten gig or one gig?  Do your switches support Jumbo Frames and flow control?  Hope that your iSCSI switches are truly stackable because spanning-tree could cause some of those paths to be redundant, but not active.

I was reading the other day that the sales of smart phones and tablets would reach approximately 1.2 billiion in 2013.  Some of these will most certainly end up on your wireless networks.  How to manage that is definitely a topic for another day.

In the end it just makes sense that you really need to consider the network implications before jumping into almost any type of IT initiative.  Just because those green lights are flickering doesn’t mean it’s all good.

 

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Blackberry, iPhone, Mobile, ShoreTel, Telecommunications, Unified Communications, Voice

ShoreTels Cloud Division Announces Unified Communications for iOS, Android, Blackberry

Image representing iPhone as depicted in Crunc...

ShoreTel today announced the release of ShoreTel Mobility for customers of ShoreTel’s M5 cloud division. The solution extends the voice and unified communications (UC) applications businesses love to the smartphone. The initial launch will support iPhones and subsequent releases over the summer will add support for other smartphone and tablet devices including Android and Blackberry. Users are able to leverage a single converged device for both business and personal communications, and access deskphone and UC capabilities on their iPhone without having to learn a new interface.

In addition to offering users a dual persona, ensuring easy separation of personal and business identities on a single mobile device, ShoreTel Mobility automatically and securely selects the best available network – Wi-Fi or cellular – without any action by the user. The solution is available to ShoreTel’s Cloud Division clients for a monthly fee per user.

“I’m really looking forward to getting my hands on the ShoreTel Mobility application. I’ve been wanting this for 4 years now and I’m glad that M5, as part of ShoreTel, will be one of the first in the market. I have no doubt that true corporate mobility will improve productivity for our remote and traveling employees,” said Derek Stewart, Finance and Operations manager at Foursquare.

“The way people work has changed. Instead of fighting the trends of mobility and bring-your- own-device, we are empowering our clients to embrace them by extending our cloud phone system capabilities to the device that users love the most – their own,” said Dan Hoffman, ShoreTel Cloud Division President. “The solution represents a win-win, giving our customers the ease of using the device that is already in their pocket and giving the enterprise a way to reduce costs, while maintaining a consistent corporate identity and caller experience.”

Users enjoy the following benefits:

  • Identity – Business calls to and from any ShoreTel Mobility
    user are made using their business phone number, not their personal
    mobile number. This means corporate identity is maintained and the
    company, not the employee, owns the contact relationship. Employees no
    longer need to reveal personal mobile phone numbers and can instantly
    tell if an incoming call to the mobile device is personal or work
    related.
  • Convenience – Users can leverage all of the benefits of the M5
    cloud business-phone system that they enjoy when using a deskphone
    including: transferring calls to other employees and utilizing
    four-digit dialing. Coaching tools such as barge and whisper are
    available to management.
  • Metrics – Mobile calls are no longer omitted from the phone
    system’s business intelligence. Records for business calls made to and
    from the mobile device are included along with deskphone calls, giving
    management true visibility into employee performance and the health of
    the business.
  • Network Flexibility – ShoreTel Mobility can significantly
    reduce direct dial and international roaming charges on the smartphone
    by utilizing software that switches networks automatically,
    intelligently and securely between wireless and cellular for the best
    available coverage at any given moment.

For more information about ShoreTel Mobility in the cloud, the M5 Unified Communications Suite, or other products, please visit www.m5.net.


Instant messaging, Messaging, ShoreTel, ShoreTel Communicator, Unified Communications, Voice, Voice over Internet Protocol

ShoreTel Introduces Collaboration Solution

ShoreTel, a provider of premise and cloud-based business phone system and unified communications (UC), today announced the availability of collaboration applications to meet the demands of large enterprise customers deploying ShoreTel solutions around the world.

ShoreTel 12.3 supports 10,000 concurrent instant messaging clients, 1,000 audio conferencing ports and 500 Web conferencing ports. ShoreTel’s Linux based Service Appliance 400 enables tightly integrated collaboration services that are administrated by IT in ShoreTel Director and managed by the end user in ShoreTel Communicator.

ShoreTel is increasingly being selected by large global enterprises in more than 48 countries, which need to collaborate internally and externally on a massive scale – between departments or with customers, in any location.

“The SA-400 from a feature standpoint is simply amazing. Beyond the added capacity that comes with the new hardware the new feature set is so rich that it enables users to work in ways that were not possible before,” said Bakari Taylor, Systems Administrator at Current TV. “When we first received the new conference bridge we thought it was a standard upgrade, but to our surprise it was so much more. To put it simply the SA-400 is a game changer.”

Faster and more casual than email, IM is the new dial tone. And collaboration helps coworkers easily share ideas – avoiding lengthy games of phone and email tag, which create latency in productivity. With the new levels of concurrent client capabilities, employees can chat one-on-one or in groups. When instant messaging is not enough, users can easily turn an instant message into a video-enabled phone call at the touch of a button, and easily share their desktop with a single click.

ShoreTel Collaboration integrates with enterprise applications such as Microsoft Outlook, where appointments automatically configure voice and Web collaboration resources for both internal and external participants.

“We’re pleased to be selected by large enterprises that wish to provide applications for their employees, but without the cost of complexity of traditional premise or hosted services. By offering a single scalable platform that serves both midsize and large enterprises, we’re able to concentrate all efforts on making solutions brilliantly simple for users and administrators,” said Kevin Gavin, chief marketing officer at ShoreTel. “Like most UC vendors, we include collaboration tools with our UC platform. But it’s not an add-on or after thought; it’s functionally integrated into our system and end-users applications, with no more IT burden for deploying collaboration at the lowest cost for the organization.”