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Citrix XenApp 5.0 Adds New Features, Ramps Performance

As the market for hosted desktop and application virtualization heats up, Citrix Systems has upped the competitive ante by adding a new set of performance-related features to its flagship XenApp product, formerly known as Presentation Server.

XenApp is an application virtualization product for Windows desktops enabled by centralized servers in the data center. The solution can work on premise but is also optimized for remote access and branch office deployment. XenApp 5 is integrated with another product, the Citrix Branch Repeater, which accelerates application delivery for those remote locations.

Since XenApp is network-dependent, a key challenge for vendors in this market segment is to continually upgrade performance and improve both response and start-up times associated with specific applications. According to Bill Hartwick, Senior Director of Product Marketing, XenApp 5 offers a number of new features designed to optimize both.

Other announced enhancements include an improved load-balancing capability for prioritizing server resources and a feature called Linked Profiles which Hartwick says reduces application packaging and maintenance costs by allowing isolated applications to communicate. In addition, simulated application sessions can be now initiated by admins to test transaction time under different network and workload conditions.

XenApp is a key component of the Citrix Delivery Center, an end-to-end product portfolio which also includes XenDesktop, XenServer, and an array of WAN optimization products. XenApp 5 will be available in early September. Per-CPU pricing is $350 for the Advanced Edition, $450 for the Enterprise Edition, and $600 for the Platinum Edition.

About the Author

Tom Valovic is a freelance technology writer.