XenServer is a comprehensive server virtualization platform with enterprise-class features built in to easily handle different workload types, mixed operating systems and storage or networking configurations. For the most demanding app, and desktop virtualization use cases, its industry-leading scalability and performance under load, can cater to the largest XenApp or XenDesktop deployments. IT gets the benefit of features unique to XenServer, such as enhanced virtualized graphics with NVIDIA and Intel, and enhanced workload security with Direct Inspect APIs, all of which reduce virtual infrastructure costs and complexity.
The latest version of XenServer has reached the version 7.5. In the Citrxi website, there is the information about whats new of this version. Check it out.
Most Mature Graphics Capabilities
As pioneers of the virtual graphics space, XenServer 7 extends our leadership with the industry-first capability of vGPU XenMotion and as the only hypervisor to support GPUs from all three major vendors.
Improved User Productivity and Admin Flexibility with vGPU XenMotion
XenServer is the only hypervisor to support Live Migration of GPU-enabled VMs with vGPU XenMotion. vGPU XenMotion improves user experience and admin flexibility by enabling administrators to rebalance GPU-enabled VMs across pool hosts to improve VM performance. vGPU XenMotion also enhances user productivity, enabling users to remain productive during unexpected maintenance.
Enabling GPU vendor choice with AMD, Intel, or NVIDIA
XenServer is the only hypervisor to support Live Migration of GPU-enabled VMs with vGPU XenMotion. vGPU XenMotion improves user experience and admin flexibility by enabling administrators to rebalance GPU-enabled VMs across pool hosts to improve VM performance. vGPU XenMotion also enhances user productivity, enabling users to remain productive during unexpected maintenance.
Increased Administrative Flexibility
XenServer 7 offers new features that simplify snapshot lifecycle management, accelerate vSphere migration and greatly improve the administrative experience.
Simplified Administration with Snapshot Lifecycle Management
Now you can easily schedule hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly snapshots on a group of VMs. However, it doesn’t just take the snapshots, it aids in the management of your snapshot lifecycles. By allowing you to set the maximum number of snapshots to keep, XenServer deletes the oldest snapshot in a rolling fashion.
Live patch host without downtime, available only with XenServer
Live patching is an industry-first hypervisor capability brought to you with XenServer 7.1. It greatly reduces operational overhead by enabling IT admins to hot-patch (update) their active XenServers without rebooting. This capability is not found on any other commercial hypervisor and has been used in production by a large cloud computing provider for months.
Simplified administration and reduce overhead with new automated updates
Simplify patching at scale with new automated updates. XenServer now supports the automated application of fixes to multiple hosts. This new automated update technology batch patches multiple hosts by automatically downloading necessary fixes from Citrix, installing these patches in the correct order, and rebooting the hosts in sequence while redistributing VMs to prevent outages.
Greater migration flexibility with Linux virtual machine conversion
XenServer Conversion Manager now offers the ability to migrate Linux VMs from other hypervisors to XenServer. This offers greater migration flexibility for customers wanting to migrate off of VMware solutions. Customers wanting to deliver secure Linux virtual desktops and applications from XenDesktop can avoid the vTax by taking advantage of XenServer.
Great scalability and simplified administration with increased pool sizes
XenServer 7.5 quadruples the maximum pool size to 64 hosts. The benefits of deploying larger pools include fewer pools to manage, more flexible in-pool migration with shared storage, and more flexibility with High Availability, as well as fewer Machine Catalogs needed for large XenApp and XenDesktop deployments. This saves you time and administrative effort during your image update process and ongoing maintenance.
Extending XenApp & XenDesktop Integration
XenServer 7 extends alignment with XenApp and XenDesktop release cycles while the expanded XenServer Enterprise entitlement ensures you can leverage unique app and desktop performance integrations only available with XenServer.
Window Continuum Experience
With patent-pending technology from XenServer, XenDesktop is the only VDI platform to enable the Windows Continuum experience with Windows 10 virtual desktops. Now, XenDesktop enables Windows 10 virtual desktops to automatically toggle between tablet and desktop mode, in real-time, as the state of the hardware change, to provide the most native Windows 10 experience.
Accelerate Citrxi Provisioning Services performance with XenServer
Introducing new Provisioning Services (PVS) Accelerator technology that results in up to 25% faster desktop boot up times, up to 98% lower network bandwidth usage, and up to 93% reduced PVS CPU usage - only available with XenServer.
First-ever Long Term Service Release (LTSR) with XenServer 7.1
This XenServer LTSR enables up to 10 years of support (5 years mainstream and 5 years of extended support) making it the only hypervisor to have product lifecycle dates fully aligned with Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop, which can radically simplify infrastructure maintenance for customers choosing to deploy a full Citrix solution.
Extending the benefits of XenServer Enterprise to all XenApp adn XenDesktop deployments
XenApp and XenDesktop customers are now entitled to all of the features of XenServer Enterprise edition, regardless of their XenApp and XenDesktop license type. Additionally, all editions of XenApp and XenDesktop are now entitled to features like Machine Creation Services (MCS) Accelerator technology, previously a platinum-only feature
Enhancing the integration of Citrix and Nunatix solutions with XenServer
Positioning XenServer for broader Nutanix integration that will ultimately lead to providing Nutanix with access to unique XenServer features, such as provisioning services, high performance virtualized GPU, enhanced security and more. XenServer is the most tightly integrated hypervisor with XenApp and XenDesktop, you can now chose Nutanix HCI with XenServer for XenApp and XenDesktop while leveraging these unique integration benefits while saving money.
Hypervisor security revolutionized
XenServer, in partnership with Bitdefender, is the only hypervisor to enable the revolutionary security solution, Hypervisor Introspection - safeguarding against targeted and advanced attacks. XenServer 7.3 extends the platform’s security portfolio with support for Bromium Secure Platform – an application isolation security solution with Micro-VM technology to protect against malware and zero-day attacks.
Hypervisor Introspection (HVI)
While there are hundreds of millions of different types of malware released every year, hackers only have a limited set of techniques available to remotely gain a foothold of victims’ system. Hypervisor Introspection can detect and prevent these attacks techniques in real-time – a capability not available with any other security solution, delivering unparalleled protection to your virtual infrastructure. HVI prevented WannaCry, day-zero, without any updates needed, by blocking EternalBlue, the underlying exploitation tool used to spread WannaCry.
Micro-Virtualization
XenServer 7.3 extends the security of your XenDesktop Windows 10 infrastructure with hardware-based isolation of users’ application and tasks, to protect against malware and zero-day attacks with Bromium Secure Platform. Bromium is the first vendor to use virtualization-based security with micro-VM technology to completely isolate the application or task to ensure any malicious behavior within the micro-VM cannot impact the host or VDI environment.
Source: https://www.citrix.com/products/xenserver/
The latest version of XenServer has reached the version 7.5. In the Citrxi website, there is the information about whats new of this version. Check it out.
Most Mature Graphics Capabilities
As pioneers of the virtual graphics space, XenServer 7 extends our leadership with the industry-first capability of vGPU XenMotion and as the only hypervisor to support GPUs from all three major vendors.
Improved User Productivity and Admin Flexibility with vGPU XenMotion
XenServer is the only hypervisor to support Live Migration of GPU-enabled VMs with vGPU XenMotion. vGPU XenMotion improves user experience and admin flexibility by enabling administrators to rebalance GPU-enabled VMs across pool hosts to improve VM performance. vGPU XenMotion also enhances user productivity, enabling users to remain productive during unexpected maintenance.
Enabling GPU vendor choice with AMD, Intel, or NVIDIA
XenServer is the only hypervisor to support Live Migration of GPU-enabled VMs with vGPU XenMotion. vGPU XenMotion improves user experience and admin flexibility by enabling administrators to rebalance GPU-enabled VMs across pool hosts to improve VM performance. vGPU XenMotion also enhances user productivity, enabling users to remain productive during unexpected maintenance.
Increased Administrative Flexibility
XenServer 7 offers new features that simplify snapshot lifecycle management, accelerate vSphere migration and greatly improve the administrative experience.
Simplified Administration with Snapshot Lifecycle Management
Now you can easily schedule hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly snapshots on a group of VMs. However, it doesn’t just take the snapshots, it aids in the management of your snapshot lifecycles. By allowing you to set the maximum number of snapshots to keep, XenServer deletes the oldest snapshot in a rolling fashion.
Live patch host without downtime, available only with XenServer
Live patching is an industry-first hypervisor capability brought to you with XenServer 7.1. It greatly reduces operational overhead by enabling IT admins to hot-patch (update) their active XenServers without rebooting. This capability is not found on any other commercial hypervisor and has been used in production by a large cloud computing provider for months.
Simplified administration and reduce overhead with new automated updates
Simplify patching at scale with new automated updates. XenServer now supports the automated application of fixes to multiple hosts. This new automated update technology batch patches multiple hosts by automatically downloading necessary fixes from Citrix, installing these patches in the correct order, and rebooting the hosts in sequence while redistributing VMs to prevent outages.
Greater migration flexibility with Linux virtual machine conversion
XenServer Conversion Manager now offers the ability to migrate Linux VMs from other hypervisors to XenServer. This offers greater migration flexibility for customers wanting to migrate off of VMware solutions. Customers wanting to deliver secure Linux virtual desktops and applications from XenDesktop can avoid the vTax by taking advantage of XenServer.
Great scalability and simplified administration with increased pool sizes
XenServer 7.5 quadruples the maximum pool size to 64 hosts. The benefits of deploying larger pools include fewer pools to manage, more flexible in-pool migration with shared storage, and more flexibility with High Availability, as well as fewer Machine Catalogs needed for large XenApp and XenDesktop deployments. This saves you time and administrative effort during your image update process and ongoing maintenance.
Extending XenApp & XenDesktop Integration
XenServer 7 extends alignment with XenApp and XenDesktop release cycles while the expanded XenServer Enterprise entitlement ensures you can leverage unique app and desktop performance integrations only available with XenServer.
Window Continuum Experience
With patent-pending technology from XenServer, XenDesktop is the only VDI platform to enable the Windows Continuum experience with Windows 10 virtual desktops. Now, XenDesktop enables Windows 10 virtual desktops to automatically toggle between tablet and desktop mode, in real-time, as the state of the hardware change, to provide the most native Windows 10 experience.
Accelerate Citrxi Provisioning Services performance with XenServer
Introducing new Provisioning Services (PVS) Accelerator technology that results in up to 25% faster desktop boot up times, up to 98% lower network bandwidth usage, and up to 93% reduced PVS CPU usage - only available with XenServer.
First-ever Long Term Service Release (LTSR) with XenServer 7.1
This XenServer LTSR enables up to 10 years of support (5 years mainstream and 5 years of extended support) making it the only hypervisor to have product lifecycle dates fully aligned with Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop, which can radically simplify infrastructure maintenance for customers choosing to deploy a full Citrix solution.
Extending the benefits of XenServer Enterprise to all XenApp adn XenDesktop deployments
XenApp and XenDesktop customers are now entitled to all of the features of XenServer Enterprise edition, regardless of their XenApp and XenDesktop license type. Additionally, all editions of XenApp and XenDesktop are now entitled to features like Machine Creation Services (MCS) Accelerator technology, previously a platinum-only feature
Enhancing the integration of Citrix and Nunatix solutions with XenServer
Positioning XenServer for broader Nutanix integration that will ultimately lead to providing Nutanix with access to unique XenServer features, such as provisioning services, high performance virtualized GPU, enhanced security and more. XenServer is the most tightly integrated hypervisor with XenApp and XenDesktop, you can now chose Nutanix HCI with XenServer for XenApp and XenDesktop while leveraging these unique integration benefits while saving money.
Hypervisor security revolutionized
XenServer, in partnership with Bitdefender, is the only hypervisor to enable the revolutionary security solution, Hypervisor Introspection - safeguarding against targeted and advanced attacks. XenServer 7.3 extends the platform’s security portfolio with support for Bromium Secure Platform – an application isolation security solution with Micro-VM technology to protect against malware and zero-day attacks.
Hypervisor Introspection (HVI)
While there are hundreds of millions of different types of malware released every year, hackers only have a limited set of techniques available to remotely gain a foothold of victims’ system. Hypervisor Introspection can detect and prevent these attacks techniques in real-time – a capability not available with any other security solution, delivering unparalleled protection to your virtual infrastructure. HVI prevented WannaCry, day-zero, without any updates needed, by blocking EternalBlue, the underlying exploitation tool used to spread WannaCry.
Micro-Virtualization
XenServer 7.3 extends the security of your XenDesktop Windows 10 infrastructure with hardware-based isolation of users’ application and tasks, to protect against malware and zero-day attacks with Bromium Secure Platform. Bromium is the first vendor to use virtualization-based security with micro-VM technology to completely isolate the application or task to ensure any malicious behavior within the micro-VM cannot impact the host or VDI environment.
Source: https://www.citrix.com/products/xenserver/
