Colorado CUGC FAQs

I want everyone to know that Colorado has a Citrix User Group Community (CUGC).  It is easy to join and a great way to meet the local community.  Here are some answers to questions I have been getting.

Frequent Asked Questions (FAQs):

What is the CUGC?

The Citrix User Group Community is a community of technology users who are passionate about helping others excel through education, knowledge sharing, networking, and influence.


How much does it cost?

It is absolutely free.


Are there prizes for attending?

There will be chances to win prizes just by attending.  There are also opportunities to get discounts on conferences and other events.


This sounds amazing, where do I signup?

Head over to www.mycugc.org to signup for free and join one of the amazing communities like the Colorado CUGC.


How do I join the Boulder, Golden, Denver... community?

At this time it makes more sense to have a collective Colorado based community.  If it gets big enough, the group can always be subdivided.  Meetings can take place anywhere members elect to hold an event.  Bring your ideas to the next meeting.


When is the 1st event?

The first event will take place over lunch on June 22, 2016.  Register at http://bit.ly/COLOCUGC


Who is leading the community?

You can find Eric and DJ in the forums or @ericlieven and @thexenmaster respectively.


How can I find out about events?

If you want to follow me on on Twitter (@sagelikebrian) I will be tweeting about them but the best place is to join CUGC and read the forums or get the emails.


What can I do to make this community a success?

Join CUGC, attend events, and spread the word to your colleagues and friends.


Drop me a line in the comments if you have any questions,


Brian Olsen @sagelikebrian



Related posts:
http://www.sagelike.com/search/label/cugc

This Month I Join Citrix

They say all good things must come to an end.  While I have immensely enjoyed the past seven years working as a virtualization consulting engineer, it is time to turn the page and start a new adventure.  I am happy to announce that I have taken a sales engineer job with Citrix.

There has always been a special place in my heart for Citrix's amazing technologies.   Having a job that insists that I completely immerse myself in every little detail is a dream. The job comes with some big changes.  For starters, I will be dusting off my frequent flyer cards and hitting the road more often.  Hopefully the travel will be offset by working out of my home office.

The video below does a great job summing up how Citrix got started, the vision, and where they have been.




There are not many 25 year old software companies--which in itself says something. I look forward to contributing to the future of imagination, innovation, and growth of Citrix.

What does this change mean for www.sagelike.com?  The optimist side of me is hoping to write and share more here.  Only time will tell.

Brian Olsen @sagelikebrian

Lewan Achieves Citrix Specialist in Virtualization

Lewan Technology is proud to announce that in August it achieved the Citrix Specialist in Virtualization distinction.  The Virtualization Specialist requires a proven track record of delivering and managing Windows apps and workloads via Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop.  This achievement furthers Lewan Technology's commitment to Citrix in-depth technical expertise.  Lewan Technology has been a Citrix Solution Advisor (CSA) and Services Provider since 1996 and continues to expand its partnership with Citrix.


What does it take to become a Citrix Solution Advisor?

There are three Citrix Solution Advisor program levels.  Citrix defines them as:

• Platinum Solution Advisor - Partners who demonstrate the highest level of expertise and commitment to the entire Citrix portfolio of products as a core part of their business, have a well-established Citrix practice, and work closely with Citrix on sales, implementation and consulting engagements. 
• Gold Solution Advisor - Partners who have built a core business offering on virtualization, networking, and/or cloud and have demonstrated expertise on Citrix products to deliver a set of solutions to customers. 
• Silver Solution Advisor - Partners who supplement their business offerings by adding Citrix products to their portfolio of solutions.

Lewan Technology currently holds a Solution Advisor Gold level.


Annoucing the Citrix Specialist

In January 2015 at Citrix Summit, the annual partner conference held in Las Vegas, NV, Citrix announced the Specialist program.  They explained that, "partners who achieve a Specialist distinction have been rigorously vetted to join an elite group of best-of-breed partners with demonstrated success in real-world customer projects. While other Partners often participate in only part of an engagement, Specialists will be experts at providing end-to-end planning, designing, implementing, managing and supporting of your project needs."

Specialist designations are available for:

• Virtualization
• Mobility Management 
• Networking for Datacenter 
• Networking for Apps & Mobile Security

What is required to become a Citrix Specialist?

Lewan Technology already held all of the required certifications at the time of the Specialist announcement.  Among the dozens of Citrix certifications held, many employees have achieved the highest levels across several disciplines:

• Citrix Certified Expert - Virtualization (5)
• Citrix Certified Professional - Mobility (3)
• Citrix Certified Professional - Networking (4) 

The Lewan Technology Citrix professionals spent several months acquiring customer validations and passing the practicum on top of a typical project load.  Unlike other exams, the practicum involves building out a tailored solution then having the solution graded by Citrix. The designation of Citrix Specialist in Virtualization shows that Lewan Technology has been recognized by Citrix as operating at the highest level with regard to end-to-end services.

Feel free to reach out to Lewan Technology for your next Citrix project.


Brian @sagelikebrian

Kenneth is Speaking at BriForum Denver

I sat down with one of my coworkers, Kenneth Fingerlos, to discuss his upcoming speaking engagement at the BriForum conference in Denver, Colorado on July 20th.  Our brief conversation covered the details of his session, "vSGA, vDGA, vGPU, and Software - When and Why", his background in the industry, and what gets him excited in the technology space right now.

"BriForum excites me because it is everybody" - Kenneth

Me: Kenneth, can you tell me a little bit about your industry experience?

Kenneth: So, after college I took a left turn in my career path and went into corporate IT for ten years.  Various positions: desktop management, server management, data center.  Various kinds of things.  After ten years of that I decided I didn't care for IT management and tried to correct the course change and landed in consulting.  I've been doing IT consulting for about the last ten years around storage, data management, virtualization of various types, and building up my skill sets trying to help customers solve problems.

Me: Great, great.  So have you been to BriForum before? 

Kenneth: I have not been to BriForum.  This will be my first year.

Me: What attracted you to BriForum? 

Kenneth: I'm excited.  The whole idea of a conference that has some size to it and is established that is not tied to a specific vendor is just exciting, right?  You go to a Cisco conference and it is all about what is the latest widget from Cisco.  Cisco can do no wrong.  You find the same thing if you go to, you know, Dell World.  Dell is perfect.  Whatever Dell has got going is awesome and whatever everyone else has is garbage.  BriForum excites me because it is everybody. It is a marketing company--a media company that puts on the conference as opposed to a product manufacturer. insert kennth photo here

Me: So what will you be discussing at BriForum? 

Kenneth: I'm discussing a topic that is near and dear to my heart which is the idea of virtualized graphics.  Taking things we do everyday in the physical world with physical PCs and trying to bring this into this virtualized environment.  Things like disaster recovery, security, flexibility.  You know, the physical world is pretty restricted.  Graphics have always been one of these things that is hard and is difficult.  Technology is evolving and has advanced dramatically over the last couple of years in terms of what we can do.  But there is also a lot of complexity and a lot of information and I find my customers have a lot of confusion about what they can and can't do.  What works, what doesn't work.  My session is all about trying to bring some clarity to that area.

Me: Ok, so I am going to open this up a little bit and say maybe don't limit this to just the enterprise world but what is the technology you are most excited about right now? 

Kenneth: The technology I am most excited about right now....I think the stuff that is most exciting is really this idea of graphics virtualization.  I mean, so many things go into a user experience, right?  And all of the traditional things that you think about: servers, storage, memory, CPUs--graphics is part of that.  Remoting protocols, right?  What's going on with actually getting that content delivered to a user.  Networking, right? 3G, 4G networks and starting to think about what's next, what's beyond 4G.  These are huge enablers to let people consume and develop content in ways that have never been envisioned before.  Letting you take that stuff to the cloud, to the remote data center, and access it from anywhere.  I've been sitting on top of a mountain in my 4x4 holding a virtual desktop, just because I'm a geek and into this stuff, but yes--I can access that app, whatever it is, from a mountain top in the middle of nowhere.  That's cool stuff. And it's all about enabling people to work and function in ways they've never been able to before.  That excites me.

Me: Very cool.  Well, looking forward to seeing your session at BriForum!  Until next time.

As I wrote about earlier, BriForum Comes to Denver, and I am excited to have such a great event in my backyard.  If you are going to be at BriForum or just have general questions about Denver, reach out to either @kfingerlos or myself (@sagelikebrian) and let's catch up.


Brian @sagelikebrian

BriForum Comes to Denver

IT conferences are a great way to catch up on what is new, take classes, and network with peers in the industry. I have been lucky enough to attend great shows like Citrix Summit and Synergy as well as VMware VMworld over the years. The conference for me that always fell just out of reach was BriForum. This year it is all going to change. I am more than a little excited that one of the world's premier IT conferences has chosen Denver, Colorado for this year's US location. BriForum is an independent conference that provides vendor-neutral perspective on current and emerging technologies and services.

 
Check out this year's list of sessions: http://www.brianmadden.com/blogs/gabeknuth/archive/2015/03/09/check-out-the-list-of-sessions-for-briforum-denver-2015-july-20-22.aspx

If you have a keen eye, you may have noticed a third of the way down the list a special session, "vSGA, vDGA, vGPU, and Software - When and Why", being presented by our very own expert speaker Kenneth Fingerlos (@kfingerlos).

Kenneth will be talking about the new graphics intensive workloads that are possible in VDI thanks to highend GPUs from NVIDIA. He will specifically be digging into the different methods you can use to virtualize the GPU and when and why you would want to choose each method. I promise you this will be a deep technical dive preparing you for your next graphics intensive virtual desktop project.  Come join us at BriForum 2015 if you would like to learn more about solutions from Citrix, VMware, Microsoft and much more.

Brian Olsen (@sagelikebrian)

Marlins Score Big with Citrix

It seems like every other week there is an IT security breach that makes the news.  Many of these hacks score credit card information that can immediately be used or sold.  Recently there have been allegations that members of the St. Louis Cardinals hacked into the Houston Astros' system to gather information on players.

New York Times - Cardinals Investigated for Hacking Into Astros’ Database
Kansas City Star - Astros GM Luhnow disputes details related to Cardinals hacking probe

At face value, it seems shocking to hear about hacking in Major League Baseball.  There was a time when America's favorite pastime was not considered high tech.  It was the boys of summer playing a great game and the best team won.  In this Moneyball era of baseball statistics, numbers and data win big.

You don't have to believe me, just ask Brad Pitt.

As soon as I heard the news it made me think of what the Marlins are doing with technology from Citrix.





The Marlins are scoring two big wins with Citrix.  First, they are doing things that have never before been possible and making a better experience for their customers.  Second, they have a focus on security that has kept their IT department out of national headlines while protecting their team and intellectual property.  It is hard to put a price on the total package.

We should not give all the credit to the Marlins' IT foresight.  After all, the Simpsons predicted this way back in 1999.



 Brian Olsen @sagelikebrian

Citrix Summit 2015

Citrix Summit 

is an annual conference where partners gather to hear the latest technical and sales information.  This year it was held in exciting Las Vegas at the sprawling Venetian conference center.  Coverage of Summit is always tricky because, while it is a partner only event and mostly covered by NDA, there are aspects that are already public.  This article will strive to keep the balance and leave what happened in Vegas--well, safely behind in Vegas.

This year Lewan sent four engineers to take part in the festivities. We came back with our heads full of announcements, product updates, and experience with what is coming next.  It is going to be an exciting year for Citrix customers.

The Announcements

Mark Templeton is back at the helm as CEO.  This is excellent news as the 20 year veteran of Citrix is beloved by both employees and the industry.

Citrix acquires Sanbolic.  Sanbolic allows customer deployments to be geo-distributed across multiple locations and to scale in a linear and predictable manner.  We will have to wait and see what this means for Citrix's product portfolio.

WorkspacePod Powered by HP is announced.  The solution is integrated Citrix infrastructure software with HP's Moonshot platform.  HP considers this integrated compute, storage, networking, plus GPU to be the next step beyond hyper-converged infrastructure and they have labeled it ultra-converged.  Time will tell if this moniker will be adopted by the industry.  A tech preview is expected to be available Q1 of this year.

Product Updates

Workspace Cloud is announced.  Formerly Workspace Services, Workspace Cloud is a revolutionary new way to deliver Windows and mobile apps, data, and desktops.  I say revolutionary because it is clearly a new way of thinking.  I had several discussions over the week with some people hesitant on how this would incorporate in their environment and others who cannot wait for it to be released.  This is by no means a desktop as a service (DaaS) play.  Citrix is very specific with the choice of the word workspace.  To quote Mark T, "the desktop is to the PC-era as Workspace is to the Cloud-era".

XenMobile 10 is announced.  XenMobile 10 represents a big step forward for the product in areas like security (FIPS 140.2) and flexibility.  Our hands-on experience makes us believe the people most excited about this release should be the administrators as significant steps have been made to make this product easier to deploy and use.  Users get updated Worx apps and a new self service portal for tracking, locking, and wiping lost or stolen devices.

XenServer 6.5 is announced.  Major improvements have been made to the hypervisor in the areas of performance.  The new 64-bit kernel architecture has resulted in dramatic improvements in networking and storage performance.  I do not have the numbers in front of me but I remember my jaw dropping in the keynote because some of them had triple digit percentage improvements.  The timing could not be better with the uptick in XenServer deployments in 2014 due to industry leading support of NVIDIA GRID vGPU technology.

Improvements to XenApp and XenDesktop are coming.  Citrix is hard at work improving their flagship products.  Enhancements are coming to Microsoft Lync optimization and session recording will be added to Director.  If the last one sounds a lot like SmartAuditor, it is because I believe it will be replacing that functionality.

XenApp and XenDesktop technology previews are coming.  DesktopPlayer for Windows will be a welcome addition for offline virtual desktop and BYO Windows users.  Linux fans rejoice, a virtual desktop agent is coming.  The most exciting thing I witnessed (at the conference ;) ) was the integration of Framehawk into Citrix's already amazing HDX protocol.  Framehawk is the special sauce that overcomes very challenging network conditions like high latency (often seen in cellular) or packet loss (often seen in poor Wi-Fi).  Check out the pre-Citrix acquisition video from a few years ago below to see why I am excited.




The demo lab is already being prepared to make room for all of this awesome tech.  All of these updates are bound to set the stage for an exciting week in Orlando at Citrix Synergy in May.  For more information, do not hesitate to contact us.

San Francisco Conferences

Purpose:

This article describes ways to fight conference fever while in San Francisco. I'm not a native San Franciscan so this article does not intend to be a vacation guide to the city but if you are wearing a backpack, oversized lanyard, and paying a ridiculous price for a hotel room, this article is for you.

Ding ding

Symptom:

Feeling fatigued from consecutive days of information overload.

Resolution:

Break free from the conference hall and explore the city. If it was up to me, I would only go to conferences in San Francisco. Maybe it is the sea breeze and generally mild temperatures or maybe it's my fascination with a city built on such steep hills. San Francisco seems to buzz with excitement much as I imagine it did back in the gold rush days. My San Francisco conferences revolve around technology companies and week-long celebrations of their latest and greatest products. Some legendary tech announcements have been made at Moscone West over the years. The biggest is certainly when Apple announced the original iPhone back in 2007 and while I wasn't there to witness it, it's fun and interesting to go back and relive it. That keynote was Steve Jobs at his absolute best.




I have been lucky enough to attend several big San Francisco shows recently:

• Citrix Synergy 2011
• Citrix Synergy 2012
• VMware VMworld 2013

VMworld 2013

Here are some tips I have gathered over the years.

 

Travel

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) - coming from Denver, SFO is usually the cheapest way to go. Cab rides to downtown are going to cost you $50 - $60 and take a good 30 minutes. A longer but much cheaper alternative is to take the train (aka BART)) and get off at Powell.  From there it is a block or two walk to your hotel. I haven't used Uber yet, but is also seems like a good alternative to taxis.

Lodging 

Prepare yourself for insanely inflated prices for both independent hotels and the big chains. Basic supply and demand makes booking only a few weeks out nearly impossible. Marriott is my brand of choice and while the San Francisco Marquis may seem the most convenient as it is only a block and a half away, in recent years I have stayed further up Nob Hill. It is a longer, straight uphill walk that can really get your blood pumping at the end of the day but you escape the most dense crowds and possibly save a few bucks.  I find walking down the hill in the morning while sipping a latte and listening to some tunes an enjoyable way to start a conference day.

Dining

San Francisco is a foodie's dream. Even if your conference provides meals, you should break away to sample some of the treats the city has to offer. Here are some options listed by proximity.

Mel's Drive-In

Mel's is probably the closest food to Moscone West and thus the busiest. Their staff moves quickly so stop in for a typical diner breakfast. Keep your eyes peeled, too, you never know what kind of big wig you may be eating an omelet next to.


Johnny Foley's Irish House

Foley's is your typical Irish bar except it will be packed at midnight on a Tuesday if there is a conference in town.  Always a popular place to throw back your favorite Irish whiskey or scarf down some fish n' chips.


The Grove

Forget trying to get coffee at the Starbucks next to the Moscone Center as the line never ends.  Swing by The Grove for a hearty breakfast--like the Moroccan Baked Eggs.  This cool coffee shop is a great place to check your before your first session.


ThirstyBear Brewing Company

While several blocks away from Moscone West, keep your eyes open for vendor parties hosted at the ThirstyBear. It often means they appreciate good beer and will have it on the menu. While they brew their own beer, they also carry a good selection of alternatives. An excellent place to take a break and hoist a pint.

21st Amendment Brewery and Restaurant

The 21st Amendment will likely fall outside of walking distance for most. Beer connoisseurs will delight in their beer and food menu. Check this one out early in the week because it may require repeat visits.

Great Eastern Restaurant

Great Eastern is a long walk from the Moscone but worth it if you want to experience the sights and smells of Chinatown. I feel completely safe making the trek late at night but it is dimly lit and like any major city, you may want to bring a friend. I keep coming back to the Great Eastern because their hours and service are good and you can order a small dim sum feast for a reasonable price.

Scoma's Restaurant

You can not visit San Francisco without eating some seafood. Cab or trolley car it to Fisherman's Wharf and try some Dungeness Crab or clam chowder in a sourdough bowl. Scoma's is fairly expensive at dinner so go for lunch and enjoy the same great food for a reduced price. There are many other options at the wharf but I was not disappointed on my visit to Scoma's.

Activities

• Jog - there is no better way to work off the previous night's event then throwing on running shoes and heading outside.  You need to be motivated to go up and over Nob Hill.  I usually take the flatter Market Street down to the water's edge and run along the piers.  It is a great start to a day of hearing your peers pontificate on better ways to do your job.
• Bike - you can rent bicycles from a few shops at Fisherman's Wharf.  It cost me $28 to ride across the Golden Gate Bridge and back.  As bike rides go, it is on the top of my list.
• Trolley - the real San Francisco treat.  You'll want to go early or late because the line gets crazy long.

Musée Mécanique

Located on Pier 45, Musée Mécanique is one part arcade and one part museum.  If you are child of the 1980s then you will probably enjoy both the decades old amusement machines as well as some of the more "modern" classics.

Alcatraz Island

The infamous Alcatraz Penitentiary is clearly visible from San Francisco proper.  Ferries take tourists out throughout the day.  Do not wait until the last minute and try to get tickets as it sells out often.  If you book your tickets far enough in advance you can even take a night tour.  The audio tour of the island is both creepy and entertaining and worth the trip.

Alcatraz Island

Alcatraz Island

Golden Gate Bridge

RIP World Famous Bushman

Cause:

Conference fever is often brought on from back to back days of solid presentations and breakout sessions mixed with free late night vendor drink fests.

SageLike Post ID: SL0007

Applies to:

Conferences located in or near to the Moscone Center.
Maybe others

References:

• http://www.bart.gov
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Famous_Bushman
  

Citrix Synergy 2013 Live

Anaheim Convention Center

Citrix Summit 2013 is officially over.  It has been two days of speakers and sessions geared towards partners.  Big announcements don't typically happen until Synergy when the conference opens up to everyone.  The one interesting announcement so far has been the separation of Summit and Synergy for 2014.  There will be two conferences next year held at different times of the year and in different locations.

Very soon, Mark T will take the stage for the opening keynote to reflect on the last year as well as make new announcements.  I can't wait.  I'll do my best to live blog the keynote so keep refreshing this page.  In the meantime, check out my coverage from Synergy 2012 and Synergy 2011.

So far, the theme of the conference has been mobility, mobility, mobility.

CloudPlatform

• It's big and getting bigger
• Partner with Apache

ShareFile

• Focus on corporate customers
• Now on Azure
• StorageZone Connectors
• Connect to SharePoint (check-in, check-out)
• Others coming

Desktop Player for Mac

• Tech preview next month
• Run Windows local on your Mac
• Part of XenDesktop
• I want to check this out

Mark T is talking about mobile and how the new generation of workers expect this.  Mobile also aids with disruptions (natural disasters) and the general consumerization of technology.  Mark T had a discussion with one of the worlds largest beverage companies and their new strategy is DOS (Don't Own Stuff).  Another big client's philosophy is streamlining MAC (Move, Add & Changes).  Citrix sums this up as mobile work styles.

Announcing XenDesktop 7

• Flexcast Management Architecture (FMA)
• 1 download
• Fast deployment with built-in wizards
• Automatic configuration checks
• 20 minutes to get started
• Down to two consoles: Studio and Director
• HDX Insight
• Full end-to-end monitoring for HDX traffic
• Integrated into Desktop Director
• App-by-app publishing
• Windows app migration
• Integrated AppDNA technology
• Runs on Windows Server 2012
• HDX Mobile
• HD video on any device even over 3G
• Smooth scrolling, natural gesturing
• Supports native mobile functions
• Mobile SDK for Windows apps
• Gives you access to mobile device sensors
• >50 APIs
• Desktop Director
• Looks awesome
• Advanced reporting
• Gives you what you need to solve issues
• Receiver
• Great Windows 8 support
• Amazing Flash video support demoed on an iPad Mini
• Shipping June with XenApp 6.5 FP2

Nvidia

• Almost 10 year partnership that started with the Boeing 787
• Brad Peterson is demoing Adobe Photoshop on an iPad mini
• Super fluid editing and effects
• Response time is fairly amazing
• Next demo is a MacBook connected to 5 high end workstations
• Brad is switching between the applications
• They are editing a 4K video-live with Adobe Premium, perfect smooth performance
• Each application is more stunning than the last
• Google Earth being demoed using the LeapMotion to zoom around the planet--very cool
• vGrid vGPU announced and integrated into XenDesktop 7

XenApp 6.5 Feature Pack 2 coming soon

XenMobile

• Worx Enroll - self-service device registration
• Worx Home - mobile settings, support and store
• Citrix GoToAssist is integrated into XenMobile
• Brad is back to demo
• Worx Enroll as an iOS app to sign up
• Worx Home shows you apps and it starts downloading and installing them onto an iPhone
• Mix of SaaS, Windows, and other apps
• Admin console is slick, he performs a simple wipe of the phone
• Talks about the Android Stick (USB)
• Three built in apps:
• WorxMail
• WorxWeb
• ShareFile
• Apps are isolated and only allowed to talk to other approved apps
• Copy and paste can be limited both in and out
• ShareFile now has the ability to edit PDFs including a slick demo where Brad added a signature via an iPad mini
• ShareFile connects now allow access to corporate file shares as well as SharePoint including inline editing.
• Three are now three editions that will be shipping in June
• MDM Edition
• App Edition
• Enterprise Edition
• Worx App SDK - enable any mobile app
• Worx App Gallary - new store for apps coming this summer

NetScaler

• Fastest growing product
• New 3rd party services with several vendors

That's all from the keynote.  Interesting, no one 'more thing' but overall there is a lot of very exciting things going on both the refinement and innovation front.  Personal highlights for me are the new Director (looks awesome), Desktop player for Mac, and XenDesktop 7.

Work Better.  Live Better.

Citrix Synergy 2012 Live

Walking into the keynote

I could not be more excited to be sitting in the Moscone Center in sunny San Francisco right now.  The room is packed and techno music is pumping.

 I'm going to try and live blog the event as long as my battery and Internet hold out.

Mark T is on the stage.

Quick Updates:

•  GoToAssist - free on Android and iPad now
• VIAB - best of Interop Award yesterday, upgrade to XenDesktop supported
• AppDNA -  launch of 6.1 today.  Simplified. Deeper insight.
• Virtual Computer - now a part of Citrix, re-branded as XenClient Enterprise Edition, get it this quarter
• Microsoft - Citrix still likes them, SCCM integration
• Cisco - 5 year alliance to exchange IP
• GoToMeeting - HD faces now on iPad

"Life Slice" I believe Mark T just coined the term "life slice".  The concept reflects how we used to go to work and then come home.  Work life was isolated.  Home life was isolated.  The graphical representation looks like a pizza missing two pieces.  The reality is that work is now around the clock and the pizza slices are many and sometimes very, very small.

Life Slice Graph

Podio on stage discussing their product. It is a workspace collaboration tool that integrates with tens of cloud file providers (e.g. ShareFile, Google Docs...).  Now integrates with GoToMeeting.  Appeals to my GTD nature.  They are working on Receiver integration.  Mark is calling it a platform.  Hmm, Windows is a platform.  I can see a future using more of the former and less of the later.  Free for teams up to five people now.

ShareFile has a new feature called StorageZones.  Choose where your data is stored.  GM coming on stage to do a demo of the Outlook plug-in.  ShareFile Sync is Dropbox easy.

Brad Peterson is on stage with Mark now demoing the Citrix stack.

• Receiver now has a native to the device browser (think iPad) to give you an Intranet browser any time
•  Receiver can now deliver native apps from the enterprise
• Receiver on Android has parity with mobile apps
• Brad had at least 4 devices sewed into his suit coat.  Kept pulling them out and demoing integration.

Remote PC utilizes "distributed VDI" to broker to physical desktops.  I'm really excited about this because it lowers the barrier to entry while delivering a familiar experience.

Deep Compression CODEC is a HDX 3D Pro component new today

Windows 8 will be fully supported on the server and client.

Brad coming back up for device demos.

• Brad showing Series 7 laptop with new Intel chipset using HDX 3D Pro to a CAD app.  
• Connecting into Windows 8 using a Xenith 2.  Touch display works great with Windows 8 metro interface.  
• Samsung tablet using Windows 8.  Noticed that the metro interface has live tiles which I haven't noticed playing with the betas.

HDX on a chip is getting cheaper.  Six months ago prices $250 now they are getting to the sub-$100 range.

PoE device HP has a HDX on a chip all-in-one device that runs on only 13 watts.  That means that it can be run over PoE and includes the monitor.  Brad ran out into the audience with the all-in-one device running Google Earth.  One cable...awesome.

CloudBridge 2 announced and shipping in June.

battery just hit 10%--should have charged it last night

NetScaler 10 considered #1 Internet delivery platform (not sure by who).  Tri-scale architecture new marketing mantra.  Available today.


I guess One More Thing is re-branded as 

I almost forgot...

Project Avalon migrate, drain, and burst across any public or private cloud.  Open cloud-style APIs built on top of CloudStack. Compatible with XA 6+, XD 5+.  Going to Beta in the second half of 2012.  Big direction going into the future.

Thanks for hanging with me.

Dude, where's my admin?

My standard joke for a long time has been that I get paid to click “Next” for a living.  2011 will go down as the year that I stopped getting paid to click “Next” and started getting paid to read admin guides.  I am certainly not alone.  Guys and girls around the world are taking this work home with them.  The process usually goes like this: I check my morning tweets and find out that virtualization company X has released a new version of their product (this typically happens at a conference).  The next step is to go to their site and download the install and administration guides.  Then, curl up next to the fireplace with a hot beverage and be amazed by how much easier my job will become.  OK, that’s not exactly how it typically happens.  Replace fireplace with seat-back tray and hot beverage with nothing and you get the idea.  Personally, I would rather be reading about “Steve Jobs” (barnes and noble, kindle) then another product update novel but this is my life. 

This got me thinking, “how many virtualization products have been released in the last twelve months?”  Let’s see, Citrix released new versions of XenDesktop and XenApp.  Oh, VMware also released a new version of vSphere.  It didn’t take long to realize I would need help counting.  I reached out to my go-to VMware guy, Rene (@vrenenelson), to help me fill in gaps in the VMware product set.  Very quickly, we realized that nearly every major virtualization product has had a revolutionary (as opposed to evolutionary) revamp.

We collaborated to bring you this list.  You may be thinking, “but what about AppSense or Unidesk or [insert your product here]?”  We stuck with the virtualization big three:

Citrix

Microsoft

VMware

That is only the tip of the iceberg. We tried to stick to the major products that administrators have to install. If it is some kind of cloud offering or tech preview we left it off the list. August 2011 should be considered a hallmark month for virtualization due to the perfect storm of major products released.

If you are still looking for your administrator, there’s a good chance they are holed up somewhere going through another admin guide.  Studying like it was the night before the SATs.  Pat your virtualization girl or guy on the back because they are fighting to keep up with an incredibly quick moving industry.

Drop us a line in the comments about what product we scandalously forgot to chart.

I Want VDI

I should NOT find this video funny. I respect my superiors and think that everyone else should too.  Obviously, they are taking liberties and generalizing to make CIOs look dumb.  People do not get to the "C" level unless they are business savvy, network like a real estate agent, and navigate a political organization like Magellan.  It is not just the CIOs that want VDI, it is the server guys, the network guys, and even the desktop guys.

That being said, I cannot stop laughing.  For those that don't fear the corporate firewall or wear headphones here is a NSFW version youtube.com.

I’ve Been Everywhere with FourSquare

One my favorite features of the iPhone 4G is the GPS. I use the built-in Google Maps constantly while traveling and even in my home town. The uses don't stop there; I have used it to log a run (iMapMyRun iTunes), find my friends (Google Latitude iTunes), and to find places to hang out and eat (FourSquare iTunes).

FourSquare is certainly my favorite app because of the fun way it allows you to explore places, get feedback and tips, and unlock badges. FourSquare uses your phone's GPS to show you venues nearby. Users can “check-in” to venues to unlock specials (like a free drink I got last week at Quiznos) as well as earn quirky badges like “jetsetter” for someone who checks into five different airports. Check into the same place enough times in a sixty day period you can earn the coveted “Mayor” title.

FourSquare tip: if you see a tip you like while looking at a venue (i.e. try the smoked wings, fall off the bone goodness), tap on it and tap Add To-Do. You can view your to-dos by how recently you entered them or by a map showing the closest ones (my favorite feature).






Recently, I had a good stretch of travel that took me to both coasts as well as a road trip across the Midwest. FourSquare was my app of choice to find coffee, places to eat, and even grab a drink. The image below shows my last 150 check-ins on a Google Map. Make your own map by following the instructions shown on aboutfoursquare.com.






The title alludes to the Man in Black and here he is for your listening enjoyment.

To iPad or not to iPad

To iPad or not to iPad, that is the question.

I’ve been a pretty big proponent of mobile devices for many years now. I jumped into e-mail on a phone early on. I pushed the limits of the early laptops to disconnect from my desk as often as possible. Now with tablets, I have been one of the many saying “tablets everywhere!” Recently I spent nearly a month sitting everyday in a hospital going between the waiting room and speaking with the doctors in ICU around my mother in-law’s health scare. In addition to the many hours of time freed up to ponder the universe it put me in a perfect position to consider the impact of mobility in healthcare from a patients perspective.

Would a tablet or other mobile device help or hurt the care my mother in-law was receiving?

Without going into too much detail, the biggest issue in my mother in-law’s case was getting the right information into the attending medical professionals hands. At all times the chart was available no more than 5 feet away at the computer in the hallway of the ICU. However, the second the doctor stepped out of the room he or she would be pulled into something else, so we never wanted them to leave the room. Unfortunately this also meant that we would be explaining the situation to each new doctor or nurse at shift change and whenever a specialist arrived. Given the rarity of what she was dealing with there simply wasn’t any standard protocol to follow.

That’s all well and good, but how does a tablet really help here? Healthcare has a large push industry wide around LEAN improvement. One of the tenants of this is spending more time with the patient and less time dealing with non-patient business. In my family member’s case, this would mean finding a way to spend more quality time in the room and less time pulling up information. In all those hours of patiently waiting for a resolution, I decided I desperately wanted this hospital to embark on a mobility solution for their care givers. I imagined the doctor of the day being able to simply pull up my mother in-law’s chart while we were in the room and make notes regarding her condition. Two hours later when the specialist or the next shift came on, he or she would instantly have all of this information at their fingertips as well. No more sitting at a computer to start the shift and hoping to remember the details about each patient. Less confusion, less stress on the family trying to educate each doctor all the time, and most importantly more time in the room with the patient where doctors need to be.

The concept of mobility in the hospital setting isn’t anything new or earth shattering anymore. I have been a proponent of it for years to be truthful. But this was the first time that I saw up close and personal the impact it can really have in a life or death situation. Hospitals can increase the time doctors are spending with patients, increase the ability of those doctors to have accurate information at their fingertips, decrease the chances for misdiagnosis, increase the number of patients a doctor can see in a given day, increase patient satisfaction, and most importantly increase the quality of care patients receive.

Synergy 2011

Last month I attended Citrix Summit / Synergy  in San Francisco.  It was a fast paced week of tech sessions, meeting Citrites and drinking the Citrix Kool-Aid.

A typical day started at 8:00 and included sessions, a keynote, and more sessions before finishing around 8:00 at night.  The hands-on learning labs were worth the price of admission. I got hands-on with previews of XenApp, XenClient, and Provisioning Server.  All of the products have great things in the works.

A central theme across the product line was image management.  Administrators care about image management because we spend an inordinate amount of our day patching, updating, and testing both desktops and servers.  Citrix seems to understand the importance of streamlining images and more importantly, --controlling those versions.  Image management left unchecked can result in excessive storage consumption as well as confusion when rolling back an update.  This point is equally important for local or hosted desktops as well as server images.  What if we could use the same process to update (or rollback) servers and desktops?  That would truly be a nirvana that administrators have been dreaming of for years.

Highlights from the conference:

• “Start with Why” - Mark T showed a portion of Simon Sinek’s TEDx talk during his keynote.  It has a simple premise, why do people or companies do what they do?  He goes into a discussion on Martin Luther King Jr., Apple, and the Wright brothers.  I think the whole thing is brilliant.

• SYN348: Getting from “Wow to How”, Part 4 – Design and deliver a delightful virtual desktop experience.  Dan Allen and Mike Schaeffer discuss the importance of the user’s experience.

• SYN349: Getting from “Wow to How”, Part 5 – Lessons learned on the desktop transformation frontier.  Nick Rintalan and Thomas Berger do a great job pointing out the pitfalls of virtual desktop implementations. 

• GroupMe – It is a free group messaging service / app that was extremely useful in spreading the word on good and bad sessions and a hilarious distraction during windy keynotes.  Trust me, this app is going to be a big deal.  Find more information on their site groupme.com or get the app from iTunes.com or Android Market.
• There was time for fun that week.  Train did an admirable job of playing to a 99% dude crowd—something that they probably aren’t used to.  At one point in the show, the lead singer said he needed to get about six pretty ladies on stage to which he quickly remarked, “I think we can do this…”.  Grab their new album, “Save Me San Francisco” iTunes.com, amazon.com.

Boldly Go

I am not supposed to talk much about this month’s project but let’s just say it deals with some awesome  technology that boldly goes where no man has gone before.  Obviously, security in this type of environment is  important and taken seriously.  At one point, we had to halt our work because we noticed a bundle of new cables had red tape around them.  We weren't sure if the color of the tape was indicative of security or nothing so we worked around it for a few days until we got the confirmation that the tape just happened to be red.  As a consultant, I have worked in many companies that have varying levels of bureaucracy but this is the first time I have been stopped by literal red tape.

The term mission critical gets thrown around a lot in IT circles but I have a new respect for what it can really mean and accomplish.  Everyone on this project has been motivated, committed, and a pleasure to work with.  There is a lot of camaraderie throughout the organization that likely comes from such a highly visible and inspired goal.  I’m truly going to be disappointed to wrap this project up.

Upgrading MS-DOS to Windows 7

I recently ran across a video that shows the upgrade process from MS-DOS all the way to Windows 7, stopping along the way to run a couple of classic games: Doom2 and Monkey Island using the original install files. It’s nothing short of amazing that it can be done. Watching the video was a bit like watching my computer life flash before my eyes.

It got me thinking about backwards compatibility which may be one of Microsoft’s greatest achievements. The fact that you can play a 17 year old game on Windows 7 is neat and fun but also speaks volumes about Microsoft's commitment to running legacy software. This commitment has made life infinitely easier for developers but often more difficult for system administrators who get tasked with deploying ancient software.

My coworker is currently fighting with an app that was written in 1996 and is not enterprise-ready. I’m confident he’ll find a way to deploy it and get users the information they need but it may take some time. Looking through thirty years of rear-view mirror, an environment that makes life easy for developers and users while guaranteeing system administrators employment may be the perfect balance after all.

Watch the video