Attention New York City area users and administrators…
Just a reminder that the next New York Citrix User Group Meeting will be held at the Microsoft New York Metro District tomorrow, February 17th!
Date: Feb. 17, 2011 (Thursday)
Time: 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM EST
Register Now
The goal of a User Group is simple: To foster dialogue and an exchange of ideas within the Citrix community, allowing users and administrators to share information and best practices, hear from the experts, and grow their body of knowledge and expertise.
Agenda:
During this meeting, you will:
- Find out about the architecture and design of XenDesktop
- Hear customer stories
- Hear from a technology partner, WYSE
- Collaborate with top Citrix consultants and peers
You are the key to a successful Citrix User Group community! So come out for some technology collaboration and fun with the Citrix experts.
Attend and you’ll have the chance to win some great prizes!
Location:
Microsoft
1290 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10104
(212) 245-2100
If you’ll be in or around NYC tomorrow, I hope you can attend! Stay tuned to the Citrix User Group Community site for news and information about upcoming Citrix User Group meetings and activities.
Laura Whalen
Citrix Systems, Inc.
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Attention Boston area users and administrators…
Just a reminder that the next Boston Citrix User Group Meeting will be held at the Citrix offices in Bedford tomorrow, February 16th!
Date: Feb. 16, 2011 (Wednesday)
Time: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM EST
Register Now
The goal of a User Group is simple: To foster dialogue and an exchange of ideas within the Citrix community, allowing users and administrators to share information and best practices, hear from the experts, and grow their body of knowledge and expertise.
Agenda:
During this meeting, you will:
- Find out about the architecture and design of XenDesktop
- Hear customer stories
- Hear from a technology partner, WYSE
- Collaborate with top Citrix consultants and peers
You are the key to a successful Citrix User Group community! So come out for some technology collaboration and fun with the Citrix experts.
Attend and you’ll have the chance to win some great prizes!
Location:
Citrix Offices
14 Crosby Drive
Bedford, MA 01730
(781) 301-8000
If you’ll be in or around Bedford tomorrow, I hope you can attend! Stay tuned to the Citrix User Group Community site for news and information about upcoming Citrix User Group meetings and activities.
Laura Whalen
Citrix Systems, Inc.
Follow me on Twitter
Attention Pittsburgh area users and administrators…
Just a reminder that the next Pittsburgh Citrix User Group Meeting will be held tomorrow, February 15th!
Date: Feb. 15, 2011 (Tuesday)
Time: 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM ET
The goal of a User Group is simple: To foster dialogue and an exchange of ideas within the Citrix community, allowing users and administrators to share information and best practices, hear from the experts, and grow their body of knowledge and expertise.
Agenda:
During this meeting, you will:
- Find out about the architecture and design of XenDesktop
- Hear customer stories
- Hear from a technology partner, WYSE
- Collaborate with top Citrix consultants and peers
You are the key to a successful Citrix User Group community! So come out for some technology collaboration and fun with the Citrix experts.
Attend and you’ll have the chance to win some great prizes!
Location:
Rivers Casino
777 Casino Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15212
(412) 231-7777
If you’ll be in or around Pittsburgh tomorrow, I hope you can attend! Stay tuned to the Citrix User Group Community site for news and information about upcoming Citrix User Group meetings and activities.
Laura Whalen
Citrix Systems, Inc.
Follow me on Twitter
With XenDesktop 5 Express, you can create a virtual desktop (VDI) production environment for up to 10 users or an evaluation environment as a POC …for free! The XenDesktop Express download includes everything you need plus a tutorial video that walks you through the installation process. (You could also use XenDesktop with Microsoft Hyper-V or VMware vSphere as the virtualization layer, but we recommend the included XenServer 5.6).
Then when you’re comfortable with your XenDesktop environment on a LAN, you can try it out on a WAN for free with Citrix Access Gateway VPX 5.0.1 Express.
Here’s what you need…
Product Download
Download XenDesktop 5 Express edition from: http://www.citrix.com/tryxendesktop
This download (filename: XD5_Express.zip) includes:
- XenDesktop5.iso - XenDesktop Controller & Virtual Desktop Agent
- XenServer 5.6.0-install-cd.iso - XenServer 5.6 virtualization infrastructure
- XenCenter.ja.msi - Install for XenCenter Japanese language version
- XenDesktop_Express_Edition_License.lic - 10 user XenDesktop license
- XenDesktop5_Express_Edition_Tutorial.wmv - Step-by-step guidance for a XenDesktop setup
Licenses
Included in the XenDesktop Express download zip:
(Note: Product offers a 30 day grace period until license is applied.)
- XenDesktop 5 Express License file - Covers Controller, Virtual Desktops, and XenServer
- XenServer License - License using XenDesktop Controller’s licensing feature (refer to tutorial video)
Sample Configuration
One or more servers capable of supporting the following:
- Windows 2008 or Windows 2008 R2 servers
-- Desktop controller, 2 GB quad core
-- Optional server for other pieces (IIS SQL, Web Interface*, Active Directory, etc.)
*Note: Web Interface could be included on the Desktop Controller instead.
- Windows 7 virtual desktops (VDAs), at least 1GB and 1 core each VM
Documentation
- XenDesktop Evaluation Guide - Get step-by-step guidance throughout the installation process.
- XenDesktop 5 Eval Scenarios - Review once you complete the installation.
- Key differences in XenDesktop 5 - Find out what’s new in XenDesktop 5.
- XenDesktop Experience Newsletter - Get technical best practices & other info. Subscribe here
More documentation can be found here.
General Info
Phase 2: Access Gateway
Once you’re comfortable with your XenDesktop environment on a LAN, it’s time to try it out on a WAN …for free. Citrix Access Gateway VPX is a virtual machine based solution for remote access to your XenDesktop environment. Access Gateway VPX configured in “Express mode,” will allow a max of 5 users for 1 year. Here are links to the resources:
- Download Access Gateway VPX 5.0.1 Express and the license file (via MyCitrix)
- Review a guide for integrating Access Gateway VPX with XenDesktop
- View Access Gateway VPX Hardware Requirements
- Configure Access Gateway 5.0 for Citrix Receiver for mobile devices
Hope you find this information helpful. If you’ve tried this yourself or there are other resources that you’ve found useful, please share!
Laura Whalen
Citrix Systems, Inc.
Follow me on Twitter
Calling all Citrix users and administrators located in or around Dallas, Texas…
There’s still time to sign up for the next Dallas Citrix User Group Meeting on Wednesday, September 8th!
Date: Sept. 8, 2010 (Wed)
Time: 11:30 AM – 2:00 PM CDT
The goal of a User Group is simple: To foster dialogue and an exchange of ideas within the Citrix community, allowing users and administrators to share information and best practices, hear from the experts, and grow their body of knowledge and expertise.
Agenda:
During this meeting, you’ll learn more about Citrix XenDesktop including:
- Adding XenDesktop to a Citrix XenApp environment
- Getting a technical overview of Flexcast
- Discussing a comparison of key features against the competition
Citrix experts will be available for questions and answers after the meeting.
All attendees will receive a TopGolf game card!
Location:
TopGolf Dallas
8787 Park Lane
Dallas TX 75231
(214) 341-9655
If you are located in or around Dallas, TX, I hope you can attend! Stay tuned to the Citrix User Group Community site for news and information about upcoming meetings and activities.
Laura Whalen
Citrix Systems, Inc.
Follow me on Twitter
Calling all South Florida Citrix users and administrators…
The next Fort Lauderdale Citrix User Group Meeting will be held on September 1st! You’ll get technical content and participate in technical discussions from 3-5PM at Citrix HQ, followed by happy hour with appetizers at a nearby restaurant.
Date: Wed., September 1, 2010
Time: 3:00PM – 5:00PM EDT (happy hour @ 5:30PM)
The goal of a User Group is simple: To foster dialogue and an exchange of ideas within the Citrix community, allowing users and administrators to share information and best practices, hear from the experts, and grow their body of knowledge and expertise.
Agenda:
During the meeting, you’ll learn how to setup a Citrix XenDesktop Proof of Concept (PoC) including:
- Creating a new XenDesktop environment
- A technical overview and best practices
- How to implement XenDesktop
- Wyse solutions optimized to work with Citrix desktop and app virtualization solutions
Citrix experts will be available for question and answer after the meeting.
Location:
Citrix Ft. Lauderdale Office
851 W Cypress Creek Rd
Ft. Lauderdale FL 33309
954 267-3000
Then…
Join us for appetizers at Champps following the meeting at 5:30PM:
Champps Americana
6401 N. Andrews Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309
(954) 491-9335
I hope you can join us! Stay tuned to the Citrix User Group Community site for news and information about upcoming meetings and activities.
Laura Whalen
Citrix Systems, Inc.
Follow me on Twitter
Calling all Citrix users and administrators located in or around Kansas City, Missouri…
There’s still time to sign up for the next Kansas City Citrix User Group Meeting on August 24!
Date: Tues., August 24, 2010
Time: 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM CDT
The goal of a User Group is simple: To foster dialogue and an exchange of ideas within the Citrix community, allowing users and administrators to share information and best practices, hear from the experts, and grow their body of knowledge and expertise.
Description:
During this meeting, you will:
- Learn more about Citrix XenDesktop including best practices for adding XenDesktop to a XenApp environment
- Get a technical overview of Flexcast
- Discuss a comparison of key features against the competition
Citrix experts will be available for questions and answers after the meeting. Attend and you might win a Netbook!
Location:
Boulevard Brewing Company
2501 Southwest Boulevard
Kansas City MO 64108
(816) 474-7095
Register Now
I hope you can make it! Stay tuned to the Citrix User Group Community site for news and information about upcoming meetings and activities.
Laura Whalen
Citrix Systems, Inc.
Follow me on Twitter
Attention Citrix users in or near Denver, Colorado…
The next meeting of the Denver Citrix User Group will be held on Wednesday, September 8th, and the agenda will be a recap of everything you need to know from Citrix Synergy San Francisco 2010!
Date: Wed., September 8, 2010
Time: 11:30 AM to 4:30 PM
Register Now
Location
Downtown Aquarium (Denver)
700 Water Street
I-25 / 23rd Ave (Exit 211)
Denver, CO 80211
Agenda
The discussions will include a comprehensive examination of the following topics:
- Client Virtualization (local virtual desktops)
- Desktop Streaming
- Self-Service On-Demand Applications
- Application Virtualization (6.0)
- User Virtualization
- Storage Virtualization
You’ll get case studies of successful implementations, best practices, technical demos and architecture designs from Citrix, AppSense, Microsoft, Dell and Wyse.
For more details, click here.
Hope you can attend! Stay tuned to the Citrix User Group Community site for news and information about upcoming meetings and activities.
Laura Whalen
Citrix Systems, Inc.
Follow me on Twitter
Would you like to check out a replay of the popular Geek Speak Virtual webcast and live Q&A from May 27 called, “How I learned to stop worrying and love the client hypervisor?” I would highly recommend it and here’s your chance… it’s now available on-demand!
To recap, this is a 50-min videocast of the Geek Speak Live! session from Citrix Synergy where a panel of technical experts from Burton Group, brianmadden.com, Citrix, MokaFive and VMware discuss the current and future outlook on client hypervisors, including:
- What’s their impact on IT and users today?
- Should organizations always consider client hypervisors as part of their decision to “go virtual?”
- What are the benefits of some of the leading client hypervisor solutions on the market?
- And, last but not least, these experts will explore the big question on many of our minds: Do client hypervisors represent the future of computing?
This video archive also includes an audio recording of the 40-minute audience-driven Q&A with the speakers!
The panel of experts:
- Simon Bramfitt, Analyst, Burton Group
- Gabe Knuth, Industry Analyst, brianmadden.com
- Ian Pratt, VP Advanced Products, Citrix
- John Whaley, Founder & Chief Technology Officer, MokaFive
- Kurt Roemer, Chief Security Strategist, Citrix
- Robert Baesman, Senior Product Manager, VMware
- Simon Crosby, Chief Technology Officer, Citrix
We held a random drawing for those who attended the virtual event on May 27th, and the lucky winner of the ThinkGeek gift certificate is Dante Rufa from NYC. Thanks for listening in, Dante, and congrats!
Laura Whalen
Citrix Systems, Inc.
Follow me on Twitter
The Norway Citrix User Group has an excellent agenda planned for their two-day user group meeting this Wednesday and Thursday (May 26-27) in Oslo. As part of this meeting, they will be running a Geek Speak Local event on Wednesday at 4:30pm that will focus on the topic of Desktop Virtualization. The agenda details are included below.
If you’re based in Norway or visiting the area this week, I hope that you’re planning to attend!
Location:
Lillestrøm kultursenter
Kirkegata 11
2000 Lillestrøm
Oslo, Norway
More Details
Agenda:
The comprehensive two-day event schedule is as follows.
Note: There are four different session categories: Technology sessions, IT Operations sessions, Solution Oriented sessions, and Gold Sponsor sessions.
Wednesday, May 26
9:00am - Welcome by the User Group Leaders
9:15am - Harry Labana, CTO, Citrix: News from Citrix Synergy Day 1 Keynote
10:30am sessions
Technology: Benny Tritsch & Jeroen van de Kamp, CTOs, Login Consultants – user profiles and workspace setting in the cloud
IT Operations: Rune Grumheden – What’s new in XenApp 6?
Solution Oriented: Steve Allen, Appsense – Introducing the Virtualized User Infrastructure
Gold Sponsor: Kristin Montag, thinprint – Why is Print Management so heavy and cost-intensive, and how do I reduce it?
11:30am sessions
Technology: Alexander Ervik Johnsen Arrow ECS and www.ervik.as – XenClient under the hood
IT Operations: Benny Tritsch, CTO, Login Consultants – Fast or Furious: Dynamic access to self-installed and self-assigned applications
Solution Oriented: Jorgen Jansson, Sr. Technical Engineer, SafeNet – Safe work surface – User authentication with everything from SMS on the Smartphone to Smart Card
Gold Sponsor: Karin Lokke, Atea – Atea and Microsoft Unified Communication Partner 2008 and 2009
12:30pm - LUNCH
2:00pm sessions
Technology: Daniel Wedel – Help! I may be migrating to XenApp 6 soon
IT Operations: Rene Vester – Supporting Macs and iPhones in your corporate environment
Solution Oriented: Bob Janssen, Product Manager, RES Software – Simplified migration to new working area – Win 7 or virtual
3:00pm - Panel session with Harry Labana, Jeroen van de Kamp, Bernhard Tritsch, Rene Vester, RES, and AppSense
4:00pm - SNACKS
4:30pm - Geek Speak Local Event! A Focus on Desktop Virtualization:
- Topic 1: Over the past 10 years, desktop, application delivery and management technologies have seen many monumental innovations that have enabled large leaps forward in sophistication and effectiveness. From your perspective – what innovation was the most important? Why?
- Topic 2: There are some HOT new innovations and bleeding-edge technologies on and coming to the table that promise to dramatically change how desktops and applications are delivered and managed. From your perspective, which one(s) will have the greatest impact? What/why/how?
- Topic 3:
- Is Europe smarter than the US ? There is a claim that 40% of Citrix customers uses User Profile Management tools in Europe. Why is there such a difference?
- What is personalization, do people really need it or is hype. How much do you need. Pros and Cons of approaches!
- Layers. What does that mean for the profile guys. Who wins?
7:00pm - Show & Dinner
Thursday, May 27
9:00am sessions
Technology: Benny Tritsch, CTO, Login Consultants – Virtual Desktops Provided by Microsoft – Competitive Edge or Just Good Enough?
IT Operations: Alexander Ervik Johnsen Arrow ECS and www.ervik.as – XenClient: will the introduction of the client hypervisor open the door for VDI?
Solution Oriented: Steve Allen, AppSense – Making the move to a centralized desktop model
Gold Sponsor: Havard Bruvold, Steria – New mobile devices, new opportunities
10:30am sessions
Technology: Jeroen van de Kamp, CTO, Login Consultants – Scaling XenApp on XenServer vs. XenApp on Physical
IT Operations: Trond Eirik Havarstein Case Study – Introduction of Citrix XenServer and Provisioning Services
Solution Oriented: Bob Janssen, RES – One management tool for the entire solution
Gold Sponsor: Morten Bergh, Citrix – Citrix with Microsoft
11:30am sessions
Technology: Jeroen van de Kamp, CTO, Login Consultants – Scaling XenApp on XenServer vs. XenApp on Physical
IT Operations: Ole Kristian Lona, Atea – Provisioning Services and PXE demystified
Solution Oriented: Jorgen Jansson, Sr. Technical Engineer SafeNet – a step-by-step guide to securing your Citrix environment
Gold Sponsor: David Hald, SMS Passcode – the new generation two factor authentication via SMS to protect Citrix and other login systems
12:30pm - LUNCH
2:00pm sessions
Technology: Christian Fenneberg – Improve your infrastructure environment in a measured way
IT Operations: Logica – How are the largest Citrix environments in Norway run?
Solution Oriented: Bob de Kousemaker – User virtualization in the Cloud
Gold Sponsor: Arrow ECS – How to get the most out of your new desktop virtualization
3:00pm - Harry Labana, CTO, Citrix: Future technologies and directions
4:00pm - Closing by Norway User Group Leaders
Additional Resources
- For more Norway User Group Meeting agenda details, click here.
- For information about the Citrix User Group Community, click here .
- For information about the Geek Speak Program, click here.
Laura Whalen
Citrix Systems, Inc.
