Cross-industry

Project Encore extends Citrix Essentials

23 February 2009

Citrix Essentials for Microsoft Hyper-V offers advanced virtualisation management capabilities

Citrix Systems is extending its collaboration with Microsoft into the adjacent server virtualisation market with ‘Project Encore.’ As part of this strategic alliance, Citrix unveiled the availability of a new solution called Citrix Essentials for Microsoft Hyper-V, offering advanced virtualisation management capabilities for Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V to help customers create scalable, manageable and agile virtual infrastructures.

The new solution will extend the enterprise management capabilities of Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V and System Center in the areas of storage management, provisioning services, and lab automation. To accelerate broad availability to Hyper-V customers, Citrix will make Essentials for Hyper-V available to both Citrix and Microsoft resellers worldwide and collaborate with Microsoft on marketing and training activities.

Citrix Essentials for Hyper-V will enable Microsoft customers to obtain even more value from their investments in the Windows platform and Microsoft virtualisation solutions

Mike Neil, Microsoft “Citrix Essentials for Hyper-V will enable Microsoft customers to obtain even more value from their investments in the Windows platform and Microsoft virtualisation solutions,” said Mike Neil, general manager, virtualisation strategy at Microsoft. “We see Citrix Essentials as a powerful extension that enables customers to accelerate their Hyper-V adoption in the enterprise in much the same way Citrix XenApp has extended the Windows Server platform for nearly 20 years in the application delivery arena. Microsoft also will work to ensure that a future release of Microsoft System Center will support Citrix XenServer for customers with mixed Hyper-V and XenServer environments.”

The solution has a number of key features including: advanced storage integration using Citrix StorageLink technology, which allows customers to fully leverage the native power of their existing array-based storage systems; dynamic provisioning services lets customers centrally manage a common set of master images, which can be streamed on-demand into Hyper-V virtual machines or physical servers; and automated lab management enables Hyper-V customers to develop, test, and deliver applications faster by automating and simplifying the entire virtual machine lifecycle.

“Citrix and Microsoft have a long track record of working together to add value on top of the Windows platform,” said Frank Artale, group vice president, worldwide business development, Citrix Systems. “Our partnership on the client side has improved desktop computing for 200,000 companies and more than 100 million end users worldwide. We are excited to officially extend this partnership into the server virtualisation arena today, opening the next chapter in one of the most successful partnerships in industry history.”

Add a comment