A bit more insight into the "Citrix Systems"

Citrix Systems, Inc. NASDAQ is a multinational corporation founded in 1989, that provides server and desktop virtualization, networking, software-as-a-service (SaaS) and cloud computing technologies including Xen open source products.

Software as a service is a software delivery model in which software and its associated data are hosted centrally and are typically accessed by users using a thin client, normally using a web browser over the Internet.

Desktop virtualization (sometimes called client virtualization, as a concept, separates a personal computer desktop environment from a physical machine using the client–server model of computing. Some virtualization platforms allow the user to simultaneously run multiple virtual machines on local hardware, such as a laptop, using hypervisor technology. Virtual machine images are created and maintained on a central server, and changes to the desktop VMs are propagated to all user machines through the network, thus combining both the advantages of portability afforded by local hypervisor execution and of central image management.

Technically, Desktop Virtualization involves encapsulating and delivering either access to an entire information system environment or the environment itself to a remote client device. The client device may use an entirely different hardware architecture from that used by the projected desktop environment, and may also be based upon an entirely different operating system.

Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility. Cloud computing provides computation, software, data access, and storage services that do not require end-user knowledge of the physical location and configuration of the system that delivers the services. Parallels to this concept can be drawn with the electricity grid, wherein end-users consume power without needing to understand the component devices or infrastructure required to provide the service.

Disclaimer: Credits for all the above notes and resources belongs solely to Wikipedia. This is only a sharing-n-learning process via this blog 

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Citrix concepts

I've been working on Citrix environment since a couple of months now and found it very interesting. There is a Citrix Metaframe Presentation with some number of citrix servers configured in a 'farm' where users login for their work everyday. They use the windows login Ids to login. Since I'm new to this technology, I've been trying to understand the basic concepts of these of how exactly it works and have come up with some following views on them.

Citrix Metaframe allows you to run your applications that you have at your work from anywhere in the world or on your LAN. It doesnt matter if you are using dialup modem, DSL, ISDN or T1 to access citrix remotely. To work with Citrix, i.e, to have citrix metaframe (the main console), we need to have an enhanced version of Windows NT 4.0 (Terminal server Edition), Windows 2k (with terminal services installed) or Win 2k3.

Then we add Citrix metaframe, a product which allows multiple users to access multiple applications on the Citrix server at the same time. About the bandwidth, it uses around 10K to 20K per connection. Hence 28k dial-up modem is enough access Citrix Server. Its like.. the screen shots are sent to user and in return every mouse-clicks and response from the user is sent back to the server. Citrix software runs on a high performance Pentium PC and usually a single processor citrix server will support upto 15 simultaneous client connections.

(Will surely come back on this)...

Virtualization

Well.. Virtuallization isnt a new term for me but I've not worked much on it. Since my company is implementing this technology and I have a very important role in the process, I thought of surfing the net and get some poits to be remembered. Following is an article I got from the vmware site.

Top 5 Reasons to Adopt Virtualization Software:

1. Get more out of your existing resources: Pool common infrastructure resources and break the legacy “one application to one server” model with server consolidation.

2. Reduce datacenter costs by reducing your physical infrastructure and improving your server to admin ratio: Fewer servers and related IT hardware means reduced real estate and reduced power and cooling requirements. Better management tools let you improve your server to admin ratio so personnel requirements are reduced as well.

3. Increase availability of hardware and applications for improved business continuity: Securely backup and migrate entire virtual environments with no interruption in service. Eliminate planned downtime and recover immediately from unplanned issues.

4. Gain operational flexibility: Respond to market changes with dynamic resource management, faster server provisioning and improved desktop and application deployment.

5. Improve desktop manageability and security: Deploy, manage and monitor secure desktop environments that users can access locally or remotely, with or without a network connection, on almost any standard desktop, laptop or tablet PC.

Freelancers for e-Service: How far how good?

We've heard about freelancers. We've heard people talking about it. We've read about them time and again in newspapers, internet and other media. Who ARE they?? To analyse wheather freelancers would be cheaper alternative to big time IT companies, we need to know them. How they work, what process they follow, how flexible are they etc.

The so called process in every IT companies for letting any project in is very complex and thats a truth. I mean complex compared to that of freelancers. The client first gives out the tender to which a quotation is sent in response by the company followed by lot of formal business meetings with the so called Business Analysts where they talk various points like total number of head counts required, details about the existing system, technical, s/w requirement specifications etc. Then, the client has to send the purchase orders to the company. Finally... then the work has begun !!!

The same procedures has to take place if the client is approching freelancers. But then, the problem arises when we think of co-ordination.

The reason why...

The main reason why I scrap up my blogs with a lot of variety topics is that I need to get a confirmation about the whatever I learn by just scribling it, just as we did in the school days. So here instead of scribbling it down on some piece of paper which may vanish away anytime, I just type away something that I recently learnt. It brings about such a sweet feeling, you are making online notes on a specific topic.

Most of my posts are more likely to be in some kind of dogmatic or say... instruction mode... But then the readers here should reallise that I'm just a student and Im just making notes. Its rightly said by someone "If you can explain what you have learnt, then I say, you have learnt in the real sense". The fact is undeniable that the proces of making such notes by the way of explaining someone makes your knowledge level not only pervasive but also serves as a great positive purpose for the people in the neighbourhood who are more likely to be interested in the topic looking for some solutions, ideas or a second opinion.