Cisco, Citrix team on enterprise desktop virtualization

From InfoWorld: Hoping to ease a typically arduous deployment process, Citrix and Cisco Systems are jointly offering a package for running a large number of virtual desktops across an organization.

The idea behind the as-yet-unnamed offering is to "bring simplicity to the desktop market," said Jackie Ross, a Cisco vice president.

The package includes Citrix's XenDesktop, which is VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) software that downloads an operating system to a desktop computer from a centralized pool of servers. The package also includes Cisco's Unified Computing System, an integrated assemblage of blade servers, switches, storage adapters, and networking fabric.

By teaming with Cisco, Citrix is hoping to distinguish its offering in the increasingly crowded VDI space, which also includes products such as VMware View and Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization.

The basic starter kit will provide remote access for up to 300 users. The companies will provide "expansion packs," as Ross described them, for an additional 400 users per pack. The system should be able to scale to "tens of thousands of users," Ross said.

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