What is Citrix?

[gib88]

Hello,

I need to know about Citrix Servers. What are they?

I have a client who is asking the question:

"With the possible windows 10 issue can the software run on a citrix server running server 2008, server 2012 or server 2016?"

The "software" he's talking about is a desktop application we produced. He asked me if we will be releasing a Windows 10 version of the software to which I said "probably." Now he's asking this question.

I don't know what Windows 10 has to do with Citrix or with the other operating systems he listed. I'm assuming Citrix is the hardware and it will be running Windows Server 2008, 2012, or 2016. Either that or Citrix is the operating system and Windows Server 2008/2012/2016 is a virtual server that will be running on it.

Either way, I would think the answer to his question depends on whether our software can be installed on Windows Server 2008/2012/2016 (which it currently does NOT) and has nothing to do with Citrix or Windows 10.

^ Does this make any sense?

 

[crazyman143]

I don't really know much about Citrix, but I believe it's a virtualization platform. So, probably he is asking if your app would run on a virtualized instance of 2008, server 2012 or server 2016. If your app can't run on those, then the answer is no.

 

[Technician1]

Citrix that I used was a way to work on a database remotely at home and have the database at work be updated in real time.

 

[gib88]

Thanks both,

I get the same impression based on my research and the client's needs.

 

[root]

To be honest, If I were you I'd say, "no official support but should work."



First, I'll give you a better description of what Citrix is:

First, Citrix is not a product, Citrix is a company. so I want Citrix is kind of like saying I want Microsoft, the next question is Microsoft what?

same deal, Citrix what?
so you should clariffy what they mean.

there are three core products in the Citrix product offerings.

Citrix Xen Server
Citrix Xen Desktop (vdi)
Citrix Xen App (formally Citrix Presentation server, and Citrix Metaframe before that.)
There is also Cisco Netscaler...

Previously when people used to say they wanted Citrix, what they meant was that they wanted Citrix presentation server, now it is just as likely they mean VDI


Xen server is a hypervisor, it is basically a free piece of software (any one can download and play with it for free) the only thing is you pay for support and updates and advanced management tools. (they have to make money somewhere right).


Next on the list was Xen desktop.
Xen desktop is a solution that works hand in hand with a hypervisor solution, (doesn't have to be xen server it works well on Vmware too)
Basically, what you have is a bunch of end "clients" (of any flavor (mac/windows/linux/iphone/ipad/android etc) those devices run the Citrix reciever.

you connect to a website and say Launch my dekstop, then in the back ground the hypervisor either: retrieves a virtual machine that is yours boots it and all your files are available (if you're using persistent machines) or, looks at a base image and uses that as a template to spin up a brand new machine that only exists for the length of the session, (if you;re not using persistent machines.)

it is actually pretty cool, it enables you to use any hardware tell people that they can bring their own hardware, and you get to have a uniform corporate machine that they can connect to. but without actually having to have that machine. if you use not persistent machines your support offering is literally save, shut the session and start again (and a new image spins up) installing updates is as simple as updating the basic image (which is just a virtual machine) and once that is done and published, everyone is running the latest version, (you're updating thousands of desktops all at once...)

In this case, the end machine that the software will run on is just a regular (albeit virtualised) desktop. so if their virtual desktops are windows 10, then the app will be running on windows 10.


That third offering was Xenapp, Xen app is again a pretty cool offering, where rather than installing applications on workstations, you install them on servers, and then the workstations (well whatever device the Citrix receiver is installed on) launches a link (either from a website or on their desktop or start menu)
and connects to an application that doesn't run on their desktop it actually runs on a server somewhere else, (like running an application on a remote desktop) but you don;t see the server desktop, the application runs "seamlessly" on the device, just like any other app would, its "almost" exactly like the application is installed.


it's unlikely that they are asking you if your application will work on a network device, so netscaler os out!



It's most likely that they are asking about the xenapp option...

so here is the thing:
your application "should" work on Citrix IF the application works on a windows server OS.
so if their question is, does it work on Citrix where the cirtix server is windows 2012?
If your product does not work on windows 2012, then the answer is an outright "no."
If it does work on windows 2012, then your answer should be: "it will work (and is supported?) on windows 2012, we haven't (and won't?) tested with Citrix, but it should work."


Here is a story.
Once upon a time I rolled out a citrix solution (for a client) with some "small software house" custom applications.
I sought assurances from suppliers for custom and bespoke software "does your software work on windows 2008, and does it work with Citrix Xenapp 6."

one supplier said, Yes, and Yes! - they had tested it, they support it.

good times.
until problems start happenning,
turns out, when their software is run through a terminal services session (which is all Citrix is really) that there was a particular off the shelf component they had used, that had a memory leak and it was an image processing component, so it was not releasing pretty sizeable chunks of memory... and this was causing issues on the servers...
and the servers weren't only used for this software, so that one image processing component that was used in the code was causing critical issues on servers affecting people globally, (my client was a global company with thousands of staff)


The client that I did the work for hounded that company weekly for two years with the same argument. (annoyingly they used to cc me in their complaints.)

"We have a written assurance from you that this works, when will you release an update to make it work."

 

[crazyman143]

Thanks for the background on the Citrix products, it was a good read.

 

[Technician1]

Lol a very long and drawn out way of repeating what was already said.
The op said he needed to know about citrix servers, not a company background, and no one said they wanted citrix, but citrix server.

A little more reading would have required a lot less writing from you.
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[gib88]

Thanks root for that excellent answer, roots. That's exactly what I asked for.

 

[Technician1]

Here is a better explanation if you want to know more.
What is Citrix Server and How Does it Work? - Parallels Remote Application Server Blog – Application virtualization, mobility and VDI

 

[root]

Lol a very long and drawn out way of repeating what was already said.
The op said he needed to know about citrix servers, not a company background, and no one said they wanted citrix, but citrix server.

A little more reading would have required a lot less writing from you.
��

except the only two answers were I don't know, and it's used to update databases in real time where I used work.

I don't know is honest, but not helpful. Frankly your answer was factually wrong. Citrix is not a way to make sure databases are kept up to date when you are working remotely.

if you'd actually read my answer and understood (you clearly didn't) then you probably wouldn't still be referring to Citrix as though it's just a single product.

There is no such thing as "Citrix server"
so, read try to understand, and you may learn something.
Citrix is a company with 4 key offerings.
There is Citrix Xenapp
Citrix Xen Desktop
Citrix Xen Server
and Citrix Netscaler.

Frankly Citrix Xenserver is just as much "Citrix server" as Xendesktop, (it's a cut down version of linux)
so will his (windows) software work on Xenserver - (almost certainly) no.
Will it work on Xen desktop (where the virtualization is entirely transparent to the software) - (almost certainly) yes.

Lets make this simple (I hope you understand.)

if I say, I'm thinking of installing "Microsoft server" and I'm wondering how it will handle my documents? what do you think I'm talking about?
(whilst I could just leave my answer there and just say no you;re wrong later) the server I was thinking of was "Microsoft Sharepoint Server", but it could easily have been a regular windows server (sharing files with file sharing) or a regular windows server but I wanted to use DFS or, an exchange server wanting to know about email attachment size. or I could be talking about a SQL server and wondering about storing files as BLOBs... or plenty of other "microsoft server" offerings.


This is no different, since "Citrix server" could refer to multiple offerings,
the OP needs to clarify what his client means when they say Citrix server.

Here is a better explanation if you want to know more.
What is Citrix Server and How Does it Work? - Parallels Remote Application Server Blog – Application virtualization, mobility and VDI

Aside from that actually just repeating most of what I'm said in a *more* verbose format.... it is not as complete as they missed out other core products and features.

The company has introduced 200 products in the last 25 years, and each product has been renamed more than once. The company introduced XenApp for application virtualization and XenDesktop for desktop virtualization. Later, Citrix combined both products into one and released XenDesktop 7.0. However, the company had to back out from this decision as it created confusion among users. Citrix then separately released both products as XenApp 7.6 and XenDesktop 7.6.

Wait, I thought you wanted less company history not more!
So like I said, Citrix is a company, the software supplied by the company has other names...

Parallels Remote Application Server solves all these challenges by delivering a comprehensive solution to all of your virtualization needs. This holistic package delivers the same features as XenApp and XenDesktop in a single and affordable edition.

Ahhh, now it becomes clear why their descriptions are incomplete... you linked to their competitors marketing. (probably in part because you don't understand what the product is, and know nothing about it, past just using the client part of one setup.)

You'd have done better reading right to the bottom and using one of their references as a link.


I suppose the story at the bottom of my post wasn't necessary, - you know except it illustrated how a software developer in the exact same position that the OP (software developer) is in, gave assurances that they could not back up, trying to do something good, they increased their own support cost.



one more thing you failed to understand (past anything about the subject of the thread was...)
Software development is this guys job. he's going to make company decisions that will affect what he does, (and possibly his company, job, and other peoples jobs...) based on your advice.
So you half complete and factually wrong statements made before mine, honestly do not cut it.