XenServer 7.0 隆重發表

It’s day one of Citrix Synergy 2016, and what a great day it is for the XenServer product group! If you haven’t heard by now (check out Steve Wilson’s post), we just launched our most significant release ever: XenServer 7!

In this post, I want to give you a little insight into the key themes, features and product enhancements that are are going to benefit Citrix customers, whether they are using XenServer for traditional server virtualization, or application and desktop virtualization with XenApp and XenDesktop. 

強化繪圖領導者地位

Since May 2013, when Citrix introduced NVDIA GRID vGPU integration to an eager Synergy audience, XenServer has led the field in hypervisor-based virtualized graphics.

In XenServer 7, Citrix extends support for NVIDIA GRID, to include the M6 & M60 GPUs, also increasing the number of vGPU sessions per host to 128. Add to this the introduction of GRID vGPU support for RHEL, OEL, CentOS and Ubuntu Linux desktops, and you have a flexible platform for either Windows or Linux-based, graphics intensive applications. This opens up new opportunities for our customers to virtualize Linux applications that have traditionally been desktop or workstation bound, centralizing them securely within the datacenter and benefiting from shared infrastructure to be used on cheaper, commodity end-user devices, PCs, tablets.

XenServer 7.0 with the NVIDIA TESLA M10 supports up to 128 NVIDIA GRID vGPU-enabled VMs (a 33% increase on XenServer 6.5), enabling the highest density deployments of GPU-accelerated applications across the enterprise for knowledge workers, and with the TESLA M60/M6, it supports the most graphics demanding CAD users – with no compromise in performance,” says John Fanelli, VP Product for NVIDIA GRID. “With GRID software, Citrix customers benefit from twice yearly updates to ensure they always have access to the latest innovations and improvements. Support for Linux brings the benefits of virtualization to an entirely new customers in industries such as oil and gas, media and entertainment, and aerospace and defense.

XenServer 7 also sees the introduction of a new GPU vendor. Following close collaboration with Intel, XenServer is the first hypervisor platform to support Intel’s virtualized graphics, GVT-g, which is based on the Iris Pro Graphics chipset. So, you might be asking, “Why is this so interesting?” For a start, the GPU is embedded within the CPU socket, requiring no additional hardware. 目前支援Broadwell CPUs (Xeon E3 v4), 並且一顆CPU可以支援七個GPU sessions.

This creates a very low barrier to entry for businesses seeking to leverage enhanced graphics benefits via XenApp or XenDesktop. Learn more about GVT-g from Intel here.

與微軟技術整合

Citrix has a long history of integrating with, and supporting Microsoft operating systems and infrastructure products, and XenServer 7 is no exception.

·   微軟Windows虛擬機驅動程式自動化管理
Do you administer a larger XenServer environment? We currently support up to 1000 VMs per host, and have customers running thousands of hosts, so when time comes to updating the Windows VMs’ XenTools, it can be quite a challenge. Even with smaller infrastructures, the process of updating many Windows VMs can be a headache, something we’ve heard loud and clear from our customers. Our solution? Automation.
In XenServer 7, it is now possible to let Microsoft Update Services automatically install and/or update the Windows VM I/O drivers contained within those VMs, moving this once cumbersome process into the standard organizational framework for how their Windows machines are updated.

·   支援微軟SMB協定
Adding to the wide variety of host storage connectivity, XenServer 7 now includes SMB to enable IT admins to use Windows storage devices running SMB for their XenServer VM’s disks.

·    Docker containers in Windows Server 2016
In May 2015, XenServer introduced Docker container management for Linux VMs, opening up visibility and management to IT admins, of the containers being used within their XenServer infrastructures. This year for XenServer 7, we are really excited to be supporting Docker containers on Microsoft Windows Server 2016 OS, rounding off our of Docker support across both Linux and Windows, the first and only commercial hypervisor to do so.

·  A new Microsoft System Center Operations Manager (SCOM) management pack is now integrated and licensed in XenServer 7. For customers wanting greater Microsoft SCOM management visibility, this ties in well across the Citrix stack.

· The Microsoft Active Directory integration within XenServer has been improved, changing the underlying connectivity components, which increases the scalability to support large AD forests, whilst also increasing performance.

· XenServer 7 includes templates for Microsoft Windows 10 and preview of Windows Server 2016.

安全性的革命式創新

Infrastructure security is always a challenge, and whether it’s protection from viruses, malware or hackers, there are a variety of tools and methods used by security vendors to help businesses protect their IT infrastructures from the variety of tools and methods used by the people with malicious intent. A big challenge is how malware and hackers get around, disable, or hide themselves from existing security solutions.

If someone can leverage a software vulnerability to gain access to a system, they tend to work their way up the security chain, seeking to get the highest level of system privileges from where they can disable security software and do the most damage or gain access to the most sensitive data.