How does Citrix fit into all this?

lespaulman74

Ok, so im a noob in virtualization, so apologies beforehand:

I think I have a good handle on the purpose of virtual machines/hypervisors - I have been testing and using Vmware Server and "bare metal hypervisors" ESXi and Xen.

But, how does Citrix fit into all this...is it just another "hypervisor" like VMware or something a little more akin to Terminal Services/VNC/TightVNC??

When would you use Citrix over say VMware? Citrix over Terminal Services or VNC?
Thanks

kalebksp

Citrix makes a few different products. In regards to virtualization they own Xen and sell XenServer, a hypervisor similar to ESX. All the hypervisors have pros and cons, which one a company would use depends on their budget and needs.

blargoe

Citrix has the XenServer hypervisor, but they are more traditionally known for what is today known as XenApp (previously Presentation Server, previously Metraframe). XenApp is used for presenting applications to end user desktops over a terminal services session, "application" virtualization, if you will, rather than "server" virtualization. I think when most people think or speak of "Citrix", this is the technology to which they refer. And not surprisingly, Microsoft (App-V) and VMWare (ThinApp) have competing products in that segment too. Also, many people are running XenApp servers virtually within their hypervisor of choice with decent success.... they are really adjacent technologies that can be used together.