Finaly XenServer 7.1 is ready and can be downloaded here. No more need for 15-30 updates after install (7.0) 🙂
XenServer 7.1 is a long-term support release (LTSR) for the first time in XenServer history. LTSR will give 10 years support as it is for XenApp/XenDesktop. Xenserver is the only hypervisor to offer the option of a full 10 years of support, with its product lifecycle dates fully aligned with XenApp/XenDeskop. A full Citrix stack with a single end-of-maintenance, end-of-life date simplifies customer infrastructure maintenance with a single end-of-maintenance, end-of-life date.
News of interest:
- Integrated image provisioning
Provisioning Services’ image management and deployment is hugely popular with enterprises for application and desktop virtualization, and in XenServer 7.1 it has been more deeply integrated than ever before. The introduction of PVS-Accelerator, a unique host-level cache, results in up to 98% lower network bandwidth requirements per XenServer host, and with a huge improvement in VM boot up times.
Existing PVS customers will be pleased to hear that this integration not only comes at no additional cost, but it has the added benefit of simplifying the PVS architecture, and potentially reducing the number of PVS servers required to simultaneously boot the same number of desktops.
- Live patching
Forget maintenace window and VM migration to update Xenserver, do it LIVE. XenServer 7.1 introduces an industry-first live patching capability. This unique capability radically reduces the impact of infrastructure maintenance.