(NASDAQ:CTXS) announced the newCitrix Ready Open Storage Program. This new program makes it easy forthird-party storage vendors to certify interoperability of their products withCitrix XenServer, using the company`s innovative new StorageLink technology. Asa result, enterprise customers can rest assured that any environment virtualizedwith XenServer will work seamlessly with all of their existing storage, backupand disaster recovery systems. Because Citrix StorageLink technology is alsoavailable for the Microsoft Windows Server Hyper-V platform, thesecertifications apply equally to servers virtualized with Hyper-V, ensuringunprecedented interoperability between XenServer, Hyper-V and all of theindustry`s leading storage systems.
Charter members of the Citrix Ready OpenStorage Program incorporate more than 20 major storage vendors, includingBrocade, CA, Dell, HP, Hitachi Data Systems, LSI, Microsoft Corp., NetApp andSymantec (see end of release for additional comments of support from partners). Citrix StorageLink for XenServerThe Citrix StorageLink technology makes it easy for a company`s server anddesktop virtualization infrastructure to fully leverage all the resources andfunctionality of existing storage systems. StorageLink reduces cost andcomplexity by providing one click access to native storage services and offerseasy, wizard-driven storage setup and maintenance management for virtualizationadministrators. StorageLink is available to customers as part of the CitrixEssentials for XenServer and Hyper-V product line, which offers a broad range ofadvanced virtualization management capabilities for both XenServer and Hyper-Venvironments. "With the StorageLink capabilities in Citrix Essentials for Hyper-V, Microsoftcustomers will be able to obtain even more value from their existinginvestments," said Zane Adam, senior director of virtualization and SystemCenter, Microsoft Corp.
"By enabling our customers to use the high performancestorage array capabilities with System Center Virtual Machine Manager andWindows Server 2008 Hyper-V, it makes it even easier for them to integratevirtualization into their existing IT frameworks, and allow them to create morescalable, manageable and agile virtual infrastructures." Citrix Ready Open Storage ProgramThe Citrix Ready Open Storage Program enables third-party storage vendors toverify that their products have been tested to deliver the following customerbenefits:* Optimal Use of Storage Capabilities: Ensures that capabilities built intoexisting storage arrays, such as thin provisioning, de-duplication, and off-hostperformance, can be easily and fully utilized by customers directly in theirvirtualization environment. * Improved Server and I/O Performance: Allows for virtual machine (VM)operations such as cloning and snapshot requests to be implemented directly inthe storage array, with no host involvement. This dramatically enhances totalsystem performance and allows customers using virtualization to take fulladvantage of all the power and innovation provided in their storage systems withno compromise, just as they are able to do on bare-metal systems today. * Consistent VM Storage Management: Connects storage to VM utilization in amanner consistent with existing storage practices, allowing each VM its ownstorage when viewed from a storage management perspective. In the past,customers using virtualization have been forced to keep VMs on a single storagevolume, which makes it extremely difficult for storage administrators to monitortheir existing storage management systems. * Industry Standard Support: StorageLink technology supports industry standardStorage Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S) and offers easilyimplemented custom adapters for non-SMI-S arrays. It also supports storage onboth iSCSI and FibreChannel interconnects.
* Improved Security: Using StorageLink, customers can optionally perform SANfabric zoning for improved security. Fabric zoning provides hardware levelassurance that only authorized servers are allowed access to the storageenvironment. * Multi-Hypervisor Interoperability: StorageLink enables a wide range of storagesolutions to work seamlessly with XenServer, Hyper-V, and Microsoft SystemCenter Virtual Machine Manager 2008, and includes interoperability featuresbetween the two virtualization platforms. This breadth of interoperability givescustomers support for two of the fastest-growing virtualization platforms in theindustry.