2. HDX: High Definition Experience
HDX Broadcast HDX Plug-n-Play
ICA and RDP protocol support for Access to local resources and
access from any device, anywhere peripherals
HDX MediaStream HDX RichGraphics
Video and audio playback 2D and 3D graphics incl. Adaptive Display,
HDX 3D, HDX 3D Pro and RemoteFX
HDX RealTime HDX WAN Optimization
Voice and video for real-time Performance and bandwidth
collaboration optimizations for branch offices
HDX SmartAccess HDX Adaptive Orchestration
Simplified secure access Best user experience based on server,
network connection and user device
3. HDX MediaStream
Windows HTML 5
Silverlight QuickTime
Flash Media Video
5. HDX MediaStream and Adaptive Orchestration
1. Foundational approach: Server-side rendering (Adaptive Display)
Video frames
& audio
2. Optimization: Client-side rendering (multimedia redirection)
Native media streams
6. Why we use a mix of complementary technologies
Adaptive Display Flash Redirection Windows Media Redir.
(server-rendered) (client-rendered) (client-rendered)
User experience - LAN
Auto-adjustment of image Adaptive Display
User experience - WAN quality and frame rate preferred if video bit rate
exceeds bandwidth
Server scalability
Windows, Windows, Windows,
Linux, Linux 12.0 (Ubuntu, Linux (some limitations in
Device support
Mac, Fedora) media/file format support)
iPad 5.0
• Adaptive Orchestration picks the best delivery method
• Tip: For HD Windows media, bump up SmartRendering b/w threshold to 8 Mbps
(see hdx.citrix.com/hdx-internals “Server-Rendered Multimedia” CTX124516)
7. Adaptive Display: Max frames per second
Server-rendered video frame rate
30 FPS (maximum)
24 FPS (XenDesktop default) 24 FPS (XenApp 6.5 default)
12 FPS (prev XA default; many thin clients)
10 FPS (minimum cap on frame rate)
See CTX124516
8. HDX MediaStream Flash Redirection
• Objective: Offload server CPU by rendering Flash content
on the user device for majority of web sites (>90%)
• Significant server scalability benefit
and excellent user experience
9. Flash Redirection Architecture
Client Device XenDesktop /
Thinwire XenApp
virtual channel
Citrix Receiver
Internet Explorer
(Windows/Linux)
ActiveX
ICA
Flash
Player
HDX Flash
virtual HDX Flash
Service
channel
Adobe Flash player runs on the user’s device
10. HDX MediaStream Flash Redirection
• Uncompromised audio and video quality (incl. High Def)
• IE is hosted but Adobe Flash player runs on user device
• Utilizes client GPU/CPU for decoding (e.g. H.264 decode)
• Automatic fallback to server-side rendering in cases where it
still provides best experience (Adaptive Orchestration)
11. Enhancements in XD5.5/XA6.5
Flash Redirection “gen 2” adds support for:
• WAN-connected users
• Internet Explorer 9
• Linux Receiver 12.0 (Ubuntu & Fedora)
• HTTP redirection based Content Delivery Networks
• Flash cookie and HTTP cookie sandboxing
• Granular controls (e.g. per-Flash-instance, blacklist/whitelist)
13. Windows 7 Aero Redirection to Rich Clients
Like-local full Aero experience
Crystal clear and highly responsive (high frame rate)
XenDesktop (VDI)
14. Windows 7 Aero Redirection
WDDM driver architecture
Leverages client’s GPU/IGP
DirectX 9.0c, PixelShader v2
(supported on PCs several years old)
128MB video memory
2.0 GHz processor recommended
Windows XP, XPe, Vista, Win7, WES 7,
and Windows Thin PC
15. Windows 7 Aero Redirection
LAN and high speed WAN/Internet (3-5 Mbps)
XenServer, vSphere/ESX, Hyper-V
32-bit color support
Single or dual monitor support
Automatic fallback to Win7 Basic theme
16. Command Remoting (Aero) overview
• Provides the Windows Aero
Glass and other native visual
enhancements over the wire
• Uses a WDDM driver on the
remote host and a virtual
driver on the client to render
the effects
17. Microsoft RemoteFX integration
• Leverages and optimizes Microsoft
RemoteFX (GPUs in the data center)
• Support for RDP 7.1
• Accessible through Web Interface and
Citrix Receiver for Windows
• Future vision:
• Dynamic detection of RemoteFX capabilities
on servers and endpoints Microsoft RemoteFX in Windows Server 2008
R2 SP1 enables a local-like, rich experience
• Broader range of devices and access for virtual desktops
scenarios
XenDesktop (VDI)
18. RemoteFX integration in XenDesktop 5.5
Web Interface
Admin configures a site with RDPConnection=True in Application section
of the template.ica ICA file
User goes to Web Interface site and clicks on RemoteFX desktop
RemoteFX desktop is accessed using RDP 7.1
Citrix Receiver for Windows
Citrix Receiver instantiates RDP 7.1 client, instructing it to connect to the
user’s RemoteFX desktop
Windows 7 SP1, WES 7 SP1 and Windows Thin PC
XenDesktop (VDI)
19. Optimization Pack for Google Earth
• Google’s own software rasterizer
isn’t that great…
• Our optimization pack delivers better
image quality and performance
when running Google Earth without
GPU hardware
• Included with XenDesktop 5.5
Enterprise & Platinum; posted on the
Citrix Downloads site
20. Options for centralized 3D professional graphics
XenApp HDX 3D XenDesktop HDX 3D Pro
• GPU acceleration of DirectX • GPU acceleration of DirectX
(OpenGL is CPU-rendered) and OpenGL
• Each GPU can be shared by • One user per GPU
multiple users
• Deep compression
• Apps must be compatible
with RDS (Terminal Services) • 3D SpaceMouse support
Citrix Confidential - Do Not Distribute
21. HDX 3D Pro
• XenDesktop feature for high-end
3D professional graphics
• GPU acceleration for hardware
rendering of large 3D models
• Multiple compression options
including GPU codec for access
over WAN links (2 Mbps)
22. HDX 3D Pro: Centralize and secure design IP
All engineering data and
intellectual property is centrally
stored and secured:
• Engineering drawings
• Bills of Materials
• Cost Info
• Lifecycle Data
24. HDX 3D Pro
• Feature of XenDesktop Enterprise and
Platinum editions
• Broad app compatibility
• OpenGL, DirectX
• Blade/rack workstations are ideal, but
any form factor can be used for the host
• Multiple users per workstation using XenServer 6 GPU Passthrough
• User device can be standard PC running Windows or Linux
25. HDX 3D Pro
Desktop Virtualization for High-end Graphics Users
Client options
Optimized with
special codecs:
Std. ICA codec:
iPad 2
26. HDX 3D Pro Seamless Application Delivery
ICA HDX 3D Pro
Citrix Receiver
XenDesktop VDA
End Point Host
27. GPU Passthrough in XenServer 6
Reduced cost per user
• Tested with XenApp HDX 3D and XenDesktop
HDX 3D Pro
• Multiple GPUs per host (initially up to 4)
• One graphics-accelerated VM per GPU
• Depending on CPU power, same host may also support
non-graphics-accelerated users (i.e. regular office workers)
• Leverages NVIDIA high-performance Fermi GPUs
• e.g. Quadro 2000/4000/5000/6000, Tesla M2070Q
• Use latest NVIDIA Quadro driver (min. 276.14)
28. Multi-GPU Hardware Platforms for XenServer
Ever-growing list of tested multi-GPU solutions
ws460c G6 blade (2x Q4000 or 1x Q5000/Q6000)
R5500 rack workstation (3x Q4000 or 4x Q2000)
PowerEdge M610x with M2070Q plus C410x PCIe expansion chassis
(XenApp only) (4 GPU devices per server, 16 total GPUs per chassis)
HS22 with GPU expansion blade (e.g. 2x M2070Q)
System x iDataPlex dx360 M3 (supports Q4000/5000, M2070Q)
30. HDX RealTime: Complementary approaches
Generic: Media-over-ICA Optimized: Peer-to-peer
Unmodified softphone Softphone modified to use
Very broad app compatibility Citrix Virtual Channel SDK
Audio-video traffic transported Real-time audio-video traffic
over ICA bypasses Citrix server
Zero degradation
Citrix audio/video codecs, echo (no “hairpinning”)
cancellation, jitter buffering,
All decoding/encoding offloaded
etc., to maximize audio-video
to user device
quality
Maximum server scalability
31. HDX RealTime: Complementary approaches
Generic: Media-over-ICA Optimized: Peer-to-peer
server
User Interface User Interface
Business Logic Business Logic
user device
Media Engine
Media Engine
virtual channel
unmodified
softphone modified softphone architecture
architecture
32. HDX RealTime VoIP-over-ICA enhancements
Client jitter buffer in Citrix Receiver 3.0 for smoother audio
when network latency is variable
Low latency audio path
Improved echo cancellation
Audio plug-n-play and audio device routing
Multi-stream ICA for full QoS support
plus UDP/RTP for audio on XenDesktop (VDI)
with packet tagging (DSCP and WMM)
XenDesktop 5.5 VDI &
Hosted Shared (XenApp 6.5)
33. Multi-Stream ICA (True HDX Network QoS)
ICA Real Time ICA Real Time
ICA Interactive ICA Interactive XenDesktop
Windows 7
ICA Bulk ICA Bulk or
Citrix
XenApp
Receiver
ICA Background Router ICA Background WS08 R2*
for
Windows ICA UDP/RTP Audio * ICA UDP Audio *
HTTP
HTTP HTTP Server
* UDP/RTP Audio initially only in VDI FlexCast model (XenDesktop 5.5)
34. Webcam video compression
Preferred virtual channel for webcams
• Uses much less bandwidth than generic USB
• 300-600 Kbps upstream
• Works well over WAN connections
Generic USB is a possible fallback option in the event
of an app compatibility issue
• But it is limited to LAN connections
Check CPU utilization; you’ll likely need 2 vCPUs
• Caution: Server scalability will be reduced
35. HDX Differences between XD5.5 and XA6.5 HF1
HDX Category XenDesktop 5.5 (VDI) XenApp 6.5 HF1 (RDS)
HDX Broadcast No significant differences
HDX MediaStream
Adaptive Display No significant differences
HDX MediaStream
Flash Redirection No significant differences
HDX MediaStream
Windows Media Redir. No significant differences
HDX Plug-n-Play •Generic USB support on the LAN •Windows Portable USB devices
plus optimized virtual channels for •USB keyboards, mice, printers,
device-level redirection smartcards, etc. (optimized virtual
channels for device level redirection
rather than USB port level redirection)
36. HDX Differences between XD5.5 and XA6.5
HDX Category XenDesktop 5.5 (VDI) XenApp 6.5 HF1 (RDS)
HDX WAN
No significant differences
Optimization
HDX Rich Graphics •HDX 3D Pro for deep compression •DirectX acceleration (shared GPU)
and OpenGL/DirectX acceleration
(one user per GPU)
•Microsoft RemoteFX support
•Aero Redirection
HDX Smart Access No significant differences
HDX RealTime •UDP/RTP support for tolerance to •Softphone compatibility somewhat
network congestion / packet loss limited due to use of RDS
•DSCP and WMM packet tagging
HDX Adaptive
No significant differences
Orchestration
