Citrix has released a 64-bit version of its application
virtualisation system, Citrix Presentation Server 4.0. The software
is expected to boost application performance and speed up network
file transfers.
It will also give Citrix customers the ability to support up to
three times more end-users on their servers, reducing the total
cost of ownership of hardware.
Dan Kusnetzky, vice-president of system software research at
analyst firm IDC, said the product could help organisations that
are consolidating workloads and data in the hopes of reducing
operational and administrative costs.
Bryan Cowley, group head of IT at Citrix user Brintons Carpets,
said his company would be interested in the 64-bit system as it
would enable its sites in different countries to work off the same
central systems in the UK datacentre, with reduced operational and
administrative costs.
Cowley said, "If by a 64-bit implementation we can mitigate or
at least reduce the additional central cost overheads, the global
project becomes a lot more attractive."
But he added, "Our concerns are the implications for peripheral
hardware such as printers, where we have suffered problems in the
past trying to get suitable drivers to work with older equipment.
We would not want to trade off the server cost benefits by needing
new peripheral hardware because of the lack of drivers for our
existing printers."