How Citrix Cloud Connector integrates with Cisco infrastructure
Citrix and Cisco released an integration that helps organizations transition to Citrix Cloud for a hybrid model that moves desktop management to the cloud. So, how does it work?
Citrix Cloud integration with Cisco's HyperFlex hyper-converged infrastructure can help IT departments simplify the transition to managing virtual desktops in the cloud.
Cisco HyperFlex for Citrix Cloud, which Citrix and Cisco made available in December 2018, enables organizations to transition from exclusively on-premises virtual desktop hosting to a hybrid hosting model that lets Citrix handle the management as a cloud service. To accomplish this, organizations need to install the Cisco HyperFlex HCI. The Citrix Cloud Connector software links the on-premises infrastructure with Citrix Cloud.
When IT pros deploy Citrix Cloud, it's best to do so quickly to ensure that the transition doesn't drag out and hurt user productivity. Organizations that aren't sure about their future desktop hosting plans could especially benefit from the Citrix Cloud Connector integration.
Who does this offering target?
This offering targets organizations looking to offload desktop storage and management from their VDI to Citrix Cloud, while keeping some of its components, such as data and virtual applications, on premises. Some organizations prefer to keep data and virtual apps on premises because of the more comprehensive security that comes with this hosting method. In some cases, this is due to regulations that require on-premises storage of data, such as the EU's GDPR or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
Organizations can offload desktop management tasks, such as patch and upgrade deployment, to Citrix Cloud.
Organizations can offload desktop management tasks, such as patch and upgrade deployment, to Citrix Cloud via Citrix Cloud Connector. Migrations to Windows 10 in the remaining months of extended Window 7 support are a significant use case for the integration.
Some organizations running VDI may not be ready for this transition for a few reasons, including concerns such as the large investment they have already made on back-end infrastructure.
Another potential concern with switching over to cloud-based management is the learning curve for the new desktop management platform. Citrix customers transitioning to the hybrid cloud model with Citrix Cloud Connector won't have this issue, however, because they share the same interface.
How can this offering help IT?
Citrix's cloud management requires a Citrix Cloud subscription that includes Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops and costs around $27 per user per month.
This hybrid cloud model may sound complex because it splits apart desktop hosting from other back-end workloads, but the two different hosting methods each have clearly defined roles. Organizations can keep their networking, compute and storage workloads for their virtual desktops on premises. The virtual desktops, however, move to the cloud with this model, and no Citrix components other than Citrix Cloud Connector remain on premises.
Organizations can repurpose some legacy infrastructure as well to save hardware costs, but this is restricted to compute-only nodes.
