Citrix Hypervisor

Citrix Hypervisor
Name	Citrix Hypervisor
Developer	Citrix Systems
Initial release	2013
Latest release	8.2
Operating system	Linux-based
Platform	x86-64
License	Proprietary / Proprietary with open components
Website	citrix.com

Citrix Hypervisor Citrix Hypervisor is a virtualization platform developed by Citrix Systems used for server virtualization, desktop virtualization, and cloud infrastructure. It is built on a Xen Project virtualization core and is designed to integrate with enterprise ecosystems from vendors such as Microsoft, Red Hat, VMware, Dell Technologies, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Major adopters include organizations in sectors represented by NHS England, United States Department of Defense, HSBC, and Deutsche Bank.

Overview

Citrix Hypervisor evolved from the XenServer lineage and shares roots with the Xen Project and contributions from companies like Citrix Systems, Canonical, Oracle Corporation, Intel, and AMD. It targets use cases found in environments run by Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and private clouds managed by VMware vSphere or Red Hat OpenStack Platform. Integrations and partnerships have linked it to management tools such as Microsoft System Center, VMware vCenter, Red Hat Satellite, and orchestration frameworks like OpenStack, Kubernetes, Apache Mesos, and Ansible.

Architecture

The architecture centers on a microkernel-based hypervisor derived from the Xen Project with dom0 control domain implementations running on a Linux distribution similar to offerings from Canonical and SUSE. Host management interfaces interoperate with APIs from OpenStack Glance, Neutron, and Cinder as well as adapters for VMware ESXi and Hyper-V. Storage integrations support array products from NetApp, EMC Corporation, Pure Storage, and IBM Storage System families, while networking leverages technologies from Cisco Systems, Juniper Networks, Arista Networks, and the Open vSwitch project. Hardware acceleration features exploit extensions from Intel VT-x, Intel VT-d, AMD-V, and SR-IOV supported by server platforms from Supermicro and integrated appliance vendors like Nutanix.

Features

Key features include live migration, high availability, virtual machine snapshots, and GPU passthrough compatible with accelerators from NVIDIA and AMD. Management consoles provide integration points for Citrix Virtual Apps, Citrix Virtual Desktops, and ecosystem tooling such as Microsoft Active Directory, LDAP, Kerberos, and SAML identity providers from Okta and Ping Identity. Backup and recovery workflows integrate with vendors like Veeam, Commvault, Rubrik, and Veritas Technologies. Monitoring and telemetry are compatible with Prometheus, Zabbix, Nagios, and Splunk for observability; addons support orchestration via Terraform and Puppet.

Editions and Licensing

Citrix Hypervisor has historically been offered in multiple editions, addressing customers ranging from small enterprises to large service providers like Telefonica and AT&T. Licensing models align with subscription practices used by Microsoft, Oracle Corporation, Red Hat, and VMware, Inc., including support contracts similar to those of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Partner certification programs resemble those run by Cisco Systems and Dell Technologies for hardware compatibility and support. Commercial licensing often includes integrations with Citrix Workspace offerings and support tiers comparable to IBM service contracts.

Deployment and Management

Deployment pathways include bare-metal installation on servers from Dell EMC, HPE, and Lenovo, provisioning via PXE and integration with configuration management tools such as Ansible, Chef, Puppet Labs, and SaltStack. Management is facilitated through graphical consoles, command-line tools inspired by XenAdmin and xe, and APIs consumable by orchestration platforms like OpenStack Nova and CloudStack. For end-user computing, it connects to desktop delivery solutions led by Citrix Systems and competitor platforms from VMware Horizon and Microsoft Remote Desktop Services.

Performance and Scalability

Performance features exploit processor innovations from Intel Corporation and Advanced Micro Devices, while storage performance leverages NVMe technology promoted by NVM Express and flash arrays from Pure Storage and Samsung Electronics. Networking throughput benefits from offloads and SR-IOV supported on adapters from Intel Networking, Broadcom, and Mellanox Technologies. Scalability has been demonstrated in environments operated by hyperscalers such as Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, and service providers like IBM Cloud, using orchestration layers like Kubernetes and OpenStack to manage large VM fleets.

Security and Compliance

Security capabilities include integration with identity providers like Microsoft Azure Active Directory, Okta, and Ping Identity, support for secure boot and TPM features promoted by Trusted Computing Group, and audit trails compatible with compliance regimes like PCI DSS, HIPAA, SOC 2, and ISO/IEC 27001. Hardening guidance follows standards from organizations such as CIS (Center for Internet Security) and certification efforts analogous to Common Criteria evaluations. Incident response and forensics in deployed environments often coordinate with partners such as Mandiant and CrowdStrike.

Category:Virtualization software