Creating and Deploying a Citrix Template on VMWare ESX

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Similar to my other related posts, this is specific to my operating environment and may not fit all. However, the best practices referenced here should help in most environments.

Citrix on VMWare ESX

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Although these guidelines are created using the following environment, these standards should apply to just about any Terminal Services-based virtual environment (XenApp 5, Quest vWorkspace 6, 2X, Windows 2008 TS, etc.):

• VMWare ESX 3.5 Update 2
• Virtual Center 2.5
• Windows 2003 R2 SP2 Standard Edition
• Citrix Presentation/XenApp Server 4.5

ESX Virtual Machine Best Practices

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My primary focus is server-based computing, specifically Citrix Presentation/XenApp Server. With a stronger push for virtualization in most market segments, I've seen mixed results for virtualizing Citrix on VMWare.

Several vendors and consultants have recommended using XenServer (now from Citrix, formerly from Xen Source) which is better at handling XenApp workloads. My question as been, WHY? What are the key differences and why the performance difference? The key is Memory Sharing and how VMWare allows overallocation of resources.