What s New in the Second Edition


What's New in the Second Edition

This book is a continuation of the first edition written three years ago by Steve Kaplan and Marc Mangus. Server-based computing technology has evolved significantly over the last three years, with the release of Windows Server 2003, Citrix MetaFrame XP Presentation Server, MetaFrame Secure Access Manager, MetaFrame Conferencing Manager, and MetaFrame Password Manager (which together comprise the Citrix MetaFrame Access Suite), along with myriad third-party applications and solution providers that have brought this technology into the mainstream and have resolved and automated a host of issues and complications. Server-based computing on an enterprise level has expanded and evolved into what Citrix calls the on-demand enterprise. Citrix is the market leader in access infrastructure that enables people to access enterprise applications and information on demand.

This second edition incorporates these changes. We take an in-depth look at Microsoft Server 2003 and the changes this product brings to server-based computing, the changes Citrix has brought with the Citrix MetaFrame Access Suite, and the shift that is underway towards webification and web aggregation (such as with Citrix MetaFrame Secure Access Manager). We have also updated all of the information on client deployment, security, third-party add-on applications, and overall management of a server-based computing environment to include all of the latest advancements and industry best-practice trends.

In addition to the technical changes of the last three years, the business climate has also been transformed dramatically. Waves of power outage problems on the west coast in early 2001 and the east coast in August 2003, and the events of September 11, 2001, have forced businesses to more seriously analyze their disaster recovery and business continuity plans. Hundreds of businesses lost data, and just as importantly, lost access to data for extended periods of time. No longer is it acceptable to simply have a plan for data recovery; organizations must also now have a tested plan for business continuity. Fortunately, some of the businesses affected in these crises utilized server-based computing, and were able to demonstrate the effectiveness of replicated server-based sites and user access from anywhere, anyplace, at any time.

The authors of this book have been evangelizing the virtues of server-based computing since its roots as thin-client technology. Our firms represent well over 2000 successful server-based computing installations at every type of enterprise from Fortune 50 to small businesses with only ten employees. Even with this broad success, however, we daily engage with organizations that have little or no knowledge of the powerful benefits of server-based computing. A significant number of enterprises still have not made the jump from looking at their IT infrastructure as a cost department, to looking at it as an automation and enabling department. Many enterprises are still hesitant to throw out what they believe to be the safe approach of continuing down the familiar (and unending) road of constant PC upgrading and maintenance.

Although this book will speak to those businesses that have not seriously considered server-based computing, its text is more specifically aimed at helping those who have made the decision and are looking for industry best practices and practical tips to find the greatest success with this technology.

Server-based computing has allowed us to build a more efficient yet technically cutting-edge environment. We use it to reduce Telco expenses, augment our VoIP solution, and increase company productivity via the virtual desktop. With Citrix, we can manage all these applications for 300 users with an IT team of four people.

—John Graham, IT Manager, Mountain West Farm Bureau




Citrix Metaframe Access Suite for Windows Server 2003(c) The Official Guide
Citrix Access Suite 4 for Windows Server 2003: The Official Guide, Third Edition
ISBN: 0072262893
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 158

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