Impressive new features we have in a new release of Citrix core software, we talk about XenApp and XenDesktop! The version has just been released 7.13 and we have quite a few novelties as usual, but this time we have such interesting things as improvements in HDX, where thanks to a new protocol, We will optimize bandwidths at least one 60% with default settings, we will improve file transfers up to 10 times faster, thus printing times 5 times or video and audio sessions! They also do not forget the simplification of management by adding new items that were in high demand!

In this document we will try to summarize the main new features of Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop 7.13, We will detail below the novelties of each component. If we haven't migrated yet, that we know that we will be able to in-place upgrade to the version 7.13 from the following versions:

What's New in VDA 7.13

• Delivery of applications published to Linux servers to users, from any device! At last, we will now be able to deliver any application installed on a Linux VDA and deliver it integrated to Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS or Androids.

• Adaptive transport. The adaptive technology of the new Citrix protocol, called EDT (Enlightened Data Transport), optimize data transport wherever possible, instead of using TCP. Comparing it to TCP and UDP; EDT delivers superior user experience over WAN and Internet connections. The Good, is that EDT responds dynamically to network conditions and changes; maintaining efficient use of network capacity and VDA stability. EDT is UDP-based and improves the performance of all ICA virtual channels, as are Thinwire for graphics delivery, File transfers (Client Drive Mapping), impression, Multimedia Redirection. If UDP is not available, adaptive transport will use TCP. Enabled by the 'HDX Adaptive Transport' policy. Requires Citrix Receiver for Windows 4.7 o Citrix Receiver for Mac 12.5. And if we have external access, we'll need NetScaler Unified Gateway 11.1.51. For More info.

• HDX 3D Pro support for GPUs de AMD. HDX 3D Pro graphics acceleration technology will be available with AMD Multiuser GPU (MxGPU) on AMD FirePro S-series server graphics. In addition, in this version the multi-monitor mode is supported, up to a maximum of six. For More info.

• Now, We can also use hardware encoding with the graphics processors of Intel Iris Pro, as well as in the 7.11 NVIDIA GRID GPUs introduced. Supported on both VDA Servers and Desktops (in standard mode or HDX 3D Pro), unlike NVIDIA GRID that only supports Desktop VDAs in HDX 3D Pro mode. We'll configure it in the policies. For More info.

• Improved drawing features on Wacom tablets. The Wacom pen tablets can be connected to published desktops on RDS MVs with generic USB redirection enabled. For More info.

• Improved support for Asian languages.

• Client auto-reconnection and consistency in session reliability, We will allow users to automatically reconnect after a network outage, we'll configure it using session reliability policies in Studio. For more info, here and here.

• Two-way content redirection. We can specify through policies whether we will enable URL redirection from the client to the server, or from server to client. For More info.

• Customer Unit Mapping. Improved file copying performance.

What's New in StoreFront 3.9

• SAML authentication via StoreFront. We will be able to enable StoreFront to integrate with SAML from “Manage Authentication Methods” > “SAML Authentication”. Allowing users to once they have logged into your corporate network, for example, can make a single sign-on against your published applications or desktops. We will need to have Citrix Receiver for Windows 4.6 or higher, or directly use the Citrix Receiver for Web sites. For More info.

• Multiple Import of NetScaler Gateway vServer Configurations. From the StoreFront console, we can import multiple configurations of the NS vServers, simplifying the manual configuration that we have been doing until now. To do this,: “Manage NetScaler Gateways” > “Imported from file” or from PowerShell. For More info.

• Configure two URLs for the same NetScaler Gateway using StoreFront PowerShell SDK. In the version 3.9, a new optional -gslburl parameter can be added that will make StoreFront management easier using GSLB. For More info.

Director News 7.13

• Application-centric troubleshooting. We will have a New view for viewing application instances running on our VDA Servers, as well as to know their health. Also in the Sessions tab, We will have a new measurement metric for session downtime, we will be able to more easily identify inactive sessions. For More info.

• Transport protocol in the Sessions panel. Dashboard adds additional value to user sessions, will show us the protocol of the session, displaying it as TCP or UDP for connections based on the adaptive HDX technology. For More info.

What's New in Session Recording 7.13

• It can be Specify the DB Name, you can use a custom name for the Session Recording database and the Administrator Logging database. For More info.

• High availability at the DB level. Session Recording supports three different solutions for high availability in the database, based on Microsoft SQL Server, for More info.

What's new in Provisioning Services 7.13

• PVS Accelerator. XenServer 7.1, together with Provisioning Services 7.13, XenApp and XenDesktop 7.13, allows caching of data transmitted by VMs on hypervisors. This cache improves the performance of virtual machines, with start-up times up to 25% faster, also reduces network consumption and resources on PVS servers by up to 90%. For More info.

• Streaming de Linux. We can now also provision virtual machines with Linux operating systems directly from the XenDesktop environment! Only for now for RHEL and CentOS distributions. For More info.