Preferred Computer Solutions Newsletter September 2007

April 2008
In this issue

√ Desktop Delivery
√ Pack vs "Patch"
√ Undo Big Mistake
√ Not Easy Being Green

It's Not Easy Being Green!
Written by: David Tan, CTO

Traditionally, standard business practice for Information Technology has dictated that the primary focus of IT decisions and initiatives is based on the economic impact and viability. In other words, how much will it cost, and how much will it save me over time, and when will I recoup my investment. This mindset has started to change drastically in the last year or so, as companies adopt a Green IT mentality, and start to consider not only the economic impact of their decisions, but the environmental and social as well. The problem is, for IT, it’s not easy being green.

Green IT is one of those industry catchphrases we love to use so much. Essentially it is the practice of using computer resources in a more efficient and environmentally conscientious way. This can include everything from reduced power consumption to recycling and safe disposal.

“Virtualization was recommended as a key enabler for business growth, a factor of the utmost importance to BT Media and Broadcast Service,” said Richard May, senior IT infrastructure manager. “Citrix’s virtual desktop delivery solution has given us a flexible architecture and allowed us to future proof our network — facilitating global reach to our widening customer base. The solution, implemented by BT Basilica, not only has unsurpassed scalability but has realized reduced energy usability by 50 percent in one year”.

End -to-End Desktop Delivery Solution

Time to rethink traditional desktop deployment

For IT organizations, desktop management today is manual, time-consuming and expensive. Ensuring data security and regulatory compliance is complex when desktops are distributed around the globe. And business continuity is difficult to implement when users are tied to their physical PCs. For users, the longer they have to keep their PCs, the more the performance degrades as patches and app updates inevitably cause bloat. The alternative is to replace or re-image the machines, meaning disruptions and loss of productivity.

Is desktop virtualization the answer?

Desktop virtualization technology enables the centralization of desktops in the datacenter, which makes them easier to secure and backup. However, many of the same lifecycle management issues persist — IT still needs to manage, maintain and update each virtual desktop image, along with all its installed apps and user settings. In addition, desktop virtualization can create new challenges — most notably, degraded user experience over networks and the high costs of networked storage needed for each user’s desktop image.

Desktop delivery — a better way to deliver virtual desktops

Citrix XenDesktop™ goes beyond desktop virtualization to provide an end-to-end desktop delivery solution. XenDesktop dynamically assembles virtual desktops on-demand, providing users a new and pristine, yet personalized, desktop each time they log on — ensuring that performance never degrades. In addition, XenDesktop’s high-speed delivery protocol provides unparalleled responsiveness over any network. For IT organizations, XenDesktop greatly simplifies desktop lifecycle management and radically drives down cost of ownership by separating the delivery of the desktop OS, applications and user settings.

READ: Desktop Delivery Whitepaper:
Making Desktop Virtualization Work

Service Pack vs "Patch"
contributed by the Technical Department at ITsynergy

Microsoft has been busy the last several months, and among other things has released two new major service packs that will affect most of our customers.

We thought that we first might provide some benefit by discussing the difference between a service pack and a patch.

Patches are released regularly by Microsoft and fix a specific problem with a piece of their software. Microsoft categorizes their patches with the most important being categorized as critical.

Microsoft has one of the best records in the industry in this area, including a regular schedule of patch releases (second Tuesday of every month), outstanding communication to interested parties about the patching process (they email us to warn us of everything that is coming out before it hits) and free support for problems created by patches.

How to 'Undo' a Big Mistake in Windows
by Kim Komando
Reprinted with permission from the Microsoft Small Business Center

It used to be, back in that last century, that people wished for a reverse time machine. This would allow them to go back in time after they messed up their computer. Well, Windows XP has that time machine. And when some awful thing gives your computer the staggers, it's easy to go back to the day before. Or the day before that. Or last week or last month.

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