The NetApp Virtual Storage Console provides extremely fast, cost-effective VM provisioning and cloning. Citrix administrators can use the VSC plug-in for XenCenter to create thousands of VMs  without the need for custom scripts or the assistance of a storage administrator.

With NetApp FlexClone® technology, which leverages Snapshot™ technology. FlexClone lets it clone and deploy a single VM, multiple VMs, or a pool of virtual desktops almost instantly. Each clone consumes very little space—only enough for metadata and new or changed data blocks—as it references the data blocks associated with the original VM.

The Virtual Storage Console makes it possible for Citrix administrators using XenCenter to discover NetApp storage and to specify the network interface(s) as well as the storage aggregate(s) that can be used every time a new storage repository is created.

It can simplify the deployment and administration of storage for XenServer and XenDesktop environments with its Virtual Storage Console while saving substantial amounts of capacity relative to conventional storage systems.

Citrix administrators can provision, create, configure, and manage individual VMs or entire storage repositories directly from XenCenter using resources and interfaces assigned by the storage administrator. Storage repositories can be provisioned to XenServer hosts, clusters, or entire data centers from XenCenter with a management wizard.

While Citrix administrators gain new management capabilities with the Virtual Storage Console, the storage administrator retains ownership and control of storage policies. The VSC further reduces risk through built-in compliance with Citrix and NetApp practices.

Using its block-level deduplication for primary storage can yield reductions to the storage required for virtual servers and desktops as VHD files are nearly identical in many cases. It can also resize and delete storage repositories as well as set policies that automatically grow or shrink the repositories to meet rapidly changing business requirements.