Citrix Virtual Apps, Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, and Citrix Hypervisor Servicing Options

Better align your long term support, security and enterprise systems planning goals with the rapid, feature-rich releases of Citrix Virtual Apps, Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, and Citrix Hypervisor.

Flexible service options enable predictable support

Citrix frequently delivers new features and functionality for Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops to keep your business competitive, streamline IT operations, enhance data security, and ensure your employees have access to their business resources from anywhere. We know you need to balance the rapid pace of innovation with long term planning to control the risk and expense of introducing change to your enterprise app and desktop delivery solution.

Citrix now provides servicing options to give you greater flexibility and choice in how you adopt new Citrix Virtual Apps, Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, and Citrix Hypervisor functionality while giving you greater predictability for maintaining and managing the support of your environment.

Long Term Service Release

Long Term Service Releases (LTSR) are ideal for large enterprise production environments where you would prefer to retain the same base version for an extended period. With LTSR, you will have regular access to fixes typically void of new functionality for predictable on-going maintenance. With each LTSR comes new extended support timelines that let you plan ahead for upgrades at a pace that’s right for you and your organization.

  • Extended Lifecycle with support for up to 10 years. Citrix typically announces a five year mainstream support lifecycle for each major release, but with LTSR the clock restarts.  For a Long Term Service Release, you will have 5 years of mainstream support and 5 years of extended support (separate contract required).
  • Predictable maintenance thanks to scheduled cumulative updates. Citrix will regularly release LTSR cumulative updates – typically containing only fixes devoid of new features – making it easier to schedule on-going site maintenance and lowering risk to your deployments.
  • Reduced IT costs with simplified management. Opting to implement a Long Term Service Release will give you access to product releases with the most predictable maintenance schedule to streamline your management efforts, reduce uncertainties and mitigate risks, thereby lowering your total cost of ownership.
Long Term Service Release Details
  • Eligibility: Customer Success Services is required for all Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops licenses to be eligible for the LTSR benefits. Citrix Hypervisor is an entitlement of all Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops editions. All editions of Citrix Virtual Apps (Citrix Secure Browser, Advanced, Enterprise and Platinum), Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops (Standard, Advanced, and Premium), and Citrix Hypervisor (Standard and Premium) are eligible for the LTSR benefits.
  • Accessing and Deploying Updates: Cumulative Updates (CUs) are software releases that provide maintenance corrections and/or fixes. CUs will be available for download from Citrix.com for Customer Success Services (Software Maintenance) customers.  Generally, CUs will include fixes and no new functionality. CUs are cumulative in nature, so any new CU will include all fixes released in previous CUs for that component.  This means that all updates will include all previous updates. You will not be able to install a subset of the fixes included in a CU release. Support is available for any LTSR version level, but code level maintenance will be provided on the latest released CU.

Example:  If you have adopted LTSR and report a new issue, but have not kept up with the different CU releases (CU1, CU2, CU3, CU4), Citrix will support your LTSR environment and work on a fix. However, you may be required to move to the latest available CU (CU4) to ensure that the issue is reproducible with the latest update. In addition, the official fix will be included as part of CU5, which will also include other fixes along with fixes previously released in CU1, CU2, CU3, and CU4.

  • Extended Lifecycle: Once a LTSR is made publicly available, new lifecycle milestones for that release will be established that target 5 years of mainstream support plus an additional 5 years of extended support. (NOTE: Customers are required to purchase an extended support contract for the number of years of extended support required - up to 5 - at end of mainstream support).
  • Maintaining Compliance: To determine if environment components or versions meet LTSR compliance, reference LTSR product documentation for specific component or version criteria or download LTSR Assistant. You will be asked to install the most recent Cumulative Update to ensure that your LTSR site remains compliant.  Extended support component requirements will be defined 6 months prior to the end of mainstream support and customers will be asked to check for compliance prior to enrolling in extended support (Extended Support requirements).

Current Releases

Current Releases (CR) of Citrix Virtual Apps, Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, and Citrix Hypervisor deliver the latest, most innovative app, desktop, and server virtualization features and functionality allowing you to stay on cutting edge technology and ahead of your competition.  Ideal for agile environments where you can rapidly deliver the newest app, desktop, and server virtualization features, including both production and test environments.  On-going support and maintenance for Current Releases is aligned with the frequent release cycles. Instead of managing new releases and patches independently, with Current Releases you can simply upgrade to the latest release which includes fixes and new functionality side-by-side.

  • New use cases to address changing business challenges. Each employee is different and has different business needs. The flexibility of Citrix Virtual Apps, Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, and Citrix Hypervisor architecture enables you to address the broadest range of these needs.  The fast pace of Current Releases will bring new features to market enabling, you to address even more use cases to completely mobilize your workforce.
  • Rapid innovation and quick delivery of new features. You are constantly taking measures to protect your company’s intellectual property and keep your workforce productive, but the IT world changes quickly and you need access to the latest app and desktop delivery features to stay competitive.  Current Releases will give you fast access to the latest security, productivity, and collaboration features.
  • Faster delivery of enhancement requests. Your requests for enhancing Citrix Virtual Apps, Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, and Citrix Hypervisor make the solution more versatile. With Current Releases the turnaround time on getting new features implemented into the overall solution architecture will be much shorter. Faster cycles let Citrix deliver new features that address your enhancement requests and make them generally available for all customers to consume.
Current Release Details
  • Eligibility: Customer Success Services is required for all Citrix Virtual Apps, Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, or Citrix Hypervisor licenses to access the latest current release.
  • Accessing and Deploying Upgrades: Rapid release cycles make new current releases available at a frequent rate, therefore you will not be asked to patch your current release. Instead you will simply be asked to upgrade to the latest release that includes both fixes and new functionality to streamline maintenance.
  • Product Lifecycle: The standard lifecycle milestone dates established at the initial major version release apply.
  • Maintaining Compliance: You will remain compliant within the terms of a current release if you continuously install and configure the latest component release of Citrix Virtual Apps and/or Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops and/or Citrix Hypervisor.

Compare Service Offerings

  Long Term Service Release (LTSR) Current Release (CR)
Customer Success Services Required Yes1 Yes2
Product Lifecycle Timelines 5 years of mainstream support + 5 years of extended support3 Standard product lifecycle milestones4
Access to Releases Citrix.com/Downloads Citrix.com/Downloads
Cumulative Updates Yes5 No6
Includes Fixes Yes7 Yes8
Cumulative Update Schedule 4-6 months9 N/A
Release Schedule 2-3 years9 3-9 months9
Enhancement Requests No enhancements until next LTSR Rapid release cycles, more opportunities for enhancements

1 Customer Success Services Program information
2 Customers with legacy Subscription Advantage have access to Current Releases for the duration of their contract, but are encouraged to upgrade to Customer Success Services.
3 Separate support contract is required for extended support. Citrix reserves the right to replace third party components with other components offering substantially similar or superior functionality where third party licenses to such components do not allow Citrix to fulfill LTSR support requirements.
4 Standard product lifecycle milestones information
5 Cumulative Updates will typically contain fixes only for Long Term Service Release sites. You will be asked to install relevant Cumulative Updates on Long Term Service Release sites.
6 Rapid release cycles allow you to add new features and all public bug fixes by upgrading to the next current release. You will be asked to upgrade Current Release sites to a newer release that includes relevant fixes as well as new features and functionality.
7 Customers on Long Term Service Releases will be asked to update to next Cumulative Update that contains the fix.
8 Customers on Current Releases might be asked to upgrade to next release that contains the fix.
9 General guidance, Citrix does not release product roadmaps publicly.

Now I can install and configure the latest XenApp, XenDesktop release in my development and test environment so I can thoroughly test the new features and provide Citrix with feedback before that feature reaches the Long Term Service Release.  While my critical, production environment will only run a Long Term Service Release, this way I’ll have greater control and predictability over the environment’s stability and extended mainstream support.

Jo Harder
CTP
Cloud Architect and Industry Analyst

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