On April 8th we released Automation Manager SR4. Below you'll find a list of the most important changes in this release. Please download the release notes from our support portal to read the full list of new features and enhancements.    New features: PowerShell 3.0. support: Automation Manager now fully supports Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 and enables administrators to copy paste existing Powershell 3.0 scripts into a secure, efficient and controllable Module that can be delegated to virtually anybody within or outside of IT. Support for Windows Authentication when using Microsoft SQL Server: To support environments with high security requirements Automation Manager now support Windows Authentication when connecting to the Microsoft SQL ... READ MORE>>

Introduction:   Lately we have been receiving significantly more calls regarding Microsoft's System Center Configuration Manager software and how this product can be used to stream virtual applications to clients. Basically the challenge we notice some of our customers are facing, is how they can benefit from a scalable, location based distribution method (like SCCM) while at the same time maintaining application manageability with RES Workspace Manager.   The challenge:   When using both the SCCM and App-V on the same workstation, and using RES Workspace Manager on top of this, things can get complicated. What we have learned is that there is a lot of confusion out there on which client is actually doing the launch of the App-V ... READ MORE>>

If you've read the great 'VDI Smackdown' paper by PQR you might notice that RES Automation Manager is mentioned as one of the solutions suited in a virtual desktop infrastructure. I would like to explain one of the many features of the solution that solve a specific problem. Snapshot technology is a great solution for managing virtual computer environments as it makes it very easy to save computers states. Multiple snapshots can be saved for a single computer and snapshot technology is commonly used to create backups before making changes or create a 'catalog' of different computing states. There are however some challenges with this dynamic way of managing computing states. The biggest is that traditional configuration management tools ... READ MORE>>

Well, the Mayans were wrong about 2012. But now Citrix says it’s the End of Life in 2013. Are you ready?
I have been giving the above a lot of thought as of late. It is not unusual for a software vendor to announce a hard deadline for the end of life for a product, and Citrix is no different. On March 31, 2013 Citrix will officially declare the “End of Life” for Presentation Server 4.5. What does this mean to the IT professional? No more service packs, hotfixes or even the usual support. That’s it. Kaput. Fine. Use at your own risk. Does that impact you? It ... READ MORE>>

Park City; It’s not just for skiing anymore.

I think the best way to start this latest NFR blog is with a hearty congratulations to my old colleagues and friends at Microsoft. Earlier today they announced the much anticipated official Beta of a project code named “Park City”, or officially UE-V. User Experience Virtualization has been in the pipe for a long time now and with this announcement by Microsoft today it sends a clear message across the user state virtualization space. And that message must absolutely be taken seriously -or desktop modernization projects could be in jeopardy. As you ... READ MORE>>