Delivering multimedia, 3D graphics and real-time capabilities with HDX

Stephan Pfister

HDX: High Definition Experience

HDX MediaStream

Video and audio playback

HDX Broadcast

ICA and RDP protocol support for

access from any device, anywhere

HDX SmartAccess

Simplified secure access

HDX Plug-n-Play

Access to local resources and

peripherals

HDX RichGraphics

2D and 3D graphics incl. Adaptive Display,

HDX 3D, HDX 3D Pro and RemoteFX

HDX WAN Optimization

Performance and bandwidth

optimizations for branch offices

HDX Adaptive Orchestration

Best user experience based on server,

network connection and user device

HDX RealTime

Voice and video for real-time

collaboration

Flash

Windows

MediaSilverlight QuickTime

HDX MediaStream

HTML 5

Video

Citrix Receiver support for HDX MediaStream

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HDX MediaStream and Adaptive Orchestration

1. Foundational approach: Server-side rendering (Adaptive Display)

Video frames

& audio

Native media streams

2. Optimization: Client-side rendering (multimedia redirection)

Adaptive Display

(server-rendered)

Flash Redirection

(client-rendered)

Windows Media Redir.

(client-rendered)

User experience - LAN

User experience - WAN

Auto-adjustment of image

quality and frame rate

Adaptive Display

preferred if video bit rate

exceeds bandwidth

Server scalability

Device support

Windows,

Linux,

Mac,

iPad 5.0

Windows,

Linux 12.0 (Ubuntu,

Fedora)

Windows,

Linux (some limitations in

media/file format support)

Why we use a mix of complementary technologies

• Adaptive Orchestration picks the best delivery method

• Tip: For HD Windows media, bump up SmartRendering b/w threshold to 8 Mbps (see hdx.citrix.com/hdx-internals “Server-Rendered Multimedia” CTX124516)

Adaptive Display: Max frames per second

24 FPS (XenDesktop default)

Server-rendered video frame rate

10 FPS (minimum cap on frame rate)

30 FPS (maximum)

12 FPS (prev XA default; many thin clients)

24 FPS (XenApp 6.5 default)

See CTX124516

• Objective: Offload server CPU by rendering Flash content on the user device for majority of web sites (>90%)

• Significant server scalability benefit and excellent user experience

HDX MediaStream Flash Redirection

Flash Redirection Architecture

XenDesktop /

XenApp

Internet Explorer

Client Device

Citrix Receiver

(Windows/Linux)

Flash

Player

ICA

Thinwire

virtual channel

HDX Flash

virtual

channel

ActiveX

HDX Flash

Service

Adobe Flash player runs on the user’s device

• Uncompromised audio and video quality (incl. High Def)

• IE is hosted but Adobe Flash player runs on user device• Utilizes client GPU/CPU for decoding (e.g. H.264 decode)

• Automatic fallback to server-side rendering in cases where it still provides best experience (Adaptive Orchestration)

HDX MediaStream Flash Redirection

Flash Redirection “gen 2” adds support for:

• WAN-connected users

• Internet Explorer 9

• Linux Receiver 12.0 (Ubuntu & Fedora)

• HTTP redirection based Content Delivery Networks

• Flash cookie and HTTP cookie sandboxing

• Granular controls (e.g. per-Flash-instance, blacklist/whitelist)

Enhancements in XD5.5/XA6.5

HDX RichGraphics

Windows 7 Aero Redirection to Rich Clients

Like-local full Aero experience

Crystal clear and highly responsive (high frame rate)

XenDesktop (VDI)

Windows 7 Aero Redirection

WDDM driver architecture

Leverages client’s GPU/IGP

DirectX 9.0c, PixelShader v2

(supported on PCs several years old)

128MB video memory

2.0 GHz processor recommended

Windows XP, XPe, Vista, Win7, WES 7, and Windows Thin PC

Windows 7 Aero Redirection

LAN and high speed WAN/Internet (3-5 Mbps)

XenServer, vSphere/ESX, Hyper-V

32-bit color support

Single or dual monitor support

Automatic fallback to Win7 Basic theme

• Provides the Windows Aero Glass and other native visual enhancements over the wire

• Uses a WDDM driver on the remote host and a virtual driver on the client to render the effects

Command Remoting (Aero) overview

Microsoft RemoteFX integration

• Leverages and optimizes Microsoft RemoteFX (GPUs in the data center)

• Support for RDP 7.1

• Accessible through Web Interface and Citrix Receiver for Windows

• Future vision:

• Dynamic detection of RemoteFX capabilities on servers and endpoints

• Broader range of devices and access scenarios

Microsoft RemoteFX in Windows Server 2008

R2 SP1 enables a local-like, rich experience

for virtual desktops

XenDesktop (VDI)

Web Interface

Admin configures a site with RDPConnection=True in Application section of the template.ica ICA file

User goes to Web Interface site and clicks on RemoteFX desktop

RemoteFX desktop is accessed using RDP 7.1

Citrix Receiver for Windows

Citrix Receiver instantiates RDP 7.1 client, instructing it to connect to the user’s RemoteFX desktop

Windows 7 SP1, WES 7 SP1 and Windows Thin PC

RemoteFX integration in XenDesktop 5.5

XenDesktop (VDI)

Optimization Pack for Google Earth

• Google’s own software rasterizer isn’t that great…

• Our optimization pack delivers better image quality and performance when running Google Earth without GPU hardware

• Included with XenDesktop 5.5 Enterprise & Platinum; posted on the Citrix Downloads site

Options for centralized 3D professional graphics

XenApp HDX 3D XenDesktop HDX 3D Pro

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• GPU acceleration of DirectX (OpenGL is CPU-rendered)

• Each GPU can be shared by multiple users

• Apps must be compatible with RDS (Terminal Services)

• GPU acceleration of DirectX and OpenGL

• One user per GPU

• Deep compression

• 3D SpaceMouse support

HDX 3D Pro

• XenDesktop feature for high-end 3D professional graphics

• GPU acceleration for hardware rendering of large 3D models

• Multiple compression options including GPU codec for access over WAN links (2 Mbps)

HDX 3D Pro: Centralize and secure design IP

All engineering data and

intellectual property is centrally

stored and secured:

• Engineering drawings

• Bills of Materials

• Cost Info

• Lifecycle Data

HDX 3D Pro: Leverage worldwide talent pool

• Feature of XenDesktop Enterprise and Platinum editions

• Broad app compatibility • OpenGL, DirectX

• Blade/rack workstations are ideal, but any form factor can be used for the host• Multiple users per workstation using XenServer 6 GPU Passthrough

• User device can be standard PC running Windows or Linux

HDX 3D Pro

Desktop Virtualization for High-end Graphics Users

HDX 3D Pro

Client options

Optimized withspecial codecs:

Std. ICA codec:

iPad 2

HDX 3D Pro Seamless Application Delivery

ICA

XenDesktop VDA

HDX 3D Pro

HostEnd Point

Citrix Receiver

Reduced cost per user

GPU Passthrough in XenServer 6

• Tested with XenApp HDX 3D and XenDesktop HDX 3D Pro

• Multiple GPUs per host (initially up to 4)• One graphics-accelerated VM per GPU

• Depending on CPU power, same host may also support non-graphics-accelerated users (i.e. regular office workers)

• Leverages NVIDIA high-performance Fermi GPUs• e.g. Quadro 2000/4000/5000/6000, Tesla M2070Q

• Use latest NVIDIA Quadro driver (min. 276.14)

Ever-growing list of tested multi-GPU solutions

Multi-GPU Hardware Platforms for XenServer

ws460c G6 blade (2x Q4000 or 1x Q5000/Q6000)

R5500 rack workstation (3x Q4000 or 4x Q2000)

PowerEdge M610x with M2070Q plus C410x PCIe expansion chassis

(XenApp only) (4 GPU devices per server, 16 total GPUs per chassis)

HS22 with GPU expansion blade (e.g. 2x M2070Q)

System x iDataPlex dx360 M3 (supports Q4000/5000, M2070Q)

HDX RealTime

Enhances real-time VoIP and video communications

VoIP support (softphones, voice chat)

Webcam support

HDX RealTime: Complementary approaches

Generic: Media-over-ICA

Unmodified softphoneVery broad app compatibility

Audio-video traffic transported over ICA

Citrix audio/video codecs, echo cancellation, jitter buffering, etc., to maximize audio-video quality

Optimized: Peer-to-peer

Softphone modified to useCitrix Virtual Channel SDK

Real-time audio-video trafficbypasses Citrix serverZero degradation

(no “hairpinning”)

All decoding/encoding offloadedto user deviceMaximum server scalability

HDX RealTime: Complementary approaches

Generic: Media-over-ICA

User Interface

Business Logic

Media Engine

unmodified

softphone

architecture

Optimized: Peer-to-peer

User Interface

Business Logic

Media Engine

user device

server

modified softphone architecture

virtual channel

HDX RealTime VoIP-over-ICA enhancements

Client jitter buffer in Citrix Receiver 3.0 for smoother audio when network latency is variable

Low latency audio path

Improved echo cancellation

Audio plug-n-play and audio device routing

Multi-stream ICA for full QoS support plus UDP/RTP for audio on XenDesktop (VDI)with packet tagging (DSCP and WMM)

XenDesktop 5.5 VDI &

Hosted Shared (XenApp 6.5)

Multi-Stream ICA (True HDX Network QoS)

Citrix

Receiver

for

Windows

XenDesktop

Windows 7

or

XenApp

WS08 R2*

HTTP

Server

Router

ICA Real Time

HTTP HTTP

ICA Interactive

ICA Background

ICA Bulk

ICA Real Time

ICA Interactive

ICA Background

ICA Bulk

ICA UDP/RTP Audio * ICA UDP Audio *

* UDP/RTP Audio initially only in VDI FlexCast model (XenDesktop 5.5)

Webcam video compression

Preferred virtual channel for webcams

• Uses much less bandwidth than generic USB • 300-600 Kbps upstream

• Works well over WAN connections

Generic USB is a possible fallback option in the event of an app compatibility issue

• But it is limited to LAN connections

Check CPU utilization; you’ll likely need 2 vCPUs

• Caution: Server scalability will be reduced

HDX Differences between XD5.5 and XA6.5 HF1

HDX Category XenDesktop 5.5 (VDI) XenApp 6.5 HF1 (RDS)

HDX Broadcast No significant differences

HDX MediaStream

Adaptive Display No significant differences

HDX MediaStream

Flash Redirection No significant differences

HDX MediaStream

Windows Media Redir. No significant differences

HDX Plug-n-Play •Generic USB support on the LAN

plus optimized virtual channels for

device-level redirection

•Windows Portable USB devices

•USB keyboards, mice, printers,

smartcards, etc. (optimized virtual

channels for device level redirection

rather than USB port level redirection)

HDX Differences between XD5.5 and XA6.5

HDX Category XenDesktop 5.5 (VDI) XenApp 6.5 HF1 (RDS)

HDX WAN

OptimizationNo significant differences

HDX Rich Graphics •HDX 3D Pro for deep compression

and OpenGL/DirectX acceleration

(one user per GPU)

•Microsoft RemoteFX support

•Aero Redirection

•DirectX acceleration (shared GPU)

HDX Smart Access No significant differences

HDX RealTime •UDP/RTP support for tolerance to

network congestion / packet loss

•DSCP and WMM packet tagging

•Softphone compatibility somewhat

limited due to use of RDS

HDX Adaptive

OrchestrationNo significant differences