In a little over two months, Citrix XenApp 6.5 will reach the end of its life as Citrix works to migrate users to 7.x almost eight years after its release in August 2011. If you haven’t started planning your migration, you need to start now. As we see it, users have three options; buy extended support, upgrade to Citrix XenApp 7.x, or migrate to the cloud.
Buy Extended Support
One option you have is to buy an extended support package from Citrix, extending the available support through January of 2020. While this could be a good stop-gap if you haven’t started planning your migration by allowing you to extend the deadline, this option will be expensive.
Upgrade to Citrix XenApp 7.x
While this seems like an obvious solution, the shift shouldn’t be taken lightly. If your organization is also running your XenApp instance on Windows Server 2008 R2, the process is a bit more complicated. At the surface, the upgrade will be fast and easy, but it is just a temporary solution. 2008 R2 will also become EOL in January of 2020, so IT would be better off planning a full migration and upgrading both platforms.
On top of this, there is a significant architectural difference between XenApp 6.5 and 7.x, that of the FlexCast Management Architecture (FMA). According to this article on Glasshouse, the FMA is a “service-oriented architecture that allows interoperability and management modularity across Citrix technology.” The article goes on to share how the FMA “provides a platform for application delivery, mobility, services, flexible provisioning, and cloud management.”
Citrix has provided an in-depth guide for migrating, but it is strongly recommended that organizations carefully embark on a comprehensive planning period before upgrading.
Move to the Cloud
A third option organizations have is to shift their Citrix implementation to the cloud. There are a myriad of reasons why organizations should make this move. With benefits built in such as disaster recovery, geo-redundancy, flexibility, and mobility, a move to the cloud for your Citrix instance seems to be an obvious choice. The transition doesn’t happen overnight, however. And with less than ten weeks until Citrix XenApp 6.5 is end of life, businesses need to look at all of their options now.
There Is an Easier Way
With a transition the size of this one, the last thing you want to do is rush the implementation. dinCloud has a strong history of supporting organizations just like yours make the transition to the cloud. With the looming Citrix XenApp 6.5 End of Life deadline, our team of VDI engineers and Citrix specialists can assist your organization with the migration, and our automation tools make the process of managing your implementation long-term easier. Don’t wait – speak with one of our cloud specialists now to see how you can manage the transition.
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