Citrix Machine Creation Services (MCS) has seen many advancements since its inception in XenDesktop 5.0, and the team continues to innovate within Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops product line. We are excited to announce that our new Image Management feature is now generally available for all Citrix DaaS, Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 2402 CU2, and 2411 customers.

Image Management allows prepared images to be used as a single source across multiple machine catalogs, bringing both version management and logical grouping to Citrix MCS. With the Image Management feature, administrators can generate prepared images in advance, significantly reducing the provisioning time needed to create or upgrade existing catalogs.

Prepared Images

This new technology decouples the mastering phase from the catalog creation process or update workflow. It enables administrators to generate published images from source master images without relying on catalog creation or updates. This functionality empowers admins to produce numerous published images from a single source image and manage them accordingly. Additionally, you can use Citrix Studio to streamline administrator tasks, facilitating image browsing, property viewing, and action-taking.

The benefits of using prepared images include:

  • Centralize Management: Manage all images in one place using the Image node in Citrix Studio.
  • Share Easily: Share prepared images with multiple machine catalogs.
  • Deploy Quickly: Prepare images ahead of time for faster catalog provisioning.
  • Save Costs: Save time and storage costs.
  • Control Versions: Continuously update and manage the image versions.
  • Reduce Upgrade Risks: Use canary image rollout for safer upgrades and fast rollbacks.

Image Lifecycle Management

Using Citrix Web Studio, the image management lifecycle is straightforward. It starts by creating the prepared image (image definition and the initial image version) and then creating image versions from the initial image version. Images are then organized into an Image Definition, which contains crucial information such as the purpose of the image, its usage, and any other relevant details. Based on this image definition, multiple versions of the image are created. These image versions are then used to create the machine catalogs, streamlining the process and making it more efficient.

The machine catalog is then created using one of the prepared image versions. When needed, it is updated with a different prepared image. Image definitions and versions continue to be managed until images are no longer needed and can be deleted along with the image definitions.

The GA release provides Image Management support for Microsoft Azure and VMware virtualization environments. For more information, review the Image Management documentation and see the feature in action via the following Citrix Features Explained: MCS Image Management video below.

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