Citrix announced Project Avalon - its approach to supporting large-scale deployments of virtualised Windows desktops and applications - at its Synergy conference held in San Francisco in May this year.
The company has now used Synergy Barcelona as the platform to release more details of the project.
Avalon will be delivered in two releases: Excalibur and Merlin.
A technology preview of Excalibur will be released this quarter, with a focus on the delivery of Windows apps and desktops to consumer-style mobile devices.
Excalibur will include version 2.0 of Citrix's FlexCast technology (to deliver a mix of virtualised applications and desktops under the control of one management console), and enhancements to HDX (for better video playback, doubled frame rates on slow networks, a tenfold improvement in bandwidth efficiency, and improved adaptation to the device's capabilities).
Also new for Excalibur are HDX EdgeSight technology to provide administrators with realtime analytics on the end-user experience, and support for Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8.
Scheduled for a technology preview release during the first half of 2013, Merlin will add self-service provisioning, management and service automation based on Citrix CloudPortal and the XenApp Cloud Provider Pack; Citrix CloudPlatform to automate XenApp and XenDesktop deployment, including integration with public clouds such as Amazon Web Services and Windows Azure to handle peak loads or disaster recovery situations.
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This will simplify migrations and help administrators deliver upgrades without disrupting users, Citrix officials claimed.
"With Avalon, we are bringing together the openness of Citrix CloudPlatform with our market leading desktop virtualisation solution to give enterprises and service providers the ability and flexibility to deliver Windows apps and desktops from private, public and hybrid clouds to users on any device, anywhere," said Bob Schultz, group VP and GM of Citrix's desktops and apps group.
