It’s no secret that a lot can happen in three years. Holidays, gatherings, big moves, weddings, babies, you name it. Three years is plenty of time to fit in a ton of amazing things. Three years ago, we introduced the first XenServer Long Term Service Release (LTSR) — XenServer 7.1. Today, we are ecstatic to announce the newest LTSR, Citrix Hypervisor 8.2 LTSR!
The Citrix Hypervisor 8.2 LTSR includes all features from XenServer 7.1 to now. Whether you’re an LTSR or a CR customer, three years of innovation and updates from the Citrix Hypervisor team is something you’ll want to get your hands on so you can take full advantage of this high-performance and cost-effective offering. Let’s look at what this LTSR can deliver for you.
How Does the Citrix Hypervisor LTSR Work?
Citrix Hypervisor offers two servicing options, the Current Release (CR) and the Long Term Service Release (LTSR). Citrix released regular CRs from XenServer 7.2 through Citrix Hypervisor 8.1, and you can dive further into the CR milestones. If you are on the CR track, Citrix Hypervisor 8.2 is your next upgrade because it is both a CR and an LTSR.
The Citrix Hypervisor LTSR has an extended lifecycle, which means the LTSR will reach End of Life (EoL) five years after the launch date. Organizations are also eligible to add extended support for up to five years after the release has reached EoL. The LTSR will reach End of Extended Support (EoES) at least 10 years after the release date, meaning organizations can stick with this release for up to 10 years if they want.
Citrix recommends customers maintain their LTSR sites with the latest Cumulative Update (CU). CUs are offered on a regular basis and include security patches and updates for the release. To maximize stability and limit code change, few, if any, additional features are added in a CU. Organizations must be on an active Customer Success Services (CSS) program to be eligible for the CUs and extended support lifecycle of the LTSR. For our Citrix Hypervisor Express customers who are using the free version of Citrix Hypervisor, they will no longer receive hot fixes (HF) once the first CU is released.
The chart below shows the LTSR lifecycle, and you can find more details on the Citrix Hypervisor Lifecycle Milestones page.
The LTSR version of Citrix Hypervisor follows the same guidelines as the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops LTSR. This is great news for customers implementing Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 1912 LTSR because their support lifecycles are on very similar timelines.
What’s New?
If your organization is currently using the XenServer 7.1 LTSR, you have three years of features and enhancements to look forward to in the Citrix Hypervisor 8.2 LTSR. A major benefit of the LTSR is predictability. With an extended lifecycle, it’s important to maintain a well-established feature set within the product. The Citrix Hypervisor 8.2 LTSR accumulates all the features from XenServer 7.1 to now, fully vetted and ready to be implemented into your environment.
We did add one new feature to further enhance the admin experience and the stability of the LTSR. With the release of Citrix Hypervisor 8.2 LTSR, we are introducing the ability for admins to easily replace the Citrix Hypervisor Host TLS certificate. Putting this capability in the hands of the admins, rather than having the certificates be used by default, enables pool admins to ensure the authenticity of the hypervisor in TLS connections.
Wrapping your head around all of the features that have come out in the past three years can be a difficult task. That’s why we put together a list of the top 10 reasons why you should move to the Citrix Hypervisor 8.2 LTSR. From VGPU improvements to XenCenter upgrades, there is a ton of great stuff to take a look at.
Upgrading to Citrix Hypervisor 8.2
Citrix Hypervisor 8.2 is built on the latest Xen Platform that was introduced when we went from XenServer 7.x to Citrix Hypervisor 8.0. The track you’re on — CR or LTSR — will determine how you move to Citrix Hypervisor 8.2 LTSR.
If you are maintaining a CR environment and are currently on Citrix Hypervisor 8.0 or 8.1, you simply need to perform an update within XenCenter. This is easy with the XenCenter update wizard, which will guide you through the process.
For organizations on the LTSR track, on an earlier version of XenServer, or performing a fresh install, you will be performing an upgrade. You can also perform an upgrade in the XenCenter upgrade wizard, which will guide you through the steps needed.
Next Steps
Get the latest in Citrix Hypervisor features, with extended support and maintenance, by downloading the Citrix Hypervisor 8.2 LTSR today! You can find additional information on both the Citrix Hypervisor LTSR and the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops LTSR on the LTSR FAQ page.
