Citrix NetScaler Device Package for Cisco ACI goes FCS

The Cisco-Citrix partnership has expanded significantly in recent years from UCS-XenDesktop based Desktop virtualization solutions to span Mobility, Desktop as A Service (DaaS) and most recently ACI-NetScaler joint solutions. I have been fortunate enough to be part of this momentum. And it’s been fun. In this blog, I want to announce another significant milestone on the Cisco ACI-Citrix eco-system front. The Citrix NetScaler Device Package for Cisco ACI is now FCS. You may recall earlier in August, we started shipping Cisco APIC worldwide. Read Blog

Citrix NetScaler needs no introduction and powers some of the world’s largest clouds providing capabilities that smartly and affordably scale application and service delivery infrastructures without additional complexity. Cisco ACI delivers a centralized fabric control and automation framework capable of managing application policies. This framework allows resources to be dynamically provisioned and configured based on application requirements. Citrix NetScaler provides core network services such as load balancing, SSL, SSL-VPN, and firewalls that can be used by applications in an automated, programmatic and simple fashion.

Now let us segue to the Citrix NetScaler Device package integration with Cisco APIC. Citrix NetScaler integrates with Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC) through open APIs and provides per-app, per-tenant L4-L7 policy configuration and dynamic service chaining and insertion. In addition, the integrated solution also allows exchange of intelligent telemetry information between NetScaler and APIC for application and tenant visibility.

The diagram below illustrates the integration architecture.

The Citrix NetScaler Device Package for Cisco ACI comprises a device Model and a device Script. The device Model defines the functions provided by NetScaler SDX/VPX/MPX such as load-balancing, content switching etc., The device Script provides the adapter functions required for NetScaler to communicate with APIC.

The Citrix NetScaler device package is now available for download

The advantages of deploying Cisco ACI + Citrix NetScaler solution is multi-fold. First and foremost it accelerates application deployment with reliability, security and multi-tenancy on existing NetScaler physical and virtual appliances. All of this without disrupting services operational best practices. Second, NetScaler’s built-in Autoscale feature proactively signals Cisco APIC when to add or drop application capacity. This capability allows customers to efficiently and seamlessly utilize their resources without any added downtime.

The delivery of NetScaler device package  is just the beginning of the Cisco ACI and Citrix NetScaler journey. Together, Cisco and Citrix are also focusing on driving  standard protocols and open initiatives. Our engineering teams are in the process of defining within IETF standards body, the Network Service Header protocol (NSH)  which defines service insertion specifications for application- and service-aware infrastructures.  We are also co-authoring the OpFlex, an extensible policy protocol that abstracts service policies independently from device-specific configurations and contribute to Open Daylight.

Related Links:

https://www.citrix.com/downloads/netscaler-adc.html

http://blogs.cisco.com/datacenter/f5-device-package-for-cisco-apic-goes-fcs/

www.cisco.com/go/aci

www.cisco.com/go/ns1000v