Monday, June 27, 2016

Synergy 2016 CTP Swag

It's hard to believe that Citrix Synergy 2016 is now behind us! It seems like it was only a few weeks ago that I was submitting my abstracts. It was an amazing event, and it seemed like there were quite a bit more new/updated product announcements than usual.

 NetScaler MAS

One of the most exciting announcements for me was NetScaler MAS (Management and Analytics System). If you haven't yet heard about NetScaler MAS, check out this excerpt from the Day Two General Session by CTO Abishek Chauhan.


HDX Ready Raspberry Pi

Another announcement that's shaking up the thin client world was the introduction of the HDX Ready Raspberry Pi. At $70 (plus the cost of a keyboard, mouse, and monitor), you don't need staff to maintain these devices. Should one fail, simply dump it, and replace it with another! Look at how small the device is - it's barely longer than a room key card:  



Networking

As impressive as the announcements were, I enjoy Synergy mostly for the networking. As a CTP, I get to spend two precious days prior to Synergy networking with 50 of the most Citrix-savvy individuals, as well as Citrix product managers, discussing technologies and product updates. Check out this link for more information on the Citrix Technology Professionals program. Recognizing that there are other individuals who may wish to contribute to the community, this year at Synergy, Citrix launched another tier of professionals - Citrix Technology Advocates.


Match.Geek

I also enjoyed participation in the Match.Geek program at Synergy, during which I was able to connect with 4-6 attendees in 30-minute discussions (much along the lines of technology speed-dating!) . Although my areas of expertise are gateway products (NetScaler, StoreFront, Web Interface) and development, any and all questions were still welcomed.


Breakout Session

I was also honored to present a breakout session this year on NetScaler Debugging and Troubleshooting Best Practices. If you missed it in person, have no fear. You can still view the event on SynergyTV, or via YouTube. The SynergyTV recordings this year have swappable picture-in-picture technology, which you can control. I hope you filled out your survey if you were at the session, as I take all feedback to heart (yep, even the constructive criticism). As promised during the session, here is some swag from Synergy - CTP style - a ShareFile link containing my full session presentation (including speaker notes), as well as the NSBackup utility (for backing up critical NetScaler files) discussed during the session:

SYN317 - NetScaler Debugging and Troubleshooting Best Practices - Full Presentation and NSBackup Utility. (please refer to the package contents document contained within).