By Fredrik Brattstig @virtualbrat
Man we have been waiting! It is closing in now! We are all waiting for Microsoft Teams Offloading in remote Virtual Desktop scenarios right?!
Let’s have a look on Citrix Teams Optimization Technical Preview
For those that know what Offloading means, GOTO 10
Introduction to ofloading
Offloading techniques are used to reduce the CPU, memory and GPU load on the servers hosting your users virtual machines. You can offload Media playback, Audio/Video conferencing and Browser content. Those techniques dramatically helps in scaling your Virtual Desktop Infrastructure as you move the tasks of rendering Audio and Video to the users endpoint. Instead of having sluggish playing videos in a remote session, the video can be played utilizing the endpoints CPU/GPU providing a crisp and clear playback of a audio, video or conference all embedded in the remoting session.
10
Citrix very recently released Citrix Workspace App (20.04) for Linux and IGEL is quick in delivering a technical preview (TP). The TP is limited to only Audio offloading, but it does a good job!
I recorded a video showing the contents of IGEL OS 11.03.511.tp1 that is IGEL’s tech preview implementation of WSA 20.04 though there are limitations and a bug, when the call is up the quality is prefect! Comparing what I have experienced while testing this TP is that the offloading engine seems to have been re-written and is not comparable with the legacy “Skype for Business Optimization”. In SfB there has been a “this is not native” feeling, this feeling is gone when using Teams (Audio) Offloading on IGEL OS in this tech preview. Audio is crisp, and there is no latency in calling out or picking up incoming calls.
The bug, which I show in the video equals to that the first call in the session you do in Teams, there is no audio in or out. Hang up and call again and it all works. As said, this is a Technical Preview, and will certainly get fixed.
I Hope you will enjoy the recording.
best
/Fred
VirtualBrat 