When you hear terms like "feature pack" or "service pack" or "service release," usually you expect a few bug fixes, maybe a couple cool widgets here and there - but overall relatively minor stuff...right?

In this case, XenDesktop 4 Feature Pack 1 may be the understatement of the year (and it's only March!) This is a feature update that adds several new capabilities to XenDesktop 4 that deepen integration with the Microsoft platform and further enhance end user experience, improve scalability, and simplify management. Some of the highlights of this release include:

• Access to virtual desktops that's up to 5x Faster. New "[streamed user profiles|http://community.citrix.com/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=114098323]" in XenDesktop can shorten virtual desktop and application log-on times up to 5x, dramatically enhancing user experience. The new release also includes a variety of enhancements to the company's HDX technology, designed to ensure a high definition experience for all users, regardless of where they are or what type of device they are using.
• Unparalleled Scalability. XenDesktop 4, Feature Pack 1, has been verified through formal testing to deliver an unprecedented 100,000 shared virtual desktop sessions concurrently from a single site. The shared hosted model is one of several virtual desktop options included in XenDesktop's FlexCast™ delivery technology - and one that is widely deployed by hundreds of thousands of customers to several million users every day.
• Simplified App Management - The new XenDesktop version incorporates all the capabilities of the company's recent XenApp 6 release, including tight integration with Microsoft App-V. With more than half the ROI of desktop virtualization coming from centralized app management, these improvements offer significant new simplification and cost savings for IT!

So in a nutshell, we put all the power of a major version upgrade from [XenApp 6|http://community.citrix.com/display/ocb/2010/03/10/XenApp+6+is+here!] into this "feature pack," and added even more goodies on top of it. Let's dive into a few specifics around some of the highlights.

To learn more and to read the entire article at its source, please refer to the following page, XenDesktop 4 Feature Pack 1 - Not your typical "update" release!- The Citrix Blogs