So don't confuse this technology with the Type-2 or hosted hypervisor technology that has become quite popular on current client machines. The technology promises to offer faster and more secure virtualization environments than today's offerings. This is akin to the server virtualization technology that you have become all too familiar with such as VMware ESX, Microsoft Hyper-V, or Xen. With it, you can then host one or more guest operating systems.
So what exactly is it, other than client-side technology? Citrix XenClient, as you may have guessed from the name, is a Type-1 native hypervisor that operates on top of a client device such as a desktop or notebook PC - it is a virtualization hypervisor that operates on bare metal. Or at least, that seems to be the claim to fame at this moment. And after seeding the market, Citrix should be able to make money with add-ons and management applications. Much like the company's server virtualization hypervisor technology, XenServer, this newly dubbed client technology will also be given away for free.
For end-users, perhaps the most interesting thing to note during its announcement was the price tag: free. During Citrix Synergy 2009, the company announced Citrix XenClient, the technology many of us remember as 'Project Independence' developed in collaboration with Intel.
