Dragon NaturallySpeaking and citrix
A White Paper from Nuance Communications March 2009
DRAGON NATURALLYSPEAKING - CITRIX

Introduction

As the number of deployed enterprise applications increases, organizations are seeking solutions that simplify application delivery without sacrificing performance security or cost. Citrix Systems has been providing innovative software solutions that enable the best delivery methods for all applications. The Citrix ICA thin client architecture provides a centralized, scalable and secure application delivery platform that can benefit organizations of all sizes. Citrix is one of the most trusted names in Application Delivery Infrastructure. More than 215,000 organizations worldwide rely on Citrix to deliver any application to users anywhere with the best performance, highest security and lowest cost. Citrix customers include 100 percent of the Fortune 100 companies and 99 percent of the Fortune Global 500, as well as hundreds of thousands of small businesses and prosumers. The latest release of the award-winning Dragon NaturallySpeaking voice recognition software from Nuance Communications supports deployments within a Citrix Presentation Server environment. This reference guide shows how customers can benefit from using Dragon NaturallySpeaking in a Citrix environment. This white paper supplements the Dragon NaturallySpeaking IT Administrators Guide which explains how to install and configure Dragon NaturallySpeaking on Citrix servers.
2009 Nuance Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Citrix Overview
Citrix provides a server-based centralized architecture to deliver applications to end users. In Citrix, all application processing and logic occur on the server; the client PCs only display data and allow the user to interact with the graphical user interface of the program. This approach is ideal for highly distributed environments where the administrative costs of maintaining a consistent PC desktop image are problematic or in scenarios where bandwidth and or client PC processing power is limited. Citrix also simplifies the process for updating software functionality by eliminating the need for end users to reboot the client PC. Nuance Communications understands the value that Citrix brings to large organizations and it is for this reason that Dragon NaturallySpeaking supports deployment in Citrix thin-client environments.
Benefits of Running Dragon NaturallySpeaking on a Citrix Server
Dragon NaturallySpeaking supports installation on a Citrix Presentation Server, enabling users to dictate from workstations that do not have Dragon NaturallySpeaking installed. Deploying Dragon NaturallySpeaking in a Citrix environment delivers the following features and benefits

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FEATURES
Standard Application Access Centralized Management & Administration Secure

DESCRIPTION

Access to Dragon NaturallySpeaking functionality via consistent and homogeneous methods Deploy and manage all Dragon NaturallySpeaking users through Citrix management console Allows the administrator to control which end users have access to Dragon NaturallySpeaking Eliminates the time and effort of installing Dragon NaturallySpeaking on client workstations Permits the use of client workstationsthat do not meet the system requirements for Dragon NaturallySpeaking Users are able to utilize the same dictation functionality through Citrix that is available in the standard Dragon NaturallySpeaking desktop version. Leverage proven Citrix support for automatic fail-over and load balancing

BENEFITS

Simplifies end-user training for consistent end-user experience Reduced administrative overhead lowers total cost of ownership Ensures that only authorized users have access to Dragon NaturallySpeaking Lower administration costs; enables fast application deployment even for highly distributed or mobile organizations Enables deployment of complete Dragon NaturallySpeaking functionality on PCs that do not meet standard Dragon NaturallySpeaking desktop requirements Enables the application integration features of Dragon NaturallySpeaking, such as Select-and-Say, Say-what-you-See, and Natural Language commands, to be used with applications running on a server Deploy Dragon NaturallySpeaking in distributed high transaction volume environments with high availability security.

Simplified Application Deployment
Reduced PC Client-Side Hardware Requirements
Full Dragon NaturallySpeaking Functionality

Scalable and Reliable

Specifications and Deployment
Nuance provides support for deploying and running Dragon NaturallySpeaking in a Citrix environment. Customers of Dragon NaturallySpeaking must purchase a license for each speaker that creates a user profile in Citrix. Note that Citrix support is only available in the Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional, Legal and Medical editions. Deploying Dragon NaturallySpeaking requires the following Citrix components: Server: Citrix Presentation Server 4.0 on either Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server

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Client: Citrix ICA client 8.x or 9.x on either Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 1 Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2
Sizing and Configuring Dragon NaturallySpeaking in Citrix Key Issues to Consider
Organizations considering deployments of Dragon NaturallySpeaking in a Citrix environment need to consider several items for configuring the Citrix environment and scaling client usage on Citrix servers. This section provides some basic guidelines on how to address these issues to ensure maximum performance. Please note these are guidelines only and not definitive specifications-actual performance will vary from customer to customer. Deploying Dragon NaturallySpeaking in a Citrix environment must consider the following three items 1. Projected user base and usage metrics 2. Server-side hardware 3. Network bandwidth

1. Projected User Base

Before considering any deployment of Dragon NaturallySpeaking in Citrix, organizations need to answer key questions about the user base and potential growth. These metrics are essential since they are needed to size the appropriate network and hardware requirements. How many users do you plan to enable access to Dragon NaturallySpeaking through a Citrix environment in the first 6 months? 12 months? What is the projected distribution of simultaneous user access to Dragon NaturallySpeaking in a Citrix environment? Where will these users be physically distributed? On the same corporate LAN, WAN, remote access or combination?

2. Server-Side Hardware

Dragon NaturallySpeaking has been tested to run in a Citrix enterprise environment configured with Citrix Presentation Server 4.0, and clients running Citrix ICA thin-client software. Based on answers to question #1, your organization will need to scale and deploy an appropriate number of Windows servers to run Citrix Presentation Server 4.0 to support all your Dragon NaturallySpeaking users. In the appendix, we provide some baseline performance data using standard Windows hardware.

3. Network bandwidth

The request for network bandwidth when running Dragon NaturallySpeaking derives primarily from requests issued on the virtual audio channel. Nuance recommends and checks for use of the high-quality sound on Citrix to ensure the highest quality of accuracy for speech recognition. Based on the user population you intend to serve, you must account for and allocate the appropriate amount of network bandwidth for users to be able to utilize Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 from a Citrix client. For information about setting sound quality on Citrix ICA clients, refer to the Dragon NaturallySpeaking IT Administrators Guide in the supplied documentation.

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APPENDIX
Preliminary Test Results of Running Dragon NaturallySpeaking in Citrix
Listed below are the results of Nuances internal testing of Dragon NaturallySpeaking in a Citrix environment.This information stated is only meant to provide guidance for setting up your Citrix environment-it is not a definitive specification. Your experience using Dragon NaturallySpeaking with Citrix may vary, depending on many factors that may not be addressed in this brief overview. This appendix should help you accurately size what is required within your Citrix environment for Dragon NaturallySpeaking. The internal Nuance testing of Dragon NaturallySpeaking with Citrix utilized the following components: SERVER SPECIFICATIONS Server Hardware Dell PowerEdge 2850 Processor: Dual Intel Xeon single-core processor, 3.16 GHz/1MB cache, 800 MHz FSB Memory: 4GB DDRMHz (4x1GB), single ranked DIMMs Hard Drive: 146GB 10K RPM Ultra 320 SCSI Hard Drive Network Card: Dual Onboard NICs Dell PowerEdge 6850 Processor: Quad Intel Xeon single-core processor, 3.16 GHz/1MB cache, Redundant Memory: 8GB DDRMHz (8x1GB), single ranked DIMMs Hard Drive:146GB 10K RPM Ultra 320 SCSI Hard Drive Network Card: Dual Onboard NICs Server Hardware Windows Server 2003 Published applications: Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional, Medical and Legal editions Dragon NaturallySpeaking Audio Client Update Microsoft Outlook Microsoft Word 2003 Client Software Citrix client user interfaces: ICA 32-bit clients, version 8.x and 9.x Program Neighborhood Program Neighborhood Agent Web Client PC Client Specifications Dell Optiplex GX 260 with Windows XP 512 RAM and 2 GHz CPU Sound card: Sound Blaster Live! And also on-board sound systems Network Specifications Network speed: 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet Network environment and active software run on the server: Latest Citrix Presentation Server 4.0 service packs were installed; available from www.citrix.com Citrix tools for CPU and memory management were activated to optimize server performance.

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An unspecific amount of corporate network traffic was present during testing that was not generated by the Citrix transactions created by running Dragon NaturallySpeaking. NOTE: no additional high-memory or CPU-consuming applications were active during testing

INITIAL RESULTS

CPU Consumption and Memory Usage Running Dragon NaturallySpeaking
The following tables show the CPU time and memory usage observed on the Citrix servers with Dragon NaturallySpeaking running. The CPU time represents the total time (expressed as a percentage) used by a single client session; the percentage is a total of available CPU. Memory usage is also represented for a single-user session as a percentage of total RAM available. Peak CPU consumption is reached when Dragon NaturallySpeaking user profiles are being opened, saved and closed. Acoustic training appears to consume the most amount of CPU time for any process executed with Dragon NaturallySpeaking on Citrix. As such, administrative procedures that run any training process need to take this into consideration CPU consumption, with one user dictating and correcting in the DragonPad
CPU time (Dual processor) CPU time (Quad processor)

Average

10% 5%

25% 13%

CPU consumption, performing General Training in New User Wizard, Additional Training or running the Acoustic Optimizer

25% 12%

30% 18%
Memory consumption, with one user dictating and correcting in the DragonPad
RAM required for both Dual and Quad processors

130 MB

160 MB
When other applications are running concurrently with Dragon NaturallySpeaking: Dragon NaturallySpeaking consumes the same amount of CPU time as it does when it runs alon e Memory usage for Dragon NaturallySpeaking will increase

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For example, memory usage for Dragon NaturallySpeaking goes up when running together with Microsoft Word 2003.
RAM required for a single session, Dragon/Microsoft Word 2003 When Dragon NaturallySpeaking is not being used: 160 MB

190 MB

CPU time consumed is 0. The same amount of RAM is required Network bandwidth is 1.3 Mbps bandwidth if the microphone is active; 0 Mbps if the microphone is turned off.
Network Bandwidth The network bandwidth setting for a single Dragon NaturallySpeaking Citrix client MUST be at least 1.3 Mbps.
For information about setting sound quality on Citrix ICA clients, refer to the Dragon NaturallySpeaking IT Administrators Guide in the supplied documentation. NOTE: If the microphone is turned off for an active DNS session running on Citrix, network bandwidth on a channel drops almost to 0.

Summary

Based on the foregoing observations made while testing a single Dragon NaturallySpeaking session running on Citrix, it is reasonable to conclude that deployment of Dragon NaturallySpeaking will scale linearly in a Citrix Presentation Server environment. CPU consumption emerges as the most important limiting factor, as collective CPU time per session will determine how many Dragon sessions can be active at the same time. Using the hardware and software configurations detailed in the appendix, here is the approximate range of Dragon NaturallySpeaking sessions that can be expected to run on the Citrix Presentation Server 4.0 utilizing the hardware and software configurations outlined in the appendix: Maximum Load: In a realistic scenario, where multiple sessions are performing different types of activities (opening, saving and closing users, dictating, and correcting dictation), it can be expected that 6 concurrent Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9/Citrix sessions can be executed. Minimum Load: Expect to run 4 concurrent Dragon NaturallySpeaking/Citrix sessions in the case when all Dragon NaturallySpeaking sessions are running acoustic training.

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About Nuance Communications, Inc.
Nuance (Nasdaq: NUAN) is the leading provider of speech and imaging solutions for businesses and consumers around the world. Its technologies, applications and services make the user experience more compelling by transforming the way people interact with information and how they create, share and use documents. Every day, millions of users and thousands of businesses experience Nuances proven applications and professional services. For more information, please visit www.nuance.com.
About Citrix Systems, Inc.
Citrix Systems, Inc. is the global leader and the most trusted name in Application Delivery Infrastructure. More than 215,000 organizations worldwide rely on Citrix to deliver any application to users anywhere with the best performance, highest security and lowest cost. Citrix customers include 100 percent of the Fortune 100 companies and 99 percent of the Fortune Global 500, as well as hundreds of thousands of small businesses and prosumers. Citrix has approximately 8,000 partners in more than 100 countries. Annual revenue in 2008 was $1.6 billion.

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Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10
Date: Name of Product: Contact for more Information: July 9, 2008 Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 http://nuance.com/help/contact/ or http://nuance.com/company/accessibility/
Summary Table Voluntary Product Accessibility Template
Criteria Section 1194.21 Software Applications and Operating Systems Section 1194.22 Web-based internet information and applications Supporting Features Supported. Please refer to the attached VPAT. Remarks and explanations Please refer to the attached VPAT. Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 is not considered a web-based internet information and applications product. Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 is not considered a telecommunications product according to the definition in Section 1194.23. Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 does not use multimedia except as covered in section 1194.21. Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 is not a self-contained product according to the definition in Section 1194.25. Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 is software as defined under section 1194.21. Supported. Please refer to the attached VPAT. Supported. Please refer to the attached VPAT. Please refer to the attached VPAT. Please refer to the attached VPAT.
Section 1194.23 Telecommunications Products
Section 1194.24 Video and Multimedia Products Section 1194.25 Self-Contained, Closed Products
Section 1194.26 Desktop and Portable Computers Section 1194.31 Functional Performance Criteria Section 1194.41 (a) Information, Documentation and Support
Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT)

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Section 1194.21 Software Applications and Operating Systems - Detail Voluntary Product Accessibility Criteria
(a) When software is designed to run on a system that has a keyboard, product functions shall be executable from a keyboard where the function itself or the result of performing a function can be discerned textually.

Supporting Features

1.) All control features of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 are Compliant. 2.) Dragon Tutorial is Compliant

Remarks and explanations

Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 follows standard conventions for navigating around the user interface from the keyboard. All menu items (Tabs, Radio Buttons, selection fi e l d s , e t c. ) a r e accessible via keyboard fu n c t i o n a n d r e a d e r software.
(b) Applications shall not disrupt or disable activated features of other products that are identified as accessibility features, where those features are developed and documented according to industry standards. Applications also shall not disrupt or disable activated features of any operating system that are identified as accessibility features where the application programming interface for those accessibility features has been documented by the manufacturer of the operating system and is available to the product developer.
All accessibility features are The software supports the maintained in state after active accessibility features of product Installation. Microsoft - Windows 2000 (SP4 or higher) - Windows XP (SP2 or higher) 32-bit Home and Pro - Windows Vista (and Vista SP1) 32-bit (all 4 editions) - Windows Server 2000 - Windows Server 2003
(c) A well-defined on-screen indication of the current Supported focus shall be provided that moves among interactive interface elements as the input focus changes. The focus shall be programmatically exposed so that Assistive Technology can track focus and focus changes. (d) Sufficient information about a user interface element including the identity, operation and state of the element shall be available to Assistive Technology. When an image represents a program element, the information conveyed by the image must also be available in text. Supported
Focus and descriptive are tracked by assistive technology
I m a g e e l e m e n t s a r e tagged programmatically

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(e) When bitmap images are used to identify controls, status indicators, or other programmatic elements, the meaning assigned to those images shall be consistent throughout an application's performance.

Supported

All Images have consistency.
(f) Textual information shall be provided through Supported operating system functions for displaying text. The minimum information that shall be made available is text content, text input caret location, and text attributes. (g) Applications shall not override user selected contrast Supported and color selections and other individual display attributes. (h) When animation is displayed, the information shall N/A be displayable in at least one non-animated presentation mode at the option of the user. (i) Color coding shall not be used as the only means of conveying information, indicating an action, prompting a response, or distinguishing a visual element. Supported

No unique schemes noted.

User selected contrast settings not affected.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 makes use of icons, graphics, status indicators, and other visuals to give feedback to the user and to indicate what actions can be taken. Color coding is not relied upon as the sole means of communicating concepts in the user interface or documentation.
(j) When a product permits a user to adjust color and N/A contrast settings, a variety of color selections capable of producing a range of contrast levels shall be provided. (k) Software shall not use flashing or blinking text, objects, or other elements having a flash or blink frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz. Supported No blinking objects or text used
(l) When electronic forms are used, the form shall allow N/A people using Assistive Technology to access the information, field elements, and functionality required for completion and submission of the form, including all directions and cues.

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Section 1194.31 Functional Performance Criteria - Detail Voluntary Product Accessibility Criteria
(a) At least one mode of operation and information retrieval that does not require user vision shall be provided, or support for assistive technology used by people who are blind or visually impaired shall be provided.
Commonly-used Assistive Technology (AT) may be used with Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10. Support has been verified for the following Screen Readers: - JAWS 9.0 - Window-Eyes 7.0
(b) At least one mode of operation and information Supported retrieval that does not require visual acuity greater than 20/70 shall be provided in audio and enlarged print output working together or independently, or support for assistive technology used by people who are visually impaired shall be provided. (c) At least one mode of operation and information retrieval that does not require user hearing shall be provided, or support for assistive technology used by people who are deaf or hard of hearing shall be provided. Supported
User interface information is available to users with low vision via options to display information at larger dots per inch or greater font sizes via the operating system video controls. Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 does not require user hearing for access to any functionality. In all instances where Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 provides an audio cue, it provides a visual cue as well. Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 provides support for a number of off-the-shelf headphones and speaker devices.
(d) Where audio information is important for the use of Supported a product, at least one mode of operation and information retrieval shall be provided in an enhanced auditory fashion, or support for assistive hearing devices shall be provided. (e) At least one mode of operation and information retrieval that does not require user speech shall be provided, or support for assistive technology used by people with disabilities shall be provided. (f) At least one mode of operation and information retrieval that does not require fine motor control or simultaneous actions and that is operable with limited reach and strength shall be provided. N/A

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Section 1194.41 Information, Documentation and Support - Detail Voluntary Product Accessibility Criteria Supporting Features Remarks and explanations
Online User Guide is compliant Documentation for Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 is provided in digital format, both with the product and on the Nuance Web site: http://support.nuance.com/usersguides/default.asp at no additional charge. The documentation on the Nuance web site is most accessible when it is browsed by using Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or later, Mozilla Firefox 1.5, Netscape Navigator 6.0 or later, and Safari on Mac. Technical troubleshooting information is also available on the Nuance Help and Support Web site http://support.nuance.com/. The Nuance web site provides mechanisms by which customers can provide feedback about the content, including suggestions for additional information that may help people with disabilities. (b) End-users shall have access to a Supported description of the accessibility and compatibility features of products in alternate formats or alternate methods upon request, at no additional charge. Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 documentation includes information about the accessibility features and options that are available in the program, customization options for the program, and a list of keyboard shortcuts for using program features. This information is also available on the Nuance Web site http://support.nuance.com/usersguides/ (c) Support services for products shall accommodate the communication needs of end-users with disabilities. Supported Nuance Customer Service and Support is familiar with such features as keyboard access and other options that are important to people with disabilities. For technical assistance in the United States, customers can contact Nuance Customer Service and Support via http://support.nuance.com/ http://support.nuance.com/phone/default.asp or by phone at 407-241-1827 between 9:00 A.M. and 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Nuance customer service and support are subject to the prices, terms, and conditions in place at the time the service is used.
(a) Product support documentation provided Supported to end-users shall be made available in alternate formats upon request, at no additional charge.