The views, opinions expressed are those by the author of this entry only.
What are ShareFile Restricted Zones?
Citrix ShareFile recently introduced a feature known as restricted zones which now allows CTX Mobility Admins (SysAdmins) with the ability to encrypt there ShareFile metadata with on-prem keys prior to uploading your On-Prem StorageZone (SZ) metadata to the ShareFile SaaS tier often referred to as the ShareFile Control Plane. Historically you could not encrypt your ShareFile metadata but you always been able to encrypt your ShareFile data within your On-Prem SZ as described at – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/sharefile-storagezones-31/sf-install-sz-controller.html.
ShareFile data is where your actual files and folders are stored e.g Word documents, Images, PowerPoint presentations etc. within your SZ. ShareFile metadata contains data about data (e.g user & file info) and read a full detailed overview on page 7 of the ShareFile security whitepaper available at – https://www.citrix.com/content/dam/citrix/en_us/documents/products-solutions/sharefile-enterprise-security-whitepaper.pdf. Finally it is very important to understand when you enable a restricted zone that only employee’s within your Active Directory (AD) are able to access this SZ and this feature is only available with on-prem customer managed ShareFile SZ.
Standard vs. Restricted Zones
It is important to understand that the traffic flows between a tradition standard and restricted SZ are different so be sure to spend time reviewing each diagram at – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/sharefile-storagezones-31/sf-deploy.html. It is also important to note that any/all e-mail notifications sent for a configured restricted zones are sent via your organisations local SMTP servers instead of the ShareFile SMTP servers.
The following content is a brief and unofficial prerequisites guide to setup, configure and test XenMobile 10.0 prior to deploying in a PoC which will eventually mature to a Pilot, UAT then finally into an Production environment by the author of this entry. The views, opinions and concepts expressed are those by the author of this entry only and do not necessary conform to industry descriptions or best practises.
Shortened Names
XENMOBILE – xm
XENMOBILE SERVER – xms
VIRTUAL APPLIANCE – v/a
FEDERAL INFORMATION PROCESSING STANDARDs – fips
NETSCALER GATEWAY – nsg
MICROVPN – mVPN
FIREWALL – f/w
CERTIFICATE – cert
ACTIVE DIRECTORY – ad
INFRASTRUCTURE-AS-A-SERVICE – iaas
ENTERPRISE MOBILITY MANAGEMENT – emm
MOBILE CONTENT/INFORMATION MANAGEMENT – mc/im
MOBILE DEVICE MANAGEMENT – mdm
MOBILE APPLICATION MANAGEMENT – mam
Preparation & Pre-requisites (DRAFT & MAY CONTAIN ERROR(S))
1: XenMobile 10 is completely different from XenMobile 9 as it is now a single harden Linux V/A and the communication paths between the NSG and the XMS V/A are also now differently likewise setting and configuring XM 10 is different from XM 9 and its substantially more quicker and easier.
2: Never use a production NSG for a customer PoC why? When you upload the trial licenses it will require the NSG V/A to reboot which cannot be completed in a production environment without a scheduled and carefully planned maintenance window.
3: You may want to use the latest NS(G) firmware for the XM PoC to achieve the best possible outcome, result and of course to have the best optimal performance.
4: XenMobile has the ability to integration of a number of the Citrix products to form an end-2-end EMM solution that encompasses MDM, MAM, MC/IM.
5: Identify and visually understand where potentially all the components/products sit within the whole overall mobility solution. Here is a great visual reference that is clean and clear to understand – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile-10/xmob-arch-overview-con.html for XenMobile 10.
6: Review the pre-requites and checklists if available for each product that you wish to deploy within XenMobile. I have listed a few here for you starting with all the required ports:
Pre & Post Discovery Meetings (DRAFT & MAY CONTAIN ERROR(S))
1: Ensure that you educate the organisation as to what XenMobile is and it’s capabilities surrounding enterprise mobility management commonly referred to EMM. I often find that individuals still today don’t have a very clear and defined understanding of what is MDM and MAM are so its worth educating your customer.
2: I would suggest that you setup 2-3 GoToMeeting sessions a minimum. This is to ensure and allow the organisation to ask any questions surrounding the pre-requites and system requirements of XenMobile including supporting any and all external dependencies e.g iOS Enterprise Developer Account for signing Worx’s apps. The second reason is to ensure that all the pre-requites have been completed successfully prior to you arriving onsite to complete a PoC implementation and to answer any further Q&A the organisation has. If the organisation has not completed the pre-requites then proceed with the third GoToMeeting and if the pre-requites have still not being completed successfully I would strongly advise escalating to managers on both organisations and rescheduling your PoC deployment date to an alternative date as the chances of your PoC being successfully will be less likely and as for example the required ports may not be opened correctly, certificates for securing communication are completed etc. If you do choose to proceed you’ll more than likely spend a great deal of time troubleshooting in order to successfully complete your XenMobile 10 PoC deployment.
3: Decide on a database platform note that Postgres SQL is built-in to the XMS V/A and it is recommended PoC deployments only, where as a remote MS SQL database is best utilised for production deployments.
4: Decide upon the MDM management addr for mobile devices which should be a FQDN e.g mdm.axendatacentre.com. If you intend to manage devices both in and outside of your organisation I would recommended implementing SplitDNS ref – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split-horizon_DNS.
Example of SplitDNS
///////////////////
Internal 10.10.1.1 resolves to mdm.axendatacentre.com over the corporate trusted Wi-Fi or wired ethernet
External 8.8.8.100 resolves to mdm.axendatacentre.com over 3/4G
5: Login to your Citrix My Account at – http://www.citrix.com/ locate and click Partner Central (Opens a new tab) then once the web page loads click Sales in the navigation menu bar and click on SalesIQ (Opens a new tab) then once loaded click on PoC Central scroll down and download the XenMobile PoC kit. Note only valid Citrix Partners may download content from Citrix SalesIQ.
How-to resolve – Profile Installation Failed The server certificate for “https://XM-FQDN:8443” is invalid when enrolling a device against XenMobile
1: The following error message Profile Installation FailedThe server certificate for ‘https://XM-FQDN:8443″ is invalid is received when enrolling iOS 7.x.n + with XenMobile 10.
2: The issues is related to the private key within the exported *.p12/pfx certificate when exported from a Windows machine with either Certificate Manager or IIS Manager on Windows Server.
3: I would suggest that you download and run DigiCert Certificate Utility for Windows from – https://www.digicert.com/util/ on the server that originated the CSR that was used to generate a wildcard certificate. Once the tool is open find your wildcard cert and follow the steps at – https://www.digicert.com/util/pfx-certificate-management-utility-import-export-instructions.htm to export the certificate BUT before you proceed with the export please highlight the intended wildcard certificate and select “Test Key” once its completed successfully select “Export Certificate” option.
4: Upload the exported DigiCert p12/pfx cert to the XMS V/A for both the server and the SSL listener and restart the XMS V/A.
5: Once the XMS V/A is online login to both the SFP and the Admin WebUI to validate that the XMS V/A is active and responding as normal/expected.
6: Begin enrolling your iOS device and the following error message Profile Installation FailedThe server certificate for “https://” is invalid should no longer appear and you should be able to successfully enroll your iOS device.
PoC Notes & Tips
1: Deploy your first few XenMobile 10.0 PoC as single entities without the complexity of clustering, load-balancing e.t.c
2: Stick with 2 devices during a PoC to maximise your success and remember a PoC is designed to prove a concept or that a technology works as described.
3: If your deploying ShareFile On-Prem SZ remember to backup the SZKeys.txt in the root of your ShareFile Data CIFS share.
4: Support NetScaler Gateway (Builds + Versions) for XM 10.0 currently include – 10.5.55.8 MR5, 10.5.54.9 MR4, 10.5.53.9 MR3, 10.1.130 MR and 10.1.129 MR ref – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/worx-mobile-apps/xmob-10-understand-compatibilitymatrix-con.html. Please review the following CTX article entitled “FAQ: XenMobile 10 and NetScaler 10.5 Integration” available at – http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX200430 which is a great and resourceful CTX article.
5: Although this is typically not considered during a PoC Citrix provides detailed overview of scaling XenMobile 10.0 from 1000 up to 100,000 devices fronted by both VPX and MPX NS appliances – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile-10/xmob-scaling-xm.html.
The following content is a brief and unofficial prerequisites guide to setup, configure and test XenMobile 10.0 prior to deploying in a PoC, Pilot or Production environment by the author of this entry. The views, opinions and concepts expressed are those by the author of this entry only and do not necessary conform to industry descriptions or best practises.
Shortened Names
XENMOBILE – xm
XENMOBILE SERVER – xms
VIRTUAL APPLIANCE – v/a
FEDERAL INFORMATION PROCESSING STANDARDs – fips
NETSCALER GATEWAY – nsg
VIRTUAL IP ADDRESS – vip
MOBILE APPLICATION MANAGEMENT – mam
MOBILE DEVICE MANAGEMENT -mdm
What’s New
1: XenMobile is now a single unified hardened Linux virtual appliance.
2: Complete overhaul of the Web UI which dramatically simplifies policy setup & configuration of MDM + MAM policies and it allows for the management of multiple platforms within a single policy.
3: Built-in V6 Citrix Licensing server provides a 30 day trial/evaluation and also support for remote V6 CTX licensing server.
4: Built-in PostgreSQL database recommended for PoC’s and there’s also support for remote MS SQL database which is recommended for production deployments.
4: XMS V/A includes IPtables which is a Linux firewall – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iptables.
5: XMS placement is in the DMZ. The V/A is hardened and is FIPS 140-2 compliant and remember you data is actually stored in a MS SQL database unless your utilising PostgreSQL database within the XMS V/A.
6: Traffic flow and ports between NetScaler Gateway and the XenMobile Server (XMS) have changed please refer to eDocs for an architecture overview of the changes at – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile-10/xmob-arch-overview-con.html.
7: The Admin Web UI is now on https://XMS-FQDN:4443/. This port is not configured as part of the XenMobile 10 wizard on NetScaler Gateway build 10.5-55.8 which means that you will not be able to access the mgmt. Admin Web UI from the internet it will only be accessible from the DMZ and the TRU network dependant upon your firewall(s) ACL list.
8: New WorxHome build 10.0.3.83 which is also backwards compatible from XenMobile 10.x.n
9: The XenMobile NetScaler Connector (XNC) currently is still a separate Windows Server.
9: You can find our more by watching the following Mobility Master Class: What’s New in XenMobile 10 available from Citrix TV.
– Citrix v6 licensing file for either local or remote. Remote is recommended for H/A purposes.*
– Microsoft Active Directory (AD) ip addr or FQDN, base DN, domain, search service account with read-only permissions.
– Certificate in *.p12 or *.pfx format for the SSL_Listener which is used for two way secure HTTPS communication to the XMS V/A.
– APNS certificate.
– Separate MDM and MAM+ FQDN’s correctly setup in DNS with fwd and reserve lookup’s configured and each configured with its own static IP addr for external resolution.
– 3x VIP for configuring XenMobile 10 with NetScaler Gateway 10.5.55.8 +. You can find a compatible NSG V/A version and builds at – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile-10/xmob-10-understand-compatibilitymatrix-con.html.
– MS SQL Database server configured to accept traffic and with write/read privileges to create and manage the remote XMS database.
– Mail server configuration which enables and provides workflow email messages, notifications to users e.t.c
6: Follow the onscreen prompts and once completed the web UI deployment wizard then you have successfully deployed a XMS V/A. Please not reboot the XMS V/A so that the existing SSL certificates for HTTPS can be unbound and the newly uploaded SSL cert(s) can be bound to HTTPS.
7: You may now setup a XMS cluster and configure H/A with a NSG and thereafter begin configuring your XenMobile 10.0 environment. See the H/A section for a how-to.
8: Logon to one of the XMS v/a direct IP addr e.g https://XMS:4443/ if in H/A fronted by the NSG as the XenMobile 10 wizard will not configure 4443 which means that you cannot access the mgmt interface via the VIP owned by the NSG. This means that the mgmt interface is not accessible either internally or externally on the FQDN that resolves the VIP owned by the NSG.
9: Scaling XenMobile 10.0 from 1000 up to 100,000 devices – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile-10/xmob-scaling-xm.html.
XMS V/A High-Availability (H/A)
1: Prior to understanding how-to setup a XMS H/A or clustering you need to understand that the minimum requirements are for a remote CTX v6 licensing server and MS SQL database as the XMS V/A do not hold any user/cfg information this is all held in the remote database.
2: Once your have setup XMS follow the prompts in the CLI to enable clustering and configure the IPtables firewall ACL and then finally shut it down and clone it.
3: Rename the cloned XMS V/S to your required naming convention and then boot up the cloned XMS V/A login to the CLI and changed the IP addr and ensure that the IPtables firewall ACL ports are correctly enabled then shutdown the V/A.
4: Boot the first XMS V/A and then 60 seconds later boot the cloned XMS V/A and login to the CLI to very the cluster is enabled and then login into the XMS admin WebUI to verify that the cluster is up and functioning as expected. The original XMS V/A will be the oldest in the cluster.
5: You can now proceed to setting up the load-balancing for the XMS V/A’s with NSG to service MDM + MAM requests.
Deploying XM 10 with NetScaler Gateway 10.5.x.n (Draft)
1: Before beginning its worth mentioning that the way I will be describing how-to deploy XenMobile 10 in this blog article will be to utilise to external static IP addr’s + FQDN’s that are NATed to DMZ IP addr’s and I will utilising SplitDNS for device mgmt. in/outside of my TRU network. I will also be implementing the described XenMobile 10 environment below utilising an SSL Bridge although offloading includes a few more minor steps the intention of this section is aimed at helping you front your XenMobile 10.0 deployment with a NSG 10.5.x.n V/A.
2: Please review the following CTX article entitled “FAQ: XenMobile 10 and NetScaler 10.5 Integration” – http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX200430 which will aid you in been able to setup and configure load-balancing for XMS V/A’s, mVPN for Worx’s apps for XenMobile 10 with NetScaler Gateway 10.5.x.n.
3: You’ll require the following prior to be beginning:
– Correct NetScaler (Gateway) build +_ version the NSG version + build I’ll be discussing here is NetScaler Gateway 10.5.55.8 MR5 but you can check the latest supported version + builds at – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/worx-mobile-apps/xmob-10-understand-compatibilitymatrix-con.html
– 1x FQDN for MDM e.g. mdm.axendatacentre.com * that resolves to both external internet routable static IP addr and your internal assigned static IP. Please note that this should match exactly the FQDN entered in at the time of the deployment of your XMS V/A during the first phase in the CLI the text your looking for is/was “XenMobile Server FQDN:” and its highlighted in yellow. It is also worth/noting that if you have utilised an internal domain e.g xms.abc.local as the FQDN this will only manage devices internally as that FQDN is not routable on the internet so you’ll only be able to manage devices INSIDE of the trusted network to its recommended to a FQDN that is internet routable and you can utilise SplitDNS to manage traffic requests to the NSG VIP’s for XenMobile.
– 1x FQDN for MAM (Worx’s Apps) e.g. mobileapps.axendatacentre.com * that resolves to both external internet routable static IP addr and your internal assigned static IP
– 2x External routable internet IP addr’s * e.g 8.8.8.8 which most IT Pro’s utilise to ping to check internet connectivity
– 3x Internal IP addr’s owned by the NSG as VIP
|- 1x for MDM
|- 1x for MAM Gateway
|- 1x for Load-balancing IP
– Wildcard certificate for your domain e.g *.domain.com
– If your implementing SSL Offloading (HTTP) of your XenMobile traffic for MAM then you’ll require the devices cert from the XMS V/A which can be downloaded from the XMS Web AdminUI at https://xms:4443/
4: Setup the NetScaler Gateway configuration within the Admin WebUI of the XMS V/A following the process outlined at – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile-10/xmob-netscaler-gateway.html its fairly straight forward and simple.
5: Login into the NSG Admin WebUI interface and click the XenMobile Wizard in the bottom left-hand corner and then you’ll be prompted to setup either XenMobile 9.0 or XenMobile 10.0 please selected XenMobile 10.0 and click “Get Started” to continue.
6: Ensure that “Access through NetScaler Gateway” which is for MAM, “Load Balance XenMobile Servers” which is for MAM are checked they should be by default, however you know have the opportunity to deselect either if one depending upon your deployment scenario/use case and obviously your acquired license. The current XenMobile 10 datasheet is available at – https://www.citrix.com/content/dam/citrix/en_us/documents/products-solutions/citrix-xenmobile-the-revolutionary-way-to-mobilize-your-business.pdf.
7: Enter in your first VIP for the MAM Gateway then port should be 443 and provide a suitable name.
8: Select your previously uploaded SSL certificate (I am utilising a wildcard cert for my domain *.axendatacentre.com) or upload your SSL cert.
9: Create your (s)LDAP binding you will need to provide the following:
– LDAP IP addr
– LDAP Port default is 389
– Base DN e.g Cn=Users,dc=axendatacentre,dc=com
– Service account username & password
– Timeout default is 3 seconds
– Server Login sAMAccountName or UserPrincipalName (SuGgEsTeD)
10: Now enter in your MDM FQDN and then the Load-balancing IP addr beneath and accept the default port of 8443. You can now also choose to select HTTPS (SSL Bridge) vs. HTTP (SSL Offload) and you can choose your DNS mode including split tunnelling.
11: Select your previously uploaded SSL certificate (I am utilising a wildcard cert for my domain *.axendatacentre.com) or upload your SSL cert.
12: Enter in your MDM VIP and you’ll notice the default ports are 443, 8443 for communication to the XMS V/A(s). You’ll notice that you cannot change the SSL traffic configuration as I specified to not to perform any SSL offloading in set 10 above or its under section “Load Balancing IP address for MAM” within the NSG XenMobile 10 wizard.
13: Next add in the XMS ip addr’s of each V/A in your XMS cluster and provide an appropriate name and ports are automated defaulted to 443, 8443.
14: Click continue to finish and then click done and you have now setup and configured all your traffic for XenMobile to route through your NSG V/A and we are performing SSL Bridging in the above scenario.
Twitter
You should follow the XenMobile team on twitter at – https://twitter.com/xenmobile for the very latest on Worx’s apps, updates, upgrades and so much more.
The following content is a brief and unofficial prerequisites guide to setup, configure and test XenMobile AppController 9.0 prior to deploying in a PoC, Pilot or Production environment by the author of this entry. The views, opinions and concepts expressed are those by the author of this entry only and do not necessary conform to industry descriptions or best practises.
Shortened Names
XENMOBILE APPCONTROLLER – xac
CERTIFICATE SIGNING REQUEST – csr
FULLY QUALIFIED DOMAIN NAME – fqdn
RECEIVER FOR WEB – rfw
CERTIFICATE AUTHORITY – ca
STOREFRONT SERVICES – sfs
PUBLIC KEY INFRASTRUCTURE – pki
NETSCALER GATEWAY – nsg
XENMOBILE DEVICE MANAGER – xdm
XENMOBILE NETSCALER CONNECTOR – xnc
SECURE TICKET AUTHORITY – sta
DOMAIN NAME SERVER – dns
New & Existing XenMobile AppController (XAC) Admin & User Consoles
1: The NEWEST console is a troubleshooting one which is accessible at https://XAC-FQDN:4443/ControlPoint/support which allows troubleshooting of NetScaler Gateway, XenMobile Device Manager
2: Control Point Admin console – https://XAC-FQDN:4443/ControlPoint/
3: Hidden Admin console – https://XAC-FQDN:4443/admin.
4: Receiver for Web (RfW) provides user access to SaaS, Web-links – https://XAC-FQDN:4443/Citrix/StoreWeb/ natively. You can integrate XAC with StoreFront to enumerate published Windows apps, Sever and Desktop VDI’s from XenApp, XenDesktop 7.x.
2: New troubleshooting and support console that can download logs, perform connectivity tests and upload logs to http://taas.citrix.com. The console is available at – https://XAC-FQDN:4443/ControlPoint/support once you have successful authenticated at https://XAC-FQDN:4443/ControlPoint/. You will need to know the admin access details for NSG, XAC and XDM in order to effectively use this console.
3: Wrapping iOS Worx Apps Video.
4: Wrapping Andriod Worx Apps including covering off how-to sign multiple *.APK files using a BASH script. Refer to the XenMobile 9.0 MDX Toolkit Documentation
– http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX140458 for more information once you have watched this video.
The following content is a brief and unofficial prerequisites guide to setup, configure and test XenMobile Enterprise 9.0 prior to deploying in a PoC, Pilot or Production environment by the author of this entry. The views, opinions and concepts expressed are those by the author of this entry only and do not necessary conform to industry descriptions or best practises.
Shortened Names
XENMOBILE ENTERPRISE – xme
XENMOBILE CLOUD – xc
CERTIFICATE SIGNING REQUEST – csr
FULLY QUALIFIED DOMAIN NAME – fqdn
RECEIVER FOR WEB – rfw
CERTIFICATE AUTHORITY – ca
STOREFRONT SERVICES – sfs
PUBLIC KEY INFRASTRUCTURE – pki
NETSCALER GATEWAY – nsg
XENMOBILE DEVICE MANAGER – xdm
XENMOBILE APPCONTROLLER – xac
XENMOBILE NETSCALER CONNECTOR – xnc
SECURE TICKET AUTHORITY – sta
DOMAIN NAME SERVER – dns
PUBLIC KEY INFRASTRUCTURE – pki
XenMobile Security
1: Citrix have published a Whitepaper in PDF format covering the security within XenMobile which can be downloaded directly at – http://www.citrix.com/content/dam/citrix/en_us/documents/products-solutions/xenmobile-security.pdf there is also a new security web page within the XenMobile microsite on Citrix.com at – http://www.citrix.com/products/xenmobile/tech-info/mobile-security.html.
2: Security harden your XDM implementation leveraging Microsoft’s leading best practises I have listed below are a few (starter) useful resources. I always believe that you should challenge the way you are manage your infrastructure periodically from the services, ports, packages running on servers to the ACL at the edge of your network to ensure that you are using the latest leading best practises for monitoring, managing and supporting your environment(s) end-2-end and often this will require input from a Server, DBA SysAdmin & network engineer.
What’s New & Fixed
1: Support for Windows Phone 8.1 MDM API’s which include but not limited to software inventory, disabling of the camera, encryption e.t.c and for a complete list checkout – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile-90/xmob-dm-manage-config-win-81.html.
2: New MDX policies for Windows Phone 8.1 e.g Document exchange (Open In), App restrictions, iOS e.g AirDrop, Social media integration and others.
XenMobile Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Integration
Prior to implementing with XME I would suggest that you review and read through the PKI section in eDocs for XenMobile Enterprise 9.0 at – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile-90/xmob-dm-manage-security-pki-overview-con.html so that you are aware and familiar with the supported PKI capabilities supported by XenMobile 9.0. The below embedded videos are from Citrix TV and covering the Symantec PKI integration for XenMobile 9.0.
The following content is a brief and unofficial prerequisites guide to setup, configure and test XenMobile Enterprise 8.7 prior to deploying in a PoC, Pilot or Production environment by the author of this entry. The views, opinions and concepts expressed are those by the author of this entry only and do not necessary conform to industry descriptions or best practises.
Shortened Names
XENMOBILE DEVICE MANAGER – xdm
CERTIFICATE SIGNING REQUEST – csr
APPLE PUSH NOTIFICATION SERVICE – apns
FULLY QUALIFIED DOMAIN NAME – fqdn
SECURE LIGHTWEIGHT DIRECTORY ACCESS PROTOCOL – (s)ldap
SHAREFILE STORAGEZONE CONNECTOR – szc
XENMOBILE APPCONTROLLER – xac
RECEIVER FOR WEB – RfW
OUT OF OFFICE – ooo
GoToMeeting – gtm
GoToAssist – gta
VOLUME PURCHASE PROGRAM – vpp
Performing In-place Upgrades from XenMobile 8.6 to 8.7
I performed in-place upgrade within my XenMobile Enterprise demo environment running Hyper-v on Microsoft Windows Server 2012 from 8.6 to 8.7 without any issues or errors.
2: Note: As I focus on PoC’s and Training the upgrade methods used below will be different for production environments and you should follow – http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX140444 for steps and guidance.
3: My current setup consisted of a XDM cluster on 8.6 l/b by NetScaler using a MS SQL database. I first performed a snapshot of both XDM servers and the SQL database then proceeded to shutdown the second XDM server and executed the XDM 8.7 software package on the primary XDM server which detected a XDM installation and performed a in-place upgrade following the onscreen steps. Once the software update completed I rebooted the VM and then proceeded to connect to XDM mgmt. Web UI locally via https://localhost/zdm on the primary XDM server desktop (Note: SSL error is normal as the FQDN your connected to is not for localhost but your organisations FQDN) and then logged in as a XDM admin then as domain user to verify that the SHP works as expected. Next shutdown the primary XDM server and boot the secondary XDM server and repeat the process above and once verified shutdown the secondary XDM server and boot the primary XDM server wait a few minute then boot the secondary XDM server and what a few minutes and then login to https://XDM-FQDN/Instance/helper.jsp e.g https://mdm.citrix.lab/zdm/helper.jsp and verify that the XDM cluster is active and working, next login to https://XDM-FQDN/Instance/ as a domain user and then a XDM admin to verify that everything works as expected e.g send a notification to an iOS device or enrol a new device using a custom deployment policies to verify your XDM is functioning as expected.
The following content is a brief and unofficial prerequisites guide to setup, configure and test XenMobile Enterprise 8.5, 8.6, 8.7 and 9.0 prior to deploying in a PoC, Pilot or Production environment by the author of this entry. The views, opinions and concepts expressed are those by the author of this entry only and do not necessary conform to industry descriptions or best practises.
Pre & Post Discovery Meeting (DRAFT & MAY CONTAIN ERROR(S))
1: Ensure that you educate the organisation as to what XenMobile is and is capable of doing re MDM, MAM and MIM.
2: Setup 2-3 GoToMeeting sessions. The first is to answer any Q&A that the organisation has for you re the pre-requites and ensure that they have started to prepare any external dependencies e.g iOS Enterprise Developer Account. The second is to ensure that all the pre-requites have been completed prior to the installation onsite for the PoC and to answer any further Q&A the organisation has. If the organisation has not completed the pre-requites then proceed with the third GoToMeeting and if the pre-requites have not being completed I would strongly advise escalating to managers on both that your PoC will more than likely be unsuccessful as your need ports opened, servers build, software downloaded, certificates e.t.c and you will need to focus on installing and then configuring the products to be integrated together and into mgmt infrastructure e.g (s)LDAP and finally configure policies and if applicable wrapping Worx, ShareFile *.ipa and *.apk files to become *.mdx to provide secure sandboxed, internet and intranet browsing (WorxWeb) + e-mail (WorxMail) and data sharing (ShareFile).
3: Decide on a database platform note that Postgres SQL is built-in to the XDM software package and is great for PoC’s or alternatively you can use MS SQL.
4: Decide upon the XDM management addr for mobile devices you can use either an IP Addr 10.10.100.200 for FQDN e.g mdm.axendatacentre.com, however I would recommend a FQDN. Why? When you install and configure the XDM your creating and configuring a CA if use used an IP addr and you decided to move the XDM server from one subnet to another and could not provide the exact IP or you move from one ISP to another you’ll get a new IP addr range you will break the CA and all enrolled devices will become unmanaged so install using an FQDN and you can always adjust the underlying IP addr of the XDM’s serves FQDN this not compromising/breaking the XDM’s CA and all devices will remain managed and connected to the XDM. Remember changing an IP addr of an external FQDN does and will require 24 hours for DNS to propagate through out the internet.
5: Login to your Citrix My Account at – http://www.citrix.com/ locate and click Partner Central (Opens a new tab) then once the web page loads click Sales in the navigation menu bar and click on SalesIQ (Opens a new tab) then once loaded click on PoC Central scroll down and download the XenMobile PoC kit. Note only valid Citrix Partners may download content from Citrix SalesIQ.
PoC Notes & Tips
1: Deploy your first few XenMobile 8.7 PoC’s using single NIC’s.
2: Stick with 2-3 devices during a PoC to maximise your PoC success and remember a PoC is designed to prove a concept or a technology.
3: If your deploying ShareFile On-Prem SZ remember to back SZKeys.txt in the root of your ShareFile data CIFS share.
4: Your PoC should run smoothly provided that you can confirm that all the perquisites for XenMobile Enterprise are successfully completed prior to arriving onsite and this should also potentially include having a basic customer defined MDM, MDX policy agreement so that you can setup and configure these policies post successfully deploying the XenMobile components so that you can begin your initial testing to check that everything is operating as expected thereafter you demonstrate that the deployment is active and working as expected. At this stage you can either define what MDM, MDX policies you wish to trial or test during the PoC however hopefully this has too also been previously agreed and you can begin defining the policies by platform and for any Worx or 3rd party signed MDX mobiles apps.
5: XDM clustering for high-availability in XenMobile 9.0 has changed so please refer to this blog article – which will help your understand what Tomcat configuration changes are required prior to performing an in place upgrade from XenMobile Device Manager 8.7 to 9.0. This changes also means that your XDM cluster can now reside in alternatively data centres ref – .
The following content is a brief and unofficial prerequisites guide to setup, configure and test ShareFile StorageZone Controller 2.2 prior to deploying in a PoC, Pilot or Production environment by the author of this entry. The views, opinions and concepts expressed are those by the author of this entry only and do not necessary conform to industry descriptions or best practises.
Shortened Names
STORAGEZONE CONTROLLER – szc
CERTIFICATE SIGNING REQUEST – csr
SHAREFILE – sf
FULLY QUALIFIED DOMAIN NAME – fqdn
SECURE LIGHTWEIGHT DIRECTORY ACCESS PROTOCOL – (s)ldap
CERTIFICATE – cert
COMMON INTERNET FILE SYSTEM – cifs
XENMOBILE APPCONTROLLER – xac
What’s New
1:This release coupled with prior versions now integrates both the Storage Center and Controller server software packages into one unified software package now called the “ShareFile StorageZone Controller 2.2”.
2: Access your organisations trusted existing or new network CIFS shares and SharePoint sites via a ShareFile On-Prem SZC which always users to securely connect via a FQDN over 443 (HTTPS) this ensuring secure and encrypted communication between the users device and the On-Prem SZC. It is worth mentioning that your organisations datasets do not traverse the ShareFile Control Plane in any way ref – http://support.citrixonline.com/en_US/ShareFile/all_files/SF090015.
3: ShareFile also introduced an EMEA Control Plane for organisations to meet local, regional and geo requirements and or restrictions one basic example could be Safe Harbor – http://export.gov/safeharbor/ as well as preferring to have localised data centre’s within the EU to manage and handle user requests and more. Note this feature was already widely available prior to this WordPress post/blog entry.
4: For information regarding what else is new please check out – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/sharefile-storagezones-22/sf-storagezones-about-22.html.
Deploying an On-Prem SZC (DRAFT & MAY CONTAIN ERROR(S))
1: Initially would suggest that your read/review the following CTX Article – http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX138041 and http://blogs.citrix.com/2012/03/19/saml-authentication-with-sharefile-using-ad-fs-2-0/ which covers numerous technical FAQ and may answer a number of your questions.
2: Setup a ShareFile Enterprise Account and request that On-Prem SZC be enabled against your account when setting up your account or if you already have one request that SZC be enabled by sending a email to ShareFile support – http://www.sharefile.com/company/contact-us.aspx and online help & support including videos is available at – http://support.citrixonline.com/sharefile. Verify that StorageZones are available under the Admin tab when you sign into your ShareFile sub-domain e.g xendc.sharefile.eu or axendatacentre.sharefile.com prior to continuing with the installation and configuration.
3: Prepare a Windows Server 2008 R2 and install IIS (include dependencies ASP, Basic Authentication if you want to connect to existing network shares for a PoC).
4: Setup and configure your external DNS A record e.g sharefile.axendacentre.com or sf.thedurbannatal-sharks.co.za and ensure that you can successful connect to the default IIS page on TCP Port 80.
5: Generate a CSR on the intended ShareFile On-Prem SZC for your FQDN and sign it with an external CA e.g http://www.verisign.co.uk or http://www.thawte.com e.t.c. Your are required to use an external CA as IIS self-signed or Enterprise CA certificates are not permitted and will not work with the ShareFile Control Plane. Download and install the cert response from your chosen external CA and Complete The Certificate Response in IIS.
6: Once the cert is successfully imported bind it to HTTPS (443) and the restart IIS and navigate to the FQDN via HTTPS externally to ensure that you can connect to it without any SSL cert mismatches, errors e.t.c
7: * Create a ShareFile service account within and assign full r/w access it to the intended On-Prem SZ folder located either on the local disk or secondary disk of the VM or remotely. Please do the same for your PoC Shared Area that you intend to access as an existing network share.
8: *Install the ShareFile Storage Zone Controller 2.2 software package and leave the checkbox to launch the Configuration Web Page. Once the page launches sign in with your Super Admin ShareFile Admin access details.
9: Follow the onscreen instructions which are fairly self explanatory however should you require any further help & support re the exact requirements please navigate to – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/sharefile-storagezones-22/sf-install-storagezones.html and http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/sharefile-storagezones-22/sf-manage-connectors.html.
10: Please stop and ensure that you safely backup the SCKeys.txt file within the root of On-Prem SZ CIFS share to a alternative and secure location that is also backed up.
11: Provision a test user that resides within your domain and has also been created within the ShareFile Control Plane. For help with setting up users please take a look at – .
12: Ensure that your test user has permission to your intended CIFS Shared Area e.g your SZC that you setup and configured within the ShareFile Control Plane.
13: Now that you have successfully setup and configured your On-Prem SZ and SZC proceed to download a ShareFile mobile app from e.g iTunes – iPad https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sharefile-for-ipad-by-citrix/id440596621?mt=8, iPhone https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sharefile-mobile-by-citrix/id434391375?mt=8 or Google Play – https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=ShareFile+by+Citrix&hl=en_GB. Once downloaded enter in your test users account details and test uploading and downloading a picture taken from within the ShareFile iOS app as an example.
14: Once you test that your On-Prem SZ
SZ Controller Management
This eDocs node will help you to proactively manage your On-Prem SZ Controller environment covering on to add/remove controllers for H/A as well as how-to promote, demote and disable SZ Controller – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/sharefile-storagezones-22/sf-manage-storagezone-controller.html. These eDoc articles are essential for the ongoing management and routine scheduled maintenance task(s).
