Category Archives: XenApp

Deploying Skype for Business 2015-16 (Offloaded) from a Citrix HDX Optimised Virtual App or Desktop

The following content is a brief and unofficial prerequisites guide to setup, configure and test delivering Skype for Business 2015 as a Citrix virtual app or an app within a virtual desktop powered by Citrix XenApp or XenDesktop 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 necessarily conform to industry descriptions or best practises.

Shortened Names
SKYPE FOR BUSINESS – skype4b
XENAPP – xa
XENDESKTOP – xd
XENAPP/XENDESKTOP – xad
VIRTUAL DELIVERY AGENT – vda
HIGH DEFINITION EXPERIENCE – hdx
VIRTUAL DESKTOP – vd
VIRTUAL APPS – va
REALTIME MEDIA ENGINE – rtme
REALTIME CONNECTOR – rtc

Introduction
The following blog article provides a basic understanding of how to deploy Skype for Business 2015 with the HDX Optimisation Pack 2.0 within a Citrix XenApp, XenDesktop environment which offloads the audio and video to the users local end-point running Citrix Receiver and the HDX RealTime Media Engine on supported Windows, Mac or Linux OSes. This offloading capability is powered by latest v2 HDX Optimisation Pack 2.0 architecture which can be found at – https://www.citrix.com/blogs/2016/01/12/citrix-and-microsoft-unveil-v2-solution-for-skype-for-business/ joint worked on between Citrix and Microsoft.

Why Customers Virtualize Skype for Business with Citrix

Understanding the HDX Optimisation Pack 2.0 vs. a Non-Optimised Deployment
The following is an oversimplified diagram which is also not intended to be 100% accurate but should provide you with a better understanding of the differences between an non-optimised vs. optimised delivery of a Skype4B virtual app from a Citrix environment.

Non-Optimised  Optimised with the HDX Optimisation Pack 2.x.n

VM
running Windows OS
VDA
7.x.n
Skype4B
Client + Media Engine
Internet
End-point
+ Citrix Receiver

VM
running Windows OS
←
→		 VDA 7.x.n
ICA/HDX Virtual Channel* 
↑
 ↓		 Skype4B
Client
HDX
RealTime Connector powered by HDX Optimisation Pack 2.x.n		 ←
→
Internet  ↑
 ↓
←
→		 End-point
+ Citrix Receiver (Windows, Mac or Linux) *
HDX
RealTime Media Engine (RTME) powered by HDX Optimisation Pack 2.x.n 		←
→

Pre-requisites & System Requirements
0. The following UDP Ports 16500-16509 required for HDX RealTime in addition to the following TCP ports 443, 1494, 2598 for ICA/HDX. Please be sure to reivew the firewall considerations and requirements for Lync/Skype edge servers at – http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/hdx-optimization/2-0/hdx-realtime-optimization-pack-configure-firewall.html
1. You’ll require a Skype for Business 2015 server, Microsoft Skype for Business Online* or Microsoft Lync 2013 back-end server with the Skype for Business 2015 client. You you will also require one of the following supported operating systems (Desktops) Microsoft Windows 10, 8.1, 7 or (Servers) Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012 R2 and along with supported version of XenApp, XenDesktop which you can verify which versions are supported at – http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/hdx-optimization/2-0/hdx-realtime-optimization-pack-system-requirements.html.
2. Download HDX Optimisation Pack 2.x.n – http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/hdx-optimization/2-0/hdx-realtime-optimization-pack-system-requirements.html
3. Upgrade your Citrix Receiver and install the HDX RealTime Media Engine 2.x.n – http://www.citrix.com/downloads/citrix-receiver/additional-client-software/hdx-realtime-media-engine-201.html. You can now also download the latest Citrix Receiver 4.4 and HDX RealTime Media Engine 2.0 for Windows in one installation package which can be downloaded at – https://www.citrix.com/downloads/citrix-receiver/additional-client-software/hdx-realtime-media-engine-20.html.
4. If you are going to be your testing from a thin client instead of a laptop, netbook or workstation then ensure that you review the latest Citrix Ready classification for Thin clients avaiable at – https://citrixready.citrix.com/info/thin-clients.html however I would recommend that you review the Thin Client whitepaper first and focus on page 4 which you can download and view at – https://citrixready.citrix.com/content/dam/ready/assets/thin-clients/thin-clients-features.pdf. If your looking for Skype for Business compatible hardware please ref to – http://partnersolutions.skypeforbusiness.com/solutionscatalog#/locale=en-us&categoryid=2&sortby=3&subcategoryid=3,5&filter=&manufacture=&version=&isQualified=&region=&language=&page=1&apptype=&tags=.
5. If your intending to deploy a test/poc Skype for Business 2015 environment then be sure to check out these technical diagrams avaiable at – https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn594589.aspx which contains some great diagrams depicting traffic flows and ensuring Call Quality Methodology (CQM).
6. Skype for Business and Lync Delivery Feature Matrix – http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX200279.
7. Finding a suitable HDX Ready thin client please check out – https://citrixready.citrix.com/content/dam/ready/assets/thin-clients/thin-clients-features.pdf of use any smart device that supports Receiver with the RTME for Windows, Linux & Mac.

Deploying the HDX Optimisation Pack 2.0 for Skype for Business 2015 for XenApp/XenDesktop
0. Initiate a video call using Skype for Business from your PC using Skype for Business as a published virtual app on its own or in a virtual desktop between yourself and another individual with Skype4B installed locally on their PC or Mac. Open task manager locally and on the XenApp server or virtual desktop and watch the CPU, memory and bandwidth consumption during your video call and remember to adjust screen size during the call between small, medium and full screen.
1. Install Skype for Business 2015 client within your virtual desktop (*server or desktop Windows OS).
2. Publish the Skype4B 2015 virtual app or the virtual desktop that contains app.
3. Connect to the virtual app or desktop and verify that you can open and login to your Skype4B and ensure that its functioning as normal obviously it’s not optimized but will still perform video/audio calls thanks to the HDX technologies.
4. Close Skype4B 2015 and now install the HDX RealTime Connector e.g HDX_RealTime_Connector_2.0_for_Skype_For_Business.msi downloaded from Citrix.com.
5. Disconnect from the virtual desktop*.
6. Close any ICA/HDX sessions and close Citrix Receiver
7 Next install the HDX RealTime media engine HDX_RealTime_MediaEngine_2.0_for_Windows.msi downloaded from Citrix.com.
8. Start Citrix Receiver and reconnect to your published virtual Skype4B app or virtual desktop with Skype for Business 2015 installed and you should see the HDX RealTime Connector stating “Optimised.
9. Re-initiate your video call to the same user as in step 1 above and you’ll notice the difference immediately as the video will be crisp and sharp and again open task manager and repeat the same process and you’ll see the CPU, memory and bandwidth are low on the back-end but locally on your end-point the CPU, Memory and bandwidth increases to medium as the audio and video is now been processed locally on your end-point thanks to the RTME.

Deploying the HDX Optimization Pack 2.1 for Skype4B 2016
Follow the all the steps above BUT for use with the Skype for Business 2016 you need to use the “Click-to-Run” installer and adjust the configuration.xml file for the installation to use “current” switch for the default installation behavior as Office 365 ProPlus default installation behaviour is to use “Deferred for Office 365 ProPlus. To learn how-to reconfigure the XML file in greater detail please refer to – https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj219426.aspx for help.

The min supported Microsoft Skype for Business 2016 version is 16.0.7341.2032 or later for HDX Opt Pack 2.1 ref http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/hdx-optimization/2-1/hdx-realtime-optimization-pack-system-requirements.html using the O365 “Click-to-Run” installer, for an overview of the Click-to-Run method of Office 365 please refer to the following Technet article at – https://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/library/jj219427.aspx.

Example of an HDX Offloaded Skype4B 2015 Video Call
The following picture depicts a Skype for Business 2015 video call HDX Offloaded using the HDX Optimization Pack 2.x.n between two Windows 10 virtual desktops hosted in different locations in the EU delivered to myself and a Citrite colleague in different locations within London. I myself was at partners customer event in the City using public Wi-fi that 200+ other people were connected to and using, he was at home in SW London connected to the internet over his home internet connection.

Suggested HDX Policy for Fallback
In the unlikely event the RTME fails you want a fallback scenario to preserve the UX as best you can so could implement “Selective use of a video codec (H.264) to compress graphics” – http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/xenapp-and-xendesktop/7-11/whats-new.html#par_anchortitle_59c9 by applying the following HDX policy “Use video codec for compression” with the following setting applied “For actively changing regions“. You can find out more about this NEW graphics mode in XenApp, XenDesktop 7.11 (Seven11) at – http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/xenapp-and-xendesktop/7-11/policies/reference/ica-policy-settings/graphics-policy-settings.html and scroll to or search for the web page for “Allows use of a video codec (H.264) to compress graphics“.

Troubleshooting Basic’s
1. Check the obvious ACL’s of your f/w(s) – http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/hdx-optimization/2-1/hdx-realtime-optimization-pack-configure-firewall.html and remember that external Lync/Skype for Business users connect to the Skyp4B/Lync Edge server which is critical component of Skype for Business/Lync Server infrastructure.
2. Resolving poor quaility video, sound issues, collection thin client logs for Dell Wyse terminals and much more – http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/hdx-optimization/2-1/hdx-realtime-optimization-pack-troubleshooting.html.

Deliverying Microsoft Skype for Business and Lync to XenApp and XenDesktop Users
https://www.citrix.com/content/dam/citrix/en_us/documents/products-solutions/delivering-microsoft-lync-to-xenapp-and-xendesktop-users.pdf

Microsoft on the Optimization Pack v2 Architecture
I’d suggest watching the following broadcast on YouTube entitled “SfB Video Broadcast: Ep 9. VDI” from the Skype for Business team providing a Microsoft perspective on the offloading capabilities for Skype4B with the Citrix Optimisation Pack 2.0. As a final thought discovery more about Skype4B at there YouTube channel which is accessiable at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfL-WUXlvFjLsUs4UCpPrsA.

Office 365 client update channel releases – Version 1608 (Build 7341.2032)
“Citrix support: Support for Citrix-based Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) environments, along with Citrix HDX Real Time Optimization Pack 2.1.” from – https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/office/mt465751?f=255&MSPPError=-2147217396

Deploying XenApp 7.x in AWS EC2

The following content is a brief and unofficial prerequisites guide to setup, configure and test delivering virtual apps and desktops powered by XenApp 7.8 in AWS EC2 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. The views expressed here are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Citrix.

Shortened Names
AMAZON WEB SERVICES – aws
SECRUITY GROUPS – sg
ELASTIC COMPUTE CLOUD – ec2
HYBRID CLOUD PROVISIONING – hcp
XENAPP – xa
XENDESKTOP – xd
XENAPP/XENDESKTOP – xad
VIRTUAL DELIVERY AGENT – vda
HIGH DEFINITION EXPERIENCE – hdx
INDEPENDENT COMPUTING ARCHITECTURE – ica
FEATURE PACK – fp
EXPERIENCE 1st – x1
VIRTUAL DESKTOP – vd
VIRTUAL APPS – va
INFRASTRUCTURE AS A SERVICE – iaas
CITRIX WORKSPACE CLOUD – cwc
CITRIX LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT – clm
THINWIRE COMPATIBLE MODE – tcm also known as ecm

Experience Deploying My 1st Virtual Desktop & Apps in AWS
The following screenshot is of a virtual desktop (Windows Server 2012 R2 powered by XenApp 7.8) hosted in AWS EC2 located in N.Virginia, US delivered Windows 8.1 (Yes I know I need to get to Win 10 :-)) laptop running Citrix Receiver Windows 4.4 in London, England with the HDX Thinwire Compatible Mode graphics mode configured with a Preferred Color Depth set to 16-Bit and the performance is very good considering what Ive configured I then adjusted my HDX policies to then switch to HDX SuperCodec (H.264) the UX gets even better providing an even closer HD local like experience in my personal view only so give it ago for yourself.

The HDX policies overview is documented below so for now back to my experience deploying XenApp 7.8 on AWS.

It was substantially easier than I anticipated or even expected as the AWS documentation is easy to understand I believe however that maybe due to the fact I used to previously work for a Managed Services ISP in City of London so many concepts related to Managed Hosting, IaaS, Private and Hybrid Cloud come quiet naturally to me.

Thinwire+ (Thinwire Compatible Mode) 16-Bit Preferred Graphics

Supercodec (H.264)

Introduction to Provisioning XenApp Workloads on AWS EC2
Citrix has had the capability to deploy virtual applications and desktops powered by XenApp 6-7.x.n for quiet sometime utilising the traditional Manual CTX SysAdmin approach then Citrix introduced a concept entitled Hybrid Cloud Provisioning (HCP) under the unified FMA architecture for XAD some time ago which allows CTX SysAdmins the capability to expand there existing Citrix workloads e.g virtual apps and desktops (server based only) to IaaS providers e.g AWS or often generically referred to as the Cloud by adding in a secure new hosting connection within Studio for AWS the requirements include providing the Connection URL, API key and Secret key from your AWS EC2 account ref – http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/xenapp-and-xendesktop/7-6/xad-connections.html. You can utilise this exact same concept to provision XenApp based workloads from within a AWS EC2 XenApp 7.x FMA Site as described in detail in the following deployment guide entitled “Deploy XenApp 7.5 and 7.6 and XenDesktop 7.5 and 7.6 with Amazon VPC” available at – http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX140427. Finally if I have not explained well enough what hybrid cloud provisioning actually is powered by XenApp 7.x then this short and simple YouTube video from Citrix below should hopefully re-enforce your understanding of HCP.

You can still utilise hybrid cloud provisioning within XenApp 7.8 today and Citrix continues to evolve with its next generation cloud 1st approach of provisioning of Citrix workloads within IaaS, Private and Hybrid clouds with Citrix Workspace Cloud (CWC) its now known as Citrix Cloud. How does it work? Once more there is a fantastic YouTube video which demonstrates setting up, configuring, publishing and delivering a Windows virtual application utilising CWC by one of Citrix’s CTO its well worth watching!

Finally you can utilise Citrix Lifecycle Management (CLM) to automate the deployment and auto scaling of your Citrix workloads on AWS EC2, however this topic is currently not in scope for this blog article however I may update this blog article in the future to include provisioning XenApp on AWS EC2 powered by Citrix Lifecycle Management (CLM).

Pre-requisites & System Requirements for Deploying a XA 7.8 PoC in AWS EC2 (Draft + The Basic’s Only)
0. Check that your XAD license entitlement is correct at – https://www.citrix.com/go/products/xendesktop/feature-matrix.html to provision XenApp workloads on AWS EC2. As of writing and publishing this blog article you require XenApp or XenDesktop Enterprise or above licensing in order to provision workloads on AWS and also Azure.
1. You need an AWS account, Credit card
2. Choose your EC2 region e.g N.Virgina
3. Create your “Security Groups” which acts as a virtual firewall for ICA 1494, 2598 Session Reliability, HTTPS 443, RDS 3389 (SysAdmin access)
4. Lunch an single instance from the EC2 dashboard under “Create Instance” this will be your mgmt. VM
5. Decrypt the passwd & login your mgmt. VM install your require roles e.g AD, DNS as a min requirement for XA 7.x
6. Lunch another single instance from the EC2 dashboard under “Create Instance” this will be your XA PoC VM
7. Download the media from Citrix.com and any FP’s and install all the components onto your XA PoC VM (Studio, Director, Controller, MS SQL Express, StoreFront, License server)
7. Install the latest VDA (existing connections) once ready launch Studio and create your Site, configure your machine catalogue and delivery groups.
8. Modify SFS default.ica file to include your external static IP and check your Windows f/w rules to ensure 1494 is correctly configured to allow traversing NAT’s
9. Navigate to https://AWS-XA-PoC-VM/Citrix/StoreWeb/ and login as a domain admin or user and launch a virtual app and or desktop.
10. Shutdown and turn off your VM’s within your AWS VPC when you are finished with your tests to ensure that your cost(s) are kept to a minimum.

Tuning Your AWS EC2 Virtual Apps & Desktop’s
1. Configuring TCM or ECM is very well documented at the following web links at – http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/xenapp-and-xendesktop/7-8/hdx/thinwire-compatibility-mode.html, https://www.citrix.com/blogs/2015/10/23/thinwire-compatibility-tuning-lowering-your-bandwidth-even-further/ however I have also listed in table format below what polices you need to select and then apply to your test domain users or group (preferred).

Begin with the following HDX policies listed below to enable TCM/ECM/Thinwire+/Thinwire Compatible Mode and be sure to check out CTX202687 described below in-line with the Very High Definition Experience HDX Policy template.

Policy Name Default Value Comment
Preferred color depth for simple graphics 24 bits per pixel Legacy Mode
Target frame rate 30 fps Legacy Mode
Use video codec for compression Do not use Video codec Force ECM on explicitly by turning H.264 off (Testing)

2. Configuring the super codec (H.264) is actually very easy select the Very High Definition Experience form the HDX templates in Studio and create a policy from it applying again to your test security group (preferred) or domain users it’s your choice. Please note that this policy will enable H.264 however it will default to TCM if you connect from a device that does not support H.264.
3. Finally for all those advanced CTX consultants and SysAdmins out there check the following CTX article – http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX202687 entitled “HDX Graphics Modes – Which Policies Apply to DCR/Thinwire/H.264 – An Overview for XenDesktop/XenApp 7.6 FP3” which documents each policy for each HDX encoding or graphics mode supporter by XAD 7.8

What’s New in XenApp/XenDesktop 7.7

APPLICATION LIMITS – applimits
CONNECTION LEASING – cl
FLEXCAST MANAGEMENT ARCHITECTURE – fma
SKYPE FOR BUSINESS – skype4b
APPLICATION LIMITS – applimits

What’s New At A Glance
1: The re-introduction of Zones within the FMA architecture is a leading key NEW feature known as “Multi-geo Zone”.
2: Application Limits (AppLimits) allows you to limit the number of application instants launched which is also shown in existing views/counts within Director.
3: MCS provisioning support in Microsoft Azure for XenApp workloads.
4: Proactive e-mail notifications, alerts and Integrated Windows Authentication for SSO for Director
5: Installation improvements allowing SysAdmins to choose the SQL databases names and server(s) during the creation Site creation.
6: New API support for provisioning VMs from hypervisor templates
7: HDX Optimization Pack 2.0 for offloading of Lync 2013, Skype for Business 2015 within a virtual ICA/HDX session.
8: API support for managing session roaming.
9: Windows 10 support for VDA’s and Studio.
10: HDX Ready has been overhauled for Citrix’s supported thin clients.

For a complete list of what’s new check out – http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/xenapp-and-xendesktop/7-7/what-is-new.html.

Database
You can now choose to deploy your XAD SQL databases for on one or more SQL database server(s) during the creation of your Site including defining the names for each DB instance.

Understanding Zones
Its important to understand a few key things which is that FMA Zones are NOT IMA Zones and the second point to stress is that this is an re-introduction feature of Zones within the Flexcast Management Architecture (FMA) that has powered XAD platform since the 7.x.n release and that this is a v1 or version 1 release. I would very strongly encourage anyone reading this blog post to watch the embedded YouTube by Craig Hinchliffe a PM within Citrix focused on XenApp & XenDesktop.

Some important notes prior to watching the video:

1. The official documentation for Zones is available at – http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/xenapp-and-xendesktop/7-7/manage-deployment/zones.html
2. Zone in-geo support for XAD 7.x FMA Site’s over secure WAN’s e.g London, Paris, Munich as there is a latency challenge as described at – https://www.citrix.com/blogs/2016/01/12/deep-dive-xenapp-and-xendesktop-7-7-zones/.
3. There is ALWAYS a Primary Zone and then two types of Satellite Zones. The first Satellite Zone consists of VDA’s and N1+ controllers and second type of Satellite Zone consists of VDA’s and a single only controller.
4. A Satellite Zone consisting of VDA’s ONLY is NOT Supported!
5. Zones can be managed by Studio or PoSH.
6. In the event of a connection failure over the secure WAN connecting a Primary & Satellite Zone Connection Leasing (CL) is the default fallback until access to Primary Zone is restored enabling access to the SQL database(s), Controller(s), StoreFront server(s) in the Primary Zone. The CL functionality is exactly the same as XAD 7.6 so please be sure to https://www.citrix.com/blogs/2014/11/11/xendesktop-7-6-connection-leasing-design-considerations/.
7. SuGgEsTeD create a Secure WAN connection between two or more geographic locations to create your Zone utilising the CloudBridge Connector which is a feature of the NetScaler which allows you to creates secure L2L IPSec VPN tunnels between two separate data centre’s, thus saving you during a PoC implementing additional virtual or physical appliances to create secure L2L IPSec VPN simple re-use your NetScaler if the appliance is correctly licensed so please refer to the NetScaler datasheets at https://www.citrix.com/content/dam/citrix/en_us/documents/products-solutions/citrix-netscaler-vpx-data-sheet.pdf, https://www.citrix.com/content/dam/citrix/en_us/documents/products-solutions/netscaler-data-sheet.pdf.
8: VDA’s will default to registering to Controller(s) within there own zone! A VDA in the primary zone will only ever attempt to register with controller(s) in the Primary Zone and VDA’s in the Satellite Zone will register there local or (preferred) controller(s) by default. In the event of a controller failure the VDA’s will register the secondary controller in the Satellite Zone if one doesn’t exist the VDA’s will then register with the controller(s) in the Primary Zone.
9: The SuGgEsTeD number of Zones per Site is 10 https://www.citrix.com/blogs/2016/01/12/deep-dive-xenapp-and-xendesktop-7-7-zones/.

For a more detailed overview of Zones please refer to http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/xenapp-and-xendesktop/7-7/manage-deployment/zones.html.

Please submit any comments at – https://www.citrix.com/blogs/2015/12/29/xenapp-xendesktop-7-7-intro-to-zones-within-fma/.

Missing or No Zones Feature Post Upgrade of XAD 7.6 FP3 to 7.7

After upgrading from XA/XD 7.6 FP3 to XA/XD 7.7, the MultiGeo Zones feature does NOT appear in Citrix Studio. To resolve this behavior, in an Elevated rights PoSH Window, navigate to “C:\Program Files\Citrix\XenDesktopPoshSdk\Module\Citrix.XenDesktop.Admin.V1\Citrix.XenDesktop.Admin\StudioRoleConfig” and run the following “Import-AdminRoleConfiguration .\RoleConfigSigned.xml”. Now close both the PoSH window and Studio and re-open Studio and you should notice that the Zone’s feature is now available under App-V Publishing. The following PoSH cmdlet and two other known issues can be found at – http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/xenapp-and-xendesktop/7-7/what-is-new/known-issues.html.

AppLimits or Application Limits
Once you have configured your application limits – http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/xenapp-and-xendesktop/7-7/install-configure/delivery-groups-manage/applications-manage.html per published XenApp app begin your testing and your notice that your users receive the following error message Cannot start “APP NAME”. If you want to better understand why the user received these error messages open the event viewer on the XenApp worker and search for the following event ID’s 1117 which translates to “The Citrix Broker Service failed to broker a connection for user ‘DOMAIN\USER’ to application ‘APP NAME’. The maximum allowed instances of this application in the site are already running” and 1118 “The Citrix Broker Service failed to broker a connection for user ‘DOMAIN\USER’ to application ‘APP NAME’. The user is already running the maximum number of instances of this application that they are allowed.“.

Managing Session Roaming
http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/xenapp-and-xendesktop/7-7/manage-deployment/sessions.html.

Find Your Citrix HDX Thin Client
The HDX Ready team have classified any/all Citrix thin clients into the following three categories HDX Ready – https://citrixready.citrix.com/category-results.html?category=c1-thin-clients&lang=en_us&filter=c1-thin-clients/g-hdx-level/f-hdx-ready&sortby=product-asc, HDX Premium – https://citrixready.citrix.com/category-results.html?category=c1-thin-clients&lang=en_us&filter=c1-thin-clients/g-hdx-level/f-hdx-premium&sortby=product-asc, HDX 3D Pro – https://citrixready.citrix.com/category-results.html?category=c1-thin-clients&lang=en_us&filter=c1-thin-clients/g-hdx-level/f-hdx-3d-pro&sortby=product-asc.
https://citrixready.citrix.com/info/thin-clients.html.

It’s strongly suggested that you read the following white paper from the HDX Ready team entitled “Find Your Thin Client” which can be viewed online or downloaded at – https://citrixready.citrix.com/content/dam/ready/assets/thin-clients/thin-clients-features.pdf

Citrix Summit 2016

This year Citrix Summit 2016 was hosted at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada – USA. As this is a Citrix partner NDA event i’ll direct you to some of useful announcements published on Citrix.com so happy reading 🙂 and i’ll be following up with some technical blog articles covering XenApp/XenDesktop 7.7, NetScaler Unified Gateway 11.x.n and XenMobile Server 10.3 that where released at Citrix Summit 2016.

1. One Summit, Two XenApp & XenDesktop Releases (7.7 and 7.8) – https://www.citrix.com/blogs/2016/01/11/one-summit-two-xenapp-xendesktop-releases-7-7-and-7-8/
2. Citrix and Microsoft Unveil “v2” Solution for Skype for Business – https://www.citrix.com/blogs/2016/01/12/citrix-and-microsoft-unveil-v2-solution-for-skype-for-business/
3. Citrix NetScaler CPX a Lightweight Alternative for Cloud Providers – https://www.citrix.com/blogs/2016/01/12/citrix-netscaler-cpx-a-lightweight-alternative-for-cloud-providers/
4. Deep Dive: XenApp and XenDesktop 7.7 Zones – https://www.citrix.com/blogs/2016/01/12/deep-dive-xenapp-and-xendesktop-7-7-zones/
5. Citrix Acquires Comtrade’s SCOM Management Packs IP – http://www.comtradeproducts.com/news/citrix-acquires-comtrades-scom-management-packs-ip/, Ok well this one’s not on Citrix.com but Comtrade.com :-).
6: Citrix Workspace Cloud: Broader Reach, New Pricing, Updated Packages – https://www.citrix.com/blogs/2016/01/12/citrix-workspace-cloud-broader-reach-new-pricing-updated-packages/
7: Summit 2016. Focus. Innovate. It’s A Wrap. – https://www.citrix.com/blogs/2016/01/18/summit-2016-focus-innovate-its-a-wrap/ by Christian Reilly CTO for Citrix Workspace Services – https://www.citrix.com/blogs/author/christianre/.

Delivering a Virtual Desktop with the Linux VDA 1.0-1

The following content is a brief and unofficial prerequisites guide to setup, configure and test Linux VDA 1.1 (NOTE: The HDX 3D Pro video is a preview only from the Citrix YouTube channel) with XAD 7.3 FP3+ 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
XENAPP – xa
XENDESKTOP – xd
XENAPP/XENDESKTOP – xad
VIRTUAL DELIVERY AGENT – vda
HIGH DEFINITION EXPERIENCE – hdx
INDEPENDENT COMPUTING ARCHITECTURE – ica
FEATURE PACK – fp
EXPERIENCE 1st – x1
DISTRUBUTIONS – distro’s
VIRTUAL DESKTOP – vd

Preview of HDX 3D Pro with a Linux VDA
Please note that the following YouTUBE video represents a preview only of HDX 3D Pro with the Citrix Linux VDA.

An Introduction & Overview
Citrix released the Linux VDA 1.0 which enables and allows for the safe, secure delivery of Linux based virtual desktops that are controlled by Citrix Studio however VM provisioning and on-going image management is maintained by traditional Linux tools these include but are by no means limited to Puppet or Chef.

Currently only the SuSE Linux and Redhat Enterprise Linux distro’s are supported however numerous Citrix professionals around the global have successfully setup and delivered a Linux VD utilise CentOS following the steps based in the “Installation Guide for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Version 1.1” which is available at – http://docs.citrix.com/content/dam/docs/en-us/xenapp-xendesktop/xenapp-xendesktop-7-6/downloads/Linux%20Virtual%20Desktop%20Installation%20Guide%20for%20Redhat%20Enterprise%20Linux.pdf or for CentOS focused approach check out – https://www.citrix.com/blogs/2015/08/25/installing-the-linux-vda-on-red-hat-or-centos-6/ written by Adrian Taylor – https://www.citrix.com/blogs/author/adriant2/.

As this is my first time writing about Citrix’s Linux support its worth noting and mentioning that Citrix provided a tech preview (TP) ref – https://www.citrix.com/news/announcements/aug-2014/citrix-offers-technology-preview-of-linux-virtual-apps-and-deskt.html prior to the official GA launch of the Linux VDA 1.0 which in my view received very positive feedback and comments in particular from with the UK/Ire Citrix partner community.

What’s New
1. Obviously my fav is “Support for Thinwire Compatible Mode” 🙂
2. The Linux VDA supports dual monitor out-of-the box with maximum resolution of 2560×1600 per monitor and can be configured to support up to 9 monitors.
3. Improved Active Directory and Centrify support*
4. Further extended OS support for Redhat and SuSE Linux enterprise editions. Please read the following for CTX blog article re support issues for other Linux OS disto’s at – https://www.citrix.com/blogs/2015/10/16/supporting-linux-distributions.
5. Linux XDPing which is available at – http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX202015.
6. Support for Linux Dedicated VDI Desktops which in the initial Linux VDA 1.0 released targeted a hosted shared VD approach as Linux is a multi-user OS.
7: * For a comprehensive overview of all the features in the Linux VDA 1.1 please check out – https://www.citrix.com/blogs/2015/10/23/whats-new-in-linux-virtual-desktop-v1-1/.

Use Case(s)
Its essentially about providing customers with the choice and flexibility to delivery either a VD that is based upon Windows OS with Microsoft Office 20xn, 3rd party apps OR a supported Linux OS with OpenOffice/Libra Office, 3rd party apps.

Pre-requisites & System Requirements for Deploying the Linux VDA 1.1 (Draft + The Basic’s Only)
1: Download one or both Linux VDA’s for there Redhat or SuSE along with the script which is available at the Linux VDA download area – http://www.citrix.com/downloads/xenapp/components/linux-virtual-desktop-11.html.
2: The following Citrix Receivers are currently supported: Windows Receiver version v4.2+, Linux Receiver version v13.0+, Mac OSX Receiver v12+, Android Receiver v3.4+, iOS Receiver 5.9.4+, HTML5 Receiver 1.6 (via Access Gateway).
3:…..

More coming….

HDX Broadcast now with Thinwire Compatible Mode

The following content is a brief and unofficial prerequisites guide to setup, configure and test HDX Broadcast now with Thinwire Compatible Mode with XAD 7.3 FP3+ 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
XENAPP – xa
XENDESKTOP – xd
XENAPP/XENDESKTOP – xad
VIRTUAL DELIVERY AGENT – vda
HIGH DEFINITION EXPERIENCE – hdx
UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS – uc
MICROSOFT – ms
NETSCALER GATEWAY – ns(g)
INDEPENDENT COMPUTING ARCHITECTURE – ica
FEATURE PACK – fp
NETSCALER UNIFIED GATEWAY – nug
NETSCALER GATEWAY – nsg
EXPERIENCE 1st – x1
STOREFRONT SERVER – sfs
THINWIRE COMPATIBLE MODE – tcm
THINWIRE COMPATIBLE MODE – ecm

My Own View/Opinion
ThinWire Compatible Mode can be implemented to replace the Citrix SuperCodec (H.264) in my personal opinion for numerous use cases hOwEvEr based upon your organisations end-user use cases and or scenario’s by department and role you should always test which graphics mode/encoder(s) are most suitable within your environment by department or role to meet your end-user’s X1 UX expectations on a daily basis.

What is Thinwire Compatible Mode?
If your new to Citrix I’d suggest that before reading any further to get a better understanding of what Thinwire Compatible Mode (TCM) is and does i’d suggest that you read the following entitled “HDX technologies for optimizing application and desktop delivery” available at – http://www.citrix.com/content/dam/citrix/en_us/documents/products-solutions/citrix-hdx-technologies.pdf. Its the latest graphics encoder/mode available within Citrix XAD 7.6 FP3 supported on the following OSes Windows 8.x, 10 and Windows Server 2012 R2.

Use Cases for TCM
1. Lower powered endpoint devices that can support Receiver but do not support Citrix’s SuperCodec which requires an H.264 decoder
2. Delivery of virtual apps and desktops over low bandwidth networks e.g remote branch offices that have limited internet uplink capacity based upon there geographic location i.e. ISDN, 3/4G or low capacity ADSL.
3. Delivery of 3D apps over LAN networks offers a great X1 UX which a fuzzy-first approach as described at – http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/xenapp-and-xendesktop/7-6/xad-hdx-landing/thinwire-compatibility-mode.html search for “Build to lossless” on that web page. You should always thoroughly test between both TCM/H.264 graphics modes to ensure that your end-users X1 UX meets there expectations and requirements day to day.
4: Greater user density on Windows Server 2012 R2 for XenApp based workloads.

TCM Key Features
The following is just a short snippet into some of the features part of TCM below so be sure to check out and read the following CTX Blog article –
https://www.citrix.com/blogs/2015/10/09/a-big-leap-in-ica-protocol-innovation-for-citrix/ for a full list of all the details and more.

– Intelligent bitmap matching for a bitmap-only provider. As much as possible, previously sent bitmaps are reused resulting in lower bandwidth.
– Emulated 16-bit mode, further reducing bandwidth for typical workloads.
– Ultra-low server CPU usage, improving scalability.
– Designed for port to Linux (already used by the Citrix Linux VDA)
– …

Demonstration of Thinwire Compatible Mode
TBC…

Pre-requisites & System Requirements for Deploying a Basic/Intro Thinwire Compatible Mode policy (Draft + The Basic’s Only)
1: Download and install the latest component’s for XAD 7.6 FP3 within a test/poc environment and not in a PROD environment!
2: Currently the XAD 7.6 FP3 VDA’s provide support for TCM with the following Windows OSes Windows 8.x, Windows 10 and Windows Server 2012 R2 OSes.
3: Citrix Receiver You can utilise the latest or older Citrix Receiver’s including the HTML5 Receiver with Thinwire Compatible Mode encoder.
4: Create the following policy in Studio below to enable TCM within a ICA/HDX session:

– Create a new policy
– Search for the following policy entitled “Use video codec for compression” select it and set the following value – “Do not use Video codec” which will force the ICA/HDX session to utilise Thinwire Compatibility Mode.
– Assign the policy to your test “Delivery Group” with either a virtual desktop (Win 8.x, 10 or Server 2012 R2) and save the new policy.
– Login to ReceiverforWeb or Citrix Receiver and launch your virtual desktop ensure that your test user was assigned to the test delivery group which you assigned the TCM policy to/against.

Tuning Thinwire Compatible Mode
You can easily tune TCM to utilise less bandwidth with a single policy entitled “Preferred colour depth for simple graphics” but still delivery a really good eXperience 1st User eXperience for your end-users. Simply modify the TCM policy that your created earlier in this blog article and search for and add “Preferred colour depth for simple graphics” and select either “16 bits per pixel” or “24 bits per pixel” then click next and next again saving the policy. Now disconnect from your existing ICA/HDX session to your test virtual desktop and re-launch it and if you’ve opted for 16 bits per pixel in the policy above you’ll notice a difference straight away BUT the UX is still acceptable graphically for knowledge/task workers and more importantly its still as responsive and usable.

There are obviously many other policies that can be applied to make even more efficiencies so for a full list including detailed notes of what to configure please refer to and check out the following CTX article entitled “HDX Graphics Modes – Which Policies Apply to DCR/Thinwire/H.264 – An Overview for XenDesktop/XenApp 7.6 FP3” available at – http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX202687. I have embedded the basics into a simple HTML table below with how to explicitly enable ECM for testing purposes.

Policy Name Default Value Comment
Display memory limit 65536 KB http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX201696 – Support for Monitors Including 4K Resolution and Multi-Monitors
Dynamic window preview Enabled
Extra color compression Disabled Legacy Mode *
Moving image compression Enabled Legacy Mode
Preferred color depth for simple graphics 24 bits per pixel Legacy Mode **
Target frame rate 30 fps Legacy Mode
Target minimum framerate 10 fps
Visual quality Medium Legacy Mode
OPTIONAL Adjusted Policy Comments
Use video codec for compression Do not use Video codec Force ECM on explicitly by turning H.264 off (Testing)

Example of Tuning between 8 (red), 16(amber) and 24(green) Bit Modes of Thinwire Compatible Mode below but please note that the image is not in a high resolution JPEG format!

Useful Resources
A Big Leap in ICA Protocol Innovation for Citrix – https://www.citrix.com/blogs/2015/10/09/a-big-leap-in-ica-protocol-innovation-for-citrix/.
Thinwire Compatibility Tuning: Lowering Your Bandwidth Even Further – https://www.citrix.com/blogs/2015/10/23/thinwire-compatibility-tuning-lowering-your-bandwidth-even-further/.
Read Blog articles by this author Muhammad Dawood – https://www.citrix.com/blogs/author/muhammadj/.

Supported Citrix Receivers
1: You can download either Receiver by visiting your OSes app store or navigating to – http://receiver.citrix.com for help download the correct Receiver for your platform.
2: The HTML5 Receiver is also supported.
3: The Citrix Receiver feature matrix is available at – https://www.citrix.com/content/dam/citrix/en_us/documents/products-solutions/citrix-receiver-feature-matrix.pdf.

What’s new with XenApp/XenDesktop 7.6 Feature Pack (FP3)

The following content is a brief and unofficial prerequisites guide to setup, configure and test XenApp, XenDesktop FP3 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
XENAPP – xa
XENDESKTOP – xd
XENAPP/XENDESKTOP – xad
VIRTUAL DELIVERY AGENT – vda
HIGH DEFINITION EXPERIENCE – hdx
EXPERIENCE 1st – x1
STOREFRONT SERVER – sfs
FEATURE PACK – fp
THINWIRE PLUS – thinwire +
THINWIRE COMPATIBLE – thinwire c
USER EXPERIENCE – ux

What is new in FP3?
0: ++An absolutely MUST read entitled “HDX Graphics Modes – Which Policies Apply to DCR/Thinwire/H.264 – An Overview for XenDesktop/XenApp 7.6 FP3” which is available at – http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX202687 prior to implementing any of the new graphics mode/encoder(s) within XAD 7.6 FP3.
1: Support for Windows 10 Enterprise Edition, in the Standard VDA for Windows Desktop OSes.
2: HDX Broadcast updates include the following:

– Framehawk (Admin guide – http://docs.citrix.com/content/dam/docs/en-us/xenapp-xendesktop/xenapp-xendesktop-7-6/downloads/Framehawk%20Administration%20Guide.pdf) virtual display channel is integrated into the standalone VDA package.
– Thinwire Compatible Mode – http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/xenapp-and-xendesktop/7-6/xad-hdx-landing/thinwire-compatibility-mode.html also referred to as Thinwire +/Plus is the very latest encoder to deliver a fantastic and rich X1 UX for virtual apps and desktops delivered from Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 8.1 and 10 powered by XAD 7.6 FP3. To learn more about check out – https://www.citrix.com/blogs/2015/10/09/a-big-leap-in-ica-protocol-innovation-for-citrix/. Set the “Use video codec for compression” to “Do not use” which will force the use of Thinwire Compatibility Mode by default for user ICA/HDX sessions on XAD 7.6 FP3.

HDX Framehawk Performance in XenApp and XenDesktop 7.6 FP3

3: ++Updated Studio built-in policies ref – http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/xenapp-and-xendesktop/7-6/xad-policies-article/xad-policies-templates.html which include the following:

– Very High Definition User Experience+
– High Server Scalability *+
– High Server Scalability-Legacy OS **
– Optimized for WAN *+
– Optimized for WAN-Legacy OS **
– Security and Control

+ New or adjusted to meet today’s new requirements
* Windows 8.1-10, Windows Server 2012 R2
** Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2

4: Support for signature devices (Wacom) and drawing tablets which can be applied by adding the following USB device policy settings ref – http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/xenapp-and-xendesktop/7-6/xad-policies-article/xad-policies-settings-wrapper/xad-policies-settings-ica/xad-policies-settings-usb.html.
5: The HDX 3D Pro VDA used to deliver HDX Rich Graphical apps now supports full-screen apps including 3D and gaming apps within single monitor for ICA sessions.
x: For a full and compete list with accurate descriptions and overviews please check out – http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/xenapp-and-xendesktop/7-6/xad-whats-new.html.

What’s new with StoreFront 3.0.1?
This release contains a number of fixed issues ref – http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/storefront/3/sf-about-30/fixed-issues.html including support for TLS 1.0-1. Please beware that SSL 3.0 is NOT supported and Citrix strongly recommends that you do not use it.

StoreFront 3.0

The following content is a brief and unofficial prerequisites guide to setup, configure and test StoreFront 3.0 along XAD 7.6 FP2 or FP3 to deliver a X1 UX for the Citrix Receivers (X1)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
XENAPP – xa
XENDESKTOP – xd
XENAPP/XENDESKTOP – xad
STOREFRONT SERVICES – sfs
VIRTUAL MACHINE – vm
HIGH DEFINITION EXPERIENCE – hdx
X1 – Experience First
RECEIVER FOR WEB – rfw
USER EXPERIENCE – ux

What’s New
0: X1 is a Citrix project name.
1: Receiver for Web within StoreFront 3.x.n – http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/storefront/3/manage-citrix-receiver-for-web-site/sf-receiver.html powers the next generation of Citrix’s eXperience 1st (X1) User eXperience (UX) that provides end-users with a truly organisation branded UX (logo + colours, style, app bundles*) that is provides consistent and seamless UX across any device or form factor e.g smart phones, tablets, PC’s, Mac’s, HTML5 Internet Browsers etc. Citrix SysAdmins can also setup app bundles technically referred to as “Manage Featured App Groups” enabling users to subscribe faster to one or many published apps by resource type, role or application category check out – http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/storefront/3/manage-citrix-receiver-for-web-site/sf-manage-app-groups.html for how-to configure and set them up.
2: Citrix announced at Citrix Synergy 2015 the latest and next generation Citrix Receiver (Project X1) for desktops and mobile which provides that seamless and consistent UX that I just touched upon. To see it in action for the desktop Citrix Receivers there is a simple yet powerful demonstration from Synergy 2015 available below.

The new unified Receivers for Mobile will include a unified architecture that consists of HDX, MDX support with a new UX architecture powered by StoreFront 3.x.n Receiver for Web. To get a high level overview watch Mark Templeton’s overview of it at – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkZh669DsvU during the Citrix Synergy 2015 Keynote but be sure to forward to circa 56 minutes. Finally watch the following Citrix SynergyTV session entitled “SYN321: Technical deep dive on Receiver” covering the off the architecture of the new project X1 Receivers, branding and customisations.

Branding Your Enterprise App Store
The following Blog articles from Citrite’s e.g Citrix employee’s provide and in-depth overview of how-to customise and brand you organisation’s enterprise app store to provide that seamless and consistent X1 UX. The review the following blog articles by Richard Hayton – https://www.citrix.com/blogs/author/richardha/ and also – http://blogs.citrix.com/2015/09/04/storefront-3-web-customization-branding-your-deployment/ entitled “Storefront 3 Web Customization: Branding Your Deployment”.

HDX Broadcast now with Framehawk

The following content is a brief and unofficial prerequisites guide to setup, configure and test HDX Broadcast now with Framehawk with XAD 7.6 FP2 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
XENAPP – xa
XENDESKTOP – xd
XENAPP/XENDESKTOP – xad
VIRTUAL DELIVERY AGENT – vda
HIGH DEFINITION EXPERIENCE – hdx
UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS – uc
MICROSOFT – ms
NETSCALER GATEWAY – ns(g)
INDEPENDENT COMPUTING ARCHITECTURE – ica
FEATURE PACK – fp
NETSCALER UNIFIED GATEWAY – nug
NETSCALER GATEWAY – nsg
EXPERIENCE 1st – x1
STOREFRONT SERVER – sfs

What is Framehawk?
It forms part of HDX Broadcast technologies within the High Definition eXperience (HDX) stack providing an enhanced X1 UX over broadband wireless, cellular connections where users experience the effects of packet loss, congestion, latency and jitter. The technology came from the Framehawk acquisition made by Citrix in 2014 ref – https://www.citrix.com/news/announcements/jan-2014/citrix-acquires-framehawk.html. Framehawk is defined as light weight frame buffer protocol (UDP based) and adds a new virtual channel to the ICA protocol. The initial release is targeted at users connected to XAD 7.6 FP2 via TRU networks however as of 14/08/2015 ref * Framehawk is now also available for users running the latest up to date iOS Receiver – http://blogs.citrix.com/2015/08/03/receiver-for-ios-6-0-now-available-with-framehawk-support/ utilising NetScaler Gateway 11.0 build 62.10 ref the following CTX blog which also includes details surrounding the initial Framehawk release within XAD 7.6 FP2 at – *http://blogs.citrix.com/2015/06/30/our-first-release-of-framehawk-technologies/.

New Use Cases for Framehawk
The following official Citrix blog articles provides insight into some of the use cases for Framehawk – http://blogs.citrix.com/2015/08/17/new-use-cases-for-framehawk/.

HDX Framehawk Performance in XenApp and XenDesktop 7.6 FP3

Demonstration of Citrix (HDX Broadcast now with Framehawk) vs. VMware

Pre-requisites & System Requirements for Deploying HDX Broadcast now with Framehawk (Draft + The Basic’s Only)
0: The HDX Broadcast now with Framehawk admin guide is available at – http://docs.citrix.com/content/dam/docs/en-us/xenapp-xendesktop/xenapp-xendesktop-7-6/downloads/Framehawk%20Administration%20Guide.pdf which I would strongly suggest that you read through before undertaking any type of PoC or internal testing of Framehawk’s capabilities within your own home lab, organisation demo environment.
1: You need to download the XAD 7.6 FP2 components from http://www.citrix.com/downloads.html. Also download and the firmware update for NetScaler Unified Gateway 11.0 build 62.10** to upgrade your NUG V/A.Note: The current supported Citrix Receivers (update 22/08/2015) are the Windows Receiver 4.3 or iOS Receiver 6.0.
2: Download the DisplayStateGUI.exe * tool from http://blogs.citrix.com/2015/08/17/got-framehawk-weve-got-remote-access-tips-and-tricks/ its a good read by way so be sure to read through that official CTX blog articles aswell prior to deploying Framehawk in your Home/Test lab or for a customer PoC.
3: In your Citrix test or home lab environments snapshot all the relevant XAD 7.6 infrastructure components that requires which an update which is most rior to proceeding. This is typically a common leading best practise so that you revert back in the unlikely event of a failure or corruption of any components during the infrastructure update.
4: Once the updates have been completed successfully installed and you’ve rebooted your compoments seperately in an agreed maintenance window the launch Citrix Studio upon a successful reboot and create a new policy selecting the Framehawk policies and adding them to your test user(s) or group(s). It is not recommended to apply this HDX policy to all users within your Site but only those whom are experiencing high packet loss ref page 12 of the Framehawk Admin Guide. Also be sure to carefully review and understand the provided technical overview of each policy setting by reading the policy description.TIP: Type in frame in the search window to find the Framehawk policies in Studio quicker.
5: Also make sure that your install and update the server, desktop VDA’s within your template images or create a new set of template(s) for your desktop and server OSes. It’s your choice :-).
6: I’d suggest that you utilise a Windows end-point for your initial tests of Framehawk, so navigate to http://receiver.citrix.com which should auto detect your Windows endpoint and recommend that you download and install Citrix Receiver 4.3 for your Windows OS.
7: Once the Windows Citrix Receiver 4.3 has successfully installed and configure Receiver to point to your Citrix test or home lab environment and begin testing :-). TIP: Why not setup a DNS SRV record for e-mail based discovery check out – http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/storefront/3/sf-plan/sf-plan-user-access.html.
8: Once your have configured Receiver a lunch a destkop and run DisplayStateGUI.exe * and also login into the new and update Director to check that your launch ICA/HDX session is in fact utilising using Framehawk and not DRC or the SuperCodec.
9: Once your happy proceed to snapshotting your NUG V/A and begin the firmware upgrade from your exsiting NUG build to the current supported firmware version which is 11.0 build 62.10**.
10: Once your have upgrade your NUG V/A and it is functioning as expected then proceed with the following to enable delivery of HDX Broadcast now with Framehawk via your NetScaler (Unfied) Gateway.
11: Enable DTLS in the settings of the VPN virtual server, enable and open 443 on TCP/UDP and unbind and rebind the SSL cert-key pair this second part is mandatory for more detail ref 16 of the Framehawk admin guide.
12: Deploy XAD 7.6 FP2 as your typically would utilising either the built-in wizards, manually using AppExpert e.t.c
13: Once its is successfully configured navigate to your external gateway FQDN and login to ensure that you can successfully authenticate and access your RfW powered by StoreFront 3.0 with the unified experience enabled ref – http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/storefront/3/sf-manage/sf-receiver.html. Now logout and return to the NUG Admin WebUI.
14: Now complete the following steps within the NUG Web AdminUI to enable and allow Framehawk ICA/HDX sessions through your NetScaler Unified Gateway V/A:

– Click configuration tab -> NS Gateway -> Virtual Servers now click “Edit” then click “More”
– Select to enable DTLS then click “Ok”
– Now within the VPN Server screen click e.g “1 Server Certificate”
– Write down the name of the certificate
– Select your server cert and the click on Unbind above from the list of menu options and then save/close
– You be returned to the VPN Server screen and there will be NO certs that is normal. Now click on “No Server Certificate” to reopen it
– Click on the + sign
– Find your certificate within the list and click “Select” then when prompted click “Bind”.
– Ignore and click OK on the warning error message entitled “No usable ciphers configured on the SSL vserver/serivce”

15: Begin testing using Windows Receiver 4.3 from any supported Windows end-point.
16: If you wanted to enable and allow Framehawk access from iOS devices running Receiver 6.0 then please complete the following:

– On your SFS access App_Data dir of your Store in C:\inetpub\wwwroot\Citrix\Store\App_Data\
– Open the file entitled default.ica
– Under the [WFClient] section within the file add the following line of code Framehawk=On which should be under ProxyUseFQDN=Off
– Click “Save”

17: Begin testing using Citrix Receiver iOS 6 on an iOS device.
18: If you have downloaded the initial Framehawk Admin Guide is doesn’t including the remote access setup and configuration so please re-download the admin guide at – http://blogs.citrix.com/2015/08/17/got-framehawk-weve-got-remote-access-tips-and-tricks/. It well worth a re-read in my view to better understand Framehawk.

SYN230: HDX update: What’s new
If you want to learn what’s new and all the updates to Citrix HDX i’d suggest that you watch the following Citrix Synergy 2015 session entitled “SYN230: HDX update: What’s new”.

Supported Citrix Receivers
1: The current supported Citrix Receivers for Framehawk are the Windows Receiver 4.3+ and the iOS Receiver.
2: You can download either Receiver by visiting your OSes app store of by navigating to – http://receiver.citrix.com.
3: The current up to date Citrix Receiver feature matrix is available at – https://www.citrix.com/content/dam/citrix/en_us/documents/products-solutions/citrix-receiver-feature-matrix.pdf.

HDX Realtime and Microsoft Lync 2013

The following content is a brief and unofficial prerequisites guide to setup, configure and test Lync 2013 with XAD 7.6 and the HDX RealTime Optimization Pack 1.7-8.x.n for Microsoft Lync 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
XENAPP – xa
XENDESKTOP – xd
XENAPP/XENDESKTOP – xad
VIRTUAL DELIVERY AGENT – vda
HIGH DEFINITION EXPERIENCE – hdx
UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS – uc
MICROSOFT – ms
NETSCALER GATEWAY – NS(G)
ACCESS GATEWAY – AG

Summarising your Lync 2010, 2013 Deployment Options on Citrix XenApp/XenDesktop 7.x
The following Lync deployment methods are supported by Citrix including utilising Lync Online and Office 365 ref – http://blogs.citrix.com/2015/04/03/deployment-guide-for-microsoft-lync-2013-in-vdi-environment/.

Generic HDX Realtime *
Pure ICA/HDX between two end-points and the infrastructure.

HDX RealTime Optimization Pack for Lync® *
Optimised softphone with offloading of the media engine by Citrix Receiver at end-points.

Microsoft® Lync® VDI Plug-in
Optimised softphone with offloading of the media engine by Microsoft however this approach does require Windows end-points.

Local App Access *
XAD policy applied to utilise (preferred) the locally installed Lync app over delivered Lync app.

* Please refer to eDocs or CTX200279 for the Lync Delivery Feature Matrix http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX200279. For HDX Realtime Licensing Q&A please check out – http://www.citrix.com/go/products/xendesktop/feature-matrix.html.

Deployment Guides
1: Delivering Microsoft Lync to XenApp and XenDesktop Users – https://www.citrix.com/content/dam/citrix/en_us/documents/products-solutions/delivering-microsoft-lync-to-xenapp-and-xendesktop-users.pdf
2: Microsoft Office 365 for Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop 7.x – http://www.citrixandmicrosoft.com/Documents/Deployment%20Guide%20-%20Office%20365%20for%20XenApp%20and%20XenDesktop.pdf

HDX RealTime Optimization Pack 1.8
The latest released optimisation pack 1.8 supports the Lync Server 2013 Autodiscover Service and Microsoft Skype for Business client in Lync UI mode, the Microsoft Lync 2013 client, and the Microsoft Lync 2010 client (Call Park, Call Pick Up & Call forwarding and simultaneous ringing controls). There is also now support for Mac with support for the Microsoft Windows 10 technical preview, for more information check out the official documentation at – http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/hdx-optimization/1-8.html and what’s new in XAD FP2 – http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/xenapp-and-xendesktop/7-6/xad-whats-new.html.

HDX RealTime Optimization Pack 1.7
HDX RealTime Optimization Pack consists of two component’s the client (media engine is integrated into Citrix Receiver) and server (HDX Realtime connector). A technical overview of how the optimisation pack works and helps to improve the users over all experience with Lync 2013 can be found at – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/hdx-realtime-optimization-pack-17/hdx-realtime-optimization-pack-about-17.html including a network diagram. Citrix have also recently released at the time of writing this blog article a great CTX article entitled “Remote Access with Citrix HDX RealTime Optimization Pack” available at – http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX201116 explaining how-to and where to deploy NS(G) for Lync 2013.

The below is an embedded Citrix TV video entitled – Ask the Architect “Citrix Optimisation Pack for Microsoft Lync”:

Microsoft Lync 2013 VDI Plug-in
As stated at – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/hdx-realtime-optimization-pack-17/lync-realtime-optimization-pack-17.html Citrix recommends the Microsoft Lync 2013 VDI Plug-in for customers using Lync 2013 with Windows devices. For information about this solution, see http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj204683.aspx and http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX138408.