Tag Archives: Windows 8.1

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.

XenMobile Enterprise 8.7

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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

What’s New The Highlights
0: XenMobile Datasheet by edition – http://www.citrix.com/content/dam/citrix/en_us/documents/products-solutions/citrix-xenmobile-the-revolutionary-way-to-mobilize-your-business.pdf.
1: Enrol and manage Windows 8.1 including support for Windows 8.1 RT devices – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile-87/xmob-understand-device-platforms.html.
2: Worx Home supports pin history & pin cycle checking.
3: Configure and deploy VPN cfgs to Amazon devices.
4: Shared Device Management support allows for multiple individuals to leverage MDM capabilities once the device has been enrolled.
5: ShareFile Single Sign-On (SSO) support from Worx apps to ShareFile.
6: Samsung SAFE devices support with the ability to now install Worx Home on Samsung SAFE devices running Android 4.3 and later from Google Play Store.
7: Support for Android 4.4.
8: Battery retention has improved by approximately 15% please see point 11 below for further details re the Tests performed.
9: IBM notes support for iOS in WorxMail.
10: Geo-fencing on Android.
11: A full and complete list of what’s new check out – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile/xmob-understand-whats-new.html.
12: For a list of the new features in NetScaler Gateway 10.1 and NetScaler Gateway 10.1, Build 120.1316.e check out – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/netscaler-gateway-101/ng-whats-new-con.html.

XenMobile Compatibility Matrix
1: http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile-87/xmob-understand-compatibilitymatrix-con.html

Supported Device Platforms
1: http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile-87/xmob-understand-device-platforms.html

Pre-requisites, Understanding & Installing The XenMobile 8.7 Components End-2-End for a PoC or a Demo Environment (DRAFT & MAY CONTAIN ERROR(S))
1: I would suggest starting with this really good XenMobile Architectural XenMobile Diagram to help you understand where the individual components are placed between the DMZ and TRUSTED network, so check out – http://www.citrix.com/content/dam/citrix/en_us/images/info-graphics/xenmobile_architecture_86.png.
2: Understanding how-to deploy the components of XenMobile Enterprise – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile-87/xmob-understand-deploy-architecture-wrapper-n-con.html and I would also recommend reading and understanding what ports are required to be enabled at – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile-87/xmob-deploy-component-port-reqs-n-con.html and the review the XenMobile and NetScaler Gateway checklists which are available at – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile-87/xmob-prepare-xenmobile-checklist-con.html & http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/netscaler-gateway-101/ng-checklist-10-1-con.html#ng-checklist-10-1-con followed understanding the Server & SAML certificate types/ requirements of XenMobile at – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile-87/xmob-deploy-certificates-con.html.
3: Sizing & System requirements for XenMobile 8.7 – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile-87/xmob-deploy-netscaler-gateway-reqs-con.html.
4: How-to Install XenMobile 8.7 – . If your looking to install XDM at – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile-87/xmob-deploy-device-manager-install-steps-tsk.html for a basic visual overview and instructions. To deploy the XAC use the following to pre-configure the XenMobile AppControllers IP addr, DNS e.t.c at – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile-87/xmob-appc-change-ipaddress-tsk.html followed by configuring the XAC using the initial web UI wizard at – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile-87/xmob-appc-setup-wizard-tsk.html. To configure your NetScaler Gateway for the first time use – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/access-gateway-hig-appliances/ag-vpx-configure-basic-settings-wrapper-con.html, http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/netscaler-gateway-101/ng-config-ng-with-wizards-con.html followed by the initial NSG wizard accessible via the Web UI upon your initial login – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/netscaler-gateway-101/ng-config-first-time-new-install-con.html thereafter you can use the built-in NSG wizard to setup and configure remote access to the XAC for XenMobile Enterprise 8.7 at – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/netscaler-gateway-101/ng-install-simplified-config-tsk.html.

Enrolling by OS Platform
0: Prior to enrolling any devices you may want to consider configuring enrolment options – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile-87/xmob-dm-connect-config-enroll-mode-con.html.
1: iOS – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile-87/xmob-ios-user-enroll-device-tsk.html.
2: Android – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile-87/xmob-android-user-enroll-device-tsk.html.
3: Windows – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile-87/xmob-dm-enroll-users-devices-wrapper-con.html.
4: Symbian – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile-87/xmob-symbian-user-enroll-device-tsk.html.

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.

Security
1: XenMobile FIPS 140-2 Compliance – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile-87/clg-appwrap-fips-con.html.
2: XDM supports internal and external PKI’s – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile-87/xmob-dm-manage-security-pki-overview-con.html; SAML – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile-87/xmob-dm-manage-securityid-saml-con.html.
3: Network Access Control (NAC) – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile-87/xmob-dm-manage-securityid-configurenac-con.html.
4: Client certificate based authentication using Configuring Device Manager with Microsoft Active Directory Certificate Services – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenmobile-87/xmob-dm-manage-securityid-configdm-mscertificatesvs-con.html.

Synergy SYN308: Citrix Mobility & Desktop Integration