Citrix Xenapp 6.5


At their core XenApp servers perform the same function as Microsoft Remote Desktop Session Host servers, in other words, they host applications and desktops, which users can connect to. But XenApp is more secure, configurable, faster and expands upon the functionality offered by Microsoft RDS. In this blog post we will briefly look at Architectural components of XenApp 6.5, to get a basic understanding of what function the different components of a Citrix XenApp 6.5 infrastructure serve.


Farms

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A farm is a group of XenApp servers that can be managed as a single logical entity, can use a single data store database, and can balance the load resulting from requests for published resources in the farm. Published resources are of course applications and desktops, which users can connect to. XenApp 6.5 does not support mixed farms. Which means that a XenApp 6.5 farm must exist of only XenApp 6.5 servers.

Zones

Citrix XenApp 6.5 Architectural Components. At their core XenApp servers perform the same function as Microsoft Remote Desktop Session Host servers, in other words, they host applications and desktops, which users can connect to. But XenApp is more secure, configurable, faster and expands upon the functionality offered by Microsoft RDS. Legacy Citrix Software (1) My TroubleShooting (54) NetScaler (54) GSLB (2) Other Citrix softwares (1) PowerShell (2) Prerequisites (6) Scripts/Automation (7) Tech Articles (12) Terminology (4) TerraForm (1) Version Differences (5) Why Prerequisites (1) XenApp 5 (38) XenApp 6 (22) XenApp 6.5 (31) XenApp and XenDesktop 7.X (88) XenApp. .On May 12, 2015, Citrix lengthened the XenApp 6.5 Mainstream Maintenance period Extended Maintenance periods by changing the EOM and EOL milestone dates.For customers that remain current in the Software Maintenance or Subscription Advantage programs, the longer term dates apply. Install Citrix XenApp 6.5 and join the server to the current XenApp Farm. While configuring the XenApp installation, keep in mind to select Enable Session-host mode only as shown below. Install the necessary Citrix XenApp 6.5 updates and install the applications that must be available in the Citrix XenApp farm.

You can think of zones as Active Directory sites, if you are familiar with those. Basically you create a zone for each location or site of your enterprise. If you have a subnet in Chicago and one in New York. You would create a zone for each location. But Citrix generally recommends to only use a single zone. Multiple zones are only recommended in large farms that span WANs

XenApp servers

These are the servers that host applications and desktops, which your users can connect to. XenApp servers deliver online and offline (hosted and streamed) applications on-demand. They can be configured with one of two server roles, worker (session-host mode only) or controller. Worker servers can only host sessions, while controllers can host sessions and act as Data Collectors.

Data Collectors

A Data Collector is a server, which has been configured with the Controller and Session-host mode role. This means that the Data Collector can host sessions, and act as a controller. Data Collectors keep track of dynamic data in a zone, such as for example session and load information. Which means they among other things, are responsible for load balancing of XenApp servers in a farm.

In farms with more than one zone, Data Collectors also act as communication gateways between the zones. Generally, its recommended to not host applications and desktops on XenApp servers that have been configured as Data Collectors. Each zone must have at least one Data Collector. Which means that in a single zone farm, there is also at least one Data Collector.

Datastore Database

The database stores the static information of a XenApp farm. Such as configuration data for the farm, published applications, administrators and printers. The datastore database can be hosted on a SQL Server Express installation running on one of the XenApp servers in a farm. But its recommended to host it on a dedicated SQL Server or Oracle server in medium to large farms.

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Worker Groups

You can group servers in Worker Groups, and then manage policies and applications on multiple servers at the same time. You can add servers to Worker Groups manually, or you can base Worker Groups on Active Directory Organizational Units. Which means that all servers in the specified OU, will automatically be members of a specific Worker Group.

License Server

Whenever a user connects to a XenApp server, he needs a license. That license is provided by the License Server. When a user connects to a XenApp server, that server places a request of a license on behalf of the connecting user. Citrix XenApp uses concurrent user licenses, which are licenses that are not tied to specific users. The License is rather tied to a specific user/device combination, and its valid for the duration of the session. If the session ends, the license is returned to the license pool. If a user connects from two different devices, he will consume two licenses.

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Web Interface

The Citrix Web Interface provides users access to XenApp applications and content. Users can access their resources through a standard Web browser or through the Citrix Receiver. The XML service on the XML brokers (which must be XenApp servers running the controller role), communicates with the web interface to determine which resources users have access to.

Citrix Receiver

Citrix Receiver (previously known as Citrix Plug-In and ICA Client) is the software client that users use to access published applications and desktops on XenApp farms and servers. Citrix Receiver is available for almost any device and platform, such as for example Android, iOS and Windows.

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XenApp 6.5 brings a host of features and benefits that most companies will need as the technology continues to evolve and user requirements continue to expand.

Simplified Installation

Beginning with XenApp 6 and continuing with XenApp 6.5, Citrix introduced a number of enhancements to the installation wizard. Before we discuss the roles wizard, let's look at a typical Citrix Farm Architecture.
Small Citrix farms typically have the following roles:

1. Web Interface Server
2. License Server
3. XenApp Server

Although the Farm Data Store is an essential part of the Farm, it is not technically a 'role.' It is a database server, typically SQL, that contains critical Farm Data. During the configuration wizard for XenApp, the administrator designates where the Data Store will be located. If a server is designated as a controller during installation, then it can become a Zone Data Collector (ZDC). If it is designated as a worker, then it will never attempt to become a ZDC and is, therefore, a member server.

Larger Citrix XenApp Farms are much more complex. They include components like Provisioning Services, EdgeSight monitoring, Dedicated Data Collectors, Remote Access Devices and increased redundancy with all essential servers.

Another change to the install process is that there is no configuration required during installation. This makes the install of each of the roles very simple. Once the installation is completed, the administrator is prompted to configure each of the roles.

Single Management Console

One challenge for Citrix administrators over the years has been the need for different consoles for many of the Citrix management tasks. In XenApp 6.0, Citrix has consolidated almost all administrative tasks in one console called the Delivery Services Console. In XenApp 6.5, Citrix has enhanced this console and changed the name to AppCenter.

With the AppCenter Console, an administrator can use one console to perform things like Publishing Applications, Creating Policies, Managing Worker Groups and Zones, along with many other tasks. With one console, you can now manage hundreds of servers and applications in a Citrix Server Farm.

Worker Groups

Worker Groups allow you to manage all servers within an App Silo as one object. This allows you to publish applications and set policies with a Worker Group rather than individual servers, making managing complex real-world Citrix environment much easier.


Another benefit of Worker Groups is the ability to perform Load Balancing between geographical locations or direct users to the XenApp servers closest to their current location.

Policies and GPO Integration

Citrix Administrators can now use GPOs and Organizational Units to manage their Citrix Policies, just like they do their Microsoft Policies, giving Administrators one tool to manage user rights. If you do not have rights at an Active Directory level, Citrix does still allow for IMA-Based Polices that are stored in the Citrix Data Store. These policies are created using the Delivery Services Console; however, they are superseded if GPO Based Citrix Policies exist.

New in XenApp 6.5 is the ability to filter policies in the XenApp Policy Editor. For example, you can look at XenApp 6.0 polices only, or vice versa, only look at what is new in XenApp 6.5.

Merchandizing Server and Windows Receiver

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Merchandising Server allows administrators to centrally deploy and update Citrix clients. Merchandising Server is a virtual appliance that is free to download and import within XenServer.

HDX

Many of you have probably heard of HDX. It is short for High Definition Experience and represents a host of technologies (more than 60) that allow the user experience to be the best ever when connecting to hosted desktops or applications.

Provisioning Server

Provisioning Server is a technology that allows Citrix administrators to create a single master virtual disk (vDisk) and then connect multiple desktops or servers to that vDisk, all of which boot simultaneously.

With XenApp, we can leverage this technology to keep all of the Application Servers in a Citrix Farm consistent with the same applications, hotfixes, and patches. This ensures that users receive the same experience regardless of which server they are load-balanced to. With this technology, administrators can now update many servers by updating a single vDisk, making administering large server farms much simpler.

MultiStream ICA

MultiStream ICA is a new feature introduced with XenApp 6.5. In previous versions of Citrix, QoS (Quality of Service) was difficult with the ICA protocol because the various channels all flowed within the port 1494 or 2598 when using session reliability. If QoS were enabled, it would prioritize all types of ICA traffic (graphics, keyboard, mouse, audio, printing, clipboard, drive mapping, etc.). MultiStream ICA Protocol splits virtual desktop traffic into 5 streams - real time, interactive, background, bulk, and RTP Voice - to enable network administrators to prioritize traffic by type and maintain QoS with existing network tools.

Integration with Desktop Director

In previous versions of XenApp, if you wanted to give the Help Desk and other associates within your company administrative access to Citrix, you only had the option of giving them access to the same consoles you, as an Administrator, use. These consoles were notorious for being somewhat complex, and they required some training for new associates. With the introduction of XenApp 6.5, Citrix has given Desktop Director the ability to connect to XenApp. Desktop Director is a web-based dashboard and console that allows Help Desk and other support staff to manage and monitor XenApp sessions.

Pre-launch, Session Linger, and Fast Reconnect

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This collection of features improves the user experience by eliminating delays when launching and maintaining sessions. First, with the use of Session Pre-launch policy settings, a session can be started automatically when a user logs on to the farm. By implementing Session Linger policy settings, sessions remain alive for a configurable period before termination, rather than terminating when users close applications. Finally, Fast Reconnect, built into XenApp and requiring no configuration, helps minimize delays when users reconnect to existing sessions.

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