Access Gateway VPX 5.0 NEW!

Access Gateway VPX 5.0 is a virtual appliance for Citrix XenServer or VMWare ESX/ESXi that provides secure access to virtual desktops, applications and data while allowing users to work from anywhere. It offers the same capabilities as an Access Gateway physical appliance (Model 2010) while giving greater flexibility and more deployment options to IT administrators. Access Gateway VPX is the best choice for organizations who need to rapidly provision secure access, reduce infrastructure requirements, and minimize power consumption.

New Features
Some of the key new features available in Access Gateway version 5.0 include:

• Access Gateway VPX for VMWare ESX/ESXi — Access Gateway VPX running on VMware ESX and ESXi hypervisors allows organizations to leverage their existing server virtualization investments and provides additional deployment flexibility.
• Simple and Intuitive Administration — Access Gateway 5.0 uses a new Flash-based administration tool for the appliance that makes it easy to install certificates, configure access control and monitor activity from any Flash-enabled web browser.
• Basic High Availability support for Model 2010 and VPX appliances — Two Access Gateway appliances can be configured as a failover pair. The appliances operate in active/passive mode, with the primary appliance servicing all user connections and the secondary appliance monitoring the primary and synchronizing session information. If the primary appliance fails, the secondary appliance takes over.
• Variable Logon Points — Each Access Gateway appliance can host multiple logon points for support of different features or different user communities. Basic logon points enable unlimited logins for secure access to Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop only and are enabled by the free Access Gateway platform license; SmartAccess logon points enable rich access control features such as network-layer VPN, endpoint analysis, clientless access to web sites and file shares, and adaptive access control.
• Endpoint Remediation — When users fail to access the system because of a failed endpoint analysis scan, you can provide a customized HTML message informing them of why they failed and what steps to take for remediation.
• Improved architecture — Significant updates have been made to the appliance firmware and Access Controller web services in this release to improve the overall performance, stability and feature set of Access Gateway.

Important Licensing Changes
Platform License Required
Each appliance running Access Gateway 5.0 requires a platform license in order to function. Without the platform license installed, the gateway will not allow logins after a 48-hour grace period. Platform licenses are delivered electronically when an appliance is ordered. If you have an existing Access Gateway Model 2010 appliance covered by Warranty, you can obtain your Access Gateway Platform License using the Upgrade My Products toolbox on MyCitrix.
User Licenses Optional
The required Access Gateway platform license enables unlimited logins through Basic logon points. Each concurrent login to a SmartAccess logon point requires an Access Gateway user license. Access Gateway Standard Edition or Access Gateway Universal licenses may be used for this purpose.
Subscription Advantage Eligibility Date
To use your existing Access Gateway licenses with this version, the Subscription Advantage on those licenses must be valid on or after September 1, 2010.
Supported Platforms
Access Gateway 5.0 is supported only on the following appliance platforms:

• Access Gateway Model 2010
• Access Gateway VPX

Citrix Online Plug-in 12.1 for Windows Released!

http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX126965

What's New

• ICA File Signing. Helps protect users from unauthorized application or desktop launches by digitally signing .ICA files. You can configure the online plug-in security policy and digital-signing requirements using Group Policy Objects or the Citrix Merchandising Server with the online plug-in. The online plug-in verifies that a trusted source generated the application launch and based on administrative policy, protects against application launches from untrusted servers.
• Enhanced printing performance. Improves user printing performance and speed when printing to redirected client printers. Install the XenApp Printing Optimization Pack on the server running XenApp 6 for Windows Server 2008 R2 and configure the server-side policy settings for:
  • Dynamic Client Printer Mapping. Redirected printers are discovered dynamically and created automatically.
  • Optimized EMF Universal Print Driver. Reduction in bandwidth consumption for the most demanding printing applications.
  • Enhanced XPS Universal Print Driver. Improved printing performance on Window 7 clients.
• New decoder for HDX 3D Pro Graphics. A new deep compression codec is included in the online plug-in to receive 3D professional graphics over low bandwidths. For details about HDX 3D Pro Graphics, see http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX124443

XenServer Peformance: Disable Checksum Offload on PIF's/VIF's

Please create a backup copy of the xapi database.
You can do it using the following command:
xe pool-dump-database file-name=/tmp/xapi1.xml

Please use WinSCP to download the file xapi1.xml from the /tmp location to your workstation and keep it in a safe place.

We need to disable all the checksum offloading on all the interfaces in XenServer (this one will require XenServer reboot – do it in a maintenance window):

Please upload the unzipped script attached, into. e.g. /root directory and execute it, using the following guide:
Please note this file will generate a error if it is modified in windows and contains CR/LF.

if-set

Change directory
cd /root
Allow the script to be executed:
chmod u+x if-set
Execute:
./if-set
Now, script is disabling all the offload settings for all PIF and VIF interfaces. 

It is necessary to reboot the XenServer afterwards.

Get "Ready" - NEW Citrix Ready 2.0 Catalog!

The Citrix Ready team announced the launch of the brand new partner product catalog version 2.0 earlier this week. Check it out: www.citrix.com/ready
The idea was to pull out all the stops, using only the current best practices in the industry, to give customers what we think is a really great way to showcase our growing ecosystem of partner products verified for Citrix. The new catalog is the outcome of a collaborative effort with feedback from Citrix partners and working closely with UI designers and information architects to design a catalog that is packed with great new features and capabilities.

It looks good and its easy to use. This is a great reference site when considering vendor and version support.

Great XenDesktop Tuning Policy for Windows 7

XenApp blogs have produced yet another excellent tuning policy for Citrix deployments. This is a worthwhile read and should always be part of best practice standards.

http://www.xenappblog.com/2010/vdi-tuning-group-policy/

Exchange 2010 - Architecture Poster

Great Exchange 2010 poster with some good images

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=cea0cf7e-d824-49bb-8924-39d66a5fb88e

Citrix Knowledge Center Top 10 - September 2010

Find below the Citrix Knowledge Center Top 10 for September 2010.

Top 10 Technical Articles

Article Number	Article Title
CTX368624	Troubleshooting Citrix Pass-through Authentication (Single Sign-On)
CTX711855	Common SSL Error Messages, and Respective Cause and Resolution
CTX238200	Troubleshooting Client Drive Mapping
CTX101644	Seamless Configuration Settings
CTX106531	Troubleshooting the Citrix XTE Service and Errors: There is no route to the specified address ... Protocol Driver Error
CTX107572	Troubleshooting Tools for Citrix Environments
CTX677542	Advanced Concepts - Farm Maintenance
CTX106192	Access Gateway Software Updates
CTX564283	Troubleshooting 1003 and 1004 Terminal Server Licensing Errors
CTX101705	Troubleshooting Slow Logons

Top 10 Whitepapers

Article Number	Article Title
CTX110351	User Profile Best Practices for MetaFrame Presentation Server
CTX124565	Best Practices: Customizing Microsoft Office 2010 for Streaming Environments
CTX117913	Technical Guide for Upgrading / Migrating to XenApp 5.0
CTX124087	XenDesktop Modular Reference Architecture
CTX126190	Desktop Virtualization Top 10 Mistakes Made
CTX101997	Citrix Secure Gateway Secure Ticket Authority Frequently Asked Questions
CTX101739	Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Data Store Replication
CTX119036	User Profile Manager Deployment Best Practices
CTX118735	XenServer Demo and Evaluation Setup Guide
CTX124799	User Profiles for XenApp and XenDesktop

Top 10 Hotfixes

Article Number	Article Title
CTX122756	Hotfix Rollup Pack 6 for Citrix XenApp 5.0 and Citrix Presentation Server 4.5 for Microsoft Windows Server 2003 32-bit Edition
CTX125480	Citrix Offline Plug-in 6.0.1 for Windows - English
CTX125235	Citrix Online Plug-in 12.0.3 for Windows
CTX116550	Citrix Presentation Server Client 10.200 for Windows
CTX120923	Hotfix Rollup Pack 5 for Citrix XenApp 5.0 and Citrix Presentation Server 4.5 for Microsoft Windows Server 2003 32-bit Edition
CTX118445	Citrix XenApp Plug-in for Hosted Apps 11.0 and Streamed Apps 1.2 for Windows
CTX122761	Hotfix Rollup Pack 6 for Citrix XenApp 5.0 and Citrix Presentation Server 4.5 for Microsoft Windows Server 2003 64-bit Edition
CTX109307	Hotfix Rollup Pack PSE400W2K3R02 - For Citrix Presentation Server 4.0, Citrix Access Essentials 1.0 and 1.5 for Windows Server 2003
CTX125388	Hotfix XA600W2K8R2X64001 - For Citrix XenApp 6.0 for Windows Server 2008 R2 - English
CTX126398	Hotfix CPVS51SP2E030 - For Citrix Provisioning Services 5.1 SP2

Top 10 Presentations

Article Number	Article Title
CTX105908	Get the Most Out of Your Resource Manager Summary Database
CTX111920	Selected Citrix Troubleshooting Tools
CTX111560	Health Checks for Citrix Services Using Advanced Monitors
CTX125175	TechEdge 2010 - Debugging a Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop Environment
CTX123530	XenDesktop 4.0 Core Infrastructure and Features - GoToWebinar
CTX125180	Troubleshooting XenDesktop, Provisioning Services & XenServer Integration
CTX121117	Troubleshooting Tools and Methodology for Citrix XenApp 5 Environment
CTX111562	Troubleshooting the Citrix NetScaler Application Switch
CTX119104	TechEdge 2008 - Troubleshooting Tools for a XenApp Environment
CTX125177	TechEdge 2010 - Troubleshooting XenDesktop Deployments

Top 10 Tools

Article Number	Article Title
CTX122536	Citrix Quick Launch
CTX113472	Citrix ICA File Creator
CTX106226	Repair Clipboard Chain 2.0.1
CTX116063	XenAppPrep Integration Utility for XenApp and Provisioning Services
CTX111961	CDFControl
CTX116474	Print Detective
CTX122962	Citrix Printing Tool
CTX109374	StressPrinters 1.3.2 for 32-bit and 64-bit Platforms
CTX126491	HDX Experience Monitor for XenApp
CTX107935	MedEvac 2.5

CCIA Accreditation achieved

I passed the 1Y0-A16 Architecting a Citrix Virtualization Solution exam yesteday which is the final part of the CCIA accrediation. Now thats out of the way it time to move on to the next technology...

XenClient 1.0 Released

Citrix have announced general availability of XenClient 1.0 and the Synchronizer for XenClient 1.0 as part of XenDesktop 4 Feature Pack 2.

As a new addition to XenDesktop, XenClient enables virtual desktops "To Go" allowing virtual desktops to run directly on client devices online or disconnected. It enables IT to deliver a secure centrally managed desktop without compromising the user experience and at the same time opening up the option of allowing users to have a second personal virtual desktop. It gives users the freedom they want and IT the control and security they demand.
Download Link
XenClient 1.0 and Synchronizer for XenClient 1.0
New Features since RC2 release
The time between RC2 and GA was mainly focused on bug fixing but our amazing engineering team still managed to pack in some great new features and expanded our HCL to cover twice the systems we supported in the first RC. You can read about the new features added in the recent RC2 release here and here below are the latest additions:
Integrated Disk Encryption
VMs delivered to XenClient from the Synchronizer can now be protected with AES-XTS disk encryption. This ensures that sensitive data is fully protected when deployed on XenClient systems. In the event a system is lost or stolen all the data remains protected from unauthorized access. On systems with Core i5 and Core i7 vPro technology XenClient will use Intel AES-NI to offload encryption operations to the hardware.
External Monitor/Projector Support
The latest generation of Intel Core i5 and i7 vPro systems now fully support use of external monitors and projectors. Previously using external monitors and projectors required running a VM with 3D graphics support enabled.
XenClient to Synchronizer Communication Hardening
XenClient systems will now use client side digital certificates along with user credentials to authenticate to the Synchronizer. Additionally all VHD files are encrypted with AES CBC encryption to allow secure delivery and caching of components over http.
VM Switching Enhancements
The in-guest VM switcher bar has been re-skinned with updated graphics and new pull-down behavior. And the switching process has been revamped with a beautiful fade on switch between VMs.
Revamped Synchronizer Web Interface
The Synchronizer for XenClient has a revamped UI and refreshed graphics showing off the latest Citrix UI standards.
This groundbreaking new technology is ready to allow you to extend all the great benefits of virtual desktops to your mobile users and a powerful tool for IT Pros looking to run multiple isolated virtual machines on the same system. If you have not tried XenClient yet we invite you to download it today and give it a try.

EasyCall EOL announcement

While many of you are taking advantage of EasyCall's many benefits, overall use of EasyCall is not as extensive as expected. As a result, Citrix will be ending its availability and support for the Citrix EasyCall product over the coming months.

The Citrix EasyCall virtual appliances and client software will continue to be available for download until November 30th, 2010.
You can continue to use EasyCall subject to license agreement terms as long as you want. Full support for the product will be available until April 30, 2011. After that, support will be limited to existing Citrix Technical Support Knowledgebase articles.