Citrix Receiver™ and Merchandising Server™ Deployment Guide

Citrix Receiver™ and Merchandising
Server™ Deployment Guide

Version 1.0.7

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Use of the product documented in this guide is subject to your prior acceptance of the End User License
Agreement.

Information in this document is subject to change without notice. No part of this document may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose,
without the express written permission of Citrix Systems, Inc.

© 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Citrix and Xen are registered trademarks and Receiver, XenApp, XenServer, XenCenter and Access
Gateway are trademarks of Citrix Systems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

Microsoft, MS-DOS, Windows, Windows Media, Windows Server, Windows NT, Win32, Outlook, ActiveX,
Active Directory, and DirectShow are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft
Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Table of Contents

Delivering applications and desktops as a service........................................................................................ 4
Deployment guidelines and best practices............................................................................................... 5

Installing Receiver on User Computers......................................................................................................... 5
Internal Users............................................................................................................................................ 5
Remote Users............................................................................................................................................ 5

Merchandising on- and off-line applications and XenDesktops ................................................................... 6
Simplifying access the virtualized applications......................................................................................... 6
Organizing Virtualized Applications .......................................................................................................... 7
Enabling users to choose applications using Citrix Dazzle........................................................................ 7

Deploying Access Gateway Enterprise Edition with Receiver....................................................................... 8
Using Citrix Receiver with Other VPN Applications ...................................................................................... 8
Deploying Citrix EasyCall Voice Services with Citrix Receiver....................................................................... 8
Delivering Computing as a Service for Multiple Work Groups and Locales ................................................. 8
Ensuring Merchandizing Server High Availability ......................................................................................... 9
Specialized deployments ............................................................................................................................ 10

Deploying Citrix Receiver on XenApp Published Desktops ..................................................................... 10
Deploying Citrix Receiver on shared and private XenDesktops.............................................................. 10
Deploying Citrix Receiver without a Merchandising Server ................................................................... 12
Deploying the Merchandising Server with Global Server Load Balancing.............................................. 12

Delivering applications and desktops as a service

Citrix Receiver for Windows is a new Citrix client that makes accessing virtual applications and desktops
on any Windows computer as easy as turning on your TV. Citrix Receiver together with the Citrix
Merchandising Server enables IT organizations to “merchandise” virtual applications and desktops
across an entire organization.

Much like a satellite or cable TV receiver in a broadcast media service, Citrix Receiver works with the
Citrix Merchandising Server to provide IT organizations with the functionality to deliver desktops and
applications on-demand to any device in any location.

The one-time setup for Citrix Receiver is fast and simple. Users point their browser to the configured
website and follow the easy step-by-step instructions. Going from a fresh PC or laptop to a fully
provisioned client machine with all applications and desktops ready to use, typically requiring less than
15 minutes. Once installed, the Receiver is kept up-to-date with the latest versions of applications, client
software, and plug-ins through the Merchandising Server based upon the policies set-up by IT and
preferences chosen by the user.

Citrix Receiver can be used to access applications hosted on XenApp. desktops hosted on XenDesktop
Server farms; enable secure access via Access Gateway Enterprise Edition, and provide the
communications capabilities provided by EasyCall Gateways. Additional capabilities will soon be
available. They combine to help your organization leverage the full value of the Citrix Delivery Center.

The Merchandising Server is located in the data center aside the XenApp, XenDesktop, and Access
Gateway infrastructure and provides easy management, setup, distribution, and update of the Citrix
Receiver and other Citrix plug-ins.

Citrix Merchandising Server is a XenServer 5 compatible virtual appliance that:

• Manages the setup of Citrix Receiver.
• Delivers “plug-ins” for multiple types of delivery services including secure access (SSL VPN),

online (hosted) applications, offline (streamed) applications, web links, virtualized desktops and
document access.
• Centralizes management of plug-in updates,
• Enables access to web-based user support services, and
• Offers management reporting features.

Both Citrix Receiver and the Merchandising Server are available as a no cost feature of all editions of
XenApp, XenDesktop, and Netscaler.

Deployment guidelines and best practices

This document outlines how to use Citrix Receiver and the Merchandising Server to ensure the best user
experience in conjunction with other Citrix Delivery Center components. It describes recommendations
for:

• Installing Receiver on User Computers
• Merchandising on- and off-line applications and XenDesktops
• Deploying Access Gateway Enterprise Edition with Receiver
• Using Citrix Receiver with Other VPN Applications
• Deploying Citrix EasyCall with Citrix Receiver
• Delivering Computing as a Service for Multiple Work Groups and Locales
• Ensuring Merchandising Server High Availability
• Deploying Citrix Receiver on XenApp Published Desktops
• Deploying Citrix Receiver on shared and private XenDesktops
• Deploying Citrix Receiver without a Merchandising Server
• Deploying the Merchandising Server with Global Server Load Balancing

Installing Receiver on User Computers

Internal Users

You can either push the Citrix Receiver to computers on your corporate network using your internal
electronic software distribution (ESD) processes or ask your users to download the Citrix Receiver for
Windows from the web page provided with your Merchandising Server. Whether pushed or
downloaded, Receiver will ask the users to authenticate themselves and then automatically fetch the
scheduled plug-ins and configure the user’s computer.

To download and install Citrix Receiver, users open their browser and go to the download page located
on your Merchandising Server at https://[merchandisingServer]/appliance/download, where
[merchandisingServer] is the IP address or fully qualified domain name of your Merchandising Server.

Remote Users

Users who work at satellite offices, from home, are traveling, or use their own computers at the office
can install Receiver and the scheduled plug-ins by first establishing a secure connection to their
corporate network.

If Access Gateway Enterprise Edition 9.0 is deployed, you can configure an external website that allows
users to install a custom installer package that includes both the Citrix Receiver and the Access Gateway
Enterprise Edition secure access plug-in. A tool for generating the necessary installers and a template for
creating your external download website is available on this webpage:

http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX121355

The Access Gateway 9.0 Enterprise Edition guides and readme file are available at
http://support.citrix.com/product/ag/eev9.0/#tab-doc

To deploy an external Citrix Receiver download page

1. Logon to the Merchandising Server Administrator Console at http://[merchandisingServer]/appliance,
where [merchandisingServer] is the IP address or fully qualified domain name of your Merchandising
Server.

2.Click Plug-ins > Get New and follow the process to Download the Citrix secure access plug-in and Citrix
Receiver application to your desktop

3. Download the administrator tools and download page template to your desktop from

://support.citrix.com/article/CTX121355

4. Open the Citrix Receiver Packager by double-clicking AGCRPackager.exe.

5. Point the Citrix Receiver Packager to the Citrix secure access plug-in and Citrix Receiver application on
your desktop and provide the Merchandising Server and Access Gateway Appliance IP addresses or
domain names.

5. Click Build.

7. Deploy the new webpage on to an external web server and send the url to your remote users.

Merchandising on- and off-line applications and XenDesktops

To enable access to online applications hosted on XenApp Server farms and desktops hosted on
XenDesktop Server farms, configure the Merchandizing Server to deliver the Citrix online plug-in to the
Citrix Receiver located on each user's computer. To enable access to offline applications via application
streaming from XenApp Server farms, configure the Merchandizing Server to also deliver the Citrix
offline plug-in.

Simplifying access the virtualized applications

The Receiver automatically provides users access to virtualized applications, once they authenticate with
the XenApp server. Depending on how your XenApp Server is configured users will access applications in
one of two ways:

If users previously launched They now access applications by
applications by clicking the using Start > All Programs and
XenApp icon in the notification navigating to the applications folder.
area ...

Otherwise, the users launch applications in the same manner as they have in the past. It is generally
preferred to enable access to applications in the standard manner using the Start menu.

Organizing Virtualized Applications

To make applications as easy to locate as possible in the Start menu, use the process defined in
Managing Delivery Options for Published Resources in the Citrix XenApp Administrator’s Guide to
organize your applications into folders as illustrated below:

Enabling users to choose applications using Citrix Dazzle

Citrix Dazzle is a self-service "storefront" for enterprise applications and will be generally available later
this year.

Using Dazzle, users can select from a list of available applications and the applications selected will
automatically appear in their Start menu.

If you offer many many online or offline applications but your users only regularly use a handful of them,
Dazzle can be used to increase the productivity of your users. Dazzle will allow your users to search for
the specific applications that they want and add those to their start menu. This provides faster access to
their applications and keeps their Start menu uncluttered.

You deploy Dazzle using the Merchandising Server and the Receiver by scheduling a delivery of the
Dazzle plug-in.

Deploying Access Gateway Enterprise Edition with Receiver

Citrix Access Gateway Enterprise Edition is the premier Citrix SSL VPN security solution, aimed to satisfy
the most demanding needs. The unique combination of capabilities allows administrators to reduce the
ongoing cost of secure remote access and improve the user experience.

The Access Gateway Enterprise Edition capabilities beginning with version 9.0.68 are closely integrated
with Citrix Receiver. When Citrix Receiver is deployed with the Access Gateway Enterprise Edition secure
access plug-in, the Citrix Receiver will automatically launch the logon screen and ask for the proper
authentication type when it detects the need for secure communications.

To allow users to log on to Access Gateway Enterprise Edition through Citrix Receiver, you must deploy
the Receiver and the Enterprise Edition secure access plug-in by scheduling a delivery in the
Merchandising Server Console or using the packager utility to create a bundled installer and placing that
installer on an external download page as described earlier.

Using Citrix Receiver with Other VPN Applications

Citrix Receiver is fully integrated with Access Gateway Enterprise Edition and as such will automatically
detect when a remote user needs a secure connection to access their company’s internal network. If
your remote users employ another VPN product, they will first need to obtain a secure connection with
their alternate VPN product before utilizing the full functionality of Citrix Receiver.

Deploying Citrix EasyCall Voice Services with Citrix Receiver

Citrix EasyCall™ provides a simple and intuitive method to communication enable applications while
cutting corporate telephony spending by over 50 percent with the flexibility of using any telephone.

Once the EasyCall Gateway is configured, there are several ways to deliver EasyCall services to end
users. The EasyCall client software, now called the Citrix communications plug-in, may be downloaded
and installed by the user, streamed to the user’s desktop as an offline application via XenApp, published
to users as an online application again via XenApp (refer to EasyCall documentation for limitations), and
now deployed via the Merchandising Server as a Citrix Receiver compatible plug-in.

To deploy Citrix communications plug-in using Citrix Receiver simply schedule the Citrix communication
plug-in in a delivery and configure it to point at the EasyCall Gateway you’ve configured with your
telephone system. The EasyCall communication plug-in is fairly large and may take several minutes to
install.

Delivering Computing as a Service for Multiple Work Groups and Locales

Based on simulated user traffic load, a single Merchandising Server can support up to 10,000 user
devices (computers) and can enable one delivery of each delivery type: Pilot and Production. In cases

where more than two deliveries are required or when it makes sense to have Merchandizing Servers
near work groups in different locales, the solution is to use multiple Merchandising Servers.
For example if you have XenApp farms, XenDesktop farms, EasyCall, or Access Gateways regionally
deployed, you can deploy Merchandising Servers in each region so that regional users are automatically
configured to access the correct regional farms and gateways as illustrated below.

Ensuring Merchandizing Server High Availability

Merchandising Servers may be deployed as a single server. If the Merchandizing Server becomes
unavailable or is removed from service temporarily, users will be largely unaffected. However new users
will not be able to download Receiver and have their computer configured and of course users will not
receive scheduled updates until the Merchandising Server is restored to service.
If higher availability is required, the simplest and easiest method is to use the capabilities provided
by XenServer. XenServer can be configured with automated high-availability protection allowing
virtual machines on a failed host to automatically restart on another physical server according to
priority. Citrix Essentials™ for XenServer™ provides a range of high availability capabilities, from
automatic restart of hosts and virtual machines after a hardware failure through full fault tolerance of
hardware and applications. A key advantage to this approach is that only a single Merchandizing Server
needs to be configured. Detailed procedures are available at
http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX118545.

Specialized deployments

Deploying Citrix Receiver on XenApp Published Desktops

When publishing the XenApp desktops, you can install Citrix Receiver and plug-ins to improve the overall
user experience. Since updates to the XenApp published desktop may not be available to users, you can
manually trigger updates.

To install Citrix Receiver on a XenApp Published Desktop

1. Follow the process described in your Citrix XenApp Administrator’s Guide to publish the XenApp
server desktop.

2. Log on to the XenApp published desktop with administrator permissions.

3. Download Citrix Receiver for Windows from the Receiver Download page hosted on the
Merchandising Server following the process described in your Citrix Merchandising Server
Administrator’s Guide.

The Receiver will install but it will not retrieve updates from the Merchandising Server.

2. To trigger an update, right-click the Citrix Receiver icon in the notification area and select Exit.

3. Open a command prompt window and start Citrix Receiver in the updating mode by entering the
following:

C:\Program Files\Citrix\Receiver\Receiver.exe –autoupdate -
allowadminTSupdates

4. Once the updates have been installed, exit Citrix Receiver by right-clicking the Receiver icon in the
notification area and selecting Exit.

The updates will be available to your XenApp published desktop users.

Deploying Citrix Receiver on shared and private XenDesktops

Where you publish XenDesktops and want to use other Citrix plug-ins, the Citrix Receiver can improve
the overall user experience and help keep XenDesktops up-to-date as it does on physical desktops.

Citrix Receiver for Windows can be deployed on private or shared XenDesktop images. With a Private
XenDesktop image, updates to Citrix Receiver are triggered in the same manner as they are in other
client devices. In a shared (or pooled) XenDesktop image, the desktop image is reloaded each time the
user logs on essentially discarding any changes and bringing the desktop back to its original state. If the
Receiver installs an update during any user session, the update will be removed with the next logon. To
avoid repetitive updates, you will need to disable automatic updates and manually logon to the

desktop master image as an administrator to trigger updates when necessary using the below
procedures.

On shared or pooled XenDesktops (where the whole desktop image is fresh each time), you can use
Receiver as an image preparation tool. Receiver is installed on the base image initially and it sets up the
plug-ins. Then update mode is switched off using procedures listed below and the base image post plug-
in install is used. When new plug-ins are deployed, you switch on update mode in the base image, let
Citrix Receiver install the updates, switch the update mode back off and create a new image.

For private XenDesktops, the Desktop configuration and updates persist between sessions. In this
scenario it’s just a remote desktop that is as the user left it last time so Receiver performs the same
services as on a normal local desktop.

To install and setup Citrix Receiver for Windows on a Shared XenDesktop

1. Log on to the master shared image with administrator permissions.

2. Download Citrix Receiver for Windows from the Receiver Download page hosted on the
Merchandising Server following the process described in your Citrix Merchandising Server
Administrator’s Guide. The URL is similar to: https://[merchandisingServer]/appliance/download, where
[merchandising Server] is your Merchandising Server IP address or domain name.

3. Wait for the Receiver to install its updates.

4. When updates are completed, add the -nopluginupdates option to the
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\CitrixReceiver registry:

a. Go to Start > Run, enter regedit, and click OK.

b. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>SOFTWARE>Microsoft>Windows>CurrentVersion>Run and
click on CitrixReceiver in the name column.

The Edit String popup will display a Value data entry that is similar to "C:\Program
Files\Citrix\Receiver\Receiver.exe" -autoupdate -BCType:http.

c. Add -nopluginupdates at the end of the entry in the Value data field.

d. Click OK to apply the changes.

Exit the registry.

For more information on unattended installations and the metadata file attributes, review the Citrix
Merchandising Server Administrator’s Guide at http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX120407

The next time a user logs onto the shared Desktop all applications and plug-ins will be available and the
users will not be annoyed by repeated updates.

To install and setup Citrix Receiver for Windows on a Private XenDesktop

1. Log on to the master shared image with administrator permissions.

2. Download Citrix Receiver for Windows from the Receiver Download page hosted on the
Merchandising Server following the process described in your Citrix Merchandising Server
Administrator’s Guide. The URL is similar to: https://[merchandisingServer]/appliance/download, where
[merchandising Server] is your Merchandising Server IP address or domain name.

3. Wait for the Receiver to install its updates.

That’s it. When the private user accesses XenDesktop, the Receiver will startup and provide the
applications as configured. Updates will be performed automatically or as requested by the user.

Deploying Citrix Receiver without a Merchandising Server

If you use electronic software delivery (ESD) solutions to manage deployment of software (including
Citrix plug-ins and Receiver), it is possible to deploy Citrix Receiver in a standalone mode without using a
Merchandising Server. While the plug-ins will not be automatically updated, the user will still receive the
improved end user experience that the Receiver offers by housing multiple Citrix plug-ins within the
same interface.

If deployed as a stand-alone application, some of the functionality present in the Citrix Receiver for
Windows client will not be accessible. For a complete listing of the functionality available in stand-alone
mode, refer the Citrix the Receiver readme file at http://support.citrix.com/rec/win.

Citrix Receiver for Windows can be installed and deployed in the stand-alone mode by downloading the
installation file from http://www.citrix.com. This should be done by an IT administrator using ESD
technology or other customer specific process. When deploying Citrix Receiver for Windows in a stand-
alone mode, the administrator is also responsible for installing the Citrix Receiver for Windows managed
components such as Citrix online and offline app plug-ins and Citrix communications plug-in.

Deploying the Merchandising Server with Global Server Load Balancing

If you are deploying regional Merchandising Server to streamline Receiver installations and update
deliveries, you may want to use global server load balancing for disaster recovery and protection against
failures in the Merchandising Server.

GSLB directs client requests to the closest data center, or to surviving data centers in case of an outage,
and balances the load across the data centers.

To use GSLB with Merchandising Server , you must ensure that each Merchandising Server is identically
configured and you need to be aware that under failure conditions users will be prompted for their
credentials to receive updates each time they are routed to a different Merchandising Server.

The instructions for setting up Global Server Load Balancing are documented in the Citrix NetScaler
Traffic Management Guide available at http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX119200.

To use GSLB in conjunction with multiple Merchandising Servers:

1. Disable HTTPS Redirection on the Merchandising Servers following the instructions in the Chapter 4,
“Configuring the Merchandising Server” in the Merchandising Server Administrator’s Guide.

2. Setup Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB) following the instructions in Chapter 10, “Global Server
Load Balancing” in the Citrix NetScaler Traffic Management Guide. When setting up your GSLB Servers:

a. Use the SSL protocol for the GSLB virtual server(s) you create on each of the NetScalers. This
will allow the NetScalers to host the SSL server certificate used to access the Merchandising
Servers download and appliance pages. As an example: merchserver.acme.com

b. Use HTTP service type when creating the GSLB services on the NetScalers.