Citrix HDX for Dummies 1.0

Citrix HDX for Dummies

Written by Alexander Ervik Johnsen Citrix Technology Professional (CTP) www.ervik.as

http://www.ervik.as/

Table of Contents About the author .......................................................................................................................................... 2

Changelog ..................................................................................................................................................... 3

Credits ........................................................................................................................................................... 3

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 4

Background ................................................................................................................................................... 4

What is HDX Technology ............................................................................................................................... 4

Citrix Receiver ............................................................................................................................................... 5

HDX RichGraphics / 3D Background .............................................................................................................. 6

HDX 3D Pro .................................................................................................................................................... 7

NVIDIA GRID Technology ............................................................................................................................ 10

HDX Plug-n-play .......................................................................................................................................... 18

HDX Broadcast ............................................................................................................................................ 19

HDX Mobile ................................................................................................................................................. 19

HDX WAN Optimization .............................................................................................................................. 20

HDX SoC ...................................................................................................................................................... 21

HDX MediaStream ....................................................................................................................................... 22

HDX IntelliCache .......................................................................................................................................... 30

HDX Adaptive Orchestration ....................................................................................................................... 31

HDX RealTime Optimization Pack for Microsoft Lync ................................................................................. 31

Multi-Stream and Multi-Port ICA ................................................................................................................ 32

Summary ..................................................................................................................................................... 34

ALEXANDER ERVIK JOHNSEN – © 2014 – WWW.ERVIK.AS 1

About the author

Alexander Ervik Johnsen is a Senior Solution Architect, Technology Evangelist, Author and Speaker, based in Oslo - Norway. Alexander has been working with Microsoft and Citrix products since 1997 as a senior consultant, and Solution Architect. He now works for the Citrix VAD Reseller, ArrowECS in Norway as a Product Manager Citrix / Senior Solution Architect. In his role he primarily work as a pre-sale and travel around Norway and Europe evangelizing Citrix, Cloud, Virtualization, Thin clients and 3 party solutions. In previous jobs, he worked with both small and large scale Citrix and Application Delivery implementations, both in Norway and Europe. Alexander is also a speaker, speaking at both Norwegian events such as Citrix User Group Norway , InspirationDay and Roadshows across Norway. Alexander has also been speaking at Citrix Synergy events in both the United States of America and Europe. Alexander is also the owner of the well-known website: www.ervik.as – Alexander is also a Citrix Certified Instructor ( CCI ). In May 2008, he was awarded Citrix Technology Professional (CTP), which is a true honor for him, since Citrix, Virtualization, Cloud and Application Delivery is his big passion in this industry.

Alexander also holds a degree in Information Technology from the The Norwegian School of Information Technology(NITH) , and industry certifications from Citrix CCP-V, CCA-N and Microsoft MCSA.


http://www.arrowecs.no/

http://www.cug.no/

http://www.citrixsynergy.com/


http://community.citrix.com/display/cdn/Citrix+Technology+Professionals

http://community.citrix.com/display/cdn/Citrix+Technology+Professionals

http://www.nith.no/

http://www.nith.no/

http://community.citrix.com/display/cdn/Citrix+Technology+Professional+Awardees

Changelog Version Date Author Reviewer 1.0 26.06.2014 Alexander Ervik Johnsen Timco Hazelaar

Douglas Brown

Credits I want to give a shout out to the following industry leaders for reviewing this eBook and giving me feedback that made this eBook as good as it could be! Without their review of this eBook, it would have turned out different from the result, which I hopefully think you like.

Timco Hazelaar from Login Consultants

Douglas Brown from DABCC Inc


Introduction The Citrix HDX technologies is nothing new to its XenApp and XenDesktop products. IT organizations are faced with the challenge of providing a virtual computing experience for employees that is the same or better than that of a local PC, regardless of whether users are accessing their virtual desktops from corporate owned devices or BYO mobile devices, whether from challenging, low bandwidth high latency WANS, highly variable 3G/4G mobile networks or a reliable corporate network (LAN).Some virtual desktop solutions take a narrow approach to this problem, relying on point technologies that work only under a limited set of conditions. Only Citrix HDX technologies addresses the networking and application delivery challenges virtual desktop computing brings. With HDX technologies, Citrix XenDesktop and XenApp delivers a brilliant user experience on a wide variety of devices, equaling or surpassing the local PC experience.

This eBook provides an overview of HDX capabilities and its benefits for users and IT administrators.

Background This free eBook will guide you through the different HDX Technologies, what they can do, and what they mean for the overall implementation of Citrix XenApp, XenDesktop and NetScaler technologies. In addition, a vital part to get the HDX Technology to work is the Citrix Receiver.

What is HDX Technology Citrix HDX technology is a set of capabilities that work together to deliver a high-definition user experience of virtual desktops and applications to any device over any network from the data center or cloud. The goal of Citrix HDX technology is to ensure that XenDesktop and XenApp users receive a high definition desktop virtualization user experience similar to that achieved with traditional desktop computers. HDX Technology incorporates different and several types of technology. Citrix HDX includes a broad set of technologies that reside across the entire end-to-end delivery system. HDX in the datacenter leverages the processing power and scalability of servers to deliver advanced graphical and multimedia performance, regardless of the capabilities of the endpoint device. HDX on the network incorporates advanced optimization and acceleration capabilities such as the Citrix ICA® virtual delivery protocol and other third-party technologies to deliver a great user experience over any network, including for remote desktop access over high-latency, low-bandwidth environments. HDX at the device leverages the computing capacity of endpoint devices to enhance user experience in the most efficient way possible. In this eBook, I will guide you through the different types of HDX technologies and explain what they do.


Citrix Receiver Citrix Receiver is a free download designed as an integral component for VDI-in-a-Box, XenDesktop and XenApp installations. Citrix Receiver is a universal software client that provides secure, high-performance delivery of virtual desktops and applications.

This easy-to-install software client lets you access your applications, desktops and data easily and securely from any device, including smartphones, tablets, PCs and Macs. Working with a Citrix-enabled IT infrastructure, Receiver gives you the mobility, convenience and freedom you need to get your work done.

Citrix Receiver provides end users with:

• Simple, self-service access to virtual desktops, applications, and IT services • Hi-definition user experience on any network or device • Instant updates to users with IT control and visibility • Easier management of Enterprise data, apps, desktops, and SaaS apps through secure,

centralized deployment to any user device

Citrix Receiver Plug-ins, such as the Offline Plug-in, provide advanced features and capabilities. Citrix Receiver Updater for Windows, Receiver Updater for Mac, and Merchandising Server are components that streamline the installation and management of Citrix Receiver on the user desktops. Merchandising Server provides the administrative interface for configuring, delivering, and upgrading plug-ins for your users' computers.

For a complete feature list-> http://www.citrix.com/content/dam/citrix/en_us/documents/products-solutions/citrix-receiver-feature-matrix.pdf


http://www.citrix.com/content/dam/citrix/en_us/documents/products-solutions/citrix-receiver-feature-matrix.pdf

HDX RichGraphics / 3D Background

Citrix has more experience in 3D graphics remoting than any other vendor in our space. Enable secure, real-time, remote collaboration on design data with stunning performance by centrally hosting 3D apps and data with XenDesktop and XenApp with HDX 3D Pro. Back in 2006 their K2 technology was developed for Boeing, enabling Dassault CATIA to be delivered to Dreamliner (787) design engineers around the world. After the introduction of XenDesktop, Citrix brought GPU-accelerated 3D graphics remoting to General Availability in 2009 with the introduction of XenDesktop HDX 3D Pro. At that time, the solution required a blade workstation for each user. In 2010, Citrix introduced high performance GPU Sharing for DirectX based applications, driving down cost per user. 2011 saw the introduction of the first GPU Pass-through technology to the market as part of XenServer 6.0. This allowed customers to install multiple GPUs on the server, again bringing down the cost per user. And in 2012 Citrix introduced XenDesktop 5.6 Feature Pack 1 which was the first product to leverage NVIDIA’s VGX API (rebranded as GRID in 2013) for direct GPU frame buffer access, resulting in an even more responsive user experience. 2012 also saw improvements to their H.264-based Deep Compression technology for delivering 3D graphics over bandwidth-constrained WAN connections. 2013 and 2014 is the year of high density, high performance GPU sharing for OpenGL and DirectX.

In the past, virtualizing design/engineer workstations and line of business, graphics-intensive applications such as CAD/CAM was never seriously considered due to existing technology limitations. Today, by leveraging various recent software virtualization advancements, many organizations have begun to successfully virtualize their high-end graphics apps.

In an increasingly global economy, companies are looking to improve time-to-market by securely collaborating and managing design lifecycles with offshore, mobile and remote employees while maintaining secure control over intellectual property. Organizations are seeing desktop virtualization as an enabling technology to accomplish these dual goals. Leveraging XenDesktop with HDX 3D pro for application and workstation virtualization, with its advancements in deep compression to improve utilization of network bandwidth, and the latest XenServer integrations of GPU acceleration technology for virtualized environments from Nvidia, Citrix is demonstrating a leadership position in addressing this underserved high-end 3D graphics applications segment.

Key Points: There are many business drivers influencing the trend to virtualize high-end graphics applications such as CAD/CAM including:

• The need to leverage a global talent base The need to secure product design IP

• The need to extend mobile device access to users viewing, presenting design models

• The need to improve time to market and be more cost efficient


HDX 3D Pro HDX 3D Pro is a set of graphics acceleration technologies designed to optimize the virtualization of rich graphics apps. HDX 3D Pro is a feature of XenDesktop Enterprise and Platinum editions that enables you to deliver workstations and applications that perform best with a graphics processing unit (GPU) for hardware acceleration, including 3D professional graphics applications based on OpenGL and DirectX.

With HDX 3D Pro, you can use XenDesktop to deliver complex interactive graphics over wide area network (WAN) connections with bandwidths as low as 1.5Mbps using various deep compression CPU and GPU techniques.

On local area network (LAN) connections, HDX 3D Pro enables you to replace complex and expensive workstations with much simpler user devices, moving the graphics processing into the data center for centralized management. You can use HDX 3D Pro to virtualize, for example, tools for computer-aided design, manufacturing, and engineering (CAD/CAM/CAE), geographical information system (GIS) software, and picture archiving and communication system (PACS) workstations for medical imaging.

Use HDX 3D Pro graphic acceleration technologies with:

• Computer-aided design, manufacturing, and engineering (CAD/CAM/CAE) applications • Geographical information system (GIS) software • Picture Archiving Communication System (PACS) workstations for medical imaging • Latest OpenGL, DirectX, CUDA and CL versions supported • Latest NVIDIA Grid cards

HDX 3D pro now has the following new capabilities built in:

• Self-tuning codec technology o Adaptive Display automatically detects transient and/or video images o Image quality dynamically adapts to network bandwidth o Fine Drawing codec eliminated; improved H.264 codec performs much better

• HDX 3D Pro now available for Windows Server RDS workloads o Adaptive H.264-based Deep Compression o GPU acceleration and sharing for OpenGL and DirectX (including WPF), plus experimental

support for CUDA and OpenCL o Faster frame rate at higher resolutions compared to XenApp 6.5 GPU Sharing

• Auto screen resolution detection o No longer necessary to disconnect /reconnect when changing resolution


http://www.nvidia.com/object/grid-boards.html

• 5 versions of Receiver now include decoding of Deep Compression o Windows, Linux, iOS, Mac, Android

• HDX Monitor now reports on HDX 3D Pro o Details on fps, codec, performance o Replaces previous HDX 3D Pro Health Check Tool

• Quad monitor support o Not a hard limit but we tested with up to 4 monitors with good performance

HDX 3D Pro provides 2 types of Deep Compression options – CPU based or GPU based.

CPU-based deep compression -> In June 2012, Citrix released the latest HDX 3D Pro VDA which includes advancements in CPU compression and is designed to offload compression processing from the GPU. This gives us the following an advantage that you can use a less expensive GPU card if you choose and the GPU processing can focus on graphics command delivery for better graphics performance. With the CPU deep compression codec, it is possible to achieve good performance with as little as 1.5 Mbps of bandwidth.

GPU-based deep compression -> GPU-based compression is advantageous on servers with limited CPU resources. To leverage our GPU-based deep compression codec, the host workstation in the data center must be equipped with NVIDIA graphics card with at least 96 CUDA cores (128 or more recommended).

Fine drawing codec -> HDX 3D Pro also includes a fine drawing codec for rendering fine detail graphics and images.

Lossless compression -> HDX 3D Pro supports lossless compression, which enables you to deliver pixel-perfect images for applications such as medical imaging.


VDI or RDS/XenApp

So, when do you choose which HDX 3D Pro technology? Good question and it all comes down to the user needs and if the application will work in a multi user environment RDS/XenApp. While in most cases, XenApp will do the trick, and is far more cost efficient, some applications will just not work in a XenApp multi user environment. The latter might need xxx CUDA cores, to render stuff, and then it will be the best bet to go with VDI. So, the question what should we choose, really comes down to 2 things:

1. Will the application work in a XenApp environment? – Many 3D applications has usb keys with licenses on them to get the app running, will this work? Does the application support the amount of users that you need pr XenApp host?

2. User needs – what is the user doing? Is he rendering stuff? On the other hand, are they just viewing 3d cad models? Find out the user pattern for the app in question!


NVIDIA GRID Technology

The Grid technology from NVIDIA is a result in several years of development between Citrix and NVIDIA. The NVIDIA GRID portfolio of technologies leverages the power of the GPU and the world's best graphics applications to deliver GPU-accelerated applications and games over the network to any user. NVIDIA GRID GPUs are based on the NVIDIA Kepler™ GPU architecture, delivering fast, reliable, energy-efficient performance.

This architecture's virtualization capabilities lets multiple users simultaneously share GPUs with ultra-fast streaming display capability that eliminates lag, making a remote data center feel like it's next door. NVIDIA GRID software is a complete stack of GPU virtualization, remoting and session-management libraries that allows multiple users to experience graphics-intensive desktops, applications and games using GPUs. This enables exceptional capture, efficient compression, fast streaming, and low-latency display of high-performance games and enterprise applications.

NVIDIA GRID™ vGPU™ brings the full benefit of NVIDIA hardware-accelerated graphics to virtualized solutions. This technology provides exceptional graphics performance for virtual desktops equivalent to local PCs when sharing a GPU among multiple users.

GRID vGPU is the industry's most advanced technology for sharing true GPU hardware acceleration between multiple virtual desktops—without compromising the graphics experience. Application features and compatibility are exactly the same as they would be at the desktop in the office.

With GRID vGPU technology, the graphics commands of each virtual machine are passed directly to the GPU, without translation by the hypervisor. This allows the GPU hardware to be time-sliced to deliver the ultimate in shared virtualized graphics performance.


VGPU PROFILES MEAN CUSTOMIZED, DEDICATED GRAPHICS MEMORY

Take advantage of vGPU Manager to assign just the right amount of memory to meet the specific needs of each user. Every virtual desktop has dedicated graphics memory, just as if they would at their desk, so they always have the resources they need to launch and use their applications.

vGPU Manager enables up to eight users to share each physical GPU, assigning the graphics resources of the available GPUs to virtual machines in a balanced approach. Each NVIDIA GRID K1 card has up to four GPUs, allowing 32 users to share a single card.


The GRID K100 and K200 GPU profiles are designed for the lighter graphics workloads associated with the applications that knowledge workers and power users use most of their time. These include Windows 8.1, Windows 7 with Aero enabled, viewing rich web content such as Adobe Flash or HTML 5, or simply getting the full interactive experience of Microsoft Office (PowerPoint, Excel, Word). To understand more about the graphics requirements of your applications, consult your application vendor. Each GPU within a system must be configured to provide a single vGPU profile, however separate GPU’s on the same GRID board can each be configured separately. For example, a single K2 board could be configured to serve eight K200 enabled VM’s on one GPU and two K260Q enabled VM’s on the other GPU. The key to efficient utilization of a system’s GRID resources requires understanding the correct end user workload to properly configure the installed GRID cards with the ideal vGPU profiles maximizing both end user productivity and vGPU user density.


How to Install NVIDIA GRID vGPU on XenServer

1. Make sure you have configured XenServer 6.2 SP1 and XenDesktop 7.1 or XenApp 7.5 Visit www.citrix.com/go/vgpu for more information.

2. Download the NVIDIA GRID vGPU Software by visiting www.nvidia.com/drivers and selecting: a. Product Type: GRID. b. Product Series: NVIDIA GRID vGPU. c. Product: GRID K1 or K2.

3. The GRID vGPU software package includes: a. Release Notes b. GRID vGPU User Guide c. GRID vGPU Manager d. Driver for GRID K1 or K2

4. Installing the NVIDIA Virtual GPU Manager for XenServer. The NVIDIA Virtual GPU Manager runs in XenServer's Control Domain (dom0). If it is provided as an RPM file, which must be copied to XenServer's dom0 and then installed. To do this:

5. Use the rpm command to install the package: [root@xenserver ~]# rpm -iv NVIDIA-vgx-xenserver -6.2-331.59.i386.rpm Preparing packages for installation… NVIDIA-vgx-xenserver-6.2-331.59.i386.rpm [root@xenserver1~]

6. Reboot the XenServer host: [root@xenserver1~]# shutdown -r now Broadcast message from root (pts/1) Wed Sept 25 13:05:31 2013): [root@xenserver1

7. After the XenServer host has rebooted, verify that the GRID package has installed and loaded Correctly by checking for the NVIDIA kernel driver in the list of kernel loaded modules: [root@xenserver1~]#lsmod |grep nvidia nvidia 9656305 256 i2c_core 20294 1 nvidia [root@xenserver ~]# Note: If at this stage, the NVIDIA module (nvidia) is not loaded correctly, refer to CTX139834 for troubleshooting.


http://www.citrix.com/go/vgpu

http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us&ptid=9&psid=96

8. Verify that the NVIDIA kernel driver can successfully communicate with the GRID physical GPUs in your host by running the nvidia-smi command, which produces a listing of the GPUs in your platform similar to:

9. When successful you should have something in the line of this under the GPU tab in XenCenter.


10. Now, you are ready to create a vGPU enabled Virtual Machine

11. Now, that you’ve created the new VM and have done the setup of your preferred OS, you need

to install the 32- or 64-bit NVIDIA Windows driver package in the VM and run setup.exe file that came with the package.

If the installer comes up with a message about that a NVIDIA card is not found then you need to troubleshoot the install process.

12. Now you need to install XenTools, choose it from the XenCenter and follow the onscreen instructions.


13. Also check the Delivery Controller and Policies – Check that the HDX 3D Pro stuff is set.


14. Install the VDA of choice. Please note that if you are installing a VDI, with windows 7 or Windows 8, you will have the option to choose HDX 3D Pro during install:

15. Done! Please note that the NVIDIA GRID™ vGPU™ is only supported on compatible versions of Citrix XenServer 6.2 and up. Consult Citrix for compatibility. Also, always check the hcl list for XenServer, to see if your HW or server is supported.

To revert the process, aka uninstall please follow these steps: root@xenserver10 ~]# lsmod | grep nvidia [root@xenserver10 ~]# rpm -qa | grep NVIDIA NVIDIA-vgx-312.38-xenserver-6-2 [root@xenserver10 ~]# rpm -ev NVIDIA-vgx-312.38-xenserver-6-2


HDX Plug-n-play

HDX Plug-n-Play enables simple connectivity for multi-monitor support, smart card support, special folder redirection, universal printing, file-type association, and USB support. It also includes local machine resources capabilities. These capabilities include:

Cl ient t ime z one support – Automatically adjusts the time zone based on the user’s location instead of the server’s location.

Dynamic d isplay rec onf ig urat ion – Ensures that the display automatically configures correctly, when users switch devices or plug in new monitors.

F i le type assoc iat ion and c ontent redi rec t ion – Configures whether a local or hosted application should be launched when a file is opened, and where data should be saved.

Mult i -moni tor support – Enables users to have their desktops and applications span across multiple monitors and screen layouts.

Panning and sc al ing – Enables users to zoom in and pan on a much larger desktop or application window while viewing from a smaller display area on their local device.

Smart Card support – Enables the use of a smart card to authenticate user into their desktop and applications

Spec ia l fo lder redi rec t ion – Enables special folders such as My Documents and Desktop to map to a user’s session automatically. The application can ask the operating system where an appropriate location for certain kind of files can be found, regardless of what version, language or operating system is being used.

T WAI N image sc anning devic e support – Redirects client-connected TWAIN imaging devices (like document scanners) from the client to the server, regardless of connection type. This allows users to control client-attached imaging devices from applications that run on the server; the redirection is transparent.

Univ ersal pr int dr iv er – Provides local printer access on a variety of platforms and accelerates print jobs while using less bandwidth and memory. Users can access advanced printer functions like stapling and trays.

USB support – Lets users connect USB devices and use them with their hosted virtual applications and desktops.


HDX Broadcast HDX Broadcast ensures reliable, high-performance connectivity over any network with ICA and RDP protocol support for access with any device.

HDX Mobile The Mobile SDK for Windows Apps provides a rich toolkit for enterprise Windows / .NET developers to mobilize existing line of business Windows applications or write new touch-friendly, mobilized applications that are hosted on Citrix XenApp or XenDesktop and delivered to any mobile device with Citrix Receiver. These mobilized Windows applications are able to leverage a wide variety of mobile device functionality including GPS, sensors, cameras, local controls, and device buttons in the same way that native applications running locally on the mobile device do.

The SDK has over 100 APIs and out-of-the-box support for a number of programming language bindings. These APIs allow developers to produce mobile-friendly user interfaces for new and existing enterprise applications that match the capabilities of smartphone and tablet devices.


HDX WAN Optimization HDX WAN Optimization with CloudBridge reduces bandwidth requirements to support satellite offices while optimizing the user experience.

Citrix CloudBridge provides a unified platform that accelerates applications across public and private networks, resulting in superior application performance and end user experience. CloudBridge offers a broad base of features including protocol acceleration, market-leading optimization for Citrix® XenDesktop, secure tunnels between enterprise locations and sophisticated quality of service (QoS). CloudBridge combines these features with extensive bandwidth and application usage reporting for application optimization giving IT fine-grained control over public and private network resources. With the option of an integrated Windows Server as well as 3rd party applications, CloudBridge also supports branch IT consolidation. Available as a virtual, physical or multi-tenant appliance, CloudBridge provides deployment options that help improve the user experience, reduce IT capital and operating costs by enabling on-demand network resource provisioning. With its QoS management capabilities, CloudBridge is not just a network-centric WAN optimization controller (WOC) infrastructure, but it also supports service management for users

Key Benefits

• Significantly improves Citrix XenDesktop and XenApp capacity and performance over the WAN • Accelerates enterprise applications and multimedia to branches, data centers and mobile users • Securely extends and accelerates the enterprise data center network (L2 or L3) connection to

public clouds • Simplifies IT with integrated Windows appliance options • Provides granular, application level performance reporting for detailed usage analysis • Scales up to 5,000 XenDesktop users in a single platform with the ability to “scale out” by load

sharing across multiple devices

Key Features

• HDX WAN Optimization • Storage Replication Acceleration • Application Acceleration • Integrated Windows Server • Video Caching • Integrated Cloud Connectivity • Quality of Service • Security and Data Protection • Flexible Centralized Management • Plug-and-Play for any Network


HDX SoC

HDX SoC, short for HDX System on a Chip. Is a technology that Citrix has developed for hardware vendors to embed in a chip. HDX SoC is an embedded technology for thin clients.

Citrix provides an SDK to System-on-Chip vendors that enables compute intensive HDX algorithms to execute outboard from the CPU, allowing inexpensive ARM processor based devices to deliver a high definition user experience. Device manufacturers using these SoCs have now brought to market a broad portfolio of low cost HDX Ready thin clients, zero clients and other products. Unlike competing solutions that burn the remoting protocol into silicon, which can result in a device becoming obsolete within months, the Citrix approach allows for ongoing innovation without hardware replacement. Click here for the latest information HDX SoC thin clients available from HP, Igel Technologies, Dell/Wyse, NComputing and others.


HDX MediaStream

A regular pain for any IT administrator is the use of Flash on webpages. Citrix developed a technology that redirects and offloads the flash media (audio and video). HDX MediaStream and Flash Redirection allows you to move the processing of most Adobe Flash content from Internet Explorer on the server to LAN- and WAN-connected users' Windows and Linux devices. This processing includes animations, videos, and applications. By moving the processing to the user device, Flash Redirection helps reduce server and network load, resulting in greater scalability while ensuring a high definition user experience.

HDX accelerates multimedia performance by sending compressed streams to endpoint devices and playing them locally; it works by running the Flash Player on the client, rather than the server. The browser (IE) instance that contains the Flash Player remains on the XenApp server. The interface between IE and the Flash Player is the ActiveX interface. Finally, The HDX service on the server, "Citrix HDX MediaStream for Flash", runs under the Local Service account, and has the most limited privileges’ needed by the service to perform these functions.

HDX MediaStream for Flash can only function if the HDX MediaStream for Flash Virtual Channel is present on both the server and client.

HDX MediaStream for Flash is enabled by default when the Server side service component is installed and running. It is not required to have the Client or Server side HDX GPO template enabled or configured for HDX to work. The GPO template allows an administrator to control per user availability of the HDX features. Various settings can be set in both the client and server GPO, to assist an administrator in managing and configuring their HDX environment.


Client Side Content Fetching By default when redirecting the execution of Flash content to the client, the Flash content is fetch from the client directly to the web server. This includes swf files as well as images, movies and any other type of resource that the Flash application requests. There is still communication between the end point and the virtual desktop via the ICA connection but this is mostly control information. The bulk of the content is transferred between the website and the end point. This is ideal if you want to optimize server usage. You can be playing a 1080p HD movie and the server will hardly be doing anything. HDX MediaStream for Flash allows you to move the fetching and processing of Adobe Flash Player content to user devices rather than using network server resources. This scenario results in a high-definition experience when using Windows Internet Explorer to access Flash content, including animations, videos, and applications. By moving the processing to the user device, HDX MediaStream for Flash reduces server and network load, resulting in greater scalability.

HDX MediaStream for Flash is a powerful feature. However, HDX MediaStream is not compatible with all network environments. Please also note that you should turn on the Flash Intelligent fallback, to avoid backwards compability issues with older Flash versions on XenApp and Virtual Machines running a Desktop OS.


Server side content fetching

This feature is also, what I call, Plan B. Why? Because if the client device is not capable of “offloading” the flash content to the device the user is connecting from then Server side content fetching kicks inn. In the server side content fetching, the client does not reach out to the web server. HDX MediaStream for Flash provides the ability to fetch and render Flash content on the endpoint, thereby reducing server load, and optimizing the end-user experience. There are some cases when the default client-side content fetching is not desirable, or functional. For example, the Flash Player using a network address that is internal to an organization might reference the content (for example: http://mywebsitethatwantstoshowflash/video.swf).

Such an URL can only be resolved on the server, and server-side content fetching must be used. Perhaps the most common use case requiring HDX MediaStream for Flash server-side content fetching is an organization that restricts the network connectivity of their ICA client devices so that they can communicate only with their XenApp or XenDesktop servers. Such an organization would configure HDX MediaStream for Flash to use server-side content fetching for all Web sites.

Server-side content fetching is the exception and can be configured on a per-URL basis using a server-side configuration setting. In addition, you must enable server-side content fetching on the client. The virtual desktop acts as a proxy and sends all resources via the ICA connection:

This model while it takes more resources on the virtual desktop, it enables end point with no access to the internet. Client side content fetching is enabled by default and you do not need to do anything if this is the model you want to work with.


In versions of XenApp 6.5 and back confirm that SSCF is being used, you must first ensure that the content is being rendered by verifying that PseudoContainer.exe is running on the client. If the client is rendering the content, verify that the client is not fetching the content directly by watching the HTTP traffic (using Fiddler or similar trace tool).

If SSCF is working, there should not be any direct HTTP traffic from the client, only from the server or Virtual Desktop Agent.

If you observe traffic from the client to the content, and PseudoContainer.exe is running, check your server-side content fetching list syntax, and test with a single * entry to enable SSCF for all content.

If PseudoContainer.exe is not running on the client, use the HDX Experience Monitor for XenApp to confirm that HDX Flash prerequisites have been met.

In XenDesktop 7.x and XenApp 7.5 and beyond the process is called Citrix HDX Engine.


Windows Media client-side content fetching

Windows Media client-side content fetching enables a client device to stream multimedia files directly from the source provider on the Internet or Intranet, rather than through the host server. Benefits include:

• Improved network utilization and server scalability. The host does not perform any processing on the media; media files are streamed directly to the client for processing.

• The client device requires only the ability to play a file from a URL; it does not need an advanced multimedia framework such as Microsoft DirectShow or Media Foundation.

• Multicasting is allowed on networks that support it, enabling a single Windows Media source transmission to serve multiple users.

Windows Media client-side fetching requires the following:

• The application uses Microsoft DirectShow or Media Foundation framework in a manner that Windows Media client-side content fetching can intercept.

• The client device has access to the source provider on the Internet or Intranet.

• Any prior attempt to play the requested URL in the current session using Windows Media client-side content fetching did not fail. (Failed URLs are added to a blacklist for the duration of the session; the list resets when the user logs out.)

• The media content uses one of the following URL protocols:

o HyperText Transfer Protocol – http://, https://

o Microsoft Media Server – mms://, mmsu://, mmst://

o Real Time Streaming Protocol – rtsp://, rtspu://, rtspt://

Due to operating system restrictions, Microsoft Media Server and Real Time Streaming Protocol are not supported for iOS clients.

Two Policy settings control this feature: Windows Media Client-Side Content Fetching and Windows Media Redirection. By default, both are set to Allowed. If Windows Media client-side content fetching fails, content is fetched by the host and redirected to the client using Windows Media redirection; if Windows Media redirection fails, content is rendered on the host. Windows Media client-side content fetching provides the best user experience in most cases. If you find it necessary to turn off this feature, add the Windows Media Client-Side Content Fetching setting to a policy and set its value to Prohibited. If you turn off Windows Media redirection, Windows Media client-side content fetching is also turned off.


Real-time Windows Media multimedia transcoding

Real-time multimedia transcoding enables audio and video media streaming to mobile devices, and enhances the user experience by improving how Windows Media content is delivered over a WAN:

• Transcoding converts the media content into a format that can be rendered locally on the client hardware, eliminating the need to fall back to server-side rendering.

• If configured, offloading the transcoding to the GPU improves server scalability.

• Policies help administrators predict and manage multimedia content network consumption, maintaining multimedia Quality of Service (QoS).

• Transcoding can compress media data to reduce file size, or convert the data to a format supported on the target device. For example, transcoding enables video formats that are not compatible with iOS, such as .wmv, to be converted and played on iOS clients.

• Transrating lowers the bitrate of the media to match the available bandwidth to the client device, providing smooth playback with synchronized audio and video – even for users playing HD videos on WANs or low bandwidth Wi-Fi connections. Examples include decreasing the media’s resolution or frame rate to achieve a lower bit rate.

Three policy settings control the real-time multimedia transcoding feature:

• Windows Media redirection

• Optimization for Windows Media multimedia redirection Over WAN

• Use GPU for optimizing Windows Media multimedia redirection Over WAN

By default, Windows Media Redirection and Optimization for Windows Media multimedia redirection Over WAN are Allowed so real-time multimedia transcoding automatically deploys as needed. GPU transcoding is prohibited by default; to configure GPU transcoding, add the Use GPU for optimizing Windows Media multimedia redirection Over WAN setting to a policy and set its value to Allowed. To configure GPU transcoding, Optimization for Windows Media multimedia redirection Over WAN and Windows Media Redirection must also be in the policy and set to Allowed; if either of these policy settings is Prohibited, GPU transcoding is also.

Transcoding occurs on the Virtual Delivery Agent (VDA). To improve server scalability, if the VDA has a supported Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) for hardware acceleration and the Use GPU for optimizing Windows Media multimedia redirection Over WAN is Allowed, transcoding is done in the GPU; otherwise, transcoding falls back to the CPU. The media stream is then translated to achieve the target transmission bitrate and redirected to the client device, where it is recompressed and rendered. In most cases, real-time multimedia transcoding provides the best user experience. If you find it necessary to turn off real-time multimedia transcoding, add the Optimization for Windows Media multimedia redirection Over WAN setting to a policy and set its value to Prohibited. If you prohibit


Windows Media redirection, real-time multimedia transcoding (including GPU transcoding) is also prohibited.

Configuring Windows Media Related Policies

In previous versions of XenDesktop and XenApp, there was a load of tuning guides and other tuning policies out there. I made one as well, that to date is in use, check out the www.ervik.as download section to grab it. Starting from XenDesktop 5.x/XenApp 6.5 and up Citrix made it easier for the admin’s out there. Most of the policies that make up the user experience is by Default: Allowed in the policies.

Now, tuning your environment might be crucial for the user experience that your users get. These setting depends on many factors, like WAN, Latency, what kind of link the users have etc. etc…



Manage network consumption by multimedia content Use the policy setting Limit Video Quality to maintain multimedia QoS by limiting the maximum video quality for an HDX connection to the specified value. The default value of this policy setting is Not Configured. Streaming multiple videos simultaneously on the same server consumes large amounts of resources and may affect server scalability.


HDX IntelliCache IntelliCache refers to Citrix current and future capabilities to locally cache bandwidth intensive data and graphics and locally stage streamed applications. Here Citrix CloudBridge is used to illustrate IntelliCache as it caches common application display data for multiple users locally to the branch office, eliminating redundant transfer of commonly used application objects. Using IntelliCache, hosted VDI deployments are more cost-effective because IntelliCache enables you to use a combination of shared storage and local storage. Performance is enhanced and network traffic is reduced. The local storage caches the master image from the shared storage, which reduces the amount of reads on the shared storage. For shared desktops, writes to the differencing disks are written to local storage on the host and not to shared storage.

Your shared storage must be NFS when using IntelliCache.

Citrix recommends that you use a high performance local storage device to ensure the fastest possible data transfer.

To enable IntelliCache in XenServer

When installing XenServer, select Enable thin provisioning (Optimized storage for XenDesktop). Citrix does not support mixed pools of servers that have IntelliCache enabled and servers that do not.

For more information on using IntelliCache, see the XenServer and IntelliCache chapter in the XenServer Installation Guide available from the XenServer node.

To enable IntelliCache in this product

IntelliCache is disabled by default. You can update the setting only when you create a connection; you cannot disable IntelliCache later. When you add a XenServer connection from Studio:

1. Select Shared as the storage type. 2. Select Use IntelliCache to reduce load on the shared storage.


HDX Adaptive Orchestration HDX Adaptive Orchestration refers to current and future capabilities that enable seamless interaction between the HDX Technology categories. A central concept is that all these components work adaptively to tune the unified HDX offering for the best possible user experience.

HDX Adaptive Orchestration queries the graphics capabilities of the endpoint device and intelligently determines how to combine client-side and server-side rendering. Furthermore, rendering decisions can be made based on available network bandwidth or application characteristics. The result is a high definition user experience, increased server scalability and optimal use of network bandwidth.

HDX RealTime Optimization Pack for Microsoft Lync Citrix developed this technology some years back, to combat the issues with running Ms Lync on XenApp servers. The idea behind this nifty piece of technology is to offload audio/video to combat WAN and latency issues, as well as lower the cpu requirements pr user on a XenApp server.


Multi-Stream and Multi-Port ICA Multi-Stream and Multi-Port ICA allow assigning a separate TCP Port for each of the four groups of ICA Channels. These TCP ports can then be assigned unique priorities on Network Devices. It is a mechanism to prioritize network traffic to help ensure that the most important data gets through the network as quickly as possible.

With the release of XenApp 6.5 and XenDesktop 5.5, with Receiver 3.0 (including Online Plugin 13.0), Citrix introduced support for true network based Quality of Service (QoS) to the ICA or HDX protocol.

This QoS is a mechanism to prioritize network traffic to help ensure that the most important data gets through the network as quickly as possible

To decide if it is required and to decide how to implement Multi-Stream and Multi-Port ICA in an environment, it is necessary to understand what the ICA Channels are, and how they are divided into the four priority groups.

Starting with XenDesktop 5.5 & XenApp 6.5 is to use multiple TCP connections (aka Multi-Stream ICA) to carry the ICA traffic between the client and the server. In addition, in XenDesktop, there is an optional UDP connection along with multiple TCP connections. Each of these connections will be associated with


a different class of service. Each ICA virtual channel will be associated with a specific class of service and be transported in the corresponding TCP connection. The network administrator will be able to prioritize each of these classes of service, independently from each other, based on the TCP port number used for the connection. These are the four classes of services that we can configure:

• Very High Priority (for real-time channels like audio) • High Priority (for interactive channels like graphics, keyboard, and mouse) • Medium Priority (for bulk virtual channels like drive mapping, scanners (TWAIN), etc.) • Low Priority (for background virtual channels like Printing)


Summary I hope you have enjoyed this eBook, Citrix HDX technologies for Dummies. My goal was to clarify the different HDX technologies that Citrix delivers. As things evolve in this industry, watch out for an updated version during Autumn/Winter 2014. Citrix bought FrameHawk in January 2014, and has announced that they will implement this technology in the future. The FrameHawk technology will have an impact on the HDX stack, as it is designed for networks with limited bandwidth, like GPRS and Satellite connections. I will update this eBook when this technology is implemented.


Citrix HDX for Dummies 1.0

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