Introduction to the XenApp^® 7.5 platform

Before we delve too deep into desktop virtualization solutions, you need to first understand more about Citrix XenApp. Citrix XenApp was previously known as Citrix Presentation Server. Prior to that, it was also known as Citrix MetaFrame Server and Citrix WinFrame Server. You may hear some of these other terms or see them mentioned in other articles or legacy documentation. With the introduction of Citrix XenDesktop 7, XenApp and XenDesktop were merged into a common code base. The material presented in this book for XenApp 7.5 applies to XenDesktop 7.5 environments as well.

Citrix XenApp operates on top of Microsoft Remote Desktop Services, also known as Terminal Services or Remote Desktop Session Host. XenApp contains its own management suite (called Studio) as well as its own transportation protocol (ICA, short for Independent Computing Architecture). The combination of management and streamlined protocol has allowed Citrix to maintain status as the industry leader in application and desktop virtualization. Combining this with other products of Citrix allows enterprises to create secure and scalable virtualization solutions.

In its most simplistic form, Citrix virtualization is about enabling users to use their applications from any device anywhere. If a user is not able to use his/her applications effectively, then there is little point to virtualization. Even in a traditional desktop environment, Citrix can be leveraged to deliver applications to users in a secure and scalable fashion.

In most environments, XenApp can deliver the entire desktop and application set. In other environments, you may see a mix of XenApp and XenDesktop, as shown in the following figure:

The distribution of XenApp and XenDesktop in VDI consulting engagements

Benefits of using Citrix XenApp^®

The key objective in all of this is to allow users to remotely interact with applications. If a user is not able to use their application effectively, then there is no reason for businesses to invest in virtualization. Using remote applications with Citrix XenApp offers numerous benefits; they are outlined in the following table.

The following benefits illustrate why organizations, large and small, see the value of using Citrix XenApp for their virtualization solution. There may be additional benefits for your organization as well, such as:

Benefit	Description
Accessibility	Using the latest Citrix Receiver allows users to access their Citrix XenApp applications and desktops from virtually any device and any location in the world.
Compliance	Many industries, including health care and finance, have strict regulations governing computer systems. These regulations could include software applications, versioning control, and data security. By using XenApp, you centrally control the applications and the data.
Consistency	Since the applications and data are managed within the data center, users have a common and consistent experience regardless of their client device. A user who is accessing applications from home has the same experience as those accessing their applications from their office PC.
Convenience	Administrators can manage applications from a single console. Users can access all applications from a single portal. This provides convenience and ease of use for everyone.
Management	The central management of applications and desktops and their maintenance allows ease of administration.
Monitoring	By keeping all operations in the data center, you can effectively monitor the XenApp environment to ensure optimal performance. This also allows the effective auditing of users and application access, where required.
Portability	Citrix XenApp enables a flexible workforce, including BYOD users, work-at-home users, office employees, and road warriors.
Reliability	The ICA protocol, used by Citrix XenApp, is built to create a reliable and stable remote connection.
Scalability	Citrix XenApp can rapidly scale both up and out to support a growing number of applications or users, or both.
Security	Keeping all data and data operations within the data center ensures that there is no sensitive information leaving the secure zone. Since none of the data resides on the client device, there is limited risk of data loss.
Stability	Citrix XenApp can be built on robust hardware configured for fault tolerance and High Availability. This ensures a level of stability and minimal downtime, thus ensuring a production environment.

Citrix XenApp^® 7.5 feature comparison

This book is written about XenApp 7.5 Platinum Edition. This feature set was chosen because it is the most current XenApp release at the time of writing, as well as the most feature rich one. The following table shows the feature comparison between the different XenApp licensing levels. Note that while Platinum Edition is the most expensive, it is also the most common in enterprise environments. Also, since XenApp 7.5 and XenDesktop 7.5 use the same code base, many of the features overlap.

	Advanced	Enterprise	Platinum
Application access
Enterprise App Store	X	X	X
Microsoft App-V Integration	X	X	X
Offline applications		X	X
Server-hosted applications	X	X	X
Session virtualization	X	X	X
VM-hosted applications		X	X
Supported devices
Browser-based access	X	X	X
Linux	X	X	X
Mac	X	X	X
Smartphone	X	X	X
Tablet	X	X	X
Thin client	X	X	X
Windows	X	X	X
User experience
HDX 3D Pro		X	X
HDX mobile	X	X	X
HDX seamless local applications			X
HDX user experience optimization	X	X	X
HDX vGPU sharing		X	X
Unified communications optimization		X	X
WAN optimization	X	X	X
Image management
Amazon AWS integration		X	X
Delivery Group assignment	X	X	X
Hybrid cloud provisioning		X	X
Machine Creation Services	X	X	X
Profile Management	X	X	X
Provisioning Services		Limited	X
Scalability
Centralized management	X	X	X
Enterprise scalability	X	X	X
High Availability and failover	X	X	X
Hypervisor agnostic	X	X	X
SCCM integration		X	X
Security
Two-factor authentication support	X	X	X
Centrally secured applications	X	X	X
Centrally secured desktops	X	X	X
Encrypted application access	X	X	X
File and data containment	X	X	X
NetScaler Gateway universal license			X
SmartAccess			X
SSL VPN			X
Manageability
AppDNA			X
Configuration logging		X	X
Delegated administration		X	X
Enhanced monitoring		X	X
Historical performance trending			X
Simple to deploy	X	X	X
User experience network analysis			X

For a comparison of XenApp features across different product versions as well as licensing levels, visit http://www.citrix.com/go/products/xendesktop/feature-matrix.html.

Comparing Citrix XenApp^® 7.5 with previous versions

The following table compares terms and concepts previously used in earlier versions of XenApp with the equivalent or replacement terms and concepts in XenApp 7.5:

Previous XenApp versions	New XenApp 7.5 nomenclature
Independent Management Architecture (IMA)	FlexCast Management Architecture (FMA)
Farm	Delivery Site
Worker Group	Session Machine Catalog
	Delivery Group
Worker	Virtual Delivery Agent (VDA)
	Server OS machine
	Desktop OS machine
Zone and data collector	Delivery Controller
Delivery Services Console	Citrix Studio and Citrix Director
Publishing applications	Delivering applications
Data store	Database
Load evaluator	Load management policy
Administrator	Delegated Administrator
	Role
	Scope

What's new in Citrix XenApp^® 7.5

The following features are new in XenApp 7.5 / XenDesktop 7.5:

• XenApp built on FlexCast management
• A single management console (Citrix Studio)
• A monitoring and troubleshooting console (Citrix Director) with integrated EdgeSight features
• Cloud deployments
• Full AppDNA support
• StoreFront 2.5
• Extended support for Web Interface 5.4
• Remote power control for physical PCs

The following features are added as part of XenDesktop 7.1:

• GPU integration
• vGPU sharing
• Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows 8.1 support

The following features are added as part of XenDesktop 7:

• A machine catalog for server OS and desktop OS machines
• A machine catalog for applications
• Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8 support
• Desktop composition redirection
• Windows Media client-side content fetching
• Multicast support
• Real-time multimedia transcoding
• User Datagram Protocol (UDP) audio for server OS machines
• Webcam video compression
• HDX 3D Pro
• Server-rendered rich graphics and video
• Improved Flash Redirection
• Streamlined installer
• Profile management
• Configuration logging
• Desktop Director with EdgeSight features
• Delegated administration
• Personal vDisk
• Machine Creation Services (MCS) support for Microsoft Key Management System (KMS) activation
• Multitouch support
• Remote PC access
• Universal Print Server