SYN608: Build and Deliver Citrix Cloud XenApp

and XenDesktop Service

Citrix Synergy 2016

May 2016
Table of Contents
Table of Contents ......................................................................................................... 2

Training Overview ........................................................................................ 3

Training Overview ........................................................................................................ 4

Lab Environment Details .............................................................................................. 4

Lab Scenario ................................................................................................................ 6

Module 1: Citrix Cloud .................................................................................. 9

Exercise 1: Installing Citrix Cloud Connectors ............................................................ 11

Exercise 2: Configuring for Machine Creation Services ............................................. 24

Exercise 3: Install the local Virtual Desktop Agents ................................................... 30

Exercise 4: Create a Machine Catalog ....................................................................... 39

Exercise 5: Create a Delivery Group .......................................................................... 46

Exercise 6: Create a Workspace ................................................................................ 52

Exercise 7: Subscribe and Publish the Workspace .................................................... 55

Exercise 8: Cloud-Hosted StoreFront ......................................................................... 57

Exercise 9: On-Premises StoreFront .......................................................................... 61

Exercise 10: Remote Access with NetScaler Gateway .............................................. 75

Exercise 11: Adding a Desktop Service to a Workspace............................................ 89

Exercise 12: Monitoring your Site ............................................................................. 105

Exercise 13: Using the Remote PowerShell SDK .................................................... 107

Training Overview

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Training Overview
Objective
 This training will provide hands-on experience with the installation, configuration and
operation of the Citrix Cloud XenApp and XenDesktop service.

Required Prerequisites
 You must have a Citrix Cloud XenApp and XenDesktop service entitled account to run
this lab.

Audience
Target
Citrix Internal Sales Engineers
Citrix Internal Consultants
Citrix Internal Technical Support
Partners
Customers

Lab Guide Conventions

Indicator Purpose
This symbol indicates particular attention must be paid to this step

Special note to offer advice or background information

reboot Text the student enters or an item they select is printed like this

Start Bold text indicates reference to a button or object

Focuses attention on a particular part of the screen (R:255 G:20 B:147)

Shows where to click or select an item on a screenshot (R:255 G:102 B:0)

Lab Environment Details

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The Student Desktop is accessed remotely using Citrix Receiver running on your laptop. All
Windows applications such as the XenCenter (the XenServer GUI management tool), are
accessed from the Student Desktop.

Virtual Machines
VM Name IP Address Description
AD.training.lab 192.168.10.10 Active Directory Server / Win 2008 R2
CWC-Con1 DHCP Workspace Cloud Connector 1 / Win 2008 R2
CWC-Con2 DHCP Workspace Cloud Connector 2 / Win 2008 R2
CWC-NS1 192.168.10.15 (NSIP) NetScaler VPX
CWC-SF1 192.168.10.21 Citrix StoreFront 1 / Win 2008 R2
CWC-XA1 DHCP XenDesktop Application Server / Win 2008 R2
CWC-XA2 DHCP XenDesktop Application Server / Win 2008 R2
Win7-VDI DHCP Windows 7 Desktop VDI
Win81-VDI DHCP Windows 8.1 Desktop VDI

Credentials
The credentials required to connect to the environment and complete the lab exercises are
shown within the step by step instructions.
As Citrix Cloud is a SaaS offering, product updates are continually rolled out. As a result, you
may notice procedures are different from those described in the step by step instructions, and
screen shots differ from what you see on your screen.

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Lab Scenario
You are creating a new XenApp / XenDesktop site and wish to use Citrix Cloud’s XenApp and
XenDesktop service to manage it.
You have a XenServer that will be used to host the various “local” infrastructure components
including Active Directory, DNS / DHCP, Citrix Virtual Delivery Agents (VDAs), Citrix StoreFront
and Citrix NetScaler Gateway.
You will fully configure the site to allow applications and desktops to be accessed from the local
network, and, using the NetScaler Gateway, from anywhere.
While this lab uses a SoftLayer XenServer to host the customer infrastructure, all the
infrastructure VMs could be hosted on a web service such as Azure or AWS.

Overview
XenCenter is a graphical user interface application used for managing one or more XenServers.
You will be using XenCenter to manage the XenServer needed for the lab.

Step by Step Guidance

Step Action
1. Citrix XenCenter should launch automatically on the Student Desktop. If not, launch
using the shortcut.

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 2.

Click Add Server to add your XenServer to XenCenter.

3. Enter the parameters shown below:

IP Address xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
Username [username]
Password [password]

Use the credentials presented in

the Student Portal when you
launched the lab.

Click Add.

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 4.

Your XenServer name

will be different.

XenCenter will attach to your XenServer.

5. Once connected to XenCenter if your VMs are not started be sure to start each one
prior to the next Module.

Click the VM and then Click Start. Repeat until all Server OS VMs are running.

Summary
You have attached XenCenter to your XenServer.

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 Module 1: Citrix Cloud

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Module Overview
Citrix Cloud provides cloud based management, integration and deployment of Citrix solutions
An IT admin can launch a web-based management console and provision a workspace that
encompasses windows apps, mobile apps, windows desktops, data and management of mobile
devices, all from a single pane of glass.
The customer still maintains the supporting infrastructure (Active Directory, DNS, VDAs etc.) in
what Citrix Cloud we refer to as Resource Locations. Your resource location is your XenServer.
It already has an Active Directory server (AD.training.lab) configured for the training.lab domain
along with DHCP and DNS. It also has the various VMs (virtual machines) that are needed for
the lab.

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Exercise 1: Installing Citrix Cloud Connectors
Overview

The Citrix Cloud Connector is a Citrix component that is installed to facilitate the administration
and control of resources from Citrix Cloud. The Cloud Connector serves as a channel for
communication between Citrix Cloud and your resources, enabling cloud management without
requiring any complex networking or infrastructure configuration such as VPNs. The Cloud
Connector authenticates and encrypts all communication between Citrix Cloud and your
resources. The connections all use the standard HTTPS (port 443) and are established from
the Cloud Connector to the cloud; there are no incoming connections.
After you have installed the Cloud Connector, there is no need for any further configuration of
the Cloud Connector server.
To maintain high availability, at least two Citrix Cloud Connectors should be deployed per
Resource Location. This not only offers high availability should one connector fail, it also
maintains connectivity while the other connector is automatically upgraded from time to time by
Citrix Cloud. Each connector should be deployed on a different VM (virtual machine) within the
Resource Location.
In this exercise you will:

 Log on to Citrix Cloud and install the Cloud Connector onto the two Connector servers
o CWC-Con1
o CWC-Con2

 This will also connect Citrix Cloud to the on premise Microsoft Active Directory service

Estimated time to complete this exercise: 15 Minutes

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Step by Step Guidance
Step Action
1.

Double-click the CWC-Con1 RDP shortcut on the Student Desktop to access the CWC-
Con1 desktop.
2.
Log on to the training domain’s Administrator account using the password:

Password Citrix123

Click OK.
3.

Double-click the Google Chrome shortcut on the CWC-Con1 Desktop.

4.
Citrix Cloud is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) product and is accessed via a web
browser.
On the CWC-Con1 VM web browser, enter the following URL:

URL https://workspace.cloud.com

Make sure you use https

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Step Action
5.
Enter your Citrix Workspace Cloud credentials:

Username

User credentials will be

provided by instructors at
the beginning of the lab

Click Sign In.

6.

As a new Citrix Cloud user, you will see you have one Resource Location.
Click on the Resource Location and then View Detail.

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Step Action
7.

As a new user you will not see any Resource Locations listed, despite the start screen
showing “1” Resource Location. This is a “virtual” Resource Location as a result of all
users being enrolled in the Citrix Cloud test drive. You cannot use this virtual Resource
Location for this lab; you will add your lab XenServer as a Resource Location.
The CWC-Con1 VM will become the first Cloud Connector for your XenServer Resource
Location. The first step is to download the installation file.
Click Download.
8.

You will see the CWCConnector.exe install file downloading at the bottom left of the
browser screen.
When the download completes, Click the file.
9.

Confirm you wish to run this this file by clicking Run.

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Step Action
10.
Should you receive the following prompt during installation:

Click OK and restart the VM

11.
Enter your Citrix Cloud credentials:

Click Sign In.

12.

After installation is complete click Close.

13.

Click Refresh.

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Step Action
14.

You should see the first connector, on VM CWC-Con1, has been installed. Should you
see a warning triangle under the connector name this signifies it is not yet connected to
the cloud.
It will display as dc1.training.lab the virtual machine’s DNS name
Click Refresh until the checkmark appears showing a connection has been made.
15.

At the top left of the page, click the menu and select Identity and Access
Management.

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Step Action
16.

Click the expand icon on the right

You will see that the Cloud Connector has coupled the training.lab Active Directory to
this Resource Location and will be used for subscribing users from the domain to the
workspaces you will create later.
You have finished setting up the first connector, so you can close the CWC-Con1 RDP
connection window by clicking the X at the top right and confirming the disconnection by
clicking OK.

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Step Action
17.
To maintain high availability, at least two Citrix Cloud Connectors are required per
Resource Location. This not only offers high availability should one connector fail, it
also maintains connectivity while the other connector is automatically upgraded from
time to time by Citrix Cloud.
You will now install a second connector on the CWC-Con2 VM.

Double-click the CWC-Con2 RDP shortcut on the Student Desktop and log on to the
training domain’s Administrator account using the password:

Password Citrix123

Click OK.
18.

Double-click the Google Chrome shortcut on the CWC-Con2 Desktop.

On the CWC-Con2 VM web browser, enter the following URL:

URL https://workspace.cloud.com

Make sure you use https

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Step Action
19.
Enter your Citrix Workspace Cloud credentials:

Username

User credentials will be

provided by instructors at
the beginning of the lab

Click Sign In.

20.

As a new Citrix Cloud user, you will see you have one Resource Location.
Click on the Resource Location and then View Detail.
21.

Click Citrix Cloud Connector.

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Step Action
22.

Click Download.
23.

Once the download is complete, click the downloaded CWCConnector.exe install file at
the bottom left of the browser screen.
24.

Confirm you wish to run this this file by clicking Run.

25.
Enter your Citrix Cloud credentials:

Click Sign In.

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Step Action
26.

After installation is complete click Close.

27.

Click Refresh.
28.

You now have two Connectors, CWC-Con1 and CWC-Con2.

It will display as dc1.training.lab and dc2.training.lab the virtual machine’s DNS name
If CWC-Con2 has not finished connecting to the cloud; click Refresh until the
connenction is made.

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Step Action
29.

Once the CWC-Con2 connection has been made notice the warning notification stating
the requirement of a minimum of two connectors is no longer present.
You now have the Citrix Cloud Connectors in place to allow communication between
your Resource Location and the Citrix Cloud control plane.
Close the CWC-Con2 RDP window.
30.
You will now work with Citrix Cloud from the Student Desktop browser from now on.

Double-click the Google Chrome shortcut on the Student Desktop and enter the
following URL:

URL https://workspace.cloud.com

Make sure you use https

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Step Action
31.
Enter your Citrix Workspace Cloud credentials:

Username

User credentials will be

provided by instructors at
the beginning of the lab

Click Sign In.

32.

Notice that even though you have two connectors configured, you still only have one
Resource Location accessible through the connectors.

Exercise Summary
You have logged-in to Citrix Cloud and setup two Cloud Connectors linking your Resource Location with
the Citrix Cloud control plane. In addition, Citrix Cloud is connected to the training.lab domain Active
Directory.

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Exercise 2: Configuring for Machine Creation Services
Overview
Citrix Machine Creation Services (MCS) is one option for desktop image delivery. It uses the
hypervisor APIs (XenServer, Hyper-V, and vSphere) to create, start, stop, and delete virtual
machines.
To allow the Citrix Cloud control plane to work with MCS, the hosting connection to the
XenServer must be configured. (This link is not required for manually created VDAs.)
In this exercise you will:

 Setup the connection to your lab XenServer.

Estimated time to complete this exercise: 10 Minutes

Step by Step Guidance

Step Action
1.

Back on the Student Desktop Chrome browser (https://workspace.cloud.com/), at the top

left of the Workspace Cloud page, click the menu and select Apps and Desktops.
2.

If prompted, Click Set Up Service.

3.

Click Manage.
NOTE: If Getting Started screen appears select X to close dialogue box

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Step Action
4.
The XenApp and XenDesktop service is managed by web version of Citrix Studio.

On the left, click the Hosting node

5.

On the right, click Add Connection and Resources

6.
In the lab you need to determine the 10. Network IP address of the XenServer
management interface. You can do this using XenCenter as shown below.

Click your XenServer node and select the Networking tab. You will find the address of
the XenServer Management Interface as highlighted above.
Use your displayed IP address, which will be different from that shown above.
You will need this XenServer Management Interface IP address in the next step.

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Step Action
7.
This screen sets up the connection with the XenServer or XenServer pool that will be
used to run the Servers and Desktops (VDAs) providing applications and desktops to the
users. This allows VDAs to be created automatically as required.
Enter / select the following:

Connection type Citrix XenServer

Connection Address http://<IP address of XenServer Management Interface>

User Name username

Password password
Connection name XenServer
Create VMs using

Click Next.

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Step Action
8.
This screen specifies the Storage Resources to be used for the virtual machines.
Enter / select the following:

Select Use storage local to the hypervisor

Leave Manage personal data centrally on shared storage unchecked.

Click Next.
9.
This screen allows you to select the data storage location for the virtual machine’s OS
and Personal vDisk.

Leave the default settings and Click Next.

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Step Action
10.
This screen specifies the network used to communicate with the XenServer.
Enter / select the following:

Name for these resources Internal

Select one or more networks

The VDAs will connect to the XenServer Internal network (192.168.10.xxx).

Click Next.
11.

Review the summary and click Finish.

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Step Action
12.

The hosting link setup is complete.

Exercise Summary
You have setup the XenDesktop link to your XenServer to allow the creation, starting, stopping, and
deleting Virtual Machines as needed.

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Exercise 3: Install the local Virtual Desktop Agents
Overview

The Virtual Desktop Agent (VDA) has to be present on the virtual machines (VMs) and physical
machines to which your users will be connecting. It enables the machines to register with
controllers and manages the HDX connection between the machines and the user devices.
If you are using XenDesktop or Provisioning Services to provision VMs, you need to install and
configure the VDA only once, but if you are using separate stand-alone virtual or physical
machines you must install it on each of the machines so they can register with the controller to
allow user connections.
Two types of VDA are available:

 Virtual Delivery Agent for Windows Server OS - This agent is installed on a Server
OS to deliver applications and desktops from server OS based VMs or physical
machines.

 Virtual Delivery Agent for Windows Desktop OS - This agent is installed on a

Windows Desktop OS to deliver applications and desktops from Windows desktop OS
based VMs or physical machines.
The installation wizard checks the OS and only shows only the available VDA install option.
In this document, server OS and desktop VMs with the VDA installed are collectively referred to
VDAs.
The VDAs can be local in your datacenter or hosted in the cloud (separate to Citrix Cloud); the
customer is solely responsible for managing the VDAs.
During VDA installation, the XenDesktop configuration needs the Delivery Controller address to
use for the VDA. The Citrix Cloud Connector acts as a proxy for the Delivery Controller which is
running in the Citrix Cloud. So when using Citrix Cloud, you will specify the addresses of Cloud
Connectors in place of Delivery Controllers.

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In this exercise you will:

 Install the Citrix VDA onto a freshly installed (domain joined) Server OS VM (CWC-XA1).
This will be used to serve applications.

 To save you time CWC-XA2 already has the VDA installed, as does the Win7-VDI
desktop OS image that are used in a later exercise with Citrix Machine Creation
Services (MCS).

Estimated time to complete this exercise: 15 minutes.

Step by Step Guidance

Step Action
1.

Using XenCenter on the Student Desktop, select CWC-XA1 and then Console Tab.
2.

Click the Switch to Remote Desktop button at the top right. You may need to wait a
few seconds for the button to be available.
3.
Log on to the training domain’s Administrator account using the password:

Password Citrix123

Click OK.

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Step Action
4.

You can enlarge the XenCenter console window by clicking and dragging the lower right
corner.
5.

Launch File Explorer.

6.

Double-click the mapped Z drive labeled Lab Software.

7.

Double-click the ServerOS_VDA_7.8 folder.

8.

Double-click VDAServerSetup_7.8 file.

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Step Action
9.

Confirm you wish to run this this file by clicking Run.

10.

You are installing the VDA on an existing VM, so select the Enable Connections to a
Server machine option and click Next.
11.

Clear the Citrix Receiver check box and click Next.

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Step Action
12.
The XenDesktop VDA configuration needs the Delivery Controller address. The Cloud
Connector acts as a proxy for the Delivery Controller which is running in Citrix Cloud.
Leave Do it manually selected and enter the following address:

Controller Address DC1.training.lab

Click Test Connection.

13.

Notice the shows connectivity to the proxy Delivery Controller, now click Add.

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Step Action
14.
Enter the following for the second Delivery Controller address:

Controller Address DC2.training.lab

Click Test Connection, then click Add.

15.

Click Next.
16.

Leave defaults and click Next.

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Step Action
17.

Leave defaults and click Next.

18.

Click Install.
19.

After a couple of minutes, the server needs rebooting. Click Close.

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Step Action
20.
After the server reboots, wait for the Switch to Remote Desktop button to be available.

Click the Switch to Remote Desktop button at the top right and log on using the
Administrator account with the password:

Password Citrix123

Click OK.
21.
The VDA installation continues …

22.

Click Finish.

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Step Action
23.
The VDA has already been installed and configured in exactly the same way on CWC-
XA2 (another Server OS) and Win7-VDI (Desktop OS) for you.

Exercise Summary
You have installed and configured the XenDesktop Virtual Delivery Agent (VDA) that will be used for the
delivery of applications and desktops using the Citrix Cloud XenApp and XenDesktop service.

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Exercise 4: Create a Machine Catalog
Overview
Citrix Studio running in Citrix Cloud is used to manage your site, including creating Machine
Catalogs and Delivery Groups. The Machine Catalogs and Delivery Groups you create in Studio
will appear in Citrix Cloud as offerings in the XenApp and XenDesktop service. You can create
and publish workspaces using these offerings, and then subscribe users to them.
Both of the VDAs used in this exercise were manually created. You will see later how MCS can
be used to automatically create Server and Desktop VDAs.
In this exercise you will:

 Create a Machine Catalog using two server OS VDAs.

Estimated time to complete this exercise: 5 minutes.

Step by Step Guidance

Step Action
1.

On the Student Desktop Chrome browser (https://workspace.cloud.com/), at the top left

of the Workspace Cloud page, click the menu and select Apps and Desktops.
2.

Click Manage.

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Step Action
3.

On the left, click the Machine Catalogs node.

4.

On the right click Create Machine Catalog.

5.

In future you want to skip the introduction, check Don’t show this again and click Next.

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Step Action
6.

You will setup a Windows Server OS Machine Catalog to serve applications.

Click Next.
7.
Select the following options:

The Machine Catalog will use

Deploy machines using

The VDAs setup so far were manually prepared and are not power managed.
Click Next.

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Step Action
8.

Click Add Computers.

9.
Enter the first part of the VDA server name:

Enter the object name to select CWC-XA

Click Check Names.

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Step Action
10.

Notice the names CWC-XA1.training.lab and CWC-XA2.training.lab are found.

Select both and click OK.
11.

Click OK.

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Step Action
12.

Click Next.
13.
Enter the Machine Catalog name:

Machine Catalog name Applications Servers

Click Finish.

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Step Action
14.

The Applications Servers Machine Group is created.

Exercise Summary
You have added the two Server OS VDAs to the Applications Servers Machine Catalog.

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Exercise 5: Create a Delivery Group
Overview
Citrix Studio running in Citrix Cloud is used to manage your site, including creating Machine
Catalogs and Delivery Groups.
In this exercise you will:

 Create a Delivery Group.

Step by Step Guidance

Estimated time to complete this exercise: 5 minutes.

Step Action
1.

Click Delivery Groups on the left.

2.

Click Create Delivery Group on the right.

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Step Action
3.

Check Don’t show this again and click Next.

4.

Increment the number of machines for this delivery group to 1, then click Next.

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Step Action
5.

You are asked how to manage user assignments for this Delivery group. Traditionally
with XenDesktop and XenApp, users are assigned at this point. When using Citrix
Cloud, the Delivery Group is made available as an offering when configuring
workspaces users are then subscribed to the workspaces; you will see this in a later
exercise.
Leave the option as Leave user management to Citrix Workspace Cloud, then click
Next.

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Step Action
6.

Click Add… then From Start Menu…

The Machine Catalog selected is scanned for the applications that are installed (these
are just the standard Windows applications installed by default).

Select the following applications:

 Calculator
 Command Prompt
 Disk Cleanup
Click OK.

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Step Action
7.

You will be back at the Applications screen and see your selected apps.
Click Next.
8.
Enter the Delivery Group name:

Delivery Group name Engineering

Display name Engineering

Click Finish.
NOTE: If prompted about configuring StoreFront, select to do it manually later.

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Step Action
9.

The Engineering Delivery Group is created. The No. of machines is one and initially
the machine (VDA) will be Unregistered.
Click Refresh on the right until the machine registers (this may take 30 seconds or so).

Exercise Summary
You have created an Applications Delivery Group using one of the machines in your Applications Server
Machine Catalog.

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Exercise 6: Create a Workspace
Overview
Citrix Cloud allows the creation of a personal “workspace” that includes all the desktops,
applications, data, documents and mobile apps that a user needs. Created from services
provided by Citrix Cloud, workspaces can be easily tailored for each user or a group of users
and then delivered securely to users wherever they are.
In this version of Citrix Cloud, only the XenApp and XenDesktop service is available.
In this exercise you will:

 Create an Engineer’s Workspace using the XenApp and XenDesktop service

Step by Step Guidance

Estimated time to complete this exercise: 5 minutes.

Step Action
1.

At the top left of the Workspace Cloud page, click the Burger menu and select
Workspaces.
2.

You will see there are currently no workspaces defined. Click + Workspace.
(If you see some example workspaces, ignore them.)

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Step Action
3.
Enter the Workspace name:

Workspace name Engineers Workspace

You see the Engineering (Applications) Delivery Group (created in the previous
exercise) shows up as an available service.
Click Add to add the Engineering (Applications) Services to the workspace.
4.

Click Create Workspace.

5.

The Engineers Workspace is created.

Click the Engineers Workspace.

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Step Action
6.

The Engineers Workspace currently contains just the Engineering service. Other
services can be added later.
Click Engineering (Applications).
7.

You see the applications available in the Engineering service. These were the apps
defined in the Application Delivery Group created in the previous exercise.

Exercise Summary
You have created a Workspace containing one service that users can subscribe to access applications.

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Exercise 7: Subscribe and Publish the Workspace
Overview
Unlike traditional XenDesktop, users are not assigned when Delivery Groups are created;
instead they are subscribed using Citrix Cloud.
In this exercise you will:

 Subscribe users to, and Publish the Workspace

Step by Step Guidance

Estimated time to complete this exercise: 5 minutes.

Step Action
1.

Click Subscribers.
2.
Enter the following:

Search Domain Users

The training.lab domain is linked to this Resource Location so you should see Domain
Users found.
Click Domain Users.

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Step Action
3.

Domain Users are added as subscribers to this Workspace.

Click Publish.
4.
The Workspace is published and is now available to the specified group of users.
Username
account

Notice the name of the account at the top right of the screen; you will need it in the next
exercise.

Exercise Summary
You have published the Engineers Workspace and it is now available to the users in the
“Domain Users” group.

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Exercise 8: Cloud-Hosted StoreFront
Overview
StoreFront hosts your enterprise application store, which gives users self-service access to
applications and desktops. StoreFront also keeps track of users' application subscriptions,
shortcut names, and other data to ensure they have a consistent experience across multiple
devices.
The XenApp and XenDesktop service in Citrix Cloud supports two different modes of operating
StoreFront:

 The XenApp and XenDesktop service in Citrix Cloud hosts a StoreFront site for each
customer. The benefit of the cloud-hosted StoreFront is that there is zero effort to deploy,
and it is kept evergreen by Citrix. Cloud-hosted is recommended for all new customers,
previews and proofs-of-concept (PoCs).

 Customers may also use an on-prem StoreFront. This offers greater security, including
support for two-factor authentication and prevents users from entering their password into
the cloud service. It also allows customers to customize their domain names and URLs.
The on-prem Storefront can also be used by existing XenApp and XenDesktop customers
that already have StoreFront deployed, to aggregate existing applications and desktops with
Citrix Cloud.
Both the cloud-hosted and on-prem StoreFront is supported in a concurrent configuration;
different URLs will be utilized for connection access.
In this exercise you will:

 Test the cloud-hosted StoreFront, noting that no setup or configuration is required

Step by Step Guidance

Estimated time to complete this exercise: 10 minutes.

Step Action
1.
Using a new tab in the Chrome Browser on the Student Desktop, enter the following
URL:

URL https://account.xendesktop.net/Citrix/StoreWeb/
Where account is your account name (from the last step of the previous exercise.)

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Step Action
2.

If you see the request to install Receiver, click Install.

Then click Already Installed.

3.
Use the following credentials to logon:

User name training\user1

Password Citrix123

Click Log On.

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Step Action
4.
The cloud-based StoreFront shows your favorite apps, though currently there are none.

Click the Apps tab.

5.

You see the apps published in the Engineers Workgroup and made available to all
Domain Users, of which User1 is a member.
Click Details next to Calculator.
6.

Click Add to Favorites.

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Step Action
7.

Click the arrow to go back to the list of applications.

8.

Add Disk Cleanup to favorites in the same way, then click the Favorites tab.
9.
You see your two favorite applications.

Click the Calculator icon.

10.

After about 30 seconds, the calculator application starts on the Student Desktop.
Close Calculator.

Exercise Summary
You have explored the cloud-based StoreFront that is created automatically and requires no configuration
(other than user customization). You have customized the user’s favorites and have successfully
launched an application.
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Exercise 9: On-Premises StoreFront
Overview
On-Premises StoreFront allows additional flexibility such as two-factor authentication and full
customization. Another benefit is that the Workspace Cloud Connector provides encryption of
user passwords. Credentials are encrypted by the connector using AES-256, using a randomly-
generated one-time key. This key is returned directly to the ICA client and never sent to the
cloud. The ICA client then supplies it to the VDA during session launch in order to decrypt the
credentials and provide a single sign-on experience into Windows.
Applications and desktops in Citrix Cloud can be aggregated to an existing StoreFront by adding
the Workspace Cloud Connectors as delivery controllers.
In this exercise you will:

 Install and configure a local StoreFront on a pre-prepared VM.

Step by Step Guidance

Estimated time to complete this exercise: 15 minutes.

Step Action
1.

Using XenCenter on the Student Desktop, select the CWC-SF1 node and the Console
Tab.
2.

Click the Switch to Remote Desktop button at the top right. You may need to wait a
few seconds for the button to be available.

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Step Action
3.
Log on to the training domain’s Administrator account using the password:

Password Citrix123

Click OK.
4.

Launch File Explorer.

5.

Double-click the mapped Z drive labeled Lab Software.

6.

Double-click the StoreFront_3.0.1 folder.

7.

Double-click CitrixStoreFront-x64 file.

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Step Action
8.

Confirm you wish to run this this file by clicking Run.

9.

Click to acknowledge you have read the License Agreement and click Next.
10.

Click Next.

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Step Action
11.

Click Install.
12.

Click Finish.

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Step Action
13.
The StoreFront Management Console opens.

Click Create a new deployment.

14.

Accept the suggested base URL of the deployment by clicking Next.

15.

It takes about 30 seconds to create the deployment.

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Step Action
16.
Enter the Store name:

Store name On-Prem-SF1

Click Next.
17.

Click Add to add the Workspace Cloud Delivery Controllers.

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Step Action
18.

Click Add.
19.
Enter the first Workspace Cloud Connector name:

Server name DC1

Click OK.
20.

Click Add again.

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Step Action
21.
Enter the second Workspace Cloud Connector name:

Server name DC2

Click OK.
22.

Change the transport type to HTTP and click OK.

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Step Action
23.

Click Next.
24.

You will add Remote Access in an upcoming Exercise. For now, leave at None, and
click Create.

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Step Action
25.

It takes 30 seconds or so to create the store.

26.

The On-Prem-SF1 store has been created and the web access URL is shown.
Do not click the URL to Try out the store at this time.
Click Finish.
27.
You are returned to the StoreFront console.

Click on the Stores node on the left.

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Step Action
28.

Notice the On-Prem-SF1 store is shown.

Highlight the URL as shown above and copy it to your paste buffer (e.g. ctrl-c).
29.
Return to the Student Desktop and paste the URL just captured into a new tab of the
Chrome Browser, adding the word “Web” at the end.

URL http://cwc-sf1/citrix/on-prem-sf1web

You will get a 403-Forbidden error

if you forget to add “Web”.

30.

If you see the request to install Receiver, click Install.

Then click Already Installed.

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Step Action
31.
Use the following credentials to logon:

Username training\user1
Password Citrix123

Click Log On.

32.
As this is a new StoreFront, your favorites from the cloud-based Storefront are unknown.

Click the Apps tab.

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Step Action
33.

Click Details next to Calculator.

34.

Click Add to Favorites.

35.

Click the arrow to go back to the list of applications.

36.

Add Disk Cleanup to favorites in the same way, then click the Favorites tab.

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Step Action
37.
You see your two favorite applications.

Click the Calculator icon.

38.

After about 30 seconds, the calculator application starts on the Student Desktop.
Close Calculator.

Exercise Summary
You have created a local StoreFront accessing the Engineers Workspace applications setup in Citrix
Cloud.

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Exercise 10: Remote Access with NetScaler Gateway
Overview
For external remote access to an on-prem StoreFront you will need to have an optional
NetScaler Gateway URL that will act as the ICA proxy for the connections.
A NetScaler VPX appliance has been provided for you on your XenServer, and has been
configured as follows:

 Initial configuration wizard was completed

 Setup of the NSIP (NetScaler IP Address) used for management (192.168.10.15)

 Configuration of the SNIP (Subnet IP) (192.168.10.16)

 Configuration of the hostname (NS1) and DNS Server (192.168.10.11)

 Enabled the following features

o SSL Offloading
o Load Balancing
o Authentication, Authorization and Auditing
o HTTP Compression
o Content Switching
o Integrated Caching
o NetScaler Gateway

In this exercise you will:

 Configure a NetScaler Gateway to allow remote access with single-sign-on (SSO).

Step by Step Guidance

Estimated time to complete this exercise: 20 minutes.

Step Action
1.
On a new tab of the Student Desktop Chrome browser, enter the NSIP (Management
IP address) of the NetScaler VPX appliance that has been installed on your XenServer:

URL 192.168.10.15

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Step Action
2.
Log on to the NetScaler using the following credentials:

Username nsroot
Password nsroot

Click Login.
3.

Click the XenApp and XenDesktop Integrate wizard button at the lower left.

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Step Action
4.

Scroll down and click Get Started.

5.

Select StoreFront as your Citrix Integration Point and click Continue.

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Step Action
6.
Enter the following:

NetScaler Gateway IP Address 192.168.10.17

Port 443
Virtual Server Name NSGateway

Click Continue.
7.
The MCT-Key Pair server certificate has been pre-installed on the NetScaler for you.

Leave the MCT-Key Pair server certificate selected and click Continue.

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Step Action
8.
For the Authentication settings, enter / select the following:

Primary Authentication Method Active Directory / LDAP

IP Address 192.168.10.11
Port 389
Time Out 3
Base DN Cn=users,dc=training,dc=lab
Service Account [email protected]
Server Logon Name Attribute sAMAccountName
Password Citrix123
Confirm Password Citrix123
Secondary authentication method None

Click Continue.

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Step Action
9.
For the StoreFront settings, enter / select the following:

StoreFront FQDN CWC-SF1.training.lab

Site Path /Citrix/On-Prem-SF1Web
Single Sign-on Domain Training.lab
Store Name On-Prem-SF1
Secure Ticket Authority Server http://CWC-Con1.training.lab
StoreFront Server 192.168.10.21
Protocol HTTP
Port 80

Click Continue.
10.

Skip Xen Farm configuration and click Continue.

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Step Action
11.

Apply the recommended optimizations by clicking Apply.

12.

Do NOT apply the Security Policy.

Click Done in the Visibility section.
13.

Note in the upper right of the NetScaler dashboard, the NSGateway Virtual Server has
been configured.

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Step Action
14.
Return to the CWC-SF1 console on XenCenter. (Click Switch to Remote Desktop if
necessary.)
Open StoreFront if not already open.

Click on NetScaler Gateway on the left.

15.

Before adding NetScaler Gateway appliances, you must enable the “Pass-through from
NetScaler Gateway” authentication method.
Click Enable authentication method now.
16.

You can now add the NetScaler Gateway to the StoreFront.

Click Add NetScaler Gateway on the top right.

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Step Action
17.
To determine the external URL to use, return to the web page where you launched the
Lab.

Copy the PublicIP1 FQDN into the paste buffer (e.g. highlight and Crtl-C).
18.
Back on CWC-SF1’s console, enter / select the following General Settings:

Display Name NSGateway

NetScaler Gateway URL https://<PublicIP1 FQDN from previous step>
Version 10.0
Subnet IP Address (SNIP) 192.168.10.16
Logon Type Domain
Smartcard Failback None
Callback URL Leave Blank

The NetScaler Gateway

URL is the PublicIP1
FQDN prefixed by
https://

Save the full NetScaler gateway URL (including https://) in the paste buffer for later.
Click Next.

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Step Action
19.

Click Add.
20.
Enter the following:

STA URL http://DC1.training.lab

Click OK.
21.

Click Create.

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Step Action
22.

Click Finish.
23.

Click on Stores on the left.

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Step Action
24.

Click on Enable Remote Access on the right.

25.
Enter / select the following to enable remote access:

Remote Access No VPN Tunnel

NetScaler Gateway Appliance  NSGateway
Default Appliance NSGateway

Click OK.
26.
Bring up an Internet Browser on your laptop and enter the NetScaler Gateway URL from
step 19:

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Step Action
27.
Log on using the following credentials:

Username User1
Password Citrix123

Logons are limited to

the training domain.

Click Log On.

28.
If you see an invite to install Citrix Receiver, just click logon.
You should be signed in using Pass-Through from the NetScaler Gateway.

Click the Calculator icon.

29.

You may see a security request as shown above. You can select Block Access.

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Step Action
30.

The Calculator application opens on your laptop.

Close Calculator.

Exercise Summary
You have configured a NetScaler Gateway appliance to provide secure remote access to your on-
premises StoreFront.

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Exercise 11: Adding a Desktop Service to a Workspace
Overview
So far in the lab you have worked with applications. You will now add a Windows 7 Desktop to
the Engineer’s Workspace.
In this exercise you will:

 Create a Machine Catalog of VDI Desktops (Win7-Desktops), including creating the

Windows Desktop VMs from a template using Citrix Machine Creation Services (MCS).

 Create a Delivery Group (Win7-Desktops) using the Desktop VDIs.

 Add the Desktop service to the existing Engineers workspace.

 Test the Desktop appears in StoreFront and opens when requested.

Step by Step Guidance

Estimated time to complete this exercise: 30 minutes.

Step Action
1.
Ensure virtual machine is shutdown for the following steps.

Using XenCenter right-click the Win7-VDI node and select Take a Snapshot.
2.
Enter the name:

Name Before MCS

Click Take Snapshot.

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Step Action
3.

Return to the Citrix Cloud on the Student Desktop and using the Burger menu select
Apps and Desktops.
4.

Select Manage.
5.

Click Machine Catalogs on the left.

6.

Click Create Machine Catalog on the right.

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Step Action
7.

You will be creating VDI desktops so select the Desktop OS option and click Next.
8.
Leave the following defaults

The Machine Catalog will

use
Deploy machines using

Unlike the Server OS VDAs that were manually created, you will use XenDesktop’s
Machine Creation Services (MCS) to create the Desktop VDIs and they will be power
managed by XenDesktop to save power when they are not needed.
Click Next.

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Step Action
9.
Set the following option:

What desktop experience do you want

Click on Next.

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Step Action
10.
Scroll to the bottom of the list of snapshots and select the following snapshot:

Select a snapshot or master image Win7-VDI

This template has the 7.8 VDA already installed.

Click Next.

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Step Action
11.
You will create four Windows 7 desktop VMs.
Select the following option:

Number of Virtual Machines needed 4

Click Next.

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Step Action
12.
Set the following option:

Active Directory for Computer Accounts Computers

Account naming scheme Win7-##

Click Next.

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Step Action
13.

Click Enter credentials.

14.
Enter the administrator credentials for the template:

Username Administrator
Password Citrix123

Click OK, then click Next.

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Step Action
15.
Enter the following:

Machine Catalog Name Win7-Desktops

Review the summary and click Finish.

It will take roughly 7 minutes to copy the initial image and then another minute or so to
create the four VMs requested.
16.

The Win7-Desktops Machine Group has been created and the four VMs have been
created as can be seen in XenCenter.

Notice all the new VMS are stopped. The first VM will be started when one of more of
the VMs are assigned to a Delivery Group.

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Step Action
17.

Back on Citrix Studio, select the Delivery Groups node on the left.
18.

Click on Create Delivery Group on the right.

19.
Enter / Select the following:

Select a Machine Catalog

Choose number of machines 4

Click Next.

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Step Action
20.

As before, with Citrix Cloud all users are managed as subscriptions to Workspaces, so
let Citrix Cloud manage the users.
Click Next.
21.
For desktops there is nothing that needs to be entered at this step.

Click Next.

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Step Action
22.
Enter / Select the following:

Delivery group Name Win7-Desktops

Display Name Windows7

Note: The Display Name is the name the user sees in StoreFront for the desktop, for
example

Click Finish.

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Step Action
23.

The Delivery Group is created and notice, in XenCenter, one of the desktop VDIs has
been started in anticipation of being needed now the Machine Catalog is assigned to a
Delivery Group.

The VM that starts on your system may be different.

24.
Return to the Citrix Cloud on the Student Desktop and go to Workspaces

Click the Engineers Workspace.

25.

Click Manage.

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Step Action
26.

Click Add for the Win7-Desktops service.

27.

Click Update Workspace.

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Step Action
28.

Notice the workspace now has two services Applications and Win7-Desktops.
Return to the Cloud-Hosted Citrix StoreFront tab on Chrome.
https://account.xendesktop.net/Citrix/StoreWeb/
(Where account is your account name)

If you are still logged on, refresh the browser by clicking:

If necessary, use the following credentials to logon:

Username training\user1
Password Citrix123

29.

You should see the new Desktops tab, Click the Desktops tab.

30.

Click the Windows7 desktop.

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Step Action
31.

A Windows-7 Desktop opens on the Student Desktop. You can Cancel the Citrix
Receiver setup.

Notice on XenCenter a second Win-7 desktop VM has been started. This will be used to
satisfy the next Win-7 desktop request.
32.
Leave your Desktop session in progress for use in the next exercise.

Exercise Summary
You have added a Desktop service to the Engineers Workspace.

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Exercise 12: Monitoring your Site
Overview
The Monitor function in Citrix Cloud provides access to Citrix Director. It can be used in the
same way Director is used in conventional XenApp and XenDesktop implementations.
In this exercise you will:

 Show access to Citrix Director.

Step by Step Guidance

Estimated time to complete this exercise: 5 minutes.

Step Action
1.

Back on the Student Desktop Chrome browser (https://workspace.cloud.com/), at the top

left of the Workspace Cloud page, click the menu and select Apps and Desktops.
2.

Click the Monitor tab.

3.
You see Citrix Director. The data you see will depend on time you spent in each
exercise.

Click on the Sessions Connected.

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Step Action
4.

You see the details of the current connection.

Exercise Summary
You have accessed Citrix Director from Citrix Cloud.

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Exercise 13: Using the Remote PowerShell SDK
Overview
The XenApp and XenDesktop service provides a public SDK in the form of a PowerShell
module. The module’s interface is compatible with that of XenApp and XenDesktop, allowing
you to leverage existing scripts in Citrix Cloud.
In this exercise you will:

 Install the Applications and Desktops PowerShell SDK.

 Execute PowerShell commands against your Applications and Desktops environment.

Step by Step Guidance

Estimated time to complete this exercise: 10 minutes.

Step Action
1.

Double-click the CWC-Con1 RDP shortcut on the Student Desktop to access the CWC-
Con1 desktop.
The Apps and Desktops PowerShell SDK can be installed on any
machine which you have administrator access. It does not have
to be installed on a connector.

2.
Log on to the training domain’s Administrator account using the password:

Password Citrix123

Click OK.
3.

Double-click the Google Chrome shortcut on the CWC-Con1 Desktop.

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Step Action
4.
On the CWC-Con1 VM web browser, enter the following URL:

URL https://workspace.cloud.com

Make sure you use https

5.
Enter your Citrix Workspace Cloud credentials:

Username

User credentials will be

provided by instructors at
the beginning of the lab

Click Sign In.

6.

At the top left of the Workspace Cloud page, click the menu and select Apps and
Desktops.
7.

Click the Downloads tab.

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Step Action
8.

Click on the button to Download the PowerShell SDK.

9.
Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the PowerShell SDK download link.

Click Download File.

10.

Open CitrixPoshSdk.exe.
11.

Confirm you wish to run this this file by clicking Run.

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Step Action
12.

Accept the license agreement then click Next.

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Step Action
13.

After the PowerShell SDK installs, close the installer.

14.
Launch Windows PowerShell.

Load all Citrix PowerShell snap-ins by typing Add-PSSnapin Citrix*

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Step Action
15.

Run any XenDesktop PowerShell command, such as Get-BrokerSite.

16.
A pop-up dialog will prompt for your Citrix Cloud credentials.
Enter them into the prompt.

Click Sign In.

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Step Action
17.
Once signed in, the cmdlet will complete:

18.
Your Citrix Cloud credentials are saved for the lifetime of the PowerShell session. Run
any other cmdlet, such as Get-BrokerDesktopGroup and you will not be prompted for
credentials.

Exercise Summary
You have successfully installed the Applications and Desktops PowerShell SDK and run cmdlets against
a Citrix Cloud environment.
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Authors
The following authors contributed to the creation of this deliverable.
Citrix
Kirk Manzer Leo Singleton Jon Spallone
899 W. Cypress Creek Rd. 899 W. Cypress Creek Rd. 899 W. Cypress Creek Rd.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33309 Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33309 Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33309
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Revision History
Revision Change Description Updated By Date
1.0 Original Kirk Manzer and Leo Singleton May 2016

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About Citrix

Citrix (NASDAQ:CTXS) is a leader in mobile workspaces, providing virtualization, mobility management, networking and cloud services to enable
new ways to work better. Citrix solutions power business mobility through secure, personal workspaces that provide people with instant access to
apps, desktops, data and communications on any device, over any network and cloud. This year Citrix is celebrating 25 years of innovation, making
IT simpler and people more productive. With annual revenue in 2013 of $2.9 billion, Citrix solutions are in use at more than 330,000 organizations
and by over 100 million users globally. Learn more at www.citrix.com.

Copyright © 2014 Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. [list Citrix trademarks (without ® or ™ symbols!) in document] are trademarks of Citrix
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