Citrix XenDesktop, Technical FAQ

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Will XenApp work in conjunction with XenDesktop?

Yes, in fact XenDesktop includes application delivery capabilities (powered by XenApp) in its Enterprise and Platinum editions. This integrated application delivery functionality is intended for use exclusively in the context of the virtual desktop environment.

Citrix recommends keeping applications separate from the operating system image (along with user profiles) as a best practice. This separation helps to keep the OS pristine which will allow for a consistently better user experience and will lower the cost of supporting the user’s environment. Exercising this separation effectively will minimize the number of images to be tested and maintained.

The applications can then be dynamically delivered into the virtual desktop using XenApp. XenApp can be used to deliver the applications either from ICA or streamed so that they are not installed. The applications are stored as a single image in storage instead of being resident throughout all of OS’s on the individual virtual desktops.

Please refer to the XenApp series of FAQs for more information.

Are TS Client Access Licenes (CALs) required in association with XenDesktop?

No, XenDesktop does not require TS CALs for desktop delivery. However, Microsoft Terminal Services package does need to be installed and running to support XenDesktop. Note that TS CALs will be required if running XenApp for Virtual Desktops as part of XenDesktop.

Which operating systems will XenDesktop support?

XenDesktop supports delivery of the following virtual desktop operating systems:

Windows XP SP2 or later,
Vista 32 Enterprise, Ultimate and Business editions

The Desktop Delivery controller supports:

Windows 2003, 32 and 64 bit

ICA clients are supported on a variety of platforms:

Windows Operating Systems
Unix for Desktop Appliances and thin clients
MAC OS
Other platforms are supported via the Java client

For support for some of the features of XenDesktop (toolbar, hot plugging of mass storage devices) the Desktop Receiver should be used on Windows Vista, Windows XP, or the XPembedded Operating Systems.

Which Citrix ICA client should I be using to connect to XenDesktop provided desktops?

It depends on what experience you want your users to connect, but generally the most recent client should be used. If users are connecting from thin clients or desktop appliances, you should make sure they have the latest ICA client installed on them (For XPembedded devices, the Desktop Receiver Embedded Edition 10.250 on the XenDesktop media is the best one but other versions will work). Windows users should use the Desktop Receiver 10.250 for the toolbar functionality and the ability to connect to multiple XenDesktop desktops. The recommended clients are on the XenDesktop media. The client available on the Citrix download site will not support the Desktop Toolbar functionality for the time being.

Can I get the Desktop Appliance experience from a re-purposed PC?

Yes, you can either use Internet Explorer in kiosk mode, or for domain-joined PCs software is supplied that will provide a seamless access experience.

Does XenDesktop work with other virtual machine infrastructures?

XenDesktop will not only support the virtual machine desktop hosting infrastructure that is provided as a feature (XenServer capabilities) of XenDesktop, it will also support SCVMM/Hyper-V from Microsoft (when available) as well as VMWare’s VI3/ESX infrastructure. This support includes integration with those platforms to provide virtual machine controls from the Access Management Console, such as suspend, pause and resume capabilities.

What is the function of the virtual desktop provisioning feature?

The virtual desktop provisioning feature is powered by Provisioning Server for Desktops. This feature uses operating streaming technology to deliver a single, standard desktop image on-demand to the virtual desktop running in the data center from a network service. The shared desktop image is configured, delivered, and managed centrally. The associated benefits are reduced total costs and increased security and flexibility while enabling an uncompromised user experience. There is dramatic storage cost savings associated with this feature. By virtue of abstracting the OS from the virtual machine image for a given user, the amount of storage required can be drastically reduced.

With which directory services does XenDesktop work?

The Desktop Delivery Controller (DDC) depends on an Active Directory (AD) infrastructure for securing data communications between controllers and virtual desktops. The DDC supports all AD functional levels, but all computer and user accounts must be members of a single AD forest. An OU must be created for every DDC farm, but there is no requirement for user or computer accounts to be members of the farm’s OU. The computer accounts used for virtual desktops can be actively managed by Provisioning Server, thus lessening the administrative burden.

The Desktop Delivery Controller does not support NDS or any other directory services.

How is XenDesktop licensed?

All retail editions of XenDesktop are licensed based on the number of concurrent user’s desktops. In other words, a XenDesktop license is consumed for every virtual desktop session started by a user. The XenDesktop license is returned to the license pool when the virtual desktop is not in use.

How do the ICA capabilities in XenDesktop compare with that in XenApp?

All of the ICA functionality of XenApp 4.5 FP1 is available in XenDesktop. The following are not yet supported:

Kerberos SSPI or SmartCard Virtual Channels
SpeedScreen multimedia acceleration & zero latency
PDA sync, TWAIN, shadowing and SmartAuditor
Audio on Vista
ICA perfmon counters (SMC) and end-user experience metrics

ICA capability variances between XenDesktop and XenApp will be address in upcoming releases.

Which other protocols beside ICA are supported by XenDesktop?

Initially, only the ICA protocol will be supported. ICA is a mature, proven technology. Its capabilities and usefulness in remote access scenarios has been thoroughly tested and widely used in the field. Its strength in low bandwidth, high latency environments is also well documented. However, Citrix will continue to monitor demand for support of alternate remoting protocols.

What is the function of the Desktop Delivery Controller?

The Desktop Delivery Controller (DDC) is the brokering mechanism between the endpoint and the virtual desktop running in the data center. This component also manages connections between users’ endpoint devices and the virtual desktops. The DDC supports Windows Server 2003. The DDC is able to manage flexible user association for desktops that are pooled and for those that are assigned.

Desktops in pooled groups are allocated to users on a per-session,first-come first-served basis. The administrator can configure pools of virtual machines so that any changes to local settings that the user makes to the desktop during a session are reverted to the desktop’s original state when the user logs off from that desktop. In other words,there is no ownership between the user and the desktop. This is ideal for task workers.

Virtual desktops that are assigned can either be pre-assigned or assigned on first use. Desktops in pre-assigned groups are permanently associated with an individual user by the administrator. Connection requests from that user for a desktop always result in the assignment of the same desktop. As a result, the user can safely customize the desktop to suit her needs.

Desktops in assigned-on-first-use groups are permanently associated with the first user to connect to them. As with pre-assigned desktops, the user can then safely customize the desktop. In both instances of assigned desktops, the user gets their same desktop every time.

Will I have to license a separate virtual machine infrastructure to work with XenDesktop?

The virtual machine infrastructure, powered by Citrix’ XenServer technology, is provided as a feature of all XenDesktop editions. The virtual machine infrastructure allows you to host virtual desktops that can be remotely delivered to endpoints . The capabilities of the virtual machine technology vary by the XenDesktop edition level purchased. The virtual machine infrastructure provided with XenDesktop may also be used to host Citrix-provided XenDesktop infrastructure components such as the Citrix license server.

Does XenDesktop include secure remote access capabilities?

Yes, the Standard, Advanced and Enterprise editions of XenDesktop include client licenses to support tunnelling of remote XenDesktop ICA traffic using a standard edition Access Gateway appliance. The Platinum edition of XenDesktop provides a universal license that enables all the SmartAccess capabilities of the Access Gateway appliances. Please note that an appliance purchase is required to take advantage of the Access Gateway licenses provided with XenDesktop.

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