While many Citrix customers are familiar with XenApp and XenDesktop, you may not know that Citrix offers an integrated system for delivering those virtualized applications and desktops all the way to the branch user. If you’re going to Citrix Synergy, you’ll have a great opportunity to learn more about the comprehensive application delivery solution that Citrix offers. And you can meet with experts, see demos and labs, and learn from the product leaders about all the products from Citrix.

This year we’re demonstrating how NetScaler SD-WAN securely and reliably delivers virtualized applications to branch users, increasing the range of locations that can take advantage of XenApp and XenDesktop, while improving the quality of the user  experience, adding visibility into HDX, and simplifying management and troubleshooting.

For those that can’t attend Synergy, here are 15 reasons NetScaler SD-WAN is the best way to deliver XenApp & XenDesktop to users in your branch office locations:

  1. Always-On: Citrix XenApp & XenDesktop require a wide area network that is never interrupted. Only NetScaler SD-WAN provides an always-on application experience, changing paths within 10 milliseconds when there’s a failure — less than 1/40th the time it takes to blink an eye!
  2. You paid for it, use your whole network: NetScaler SD-WAN uniquely combines all network capacity and makes it available to all applications flows at once. So, you never have critical applications stuck on the busy network while other links are idling. This helps ensure that HDX always has sufficient bandwidth by automatically using all capacity- the only major SD-WAN provider to do so.
  3. We hear you – Voice quality is important: Voice-over-IP has moved voice services to the cloud, making your network the lifeline for voice services. Only NetScaler SD-WAN ensures voice quality within and outside of Citrix HDX protocols through intelligent packet duplication, session transitions from HDX to outside for Skype for Business while ensuring full QoS.
  4. Deep Citrix HDX visibility: Debugging issues around client, network, and server are things of the past with HDX Insight, a critical capability of Citrix NetScaler MAS. At the corporate branch locations, only NetScaler SD-WAN can feed information to NetScaler MAS, with deep visibility into users, applications, and Citrix HDX protocol details across the WAN and into the branch.
  5. See all applications, anywhere: Having a deep and network wide view of all applications is an essential tool for IT administrators to meet corporate service-level objectives. NetScaler SD-WAN provides visibility to more than 4,000 applications at each network segment and branch. We even tell you what is happening inside application suites — Sharepoint within Office 365, for example. Unlike other products, NetScaler SD-WAN combines detailed HDX information with all application information to present a unified view.
  6. HDX-QoS: The best Citrix experience is delivered when interactive screens, video, and print/scan functions are intelligently distributed across the enterprise WAN links. Only NetScaler SD-WAN has the built-in intelligence to actively select the best link for each Citrix XenApp & XenDesktop flow, and unlike other QoS solutions, we ensure each session is equally balanced.
  7. Full end-to-end QoS: The old hub-and-spoke architecture is a thing of the past. Now, enterprises consume applications from multiple clouds, myriad SaaS providers, and their own Data Centers. Quality of Service must be managed at the branch, as well as the data center. Only NetScaler SD-WAN manages quality of service and prioritization at the branch in addition to the data center, ensuring that top applications such as VoIP and HDX always receive top priority, regardless of where the applications originate.
  8. Intelligent Security: With applications delivered from the cloud, secure connectivity to application sources is paramount. NetScaler SD-WAN includes a powerful application aware firewall that allows for direct internet access and connectivity to cloud and SaaS. The firewall has built-in smarts to automatically configure Citrix HDX protocol session — the only SD-WAN product in the market to do so.
  9. Optimization- Yes: For remote sites that have high latency, congestion, or that use large file transfers, user experience can be significantly improved with compression, de-duplication, and other acceleration techniques. NetScaler SD-WAN is available with WAN Optimization and the best optimizer for Citrix HDX to provide top performance for XenApp & XenDesktop and all other enterprise applications.
  10. Moving to cloudNo problem: Citrix NetScaler SD-WAN is available in Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Equinix Performance Hubs providing reliable connectivity to Hybrid clouds and Citrix Cloud. If you’re moving XenApp or XenDesktop payloads to the cloud, Citrix Cloud, or working with a Citrix Service Provider, NetScaler SD-WAN delivers the best application experience to all users.
  11. SaaS in your future– We’ve got your network: Software-as-a-Service is completely upending the corporate WAN, requiring direct access to SaaS while ensuring high security. NetScaler SD-WAN is the best choice for combining SaaS directly from the branch while continuing to support data center based application delivery. With an application-aware firewall and automatic application steering capabilities in the branch, backhauling flows through the data center is a thing of the past. Further, NetScaler SD-WAN supports prominent secure web gateways such as Zscaler and ForcePoint for those who seek even higher levels of security.
  12. Easy Deployment: Managing a fleet of branch locations is no easy task. NetScaler SD-WAN includes fleet management support with our Zero Touch Deployment Service. With ZTD, deploying devices in branches is as simple as clicking a link in an email and connecting a cable to the internet- the rest is automatic! Save time, save money, and avoid headaches with Citrix Zero Touch Service, part of our SD-WAN solution
  13. World-wide support: Citrix provides local technical support in more than 100 countries and worldwide distribution of our products and services globally. And we understand how XenApp and XenDesktop work with NetScaler SD-WAN, preventing the finger-pointing that’s common in multi-vendor deployments. If you are a multi-national, you will be in good hands with Citrix.
  14. Available from your favorite service provider: Sometimes, you just don’t want to manage your network and want to leave it to professional service providers. Citrix supports a growing list of managed service providers with global footprint who support the design, deployment and management of your network and application infrastructure using the XenApp & XenDesktop and NetScaler family, including NetScaler SD-WAN. Our dedicated partners in all regions of the world are ready to work with you.
  15. Full end-to-end compatibility: Citrix ensures that all of our products are always compatible. As Citrix protocols and products evolve, you can rest assured that Citrix will provide the best experience using all of our products XenApp, Xen Desktop, Storefront, NetScaler Gateway, and NetScaler SD-WAN. No other SD-WAN provider can even get close to ensuring this level of comfort for your application requirements

There you have it! 15 reasons why you should use NetScaler SD-WAN with XenApp and XenDesktop. And if you’ve been considering expanding your virtual applications to additional locations, but have held back by concerns about the network or application performance, these are 15 reasons why you can confidently move forward.

We’re going to be talking about this at Synergy and featuring a customer case study with a company who was able to improve their user experience with XenApp by adding NetScaler SD-WAN. Hope to see you there!

For more information on how NetScaler SD-WAN works with XenApp and XenDesktop, read our white paper on that topic.

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