Since it was first available, Citrix has worked with Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) to integrate Citrix ADC with the Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC). As a valued technology partner, Citrix has a device package — a software module — that enables users to configure the Citrix ADC directly from a Cisco APIC.
This setup has run in many customer production environments over the years. Let’s consider one of those customers — Jim. He was the first to deploy the integrated solution in his data center. The solution gave him the automation he needed and a single view to configure, deploy, and manage applications.
However, his application admins preferred to use the Citrix ADC user interface to manage L4-L7 services because you get observability details in the Citrix ADC UI that aren’t available with the Cisco APIC.
Jim’s asks for me were clear: Keep the automation in place and provide a custom UI to configure L4-L7 services. Oh, and while you’re at it, give me observability of the ADC devices and applications.
I started working with Cisco engineers and created an app-based solution. The goal was to develop an ADC app that could be used to configure and monitor L4-L7 services on the Citrix ADC from the Cisco APIC. The application we created — Citrix ADC Manager — is available from the Cisco DC App Center, and customers can download and install it on their Cisco APIC now.
The Citrix ADC Manager app gives admins an easy way to manage and monitor Citrix ADCs, as well as configure, deploy, and monitor app delivery infrastructure. The app runs within the Cisco APIC UI and communicates with APIC using SDK and NITRO APIs for Citrix ADC. Admins can add and delete devices, configure apps (L4-L7 services) for a deployed service graph (from Cisco APIC), and observe key health parameters.
One of the best benefits of the Citrix ADC Manager app is its ease of use. Admins can configure apps using built-in app profiles and add required sets of parameters using a custom-built UI. The Citrix ADC Manager app simplifies the workflow, reduces the number of parameters, classifies attributes, and provides built-in validation and custom error messages.
The Citrix ADC Manager app will help Jim and his team members to manage and monitor L4-L7 services from Cisco ACI with ease and without sacrificing automation. Learn what the Citrix ADC Manager app can do for you, and download it today.
