Get this slide deck from the SYN320 session at Citrix Synergy 2015 to learn about the future of upgrades for XenApp, XenDesktop, AppDNA, Receiver, and more.

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• As noted throughout the different slides, this 7.6 release continues to bring value
to existing XenApp 6.5, this slide is simply a recap of all the new features and
functionality available in XenApp 7.6 that can be applied to customers who have
active SA for XenApp 6.5.
• Flash redirection enhancements
• Windows Media Redirection for Mac and Android
• HTML5 Video Redirection for server offload
• Lync enhancements including Linux and iOS
• Quadrupling 3D Graphics Density: Working with Nvidia
• Director and 6.5 details: Director supports troubleshooting IMA user sessions, so
when a user calls in and has a 6.5 session, the admin can troubleshoot that user
session with Director. Single helpdesk tool to troubleshoot both 6.5 and 7.x
sessions.
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For storefront, like we said before, you first start by configuring both farms in the
gui. This setup will let a user see apps from both sites (6.5 and 7.6)
But with any migration, you typically are not able to migrate all users at once or all
apps at once. This is why in storefront we have application aggregation.
With a few parameters in the XML file, we can define how we want the apps to be
aggregated.
1. Show apps from both sites. This might show me two Microsoft Word apps if
they are available from both sites. Which one do I pick? Confusing
2. Show apps from one site: this simplifies things from the user as they only see
one app but there are two ways of doing this
1. Load balance: Where usrs will be load balanced across 6.5 and 7.6
2. Failover: This is the one I expect more people to use. The 7.6 site will be primary and
defined users will get 7.6 apps first. If the 7.6 app is unavailable, the user will
automatically fall back to 6.5.
This is a nice safety net.
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• Cross-product collaboration effort to develop an innovative cloud service that
simplifies customer onboarding and upgrades to extend the Citrix workspaces
journey on the latest product versions
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• Next few slides are back-up/mock-up of a live demo. These slides are all based
on current Serenity demo, CLM team will provide access to that environment on
4/28. Hoping to do demo live.
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• One stop shop to help customers who are planning an upgrade to XenApp 7.6,
this easy to use web site helps you get up to speed on the new FlexCast
Management Architecture (FMA) and provides guidance to help integrate your
existing XenApp environment with your new XenApp 7.6 environment. This web
page aggregates all available upgrade resources in a easy to find location to help
customers, making it easy for customers to find the information they need when
they need it.
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• App import/analysis
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• First, application dependencies, which are apps that require other apps to
function. Often these are line-of-business apps that require Excel or adobe or a
plugin/macro.
• Within AppDNA, we can define these dependencies either manually or by letting
AppDNA finding them for us.
• AppDNA will provide us with a safety net so that we are sure we are all of the
right components in place before releasing an image.
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• First, application dependencies, which are apps that require other apps to
function. Often these are line-of-business apps that require Excel or adobe or a
plugin/macro.
• Within AppDNA, we can define these dependencies either manually or by letting
AppDNA finding them for us.
• AppDNA will provide us with a safety net so that we are sure we are all of the
right components in place before releasing an image.
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• First, application dependencies, which are apps that require other apps to
function. Often these are line-of-business apps that require Excel or adobe or a
plugin/macro.
• Within AppDNA, we can define these dependencies either manually or by letting
AppDNA finding them for us.
• AppDNA will provide us with a safety net so that we are sure we are all of the
right components in place before releasing an image.
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App dependency and groups
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• But just because the app is on the image doesn’t mean the app will work. Sure
AppDNA can make sure the app works on the OS, but that is just part of the
challenge. What about making sure an app works with other apps?
• AppDNA now does this as well as part of the image preparation phase. You
select the apps you need to test, then let AppDNA determine if they will
interoperate.
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Interoperability
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But once we have the image all validated, what we find out is that we have
variants of that image for different departments due to different requirements.
Most people only validate the base image and not the variants. What if you
update the base, which also updates the variants? Don’t you need to validate the
variants?
Yes you do.
Most admins don’t because it takes time. This is why you have AppDNA do the
validation for you.
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• Any migration plan needs to ensure that the latest Citrix Receiver is available on
the end point, executing all the upgrades in the datacenter without upgrading to
the latest Receiver runs the risk of impacting the end user performance, false
perception of upgrade success. Receiver is a critical component of the upgrade
process.
• Great Reference doc:
• https://www.citrix.com/content/dam/citrix/en_us/documents/products-solutions/
citrix-receiver-feature-matrix.pdf
• The biggest transition for the upgrade process is making the move from Receiver
for Windows 3.4 Enterprise to Receiver for Windows 4.2
– New user/hardware, just install Receiver for Windows 4.2.100, get access to all your virtual apps
and desktops with the best performance for graphics-intensive 3D professional applications, USB
redirection with published apps, Microsoft Lync virtualization, local app access, app shortcuts, pass-
through authentication, and more.
– However, if you already have Receiver for Windows 3.4 installed, you need to upgrade to the 4.2
version to deliver the best possible upgrade experience, but there are some key things you need to
know:
– First and foremost: A standard user, without admin privileges on the machine, upgrade is not supported.
Why you ask? Necessary admin permissions are required to ensure all the 3.4 files and settings were
properly removed to ensure that the new 4.2 version properly installs.
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• Configure each app in the XenApp Console to place them in the desired location
using the Remote Desktop Connection Manager
• Configure a GPO to remove Version 3.4 as per the previous section.
• Configure a GPO to install Version 4.2.100 with SSON, a StoreFront URL, and
set . SelfServiceMode=False and Disable Startmenu shortcut
• Configure a GPO to add trusted sites to Internet Explorer as per the previous
section
• Run the GPO to remove Version 3.4 as per the previous section
• Run the GPO to install Receiver 4.2 as per the previous section
• Run the GPO to add trusted sites to Internet Explorer as per the previous section
• Verify that the Trusted Sites Zone includes the Storefront URL as per the
previous section.
• Validate that SSON is working, and that apps are in the desired location as per
the previous section
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