On March 26, 2014, Citrix puts XenApp back on the market with the release of Citrix XenApp 7.5. This version of XenApp does not use the Independent Management Architecture (IMA) anymore like in previous versions but use the same FlexCast Management Architecture that XenDesktop use. What’s also new is in XenApp 7.5 is Cloud deployments, Full AppDNA support, Additional virtualization resource support, like VMWare vSphere 5.5, and the support for Web Interface 5.4 is back (XenDesktop 7.x didn’t support the Web Interface).
The installation of XenApp 7.5 and the XenDesktop 7.5 are almost the same. In this blog I show you the step-by-step instructions how to install XenApp 7.5, including the Delivery Controller, the Virtual Delivery Agent on a Windows 2012 R2 system, creating a Site, a Machine Catalog and the Delivery group to publish a shared Desktop and Applications.
I will use my current Citrix License Server, Citrix StoreFront Server and my Microsoft SQL Server within my environment.
XenApp 7.5 Preparations
For Citrix XenApp 7.5 you need to take the following preparations within your environment;
- Citrix License Server 11.11.1 or higher with the required licenses installed
- A “Master” machine for use with PVS or MCS, alternatively you can install the server(s) manually
- A Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 SP2 or higher installed, alternatively you can install SQL Express during the XenApp installation
- Citrix StoreFront or Webinterface server for the provision of the Desktops and/or Applications installed
- Created security groups to assign desktops and applications to users
XenApp 7.5 Prerequisites
Citrix XenApp 7.5 Delivery Controller;
- Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 (only when installing on Server 2008 R2)
- Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5
- Windows PowerShell 2.0 (for Server 2008 R2) or Windows PowerShell 3.0 (for Server 2012)
- Visual C++ 2005
- Visual C++ 2008 SP1
- Visual C++ 2010
Citrix XenApp 7.5 Studio;
- Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 (only when installing on Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7)
- Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5
- Microsoft Management Console 3.0
- Windows PowerShell 2.0 (for Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7) or Windows PowerShell 3.0 (for Server 2012/2012 R2 or Windows 8 / 8.1)
Citrix XenApp 7.5 Director;
- Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5
- Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.0 and ASP.NET 2.0
Citrix XenApp 7.5 Virtual Delivery Agent (VDA) for Windows Desktop OS;
- Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 (only when installing on Windows 7 SP1)
- Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0
- Visual C++ 2010
Citrix XenApp 7.5 Virtual Delivery Agent (VDA) for Windows Server OS;
- Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 (only when installing on Server 2008 R2)
- Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5.1
- Visual C++ 2005
- Visual C++ 2008
- Visual C++ 2010
Installing Citrix XenApp 7.5 Delivery Controller
Start the installation and click Start (next to XenApp)
Click on Delivery Controller
Select I have read, understand, and accept the terms of the license agreement and click Next
I have already installed StoreFront and the License Server on a separate server so I select only the Delivery Controller, the Studio and the Director. Click Next
I have Microsoft SQL Server 2012 already up and running in my environment so I select only Windows Remote Assistance. Click Next.
Click Next
Click Install
Select Launch Studio and click Finish
Click on Deliver applications and desktops to your users
Select A fully configured, production-ready Site, enter a Site name and click Next
Enter the database server and a database name. If the database not exits it will create automatically. Click Test connection
Click OK
Click Close
Click Next
Enter your Citrix License server and click Connect
Select the correct license and click Next
I use Citrix XenServer in my environment. Fill in the requested information of you hypervisor and click Next
Select the network you want to use and click Next
Select the storage you want to use and click Next
Click Next
Click Finish
Installing the Virtual Delivery Agent (VDA) on a Windows 2012 R2 system
Before we continue with the configuration of the delivery controller, lets first install the VDA Agent on a separate Windows 2012 R2 server so that we can use it later to add it to the delivery group.
Start the XenApp / XenDesktop setup and click on Virtual Delivery Agent for Windows Server OS
For now I will not use MCS or PVS so I select Enable connections to a server machine and click Next
Optionally you can install the Citrix Reveiver, click Next
Fill in the XenApp Delivery Controller FQDN installed in previous steps and click Test connection
Click Add
Click Next
Click Next
Click Next
Click Install
The Windows features like Microsoft Remote Desktop Session Host and the Microsoft Desktop Experience are now installing.
Click Close to reboot the machine
After the reboot the setup continues. Click Finish
Creating the Machine Catalog and the Delivery group
Go back the the Delivery Controller console (Citrix Studio) and click on Set up machines for desktops and applications or remote PC access
Click Next
Select Windows Server OS and click Next
Select what is applicable and click Next
Click Add VMs (If not using MCS or PVS)
Add the machine you installed the Agent on in previous steps and click Next
Fill in a Machine Catalog name and the Machine Catalog description for administrators (anything you like) and click Finish
Click on Set up Delivery Groups to assign desktops and applications to your users
Click Next
Select the catalog and choose the number of machines you want to add to this delivery group. Click Next
Choose what you want to publish within this delivery group. In this case I will select Desktops and Applications. Click Next
Add a Active Directory security group or users for this delivery group. In this case the “Shared Desktop” will be published automatic to users that are member of delivery group. Click Next
XenApp will automatic scan the Windows Server hard disk for applications and will display a list of it. To customize a application or to limit the visibility of the application for a specific security group select the application and click Application Properties
Optionally. edit the Identification of the application, click on Delivery
Optionally. edit the icon or the category of the application (Visible within Storefront), click on Location
Optionally. edit the Locations of the application or add a command line argument, click on Limit Visibility
If you want to publish the application only to a specific user group add the users or security group and click OK
Edit and select all the applications you want to publish and click Next
Optionally you can configure the Citrix Receiver (if installed on the server) with the correct StoreFront server. Click Next
Fill in the Delivery Group name, Display name and Delivery Group description for users (anything you like) and click Finish
You are now ready to add the XenApp 7.5 delivery controller to your Citrix StoreFront store.
Logon to StoreFront to see the published desktop and application(s).
The Shared Desktop from XenApp 7.5.
The published app Adobe Reader XI within the Readers and Viewers catacory.
Excellent, thank you for sharing this tutorial, really useful for ” xenapp only people” . Never really worked with xendesktop before
Fantastic!!!!!
Thanks!!!
Thanks
Thanks
Francesco
Hey Robin,
It was pretty awesome information.. I will try today in my lab.
Thanks,
Vincent Mathews
Thanks, and have fun! 🙂
So basically its XenDesktop 7.5 with XenApp name slapped on it.
Yes.. just a rebranding of the App Edition of XenDesktop 🙂
Thanks for the Tutorial:
This was again Marketing game from Citrix. I can not see one single difference from XenDesktop 7.1 in These steps….I don’t want to upgrade just because of upgrading the number 1 to 5. functionality and the Management are exactly the same. It’s not worth upgrading. Thanks again for the tutorial
It’s same with XenDesktop. I understood that it can support with Web Interface 5.4. In case if you do not want to install Storefront.
Correct me if I am wrong, but being a XenApp 6 user, MCS and PVS were not part of the XenApp product family in the past? I am still somewhat confused about why I need those in XenApp 7.5. Is it a method to create more servers from which I publish apps when the load gets too high for one server? Or a way to provide desktops in XenApp? If I use VMware ESXi as a hypervisor, can I still use MCS/PVS? I really hope Citrix includes some basics about MCS and PVS to their XenApp-training.
MCS is part of XenDeskop 5 and higher, PVS has always been a separate Citrix product. In a nutshell; With MCS you can duplicate a master disk (machine) many times (snapshoting), with PVS you built a master vDisk and let one or more servers boot from it so they are all equal.
Thanks for sharing. It’s good to see the “other” version instead of PVS or MCS.
Question though: Since XenApp 7.5 requires RDS licensing on the Microsoft realm, how did you configure your RDS licensing to point to another server without installing a broker?
In my environment I had already installed a RDS license server and configured the XenApp 7.5 servers with a policy pointing to the RDS License server.
if we want to publish only app (OpenOffice) can we do without desktop published?
Yes, when you create your deployment group select “Applications” and not “Desktop and Applications”
Cool!! Thanks
How does one publish apps to a specific server(s) in a delivery group of say, 6 servers. In the outdated Presentation Server 4.5 you could assign an app to a server or server to app (whichever). Is this no longer possible in 7.x. If so, how does one accomplish this?
You have to create a separate delivery group for that.
I don’t think a delivery group is needed for that. For the functionality that Mike is talking about from the post on April 16th, you would need a new machine catalog.
Thanks for the guide! I installed XA 7.5 in my lab today. My production farm is XA 5 on Server 2003 and 2008. I started an XA 6.5 lab which never made it to production due to other projects taking priority. After reading your guide, I decided to bypass 6.5 and go straight to 7.5. Unfortunately 7.5 won’t make it to production on my network until Citrix releases the Citrix Connector for SCCM 2012R2. My plans depend on App-V for a few of my applications and I don’t have a full fledged App-V environment, only SCCM.
Is there any other way to be able to point the XenApp Servers to RDS License Server without through GPO, i.e through Registry.
I have all my Windows Server in the same OU and do not want to create an OU just for 2-3 XenApp Servers.
Yes you can, you can configure it manually on each server.
Excellent and best guide on XA7.5. This really help me a lot, you saved my day. Thank you so much.
Excellent job. How about showing steps to use webinterface rather than store front
Thank you
Thanks for the great tutorial.
If I have valid Subscription Advantage then can I go to XenApp 7.5 from XenApp 6.5 now ?
Yes you can 🙂
Excelent Post Robin! Very nice work. Thank you!
Your welcome!
Hi Robin,
Is their a way to upgrade from Xenapp 6.5 to Xenapp 7.5?
or we should do a new installation of Xenapp 7.5?
There is no upgrade path, you must start with a fresh new installation.
Michael there will come a XenApp Upgrade and Migration Tool. Should be out in a few weeks.
http://mailing.noeva.com/XenApp/How%20and%20When%20to%20Migrate%20Customers%20to%20XenApp%20%20XenDesktop%207.5.pdf
starting at page 26
here you go: http://www.citrix.com/migrate and you should receive some powershell scripts for exporting your existing policies and published apps /desktops (there should arrive also your administration settings).
After you cloud simply uninstall XA6.5 – install XA7.5 and bring it to the farm (without reinstalling the whole server)
Thank you!
Good one robin.
I need one more help where i can get trial version on xen 7.5.
Excellent guide!
Thanks to share your Know How!
Fabio
Thanks Fabio!
thanks, good info!
Hi Sander, thanks!
Robin, for some reason my applications aren’t showing up after logging into storefront. It says, “There are not desktop or applications at this time.” In my delivery group I only chose applications. Please advise…thanks in advance.
Hi Sean, Make sure you configured a security group within your assignment and that you are member of it.
i added only myself in the group. my licenses are only xendesktop and not xenapp, does that matter in terms what i’m allowed to publish?
in storefront, i also only picked xendesktop but still no luck. 🙁
all that done on xenapp 7.5
Hi,
thanks, this tuto helped big time to install a POC.
Thanx !
Good to hear, thanks!
Excellent Post Robin ! Really Good work. Thanks Man !
Awesome info 🙂
Thanks Robin
Regards,
Manidhar
Excellent Information , Robin,
Where do 2-Factor Authentication fits in? Currently, I use 6.5, Web Interface and Secure Gateway, with RSA enabled. I came to your site after entering “RSA” but there was no mention here. Though, I did find your tutorial very informative.
hello,
Nice guide you put together!
I noticed that you reused your existing Licence server, in my setup i installed the license server on a windows server 2012 r2 standard edition, but the license daemon fails to start even though the installation completes successfully.
Have you tested Citrix Licensing 11.11.1 with Windows server 2012 R2 ?
Hi Osman, yes I have mine License server running on 2012R2 without any problems.
Hi Robin,
Thanks for the Information.It really helped me a lot.I like the way you explain every concept.
Thanks Man!!
Your welcome, thanks!
Very Good and Excellent Documentation.
I am not able to connect my citrix receiver with the Citrix Server 7.5. Getting error – Cannot complete your request…
Pls provide me troubleshooting instructions to connect citrix receiver to server
Great job, really appreciated, !
Thanks, your welcome!