Archive

Archive for February, 2013

#Citrix #Receiver 5.7.1 for iOS released

February 25, 2013 Leave a comment

Ok, another version of Citrix Receiver released!

Receiver_5_7_1_iOS

Read more about it here (no detailed 5.7.1 info yet but I guess it’s coming soon)!

//Richard

Categories: All, Citrix, Receiver Tags: , , , , , , , ,

February Edition of #Citrix #XenDesktop Technical Newsletter Now Available

February 21, 2013 Leave a comment

February XenDesktop newsletter is out! Here’s a subset of what you can read from the Citrix blog post.

Using XenDesktop? Then you need to get the XenDesktop Technical Newsletter! The newsletter is comprised of the best technical resources from across Citrix Services: Consulting, Technical Support, Education, and Technical Readiness. In its third year the newsletter is designed to help customers run their XenDesktop optimally and get more out of their investment in Citrix desktop virtualization. And its FREE!

I am pleased to announce that the February 2013 edition of the newsletter is now available.

Check out the archive page, where you can access both the current and past issues, as well as subscribe to the FREE monthly newsletter.

The February edition of the newsletter is packed with great content, including:

  • Optimal XenApp 6.5 VM Configuration (Blog)
  • Introduction to the new Project Accelerator (Blog)
  • Deploying XenApp 6.5 using PVS (Blog)
  • Insider Troubleshooting tips for Administrators (eBook)
  • Whats new with Excalibur (Blog)
  • Top Knowledge Center content for December 2012 (Articles, hotfixes, whitepapers, etc…)
  • How to configure Access Gateway 5 standalone for use with XD5 (tech note)
  • XenDesktop Tools & Hotfixes
  • And much more.

If you have any feedback/suggestions please let us know. Also don’t forget to Sign-up now!

//Richard

Categories: All, Citrix, XenDesktop Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

It all ADDS up with #BYOD (Assess + Design + Deploy + Support = Success)

February 21, 2013 Leave a comment

Below you can read about a couple of webinars coming up on Citrix’s view on how to get your BYOD strategy up and running!

Cowboy consumerization is here…and it’s here to stay.  You may not want to admit it, but you already have a few “outlaws” in your organization who are using their own devices, regardless of whether you allow them to or not. In fact, you probably have entire departments accessing email, apps and data on devices and through services that are not secure. The consumerization of IT is here to stay, so you may as well embrace it.

When business information is accessed by user-owned, consumer-grade devices, the right technology foundation is essential to ensure IT control. The question is where to begin. What are the business, user and IT benefits of enabling bring-your-own device (BYOD)?

The business wants to make employees more productive yet remain compliant. Users want access to all their enterprise apps and data from their many devices and IT wants to ensure security and control in a way that’s simple to manage.

Before you begin a BYOD initiative, it’s important to understand the underlying products that will become a part of your BYOD solution and their functionality and feature sets. One size does not fit all and, even though a BYOD solution may seem complex, it’s important to realize that it all boils down to addressing four key things:

  • Multiple Devices – Employees are bringing their own devices (on average 3) into the workplace – whether you like it or not.
  • Lots of Apps – IT have lots of them and different types (Windows, Web, SaaS and Mobile) that everyone want access to from their device.
  • Unmanaged Data – Employees are..

Continue reading here!

//Richard

Categories: All, BYOD, Citrix Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

#Citrix #NetScaler Insight (NI) – Citrix TV videos

February 20, 2013 Leave a comment

Citrix has released some videos related to NetScaler Insight. Have a look at them and try it out!

Setting up NetScaler Insight 1.0

NetScaler Insight – Adding NetScaler Instances to NetScaler Insight

Application visibility using NetScaler Insight

NetScaler Insight – Adding NetScaler Instances to NetScaler Insight

Cheers!

//Richard

 

 

Categories: All, Citrix, NetScaler Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

#Citrix #AppController 2.5 Implementation Tips – #CloudGateway, #BYOD

February 19, 2013 Leave a comment

Great blog post by Matthew Brooks!

AppController is a component of the Citrix CloudGateway Enterprise suite that orchestrates access to Enterprise Cloud applications.  Those applications may take many forms including Mobile Applications, Software-as-a-Service hosted in public clouds, and Web links.  Below I provided some tips to help with the implementation of AppController 2.5 (which is the latest version as of the publishing of this blog).

System Related

Including settings such as the Hostname, SSL certificates, and Restore.

TIPs:

  • Take a hypervisor level snapshot after the initial installation so that you can easily return to that base level if configuration or integrations efforts go awry.
  • The hostname cannot contain special characters in the AppController certificate signing request.
  • The hostname must match SSL certificate.
  • The system cert must be chained to its CA/(s).

Active Directory Related

Including settings such as the Server (Domain Controller), Base DN, and Service Account credentials.

TIPs:

  • The AppController only supports integration with a single domain.  Multiple domains require multiple AppControllers.  The NetScaler Access Gateway may be configured to allow users to access a single fully qualified domain name, yet be directed to their respective domain AppController through the use of Global Groups.  See CTX116169 for more informationhttp://support.citrix.com/article/CTX116169
  • All user accounts must have a first name, last name, and email address configured or they will receive an authorization error when attempting to launch applications.  The bind Administrator account must also have email address configured or directory integration will fail.
  • Only LDAP (TCP 389) may be configured through the wizard that must be completed initially.  Thereafter LDAPS (TCP 636) may be configured through the full administration menu.
  • If the server name domain name is a load balanced DNS entry the initial import may work, yet subsequent bind attempts will fail.  Alternatively you may use the IP address of an LDAPS load balancer on a Netscaler with specific domain controllers configured as services.  See CTX135092 for more information http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX135092

Network Related

Including settings such as the IP address, @Workweb and NTP server.

TIPs:

  • Use IP private addresses as system addresses if possible.  When Trust Settings are configured for NetScaler Access Gateway it does not allow SSO to public addresses.  If public addresses must be used the NetScaler may be configured with an SSL Bridge to access the AppController.  See NetScaler Traffic Management document for more information.
  • NTP must be configured or SAML authentication may fail for SaaS sites if the time difference is significant.
  • When Trust Settings are configured for NetScaler Access…

Continue reading here!

//Richard

Categories: All, Citrix, CloudGateway Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

#Microsoft #Office 2013 lockdown aims to boost cloud services

February 19, 2013 Leave a comment

Microsoft Office 2013 lockdown aims to boost cloud services

If a computer dies, so does the Office license, unless you have enterprise deals

Microsoft has confirmed that a retail copy of Office 2013 is permanently tied to the first PC on which it’s installed, preventing customers from deleting the suite from one machine they own and installing it on another.

The move is a change from past Office end-user licensing agreements (EULAs), experts said, and is another way Microsoft is pushing customers, especially consumers, to opt for new “rent-not-own” subscription plans.

“That’s a substantial shift in Microsoft licensing,” said Daryl Ullman, co-founder and managing director of the Emerset Consulting Group, which specializes in helping companies negotiate software licensing deals. “Let’s be frank. This is not in the consumer’s best interest. They’re paying more than before, because they’re not getting the same benefits as before.”

Prior to Office 2013, which debuted last month, Microsoft’s EULA for retail copies of Office plainly stated that customers could reassign a license when, for example, they replaced an aged PC with a newer model, or the original machine gave out.

“You may reassign the license to a different device any number of times, but not more…

Continue reading here! 

//Richard

Categories: All, Microsoft, Office 365 Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

#Citrix #ShareFile Outlook Plug-in 2.1 released

February 19, 2013 Leave a comment

 

The ShareFile Outlook Plug-in automatically detects and uploads attachments to your ShareFile account and provides the recipient with a link to the attachment in the body of the email.  This integration provides users with the ability to send large attachments via email with ease and verify attachments are delivered securely.  This plug-in supports both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Outlook on Windows XP and higher, including Windows 8.  ShareFile account authentication is supported as well as accounts using Active Directory credentials and Single Sign On (SSO).

For more information on this tool, please see the ShareFile Knowledge Base.

Continue reading here!

//Richard

Categories: All, Citrix, ShareFile Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

#Citrix #CloudBridge Connecting to Microsoft #Azure – Technology Preview

February 19, 2013 Leave a comment

This is really interesting!!! Can’t wait to try it out, I just got Azure up and running with a couple of VM’s in it and will set this up and try it ASAP! 🙂

CloudBridge Connecting to Microsoft Azure

Release Date: Feb 15, 2013

 
Citrix CloudBridge connects enterprise datacenters to external clouds and hosting environments, making the cloud a secure extension of the enterprise network.

This technology preview offers standard based secure connectivity to Microsoft Azure. With this enhancement, a customer can  connect their enterprise data center to the Azure VPN gateway and access the IaaS and PaaS offerings from Microsoft. 

The following are the key points to note :

  • Secure L3 connection to Azure VPN gateway
  • CloudBridge deployment on the enterprise data center only. It is not running inside Azure
  • No WAN Optimization or L2 extension supported in this solution since it needs deployment of CloudBridge on the Azure end as well.

Images and Licenses:

We are making available virtual appliances running on XenServer (xva images). These appliances need EVAL licenses. Please follow links to sign-up and get these EVAL licenses.

To get started:

  1. For the XenServer images of CloudBridge, please download from the list below
  2. Get and activate an EVAL license via the get license link for NetScaler VPX and follow the instructions. CloudBridge license is shared with NetScaler VPX Platinum Edition.

Helpful Resources:

  1. Download the CloudBridge@Azure Tech Preview deployment guide from the link below the Download section
  2. For help with licensing the instance, refer to the NetScaler VPX licensing guide
  3. New to NetScaler/CloudBridge? Documentation, knowledge base articles, additional tutorials and other information is available on the NetScaler Knowledge Center

Have Questions?

Go to the CloudBridge discussion forum to get help from…

Continue reading here!

//Richard

Categories: All, Citrix, CloudBridge, NetScaler Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

1st Test of Webroot SecureAnywhere – #Webroot, #SecureAnywhere, #BYOD – via @WeCloud

February 12, 2013 2 comments

It’s not very often that I test endpoint protection, antivirus or antimalware software. But tonight I started to have a look at Webroot and I must say that I’m really liking it!

There are some parts in particular that I like about it:

  1. It’s “cloud” based, so you don’t need your own costly infrastructure! 
  2. It takes seconds to deploy to a new Windows instance
  3. It scanned the XenDesktop controller that I installed  it on in 42 SECONDS! Wow! That’s amazing! 😀
    Scan_Time_42_seconds_wow
  4. The footprint is close to NOTHING!
  5. The installer is just a couple of MB!!
  6. It fits into the BYOD model

First of I just started a new trial, which was really easy! Just log on to the webpage and register, then after entering your info you’re all set and ready do deploy your “agents”.

My first thought was that this is really great for environments where you’d like low footprint, quick installation and low maintenance efforts of your antivirus software. And the way that Webroot does the scanning of the files etc. is so great and makes the software so quick and neat!

This must be perfect for XenDesktop and XenApp environments is my thought!! I’ll try it our more and will let you know! And why not provide this as an option in your BYOD program?

Here are some reviews that I was given by WeCloud, and they pretty much (or actually more) confirm that this is some good software!

PC Mag Review –  SecureAnywhere Antivirus
“Installer and program are incredibly tiny”
“Perfect score in my malware-blocking test”
 Read the review here!
 V3 Test & Review – Secure Anywhere

“Easy-to-use and excellently-designed malware protection with powerful central management and deployment features, and which should appeal to a wide range of businesses”. 
Read the review here!

AV Wars (RescuTechs LLC)
“No antivirus program we tested performed better at detection and removal of rootkits and scareware.”
Read the review here!

AV Test (Independent IT-Security Institute)
“100% Protection against 0-day malware attacks, inclusive of web and e-mail threats (Real-World Testing)” 
Read the review here!

//Richard
Categories: All, BYOD, Security Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

New Online Training Sessions Available for System Center 2012 – #SC2012, #Microsoft

February 12, 2013 Leave a comment

Microsoft Virtual Academy has released a new training series that delves into System Center 2012 SP1 Service Manager. Topics covered include:

– Import Data and Runbooks 
– Build and Publish Request Offerings 
– Create, Invoke & Monitor 
– Chargeback

These sessions are now available to view online.

And now that System Center Universe 2013 is over, those sessions are also available online. You can now view the System Center Universe 2013 recordings online to learn about VMware and Hyper-V Data Protection, Advanced System Center Reporting, Windows Azure Infrastructure as a Service…

Continue reading here! 

//Richard

Categories: Service Manager Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,