Platforms: 4000 series and 6000 series platforms

Currently available: 4800 & 6800 firmware version 4.8 onwards

Installation:

• Download and install '470-citrixsip' via the CLI, don't reboot.
• Install the latest L7 Signatures under System | Updates | Layer 7 Signatures
• Reboot.

Overview:

Exinda can classify Citrix Independent Computing Architecture (ICA) traffic and perform subport classification of Citrix traffic based on Citrix published applications. Exinda can monitor Citrix ICA client requests for a published application destined to a Citrix ICA Master browser. After the client requests the published application, the Citrix ICA Master browser directs the client to the server with the most available memory. The Citrix ICA client then connects to this Citrix ICA server for the application.

Exinda statefully tracks Citrix ICA server client messages and classifies requests for given Citrix application names and traffic. A Citrix application is named when published on a Citrix ICA server.

Image 1: Citrix Published Applications List

Configuration Modes:

Citrix ICA clients can be configured in various modes. Exinda cannot distinguish among Citrix applications in all modes of operation. Therefore, network administrators might need to collaborate with Citrix administrators to ensure that Exinda properly classifies Citrix traffic.

A Citrix administrator can configure Citrix to publish Citrix applications individually or as the entire desktop. In the Published Desktop mode of operation, all applications within the published desktop of a client use the same TCP session. Therefore, differentiation among applications is impossible, and Exinda can only be used to classify Citrix applications as aggregates (by looking at port 1494).

The Published Application mode for Citrix ICA clients is recommended when you use Exinda. In Published Application mode, a Citrix administrator can configure a Citrix client in either seamless or non-seamless (windows) modes of operation. In non-seamless mode, each Citrix application uses a separate TCP connection, and Exinda can be used to provide interapplication differentiation based on the name of the published application.

Seamless mode clients can operate in one of two submodes: session sharing or non-session sharing. In seamless session sharing mode, all clients share the same TCP connection, and Exinda cannot differentiate among applications. Seamless sharing mode is enabled by default on some software releases.

In seamless non-session sharing mode, each application for each particular client uses a separate TCP connection. Exinda can provide interapplication differentiation in seamless non-session sharing mode.

Image 2: Citrix Published Applications - Application drill down

Image 3: Citrix Published Applications - Real Time Analysis

Features:

Citrix Published Applications List (image 1)
Realtime Citrix Application Monitoring (image 3)
Detailed (drill-down) Citrix Application Monitoring (image 2)
QoS (shaping) by Citrix Application

Realtime Citrix Application Monitoring
In the Monitor | RealTime section, the published application name will apear next to the service 'ica' if the Exinda has detected the application name for that particular ica session.

Detailed (drill-down) Citrix Application Monitoring
Under Monitor | Applications, where 'ica' appears, there is a link next to it called 'View Applications'. This will take you to a list of detected Citrix publised applications. From here you can see who used what applications. Furthermore, if you go to Monitor | Hosts and click on a host (IP), you can see what Citrix published applications this user used by selecting 'Citrix Applications' from the dropdown.

QoS (shaping) by Citrix Application
Published applications can be defined as Traffic Types, which can then be used in Optimizer policies. To correctly define a traffic type goto System | Traffic Types | Add Traffic Type. Enter a name, select IP as the protocol, select 'ica, port 1494' as the service, and select 'Citrix Application' from the last dropdown. Here you can enter the publised application name. You can enter the full application name, eg, Internet Explorer, which is case-sensitive, or you can use widcards, eg, internet*, which is case-insensitive. You can save this Traffic Type, then use it in Optimizer policies.