Citrix Support Anyone?

The Autodesk Vault lab has been working overtime of late preparing our latest user focused enhancement, the long awaited Citrix Support confirmation (insert applause).  Based on the current Vault 2015 product line the information below provides background details on what Citrix support entails, outlines requirements and provide some basic setup instructions.

Using Vault with Citrix XenApp

Autodesk Vault Basic, Workgroup and Professional 2015 are Citrix Ready certified.  This document describes how to setup Vault software to run on Citrix XenApp 6.5.  This document does not include any details on licensing issues, nor is it meant to be a comprehensive guide to running Autodesk Vault in a XenApp environment.

How does XenApp work?

At a basic level, Citrix® XenApp® is a software application that allows a company's IT or CAD Manager to provide access to business applications, such as Vault and other Autodesk programs, to their employees from a server in a secure virtual environment. These applications are "published" for use by the company's staff who can access them through an internet connection from anywhere in the world.

Multiple users can access the same desktop or application simultaneously (provided that the application is capable of running multiple sessions side by side). Graphics are streamed to the user's desktop, and the user's mouse and keyboard input is streamed back to the server.

How are applications published and accessed?

A company's business applications are installed directly onto the server (or server farm). XenApp and XenDesktop provide a Web Interface Management console that the company's IT person will use to set up a web site where users will access published applications. Installed applications are published via the Delivery Services console where IT will manage users' access. For more information on these consoles, please see the XenApp 6.0 or 6.5 FP1 or XenDesktop 5.6 documentation.

For XenApp and XenDesktop, users (clients) must install a receiver that is provided (free) by Citrix in order to access the web site where applications have been published. Then they simply connect to the URL provided by the IT manager and log in. Icons representing the applications the user has permissions for are displayed on the web site. The user clicks an icon to launch the desired application and that app is streamed to the user's desktop. The application is presented in a window that can be minimized/maximized/resized like any other application window.

The License Administration console in XenApp and XenDesktop is for managing Citrix licenses, and the Server Role Manager helps in deploying XenApp and XenDesktop server roles in Windows 2008 r2. Please refer to the XenApp 6.0 or 6.5 FP1 or XenDesktop documentation for further information on installing XenApp and XenDesktop and configuring applications for delivery.

Requirements for Vault in Citrix

Before setting up Vault for use in a Citrix® environment, see the Citrix documentation for system requirements for XenApp®.

Before you install or deploy the program, make sure that your servers and client workstations meet or exceed the minimum recommended hardware and software requirements for the Vault 2015 edition that will be published.

Requirements for Citrix XenApp

• A server running Windows® Server® 2008 R2 (SP1), installed and configured with Citrix XenApp 6.5.
• Client computers should have either the full Citrix or web client plug-in installed.

Requirements for User Access

Setting up Vault for Citrix

Autodesk Vault is supported in the Citrix XenApp environment with the Vault client only.  The Vault server should be installed on a dedicated server but accessible from the Citrix deployed client.  All CAD applications that require the Vault add-in needs to be installed and published on all servers which the Vault client will be published from.

1. Install the CAD application(s).
2. Run the installation setup program for the Vault client software.
3. Publish the Vault client software using the Citrix AppCenter.

We look forward to hearing your feedback on this new Vault delivery option!

– Allan