Citrix HDX for Dummies

Written by Alexander Ervik Johnsen

Citrix Technology Professional (CTP)
www.ervik.as

Table of Contents
About the author .......................................................................................................................................... 2
Changelog ..................................................................................................................................................... 3
Credits ........................................................................................................................................................... 3
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 4
Background ................................................................................................................................................... 4
What is HDX Technology ............................................................................................................................... 4
Citrix Receiver ............................................................................................................................................... 5
HDX RichGraphics / 3D Background.............................................................................................................. 6
HDX 3D Pro.................................................................................................................................................... 7
NVIDIA GRID Technology ............................................................................................................................ 10
HDX Plug-n-play .......................................................................................................................................... 18
HDX Broadcast ............................................................................................................................................ 19
HDX Mobile ................................................................................................................................................. 19
HDX WAN Optimization .............................................................................................................................. 20
HDX SoC ...................................................................................................................................................... 21
HDX MediaStream....................................................................................................................................... 22
HDX IntelliCache.......................................................................................................................................... 30
HDX Adaptive Orchestration ....................................................................................................................... 31
HDX RealTime Optimization Pack for Microsoft Lync ................................................................................. 31
Multi-Stream and Multi-Port ICA ................................................................................................................ 32
Summary ..................................................................................................................................................... 34

ALEXANDER ERVIK JOHNSEN 2014 WWW.ERVIK.AS

About the author

Alexander Ervik Johnsen is a Senior Solution Architect, Technology Evangelist, Author and Speaker,
based in Oslo - Norway. Alexander has been working with Microsoft and Citrix products since 1997 as a
senior consultant, and Solution Architect. He now works for the Citrix VAD Reseller, ArrowECS in Norway
as a Product Manager Citrix / Senior Solution Architect. In his role he primarily work as a pre-sale and
travel around Norway and Europe evangelizing Citrix, Cloud, Virtualization, Thin clients and 3 party
solutions.
In previous jobs, he worked with both small and large scale Citrix and Application Delivery
implementations, both in Norway and Europe.
Alexander is also a speaker, speaking at both Norwegian events such as Citrix User Group Norway ,
InspirationDay and Roadshows across Norway. Alexander has also been speaking at Citrix Synergy
events in both the United States of America and Europe. Alexander is also the owner of the well-known
website: www.ervik.as Alexander is also a Citrix Certified Instructor ( CCI ).
In May 2008, he was awarded Citrix Technology Professional (CTP), which is a true honor for him, since
Citrix, Virtualization, Cloud and Application Delivery is his big passion in this industry.

Alexander also holds a degree in Information Technology from the The Norwegian School of Information
Technology(NITH) , and industry certifications from Citrix CCP-V, CCA-N and Microsoft MCSA.

ALEXANDER ERVIK JOHNSEN 2014 WWW.ERVIK.AS

Changelog
Version
1.0

Date
Author
26.06.2014 Alexander Ervik Johnsen

Reviewer
Timco Hazelaar
Douglas Brown

Credits
I want to give a shout out to the following industry leaders for reviewing this eBook and giving me
feedback that made this eBook as good as it could be! Without their review of this eBook, it would have
turned out different from the result, which I hopefully think you like.
Timco Hazelaar from Login Consultants
Douglas Brown from DABCC Inc

ALEXANDER ERVIK JOHNSEN 2014 WWW.ERVIK.AS

Introduction
The Citrix HDX technologies is nothing new to its XenApp and XenDesktop products. IT organizations are
faced with the challenge of providing a virtual computing experience for employees that is the same or
better than that of a local PC, regardless of whether users are accessing their virtual desktops from
corporate owned devices or BYO mobile devices, whether from challenging, low bandwidth high latency
WANS, highly variable 3G/4G mobile networks or a reliable corporate network (LAN).Some virtual
desktop solutions take a narrow approach to this problem, relying on point technologies that work only
under a limited set of conditions. Only Citrix HDX technologies addresses the networking and application
delivery challenges virtual desktop computing brings. With HDX technologies, Citrix XenDesktop and
XenApp delivers a brilliant user experience on a wide variety of devices, equaling or surpassing the local
PC experience.
This eBook provides an overview of HDX capabilities and its benefits for users and IT administrators.

Background
This free eBook will guide you through the different HDX Technologies, what they can do, and what they
mean for the overall implementation of Citrix XenApp, XenDesktop and NetScaler technologies. In
addition, a vital part to get the HDX Technology to work is the Citrix Receiver.

What is HDX Technology

Citrix HDX technology is a set of capabilities that work together to deliver a high-definition user
experience of virtual desktops and applications to any device over any network from the data center or
cloud. The goal of Citrix HDX technology is to ensure that XenDesktop and XenApp users receive a high
definition desktop virtualization user experience similar to that achieved with traditional desktop
computers. HDX Technology incorporates different and several types of technology.
Citrix HDX includes a broad set of technologies that reside across the entire end-to-end delivery system.
HDX in the datacenter leverages the processing power and scalability of servers to deliver advanced
graphical and multimedia performance, regardless of the capabilities of the endpoint device. HDX on the
network incorporates advanced optimization and acceleration capabilities such as the Citrix ICA virtual
delivery protocol and other third-party technologies to deliver a great user experience over any
network, including for remote desktop access over high-latency, low-bandwidth environments. HDX at
the device leverages the computing capacity of endpoint devices to enhance user experience in the
most efficient way possible.
In this eBook, I will guide you through the different types of HDX technologies and explain what they do.

ALEXANDER ERVIK JOHNSEN 2014 WWW.ERVIK.AS

Citrix Receiver
Citrix Receiver is a free download designed as an integral component for VDI-in-a-Box, XenDesktop and
XenApp installations. Citrix Receiver is a universal software client that provides secure, highperformance delivery of virtual desktops and applications.
This easy-to-install software client lets you access your applications, desktops and data easily and
securely from any device, including smartphones, tablets, PCs and Macs. Working with a Citrix-enabled
IT infrastructure, Receiver gives you the mobility, convenience and freedom you need to get your work
done.
Citrix Receiver provides end users with:

Simple, self-service access to virtual desktops, applications, and IT services

Hi-definition user experience on any network or device
Instant updates to users with IT control and visibility
Easier management of Enterprise data, apps, desktops, and SaaS apps through secure,
centralized deployment to any user device

Citrix Receiver Plug-ins, such as the Offline Plug-in, provide advanced features and capabilities. Citrix
Receiver Updater for Windows, Receiver Updater for Mac, and Merchandising Server are components
that streamline the installation and management of Citrix Receiver on the user desktops. Merchandising
Server provides the administrative interface for configuring, delivering, and upgrading plug-ins for your
users' computers.
For a complete feature list-> http://www.citrix.com/content/dam/citrix/en_us/documents/products-solutions/citrix-receiver-feature-matrix.pdf

ALEXANDER ERVIK JOHNSEN 2014 WWW.ERVIK.AS

HDX RichGraphics / 3D Background

Citrix has more experience in 3D graphics remoting than any other vendor in our space. Enable secure,
real-time, remote collaboration on design data with stunning performance by centrally hosting 3D apps
and data with XenDesktop and XenApp with HDX 3D Pro. Back in 2006 their K2 technology was
developed for Boeing, enabling Dassault CATIA to be delivered to Dreamliner (787) design engineers
around the world. After the introduction of XenDesktop, Citrix brought GPU-accelerated 3D graphics
remoting to General Availability in 2009 with the introduction of XenDesktop HDX 3D Pro. At that time,
the solution required a blade workstation for each user. In 2010, Citrix introduced high performance
GPU Sharing for DirectX based applications, driving down cost per user. 2011 saw the introduction of the
first GPU Pass-through technology to the market as part of XenServer 6.0. This allowed customers to
install multiple GPUs on the server, again bringing down the cost per user. And in 2012 Citrix introduced
XenDesktop 5.6 Feature Pack 1 which was the first product to leverage NVIDIAs VGX API (rebranded as
GRID in 2013) for direct GPU frame buffer access, resulting in an even more responsive user experience.
2012 also saw improvements to their H.264-based Deep Compression technology for delivering 3D
graphics over bandwidth-constrained WAN connections. 2013 and 2014 is the year of high density, high
performance GPU sharing for OpenGL and DirectX.
In the past, virtualizing design/engineer workstations and line of business, graphics-intensive
applications such as CAD/CAM was never seriously considered due to existing technology limitations.
Today, by leveraging various recent software virtualization advancements, many organizations have
begun to successfully virtualize their high-end graphics apps.
In an increasingly global economy, companies are looking to improve time-to-market by securely
collaborating and managing design lifecycles with offshore, mobile and remote employees while
maintaining secure control over intellectual property. Organizations are seeing desktop virtualization as
an enabling technology to accomplish these dual goals. Leveraging XenDesktop with HDX 3D pro for
application and workstation virtualization, with its advancements in deep compression to improve
utilization of network bandwidth, and the latest XenServer integrations of GPU acceleration technology
for virtualized environments from Nvidia, Citrix is demonstrating a leadership position in addressing this
underserved high-end 3D graphics applications segment.
Key Points: There are many business drivers influencing the trend to virtualize high-end graphics
applications such as CAD/CAM including:

The need to leverage a global talent base The need to secure product design IP

The need to extend mobile device access to users viewing, presenting design models

The need to improve time to market and be more cost efficient

ALEXANDER ERVIK JOHNSEN 2014 WWW.ERVIK.AS

HDX 3D Pro
HDX 3D Pro is a set of graphics acceleration technologies designed to optimize the virtualization of rich
graphics apps. HDX 3D Pro is a feature of XenDesktop Enterprise and Platinum editions that enables you
to deliver workstations and applications that perform best with a graphics processing unit (GPU) for
hardware acceleration, including 3D professional graphics applications based on OpenGL and DirectX.
With HDX 3D Pro, you can use XenDesktop to deliver complex interactive graphics over wide area
network (WAN) connections with bandwidths as low as 1.5Mbps using various deep compression CPU
and GPU techniques.
On local area network (LAN) connections, HDX 3D Pro enables you to replace complex and expensive
workstations with much simpler user devices, moving the graphics processing into the data center for
centralized management.
You can use HDX 3D Pro to virtualize, for example, tools for computer-aided design, manufacturing, and
engineering (CAD/CAM/CAE), geographical information system (GIS) software, and picture archiving and
communication system (PACS) workstations for medical imaging.

Use HDX 3D Pro graphic acceleration technologies with:

Computer-aided design, manufacturing, and engineering (CAD/CAM/CAE) applications

Geographical information system (GIS) software
Picture Archiving Communication System (PACS) workstations for medical imaging
Latest OpenGL, DirectX, CUDA and CL versions supported
Latest NVIDIA Grid cards
HDX 3D pro now has the following new capabilities built in:

Self-tuning codec technology

o Adaptive Display automatically detects transient and/or video images
o Image quality dynamically adapts to network bandwidth
o Fine Drawing codec eliminated; improved H.264 codec performs much better
HDX 3D Pro now available for Windows Server RDS workloads
o Adaptive H.264-based Deep Compression
o GPU acceleration and sharing for OpenGL and DirectX (including WPF), plus experimental
support for CUDA and OpenCL
o Faster frame rate at higher resolutions compared to XenApp 6.5 GPU Sharing
Auto screen resolution detection
o No longer necessary to disconnect /reconnect when changing resolution

ALEXANDER ERVIK JOHNSEN 2014 WWW.ERVIK.AS

5 versions of Receiver now include decoding of Deep Compression

o Windows, Linux, iOS, Mac, Android
HDX Monitor now reports on HDX 3D Pro
o Details on fps, codec, performance
o Replaces previous HDX 3D Pro Health Check Tool
Quad monitor support
o Not a hard limit but we tested with up to 4 monitors with good performance

HDX 3D Pro provides 2 types of Deep Compression options CPU based or GPU based.
CPU-based deep compression -> In June 2012, Citrix released the latest HDX 3D Pro VDA which includes
advancements in CPU compression and is designed to offload compression processing from the GPU.
This gives us the following an advantage that you can use a less expensive GPU card if you choose and
the GPU processing can focus on graphics command delivery for better graphics performance. With the
CPU deep compression codec, it is possible to achieve good performance with as little as 1.5 Mbps of
bandwidth.
GPU-based deep compression -> GPU-based compression is advantageous on servers with limited CPU
resources. To leverage our GPU-based deep compression codec, the host workstation in the data center
must be equipped with NVIDIA graphics card with at least 96 CUDA cores (128 or more recommended).
Fine drawing codec -> HDX 3D Pro also includes a fine drawing codec for rendering fine detail graphics
and images.
Lossless compression -> HDX 3D Pro supports lossless compression, which enables you to deliver pixelperfect images for applications such as medical imaging.

ALEXANDER ERVIK JOHNSEN 2014 WWW.ERVIK.AS

VDI or RDS/XenApp
So, when do you choose which HDX 3D Pro technology? Good question and it all comes down to the
user needs and if the application will work in a multi user environment RDS/XenApp. While in most
cases, XenApp will do the trick, and is far more cost efficient, some applications will just not work in a
XenApp multi user environment. The latter might need xxx CUDA cores, to render stuff, and then it will
be the best bet to go with VDI. So, the question what should we choose, really comes down to 2 things:
1. Will the application work in a XenApp environment? Many 3D applications has usb
keys with licenses on them to get the app running, will this work? Does the application
support the amount of users that you need pr XenApp host?
2. User needs what is the user doing? Is he rendering stuff? On the other hand, are they
just viewing 3d cad models? Find out the user pattern for the app in question!

ALEXANDER ERVIK JOHNSEN 2014 WWW.ERVIK.AS

NVIDIA GRID Technology

The Grid technology from NVIDIA is a result in several years of development between Citrix and
NVIDIA. The NVIDIA GRID portfolio of technologies leverages the power of the GPU and the
world's best graphics applications to deliver GPU-accelerated applications and games over the
network to any user. NVIDIA GRID GPUs are based on the NVIDIA Kepler GPU architecture,
delivering fast, reliable, energy-efficient performance.

This architecture's virtualization capabilities lets multiple users simultaneously share GPUs with
ultra-fast streaming display capability that eliminates lag, making a remote data center feel like
it's next door. NVIDIA GRID software is a complete stack of GPU virtualization, remoting and
session-management libraries that allows multiple users to experience graphics-intensive
desktops, applications and games using GPUs. This enables exceptional capture, efficient
compression, fast streaming, and low-latency display of high-performance games and
enterprise applications.
NVIDIA GRID vGPU brings the full benefit of NVIDIA hardware-accelerated graphics to
virtualized solutions. This technology provides exceptional graphics performance for virtual
desktops equivalent to local PCs when sharing a GPU among multiple users.
GRID vGPU is the industry's most advanced technology for sharing true GPU hardware
acceleration between multiple virtual desktopswithout compromising the graphics
experience. Application features and compatibility are exactly the same as they would be at the
desktop in the office.
With GRID vGPU technology, the graphics commands of each virtual machine are passed
directly to the GPU, without translation by the hypervisor. This allows the GPU hardware to be
time-sliced to deliver the ultimate in shared virtualized graphics performance.

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VGPU PROFILES MEAN CUSTOMIZED, DEDICATED GRAPHICS MEMORY

Take advantage of vGPU Manager to assign just the right amount of memory to meet the specific needs
of each user. Every virtual desktop has dedicated graphics memory, just as if they would at their desk, so
they always have the resources they need to launch and use their applications.
vGPU Manager enables up to eight users to share each physical GPU, assigning the graphics resources of
the available GPUs to virtual machines in a balanced approach. Each NVIDIA GRID K1 card has up to four
GPUs, allowing 32 users to share a single card.

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The GRID K100 and K200 GPU profiles are designed for the lighter graphics workloads associated with

the applications that knowledge workers and power users use most of their time. These include
Windows 8.1, Windows 7 with Aero enabled, viewing rich web content such as Adobe Flash or HTML 5,
or simply getting the full interactive experience of Microsoft Office (PowerPoint, Excel, Word). To
understand more about the graphics requirements of your applications, consult your application vendor.
Each GPU within a system must be configured to provide a single vGPU profile, however separate GPUs
on the same GRID board can each be configured separately. For example, a single K2 board could be
configured to serve eight K200 enabled VMs on one GPU and two K260Q enabled VMs on the other
GPU. The key to efficient utilization of a systems GRID resources requires understanding the correct end
user workload to properly configure the installed GRID cards with the ideal vGPU profiles maximizing
both end user productivity and vGPU user density.

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How to Install NVIDIA GRID vGPU on XenServer

1. Make sure you have configured XenServer 6.2 SP1 and XenDesktop 7.1 or XenApp 7.5
Visit www.citrix.com/go/vgpu for more information.
2. Download the NVIDIA GRID vGPU Software by visiting www.nvidia.com/drivers and selecting:
a. Product Type: GRID.
b. Product Series: NVIDIA GRID vGPU.
c. Product: GRID K1 or K2.
3. The GRID vGPU software package includes:
a. Release Notes
b. GRID vGPU User Guide
c. GRID vGPU Manager
d. Driver for GRID K1 or K2
4. Installing the NVIDIA Virtual GPU Manager for XenServer. The NVIDIA Virtual GPU Manager runs
in XenServer's Control Domain (dom0). If it is provided as an RPM file, which must be copied to
XenServer's dom0 and then installed. To do this:
5. Use the rpm command to install the package:
[root@xenserver ~]# rpm -iv NVIDIA-vgx-xenserver -6.2-331.59.i386.rpm
Preparing packages for installation
NVIDIA-vgx-xenserver-6.2-331.59.i386.rpm
[root@xenserver1~]
6. Reboot the XenServer host:
[root@xenserver1~]# shutdown -r now
Broadcast message from root (pts/1) Wed Sept 25 13:05:31 2013):
[root@xenserver1
7. After the XenServer host has rebooted, verify that the GRID package has installed and loaded
Correctly by checking for the NVIDIA kernel driver in the list of kernel loaded modules:
[root@xenserver1~]#lsmod |grep nvidia
nvidia
9656305 256
i2c_core
20294 1 nvidia
[root@xenserver ~]#
Note: If at this stage, the NVIDIA module (nvidia) is not loaded correctly,
refer to CTX139834 for troubleshooting.

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8. Verify that the NVIDIA kernel driver can successfully communicate with the GRID physical GPUs
in your host by running the nvidia-smi command, which produces a listing of the GPUs in your
platform similar to:

9. When successful you should have something in the line of this under the GPU tab in XenCenter.

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10. Now, you are ready to create a vGPU enabled Virtual Machine

11. Now, that youve created the new VM and have done the setup of your preferred OS, you need
to install the 32- or 64-bit NVIDIA Windows driver package in the VM and run setup.exe file that
came with the package.

If the installer comes up with a message about that a NVIDIA card is not found then you need to
troubleshoot the install process.
12. Now you need to install XenTools, choose it from the XenCenter and follow the onscreen
instructions.

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13. Also check the Delivery Controller and Policies Check that the HDX 3D Pro stuff is set.

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14. Install the VDA of choice. Please note that if you are installing a VDI, with windows 7 or
Windows 8, you will have the option to choose HDX 3D Pro during install:

15. Done!
Please note that the NVIDIA GRID vGPU is only supported on compatible versions of Citrix XenServer 6.2 and up. Consult Citrix for
compatibility. Also, always check the hcl list for XenServer, to see if your HW or server is supported.

To revert the process, aka uninstall please follow these steps:

root@xenserver10 ~]# lsmod | grep nvidia
[root@xenserver10 ~]# rpm -qa | grep NVIDIA
NVIDIA-vgx-312.38-xenserver-6-2
[root@xenserver10 ~]# rpm -ev NVIDIA-vgx-312.38-xenserver-6-2

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HDX Plug-n-play
HDX Plug-n-Play enables simple connectivity for multi-monitor support, smart card support, special
folder redirection, universal printing, file-type association, and USB support. It also includes local
machine resources capabilities.
These capabilities include:

C l i e n t t i m e z o n e s u pp o r t Automatically adjusts the time zone based on the users location

instead of the servers location.
D y n a m i c d i s p l a y r ec o n f i g u r a t i o n Ensures that the display automatically configures
correctly, when users switch devices or plug in new monitors.
F i l e ty p e a s s oc i a ti o n a n d c o n t e n t r e d i r ec t i o n Configures whether a local or hosted
application should be launched when a file is opened, and where data should be saved.
M u l t i - m o n i t or s u p p o r t Enables users to have their desktops and applications span across
multiple monitors and screen layouts.
P a n n i n g a n d s c al i n g Enables users to zoom in and pan on a much larger desktop or application
window while viewing from a smaller display area on their local device.
S m a r t C a r d s u p p o r t Enables the use of a smart card to authenticate user into their desktop
and applications
S p e c i a l f o l d e r r e d i r ec t i o n Enables special folders such as My Documents and Desktop to map
to a users session automatically. The application can ask the operating system where an appropriate
location for certain kind of files can be found, regardless of what version, language or operating
system is being used.
T W A I N i m ag e s c a n n i n g d e v i c e s u p p o r t Redirects client-connected TWAIN imaging devices
(like document scanners) from the client to the server, regardless of connection type. This allows
users to control client-attached imaging devices from applications that run on the server; the
redirection is transparent.
U n i v e r s a l p r i n t d r i v e r Provides local printer access on a variety of platforms and accelerates
print jobs while using less bandwidth and memory. Users can access advanced printer functions like
stapling and trays.
U S B s u p p o r t Lets users connect USB devices and use them with their hosted virtual applications
and desktops.

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HDX Broadcast
HDX Broadcast ensures reliable, high-performance connectivity over any network with ICA and RDP
protocol support for access with any device.

HDX Mobile
The Mobile SDK for Windows Apps provides a rich toolkit for enterprise Windows / .NET developers to
mobilize existing line of business Windows applications or write new touch-friendly, mobilized
applications that are hosted on Citrix XenApp or XenDesktop and delivered to any mobile device with
Citrix Receiver. These mobilized Windows applications are able to leverage a wide variety of mobile
device functionality including GPS, sensors, cameras, local controls, and device buttons in the same way
that native applications running locally on the mobile device do.
The SDK has over 100 APIs and out-of-the-box support for a number of programming language bindings.
These APIs allow developers to produce mobile-friendly user interfaces for new and existing enterprise
applications that match the capabilities of smartphone and tablet devices.

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HDX WAN Optimization

HDX WAN Optimization with CloudBridge reduces bandwidth requirements to support satellite offices
while optimizing the user experience.
Citrix CloudBridge provides a unified platform that accelerates applications across public and private
networks, resulting in superior application performance and end user experience. CloudBridge offers a
broad base of features including protocol acceleration, market-leading optimization for Citrix
XenDesktop, secure tunnels between enterprise locations and sophisticated quality of service (QoS).
CloudBridge combines these features with extensive bandwidth and application usage reporting for
application optimization giving IT fine-grained control over public and private network resources. With
the option of an integrated Windows Server as well as 3rd party applications, CloudBridge also supports
branch IT consolidation.
Available as a virtual, physical or multi-tenant appliance, CloudBridge provides deployment options that
help improve the user experience, reduce IT capital and operating costs by enabling on-demand network
resource provisioning. With its QoS management capabilities, CloudBridge is not just a network-centric
WAN optimization controller (WOC) infrastructure, but it also supports service management for users
Key Benefits

Significantly improves Citrix XenDesktop and XenApp capacity and performance over the WAN
Accelerates enterprise applications and multimedia to branches, data centers and mobile users
Securely extends and accelerates the enterprise data center network (L2 or L3) connection to
public clouds
Simplifies IT with integrated Windows appliance options
Provides granular, application level performance reporting for detailed usage analysis
Scales up to 5,000 XenDesktop users in a single platform with the ability to scale out by load
sharing across multiple devices

Key Features

HDX WAN Optimization

Storage Replication Acceleration
Application Acceleration
Integrated Windows Server
Video Caching
Integrated Cloud Connectivity
Quality of Service
Security and Data Protection
Flexible Centralized Management
Plug-and-Play for any Network

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HDX SoC
HDX SoC, short for HDX System on a Chip. Is a technology that Citrix has developed for hardware
vendors to embed in a chip. HDX SoC is an embedded technology for thin clients.

Citrix provides an SDK to System-on-Chip vendors that enables compute intensive HDX algorithms to
execute outboard from the CPU, allowing inexpensive ARM processor based devices to deliver a high
definition user experience. Device manufacturers using these SoCs have now brought to market a broad
portfolio of low cost HDX Ready thin clients, zero clients and other products. Unlike competing solutions
that burn the remoting protocol into silicon, which can result in a device becoming obsolete within
months, the Citrix approach allows for ongoing innovation without hardware replacement. Click here for
the latest information HDX SoC thin clients available from HP, Igel Technologies, Dell/Wyse, NComputing
and others.

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HDX MediaStream
A regular pain for any IT administrator is the use of Flash on webpages. Citrix developed a technology
that redirects and offloads the flash media (audio and video). HDX MediaStream and Flash Redirection
allows you to move the processing of most Adobe Flash content from Internet Explorer on the server to
LAN- and WAN-connected users' Windows and Linux devices. This processing includes animations,
videos, and applications. By moving the processing to the user device, Flash Redirection helps reduce
server and network load, resulting in greater scalability while ensuring a high definition user experience.
HDX accelerates multimedia performance by sending compressed streams to endpoint devices and
playing them locally; it works by running the Flash Player on the client, rather than the server. The
browser (IE) instance that contains the Flash Player remains on the XenApp server. The interface
between IE and the Flash Player is the ActiveX interface. Finally, The HDX service on the server, "Citrix
HDX MediaStream for Flash", runs under the Local Service account, and has the most limited privileges
needed by the service to perform these functions.
HDX MediaStream for Flash can only function if the HDX MediaStream for Flash Virtual Channel is
present on both the server and client.
HDX MediaStream for Flash is enabled by default when the Server side service component is installed
and running. It is not required to have the Client or Server side HDX GPO template enabled or configured
for HDX to work. The GPO template allows an administrator to control per user availability of the HDX
features. Various settings can be set in both the client and server GPO, to assist an administrator in
managing and configuring their HDX environment.

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Client Side Content Fetching

By default when redirecting the execution of Flash content to the client, the Flash content is fetch from
the client directly to the web server. This includes swf files as well as images, movies and any other type
of resource that the Flash application requests.
There is still communication between the end point and the virtual desktop via the ICA connection but
this is mostly control information. The bulk of the content is transferred between the website and the
end point. This is ideal if you want to optimize server usage. You can be playing a 1080p HD movie and
the server will hardly be doing anything.
HDX MediaStream for Flash allows you to move the fetching and processing of Adobe Flash Player
content to user devices rather than using network server resources. This scenario results in a highdefinition experience when using Windows Internet Explorer to access Flash content, including
animations, videos, and applications. By moving the processing to the user device, HDX MediaStream for
Flash reduces server and network load, resulting in greater scalability.
HDX MediaStream for Flash is a powerful feature. However, HDX MediaStream is not compatible with all
network environments. Please also note that you should turn on the Flash Intelligent fallback, to avoid
backwards compability issues with older Flash versions on XenApp and Virtual Machines running a
Desktop OS.

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Server side content fetching

This feature is also, what I call, Plan B. Why? Because if the client device is not capable of offloading
the flash content to the device the user is connecting from then Server side content fetching kicks inn. In
the server side content fetching, the client does not reach out to the web server.
HDX MediaStream for Flash provides the ability to fetch and render Flash content on the endpoint,
thereby reducing server load, and optimizing the end-user experience. There are some cases when the
default client-side content fetching is not desirable, or functional. For example, the Flash Player using a
network address that is internal to an organization might reference the content (for example:
http://mywebsitethatwantstoshowflash/video.swf).
Such an URL can only be resolved on the server, and server-side content fetching must be used. Perhaps
the most common use case requiring HDX MediaStream for Flash server-side content fetching is an
organization that restricts the network connectivity of their ICA client devices so that they can
communicate only with their XenApp or XenDesktop servers. Such an organization would configure HDX
MediaStream for Flash to use server-side content fetching for all Web sites.

Server-side content fetching is the exception and can be configured on a per-URL basis using a serverside configuration setting. In addition, you must enable server-side content fetching on the client.
The virtual desktop acts as a proxy and sends all resources via the ICA connection:

This model while it takes more resources on the virtual desktop, it enables end point with no access to
the internet. Client side content fetching is enabled by default and you do not need to do anything if this
is the model you want to work with.

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In versions of XenApp 6.5 and back confirm that SSCF is being used, you must first ensure that the
content is being rendered by verifying that PseudoContainer.exe is running on the client. If the client is
rendering the content, verify that the client is not fetching the content directly by watching the HTTP
traffic (using Fiddler or similar trace tool).
If SSCF is working, there should not be any direct HTTP traffic from the client, only from the server or
Virtual Desktop Agent.
If you observe traffic from the client to the content, and PseudoContainer.exe is running, check your
server-side content fetching list syntax, and test with a single * entry to enable SSCF for all content.
If PseudoContainer.exe is not running on the client, use the HDX Experience Monitor for XenApp to
confirm that HDX Flash prerequisites have been met.
In XenDesktop 7.x and XenApp 7.5 and beyond the process is called Citrix HDX Engine.

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Windows Media client-side content fetching

Windows Media client-side content fetching enables a client device to stream multimedia files directly
from the source provider on the Internet or Intranet, rather than through the host server. Benefits
include:

Improved network utilization and server scalability. The host does not perform any processing on the
media; media files are streamed directly to the client for processing.

The client device requires only the ability to play a file from a URL; it does not need an advanced
multimedia framework such as Microsoft DirectShow or Media Foundation.

Multicasting is allowed on networks that support it, enabling a single Windows Media source
transmission to serve multiple users.

Windows Media client-side fetching requires the following:

The application uses Microsoft DirectShow or Media Foundation framework in a manner that
Windows Media client-side content fetching can intercept.

The client device has access to the source provider on the Internet or Intranet.

Any prior attempt to play the requested URL in the current session using Windows Media client-side
content fetching did not fail. (Failed URLs are added to a blacklist for the duration of the session; the
list resets when the user logs out.)

The media content uses one of the following URL protocols:

o

HyperText Transfer Protocol http://, https://

Microsoft Media Server mms://, mmsu://, mmst://

Real Time Streaming Protocol rtsp://, rtspu://, rtspt://

Due to operating system restrictions, Microsoft Media Server and Real Time Streaming Protocol are not
supported for iOS clients.
Two Policy settings control this feature: Windows Media Client-Side Content Fetching and Windows
Media Redirection. By default, both are set to Allowed. If Windows Media client-side content fetching
fails, content is fetched by the host and redirected to the client using Windows Media redirection; if
Windows Media redirection fails, content is rendered on the host. Windows Media client-side content
fetching provides the best user experience in most cases. If you find it necessary to turn off this feature,
add the Windows Media Client-Side Content Fetching setting to a policy and set its value to Prohibited.
If you turn off Windows Media redirection, Windows Media client-side content fetching is also turned
off.

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Real-time Windows Media multimedia transcoding

Real-time multimedia transcoding enables audio and video media streaming to mobile devices, and
enhances the user experience by improving how Windows Media content is delivered over a WAN:

Transcoding converts the media content into a format that can be rendered locally on the client
hardware, eliminating the need to fall back to server-side rendering.

If configured, offloading the transcoding to the GPU improves server scalability.

Policies help administrators predict and manage multimedia content network consumption,
maintaining multimedia Quality of Service (QoS).

Transcoding can compress media data to reduce file size, or convert the data to a format supported
on the target device. For example, transcoding enables video formats that are not compatible with
iOS, such as .wmv, to be converted and played on iOS clients.

Transrating lowers the bitrate of the media to match the available bandwidth to the client device,
providing smooth playback with synchronized audio and video even for users playing HD videos on
WANs or low bandwidth Wi-Fi connections. Examples include decreasing the medias resolution or
frame rate to achieve a lower bit rate.

Three policy settings control the real-time multimedia transcoding feature:

Windows Media redirection

Optimization for Windows Media multimedia redirection Over WAN

Use GPU for optimizing Windows Media multimedia redirection Over WAN

By default, Windows Media Redirection and Optimization for Windows Media multimedia redirection
Over WAN are Allowed so real-time multimedia transcoding automatically deploys as needed. GPU
transcoding is prohibited by default; to configure GPU transcoding, add the Use GPU for optimizing
Windows Media multimedia redirection Over WAN setting to a policy and set its value to Allowed. To
configure GPU transcoding, Optimization for Windows Media multimedia redirection Over
WAN and Windows Media Redirection must also be in the policy and set to Allowed; if either of these
policy settings is Prohibited, GPU transcoding is also.
Transcoding occurs on the Virtual Delivery Agent (VDA). To improve server scalability, if the VDA has a
supported Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) for hardware acceleration and the Use GPU for optimizing
Windows Media multimedia redirection Over WAN is Allowed, transcoding is done in the GPU;
otherwise, transcoding falls back to the CPU. The media stream is then translated to achieve the target
transmission bitrate and redirected to the client device, where it is recompressed and rendered.
In most cases, real-time multimedia transcoding provides the best user experience. If you find it
necessary to turn off real-time multimedia transcoding, add the Optimization for Windows Media
multimedia redirection Over WAN setting to a policy and set its value to Prohibited. If you prohibit
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Windows Media redirection, real-time multimedia transcoding (including GPU transcoding) is also
prohibited.
Configuring Windows Media Related Policies
In previous versions of XenDesktop and XenApp, there was a load of tuning guides and other tuning
policies out there. I made one as well, that to date is in use, check out the www.ervik.as download
section to grab it. Starting from XenDesktop 5.x/XenApp 6.5 and up Citrix made it easier for the admins
out there. Most of the policies that make up the user experience is by Default: Allowed in the policies.

Now, tuning your environment might be crucial for the user experience that your users get. These
setting depends on many factors, like WAN, Latency, what kind of link the users have etc. etc

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Manage network consumption by multimedia content

Use the policy setting Limit Video Quality to maintain multimedia QoS by limiting the maximum video
quality for an HDX connection to the specified value. The default value of this policy setting is Not
Configured. Streaming multiple videos simultaneously on the same server consumes large amounts of
resources and may affect server scalability.

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HDX IntelliCache
IntelliCache refers to Citrix current and future capabilities to locally cache bandwidth intensive data and
graphics and locally stage streamed applications. Here Citrix CloudBridge is used to illustrate IntelliCache
as it caches common application display data for multiple users locally to the branch office, eliminating
redundant transfer of commonly used application objects.
Using IntelliCache, hosted VDI deployments are more cost-effective because IntelliCache enables you to
use a combination of shared storage and local storage. Performance is enhanced and network traffic is
reduced. The local storage caches the master image from the shared storage, which reduces the amount
of reads on the shared storage. For shared desktops, writes to the differencing disks are written to local
storage on the host and not to shared storage.
Your shared storage must be NFS when using IntelliCache.
Citrix recommends that you use a high performance local storage device to ensure the fastest possible
data transfer.
To enable IntelliCache in XenServer
When installing XenServer, select Enable thin provisioning (Optimized storage for XenDesktop). Citrix
does not support mixed pools of servers that have IntelliCache enabled and servers that do not.
For more information on using IntelliCache, see the XenServer and IntelliCache chapter in the XenServer
Installation Guide available from the XenServer node.
To enable IntelliCache in this product
IntelliCache is disabled by default. You can update the setting only when you create a connection; you
cannot disable IntelliCache later. When you add a XenServer connection from Studio:
1. Select Shared as the storage type.
2. Select Use IntelliCache to reduce load on the shared storage.

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HDX Adaptive Orchestration

HDX Adaptive Orchestration refers to current and future capabilities that enable seamless interaction
between the HDX Technology categories. A central concept is that all these components work adaptively
to tune the unified HDX offering for the best possible user experience.
HDX Adaptive Orchestration queries the graphics capabilities of the endpoint device and intelligently
determines how to combine client-side and server-side rendering. Furthermore, rendering decisions can
be made based on available network bandwidth or application characteristics. The result is a high
definition user experience, increased server scalability and optimal use of network bandwidth.

HDX RealTime Optimization Pack for Microsoft Lync

Citrix developed this technology some years back, to combat the issues with running Ms Lync on XenApp
servers. The idea behind this nifty piece of technology is to offload audio/video to combat WAN and
latency issues, as well as lower the cpu requirements pr user on a XenApp server.

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Multi-Stream and Multi-Port ICA

Multi-Stream and Multi-Port ICA allow assigning a separate TCP Port for each of the four groups of ICA
Channels. These TCP ports can then be assigned unique priorities on Network Devices. It is a mechanism
to prioritize network traffic to help ensure that the most important data gets through the network as
quickly as possible.
With the release of XenApp 6.5 and XenDesktop 5.5, with Receiver 3.0 (including Online Plugin 13.0),
Citrix introduced support for true network based Quality of Service (QoS) to the ICA or HDX protocol.
This QoS is a mechanism to prioritize network traffic to help ensure that the most important data gets
through the network as quickly as possible
To decide if it is required and to decide how to implement Multi-Stream and Multi-Port ICA in an
environment, it is necessary to understand what the ICA Channels are, and how they are divided into the
four priority groups.

Starting with XenDesktop 5.5 & XenApp 6.5 is to use multiple TCP connections (aka Multi-Stream ICA) to
carry the ICA traffic between the client and the server. In addition, in XenDesktop, there is an optional
UDP connection along with multiple TCP connections. Each of these connections will be associated with
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a different class of service. Each ICA virtual channel will be associated with a specific class of service and
be transported in the corresponding TCP connection. The network administrator will be able to prioritize
each of these classes of service, independently from each other, based on the TCP port number used for
the connection.
These are the four classes of services that we can configure:

Very High Priority (for real-time channels like audio)

High Priority (for interactive channels like graphics, keyboard, and mouse)
Medium Priority (for bulk virtual channels like drive mapping, scanners (TWAIN), etc.)
Low Priority (for background virtual channels like Printing)

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Summary
I hope you have enjoyed this eBook, Citrix HDX technologies for Dummies. My goal was to clarify the
different HDX technologies that Citrix delivers. As things evolve in this industry, watch out for an
updated version during Autumn/Winter 2014.
Citrix bought FrameHawk in January 2014, and has announced that they will implement this technology
in the future. The FrameHawk technology will have an impact on the HDX stack, as it is designed for
networks with limited bandwidth, like GPRS and Satellite connections. I will update this eBook when this
technology is implemented.

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