To understand the XenDesktop architecture, it's better to break it down into discrete independent modules, rather than visualizing it as a single integrated big piece. Citrix provides this modularized approach to design and architect XenDesktop to meet the end customer's set of requirements and objectives. This modularized approach solves the customer requirements by providing a platform that is highly resilient, flexible, and scalable.

This reference architecture is based on the information gathered by multiple Citrix consultants working on a wide range of XenDesktop implementations. You should take a look at the basic components of the XenDesktop architecture that everyone should be aware of before getting involved with troubleshooting:

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We will not spend much time on understanding each component of the reference architecture; you can refer to http://www.citrix.com/content/dam/citrix/en_us/documents/products-solutions/xendesktop-deployment-blueprint.pdf for more information, as this is out of the scope of this book. We will just go through each component quickly.