In the standard XenApp and XenDesktop infrastructure, Citrix components are positioned as shown in the following image:
The following are the components of Citrix:
Citrix Receiver
Citrix Director
StoreFront
Citrix Delivery Controller
Citrix Studio
Citrix Receiver is an easy-to-install client software that provides access to your XenDesktop and XenApp installations. This is a mandatory client which has to be installed on the user's device to establish the connection with the XenApp environment. Citrix also releases support for the user device on which users don't have permission to install the Citrix Receiver; in those cases, user can access the resources from the HTML5-supported browser.
Citrix Director provides a detailed and intuitive overview of XenDesktop environments. It enables support and helpdesk teams to quickly and seamlessly perform crucial support tasks for their end users while, at the same time, monitoring and troubleshooting system issues before they become system-critical.
StoreFront provides a unified interface for XenApp, XenDesktop, and VDI-in-a-Box to deliver the resource, either via web or receiver to the users. It also allows users to connect from anywhere and any device.
Most of you are already aware that Citrix announced the end of life for the Citrix web interface on August 24, 2016, but you can still use the web interface. If you have the software maintenance or subscription advantage programs, then the EOL date is June 30, 2018. The reason behind the end of life was that the web interface was written in J# code, and Microsoft had announced the end of life of this technology. As a result, Citrix developed StoreFront from scratch to provide the next generation features.
Just like web interface, StoreFront also authenticates users and enumerates desktops and applications into the stores that users can access through the receiver, but it goes beyond web interface to simplify the management of XenApp and XenDesktop deployments. StoreFront has the ability to enumerate the resource and authenticate multiple XenApp Farms or XenDesktop sites, which improves the performance.
It also has some other attractive features:
StoreFront has the ability of intelligent resource filtering technology, which enables IT administrators to deliver different sets of applications and desktops to the users while they are getting enumerated from different sites or farms. This feature is handy during the upgrade or migration as it helps in easy transition from the older version to the newer.
It also has the ability to allow users to access the apps and desktops from any device. Also, the devices on which the receiver cannot be installed, application and desktops can be accessed via an HTML5-compatible browser. It also supports single sign in where users have to login once; post this, it gives instant access to critical apps and desktop and this improves productivity.
It supports simplified account provisioning via which users can log on to their assigned resources by just entering their e-mail address or server address or by using the StoreFront provisioning file for the receiver.
StoreFront also supports the most advanced authentication and protection for the XenApp and XenDesktop resources.
Installed on servers in the data center, the controller authenticates users and manages the assembly of users' virtual desktops and application environments and brokers connections between users and their virtual desktops and applications. It controls the state of the desktops, starting and stopping them, based on demand and administrative configuration.
Also, from the Delivery Controller server, you manage the complete XenApp infrastructure, starting from managing the administrator to optimizing the user experience. This is the first server that you install to create the XenApp environment. When installing this, you configure most of the parts starting from naming your site, configuring the database, specifying your License Server, and other tasks.
Citrix Studio is a high-level admin console to configure and manage the XenApp and XenDesktop components. Admin can do the following tasks with the help of Citrix Studio:
Configure sites
Create and manage Machine Catalog
Create and manage delivery groups
Create Citrix policies for users and computers
Set up configuration logging
Configure the task for administrator, licensing, StoreFront, and others