Installing XenApp 6.5 Tech Preview - Part 4 – Configuring the farm

This is a test build of the new Tech Preview of XenApp 6.5 from Citrix.  In the previous parts of this guide we set up a License server, Web Interface server and built the farm’s Data Collector, establishing the farm and its data store.

In this part we’ll continue this process by configuring the Web Interface and the first published applications for the farm.  To be honest, this is all highly reminiscent of the process to configure the Web Interface and publish a simple application that was in XenApp 6.  If you’re familiar with it, you should know all this already. 

Logging onto our Web Interface box again we launch the Citrix Web Interface Management console from the Start Menu

In this we have no sites created yet, and we’re going to create one site under XenApp Web Sites (used for the web interface) and XenApp Services Sites (used for the  Receiver client to create links in the Start Menu and on the desktop.

Creating a XenApp Web Site

Right click on XenApp Web Sites and click Create Site.

I’m happy with the name of the site, but I want to just type the server name in IE for it to work, so I click “Set as the default page for the IIS zone”.  If there were multiple web interface sites, only one would want this on.

The point of authentication is simple since this is just an internal web interface site, so the default of “at web interface” should be fine.

A couple more screens of clicking Next and I can configure my new site, providing the name of the first farm server I just built.

On the Authentication Methods screen I just leave it as Explicit as I just want it to ask for a username and password.

I then restrict it to just my AD domain, choose the Full logon screen appearance (apparently it will look like this…)

The full interface gives some options to change the language and the reconnection options after logon.

Then I choose just “online” apps since I don’t stream to clients, then we’re all done with the web site creation.

After this I open a browser and go to my server, at http://xensvr02/ – it takes ages the first time and seems to be hung on “Loading…”, but it works after that and is super fast next time.  I can log in okay (since I specified my domain name earlier I don’t need to enter that as part of my username) and I am told, quite correctly, that there are no resources available.

Creating a XenApp Services Site

Back in the main console of the Web Interface, I right click XenApp Services Sites and click Create Site.  The default names are fine – interesting that Citrix still use the phrase “PNAgent” here, its been abandoned in most other places…

Next, Next, Next and configure the farm again.  You can go in again later and add multiple farms by the way.

I choose “online” applications again and click through to the end of the wizard.

Publishing the first applications

When I learn a new programming language I always write a “Hello World” app first.  When I produce a new Citrix farm I always publish Notepad first!

Log back on to the Data Collector we installed earlier.  I’ve already set up the AppCenter (the new name for the Delivery Services Console), by loading it from Administrative Tools > Citrix > Management Consoles > Citrix AppCenter and choosing to add the local computer.  You should see the new farm name under XenApp in the tree on the left.  Click Applications and it should be empty.  Right click and click Publish Application

 

Click Next and enter Notepad as the Display Name.  Click Next and the following screen is the same as on XenApp 6 – apps can still stream to server, to client, be hosted or be content or a desktop.  The default (“accessed from a server” – a tradition hosted application) is what we need

 

Click browse to find c:\windows\system32\Notepad.exe and it should fill in the command line and working directory. 

The next questions are all easy (servers to publish on – there’s only one and no Worker Groups yet, so I pick that server, then my own account to see the app).

I can now log into my Web Interface site and see a nice Notepad icon. 

When I launch it I get the expected notice that this is a technical preview license – after that, Notepad comes up – quite quickly actually…

Publishing the AppCenter

I’m not going to want to keep logging on to the Data Collector to use the AppCenter, so I publish that too.

This is the same process as before, it is “accessed from a server”, with the following target:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Citrix\Citrix Delivery Services Console\Framework\CmiLaunch.exe"

This works very nicely and I now have a published AppCenter. 

Now we have a working farm I’m going to check out some of the new features of XenApp 6.5 – more soon.