Citrix NetScaler Upgrade
A multi-location CPA firm's Citrix environment had drifted out of line with leading practices. IntelliSuite upgraded and re-architected it for speed, security, and true fault tolerance.
A large CPA firm with a geographically distributed workforce
The Challenge
The firm's Citrix environment had drifted well out of line with Citrix leading practices, and the departure of its internal Citrix specialist left no one in-house to correct it. Users were reporting slowness immediately after login, applications would not launch consistently and often required a profile reset, and the environment was incompatible with the dual-monitor configurations the firm's accountants relied on. Disaster recovery failover had been designed but never actually implemented, and an assessment identified multiple potential single points of failure across an environment still running XenApp 7.9.
The Solution
IntelliSuite applied Citrix Consulting methodology to assess the existing environment, then upgraded and re-architected it around current leading practices for performance, security, and fault tolerance.
- Upgraded the NetScaler firmware to the latest build of version 12.0
- Provisioned additional CPU and memory resources to the NetScaler for performance optimization
- Reconfigured the NetScaler following Citrix best practices for secure remote access
- Updated the Citrix License Server to the current version
- Upgraded the XenApp 7.9 site to XenApp 7.15 LTSR CU2
- Deployed a second Delivery Controller with Citrix StoreFront 3.12.2000 and Director 7.15.2000
- Implemented a load-balanced Director deployment reachable through a single URL via the NetScaler
- Developed Active Directory Group Policy Objects to optimize the environment
- Applied Citrix Profile Management policies aligned with Citrix best practices
- Delivered full environment documentation and conducted knowledge transfer sessions
The Results
- Users reported a dramatic improvement in system speed after login
- Applications perform optimally and are consistently available across all locations
- Application and network security efficacy increased substantially
- Fault tolerance implemented with seamless failover, eliminating the identified single points of failure
- Environment brought up to leading practices per Citrix Consulting methodology
Technologies Used
- Microsoft Windows Server 2016
- Citrix XenApp 7.15 LTSR CU2
- Citrix NetScaler Firmware 12.0
- Citrix StoreFront 3.12.2000
- Citrix Director 7.15.2000