Product documentation
Citrix DaaS
View PDF

Azure subscriptions in Quick Deploy

April 10, 2024
Contributed by: 
C A

Note:

Since July 2023, Microsoft has renamed Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) to Microsoft Entra ID. In this document, any reference to Azure Active Directory, Azure AD, or AAD now refers to Microsoft Entra ID.

Introduction

When you create a catalog or build an image in Quick Deploy, you choose among the available Azure subscriptions. Quick Deploy supports both Citrix Managed Azure subscriptions and your own, customer-managed Azure subscriptions.

  • To use your own Azure subscription, you first import (add) one or more of those subscriptions to Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service). That action enables Citrix DaaS to access your Azure subscriptions.
  • Using a Citrix Managed Azure subscription requires no subscription configuration. However, a Citrix Managed Azure subscription is available only when you order the Citrix Azure Consumption Fund, in addition to Citrix DaaS.

Some Citrix DaaS features differ, depending on whether the catalog uses a Citrix Managed Azure subscription or in your own Azure subscription.

Citrix Managed Azure subscription Your own Azure subscription
Supports domain-joined or non-domain-joined machines. Supports only domain-joined machines.
Supports quick create and custom create catalogs. Supports only custom create catalogs.
Always available when creating catalogs and images. Must add the Azure subscription to Citrix DaaS before creating a catalog.
For user authentication, supports Citrix Managed Azure Active Directory or your own Active Directory. Can connect your own Active Directory and Azure Active Directory.
Network connection options include No connectivity. Network connection options include only your own virtual networks.
When using Azure VNet peering to connect to your resources, you must create a VNet peer connection in Citrix DaaS. Select an existing virtual network.
When importing an image from Azure, you specify the image’s URI. When importing an image, you can select a VHD or browse storage in the Azure subscription.
Can create a bastion machine in customer’s Azure subscription to troubleshoot machines. No need to create a bastion machine because you can already access the machines in your subscription.

View Azure subscriptions

To view Azure subscription details, from Manage > Quick Deploy, expand Cloud Subscriptions on the right. Then select a subscription entry.

  • The Details page includes the number of machines, plus the numbers and names of catalogs and images using the subscription.
  • The Resource Locations page lists the resource locations where the subscription is used.

Add customer-managed Azure subscriptions

To use a customer-managed Azure subscription, you must add it to Citrix DaaS before creating a catalog or building an image that uses that subscription. You have two options when adding your Azure subscriptions:

  • If you are a Global Administrator for the directory and have owner permissions for the subscription: Simply authenticate to your Azure account.
  • If you are not a Global Administrator and have owner permissions on the subscription: Before adding the subscription to Citrix DaaS, create an Azure app in your Azure AD and then add that app as a contributor of the subscription. When you add that subscription to Citrix DaaS, you provide relevant app information.

Add customer-managed Azure subscriptions if you’re a Global Administrator

This task requires Global Administrator permissions for the directory, and owner permissions for the subscription.

  1. From Manage > Quick Deploy, expand Cloud Subscriptions on the right.
  2. Select Add Azure subscription.
  3. On the Add Subscriptions page, select Add your Azure subscription.
  4. Select the button that allows Citrix DaaS to access your Azure subscriptions on your behalf.
  5. Select Authenticate Azure Account. You’re taken to the Azure sign-in page.
  6. Enter your Azure credentials.
  7. You’re returned automatically to Citrix DaaS. The Add Subscription page lists the discovered Azure subscriptions. Use the search box to filter the list, if needed. Select one or more subscriptions. When you’re done, select Add Subscriptions.
  8. Confirm that you want to add the selected subscriptions.

The Azure subscriptions you selected are listed when you expand Subscriptions. The added subscriptions are available for selection when you create a catalog or image.

Add customer-managed Azure subscriptions if you’re not a Global Administrator

Adding an Azure subscription when you’re not a global administrator is a two-part process:

Create an app in Azure AD and add it as a contributor

  1. Register a new application in Azure AD:

    1. From a browser, navigate to https://portal.azure.com.
    2. In the upper left menu, select Azure Active Directory.
    3. In the Manage list, select App registrations.
    4. Select + New registration.

    5. On the Register an application page, provide the following information:

      • Name: Enter the connection name
      • Application type: Select Web app / API
      • Redirect URI: leave blank
    6. Select Create.

  2. Create the application’s secret access key and add the role assignment:

    1. From the previous procedure, select App Registration to view details.
    2. Make a note of the Application ID and Directory ID. You’ll use this later when adding your subscription to Citrix DaaS.
    3. Under Manage, select Certificates & secrets.
    4. On the Client secrets page, select + New client secret.
    5. On the Add a client secret page, provide a description and select an expiration interval. Then select Add.
    6. Make a note of the client secret value. You’ll use this later when adding your subscription to Citrix DaaS.
    7. Select the Azure subscription you want to link (add) to Citrix DaaS, and then select Access control (IAM).
    8. In the Add a role assignment box, select Add.

    9. On the Add role assignment tab, select the following:

      • Role: Contributor
      • Assign access to: Azure AD user, group, or service principal
      • Select: The name of the Azure app you created earlier.
    10. Select Save.

Add your subscription to Citrix DaaS

You need the application ID, directory ID, and client secret value from the app you created in Azure AD.

  1. From Manage > Quick Deploy, expand Cloud Subscriptions on the right.
  2. Select Add Azure subscription.
  3. On the Add Subscriptions page, select Add your Azure subscriptions.
  4. Select I have an Azure App with contributor role to the subscription.
  5. Enter the tenant ID (directory ID), client ID (application ID), and client secret for the app you created in Azure.
  6. Select Select your subscription and then select the subscription you want.

Later, from the subscription’s Details page in Citrix DaaS dashboard, you can update the client secret or replace the Azure app from the ellipsis menu.

If Citrix DaaS can’t access an Azure subscription after it’s added, several catalog power management and individual machine actions aren’t allowed. A message provides an option to add the subscription again. If the subscription was originally added using an Azure app, you can replace the Azure app.

Add Citrix Managed Azure subscriptions

A Citrix Managed Azure subscription supports a certain number of machines. (In this context, machines refers to VMs that have a Citrix VDA installed. These machines deliver apps and desktops to users. It does not include other machines in a resource location, such as Cloud Connectors.)

If your Citrix Managed Azure subscription is likely to reach its limit soon, and you have enough Citrix licenses, you can request another Citrix Managed Azure subscription. The dashboard contains a notification when you’re close to the limit.

You can’t create a catalog (or add machines to a catalog) if the total number of machines for all catalogs that use that Citrix Managed Azure subscription would exceed the limit.

For example, assume a hypothetical limit of 1,000 machines per Citrix Managed Azure subscription.

  • Let’s say you have two catalogs (Cat1 and Cat2) that use the same Citrix Managed Azure subscription. Cat1 currently contains 500 machines, and Cat2 has 250.

  • As you plan for future capacity needs, you add 200 machines to Cat2. The Citrix Managed Azure subscription now supports 950 machines (500 in Cat 1 and 450 in Cat 2). The dashboard indicates that the subscription is near its limit.

  • When you need 75 more machines, you can’t use that subscription to create a catalog with 75 machines (or add 75 machines to an existing catalog). That would exceed the subscription limit. Instead, you request another Citrix Managed Azure subscription. Then, you can create a catalog using that subscription.

When you have more than one Citrix Managed Azure subscription:

  • Nothing is shared between those subscriptions.
  • Each subscription has a unique name.

  • You can choose among the Citrix Managed Azure subscriptions (and any customer-managed Azure subscriptions that you’ve added) when:

    • Creating a catalog.
    • Building or importing an image.
    • Creating a VNet peering or SD-WAN connection.

Requirement:

  • You must have enough Citrix licenses to warrant adding another Citrix Managed Azure subscription. Using the previous hypothetical example, if you have 2,000 Citrix licenses in anticipation of deploying at least 1,500 machines through Citrix Managed subscriptions, you can add another Citrix Managed Azure subscription.

To add a Citrix Managed Azure subscription:

  1. Contact your Citrix representative to request another Citrix Managed Azure subscription. You are notified when you can proceed.
  2. From Manage > Quick Deploy, expand Cloud Subscriptions on the right.
  3. Select Add Azure subscription.
  4. On the Add Subscriptions page, select Add a Citrix Managed Azure subscription.
  5. On the Add a Citrix Managed Subscription page, select Add Subscription at the bottom of the page.

If you’re notified that an error occurred during creation of a Citrix Managed Azure subscription, contact Citrix Support.

Remove Azure subscriptions

Before you can remove an Azure subscription, you must delete all catalogs and images that use it.

If you have one or more Citrix Managed Azure subscriptions, you cannot remove all of them. At least one must remain.

  1. From Manage > Quick Deploy, expand Cloud Subscriptions on the right.
  2. Select the subscription entry.
  3. On the Details tab, select Remove Subscription.
  4. Select Authenticate Azure Account. You’re taken to the Azure sign-in page.
  5. Enter your Azure credentials.
  6. You’re returned automatically to Citrix DaaS. Confirm the deletion and then select Yes, Delete Subscription.

Update expired client secrets

When the client secret of a subscription expires, you can’t create machine catalogs for it and an alert appears in the subscription’s entry. To resolve this issue, you have two choices:

  • Update the client secret of the Azure app in use
  • Switch to an Azure app with a valid expiration date

Update the client secret of the Azure app in use

To continue using the existing Azure app to access Azure resources, follow these steps:

  1. In Azure, create a client secret for the Azure app in use. Note down the new secret and expiration date for future use. For more information, see Create an application secret in Azure.
  2. In DaaS, provide the newly created secret information to the subscription. Detailed steps are as follows:
    1. From the Manage > Azure Quick Deploy dashboard in Citrix DaaS for Azure, expand Cloud Subscriptions on the right.
    2. Click the subscription that needs secret updates.
    3. On the subscription page that appears, click the ellipsis menu in the Azure App Details pane, and then select Update Client Secret.
    4. On the Update Client Secret page, type the new Client Secret and Secret Expiration Date.
    5. Click Update Secret.

Switch to an Azure app with a valid expiration date

To switch to a valid Azure app to access Azure resources, get the necessary app information and provide it to the subscription using the following steps:

  1. In Azure, get a valid Azure app and note down its details. Make sure that the new Azure app is assigned Contributor role. For more information, see Create an app in Azure AD and add it as a contributor.
  2. In DaaS, provide details of the Azure app to the subscription. Detailed steps are as follows:
    1. From the Manage > Azure Quick Deploy dashboard in Citrix DaaS for Azure, expand Cloud Subscriptions on the right.
    2. Click the subscription that needs secret updates.
    3. On the subscription page that appears, click the ellipsis menu in the Azure App Details pane, and then select Replace Azure App.
    4. On the Replace Azure App page, type the new Azure app details in the corresponding fields for Directory (tenant) ID, Application (client) ID, Client Secret, and Secret Expiration Date for the service principal.
    5. Click Replace App.
Azure subscriptions in Quick Deploy
April 10, 2024
Contributed by: 
C A
April 10, 2024
Contributed by: 
C A

In this article

Site feedback | Privacy and legal terms | Cookie preferences | Consent settings | docs.cloud.com
© 1999- Cloud Software Group, Inc. All rights reserved.