Set up resource location
Resource location contain the resources required to deliver applications and desktops to users. You manage the resources from Citrix Cloud. Typically, resources include:
- Active Directory domain controller.
- Hypervisors or cloud services, known as hosts.
- Virtual Delivery Agents (VDAs). VDAs are the machines containing the apps or desktop. Each machine also has a Citrix VDA installed. The term VDA often refers to the VDA software and the machine on which it is installed.
- Citrix Gateway (optional): To enable secure external access to the applications and desktops offered to users, add a Citrix Gateway VPX appliance to the resource location. Then set up Citrix Gateway.
- Citrix StoreFront servers (customer-managed).
- To communicate with Citrix Cloud, every resource location must contain a Citrix Cloud Connector. A minimum of two Cloud Connectors per resource location is recommended, for availability.
A resource location is considered a zone in a Citrix DaaS environment. For more information, see Zones.
To learn more about resource types, see Connect to Citrix Cloud.
Host requirements
The hypervisor or cloud service where you provision VMs that deliver apps or desktops to users might have unique permission or setup requirements.
- If the hypervisor or cloud service requires virtual networks or other items, follow the guidance in its documentation.
- Create the appropriate virtual private cloud (VPC) or virtual networks for the machines you’ll add to your resource location, if needed. For example, when using AWS, set up a VPC with public and private subnets.
- Create the appropriate rules to secure inbound and outbound internet traffic, and traffic between machines in the virtual network. For example, when using AWS, ensure the VPC’s security group has the appropriate rules configured so that machines in the VPC are accessible to only the IP addresses you specify.
The following host types are supported:
- Amazon Web Services (AWS) virtualization environments
- Citrix Hypervisor virtualization environments
- Google Cloud Platform virtualization environments
- Microsoft Azure Resource Manager virtualization environments
- Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager virtualization environments
- Nutanix virtualization environments
- Nutanix cloud and partner solutions
- VMware virtualization environments
- VMware cloud and partner solutions
Active Directory
Provision a Windows server, install Active Directory Domain Services, and promote it to a domain controller. For guidance, see the Microsoft Active Directory documentation.
- You must have at least one domain controller running Active Directory Domain Services.
- Do not install any Citrix components on a domain controller.
- Do not use a forward slash (/) when specifying Organizational Unit names in the Full Configuration management interface.
For more information, see:
- Active Directory functional levels
- Identity and access management in Citrix Cloud.
Cloud Connectors
The Cloud Connector is a group of services from Citrix Cloud that allow communication between the VDAs, customer-managed StoreFront, and the cloud-based Delivery Controller. You can install Cloud Connectors interactively or from the command line.
For complete Cloud Connector information, see:
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Technical details, which include system requirements
Size and scale considerations
When evaluating Citrix DaaS for sizing and scalability, consider all components. Research and test the configuration of the Cloud Connectors and the customer-managed StoreFront for your specific requirements. Undersizing the machines can impact system performance negatively.
The following article contains size and scale testing information. This article provides details of the tested maximum capacities, plus best practice recommendations for Cloud Connector machine configuration.
Add a resource type or activate an unused domain in Citrix Cloud
Add a resource type:
- Sign in to Citrix Cloud.
- In the upper left menu, select Resource Locations.
- Select + Resource Locations to add a new resource location.
- Enter a name for the resource location and then click Save. For information about naming considerations, see Name restrictions.
- Under the new resource location, select Cloud Connectors.
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Download and install the Cloud Connector software on at least two servers in the domain where your Citrix DaaS resources reside.
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During the installation, select the resource location you created in Steps 3 and 4.
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After installation, Citrix Cloud adds the servers to the resource location, and registers the domains in which you installed the Cloud Connectors.
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Verify that the registered domains are active:
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From the Citrix Cloud menu, select Identity Access Management.
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Select Domains. A list of domains where Cloud Connectors have been deployed displays.
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Locate the domains that you are using with Citrix DaaS. Active domains display with a green bar on the left side of the domain entry.
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If your domain does not have the visual indicator described in Step 7, the domain is in an “unused” state. If you specify an unused domain during machine catalog setup, catalog creation fails. To ensure machine catalog setup occurs without errors, follow the steps in “Activate an unused domain” in this article.
For more information, see CTX473009: DaaS Catalog Creation Wizard: “Internal Server Error” when creating adding new machine accounts.
Activate an unsused domain:
- From the Domain tab, in Identity and Access Management, select Show Unused Domains. After you select this option, the label changes to Hide Unused Domains.
- Locate the unused domain in the list. Unused domains display a grey bar on the left side of the domain entry, and a single-option ellipsis menu on the right side.
- Select the ellipsis menu and then select Use domain. The gray bar becomes green, and the ellipsis menu change to Disable.
Where to go next
- For a simple proof-of-concept deployment, install a VDA on a machine that will deliver apps or a desktop to your users.
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For setting up resource location for specific host types:
- AWS cloud environments
- Citrix Hypervisor virtualization environments
- Google Cloud environments
- Microsoft Azure Resource Manager cloud environments
- Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager virtualization environments
- Nutanix virtualization environments
- Nutanix cloud and partner solutions
- VMware virtualization environments
- VMware cloud and partner solutions
- For a full deployment, create a connection to a resource location.
- Review all the steps in the installation and configuration process