Citrix DaaS

Set up resource locations

Resource locations contain the resources required to deliver applications and desktops to users. You manage the resources from Citrix Cloud. Typically, resources include:

  • Hypervisors or cloud services, known as hosts that include:
    • Active Directory domain controllers.
    • Virtual Delivery Agents (VDAs): VDAs are installed on a machine that delivers the applications and desktops to the users.
    • 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.
    • 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.

A zone is equivalent to a resource location. When you create a resource location and install a Cloud Connector, a zone is automatically created for you. 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, need unique permissions or setup.

  • If the hypervisor or cloud service requires virtual networks, follow the guidance in its documentation.
  • Create the appropriate Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) (for AWS or GCP) or Virtual Network (VNET) (for Azure) for the machines that you’ll add to your resource location.
  • Create the appropriate rules to secure inbound and outbound traffic between machines in the virtual network. For example, when using AWS, ensure that 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
  • XenServer 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 (AD DS), and promote it to a Domain Controller. For guidance, see the Microsoft documentation on Active Directory Domain Services Overview.

The important considerations are:

  • You must have at least one Domain Controller running Active Directory Domain Services.
  • Do not install any Citrix components on a Domain Controller.

For more information, see:

Cloud Connectors

The Cloud Connector is a group of services from Citrix Cloud that allow communication between the VDAs, StoreFront, and the cloud-based Delivery Controller. You can install Cloud Connectors interactively or from the command line.

For more information on Cloud Connectors, see:

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 StoreFront for your specific requirements.
  • Undersizing the machines can impact system performance negatively.

The article Size and scale considerations for Cloud Connectors includes:

  • Size and scale testing information
  • Tested maximum capacities
  • Best practice recommendations for Cloud Connector machine configuration

Add a resource type

  1. Sign in to Citrix Cloud.
  2. In the upper left menu, select Resource Locations.
  3. Select + Resource Locations to add a resource location.
  4. Enter a name for the resource location, and then click Save. For information about naming considerations, see Name restrictions.
  5. Under the new resource location, select + Cloud Connectors.
  6. Download and install the Cloud Connector software on at least two servers in the domain where you have your Citrix DaaS resources.

    • During the installation, select the resource location you created in the previous steps.
    • After installation, Citrix Cloud adds the servers to the resource location, and registers the domains in which you installed the Cloud Connectors.
  7. Verify that the registered domains are active:

    • From the Citrix Cloud menu, select Identity Access Management.
    • Select Domains. A list of domains where Cloud Connectors have been deployed displays.
    • 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.

    If your domain does not have the visual indicator, 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.

    For more information, see CTX473009: DaaS Catalog Creation Wizard: “Internal Server Error” when creating adding new machine accounts.

Activate an unused domain

  1. 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.
  2. Locate the unused domain in the list. Unused domains display a gray bar on the left side of the domain entry, and a single-option ellipsis menu on the right side.
  3. 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

Set up resource locations