Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops

Deprecation

The announcements in this article are intended to give you advanced notice of platforms, Citrix products, and features that are being phased out so that you can make timely business decisions. Citrix monitors customer use and feedback to determine when they are withdrawn. Announcements can change in subsequent releases and might not include every deprecated feature or functionality. For details about product lifecycle support, see the Product Lifecycle Support Policy article. For information about the Long Term Service Release (LTSR) servicing option, see https://support.citrix.com/article/CTX205549.

Deprecations and removals

The following table shows the platforms, Citrix products, and features that are deprecated or removed.

Deprecated items are not removed immediately. Citrix continues to support them in this Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 7 1912 Long Term Service Release (LTSR), but they will be removed in a future release.

Removed items are either removed, or are no longer supported, in Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops. Dates in bold face indicate changes at this release.

Item Deprecation announced in Removed in Alternative
Support for WebRTC SDP format (Plan B) 2308 Upgrade the Citrix Workspace App to a supported version.
Support for Single Window mode in Microsoft Teams Optimization 2308 Upgrade the Citrix Workspace App to a version that supports MultiWindow mode. For more information, see Feature matrix and version support.
Import Citrix Provisions target devices into Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops catalogs for management 1912 LTSR - Use the Citrix Provisioning Export Devices Wizard.
StoreFront browser support for Microsoft Edge Legacy 1912 LTSR CU2 1912 LTSR CU3 Upgrade to Microsoft Edge (based on Chromium).
Citrix License Administration Console (last included in the Windows License Server 11.16.3 build 30000 and removed in the Windows License Server v11.16.6 build 31000). 1912 LTSR CU2 1912 LTSR CU2 Use the Citrix Licensing Manager.
Citrix SCOM Management Packs for XenApp and XenDesktop, Provisioning Services, and StoreFront. For the product versions that can be monitored, see Citrix SCOM Management Packs documentation. 1912†   Use Director for monitoring and managing your deployment. For more information on SCOM EOL and alternatives, see https://support.citrix.com/article/CTX266943.
Support for Microsoft .NET Framework versions prior to version 4.8 for VDAs and core server components. Includes Delivery Controller, Studio, Director, and StoreFront. 1912   Upgrade to .NET Framework version 4.8.
VDAs on Windows Server 2012 R2. 1912   Install VDAs on a supported operating system.
AppDNA application migration component of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Premium edition. 1909    
Installing Studio on 32-bit (x86) machines. 1909   Install on a supported x64 operating system.
Support for the Excel hook in seamless applications. This was used for creating separate taskbar icons for each Microsoft Excel 2010 workbook. 1909 1909  
Core server components on Windows Server 2012 R2 (including Service Packs). Includes: Delivery Controller, Studio and Director. 1906   Install on a newer supported operating system.
Support for Site Configuration, Configuration Logging, and Monitoring databases on Microsoft SQL Server versions 2008 R2, 2012, and 2014 (including all Service Packs and editions). 1906   Install databases on a supported Microsoft SQL Server version.
Support for VDAs on Windows 10 on x86 platforms. 1906 1909* Install VDAs on a supported x64 operating system. This feature is still supported in Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 7 1912 LTSR.
Removal of Citrix Smart Tools Agent from Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops installation media. 1903 1906  
Removal of Delivery Controller options for the following end-of-life products within StoreFront: VDI-in-a-Box, and XenMobile (9.0 and earlier). 1903 1903  
Support for Linux VDA on Red Hat Enterprise Linux/CentOS 7.5. 1903 1903 Install Linux VDA on a later version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
StoreFront support for users to access desktops on Desktop Appliance sites 1811 1912 Use Desktop Lock for nondomain-joined use cases.
Support for Framehawk display remoting technology 1811 1903 Use Thinwire with adaptive transport enabled.
Support for Citrix Smart Scale in all Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops (and XenApp and XenDesktop) versions. This functionality will reach End of Life on 31 May 2019. 1808 1906 Consider using the Virtual Apps and Desktops Service on Citrix Cloud for improved power management functionality.
Support for Microsoft .NET Framework versions 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, and 4.7 by Citrix StoreFront, Citrix VDAs, Citrix Studio, Citrix Director, and Citrix Delivery Controller. 7.18 1808 Upgrade to .NET Framework version 4.7.1 or later. (The installer automatically installs .NET Framework 4.7.1 if it is not already installed.)
Support for Linux VDA on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.3. 7.18 1808 Install Linux VDA on a later version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
StoreFront support for TLS 1.0, and TLS 1.1 protocols between Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops (formerly XenApp and XenDesktop) and Citrix Receiver, and Workspace Hub. 7.17   Upgrade Citrix Receivers to a Citrix Workspace app that supports the TLS 1.2 protocol. For more information on Citrix Workspace app, see https://docs.citrix.com/en-us/citrix-workspace-app.
VDA support for policy setting “Automatic installation of in-box printer drivers”. 7.16 7.16 None. Policy setting supported with VDAs on earlier OSs only (Windows 7, Windows Server 2012 R2 and earlier).
Support for the Linux VDA on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 Service Pack 4. 7.16 7.16 Install Linux VDA on supported SUSE version.
Support for Citrix WDDM driver on VDAs 7.16 7.16 The Citrix WDDM driver is no longer installed with VDAs.
Mobility SDK / Mobile SDK (from the former Citrix Labs) 7.16   Superseded by mobile experience policy settings, and native experiences for hosted desktops/apps.
VDAs on Windows 10 version 1511 (Threshold 2) and earlier Windows Single-session OS releases, including Windows 8.x and Windows 7 (see https://www.citrix.com/blogs/2018/01/08/the-citrix-strategy-for-windows-7-virtual-desktop-users/). 7.15 LTSR (and 7.12) 7.16 Install Single-session OS VDAs on Windows 10 minimum version 1607 (Redstone 1) or newer Semi-Annual Channels. If using 1607 LTSB, we recommend a 7.15 VDA. See CTX224843.
VDAs on Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2012 (including Service Packs) 7.15 LTSR (and 7.12) 7.16 Install VDAs on a supported operating system.
Desktop Composition Redirection ( previously known as DirectX Command Remoting) (DCR) 7.15 LTSR 7.16 Use Thinwire.
Citrix Receiver for Web classic experience (“green bubbles” user interface) 7.15 LTSR (and StoreFront 3.12) 1903 Citrix Receiver for Web unified experience.
Core components on Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (including Service Packs). Includes: Delivery Controller, Studio, Director, StoreFront, License Server, and Universal Print Server. 7.15 LTSR 7.18 Install components on a supported operating system.
Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR) feature on Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (including Service Packs) 7.15 LTSR 7.18 Install on a newer supported operating system.
Studio on Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 (including Service Packs) 7.15 LTSR 7.18 Install Studio on a supported operating system.
Flash Redirection 7.15 LTSR 1912 Create video content as HTML5 Video. Use HTML5 Video Redirection for managed content, and Browser Content Redirection for public web sites. For more information, see the Flash Redirection End of Life note.
Citrix Online Integration (Goto product) with StoreFront 7.14 (and StoreFront 3.11) StoreFront 3.12  
The user account, CtxAppVCOMAdmin, which was created during VDA installation and added to the Local Administrators Group on the VDA machine, is no longer created. The underlying “COM” mechanism is also removed. 7.14 7.14 The Windows service CtxAppVService performs the same function. It is automatically installed and configured and requires no user interaction.
Universal Print Server UpsServer component support on Windows Server 2008 32-bit 7.14 7.14 Install on a newer supported operating system.
StoreFront and Receiver for Web on Internet Explorer 8 7.13 7.13  
VDA command line installation option /no_appv to prevent installation of the Citrix App-V components 7.13 7.13 Use the command line installation option /exclude “Citrix Personalization for App-V – VDA”.
The full-product installer no longer installs the Citrix.Common.Commands snap-in on new installations and automatically removes it when upgrading existing installations. 7.13 7.13 Some PowerShell commands that were provided by the Citrix.Common.Commands snap-in are still available in the XenApp 6.5 SDK.
Partial functionality to manipulate icon data that was provided by *-CtxIcon cmdlets. 7.13 7.13 Now provided by *-BrokerIcon cmdlets in the Broker Service.
Legacy Thinwire mode 7.12 7.16 Use Thinwire. If you are using Legacy Thinwire mode on Windows Server 2008 R2, migrate to Windows Server 2012 R2 or Windows Server 2016, and use Thinwire.
In-place upgrades from StoreFront 2.0, 2.1, 2.5, and 2.5.2 7.13 7.16 Upgrade from one of these versions to a later supported version and then to XenApp and XenDesktop 7.16.
In-place upgrades from XenDesktop 5.6 or 5.6 FP1 7.12 7.16 Migrate your XenDesktop 5.6 or 5.6 FP1 deployment to the current XenDesktop version. To do this, first upgrade to XenDesktop 7.6 LTSR (with the latest CU), then upgrade to the latest Citrix Virtual Desktops (formerly XenDesktop) release or LTSR version.
Installing Delivery Controller, Director, StoreFront, or License Server on 32-bit (x86) machines. 7.12 7.16 Install on a supported x64 operating system.
Connection leasing 7.12 7.16 Use Local Host Cache.
XenDesktop 5.6 used on Windows XP. VDA installations on Windows XP are not supported. 7.12 7.16 Install VDAs on a supported operating system.
CloudPlatform connections 7.12   Use a different supported hypervisor or cloud service.
Azure Classic (also known as Azure Service Management) connections 7.12   Use Azure Resource Manager.
AppDisks functionality (and the AppDNA integration into Studio, which supports it)* 7.13 2003 Use Citrix App Layering.
Personal vDisk functionality* 7.13 2006 Use Citrix App Layering user layer or user personalization layer technology.

Important: after June 2020, you must remove any SCOM Management Pack from your Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 7 1912 LTSR site to keep your LTSR support and benefits.

* Feature not covered by the Long Term Service Releases (LTSR) servicing option.

Deprecation