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Policy templates

November 28, 2023
Contributed by: 
C

Note:

You can manage your Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops deployment using two management consoles: Web Studio (web-based) and Citrix Studio (Windows-based). This article covers only Web Studio. For information about Citrix Studio, see the equivalent article in Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 7 2212 or earlier.

Templates are a source for creating policies from a predefined starting point. Built-in Citrix templates, optimized for specific environments or network conditions, can be used as:

  • A source for creating your own policies and templates to share between sites.
  • A reference for easier comparison of results between deployments as you are able to quote the results, for example, “…when using Citrix template x or y…”.
  • A method for communicating policies with Citrix Support or trusted third parties by importing or exporting templates.

Policy templates can be imported and exported.

Built-in Citrix templates

The following policy templates are available:

  • Very High Definition User Experience. This template enforces default settings that maximize the user experience. Use this template in scenarios where multiple policies are processed in order of precedence.
  • High Server Scalability. Apply this template to economize on server resources. This template balances user experience and server scalability. It offers a good user experience while increasing the number of users you can host on a single server. This template does not use a video codec for compression of graphics and prevents server side multimedia rendering.
  • High Server Scalability-Legacy OS. This High Server Scalability template applies only to VDAs running Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7 and earlier. This template relies on the Legacy graphics mode which is more efficient for those operating systems.
  • Optimized for NetScaler SD-WAN. Apply this template for users working from branch offices with NetScaler SD-WAN for optimizing delivery of Citrix Virtual Desktops. (NetScaler SD-WAN is the new name for CloudBridge).
  • Optimized for WAN. This template is intended for task workers in branch offices using a shared WAN connection or remote locations with low bandwidth connections accessing applications with graphically simple user interfaces and little multimedia content. This template trades off video playback experience and some server scalability for optimized bandwidth efficiency.
  • Optimized for WAN-Legacy OS. This Optimized for WAN template applies only to VDAs running Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7 and earlier. This template relies on the Legacy graphics mode which is more efficient for those operating systems.
  • Security and Control. Use this template in environments with low tolerance to risk, to minimize the features enabled by default in Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops. This template includes settings that disable access to printing, clipboard, peripheral devices, drive mapping, port redirection, and Flash acceleration on user devices. Applying this template might use more bandwidth and reduce user density per server.

While we recommend using the built-in Citrix templates with their default settings, there are settings that do not have a specific recommended value. For example, Overall session bandwidth limit, included in the Optimized for WAN templates. In this case, the template exposes the setting so the administrator understands this setting is likely to apply to the scenario.

Template default settings image

If you are working with a deployment (policy management and VDAs) earlier than XenApp and XenDesktop 7.6 FP3, and require High Server Scalability and Optimized for WAN templates, use the Legacy OS versions of these templates when they apply.

Note:

Citrix creates and updates built-in templates. You cannot modify or delete these templates.

Create and manage templates using Web Studio

To create a template based on a template:

  1. Sign in to Web Studio and select Policies in the left pane.
  2. Select the Templates tab and then select the template from which you will create the template.
  3. Select Create Template in the action bar.
  4. Select and configure the policy settings to include in the template. Remove any existing settings that don’t belong.
  5. Enter a name for the template, and then click Finish. The new template appears on the Templates tab.

To create a template based on a policy:

  1. Sign in to Web Studio and select Policies in the left pane.
  2. Select the Policies tab and then select the policy from which you will create the template.
  3. Select Save as Template in the action bar.
  4. Select and configure any new policy settings to include in the template. Remove any existing settings that don’t belong.
  5. Enter a name and description for the template, and then click Finish.

To import a template:

  1. Sign in to Web Studio and select Policies in the left pane.
  2. Select the Templates tab and then select Import Template.
  3. Select the template file to import and then click Open. If you import a template with the same name as an existing template, you can choose to overwrite the existing template or save the template with a different name that is generated automatically.

To export a template:

  1. Sign in to Web Studio and select Policies in the left pane.
  2. Select the Templates tab and then select Export Template.
  3. Select the location where you want to save the template and then click Save.

A .gpt file is created in the specified location.

Create and manage templates using the Group Policy Editor

From the Group Policy Editor, expand Computer Configuration or User Configuration. Expand the Policies node and then select Citrix Policies. Choose the appropriate action.

Task Instruction
Create a template from an existing policy On the Policies tab, select the policy and then select Actions > Save as Template.
Create a policy from an existing template On the Templates tab, select the template and then click New Policy.
Create a template from an existing template On the Templates tab, select the template and then click New Template.
Import a template On the Templates tab, select Actions > Import.
Export a template On the Templates tab, select Actions > Export.
View template settings On the Templates tab, select the template and then click the Settings tab.
View a summary of template properties On the Templates tab, select the template and then click the Properties tab.
View template prerequisites On the Templates tab, select the template and then click the Prerequisites tab.

Templates and delegated administration

Policy templates are stored on the machine where the policy management package was installed. This machine is either the Delivery Controller machine or the Group Policy Objects management machine - not the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Site’s database. This means that the Windows administrative permissions control the policy template files rather than site’s delegated administration roles and scopes.

As a result, an administrator with read-only permission in the Site can, for example, create templates. However, because templates are local files, no changes are made to your environment.

Custom templates are only visible to the user account that creates them and stored in the user’s Windows profile. To expose a custom template further, create a policy from it or export it to a shared location.

Policy templates
November 28, 2023
Contributed by: 
C
November 28, 2023
Contributed by: 
C

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