Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops

Optimization for Microsoft Teams (New)

Citrix® supports two ways to optimize Microsoft Teams audio and video in a VDI environment: Citrix HDX™ Optimization and the New VDI solution for Teams from Microsoft. Classic Teams has reached end of life, so the optimization approaches described on this page apply to the current Microsoft Teams client.

Note:

Microsoft has announced the deprecation of WebRTC-based Citrix HDX Optimization for Microsoft Teams on Windows endpoints. Two milestones apply:

  • October 1, 2026 - End of Support: No longer officially supported by Microsoft or Citrix.

  • April 1, 2027 - End of Availability: WebRTC-based optimization stops functioning. Citrix Studio policies for the legacy optimization no longer take effect.

Customers are recommended to migrate to the New VDI solution for Teams. This change affects Windows endpoints only. macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, and HTML5 endpoints are not impacted. For more details, see Microsoft Blog.

Optimization approaches

  • Citrix HDX Optimization (MTOP): A combined Citrix and Microsoft solution that uses a Citrix-owned virtual channel (CTXMTOP). Media offloading is handled by HdxRtcEngine in the Citrix Workspace™ app. This solution is traditionally referred to as MTOP.

  • New VDI solution for Teams: A newer optimization that is owned and managed by Microsoft and uses Microsoft-owned virtual channels (MSTEAMS, MSTEAM1, and MSTEAM2). It is available on Windows and Mac endpoints. For full details, see New VDI solution for Teams in the Microsoft documentation.

Key distinctions

Citrix HDX Optimization New VDI solution for Teams
Optimization is a combined solution of Citrix and Microsoft and uses a virtual channel owned by Citrix (CTXMTOP). Optimization solution is owned and managed by Microsoft and uses virtual channels owned by Microsoft (MSTEAMS, MSTEAM1, and MSTEAM2).
Media offloading is handled by HdxRtcEngine which resides in Citrix Workspace app. Media offloading is handled by the SlimCore media engine on Windows and Mac endpoints.
No additional components needed on the endpoint except installation of Citrix Workspace app. Additional component - Teams VDI Plugin needs to be deployed on the endpoint through various means. This plug-in manages the download and updates of the SlimCore media engine.
Available on endpoint platforms - Windows, macOS, Linux, and ChromeOS. Available on endpoint platforms - Windows and Mac.
New features are managed in conjunction between Citrix and Microsoft. New features are managed by Microsoft. Users have access to some new features unavailable with Citrix HDX Optimization.
Supported by both Citrix and Microsoft, depending on the component involved. Customers can open a case with either Citrix or Microsoft and are redirected to the appropriate team as needed. Owned and supported by Microsoft. Citrix supports the Citrix components involved, such as Citrix Workspace app, the virtual channel allow list, and plug-in deployment mechanisms.

Interoperability and roaming

Citrix HDX Optimization and the New VDI solution for Teams can exist in parallel, but the Teams client uses only one of them at a time.

  • The optimization is selected when the Teams app launches, in the following order: New VDI solution for Teams, then Citrix HDX Optimization (WebRTC), then standard audio/video redirection.

  • If the New VDI solution for Teams fails, Teams falls back directly to standard audio/video redirection rather than to WebRTC. A Teams app restart is required to re-run the selection and choose the optimization that fits.

  • Roaming between endpoints is seamless and does not require a Teams app restart, including when a user roams between an endpoint that supports the New VDI solution for Teams and one that does not.

Optimization for Microsoft Teams (New)