Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops

Best practices

August 11, 2025

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Utilize Universal Print Server (UPS): Recommended, especially for network printing across WANs, due to optimization and centralized management benefits.
Employ Universal Print Driver (UPD): Use UPD as the primary driver strategy to minimize driver count and conflicts.
Use Vetted Native Drivers Selectively: If native drivers are required for specific printer features, ensure they are thoroughly tested.
Minimize Driver Footprint: Install the fewest possible number of printer drivers on VDA images.
Leverage Driver Mapping: Use the Printer driver mapping and compatibility policy to substitute problematic drivers or enforce UPD usage.
Test Rigorously: Never deploy untested drivers into production.
Manage Driver Updates Carefully: Avoid in-place updates; prefer a clean uninstall, reboot, and reinstall process.
Clean Up Unused Drivers: Regularly remove drivers that are no longer needed.
Optimize Routing: Ensure print jobs take the most efficient path (e.g., direct VDA-to-print server on LAN via Direct connections to print servers enabled; route via ICA/client for WAN by disabling direct connections).
Consider Distributed Print Servers: For large, geographically dispersed organizations without UPS, placing print servers at each physical location can aid management and load distribution (though UPS with load balancing offers a more integrated Citrix solution).
Purge Old Print Jobs: Periodically clear stuck or old jobs from print queues.

Design Considerations

Tailor Provisioning: Choose provisioning methods (Autocreation, Session Printers, UPS, PDF Printer) based on user requirements (e.g., roaming users benefit from proximity printing or PDF printing; static workstations might use Session Printers).
Plan Routing: Design print job routing based on the network locations of endpoints, VDAs, and print servers.
Ensure Redundancy: Implement print server redundancy, particularly when using UPS, via load balancing policies.

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Best practices

August 11, 2025

Contributed by:

August 11, 2025

Contributed by:

Best practices

Design Considerations

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