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Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops
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Upgrade procedure

September 23, 2026
Contributed by: 
C

Most of the main product components can be upgraded by running the product installer on the machine containing the component. If one machine contains more than one component (for example, Studio and License Server), all components on that machine are upgraded, if the product media contains newer versions of their software.

To use the installers:

  • To run the full product installer’s graphical interface, log on to the machine and then insert the media or mount the ISO drive for the new release. Double-click AutoSelect.
  • To use the command-line interface, issue the appropriate command. See Install using the command line.

Upgrade sequence

The following diagram shows the steps in the upgrade sequence. The steps that follow the diagram contain details of each step.

Flow diagram of upgrade sequence

Step 1: Preparation

Before you begin the upgrade, review the prerequisites and complete the pre-upgrade checklist. Preparation tasks include verifying your licensing, backing up your databases, and choosing an installer. For details, see Preparation.

Step 2: Upgrade License Server

If the installation has a new version of the Citrix License Server software, upgrade this component first before any other components.

If you have not yet determined whether your License Server is compatible with the new version, it is essential that you run the installer on the License Server before upgrading any other core components.

Step 3: Upgrade StoreFront™

If the installation media contains a new version of the StoreFront software, run the installer on the machine containing the StoreFront server.

  • In the graphical interface, choose Citrix StoreFront from the Extend deployment section.
  • From the command line, run CitrixStoreFront-x64.exe, which is available in the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops installation media’s x64 folder.

Step 4: Upgrade Director

If the installation media contains a new version of the Director software, run the installer on the machine containing Director.

Step 5: Upgrade Citrix Provisioning

The Citrix Provisioning installation media is available separately from the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops installation media. To learn how to install and upgrade Citrix Provisioning server and target device software, see the Citrix Provisioning product documentation.

Step 6: Upgrade half of Delivery Controllers

For example, if your site has four Controllers, run the installer on two of them.

Leaving half of the Controllers active allows users to access the site. VDAs can register with the remaining Controllers. There might be times when the site has reduced capacity because fewer Controllers are available. The upgrade causes only a brief interruption in establishing new client connections during the final database upgrade steps. The upgraded Controllers cannot process requests until the entire site is upgraded.

If your site has only one Controller, it is inoperable during the upgrade.

Preliminary site tests run on the first Controller, before the actual upgrade starts. For details, see Run preliminary site tests.

Note:

Site Manager is upgraded automatically along with Delivery Controllers.

Step 7: Upgrade Web Studio

If you haven’t already upgraded Web Studio (because it was on the same machine as another component), run the installer on the machine containing Studio.

Note:

After you upgrade Web Studio, the version information might not update immediately. You might be prompted to upgrade Web Studio even though it’s already up to date. To address the issue, go to the Web Studio server, open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager, navigate to Start Page > Sites > Default Web Site, and select Restart in the Manage Website pane.

Step 8: Upgrade database and site

Note:

To avoid failures, you must upgrade all Delivery Controllers and database before performing any of the provisioning and delivery group related tasks such as creating a new machine catalog, deleting a machine catalog, updating a machine in a delivery group, and so on.

After you upgrade the Delivery Controllers, upgrade the database and the site. You can upgrade automatically or manually, depending on your database permissions:

  • If you have permission to update the SQL Server database schema, initiate an automatic upgrade.
  • If you do not have sufficient permissions, initiate a manual upgrade that uses scripts. Complete the upgrade with the help of your database administrator.

Citrix strongly recommends that you back up the database before upgrading. During a database upgrade, product services are disabled. During that time, Controllers cannot broker new connections for the site, so plan carefully.

For the detailed procedure, see Upgrade the database and site.

Step 9: Upgrade remaining Delivery Controllers

Upgrade the remaining Delivery Controllers. After completing the upgrade, close and reopen Site Manager. Site Manager might then prompt you to perform an additional site upgrade to register the Delivery Controller’s services to the site.

Step 10: Upgrade VDAs

Important:

If you’re upgrading a VDA to version 1912 or later, see Upgrading VDAs to 1912 or later.

Run the product installer on machines containing VDAs.

If you used Machine Creation Services™ and a master image to create machines, go to your host and upgrade the VDA on the master image. You can use any of the available VDA installers.

If you used Citrix Provisioning to create machines, see the Citrix Provisioning product documentation for guidance about upgrading.

Step 11: Update machine catalogs and Delivery Groups

After you upgrade the VDAs, update the machine catalogs and Delivery Groups that use those machines. Use the following tasks:

Step 12: After the upgrade

Upgrade other components in your deployment. For guidance, see the following product documentation:

If you need to replace the Microsoft SQL Server Express LocalDB software with a later version, see Replace SQL Server Express LocalDB.

Upgrade procedure
September 23, 2026
Contributed by: 
C
September 23, 2026
Contributed by: 
C

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