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Legacy USB Redirection Configuration

October 25, 2024
Contributed by: 
C

If you are using any components older than version 2212 or if you are using CWA for Linux, follow this guide for configuring USB redirection in your environment.

Enabling Generic USB Redirection

  1. Open Citrix Web Studio policies and click on the Policies tab.
  2. Click on Create Policy and expand the ICA > USB Devices policies.
  3. Edit the Client USB device redirection policy.
  4. Select Allowed and click Save.

Creating USB Redirection Policy Rules

When the user tries to redirect a USB device to Virtual Desktop, it is checked against each USB policy rule in turn until a match is found. The first match for any devices is considered final. If the first match is an Allow rule, the matched device is allowed to be redirected to the virtual desktop. If the first match is a Deny rule, the matched device is only available in the local desktop. If no match is found, default rules are used.

Setting the policy on the DDC:

  1. Open Citrix Web Studio policies and click on the Policies tab.
  2. Click on Create Policy and expand the ICA > USB Devices policies.
  3. Edit the Client USB device redirection rules.

  4. Set the value based on the examples provided in the description for each usb device that needs to be redirected and click Save. For Example: Allow: VID=056A PID=00A4 #STU-430 Deny: Class=08 subclass=05 # Mass Storage

    Note:

    If a Citrix admin checks Use default value and clicks on Save, the default rules can be found in the following registry in the VDA.

    Caution!:

    Refer to the Disclaimer at the end of this article before using the Registry Editor. HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Citrix\PortICA\GenericUSB\DeviceRules

Using GPOs on the client:

  1. Open the Local Group Policy Editor and go to Administrative Templates > Citrix Components > Citrix Receiver > Remoting client devices > Generic USB Remoting.

  2. Open the USB Device Rules setting and enable the setting. Add the USB Device rule as in this example, The Allow: VID=1230 PID=0007 rule allows the device with Vendor ID 1230 and Product ID 0007.

Note:

Use the Allow: VID=xxxx PID=xxxx rule when a specific device must be on top of the device rules list.

GPO_Client

Note:

A tool like USBView or even the Connection toolbar can be used to determine the device details like VID and PID.

Configure automatic redirection of USB devices

USB devices are automatically redirected when USB support is enabled. Also, the USB user preference settings are set to automatically connect USB devices. It is not always best to redirect all USB devices. Users can explicitly redirect devices from the USB device list that are not automatically redirected. To prevent USB devices from being listed or redirected, use DeviceRules policy setting on the client endpoint.

This policy can be set on the client using a GPO, client side registry, using Citrix Workspace Preferences or the Connections tab under CDViewer. All of these methods are described below:

Using GPOs on the client:

  1. Open Local Group Policy Editor and go to Administrative Templates > Citrix Components > Citrix Receiver > Remoting client devices > Generic USB Remoting.
  2. Open New USB Devices, select Enabled, and click OK.
  3. Open Existing USB Devices, select Enabled, and click OK.

USB_GPO

Using Citrix Connection Center:

  1. Go to Citrix Workspace Preferences > Connections.
  2. Ensure that the following options are selected:
    1. When a session starts, connect devices automatically
    2. When a new device is connected while a session is running, connect the device automatically.
  3. Click OK.

Using CDViewer Connection toolbar:

  1. After a session starts, click on the CDViewer dropdown and select the Citrix Workspace Preferences > Connections tab.
  2. Ensure that the following options are selected:
    1. When a session starts, connect devices automatically
    2. When a new device is connected while a session is running, connect the device automatically.
  3. Click Apply and OK to save the policy.

USB_CD_Viewer

For the client based configurations, the registry keys are set to the client device at the following location:

Caution!:

Refer to the Disclaimer at the end of this article before using the Registry Editor. HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Citrix\ICA Client\GenericUSB

Configuring two or more devices using USB redirection with different device rules

Multiple devices can be redirected inside the HDX session with different device rules. An admin may want to redirect one device automatically while providing an option to the end user to redirect the other device. The following are the steps to configure two devices with different rules.

  1. Enable the Client USB device redirection policy setting in Citrix Web Studio.

  2. Edit the USB device rules setting in client side GPO.

    1. Open the Local Group Policy Editor and go to Administrative Templates > Citrix Components > Citrix Receiver > Remoting client devices > Generic USB Remoting.

    2. Open the USB Device Rules setting and enable the setting. Add the USB Device rule as in this example, The Allow: VID=0911 PID=0c1c rule allows the device with Vendor ID 0911 and Product ID 0c1c but it will not be automatically redirected. The Connect: VID=06A8 PID=0043 rule will automatically redirect the device with Vendor ID 06A8 and Product ID 0043 provided the the automatic redirection policies mentioned in step 3 are set.

    3. Allow: VID=0911 PID=0c1c #Phillips speech mic.

    4. Connect: VID=06A8 PID=0043 class=03 # Topaz HSB signature pad

  3. Open Local Group Policy Editor and go to Administrative Templates > Citrix Components > Citrix Receiver > Remoting client devices > Generic USB Remoting.

  4. Open New USB Devices, select Enabled, and click OK.

  5. Open Existing USB Devices, select Enabled, and click OK.

Once these settings are configured, the Topaz signature pad will be automatically redirected inside the HDX session and additional end user action will be required (Select Redirect option in Connection center or CD Viewer Devices tab) to redirect the Phillips speech mic in the session.

Note:

The above settings in step 2 and 3 could be applied directly in the client side registry value DeviceRules under the GenericUSB key (HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Citrix\ICA Client\GenericUSB) but that is not the recommended way.

Legacy USB Redirection Configuration
October 25, 2024
Contributed by: 
C
October 25, 2024
Contributed by: 
C

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