System requirements
The Current Release of the Linux Virtual Delivery Agent (VDA) is aligned with Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops. It is also backward compatible with earlier versions of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops that haven’t yet reached the end of their lifecycle. For information about the Citrix product lifecycle, and to find out when Citrix stops supporting specific versions of products, see the Citrix Product Lifecycle Matrix.
The configuration process for Linux VDAs differs slightly from Windows VDAs. Any Delivery Controller™ farm is able to broker both Windows and Linux desktops.
System requirements for components not covered here (such as Citrix Workspace™ app) are described in their respective documentation sets.
For information about using a Current Release (CR) in a Long Term Service (LTSR) environment and other FAQs, see the Knowledge Center article.
Supported Linux distributions, Xorg versions, and desktop environments
For a matrix of the Linux distributions, Xorg versions, and desktop environments that this version of the Linux VDA supports, see the following table. For more information, see XorgModuleABIVersions.
| Linux distribution | Xorg version | Supported desktop |
|---|---|---|
| Debian 13.6 | 1.20 | GNOME, GNOME Classic, MATE, Xfce |
| Debian 12.15 | 1.20 | GNOME, GNOME Classic, KDE, MATE, Xfce |
| RHEL 10.2 | (Wayland, no Xorg) | GNOME |
| RHEL 9.8/9.6 | 1.20 | GNOME, MATE, Xfce |
| RHEL 8.10 | 1.20 | GNOME, GNOME Classic, MATE, Xfce |
| Rocky Linux 10.2 | (Wayland, no Xorg) | GNOME |
| Rocky Linux 9.8/9.6 | 1.20 | GNOME, MATE, Xfce |
| Rocky Linux 8.10 | 1.20 | GNOME, GNOME Classic, KDE, MATE, Xfce |
| SUSE 15.7 | 1.20 | GNOME, GNOME Classic, MATE |
| Ubuntu 26.04 | (Wayland, no Xorg) | GNOME |
| Ubuntu 24.04 | 1.21 | GNOME, GNOME Classic, KDE, MATE, Xfce |
| Ubuntu 22.04 | 1.21 | GNOME, GNOME Classic, KDE, MATE, Xfce |
Note:
When the support from your OS vendor expires, Citrix might be limited in its ability to remediate problems. For deprecated or removed platforms, see Deprecation.
At least one desktop must be installed. You can specify a desktop environment to use in sessions by using the ctxinstall.sh or ctxsetup.sh script.
- According to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux documentation, GNOME is the only desktop environment available in RHEL 9. However, you can also use the Xfce desktop environment in RHEL 9 and Rocky Linux 9 if you have the EPEL repository installed.
- See limitations introduced by Wayland in RHEL 10, Rocky Linux 10 and Ubuntu 26.04
- Do not use
HWE kernelorHWE Xorgon Ubuntu.- Sometimes, third-party modifications to the kernel might result in missing modules required by the Linux VDA. In this case, you must build and install the necessary kernel module. Ensure that secure boot is disabled while installing the new kernel module.
- Your user name format must comply with the
systemdsyntax rules for your current display manager. For more information about thesystemduser name syntax, see User/Group Name Syntax.
.Net requirements
In addition to the .NET Runtime, you must install ASP.NET Core Runtime on all supported Linux distributions before you install or upgrade the Linux VDA. Version 10 is required.
While the Linux VDA can run with higher major versions of .NET, compatibility is not guaranteed. Running on a higher major version may introduce risks. For more information, see How the .NET Runtime and SDK are versioned - .NET.
If your Linux distribution contains the .NET version that you require, install it from the built-in feed. Otherwise, install .NET from the Microsoft package feed. For more information, see Install .NET on Linux distributions - .NET.
Network ports
For comprehensive information on network ports, see Communication Ports Used by Citrix Technologies.
Supported host platforms and virtualization environments
- Amazon Web Services (AWS EC2 and Amazon WorkSpaces Core)
- Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
- Microsoft Azure
- Bare metal servers
- Citrix XenServer (formerly Citrix Hypervisor™)
- Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM)
- Microsoft Hyper-V
- Nutanix AHV
- Red Hat OpenShift
- VMware vSphere Hypervisor
Note:
In all cases, the supported processor architecture is x86-64.
Active Directory integration packages
The Linux VDA supports the following Active Directory integration packages and products:
| Winbind | SSSD | Centrify | PBIS | Quest | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 13.6/12.15 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| RHEL 10.2, Rocky Linux 10.2 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes (Quest v5.1 and later) |
| RHEL 9.8/9.6, Rocky Linux 9.8/9.6/8.10 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes (Quest v4.1 and later) |
| RHEL 8.10 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (Quest v4.1 and later) |
| SUSE 15.7 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ubuntu 26.04 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes (Quest v5.0.7 and later) |
| Ubuntu 24.04 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes (Quest v4.1 and later) |
| Ubuntu 22.04 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (Quest v4.1 and later) |
Size and scale considerations for Cloud Connectors
When you connect Linux VDAs to the control plane with Citrix Cloud™ Connectors, consider the following based on Citrix internal testing:
-
Each Citrix Cloud Connector™ (4 vCPU, 10 GB memory) can support 6,000 Linux VDAs.
-
Deploy two Cloud Connectors in each resource location for high availability and also deploy a maximum of 6,000 Linux VDAs in each resource location.
Database considerations
-
We recommend you use SQLite for VDI mode only and use PostgreSQL or built-in registry service for a hosted shared desktops delivery model.
-
For easy install and MCS, you can specify SQLite or PostgreSQL or built-in registry service to use without having to install them manually. Unless otherwise specified through /etc/xdl/db.conf, the Linux VDA uses built-in registry service by default.
-
For manual installations, you must install SQLite, PostgreSQL, or both, or built-in registry service related dependencies manually. If you install both SQLite and PostgreSQL, you can specify one of them to use by editing /etc/xdl/db.conf after installing the Linux VDA package.
-
When built-in registry is in use, there is no need for PostgreSQL or SQLite installed. For Linux VDA upgraded from older releases, the db.conf is kept as the old one. Db.conf will be updated to new version only when fresh install.
-
After upgrading to Linux VDA 2607 LTSR and later, if you want to use built-in registry service instead of PostgreSQL or SQLite, you can run
/opt/Citrix/VDA/sbin/ctxregd_migrate.shto migrate to built-in registry service. It is suggested that you run/opt/Citrix/VDA/sbin/ctxregd_migrate.sh -cbefore migration to check if migration is possible.
HDX™ 3D Pro
HDX 3D Pro in Citrix Virtual Apps™ and Desktops enables GPU-accelerated desktops and applications. To ensure a good 3D graphic experience, we recommend that you carefully consider network bandwidth, latency, and other related infrastructure conditions. For example, deploy the VDA and Citrix Workspace app in the same region whenever possible.
Hypervisors
For the Linux VDA, HDX 3D Pro is compatible with the following hypervisors:
- XenServer® (formerly Citrix Hypervisor)
- VMware vSphere Hypervisor
- Nutanix AHV
- Microsoft Azure
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)
- Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
Note:
The hypervisors are compatible with certain Linux distributions.
GPUs
For the Linux VDA, HDX 3D Pro supports the following types of GPUs:
NVIDIA vGPUs
To learn which NVIDIA GPU cards your Linux distribution supports, go to the NVIDIA product support matrix and check the Hypervisor or Bare-Metal OS, Software Product Deployment, Hardware Supported, and Guest OS Support columns.
Ensure that you install the latest vGPU driver for your GPU card. Currently, the Linux VDA supports up to vGPU 19. For more information, see NVIDIA Virtual GPU Software Supported GPUs.
Non-virtualized GPUs
In the Linux VDA documentation, non-virtualized GPUs refer to:
- GPUs used in Remote PC Access scenarios
- GPUs passed through from a hypervisor
NVIDIA GPUs that support the NVIDIA Capture SDK for Linux
For NVIDIA GPUs that support the NVIDIA Capture SDK for Linux, enable HDX 3D Pro by setting CTX_XDL_HDX_3D_PRO to Y when installing the Linux VDA. No additional configuration is required. Hardware acceleration is enabled by default after you enable HDX 3D Pro.
Tip:
To use HDX 3D Pro with an NVIDIA GPU, you must install an NVIDIA graphics driver version that supports NVIDIA Capture SDK version 8. For more information, see the NVIDIA Capture SDK documentation.
limitations introduced by Wayland in RHEL 10, Rocky Linux 10 and Ubuntu 26.04
- Post Installation, Run /opt/Citrix/VDA/sbin/gnome_extension_just_perfection_helper.sh with root user to hide screen casting icon in the top right corner of GNOME top bar.
- HDX 3D Pro is not supported.
- Linux virtual app sessions mode is not supported.
- GUI based easyinstall is not supported
- PVS provisioning are not fully supported
- A known issue for multi-monitor scenario: the screen arrangement on the client device must ensure that all monitors used by the VDA are contiguous; otherwise, multi-monitor functionality is unavailable.
In this article
- Supported Linux distributions, Xorg versions, and desktop environments
- .Net requirements
- Network ports
- Supported host platforms and virtualization environments
- Active Directory integration packages
- Size and scale considerations for Cloud Connectors
- Database considerations
- HDX™ 3D Pro
- limitations introduced by Wayland in RHEL 10, Rocky Linux 10 and Ubuntu 26.04