PoC Guide: Citrix DaaS with Azure Virtual Desktop Hybrid

Overview

Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktops allow enterprises to deliver virtual applications and desktops from Azure. This proof of concept (PoC) guide is designed to help you quickly configure Citrix DaaS with Azure Virtual Desktop for a trial evaluation only, in a hybrid environment. At the end of this PoC guide you will be able to bridge your on-premises Citrix DaaS deployment with a Microsoft Azure subscription using Citrix DaaS. You will be able to let your users launch a Azure Virtual Desktop virtual app or desktop utilizing the new Windows 11 Multi-Session experience, while also accessing on-premises resources.

Conceptual Architecture

Scope

In this PoC guide, you experience the role of a Citrix Cloud and Microsoft Azure administrator and create a hybrid environment that spans your organization’s on-premises deployment and Azure. You provide access to a virtualization environment consisting of the Windows 11 Multi-Session experience in Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) and on-premises resources to an end user with Citrix DaaS.

This guide showcases how to perform the following actions:

1. Create a new Azure subscription and an Azure Active Directory (AAD) Tenant (if you don’t have one)
2. Connect your on-premises AD to your AAD using Azure AD Connect
3. Create Master Image using Windows 11 Enterprise for Virtual Desktops
4. Create a Citrix Cloud account (if you don’t have one)
5. Request a Citrix DaaS trial
6. Create a Citrix DaaS account (Citrix Cloud account) and add the Azure tenant as a Resource Location
7. Create a Windows Server VM and install the Citrix Cloud Connector in your Azure resource location
8. Prepare the Azure Virtual Desktop template for the session host virtual machines (VMs). Install the Citrix Virtual Delivery Agent on the AVD VM
9. Utilize your Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service account (Citrix Cloud account) to connect to your Azure subscription using the Citrix Cloud Connector
10. Use Citrix Machine Creation Services for deploying a catalog and then create a delivery group
11. Create a Windows Server VM and install the Citrix Cloud Connector in on-premises Resource Location and add it as a resource location
12. Utilize your Citrix DaaS account (Citrix Cloud account) to connect to your on-premises resources using the Citrix Cloud Connector
13. Let your users connect to the AVD or on premises sessions via Citrix Workspace

There is a requirement from Microsoft that the AVD session hosts must be joined to a Windows Active Directory (AD) domain that has been synchronized with either Azure AD using Azure AD Connect or with Azure AD Domain Services. This would require you to connect your on-premises Active Directory to your organization’s Azure subscription. This is out-of-scope for this guide but if you are also a Citrix Networking or Citrix SD-WAN customer then you can use Site-to-Site VPN with Citrix ADC (which requires a public IP) or Citrix SD-WAN. The two preceding options are creating IPsec tunnels between your on-premises environment and the AVD network in Azure.

If you are looking for a solution that does much more than just set-up a link between these two locations, then we suggest considering creating an end to end SDWAN solution. The main advantages this gives you are integrated security, orchestration, and policy based configuration. SDWAN has further benefits:

• Enables direct access to video-on-demand that is rendered from the customer data center
• Provides intelligent traffic steering from the VDA to other on-premises properties
• VoIP and real-time video traffic are navigated from the corporate data center
• Aggregate more than 1 link to give you resiliency and expanded bandwidth by combining the different links

To set up an end to end SDWAN solution you can follow these guides:

Configuring SDWAN to connect to Azure virtual network

Deplopy SDWAN on Azure

Deploy SDWAN on Azure using SDWAN Center

Express route or Point-to-Site VPN which doesn’t require a public IP are other options to establish the connectivity.

This guide provides detailed instructions on how to deploy and configure your environment including VMs, connecting your AD to Azure AD. As a Citrix and Azure tenant administrator, you create the AVD environment to enable your users to test various scenarios that showcase Citrix DaaS and Azure Virtual Desktop integration.

Create an Azure Subscription and an Azure Active Directory Tenant

If you are an existing Microsoft O365 customer you should already have an Azure Active Directory (AAD) and so you can log in to Azure as the global administrator of the subscription and skip to the next section.

1. Go to the url: Sign into Azure and login to Azure

   

2. Enter you information, click Next

   

3. Verify your identity and then provide your credit card details for billing purposes. You may be asked to verify your card details by making a payment of ~ USD 1

   

4. Once you are done you should see this in Azure Portal. If that is the payment method you want to use click Next. Else change it and then click Next.

   

5. If you agree, check I agree check box for subscription agreement, offer details and privacy statement. Click Sign Up.

   

6. Alternately you can enroll in an O365 Enterprise E3 trial by going to this link and providing your details

   

7. Click + Create a Resource and search for Azure Active Directory and select it

   

8. Click Create

   

9. Provide the Organization name and Initial domain name of the AD that you want to create. Select the Country or Region and then click Create

   

10. Wait for the Azure AD to be created

    

Connect the on premises AD to Azure AD using Azure AD Connect

1. Launch an RDP session to the AD.

   

2. Open a browser and login to Azure as the global administrator of the subscription and Azure AD. Click Azure Active Directory and then Azure AD Connect. Click Download Azure AD Connect

   

3. In the browser window that opens click Download

   

4. Click Run

   

5. In the Azure AD connect dialog, click Continue

   

6. Click Use Express Settings

   

7. Provide the Azure Active Directory global administrator Username and Password. Click Next and login again if requested

   

8. Provide the Active Directory enterprise administrator Username and Password. Click Next.

   

9. Check the Continue without matching all UPN suffixes to verified domains, click Next

   

10. Click Install

    

11. Once the config is complete, click Exit

    

12. Go back to the Azure Active Directory page in the Azure portal and click Users. Validate that the user(s) you created are visible in the list.

    

Create a master image using Windows 11 Enterprise Multi-session

1. Select + or + Create a resource. Search for Microsoft Windows 11 and select the Microsoft Windows 11 option that shows Windows 11 Enterprise multi-session in the drop-down list.

   

2. Select the Windows 11 Enterprise multi-session option from the drop-down list and then click Create

   

3. Select the appropriate Subscription and the Resource group created for AVD to deploy the machine in. Provide a name for the Master Image VM. Choose the same region as the AD VM. Enter the credentials for the administrator account. Click Next: Disks

   

4. Select the appropriate OS disk type and Encryption type for your deployment. Click Next: Networking

   

5. Select the virtual network that your other VMs are on and ensure that a Public IP is being created for the Master Image. Click Review + Create

   

6. Ensure that the Validation Passed message appears and check the machine settings. Click Create to begin the Master Image VM creation

   

7. Once the VM creation completes, click Go to resource.

   

8. The VM must have a networking rule to allow incoming RDP traffic on it Public IP. Click Networking in the Favorites column. Click Add inbound port rule

   

9. Your public IP can be obtained by running a google search for whatsmyip address to make RDP connections to the AD VM. Select IP Address as Source, enter the Public IP Address of the machine you want to connect from in the Source IP field, set Destination Port ranges to 3389, and Protocol to TCP. Set an appropriate Priority value and provide a name to the rule. * Click Add

   

   *: Leaving port 3389 open remotely long-term can pose a security risk.

10. RDP in to the machine with the admin credentials you provided when creating the VM and join the VM to the domain and reboot the machine.

Create a Cloud Connector in your Azure subscription

1. Select + or + Create a resource in Azure. Select Windows Server 2019 Datacenter under Get Started to create a new Windows Server 2016 machine.

   

2. Select the appropriate Subscription and the Resource group created for AVD to deploy the machine in. Provide a name for the Cloud connector VM. Choose the same region as the AD VM. Enter the credentials for the administrator account. Click Next: Disks

   

3. Select the appropriate OS disk type and Encryption Type for your deployment. Click Next: Networking

   

4. Select the virtual network that your other VMs are on and ensure that a Public IP is being created for the Cloud Connector VM. Click Review + Create

   

5. Ensure that the Validation Passed message appears and check the machine settings. Click Create to begin the Cloud connector VM creation

   

6. Once the VM creation completes, click Go to Resource

   

7. The VM must have a networking rule to allow incoming RDP traffic on it Public IP. Click Networking in the favorites column and then click the name of the network interface

   

8. Click Network Security Group and then select the Network Security Group of yoyur AVD VM as it already has the port rules to allow access to your machine. Click Save

   

   *: Leaving port 3389 open remotely long-term can pose a security risk.

9. RDP in to the machine with the admin credentials you provided when creating the VM and join the Cloud Connector VM to the domain and reboot the machine.

Create a Citrix Cloud account

If you are new to Citrix Cloud, please follow the instructions on the Citrix Cloud Sign Uppage.

If you are an existing Citrix Cloud customer continue onto the next section. Ensure that you have an active Citrix Cloud account. If your account has expired you need to contact sales to enable it.

Create a new Resource Location

1. RDP to the Cloud Connector VM and login as the AD admin. Goto the URL: Citrix Cloud.

2. Enter Username and Password. Click Sign In. (If your account manages more than one customer select the appropriate one)

   

3. Under Resource Locations Click Edit or Add New

   

4. Click + Resource Location and enter name of the New Resource Location. Click Save

   

5. Under the newly created resource location click + Cloud Connectors

   

6. Click Download. Click Run when the download begins

   

7. Citrix Cloud connectivity test successful message should be displayed. Click Sign in and Install to continue. If the test fails, check the following link to resolve the issue - CTX224133

   

8. From the drop-down lists select the appropriate Customer and Resource Location. Click Install

   

9. Once the installation completes, a service connectivity test runs. Let it complete and you should again see a successful result. Click Close

   

10. Refresh the Resource Location page in Citrix Cloud. Click on Cloud Connectors

    

11. The newly added Cloud Connector is listed. In production environments, ensure to have 2 Cloud Connectors per resource location

    

Request a Citrix DaaS trial

1. Sign in to your Citrix Cloud account

2. From the management console, select Request Trial for the Citrix DaaS Service

Note:

For some services you must reqwuest a demo from a Citrix sales representative before you can try out the service. Requesting a demo allows you to discuss your organization’s cloud service needs with a Citrix sales representative. Also, the sales representative ensures you have all the information needed to use the service successfully. When your trial is approved and ready to use, Citrix will send you an email notification.

Install Virtual Delivery Agent on the AVD host VM

While we wait, we can install the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, Virtual Delivery Agent on the Windows 11 Multiuser VM that we created.

1. Connect to the AVD VM via RDP as the domain admin

   

2. Open Citrix.com in your browser. Hover over Sign in and click My Account

   

3. Sign in with your Username and Password.

   

4. Click Downloads.

   

5. From the Select a Product drop-down list, select Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops

   

6. In the page that opens, select the latest version of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 7 (without the .x at the end)

   

7. Scroll down to Components that are on the product ISO but also packaged separately. Click the chevron to expand the section. Click Download File under Server OS Virtual Delivery Agent

   

8. Check “I have read and certify that I comply with the above Export Control Laws” check box, if you agree. Click Accept. The download should begin.

   

9. Save the file and Run it when the download completes

   

10. Click Next in the Environment section to create a master MCS image.

    

11. In the Core Components section, check the Citrix Workspace app check box if your users would use the session to launch sessions from within it. Click Next

    

12. In the Additional section choose the components you need and click Next

    

    NOTE: To see logon information in Citrix Director, select also Citrix User Profile Manager

13. Enter the UPN for the Cloud Connector VM and click Test Connection. Ensure that the test is successful a green tick appears next to the entered UPN. Click Add and click Next

    

14. Click Next in the Feature section and Next again in the Firewall section.

    

15. Click Install in the Summary section

    

16. Once the installation completes, in the Diagnostics section click Connect. Enter your Citrix Cloud credentials, click OK. Once the credentials are validated, click Next

    

17. Click Finish and let the VM reboot.

    

Create a hosting connection between Citrix DaaS and Azure

Configure Citrix DaaS to connect to the Azure Subscription that hosts the Azure Virtual Desktop VMs.

1. Once the trial is approved, Log in to Citrix Cloud from your local machine. Scroll to My Services, and locate DaaS service tile, click Manage

   

2. the Full Configuration page is displayed

   

3. in the left navigation menu, click Zones and verify that the Resource Location and Cloud Connector you have setup are visible.

   

4. In the left menu under Configuration. Click Hosting and then click Add Connection and Resources that host the machines.

   

5. From the drop downs select Create New Connection, Microsoft© AzureTM as Connection Type, Azure Global for Azure environment and an the Azure zone location setup as a Resources Location. Select Citrix provisioning tools (Machine Creation Services selected. Click Next

   

6. Paste your Azure Subscription ID in the Subscription ID text box and enter a Connection Name. Click Create New to create a new service principal. Alternately you can manually grant Citrix Cloud Access to the Azure subscription (with more restrictive roles than the default contributor) CTX224110

   

7. Sign in to your Azure account when prompted. Ensure that the user is an owner and not an external user in the subscription

   

8. Check the Consent on behalf of your organization check box and click Accept if you agree. Once the validation completes Connected is displayed. Click Next

   

9. Select the appropriate Region and click Next

   

10. Enter a Name for these resources and select the appropriate Virtual network and Subnet where the VMs are to be created. Click Next. Review the Summary and click Finish

    

11. You are returned to the Hosting page. Once you are done click Machine Catalogs to start creating your catalog.

    

Create a Machine Catalog and a Delivery Group

1. Click Create Machine Catalog.

   

2. In the Machiune Catalog Setup dialog, click Next

   

3. Ensure Multi-Session OS is selected. Click Next

   

4. Ensure Machines that are power managed and Citrix Machine Creation service are selected and the correct Azure network is shown in the Resources. Click Next

   

5. Choose the correct disk that is associated with the AVD VM. From the minimum functional level drop-down select 1811 (or newer). Click Next. A pop-up appears to ask for the VM attached to the VHD to be stopped.

   

6. Log in to the Azure portal and Under Virtual Machines, go to the AVD VM and Click the Stop button. Ignore the warning about losing the Public IP. Wait for status to show Stopped (deallocated). Return to the Citrix Cloud tab and click Close

   

7. Leave Defaults and click Next

   

8. Modify the number of VMs if you want and select the machine size you want for your VMs. Click Next

   

9. Click Next

   

10. Set the write back cache size if you want it. Click Next

    

11. Click Next and click Close

    

12. Select the OU in which the VMs should be placed. Enter the computer Account naming scheme. Ensure the name is fewer than 15 chars long and ends with a #. Click Next

    

13. Click Enter Credentials. In the dialog that opens enter username and password of the AD admin. Click Done. Click Next

    

14. Click Next

    

15. Click Next

    

16. Enter a name for the machine catalog. Click Finish

    

17. Wait for the catalog to be created.

    

18. When Machine Catalog creation is finished, from the left side menu click Delivery Groups then Create Delivery Group.

    

19. Select the Windows 11 Multisession Catalog. Increment the number of machines to the number of VMS you want to add to the delivery group. Click Next

    

20. For our example we will select the Allow any authenticated users to use this Delivery Groupo radio button. Click Next

    

21. If you want to also make apps available from this delivery group click the Add drop-down list and choose From Start Menu

    

22. From the Add Applications from Start Menu Dialog check the boxes next to the apps you want to make available. Then click OK

    

23. Click Next

    

24. In the Desktops section click Add. Enter Display Name for the delivery group. Ensure Enable desktop is checked. Click OK

    

25. Click Next

    

26. Click Next

    

27. Select the appropriate License Type and Click Next

    

28. Enter a Delivery Group name. Click Finish

    

29. Once the delivery group is created, your Delivery Group overivew should look like this.

    

If you want to add your on-premises resources to the Workspace follow the below steps.

Create a Cloud Connector in your on-premises data center

1. Add a cloud connector in your on-premises data center. Create a Windows server 2012 R2 or 2016 VM in your on-premises. Repeat the steps in the “Create a new Resource Location” section.

Add on-premises site to the Workspace

1. Follow the steps in the guide to add the on-premises site to Citrix DaaS. Complete till the end of Task 3: Configure connectivity and confirm settings in this page.

Launch the session from Citrix Workspace

1. Open the Workspace URL you had saved earlier (from Citrix Cloud) to the Citrix Workspace. Log in as one of the domain users that you had added to the Delivery Group.

   

2. Click View all Desktops

   

3. Click on the Windows 11 Multi-session DG desktop that you created in Azure.

   

4. The session should launch giving you access to the Azure Virtual Desktop

   

Summary

The guide walked you through bringing your Azure hosted Azure Virtual Desktop and on premises resources (using Workspace Configuration) together, so users access them in one place. You learned how to create a hybrid setup to manage both Azure Virtual Desktops based VMs and on premises based resources using Citrix VIrtual Apps and Desktops. The process included creating a network conneciton between the Azure virtual network and your on premises data center. Also you learned how to synchronize your on premises Active Directory with Azure Active Directory with Azure AD connect. We even looked at how to create a Citrix Cloud account, if you didn’t have one and get access to Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service, which makes all this work.

To learn more about migrating your on premises Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops setup to the cloud, read the deployment guide