XenApp and XenDesktop

Deprecation and removals

The announcements in this article are intended to give you advanced notice of platforms, Citrix products, and features which are being phased out so that you can make timely business decisions. Citrix monitors customer use and feedback to determine when they are withdrawn. This list is subject to change in subsequent releases and might not include every deprecated feature or functionality.

The following platforms, Citrix products, and features are deprecated. This does not mean that they are removed immediately. Citrix continues to support them in this XenApp and XenDesktop 7.15 Long Term Service Release (LTSR). Deprecated items will be removed in a Current Release following this LTSR. Alternatives for deprecated items are suggested where possible.

For details about product lifecycle support, see the Product Lifecycle Support Policy article.

Item Deprecation announced in Removed in Alternative
StoreFront browser support for Microsoft Edge Legacy 7.15 LTSR CU7 - Upgrade to Microsoft Edge (based on Chromium).
Browser content redirection 7.15 LTSR CU7 - Upgrade to 1912 LTSR.
Citrix License Administration Console (last included in the Windows License Server 11.16.3 build 30000 and removed in the Windows License Server v11.16.6 build 31000). 7.15 LTSR CU6 7.15 LTSR CU6 Use the Citrix Licensing Manager.
Removal of Citrix Smart Tools Agent from Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops installation media. 1903 and 7.15 LTSR CU4 7.15 LTSR CU4
Citrix Receiver for Web classic experience (“green bubbles” user interface). 7.15 LTSR (and StoreFront 3.12) Citrix Receiver for Web unified experience.
VDAs on Windows 10 version 1511 (Threshold 2) and earlier Windows desktop OS releases, including Windows 8.x and Windows 7 7.15 LTSR (and 7.12) 7.16 Install desktop OS VDAs on Windows 10 version 1607 (Redstone 1) or newer Semi-Annual Channels. If using 1607 LTSB, we recommend a 7.15 VDA.
VDAs on Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2012 (including Service Packs). 7.15 LTSR (and 7.12) 7.16 Install server OS VDAs on supported versions such as Windows Server 2012 R2 or Windows Server 2016.
Delivery Controllers on Windows Server 2012 and 2008 R2 (including Service Packs). 7.15 LTSR Install Delivery Controllers on an alternative supported operating system
Studio on Windows 7 (including Service Packs). 7.15 LTSR 7.18 Install Studio on an alternative supported operating system.
Flash Redirection. 7.15 LTSR Citrix Workspace app 1912 and later does not support HDX-FlashRedirection, which is part of the XenApp and XenDesktop 7.15 LTSR CU6 release. HDX-FlashRedirection is available only with Citrix Workspace app 1911 and earlier. You can also use Citrix Receiver 4.9 LTSR with 7.15 LTSR CU6.
DirectX Command Remoting (DCR). 7.15 LTSR 7.16 Use Thinwire.
Citrix Online Integration (Goto product) with StoreFront. 7.14 (and StoreFront 3.11) StoreFront 3.12 From StoreFront 3.12, this feature cannot be configured in the StoreFront management console. If you upgrade to StoreFront 3.12, you can continue to use this feature. To change your configuration, use the PowerShell cmdlet, Update-DSGenericApplications. For more information, see Integrate Citrix Online applications with stores.
In-place upgrades from StoreFront 2.0, 2.1, 2.5, and 2.5.2. 7.13 7.16 Upgrade from one of these versions to a later supported version and then to XenApp and XenDesktop 7.13.
In-place upgrades from XenDesktop 5.6 or 5.6 FP1. 7.12 7.16 Migrate your XenDesktop 5.6 or 5.6 FP1 deployment to the current XenDesktop version.
VDAs on Windows 8.1 and earlier Windows desktop releases. 7.12 Install server OS VDAs on supported versions such as Windows Server 2012 R2 or Windows Server 2016.
XenDesktop 5.6 used on Windows XP. No VDA installations on Windows XP will be supported. 7.12 Install VDAs on a supported Windows version.
CloudPlatform connections. 7.12 Use a different supported hypervisor or cloud service.
Azure Classic (also known as Azure Service Management) connections. 7.12 Use Azure Resource Manager.
Installing core components (other than Studio) on 32-bit machines: Delivery Controller, Director, StoreFront, and License Server. 7.12 7.16 Use 64-bit machines.
Connection leasing. 7.12 7.16 Use Local Host Cache.
Legacy Thinwire mode 7.12 7.16 Use Thinwire.
HDX Desktop Composition Redirection (DCR) 7.12
AppDisks functionality (and the AppDNA integration into Studio, which supports it)* 7.13 2003 Use Citrix App Layering.
Personal vDisk functionality* 7.13 2006 Use Citrix App Layering user layer or user personalization layer technology.

* Feature not covered by the Long Term Service Releases (LTSR) servicing option.

Deprecation and removals

In this article