Deprecation
The announcements in this article are intended to give you advanced notice of platforms, Citrix products, and features that are being phased out so that you can make timely business decisions. Citrix monitors customer use and feedback to determine when they are withdrawn. Announcements can change in subsequent releases and might not include every deprecated feature or functionality. For details about product lifecycle support, see the Product Lifecycle Support Policy article. For information about the Long Term Service Release (LTSR) servicing option, see https://support.citrix.com/article/CTX205549.
Deprecations and removals
The following table shows the platforms, Citrix products, and features that are deprecated or removed. Dates in bold face indicate changes at this release.
Deprecations
Deprecation means we intend to remove the feature or capability from a future release. The feature or capability will continue to work and is fully supported until it is officially removed. This deprecation notification can span a few months or years. After removal, the feature or capability will no longer work. This notice is to allow you sufficient time to plan and update your code before the feature or capability is removed. Alternatives for deprecated items are suggested where possible.
| Item | Deprecation announced in version | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Support for Delivery Controller, Web Studio, Citrix Director, Citrix License Server, Citrix StoreFront, Server VDI for single-session OS, VDA for multi-session OS, Active Directory forest and domain, and Universal Print Server on Windows Server 2016 | 2402 | Upgrade to the latest version of Windows Server. |
| Support for Microsoft SQL Server versions 2016 and 2017 for the site configuration, configuration logging, and monitoring databases | 2402 | Upgrade to the latest version of Microsoft SQL Server. |
| Support for configuring the write-back cache to include only a disk cache and no memory cache | 2402 | Use the memory cache size configuration option and allocate a non-zero size. |
| Support for Azure catalogs created before on-demand provisioning feature (“legacy” catalogs) | 2402 | Recreate Azure legacy catalog VMs. The catalogs are provisioned as on-demand and thereby, save storage cost. |
| The Target Minimum Frame Rate policy | 2311 | Use Graphics Status Indicator to modify the target minimum frame rate. |
| Support for Citrix Connector 3.1 for System Center Configuration Manager | 2311 | Do image or application update manually. |
| Support for using a master image in a region different from the region where the catalog is created | 2311 | Use Azure Compute Gallery to replicate the master image to the desired region. |
| HDX Graphics Display Memory Limit setting | 2311 | The minimum amount of memory required is allocated to ensure the client’s display layout is fully accommodated. |
| Progressive mode support in HDX Graphics | 2311 | Use Thinwire. See Progressive mode. |
| Support for browser content redirection in Internet Explorer 11 | 2311 | Use Google Chrome-based browser content redirection. |
| Removed the support for AWS volume worker | 2311 | Use Direct disk upload and download. See Direct disk upload and download. |
| Support for SQL Server 2016 in Broker | 2308 | Use the latest versions. For more information, see System Requirements. |
| Support for XenApp 5.x in Director | 2308 | — |
| Support for XenApp 6.x in Director | 2308 | — |
| SCOM Pack for alerts in Director | 2308 | — |
| Support for plug-in in Director | 2308 | — |
| Support for WebRTC SDP format (Plan B) | 2308 | Upgrade the Citrix Workspace App to a supported version. |
| Support for Single Window mode in Microsoft Teams Optimization | 2308 | Upgrade the Citrix Workspace App to a version that supports MultiWindow mode. For more information, see Feature matrix and version support. |
Support for AwsCaptureInstanceProperties used in AWS environments |
2308 | Use a machine profile. See Create a catalog using a machine profile. |
Schedule-ProvVMUpdate PowerShell command |
2305 | Use Set-ProvVMUpdateTimeWindow. |
Request-ProvVMUpdate PowerShell command |
2305 | Use Set-ProvVMUpdateTimeWindow with -StartsNow and -DurationInMinutes -1 parameters. |
Cancel-ProvVMUpdate PowerShell command |
2305 | Use Clear-ProvVMUpdateTimeWindow. |
DedicatedTenancy parameter used in New-ProvScheme command |
2303 | Use TenancyType parameter. |
| License Server VPX | 2206 | — |
| Unmanaged disk to provision VMs in Azure environments. | 2206 | Use managed disks. |
| Host to Client (URL) redirection | 2203 | Bidirectional content redirection. |
Support for four AWS specific commands: Revoke-HypSecurityGroupIngress, Revoke-HypSecurityGroupEgress, Grant-HypSecuritygroupegress, and Grant-HypSecurityGroupIngress used in Cloud and on-premises environment. |
2203 | — |
| Citrix Files for Windows and Citrix Files for Outlook from the VDA metainstaller. | 2203 | Use the standalone installers. |
| WEM Agent component from the VDA metainstaller. | 2203 | — |
| SCCM-integrated Wake on LAN option for Remote PC Access. | 2012 | Use the standalone Wake on LAN feature. |
| Citrix SCOM Management Packs for XenApp and XenDesktop, Provisioning Services, and StoreFront. For the product versions that can be monitored, see Citrix SCOM Management Packs documentation. | 1912 | Use Director for monitoring and managing your deployment. For more information on SCOM EOL and alternatives, see https://support.citrix.com/article/CTX266943. |
| Mobility SDK / Mobile SDK (from the former Citrix Labs) | 7.16 | Superseded by mobile experience policy settings, and native experiences for hosted desktops/apps. |
Removals
Removed items are either removed, or are no longer supported, in Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops.
| Item | Deprecation announced in version | Removed in version | Alternative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citrix Workspace app for Windows 1912 | — | 2402 | Use the latest versions. |
| HDX Graphics FullScreen + Text optimization | 2311 | 2311 | |
| Support for NVIDIA Frame Buffer Capture (NVFBC) with HDX 3D Pro | 2308 | 2311 | Use Desktop Duplication API (DDAPI). |
| VDA support for policy setting “Automatic installation of in-box printer drivers”. | 7.16 | 2311 | None. Policy setting supported with VDAs on earlier OSs only (Windows 7, Windows Server 2012 R2 and earlier). |
| NVIDIA GPU hardware encoding (NVENC) with: vGPU 11 and older, and driver version 466.77 and older. | 2305 | 2305 | Use currently supported NVIDIA drivers: vGPU 13 or newer, version 471.41 or newer. |
| Citrix Supportability Tools (SupportabilityTool_x64 .msi) from the VDA Meta-Installer. | — | 2212 | — |
| 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). | 2003 | 2006 | Use the Citrix Licensing Manager. |
| Citrix Indirect Display Driver (IDD) graphics adapter support on Windows 10 version 1709 and earlier. | 2003 | 2003 | Use Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 7 1912 LTSR VDAs. |
| Hardware encoding with NVIDIA GPUs (NVENC) using GRID 9 or earlier display drivers. | 2003 | 2003 | Use GRID 10 display drivers with Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 7 2003 or later VDAs, or use Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 7 1912 LTSR VDAs. |
| Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR) feature. | 2003 | 2006 | — |
| Support for Microsoft .NET Framework versions prior to version 4.8 for VDAs and core server components. Includes Delivery Controller, Studio, Director, and StoreFront. | 1912 | 2003 | Upgrade to .NET Framework version 4.8. |
| VDAs on Windows Server 2012 R2. | 1912 | 2003 | Install VDAs on a supported operating system. |
| AppDNA application migration component of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Premium edition. | 1909 | 2003 | — |
| Installing Studio on 32-bit (x86) machines. | 1909 | 2003 | Install on a supported x64 operating system. |
| Support for the Excel hook in seamless applications. This was used for creating separate taskbar icons for each Microsoft Excel 2010 workbook. | 1909 | 1909 | — |
| Core server components on Windows Server 2012 R2 (including Service Packs). Includes: Delivery Controller, Studio, and Director. | 1906 | 2003 | Install on a newer supported operating system. |
| Support for Site Configuration, Configuration Logging, and Monitoring databases on Microsoft SQL Server versions 2008 R2, 2012, and 2014 (including all Service Packs and editions). | 1906 | 2003 | Install databases on a supported Microsoft SQL Server version. |
| Support for VDAs on Windows 10 on x86 platforms. | 1906 | 1909* | Install VDAs on a supported x64 operating system. *This feature is still supported in Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 7 1912 LTSR. |
| Removal of Citrix Smart Tools Agent from Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops installation media. | 1903 | 1906 | — |
| Removal of Delivery Controller options for the following end-of-life products within StoreFront: VDI-in-a-Box, and XenMobile (9.0 and earlier). | 1903 | 1903 | — |
| Support for Linux VDA on Red Hat Enterprise Linux/CentOS 7.5. | 1903 | 1903 | Install Linux VDA on a later version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. |
| StoreFront support for TLS 1.0, and TLS 1.1 protocols between Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops (formerly XenApp and XenDesktop) and Citrix Receiver, and Workspace Hub. | 7.17 | 2203 | Upgrade Citrix Receivers to a Citrix Workspace app that supports the TLS 1.2 protocol. For more information on Citrix Workspace app, see https://docs.citrix.com/en-us/citrix-workspace-app. |
| VDA support for policy setting “Automatic installation of in-box printer drivers”. | 7.16 | 2311 | None. Policy setting supported with VDAs on earlier OSs only (Windows 7, Windows Server 2012 R2 and earlier). |
| StoreFront support for users to access desktops on Desktop Appliance sites | 1811 | 1912 | Use Desktop Lock for nondomain-joined use cases. |
| Support for Framehawk display remoting technology | 1811 | 1903 | Use Thinwire with adaptive transport enabled. |
| Support for Citrix Smart Scale in all Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops (and XenApp and XenDesktop) versions. This functionality will reach End of Life on 31 May 2019. | 1808 | 1906 | Consider using the Virtual Apps and Desktops Service on Citrix Cloud for improved power management functionality. |
| Support for Microsoft .NET Framework versions 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, and 4.7 by Citrix StoreFront, Citrix VDAs, Citrix Studio, Citrix Director, and Citrix Delivery Controller. | 7.18 | 1808 | Upgrade to .NET Framework version 4.7.1 or later. (The installer automatically installs .NET Framework 4.7.1 if it is not already installed.) |
| Support for Linux VDA on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.3. | 7.18 | 1808 | Install Linux VDA on a later version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. |
| Support for the Linux VDA on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 Service Pack 4. | 7.16 | 7.16 | Install Linux VDA on supported SUSE version. |
| Support for Citrix WDDM driver on VDAs | 7.16 | 7.16 | The Citrix WDDM driver is no longer installed with VDAs. |
| VDAs on Windows 10 version 1511 (Threshold 2) and earlier Windows Single-session OS releases, including Windows 8.x and Windows 7 (see https://www.citrix.com/blogs/2018/01/08/the-citrix-strategy-for-windows-7-virtual-desktop-users/). | 7.15 LTSR (and 7.12) | 7.16 | Install Single-session OS VDAs on Windows 10 minimum version 1607 (Redstone 1) or newer Semi-Annual Channels. If using 1607 LTSB, we recommend a 7.15 VDA. See CTX224843. |
| VDAs on Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2012 (including Service Packs) | 7.15 LTSR (and 7.12) | 7.16 | Install VDAs on a supported operating system. |
| Desktop Composition Redirection (previously known as DirectX Command Remoting) (DCR) | 7.15 LTSR | 7.16 | Use Thinwire. |
| Citrix Receiver for Web classic experience (“green bubbles” user interface) | 7.15 LTSR (and StoreFront 3.12) | 1903 | Citrix Receiver for Web unified experience. |
| Core components on Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (including Service Packs). Includes: Delivery Controller, Studio, Director, StoreFront, License Server, and Universal Print Server. | 7.15 LTSR | 7.18 | Install components on a supported operating system. |
| Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR) feature on Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (including Service Packs) | 7.15 LTSR | 7.18 | Install on a newer supported operating system. |
| Studio on Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 (including Service Packs) | 7.15 LTSR | 7.18 | Install Studio on a supported operating system. |
| Flash Redirection | 7.15 LTSR | 1912 | Create video content as HTML5 Video. Use HTML5 Video Redirection for managed content, and Browser Content Redirection for public websites. For more information, see the Flash Redirection End of Life note. |
| Citrix Online Integration (Goto product) with StoreFront | 7.14 (and StoreFront 3.11) | StoreFront 3.12 | — |
| The user account, CtxAppVCOMAdmin, which was created during VDA installation and added to the Local Administrators Group on the VDA machine, is no longer created. The underlying “COM” mechanism is also removed. | 7.14 | 7.14 | The Windows service CtxAppVService performs the same function. It is automatically installed and configured and requires no user interaction. |
| Universal Print Server UpsServer component support on Windows Server 2008 32-bit | 7.14 | 7.14 | Install on a newer supported operating system. |
| StoreFront and Receiver for Web on Internet Explorer 8 | 7.13 | 7.13 | — |
| VDA command line installation option /no_appv to prevent installation of the Citrix App-V components | 7.13 | 7.13 | Use the command line installation option /exclude “Citrix Personalization for App-V – VDA”. |
| The full-product installer no longer installs the Citrix.Common.Commands snap-in on new installations and automatically removes it when upgrading existing installations. | 7.13 | 7.13 | Some PowerShell commands that were provided by the Citrix.Common.Commands snap-in are still available in the XenApp 6.5 SDK. |
| Partial functionality to manipulate icon data that was provided by *-CtxIcon cmdlets. | 7.13 | 7.13 | Now provided by *-BrokerIcon cmdlets in the Broker Service. |
| Legacy Thinwire mode | 7.12 | 7.16 | Use Thinwire. If you are using Legacy Thinwire mode on Windows Server 2008 R2, migrate to Windows Server 2012 R2 or Windows Server 2016, and use Thinwire. |
| 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 7.16. |
| 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. To do this, first upgrade to XenDesktop 7.6 LTSR (with the latest CU), then upgrade to the latest Citrix Virtual Desktops (formerly XenDesktop) release or LTSR version. |
| Installing Delivery Controller, Director, StoreFront, or License Server on 32-bit (x86) machines. | 7.12 | 7.16 | Install on a supported x64 operating system. |
| Connection leasing | 7.12 | 7.16 | Use Local Host Cache. |
| XenDesktop 5.6 used on Windows XP. VDA installations on Windows XP are not supported. | 7.12 | 7.16 | Install VDAs on a supported operating system. |
| Support for CloudPlatform connections | 7.12 | 2003 | Use a different supported hypervisor or cloud service. |
| Support for Azure Classic (also known as Azure Service Management) connections | 7.12 | 2003 | Consider using the Virtual Apps and Desktops Service on Citrix Cloud. |
| AppDisks functionality (and the AppDNA integration into Studio, which supports it) | 7.13 | 2003 | Use Citrix App Layering. |
| Personal vDisk functionality | 7.15 | 2006† | Use Citrix App Layering user layer or user personalization layer technology. |
† At Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 7 2003, the Personal vDisk driver was removed from the VDA installer. At Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 7 2006, the Personal vDisk driver workflow was removed from Studio.
Deprecation
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