Citrix have released a new version of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktop 7 2009

FIDO2 via Windows Hello is now supported which is awesome 🙂 And Citrix is also supporting iOS14 and BigSur when its gets GA soon. Lots of new features and security enhancements.

This blogpost also features information about Citrix new health check tool and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktop service what is new September 2020, such as support for NVv4 instance in Azure. I have also included Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktop Standard for Azure service, what is new.

Release is now available for download, September, 2020.

Citrix Virtual Apps & Desktop 7 2009 is a CR release. Read more about CR here

Citrix Virtual Apps (former name: XenApp) Citrix Virtual Desktop (former name: XenDesktop)

Citrix raises the bar of for user experience and new product release of following technologies:

• Director 2009
• Virtual Delivery Agents 2009 for ServerOS and ClientOS
• Virtual Delivery Agent 2009 for Linux
• Citrix Licensing 11.16.6
• Citrix Federated Authentication Service 2009
• Provisioning 2009
• Profile Management 2009
• Workspace Environment Management 2009
• Session Recording 2009
• Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktop Service
• Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktop Standard for Azure
• Citrix Cloud Health Check
• Workspace App 2009 for Windows
• Workspace App 2009 for Windows (Store)
• Workspace App 2009 for Linux
• Workspace App 2009 for Chrome
• Workspace App 2009 for Android
• Workspace App 2009 for MacOS
• Workspace App 2009 for HTML5
• Workspace App 2009 for ChromeOS

What’s new in Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktop 7 2009

Install and upgrade: Removal of VM optimizer from VDA installers

As of this release, the VDA installers no longer include TargetOSOptimizer.exe. The Features page in the VDA installers’ graphical interface no longer contains the Optimize performance option. In the VDA installers’ CLI, the /optimize option is no longer valid.

In place of the removed item, use Citrix Optimizer. Citrix Optimizer is a standalone tool (not part of the VDA installation). For details, see CTX224676.

Upgrade: New page in graphical interface

When using the full product installer’s graphical interface to upgrade Delivery Controllers, a new page lists the features, platforms, and components that are no longer supported. You can then stop the upgrade to remove unsupported items, if needed, and then restart the upgrade.

Upgrade: Removing unsupported items

As of version 2003, the following technologies and host types are not supported in Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 7 Current Release deployments:

• Personal vDisks (PvD) for storing data next to users’ VMs. The user personalization layer feature now handles user persistence.
• AppDisks for managing applications used in delivery groups.
• Host types for connections: Azure Classic, Azure Resource Manager (ARM), Amazon Web Services (AWS), CloudPlatform (the original Citrix product).
  • For information about alternative ways you can continue using ARM and AWS, see CTX270373.
  • For host types supported in this release, see System requirements.

As of version 2006, if your current deployment uses PvDs or AppDisks, or has connections to unsupported host types, you can upgrade your deployment to version 2006 (or later supported versions) only after removing items that use those technologies.

For VDAs, the installation or earlier upgrades might have included PvD and AppDisks components, even if you never used it. You can upgrade VDAs to version 2006 (or later supported versions), only after removing that software. When using the graphical interface, that removal can be done automatically. Or, you can include options when using the CLI.

For details, see Remove PvD, AppDisks, and unsupported hosts.

Support for VMware vSphere 7.0

Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops adds support for VMware vSphere 7.0. This support includes ESXi 7.0 and VMware vCenter Server 7.0.

Support for Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2019

This release includes support for Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) 2019.

Manage searches during VDA registration

By default, if the Broker Agent cannot locate a specified Controller during its initial search, it initiates an extensive fallback top-down query. You can now use a registry setting to control whether the Broker Agent uses that fallback query. For details, see Controller search during VDA registration.

Citrix Studio 7 2009

Security key to authenticate StoreFront and Citrix Gateway

NOTE:

You must use this feature in combination with StoreFront 1912 LTSR CU2 or later. StoreFront 1912 LTSR CU2 has not yet been released.

Starting with this release, you can use a security key to allow only approved StoreFront and Citrix Gateway machines to communicate with the Delivery Controller. After you enable this feature, any requests that do not contain the key are blocked. Use this feature to add an extra layer of security to protect against attacks originating from the internal network. For more information, see Manage security keys.

Google Cloud Platform Enhancements

For our customers running workloads in Google Cloud, we’re introducing some new MCS functionality for Citrix workloads — Shared VPC Support and Sole Tenant Support and Zone Selection.

Shared VPC Support: 

Leverage Google Cloud Shared VPC configuration with Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops to simplify and share configuration, delegate administration, and define reusable network configurations

Sole Tenant Support and Zone Selection: 

Enables configuration of Windows 10 VDAs on dedicated host hardware inside GCP, enabling BYO License scenarios, as well as new data compliance / HIPAA scenarios inside Google Cloud.

Citrix Director 7 2009

Operating system name changes

Operating system names on the Director pages have changed:

• Multi-session OS (formerly Server OS)
• Single session OS (formerly Desktop OS)

Virtual Delivery Agents (VDAs) 7 2009 for Windows Desktop/Server OS.

Version 2009 of the Windows single-session OS and multi-session OS VDAs includes the following enhancements. These items are in addition to the VDA installation and upgrade items listed earlier in this article.

Limit clipboard transfer size

You can specify the maximum amount of clipboard data a user can transfer to and from a virtual session using a single cut-and-paste operation. For more information, see the Limit clipboard client to session transfer size and Limit clipboard session to client transfer size settings in Client clipboard redirection.

Smart card reader insertion count

Smart card remoting now lets you track the number of times a smart card has been inserted or removed from a reader. For more information, see Track smart card reader insertion count.

VDA-based Wake on LAN

This release of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops adds support for a new Wake on LAN hosting connection for VDAs. For more information, see Remote PC Access.

Connection timeout

The user now receives an alert message two minutes before the virtual session automatically times out. To enable or update the timer that specifies the maximum duration of an uninterrupted connection, see Session connection timer.

App-V Single Admin HTTP(S) streaming

This version of the VDA includes changes that allow ctxAppVLauncher.exe to publish and launch packages that are streamed from an IIS server over HTTP or HTTPS, as well as from a UNC share. This enhancement supports the publishing of App-V package via HTTP streaming in the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service in Citrix Cloud. The ability to import HTTP streamed packages to the AppLibrary and publish them with Citrix Studio is not available for on-premises sites.

User personalization layer

This version of User personalization layer feature supports custom repository path names. When specifying an explicit repository path, you can include machine environment variables, along with %USERNAME% and %USERDOMAIN% variables.

Active Directory authentication

A new registry entry has been added to avoid unwanted enabling of NTLM authentication in VDAs, which is less secure than Kerberos. For more information, see Deploy in a multiple Active Directory forest environment.

Local authorization and virtual authentication using FIDO2

Support for FIDO2 enables users to take advantage of the local endpoint FIDO2 components in a virtual machine. Users can now authenticate in their virtual session using FIDO2 security keys or integrated biometrics on devices that have TPM 2.0 and Windows Hello. For more information, see FIDO2: WebAuthn & CTAP.

Keyboard enhancements for Dutch and Italian languages

This release addresses keyboard issues for Dutch and Italian languages that are present in non-Windows client sessions. The improvements focus on the overall robustness of keyboard interactions in virtual sessions running through Citrix Workspace app. The enhanced Windows VDA keyboard now supports most combinations for Dutch and Italian input and provides a better user experience for customers in different locales.

Virtual Delivery Agents (VDAs) 7 2006 for Linux

Version 2009 of the Linux VDA includes the following new features and enhancements:

Support for RHEL 8.2

Citrix added RHEL 8.2 as a supported distribution. For more information, see System requirements and Install Linux Virtual Delivery Agent for RHEL/CentOS.

(Experimental) Support for Ubuntu 20.04

As an experimental feature, you can distribute the Linux VDA on Ubuntu 20.04. For more information, see System requirements and Install Linux Virtual Delivery Agent for Ubuntu.

Support for browser content redirection

Starting with this release, the Linux VDA supports browser content redirection in Google Chrome. Browser content redirection provides the ability of rendering webpages in the allow list on the client side. For more information, see Browser content redirection.

Support for session watermarks

The Linux VDA now supports session watermarks. You can specify a watermark that is a layer of text, which displays over the entire session screen without changing the content of the original document. Text-based session watermarks help to deter and enable tracking data theft. This traceable information appears on the session desktop as a deterrent to those using photographs and screen captures to steal data. For more information, see Text-based session watermark.

Support for non-domain-joined Linux VDAs in Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Standard for Azure

You can now create non-domain-joined Linux VDAs in Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Standard for Azure to deliver virtual apps and desktops to any device from Microsoft Azure. For more information, see Create non-domain-joined VMs in Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Standard for Azure and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Standard for Azure.

Policy available for setting dynamic keyboard layout synchronization and client IME user interface synchronization

Previously, to enable or disable the dynamic keyboard layout synchronization and client IME user interface synchronization features, you had to edit the registry on each target VDA. Starting with this release, you can use the Client Keyboard Layout Sync and IME Improvement policy to set the features. This policy takes priority over registry settings and can be applied to user and machine objects you specify or all objects in your site. For more information, see Dynamic keyboard layout synchronization and Client IME user interface synchronization.

Prompt provided when you open an extra desktop session from a VDA

You can open a desktop session from a VDA through Citrix HDX, RDP, and direct console connections. However, attempts to open an extra HDX desktop session from the same Ubuntu VDA failed before this release. The issue occurred on Ubuntu VDAs that are installed with the GNOME desktop. As an enhancement, forcible logoff from your current desktop session at the following prompt allows you to continue with the new desktop session. The prompt appears every time you open an extra desktop session from a VDA, no matter what Linux platform the VDA is installed on.

NOTE:

• If you click YES at the prompt when you log in to the VDA through gdm3, the screen of your console desktop appears black and seemingly unresponsive. You can use Ctrl+Alt+F1 to go back to the VDA login window.
• The prompt floats for 30 seconds. After that, the answer is set to NOautomatically.

Citrix Licensing 11.16.6

Citrix Licensing 11.16.6 contains new features and fixed and known issues.

Citrix Federated Authentication Service 7 2009

Federated Authentication Service 2009 includes the following new features. For information about bug fixes, see Fixed issues.

Citrix Provisioning 7 2009

This release of Citrix Provisioning includes the enhancements described in the following sections. It includes several fixes for issues seen in past releases, and new issues that we’ve identified.

IMPORTANT:

Use the most recent version of the Citrix License Server to receive the latest provisioning features. If you are upgrading Citrix Provisioning to the newest version, the latest License Server version is required. When you do not upgrade to the latest version of the License Server, the product license enters the 30-day grace period. For more information, see Licensing.

Support for VMware vSphere 7.0

Citrix Provisioning target devices support VMware vSphere 7.0. This support includes ESXi 7.0 and VMware vCenter Server 7.0.

Support for NVMe controller for ESX devices

Citrix Provisioning adds NVMe controller support for target devices using ESX. The presence of the controller is determined on the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Setup Wizard template. It is used when creating both the write cache disk and the BDM disk. For BDM disk creation, Citrix Provisioning determines if the NVMe controller exists on the provisioned VM, and updates the disk using the NVMe controller.

Target device support for cfsdep2 driver installation

Citrix Provisioning target devices now allow you to install the cfsdep2 driver using SCCM or the command line. In previous releases, target device installations could not be installed in silent mode. Instead, installations using this driver were forced into interactive mode which would require users to actively respond to a reboot message on the provisioned target device.

Citrix Profile Management 7 2009

This release of Profile Management includes the following enhancements and addresses several issues to improve the user experience:

Profile container enhancements

Starting with this release, multiple concurrent sessions can access a profile container and you can put an entire user profile in its profile container. In addition, Profile Management now accesses the VHDX files in a user context and does not grant Domain Computers full control of the folder where the VHDX files are stored. For more information, see Profile container.

Citrix Workspace Environment Management 7 2009

Workspace Environment Management 2009 includes the following new features. For information about bug fixes, see Fixed issues.

Support for the Windows 10 1909 template

WEM adds support for the Windows 10 1909 template introduced in Citrix optimizer. You can now use WEM to perform template-based system optimizations for Windows 10 1909 machines. For information about using Citrix optimizer, see Citrix optimizer.

Profile Management

Workspace Environment Management now supports all versions of Profile Management through 2009. The following new options are now available on the Administration Console > Policies and Profiles > Citrix Profile Management Settings > Profile Container Settings tab:

• Enable Folder Exclusions for Profile Container (option for excluding the listed folders from the profile container)
• Enable Folder Inclusions for Profile Container (option for keeping the listed folders in the profile container when their parent folders are excluded)

For more information, see Profile Container Settings.

Administration console

The administration console user interface has changed:

• In Administration Console > Policies and Profiles > Citrix Profile Management Settings, there is a new Profile Container Settings tab for you to configure Profile Management profile container settings.
• The Enable Profile Container option now moves to the Profile Container Settings tab. Previously, the option was present on the Synchronization tab.

Citrix Session Recording 7 2009

This release includes the following new features and enhancements:

Email alert policies

This release adds a type of policy that sends email alerts to specified recipients when a session start is detected. The alerts are intended for sessions that are recorded according to the set recording policies. The system-defined email alert policy is Do not alert. You can create your own custom email alert policies. For more information, see Email alert policies.

Administrator logging integrated with the web player

The web player integrates the Administrator Logging webpage. An administrator assigned to both the LoggingReader and the Player roles can view the administrator activity logs in the web player. For more information, see Session Recording web player.

Support for Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.2 on the Session Recording Policy Console

Starting with this release, Session Recording supports TLS 1.2 encryption to secure communications with the Session Recording Policy Console.

Enhanced app monitoring

Session Recording supports logging of both application starts and ends. When you add a process to the App monitoring list, applications driven by the added process and its child processes are monitored. This release adds the process names, cmd.exe, powershell.exe, and wsl.exe, to the App monitoring list by default. If you select Log app start events and Log app end events for an event logging policy, the starts and ends of the Command Prompt, PowerShell, and Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) apps are logged regardless of whether you manually add their process names to the App monitoring list. The default process names are not visible on the App monitoring list.

In addition, this release provides a full command line for each app start event logged.

For more information, see Event logging policies and Log events.

Support for archiving events in a new database table

Session Recording adds a database table, ArchivedEvent, for archiving events in the recordings you specify by using the ICA Log database (ICLDB) utility. For more information, see Manage your database records.

Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service

What is new (September 2020 update)

Quick Deploy

The new Quick Deploy feature replaces the earlier Azure Quick Deploy. The new feature offers a quick way to get started with the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service using Microsoft Azure. You can use Quick Deploy to deliver desktops and apps, and configure Remote PC Access.

Session Administrator (built-in role).

Citrix Studio now adds a new built-in role called Session Administrator. The role lets an administrator view delivery groups and manage their associated sessions and machines on the Filters page of the Monitor tab. With this feature, you can configure access permissions of existing administrators or administrators you invite in a way that aligns with their role in your organization. For more information about the built-in role, see Built-in roles and scopes. For information about how to assign the built-in role to an administrator, see Delegated administration and monitoring.

For a more granular level of control over access to the Filters page related to sessions and machines, create a custom role and select one of the following for the Director object: View Filters page – Machines only, View Filters page – Sessions only. For information about creating a custom role, see Create and manage roles.

Security key to authenticate StoreFront and Citrix Gateway.

This release lets you use a security key to allow only approved StoreFront and Citrix Gateway machines to communicate with Citrix Cloud. After you enable this feature, any requests that do not contain the key are blocked. Use this feature to add an extra layer of security to protect against attacks originating from the internal network. For more information, see Manage security keys.

Support for VMware vSphere 7.0.

Citrix Provisioning target devices support VMware vSphere 7.0. This support includes ESXi 7.0 and VMware vCenter Server 7.0.

Support for Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2019.

This release includes support for Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) 2019.

Support for a Azure new machine type.

This release adds support for a new machine type, NV4as_v4, when configuring Premium Disks for a machine catalog. For more information, see Create delivery groups.

Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Standard for Azure

A goal of Citrix is to deliver new features and product updates to service customers when they are available. New releases provide more value, so there’s no reason to delay updates. To you, the customer administrator, this process is transparent.

September 2020 updates

• Details about images are reorganized and expanded. For example, you can now add and edit notes about images that you prepared or imported.
• When creating an Azure VNet peering connection that will use an Azure virtual network gateway, you can now also enable virtual network gateway route propagation.
• Product name change from Citrix Managed Desktops to Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Standard for Azure.

Citrix Cloud Healthcheck

Cloud Health Check allows you to run checks that gauge the health and availability of the site and its components. You can run health checks for Virtual Delivery Agents (VDAs), StoreFront servers, and Profile Management. VDA health checks identify possible causes for common VDA registration, session launch, and time zone redirection issues.

If issues are present during the checks, Cloud Health Check provides a detailed report and the actions to fix the issues. Each time Cloud Health Check starts, it checks for the latest version of scripts on the Content Delivery Network (CDN) and automatically downloads the scripts if they do not exist on the local machine. Cloud Health Check always chooses the latest local version of scripts to run health checks.

Citrix Workspace App 7 2009.5 for Windows

Support for FIDO2 authentication

FIDO2 authentication lets users take advantage of the local endpoint FIDO2 components. Users can now authenticate using FIDO2 security keys or integrated biometrics on devices that have Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 and Windows Hello. For more information, see FIDO2: WebAuthn & CTAP.

Microsoft Teams enhancements

• Microsoft Teams now displays previously used peripheral devices in the Preferred devices list.
• The WebRTC media engine accurately determines the maximum encoding resolution possible on an endpoint. The WebRTC media engine estimates multiple times a day and not only on first launch.
• The Citrix Workspace app installer is now packaged with the Microsoft Teams ringtones.
• Echo cancellation improvements.
• Screen sharing improvements.

Citrix Workspace App 2009.5 for Windows (Store)

This release addresses a number of issues that help to improve overall performance and stability.

Citrix Workspace App 20.9.0 for iOS

External sharing of webpages

With this release, you can share the webpages you open from Citrix Workspace app for iOS with others. You can:

• copy a link from within a webview
• directly open a webpage in Safari
• send links directly to people or apps

To do this, tap the … icon on the top right of the webview or long tap any link within the webview and tap the option you need.

Citrix Workspace App 2009 for Linux

Enhancement to logging

In earlier releases, the debug.ini and module.ini files were used to configure logging.

As of Version 2009, you can configure logging using one of the following methods:

• Command-line interface
• Graphical user interface

Also as of Version 2009, the debug.ini configuration file is removed from the Citrix Workspace app installer package.

Logging captures the Citrix Workspace app deployment details, configuration changes, and administrative activities to a logging database. A third-party developer can apply this logging mechanism by using the logging SDK, which is bundled as part of the Citrix Workspace app Platform Optimization SDK.

You can use the log information to:

• Diagnose and troubleshoot issues that occur after any changes. The log provides a breadcrumb trail.
• Assist change management and track configurations.
• Report administration activities.

NOTE:

This logging mechanism is applicable only on Retail build.

For more information about logging, see Logging.

Citrix Workspace App 20.9.5 for Android

USB redirection general availability

The USB redirection feature is now fully functional and ready for general availability. By default, the USB redirection feature is disabled.

The generic USB redirection feature allows the redirection of arbitrary USB devices from client machines to Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops. This feature allows you to interact with a wide selection of generic USB devices in a session as if they were physically plugged into it.

As a prerequisite to manage this feature using the Citrix Global App Config Service, set the USB redirection feature to Enabled on the Delivery Controller. For more information on how to configure USB redirection on the Delivery Controller, see the Generic USB devices section in the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops documentation.

The Citrix Global App Configuration Service gives Citrix administrators the ability to deliver Citrix Workspace service URLs and Citrix Workspace app settings through a centrally managed service.

The USB redirection feature is integrated with and configurable through the Citrix Global App Config Service. You can manage the feature using the Citrix Global App Config Service for non-domain joined networks.

For information on configuring the feature using this method, see Global App Configuration Service in the developer’s documentation.

Citrix Workspace App 2009.5 for Chrome

This release addresses a number of issues that help to improve overall performance and stability.

Session performance improvements in multi-monitor scenarios

Citrix Workspace app for Chrome improves the overall performance and stability of sessions in multi-monitor scenarios. In earlier versions, when a session was running on multiple monitors, you experienced sluggish performance.

Improved audio performance

In earlier releases, you might hear a crackling sound when listening to audio. Citrix Workspace app for Chrome now enriches the user experience by providing smooth audio output.

Citrix Workspace App 2009 for HTML5

Mac OS Big Sur Day 0 support

Citrix Workspace app for HTML5 adds support for Safari browsers introduced with macOS Big Sur.

Session performance improvements in multi-monitor scenarios

Citrix Workspace app for HTML5 improves the overall performance and stability of sessions in multi-monitor scenarios. In earlier versions, when a session was running on multiple monitors, you experienced sluggish performance.

Improved audio performance

In earlier releases, you might hear a crackling sound when listening to audio. Citrix Workspace app for HTML5 now enriches the user experience by providing smooth audio.

Citrix Workspace App 2009 for Apple OSX

Optimization for Microsoft Teams (preview)

Optimization for desktop-based Microsoft Teams using Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops and Citrix Workspace app. Optimization for Microsoft Teams is similar to HDX RealTime Optimization for Microsoft Skype for Business. The difference is that we bundle all necessary components for Microsoft Teams optimization into the VDA and the Workspace app for Mac. Citrix Workspace app for Mac supports audio and video with Microsoft Teams optimization.

For more information, see the following:

• Optimization for Microsoft Teams
• Microsoft Teams redirection
• Known issues

Citrix Workspace app for Mac on macOS Big Sur Beta

Citrix Workspace app 2009 for Mac has been tested on macOS Big Sur Beta 8. Please use this setup in a test environment and provide your feedback. See the Known issuessection for issues specific to macOS Big Sur Beta.

CAUTION:

Do not use Citrix Workspace app for Mac on macOS Big Sur Beta versions in production environments.

Kernel extensions for USB redirection

Citrix Workspace app 2009 for Mac is no longer dependent on kernel extensions (KEXT) for USB redirection.

Source

Citrix Virtual Apps & Desktop 7 2009

Other recommended blogpost about CVAD 7 2009 https://www.citrix.com/blogs/2020/09/29/whats-new-with-citrix-virtual-apps-and-desktops-september-2020/