Anytime a new product release is unveiled I like to take a look at the features and improvements that may be important to the masses. With roughly two years between LTSR releases, the drop of the new Citrix 2402 LTSR surely has some features that were previously debuted in the CR track. Below is a chart outlining a few features newly added to the LTSR chain that is sure to impress! And man oh man, is it a list of goodies. Enjoy!
Citrix 2402 LTSR Features (CVAD)
| Product | Feature | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery Controller | Websocket Support for VDAs | Communication between Delivery Controllers and VDAs is now possible over the Citrix Brokering Protocol (CBP), which utilizes port 443 exclusively. |
| VDA Updates via local file share | Pretty basic, but you can now specify an installer path from a local file share. | |
| Check for multiple NICs in VMware | For VMware integrations, pre-flight checks have been implemented that allow you to specify the network mapping of the MCS template. | |
| Windows 11 on GCP | Pretty staright-forward. | |
| Studio | Support for VMware Machine Profiles | You can now provision VMs via MCS using VMware templates. This will allow the created VMs to inherit qualities specified in the template. https://docs.citrix.com/en-us/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops/2402-ltsr/whats-new#support-for-provisioning-vmware-vms-using-machine-profiles |
| Image Node | An interesting change, but you can now specify a VM as an image node, which will allow you to use this same image node in the creation of multiple MCS catalogs. | |
| Provisioning | Support for Catalog Creation via Powershell | You can now create Citrix PVS catalogs directly from the MCS Powershell cmdlets (for VMware). |
| Mandatory License Update | Citrix has made it mandatory to upload telemetry data related to your consumed license. For this reason you must reallocate your Citrix PVS licenses. https://docs.citrix.com/en-us/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops/2402-ltsr/director/spa-integration-with-director | |
| Support for Windows Server Core | You can now run Citrix PVS Servers form a Windows Server Core OS. | |
| User Experience | Loss Tolerant Mode for Audio Policy | Most audio transports over UDP,, which allows for packets to be transmitted without verification. Via HDX, audio has been allows to follow a TCP-based standard, but now we can experience a greater audio experience with less overhead. |
| HDX User | Enabled the ability for SysAdmins to select the version of HDX compression. | |
| Microsoft Teams Optimizations | MSEdgeView2.exe is now added automatically to the allow-list. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/new-teams-vdi-requirements-deploy | |
| Client Side | Allow Windows Screenlock | In previous releases, Citrix VDAs ignored any Windows session limits or screensavers. This new release makes it possible for a Citrix Workstations to lock after a specified time with password prompts. |
| Session Recording | Contextual recording based on smart tags | You can now enable session recording filtered by smart tags. |
| Support for AAD joined machines | Session recording can now be enabled on Azure AD joined machines. | |
| Security | Secure HDX | Citrix 2402 LTSR introduces true Application Level Encrytion with true End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) between the Citrix Workspace app and the VDA session host. |
| Signed Binaries | All binaries distributed under the CVAD 2402 LTSR package are signed by either Citrix or a third-party certificate. | |
| System Logs for Browser Content Redirection | This allows for some admin insight into the previously mysterious Browser Content Redirection. Now SysAdmins can review the redirection of this service for troublesome connections. | |
| Enhanced Bi-Direction Configuration | Consolidated the changes of these policies to a single policy rather than multiple policy changes via Citrix policy, GPO, etc. | |
| Secure Private Access | VPN-less access to internal resources with a seamless end-user experience including; SSO, MFA, Device posturing, and least-privilege. https://docs.citrix.com/en-us/citrix-secure-private-access/current-release Features also added to Citrix Director for reporting. https://docs.citrix.com/en-us/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops/2402-ltsr/director/spa-integration-with-director | |
| Deprecated | Azure Provisioning | You can no longer provision Azure VMs in a different region than the original master image. It is recommended to utilize the Azure Compute Gallery to translate replicate the master image across regions. |
| AWS | “Apply machine template properties to VMs” has been removed. Recommendation is to use AWS machine profiles. | |
| All Hypervisor and Cloud service environments | You must now specify a memory cache when configuring the write-back cache on MCS provisioned machines. |
Whew! I’m almost certain I missed a few and well it’s not surprising considering the breadth of which Citrix Virtual Apps & Desktops has come to include.
For your own sake, I encourage you to utilize the direct documentation link below.
https://docs.citrix.com/en-us/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops/2402-ltsr/whats-new
Upgrade paths for your particular version may be complex with compatibility with OSes and such changing over time. Should you need assistance upgrading your environment, feel free to contact us here at IT Benchmarq.