Marlins Score Big with Citrix

It seems like every other week there is an IT security breach that makes the news.  Many of these hacks score credit card information that can immediately be used or sold.  Recently there have been allegations that members of the St. Louis Cardinals hacked into the Houston Astros' system to gather information on players.

New York Times - Cardinals Investigated for Hacking Into Astros’ Database
Kansas City Star - Astros GM Luhnow disputes details related to Cardinals hacking probe

At face value, it seems shocking to hear about hacking in Major League Baseball.  There was a time when America's favorite pastime was not considered high tech.  It was the boys of summer playing a great game and the best team won.  In this Moneyball era of baseball statistics, numbers and data win big.

You don't have to believe me, just ask Brad Pitt.

As soon as I heard the news it made me think of what the Marlins are doing with technology from Citrix.





The Marlins are scoring two big wins with Citrix.  First, they are doing things that have never before been possible and making a better experience for their customers.  Second, they have a focus on security that has kept their IT department out of national headlines while protecting their team and intellectual property.  It is hard to put a price on the total package.

We should not give all the credit to the Marlins' IT foresight.  After all, the Simpsons predicted this way back in 1999.



 Brian Olsen @sagelikebrian

Memorial Day

Citrix Access via Chrome is Broken

Purpose:
This post explains Google Chrome functionality that can negatively impact the access to any Citrix environment.

Symptom:
After clicking on a published application or desktop icon in StoreFront using Chrome--nothing happens.

or

After logging on to StoreFront using Chrome, it never thinks Citrix Receiver is installed and offers it to me to download before I get to see my icons.

or

You have a warning to, "Unblock the Citrix plug-in".

Resolution:
1) Re-enable the plugin using CTX137141.  This workaround will end in November 2015 when Google permanently disables NPAPI.
2) Customize StoreFront to remove the prompt to download Receiver with customized code.
3) Customize StoreFront with a link to download Receiver with customized code.
4) Enable a user setting to always open .ica files using CTX136578.
5) Use another browser not affected by the Chrome changes


Cause:
Back in November 2014, Google announced it will remove NPAPI support from Chrome.  They are making this change to, "improve security, speed, and stability" of the browser.   In April 2105, they will changing Chrome's default settings to disable NPAPI before removing it entirely in September of 2015.

What does this mean for my Citrix users who use Chrome?

Receiver detection.  The NPAPI plugin that Receiver (Windows and Mac) installs allows Receiver for Web (aka StoreFront) to detect if Citrix Receiver is or is not installed. Without this plugin, it assumes you do not have Receiver and will offer it for you to download and install. As an aside, you may have noticed that Internet Explorer has an ActiveX control that does the same thing. If your user does not have Receiver then they can not launch their Citrix application or desktop, so this is a good thing. If your user is already running Receiver but gets offered the Receiver download this will be confusing and could potentially be a bad thing.

Launching applications and desktops.  Let me explain what should happen when you click on the icon for, say, Outlook 2010 in StoreFront (aka Receiver for Web). StoreFront will talk to a delivery controller to figure out what machine is hosting Outlook 2010 and has the lowest load. StoreFront will then offer you a .ica file to download. If you have the plugin, Windows will know that this is a configuration file that should be opened by Receiver. Receiver will then connect you to your application. This all happens quickly and seamless making it seem like Outlook 2010 launches immediately.

Without the plugin, you will download an .ica file but Outlook 2010 will not open until you click it. Chrome does have the option (the arrow on the downloaded file) to “Always open files of this type” as shown in CTX136578.


SageLike Post ID: SL0009

Applies to:
Google Chrome
StoreFront (aka Receiver for Web)
Receiver
XenApp
XenDesktop
Maybe others

References:
http://blogs.citrix.com/2015/03/09/preparing-for-npapi-being-disabled-by-google-chrome/
http://blog.chromium.org/2014/11/the-final-countdown-for-npapi.html
http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX141137
http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX136578