Citrix XenApp and Citrix XenDesktop connectors
The Citrix XenApp and Citrix XenDesktop connectors are service connectors to Citrix XenApp and Citrix XenDesktop servers.
The XenApp and XenDesktop connectors provide virtual assets for end users. Each virtual application in XenApp and virtual desktop in XenDesktop is represented in Active Directory as a user group. Through these connectors, services can provision or deprovision the virtual applications and virtual desktops, based on the user presence in the Active Directory group.
External account requirements
- The virtualization environment to host and manage the components of your XenApp or XenDesktop must be set up.
- The Active Directory must be set up on the Citrix XenServer.
- The Active Directory connector must be configured on the BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog server.
- The BMC Helix Digital Workplace users must exist on the Citrix XenServer.
Configuration parameters for Citrix Xen connectors
Before you can use the Citrix XenApp or Citrix XenDesktop in workflows, you must configure a connection to a Citrix XenServer (App or Desktop server), as described in Configuring-service-connectors. The following table describes the parameters required to create a connection:
Parameter | Examples | Description |
|---|---|---|
Server name | 159.8.76.18 | Citrix server name |
User name | CitrixAdmin | Citrix administrator user name |
Password | CitrixAdminPass | Citrix administrator user password |
Port | 5985 | Authentication port |
Use https |
| HTTPS or HTTP connection |
Working directory | c:\scripts | The directory where all required powershell scripts are located |
Catalog import capabilities
With the Citrix XenApp and Citrix XenDesktop connectors, you can import virtual applications from Cirtix XenApp and virtual desktops from Citrix XenDesktop servers as services in BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog. For more information, see Importing-service-catalog-items-from-external-systems.
Workflow actions available through the Citrix Xen connectors
The following table provides an overview of the Citrix Xen connector activities:
Connector | Activity | Description | Input parameters | Possible output |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Citrix XenApp | Get XenDesktop Active Directory Group By Service Id | Returns the Active Directory group associated with the service imported from Citrix XenApp. | Returns the Active Directory group associated with the virtual application imported from the XenDesktop server. | |
Citrix XenDesktop | Get XenApp Active Directory Group By Service Id | Returns the Active Directory group associated with the service imported from Citrix XenApp. | Returns the Active Directory group associated with the virtual application imported from the XenApp server. |
Example 1: Workflow for a service that enables a Xen virtual application for an end user
The following figure shows an example workflow that you can build to enable a Xen virtual application for an end user.
To build the workflow shown in the figure, perform the following steps:
- Open the workflow designer to build a workflow.
- Drag and drop the Get XenApp Active Directory Group By Service Id and the Add Active Directory User To Group activities onto the canvas.
- Complete the mandatory process details. For more details about how to build a workflows, see Workflow-design-process-overview.
- Create the process context variable. For details, see Adding-a-process-context-variable-to-a-workflow.
- Select the Get XenApp Active Directory Group By Service Id activity, and configure the Service Id filed.
- Select the Add Active Directory User To Group activity, and configure its mandatory fields. For details about how to configure this activity, see Active-Directory-connector.
For the Group Name field, specify the Output value from the Get XenApp Active Directory Group By Service Id activity. - Save the workflow.
- Import a service from your Citrix XenServer, and attach the workflow that you have created to the imported service.
When you are done, complete other details of the service, and entitle and publish it to end users.
Input and output parameters for activities
For each action, you must specify the input parameters.
Get XenDesktop Active Directory Group By Service Id
Required | Parameter name | Data type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Required | Service Id | String | Process context variable > External Service ID | ID of the virtual desktop imported from Citrix XenDesktop. |
Get XenApp Active Directory Group By Service Id
Required | Parameter name | Data type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Required | Service Id | String | Process context variable > External Service ID | ID of the virtual application imported from Citrix XenApp. |