Desktop Connection Scenarios

Desktop Connection Scenarios

This topic contains a set of typical scenarios designed to help you understand how users interact with virtual desktops in a number of environments. The end-to-end experience of connecting to, using, and logging off from a virtual desktop is described.

In each case, the following prerequisites apply:

• The appropriate client software must be installed on the endpoint (except for scenarios involving XenDesktop Web sites, which can prompt the user to download the software when it is needed)

• Virtual desktop groups must be created correctly, using the instructions in “Creating and Updating Desktop Groups”

Scenario A: Connecting from an Appliance

This scenario is suited to task workers and knowledge workers who require access to a single virtual desktop. The desktop is presented to users in full-screenonly mode. Typical hardware for this scenario includes XenDesktop-ready desktop appliances and non-domain-joined computers.

XenDesktop-ready desktop appliances are devices that, while having limited functionality compared to computers with a full operating system and set of applications, are preinstalled with software designed for accessing virtual desktops created with XenDesktop. XenDesktop-ready desktop appliances run on Windows XP Embedded, Windows CE, and Linux.

For more information about administering these desktop appliances, consult the manufacturer’s documentation. For more general information about XenDesktopready desktop appliances, see http://www.citrix.com/citrixready/.

The user experience in this scenario is as follows. Depending on the appliance manufacturer and any customization that is performed, the screen appearance may vary:

1. The user turns on their local appliance and a connection is established to a desktop appliance connector (or a load-balanced address) on a server running Desktop Delivery Controller.

2. After the startup sequence on the appliance is complete, a Please Wait screen appears while a customized shell loads.

3. The Welcome screen appears.

This figure shows the logon screen for a full-screen-only desktop accessed from a XenDesktop-ready desktop appliance running Windows.

4. The user enters their credentials and logs on. Any errors (for example, if an incorrect password is entered) appear at the bottom of the logon screen.

5. A Please Wait screen appears while the virtual desktop starts and a connection to it is established. The system keeps the user informed of connection progress at each stage.

6. If the desktop is taking a long time to appear, the user can restart it by clicking the Restart button on the Please Wait screen. The desktop restarts automatically. Note that the Restart button is available only if the administrator has enabled user-driven desktop restart when creating the desktop group.

7. When the virtual desktop becomes available, it appears as a local one because it is not displayed in a window but instead it automatically fits to the size of the local monitor. This is the virtual desktop in full-screen-only mode.

The user can create and save work normally on the virtual desktop, use the mouse and keyboard in the usual way, and access network resources and most types of external device. Almost all input is directed to the virtual desktop. The user never interacts directly with the local desktop except for a few reserved key combinations (which may vary between operating systems). For more information about these key combinations in Windows environments, see the Citrix Desktop Receiver Administrator’s Guide. 

If USB support is enabled, when a user plugs in a USB device it is automatically remoted to the virtual desktop. The virtual desktop is responsible for controlling the USB device and displaying it in the user interface. For more details, see “Configuring USB Support” on page 95 and

the Citrix Desktop Receiver Administrator’s Guide.

The user is in full control of the virtual desktop, just as if they were using it locally. The only exceptions that the user may notice are:

• Resizing. The user is prevented from resizing the virtual desktop. This avoids the difficulty of choosing unsuitable screen resolutions, resulting in distorted images and the appearance of scrollbars (neither of which would normally occur on the user’s physical screen). The user can, however, change other desktop properties such as font size.

• Screen locking. For security reasons, on some operating systems the key combinations that lock the local screen (CTRL+ALT+DELETE and Windows logo key+L on Windows) are not sent to the virtual desktop.

8. If the desktop becomes unresponsive, the user can restart it by pressing CTRL+ALT+DELETE and clicking Restart. The user enters their credentials on the Restart screen and clicks OK to restart the desktop. Any unsaved data is lost during the restart operation. Note that the Restart button is available only if the administrator has enabled user-driven desktop restart when creating the desktop group.

9. When the user completes their work, they log off in the standard way (for example, from the Start menu on Windows). The shell automatically logs the user off from the local computer as well as the virtual desktop. This leaves their monitor displaying the logon screen. In this way, the user experiences the logoff as a local operation.

Scenario B: Connecting from a Domain-Joined or Repurposed Computer

This scenario is suited to task workers and knowledge workers in a Microsoft Windows environment who require access to a single desktop. The desktop is presented to users in full-screen-only mode. Typical setups for this scenario include repurposed Windows XP Professional computers or domain-joined computers running Windows XP Embedded.

Repurposed computers are computers you may have in your existing environment that can be locked down to provide access only to virtual desktops. A prerequisite to this scenario is that you must install the Citrix Desktop Receiver Embedded Edition on the endpoint device.

The user experience in this scenario is as follows:

1. The user turns on their local computer and after the startup sequence on the computer is complete, the Log On to Windows dialog box appears.

2. The user enters their domain credentials and logs on. They should not log on as a local administrator.

3. A customized shell starts and a connection is established to the XenDesktop Services site (or a load-balanced address) on a server running Desktop Delivery Controller.

4. A Please Wait screen appears while the virtual desktop starts and a connection to it is established. The system keeps the user informed of connection progress at each stage.

5. If the desktop is taking a long time to appear, the user can restart the desktop by clicking the Restart button on the Please Wait screen. The desktop restarts automatically. Note that the Restart button is available only if the administrator has enabled user-driven desktop restart when creating the desktop group.

6. When the virtual desktop becomes available, it appears as a local one because it is not displayed in a window but instead it automatically fits to the size of the local monitor. This is the virtual desktop in full-screen-only mode. The user experience is identical to that described in Scenario A.

7. If the desktop becomes unresponsive, the user can restart the desktop. To do so, the user logs off in the standard way. When the Log On to Windows dialog box appears, the user enters their domain credentials and logs back on. When the Please Wait screen appears, the user clicks the Restart button to restart the desktop. Any unsaved data is lost during the restart operation. Note that the Restart button is available only if the administrator has enabled user-driven desktop restart when creating the desktop group.

8. When the user completes their work, they log off in the standard way (for example, using the Start menu on Windows). The shell automatically logs the user off from the local computer as well as the virtual desktop. This leaves their monitor displaying the Log On to Windows dialog box.

Scenario C: Connecting from a Fat Client Device on a LAN

This scenario is suited to knowledge workers in a Microsoft Windows environment who require access to one or more desktops. Desktops are presented to users in separate windows, allowing the user to switch between virtual desktops and the local desktop. Access to more than one desktop mandates the use of this user interface rather than full-screen-only mode, which can be used only when access to a single desktop is required. Typical hardware for this scenario includes fat clients connected to a LAN.

Unlike Scenario B, the Citrix Desktop Receiver Embedded Edition does not need to be installed on the endpoint as a prerequisite. Instead, users can be prompted to download it when they need it.

The user experience in this scenario is as follows:

1. The user is already logged on to Windows from their local computer. They decide to connect to one of their virtual desktops.

2. The user opens a browser window, and browses (for the first time) to a XenDesktop Web site (or a load-balanced address) on a server running Desktop Delivery Controller. For convenience, they bookmarked the site address that you sent them when they were set up as a XenDesktop user.

3. A Please Wait screen appears while a connection to the site is established.

4. The Welcome screen appears.

This figure shows the Web-based logon screen for desktops accessed through a XenDesktop Web site. Depending on your configuration settings, the user may also have to select an authentication method on this screen.

5. Because this is the first time the user is logging on to the site, it automatically detects that the required client is not present on the endpoint and prompts the user to download and install the required software.

6. After the install is complete, the user is presented with a site which contains a Desktops tab showing the set of desktops to which they have access. The user can also access virtual applications from this site if any were published with Citrix XenApp.

If desired, administrators can configure the AutoLaunchDesktop setting in Web Interface to skip this step if the user has been assigned only one desktop (and no published applications). For instructions on configuring that setting, see the Web Interface Administrator’s Guide.

This figure shows the set of desktops available to the user on the XenDesktop Web site.

7. With the software installed, the user accesses a virtual desktop by clicking the appropriate icon on the page.

8. If the desktop is taking a long time to appear, the user can restart it by clicking the Restart button for that desktop, on the Desktops tab. The desktop restarts automatically. Note that the Restart button is available only if the administrator has enabled user-driven desktop restart when creating the desktop group.

9. A new window appears. Progress messages appear inside the window before the desktop is displayed.

This figure shows a desktop displayed in a separate window.

10. The user interacts with the desktop in the usual way and can control its size, position, and other settings, using the controls on the toolbar. For instructions about using the controls, see the Citrix Desktop Receiver Administrator’s Guide.

This figure shows the controls on the toolbar. Users can customize the desktop using the buttons or a drop-down menu located next to the Citrix logo on the left.

11. If USB support is enabled, a list of devices available for remoting to the virtual desktop is displayed by clicking the USB Preferences button on the toolbar. The user can customize how and when devices are remoted to the virtual desktop by clicking the USB Preferences button on the toolbar and changing the settings in the USB Preferences dialog box.

12. If the desktop becomes unresponsive, the user can restart it by clicking the Restart button for that desktop, on the Desktops tab in the browser window.The desktop restarts automatically and appears in a separate window. Any unsaved data is lost during the restart operation. Note that the Restart button is available only if the administrator has enabled userdriven desktop restart when creating the desktop group.

13. When the user completes their work, they can click the Close button on the toolbar, which, after prompting the user to confirm, disconnects the virtual desktop session and returns them to their local desktop. The user can resume the session later when they want to work on the virtual desktop again. Alternatively, if they want to log off, they can do so from the virtual desktop’s Start menu.

Scenario D: Connecting from Remote Computers

This scenario is suited to knowledge workers with any supported Microsoft Windows operating system who are working remotely, outside your LAN, and need secure access to virtual desktops that are inside it. Typically, connections are routed from fat client devices through Citrix Access Gateway and Web Interface. These two components can be configured in a variety of ways. This scenario uses one of the standard configurations in which the Web Interface server is located in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). In this scenario, desktops are always presented to users in separate windows.

The user experience in this scenario is as follows:

1. The user browses to the external XenDesktop Web site that was secured using Access Gateway.

This figure shows the Web-based logon screen created for remote access. Depending on your configuration settings, the user may also have to select an authentication method on this screen.

2. The user logs on to the site.

3. The remaining steps are identical to Scenario C. The user selects a desktop from the Desktops tab on the site and the desktop appears in a new window.

4. When the user completes their work, they can click the Close button on the toolbar, which, after prompting the user to confirm, disconnects the virtual desktop session and returns them to their local desktop. The user can resume the session later when they want to work on the virtual desktop again. Alternatively, if they want to log off, they can do so from the virtual desktop’s Start menu.