Enterprise Services for NFuse (ESN) February 12, 2002

Transcription

1 Enterprise Services for NFuse (ESN) February 12, 2002 What is Enterprise Services for NFuse?... 1 What solution does ESN enable?... 2 What s the difference between NFuse and Enterprise Services for NFuse?... 2 Components of ESN... 2 System Requirements... 3 How well does ESN scale?... 4 How does single sign-on work?... 4 Are there security risks with ESN?... 4 What's the difference between ESN and Project Columbia?... 4 What are the key features of ESN?... 5 What platforms does ESN support?... 5 Can I install NFuse and Enterprise Services for NFuse on different servers?... 6 What languages does ESN support?... 6 How will ESN be packaged, priced and licensed?... 6 What about MetaFrame 1.8, MetaFrame XPs, and MetaFrame XPa?... 6 When will ESN be available?... 7 How do I find more information?... 7 Is courseware available for ESN?... 7 What is Enterprise Services for NFuse? Enterprise Services for NFuse software is an enterprise-wide solution that extends the capabilities of MetaFrame by allowing administrators to aggregate and publish applications from multiple MetaFrame XP for Windows or MetaFrame for UNIX server farms. Enterprise Services for NFuse provides single point web-based access to applications in multiple MetaFrame farms and leverages NFuse to present the aggregated application set to users. Users simply log on once to a single Web page to access applications in any MetaFrame farm. Enterprise Services for NFuse provides seamless application integration across the enterprise while maintaining manageability, flexibility and control. Enterprise Services for NFuse is being released to allow MetaFrame XPe and MetaFrame for UNIX administrators a single point from which to provide web-based access to any user s set of applications across the enterprise. Enterprise Services for NFuse FAQ Page 1 Citrix Systems, Inc.

2 What solution does ESN enable? Enterprise Services for NFuse enables highly scaled application provisioning from MetaFrame by aggregating application sets from multiple farms. When combined with Citrix Secure Gateway, it provides a simple, secure, single point to access all your business-critical applications. Enterprise Services for NFuse provides the following solutions: Multiple farms operating in the enterprise can be used more efficiently and managed more easily Administrators don t have to rely on Web programming skills to control the operation of NFuse Users can provide credentials once. Not for each application accessed via MetaFrame Administrators and users can set values for each MetaFrame application instead of being restricted to single global values for all users and all applications. What s the difference between NFuse and Enterprise Services for NFuse? NFuse was designed and built to provide simple Web-based access to a single MetaFrame farm. It provides a comprehensive solution for this need. NFuse covers many Web server platforms and, when used with Citrix Secure Gateway or Citrix Extranet, enables a secure access solution for users outside the corporate firewall. NFuse also provides simple user personalization. Enterprise Services for NFuse is an enterprise level solution that extends the capabilities of MetaFrame and does not replace NFuse. ESN aggregates application set data from multiple MetaFrame farms and leverages NFuse to present this to the user. NFuse and Enterprise Services for NFuse are two separate parts of a common solution for customers. Customers who have multiple MetaFrame farms will benefit from using Enterprise Services for NFuse in conjunction with NFuse. Components of ESN ESN Web Server The Enterprise Services for NFuse Web Server together with the Web servlet engine provides the following services: Aggregation of MetaFrame farms Authentication of users (allow single sign-on) Retrieves application information for presentation to users in a Web page Allows configuration of the system Creates and sends application setting information to NFuse for delivery to users ESN Data Store For this release, the supported databases are Microsoft SQL Server 7 and Microsoft SQL Server The Enterprise Services for NFuse system data is stored on the Enterprise Services for NFuse database server. The data includes the following: Enterprise Services for NFuse FAQ Page 2 Citrix Systems, Inc.

3 ESN configurations data, for example, global settings and group settings MetaFrame server farm information User credential and account mapping information Logging data NFuse NFuse within an Enterprise Services system acts as an intermediary and provides the Web pages to the user. The Web pages are compiled and presented to the users by NFuse. NFuse and Enterprise Services for NFuse are currently deployed on the same server and they are both configured to use the same Web server (Microsoft Internet Information Services). System Requirements Component Hardware Software ESN Web Server The ESN Web Server must be a member server in a domain. 350 MHz CPU (minimum), 800 MHz CPU (recommended) 256 MB RAM (minimum) Windows 2000 with Service Pack 2 or later Microsoft Internet Information Server (MS IIS) 5.0 Sun Java Development Kit (JDK) 1.3.1, which can be downloaded from Note The Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 1.3 is not sufficient. ESN Data Store 350 MHz CPU 256 MB RAM Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 6a or later Or Windows 2000 with Service Pack 2 or later Microsoft SQL Server 2000 (with Windows 2000) or Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 (with Windows NT 4.0) ESN supports NFuse 1.61 but enhances it during the ESN install. For details concerning the system requirements, refer to the NFuse Administrator s Guide. MetaFrame Farms MetaFrame farms must comprise MetaFrame servers of these versions: MetaFrame XP for Windows (FR1) and MetaFrame for UNIX 1.1 (FR1) Enterprise Services for NFuse FAQ Page 3 Citrix Systems, Inc.

4 Note that MetaFrame XP for Windows (FR1) servers must be set to operate in native mode, not interoperability mode. See the Citrix MetaFrame XP for Windows, Version 1.0, Feature Release 1 Administrator s Guide for further details. For details concerning the system requirements, refer to the relevant administrator s guide. Browsers ESN administrators and users require one of the following Web browsers: Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 (service pack 2 or later), 5.5 (service pack 2 or later) or 6. Users In addition to a browser, each user requires an ICA Client. For details concerning ICA Clients, see the Citrix NFuse Administrator s Guide. How well does ESN scale? ESN architecture will allow multiple ESN servers to use the same common database. For a typical ESN server and application set size, the supported users per server is expected to be several thousand. For user communities in the tens of thousands, then multiple ESN servers can use the same database. How does single sign-on work? One of the benefits to ESN is that it provides a single sign-on mechanism for MetaFrame published applications regardless of the security domain they reside in. It does this by allowing users to define their credentials for any remote security domain and have them stored for use by ESN to access MetaFrame in the remote domain. Are there security risks with ESN? The primary security risk with ESN is the password store in the SQL database. This database is used to provide the single sign-on capabilities of the product. This password store contains obfuscated user credentials, meaning that they are not currently protected by strong encryption. It is recommended that the database machine and the ESN server not be positioned in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) of a corporate network to minimize risk. It is also recommended that appropriate measures be taken to protect the SQL database, as recommended by Microsoft and other security experts in the industry. What's the difference between ESN and Project Columbia? Project Columbia offers a limited set of enhancements to NFuse. ESN is an enterprisewide solution for MetaFrame XPe and MetaFrame for UNIX that offers a broader set of features and benefits. See the key features section of this FAQ. Like ESN, Project Columbia has the ability to aggregate server farms. However, Project Columbia requires that all aggregated farms be in the same domain. ESN does not have this limitation. Enterprise Services for NFuse FAQ Page 4 Citrix Systems, Inc.

5 What are the key features of ESN? Single sign-on - Allows users to provide credentials once in order to access all MetaFrame applications available to them. Custom application launch attributes - Allows administrators and users to specify ICA attributes such as color depth, audio quality, and screen size for each published application instead of globally. Scaling to multiple server infrastructures - Integrates independent application sets into a single resource. Improved User Presentation Interface - Users can customize and personalize their web presentation of their published applications. User ID Mapping Policy - Automates new user account allocation for access to MetaFrame published applications. This eases administrative requirements and improves user experience. Web-based Administration - Administrators can centrally manage and configure the Enterprise Services for NFuse server with a standard Web browser. Group Policy control - Publishing controls can be applied to groups of users for efficiency. ESN uses the existing groups within the domain. Event logging - Administrators can track user tasks such as average server hit rates, refused authentication, requests for application and usage profiles. NFuse Compatibility - Enterprise Services for NFuse interoperates with your existing NFuse environment. Farm-based load balancing - Distributes user application requests over a broader set of MetaFrame resources application requests are routed to a server farm with low resource utilization. Appearances Control - Administrators can create and maintain multiple presentation style sheets and apply them to groups and users. Business Recovery - Users and groups can have default Home Farms to access applications. An alternate Backup Farm can become the source for application access in the event of a failure at the Home Farm. What platforms does ESN support? ESN currently supports Windows How does Authentication work with ESN? An ESN server uses the local domain to which it is attached to authenticate users. The authentication choices are to use an existing NT Domain (SAM) or Active Directory Enterprise Services for NFuse FAQ Page 5 Citrix Systems, Inc.

6 domain. Any user who needs access to the ESN server will need to have an account in this domain. Does ESN pool licenses across the MetaFrame farms? No. ESN can allow users to more easily access any MetaFrame based application in the corporate environment, but it does not change the current MetaFrame licensing model. Can I install NFuse and Enterprise Services for NFuse on different servers? ESN currently supports single box installation whereby the NFuse presentation and ESN aggregation components are hosted on the same physical server. The ability to operate NFuse and ESN on different servers is planned for a future release of ESN What languages does ESN support? ESN is available in English only. ESN will support non-english Windows platforms. ESN also supports non-english ICA clients. How will ESN be packaged, priced and licensed? Enterprise Services for NFuse (ESN) is licensed under the customer s current MetaFrame XPe or MetaFrame for UNIX license agreement. Only MetaFrame XPe for Windows or MetaFrame for UNIX customers with a valid Subscription Advantage contract are eligible to obtain ESN. ESN software will be provided via download only. No physical media or SKUs will be created. ESN is less than 6MB to download. Customers who have purchased MetaFrame XPe for Windows or MetaFrame for UNIX and have a valid Subscription Advantage contract at the time the product is released are entitled to receive Enterprise Services for NFuse at no cost as a benefit of Subscription. These customers can visit the Citrix Secure Portal web site at for Subscription Advantage benefit fulfillment. For MetaFrame XPe or MetaFrame for UNIX customers who did not purchase these products with Subscription Advantage, Enterprise Services for NFuse will NOT be optionally sold. Enterprise Services for NFuse is delivered as a benefit of Subscription Advantage. Therefore, there is no price specifically associated with the product. What about MetaFrame 1.8, MetaFrame XPs, and MetaFrame XPa? Because ESN is an enterprise level solution, it is only available to MetaFrame XPe for Windows or MetaFrame for UNIX Subscription Advantage customers. The XML protocol supported on MetaFrame 1.8 servers does not contain the necessary support to communicate with the ESN server. ESN will aggregate MetaFrame XPs or MetaFrame XPa farms. However, MetaFrame XPe or MetaFrame for UNIX must be used somewhere in the customer environment. Enterprise Services for NFuse FAQ Page 6 Citrix Systems, Inc.

7 When will ESN be available? ESN will be available for download February 19, How do I find more information? More information is available at You can also contact a Citrix Solutions Network (CSN) partner. Is courseware available for ESN? Currently, courseware is not available Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Citrix, MetaFrame, MetaFrame XP, NFuse, ICA, Citrix Extranet, and Citrix Solutions Network are registered trademarks or trademarks of Citrix Systems, Inc., in the United States and other countries. Microsoft, Windows NT and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the United States and other countries. Sun and Java are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Enterprise Services for NFuse FAQ Page 7 Citrix Systems, Inc.