New Long Term Service Release (LTSR) drops are an exciting time for all of our LTSR customers. With Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 2203 LTSR now generally available, there’s even more to be excited about! Whatever your reason is for going with an LTSR version, you now can get all the amazing features and enhancements we’ve introduced over the last two years — assuming you’re on Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 1912 LTSR. If you’re still running XenApp and XenDesktop 7.15 LTSR, you’ll get four years’ worth of innovations!
For those of you who are still on XenApp and XenDesktop 7.15 LTSR, you can take a look at my blog post on key features released between XenApp and XenDesktop 7.15 LTSR and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 1912 LTSR. And if you need a comprehensive list of new features and enhancements, check out our product documentation and review the “What’s New” section for every release between the version you’re currently on and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 2203 LTSR.
In this post, I’m focusing on key HDX features and other things you should keep in mind as you plan your upgrades/migrations to Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 2203 LTSR. Let’s take a closer look.
Operating System Support
Let’s get started with the changes we’ve made to operating system support in VDA 2203:
- For multisession (server) VDA, we’ve added Windows Server 2022 support alongside Windows Server 2019 and Windows Server 2016. And for those using this VDA version with Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service, we also support Windows 11 and 10 multi-session.
- On the single session (workstation) VDA side, the VDA supports Windows 11 in addition to Windows 10, except for versions of the operating systems that have already reached end of service.
- Windows Server 2012 R2 is not supported natively with VDA 2203. If you need to use this operating system, you can integrate into your Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 2203 LTSR site as a compatible component using VDA 1912 LTSR (the latest CU).
Take a look at CTX224843 for more information on Windows 10 support, Microsoft’s Windows lifecycle FAQ for Windows lifecycle information, and CTX205549 for the full details on LTSR supportability and compatibility.
Virtual Channel Allow List: Enabled by Default
This is an important one! If you use any custom virtual channels, whether developed in house or provided by a third party, you will need to explicitly add them to the allow list. Otherwise, they will not work.
Not sure whether you use custom virtual channels? If you have any third-party Citrix optimization or integration solutions that require you to install a client-side and server-side component, chances are you’re using a custom virtual channel.
For additional information on this feature, please take a look at the virtual channel allow list now enabled by default blog post and the virtual channel security product documentation.
Adaptive Throughput 2.0
A while back, we introduced Adaptive Throughput, which allowed us to increase our out-of-the-box max throughput while keeping an eye on session interactivity to determine if throughput needed to be throttled.
The benefits of this feature are great, but the feature was only available on Windows clients. That is, until now. Adaptive Throughput 2.0 was introduced with Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 2112 and is available on Windows, Linux, and Mac! In addition to extending platform support, it includes several enhancements that allow us to increase the max throughput even more and better adapt the throughput (increase and decrease) throughout the life of the session.
EDT MTU Discovery: Enabled by Default
EDT MTU Discovery made its debut with Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 1912 LTSR and remained disabled by default until the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 2106 release.
If you use Adaptive Transport and EDT today with a hardcoded MTU in Citrix Storefront’s default.ica file, please note that this will be ignored and MTU Discovery will take precedence. Don’t be concerned when your sessions’ MTU does not match the value you hardcoded. It’s expected.
For more information on this feature, review our product documentation.
Graphics Performance Enhancements
How does 2x – 3x higher FPS sound? What about steady 60 FPS at 4K resolutions? A lot of work went into overhauling our graphics stack so your users can get the best experience possible, including those who work with high-end graphics.
Check out the hitting new highs with HDX 3D-Pro post for more details on these enhancements.
Virtual Display Layout
This feature has been around for a couple of years, but it’s been limited to Windows clients only. If you’re not familiar with it, Virtual Display Layout gives you the ability to divide your screen into multiple virtual monitors, which is helpful for users with large screens looking to make more functional and efficient use of their screen real state.
This feature was recently moved from the client to the VDA, making it client agnostic. In other words, you can now use this feature on any client platform!
For details on how to configure and use this feature, check out the product documentation.
Screen Sharing
There are certain situations in which you must collaborate with others, but the quality and responsiveness of the shared screen doesn’t quite cut it. It’s a familiar scenario for users who work with high-end graphics or tackle highly interactive tasks. For these use cases, we introduced Screen Sharing, which allows a user to share a virtual desktop session with others including screen contents, keyboard, and mouse control. And all this is over HDX for the best experience possible!
Learn more in our product documentation.
Drag and Drop
One of the most helpful and popular features within a desktop is the ability to drag and drop files. For a while, though, this wasn’t possible between virtual apps/desktops and the local client. With Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 2003, we introduced the ability to drag and drop files between the local client and the virtual app/desktop, closing the gap on that native-like experience.
Check out this support article to learn more.
Bidirectional URL Redirection: Support for Chrome and Edge
Bidirectional URL redirection has been around for a long time. However, it was only supported with Internet Explorer. We are happy to share that we now support this feature with Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge (Chromium)!
Our product documentation has all the details on system requirements, configuration, and other considerations.
OAuth Redirection
Say you have an application running in your virtual session that uses OAuth for authentication. With this feature, you can redirect the OAuth logon page to the endpoint device using URL redirection and have the user authenticate using a local browser. Then, the authorization code grant is redirected back to the virtual session to complete the authentication flow.
Why would you this? To improve the security and user experience of OAuth-integrated virtual applications by leveraging the endpoint’s capabilities for multi-factor, biometrics, and more.
If you are interested in learning more about this feature, please let us know below!
Microsoft Teams Optimization
We’ve added a lot of functionality to Microsoft Teams optimization. These optimizations are driving productivity and satisfaction. If you’re still operating on the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 1912 LTSR, here’s what you’re missing:
- App sharing
- Multimonitor screen sharing
- DTMF support
- Proxy server support
- Dynamic e911
- Give/Take control
- Multi-Window Chat
Please note, at the time of this writing, Give/Take control and Multi-Window Chat are awaiting the release of a Teams client (by Microsoft) that enables this for customers.
VDA Upgrade Service
This feature streamlines management by allowing administrators to upgrade the VDAs on persistent workloads without the need for third-party software distribution tools or custom scripts.
This is a Citrix Cloud service managed through the Citrix Cloud Studio console. It allows you to perform VDA upgrades per machine catalog or per machine, on demand, or scheduled up to seven days in advance, and it also gives you the option to specify the upgrade window so you can spread all the upgrades instead of executing them all at once.
While this feature is not available for on-prem Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 2203 LTSR sites, if you are using the 2203 LTSR VDA with Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service, you will be able to leverage this feature to perform upgrades to future 2203 CUs or CR versions.
Multimedia Redirection Enhancements
We have made huge strides in improving audio and video playback within virtual sessions. Two improvements in particular stick out to me:
- Adaptive audio is now the new default audio codec inside sessions. Adaptive audio has drastically improved audio quality and reduced encoding latency. Find out more in our product documentation.
- Our new and improved Browser Content Redirection solution was added to improve redirection latency and website compatibility. More information on Browser Content Redirection is available in the product documentation.
Linux VDA Improvements
The past two years have also brought additions to our Linux VDA. If you are a Linux virtual app or desktop customer, or you are interested in trying it, please refer to our What’s new in Linux VDA LTSR 2203 blog post to get the latest on new features.
What’s Next?
I hope you enjoy all these amazing features and enhancements! This is only a taste of what you get in the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 2203 LTSR, so be sure to upgrade today. And remember, the HDX train never stops. We’ll continue to bring you more features and enhancements with our CR releases going forward!
Disclaimer: The development, release and timing of any features or functionality described for our products remains at our sole discretion and are subject to change without notice or consultation. The information provided is for informational purposes only and is not a commitment, promise or legal obligation to deliver any material, code or functionality and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions or incorporated into any contract.
