On December 18, Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops (CVAD) version 1912 was released. Following a little guide to the update to the latest version.

Link to Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Documentation

Product lifecycle

Citrix offers two product lifecycles for its on-prem products for Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops (formerly XenApp / XenDesktop).

Current Release (CR)

The Current Release reaches the end of maintenance (EOM) 6 months after the release date of the version. After 18 months the Current Release reaches its End of Life (EOL). Current Release versions are not eligible for the extended support program. It is recommended to always use the latest Current Release.

Current Releases offer the latest and most innovative features. Ideal for agile production and test environments where the latest Citrix features are quickly deployed. Instead of managing new releases and patches separately, Current Release lets you easily update to the latest release and take advantage of all the fixes and new features at the same time.

Long Term Service Release (LTSR)

Long Term Service Release reaches the end of life (EOL) 5 years after the release date and the end of extended support (EOES) 10 years after the release date of that release. Citrix recommends that customers maintain their LTSR environments with the latest Cumulative Update (CU). Code-level maintenance is only available for the most recent Cumulative Updates.

Long Term Service Releases are ideal for the production environments of large companies where it makes sense to use a specific base version for a longer period of time. With LTSR you get access to regular patches, which usually contain no new functions, so that the ongoing operation remains undisturbed. With each version of LTSR, a new extended support timeframe will be launched to allow updates to be scheduled at an appropriate speed for the enterprise.

Update to Version 1912

Before upgrading the Citrix environment, check out the links below, which are recommended by Citrix.

Citrix Upgrade Guide

Citrix Product Documentation: Update Order Citrix Environment

Preparation

• Check your license server, so that the correct Citrix license server version exists and the Customer Success Service (CSS) date of the licenses has not yet expired

• Download the new Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops package from Citrix <<CVAD 1912>>

• Connect to the SQL Server environment and start the Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio

• Start a backup job for your Citrix databases (Logging, Monitoring & Site) before the update

• Make a backup of the machines (DDC, StoreFront, Director & License Server) before updating the Citrix environment

License Server Update

• Mount or unpack the downloaded package on the License Server
• Start the AutoSelect.exe and click on Upgrade

• Confirm the License Agreement with Next

• Read the instructions for updating the environment and click on I’m ready to continue. Confirm this with Next

• Check the firewall rules and click Next

• Check the settings and start the update by clicking on Upgrade

• Confirm the update warning with OK

• Complete the update of the license server with Finish

StoreFront Update

There is only one StoreFront, DDC and Director machine in my PoC at a time. But I assume in my tutorial that there are several servers, each equipped with one component. Therefore some screenshots don’t fit the tutorial completely.

• Logon to a StoreFront server

If the StoreFront servers are addressed via LoadBalancing, the selected server must switched to Status Down in LoadBalancing, so that no more requests are forwarded to the StoreFront Server.

• Mount the installation medium and start AutoSelect.exe. Click on Upgrade.

• Confirm the License Agreement with Next

• Read the instructions for updating the environment and click on I’m ready to continue. Confirm with Next

• Examine the firewall rules and click Next

• Check the settings and start the update with a click on Upgrade

• Confirm update warning with OK

• Under Diagnostics you can choose if your Citrix environment sends information to Citrix (Requires Citrix Cloud login) and click on Next

• Complete the update of the StoreFront component with Finish

• Manually check the StoreFront installation by directly accessing the StoreFront server
• Activate the server with the new StoreFront version again in LoadBalancing and set the other server(s) to Down.

• Follow the above steps on the second StoreFront server & on each additional StoreFront server
• Activate every server with the new StoreFront Server version again in LoadBalancing

Director Update

• Logon to your Director Server
• Mount the installation medium and start AutoSelect.exe. Click on Upgrade.

• Confirm the License Agreement with Next

• Read the instructions for updating the environment and click on I’m ready to continue. Confirm with Next

• Check the firewall rules and click on Next

• Verify the settings and start the update with a click on Upgrade

• Confirm the update warning with OK

• Finish the update of the Director component with Finish

Delivery Controller Update

• Logon to a Delivery Controller

If the Delivery Controllers are stored in the StoreFront / ADC via LoadBalancing, switch the selected server in LoadBalancing to status Down, so that no more requests are forwarded to the Delivery Controller.

• Mount the installation medium and start AutoSelect.exe. Click on Upgrade.

• Confirm the License Agreement with Next

• Read the instructions for updating the environment and click on I’m ready to continue. Confirm with Next

• Start the required tests with Start Preliminary Tests

• Continue update after successful tests with Next

• Since Version 1909 Citrix has included a check that validate the minimum size of RAM and issue a warning if it is too small.

• Review the firewall rules and click on Next

• Review the settings and start the update with a click on Upgrade

• Confirm update warning with OK

• Under Diagnostics you can choose if your Citrix environment sends information to Citrix (Requires Citrix Cloud login) and click on Next

• Complete the update of the Delivery Controller component with Finish.

• Perform an update on half of all Delivery Controllers as described above, after they have been set to Down in any LoadBalancing (The Preliminary Site Tests only appears on the first Delivery Controller).

• Start the Citrix Studio on a Delivery Controller with the newer version.

• In the Citrix Studio Upgrade window, click Start the automatic Site upgrade.

• In the following pop-up window, the checkbox next to I am ready to upgrade is selected and confirmed by clicking on Upgrade.

• After the database update has run successfully, finish it with Close.

• In LoadBalancing, reactivate the servers with the new Delivery Controller version and set the second half of the servers to Down.
• Follow the top steps on the second half of the Delivery Controller Server
• Activate each server with the new Delivery Controller Server version in LoadBalancing again.

Update VDA

After successful tests with the older VDA version on the workers, you can also equip your master images with the latest VDA version.

• Logon to your VDA (e.g. Master Image)
• Mount the installation medium and start AutoSelect.exe. Click on Upgrade Machines and Images.

• Select any other components you want to install and click Next

• Check the firewall rules and click on Next

• Verify the settings and start the update with a click on Upgrade

• Confirm the update warning with OK

• Confirm the restart warning with a click on Close

• Reconnect to the machine to continue the installation.

• Confirm the installation of the various components with Install

• Under Diagnostics you can choose if your Citrix environment sends information to Citrix (Requires Citrix Cloud login) and click on Next

• Complete the update of the VDA component with Finish and restart the machine.