Author: Carl Stalhood

Navigation

• LDAP Load Balancing
• LDAP Authentication Server  💡
• LDAP Policy Expression
• Gateway Authentication Feedback and Global Licenses
• Multiple Active Directory Domains – UPN Method
• Multiple Active Directory Domains – AAA Groups Method

💡 = Recently Updated

LDAP Load Balancing

Before you create an LDAP authentication policy, load balance the Domain Controllers. If you don’t load balance your Domain Controllers, then when users enter an incorrect password, the user account will be prematurely locked out.

If you have multiple domains, create different Load Balancing Virtual Servers for each domain. These multiple Load Balancing Virtual Servers can share the same VIP if their port numbers are different. Or you can use a different VIP for each domain.

LDAP Authentication Server

To create the LDAP Authentication Server, do the following:

1. On the left, expand Authentication and click Dashboard.
   
2. On the right, click Add.
   
3. In the Choose Server Type drop-down, select LDAP.
4. Enter LDAP-Corp as the name. If you have multiple domains, you’ll need a separate LDAP Server per domain so make sure you include the domain name.
5. Change the selection to Server IP. Enter the VIP of the load balancing vServer for LDAP.
6. Change the Security Type to SSL.
7. Enter 636 as the Port. Scroll down.
   
8. Note: it’s also possible to point the LDAP Server IP to a Global Catalog. See Citrix CTX200506 How to Change Password through NetScaler in a Multi-Domain Active Directory Forest Using LDAP Referral for configuration details.  💡
   
9. In the Connection Settings section, in the Base DN field, enter your Active Directory DNS domain name in LDAP format.
10. In the Administrator Bind DN field, enter the credentials of the LDAP bind account in userPrincipalName format. Domain\Username also works.
11. Enter the Administrator password.
12. Click Test Connection. NetScaler will attempt to login to the LDAP IP. Scroll down.
    
13. In the Other Settings section, use the drop-down next to Server Logon Name Attribute, Group Attribute, and Sub Attribute Name to select the default fields for Active Directory.
14. On the right, check the box next to Allow Password Change.
15. Note: there is a checkbox for Validate LDAP Server Certificate. If you want to do this, see Citrix Discussions for instructions for loading the root certificate to /nsconfig/truststore.
16. If you want to restrict access to only members of a specific group, in the Search Filter field, enter memberOf=<GroupDN>. See the example below:
    memberOf=CN=CitrixRemote,OU=Citrix,DC=corp,DC=local
    You can add :1.2.840.113556.1.4.1941: to the query so it searches through nested groups. Without this users will need to be direct members of the filtered group.
    memberOf:1.2.840.113556.1.4.1941:=CN=CitrixRemote,OU=Citrix,DC=corp,DC=local


    Citrix CTX132802 How to Use the ldapsearch Utility on the NetScaler Gateway Enterprise Edition Appliance to Validate a Search Filter
    1. An easy way to get the full distinguished name of the group is through Active Directory Administrative Center. Double-click the group object and switch to the Extensions page. On the right, switch to the Attribute Editor tab.
    2. Or in Active Directory Users & Computers, enable Advanced view, browse to the object (don’t use Find), double-click the object, and switch to the Attribute Editor tab.
    3. Scroll down to distinguishedName, double-click it and then copy it to the clipboard.
       
       
    4. Back on the NetScaler, in the Search Filter field, type in memberOf= and then paste the Distinguished Name right after the equals sign. Don’t worry about spaces.
       
17. Scroll down and click More.
    
18. For Nested Group Extraction, if desired, change the selection to Enabled.
19. Set Group Name Identifier to samAccountName.
20. Set Group Search Attribute to memberOf. Select << New >> first.
21. Set Group Search Sub-Attribute to CN. Select << New >> first.
22. For the Group Search Filter field, see CTX123795 Example of LDAP Nested Group Search Filter Syntax.
    
23. Scroll down and click Create.
    

    add authentication ldapAction Corp-Gateway -serverIP 10.2.2.210 -serverPort 636 -ldapBase "dc=corp,dc=local" -ldapBindDn "corp\\ctxsvc" -ldapBindDnPassword Passw0rd -ldapLoginName samaccountname -searchFilter "memberOf=CN=Citrix Remote,CN=Users,DC=corp,DC=local" -groupAttrName memberOf -subAttributeName CN -secType SSL -passwdChange ENABLED

24. The status of the LDAP Server should be Up.
    

LDAP Policy Expression

The Authentication Dashboard doesn’t allow you to create the LDAP Policy so you must create it elsewhere.

You can create the LDAP policy now. Or you can wait and create it later when you bind the LDAP Server to the NetScaler Gateway vServer.

To create it now:

1. Go to NetScaler Gateway > Policies > Authentication > LDAP.
   
2. On the right, in the Policies tab, click Add.
   
3. Change the Server drop-down to the LDAP Server you created earlier.
4. Give the LDAP Policy a name (one for each domain).
5. In the Expression box, enter ns_true.
6. Click Create.
   

    add authentication ldapPolicy LDAP-Corp ns_true LDAP-Corp

Gateway Authentication Feedback and Licenses

1. On the left, under NetScaler Gateway, click Global Settings.
   
2. On the right, in the right column, click Change authentication AAA settings.
   
3. If you are using Gateway features that require Gateway Universal licenses, then change the Maximum Number of Users to the number of Gateway Universal licenses you have installed on this appliance. This field has a default value of 5, and administrators frequently forget to change it, thus only allowing 5 users to connect.
4. If desired, check the box for Enable Enhanced Authentication Feedback. This feature provides a message to users if authentication fails. The message users receive include password errors, account disabled or locked, or the user is not found, to name a few. Click OK.
   

   set aaa parameter -enableEnhancedAuthFeedback YES -maxAAAUsers 200

Next Step

• For two-factor, configure RADIUS Authentication
• Otherwise, Configure NetScaler Gateway Session Policies

Multiple Domains – UPN Method

To support multiple Active Directory domains on a NetScaler Gateway, you create multiple LDAP authentication policies, one for each Active Directory domain, and bind all of the LDAP policies to the NetScaler Gateway Virtual Server. When the user logs into NetScaler Gateway, only the username and password are entered. The NetScaler will then loop through each of the LDAP policies in priority order until it finds one that contains the entered username/password.

What if the same username is present in multiple domains? As NetScaler loops through the LDAP policies, as soon as it finds one with the specified username, it will try to authenticate with that particular LDAP policy. If the password doesn’t match the user account for the attempted domain then a failed logon attempt will be logged in that domain and NetScaler will try the next domain.

Unfortunately, the only way to enter a realm/domain name during user authentication is to require users to login using userPrincipalNames. To use userPrincipalName, set the LDAP Policy/Server with the Server Logon Name Attribute set to userPrincipalName.

You can even do a combination of policies: some with samAccountName and some with userPrincipalName. The samAccountName policies would be searched in priority order and the userPrincipalName policies can be used to override the search order. Bind the userPrincipalName policies higher (lower priority number) than the samAccountName policies.

NetScaler 11.1 supports adding a domain name drop-down list to the logon page. Then use Cookie expressions in the auth policies and session policies. However, this probably doesn’t work for Receivers. See CTX203873 How to Add Drop-Down Menu with Domain Names on Logon Page for NetScaler Gateway 11.0 64.x and later releases for details.

Another option for a domain drop-down is nFactor Authentication for Gateway. This also doesn’t work with Receiver Self-service.

After authentication is complete, a Session Policy will be applied that has the StoreFront URL. The NetScaler Gateway will attempt to log into StoreFront using Single Sign-on so the user doesn’t have to login again. When logging into NetScaler Gateway, only two fields are required: username and password. However, when logging in to StoreFront, a third field is required: domain name. So how does NetScaler specify the domain name while logging in to StoreFront?

There are two methods of specifying the domain:

• AAA Group – Configure multiple session policies with unique Single Sign-on Domains.  Inside the Session Policy is a field called Single Sign-on Domain for specifying the domain name. If there is only one Active Directory domain, then you can use the same Session Policy for all users. However, if there are multiple domains, then you would need multiple Session Policies, one for each Active Directory domain. But as the NetScaler loops through the LDAP policies during authentication, once a successful LDAP policy is found, you need a method of linking an LDAP policy with a Session Policy that has the corresponding SSO Domain. This is typically done using AAA groups. To use this method, see Multiple Domains – AAA Group Method.
• userPrincipalName – Alternatively, configure the LDAP policy/server to extract the user’s UPN, and then authenticate to StoreFront using UPN. This is the easiest method but some domains don’t have userPrincipalNames configured correctly.

The userPrincipalName method is detailed below:

1. In each of your NetScaler LDAP policies/servers, in the Other Settings section, in the SSO Name Attribute field, enter userPrincipalName (select –<< New >>– first). Make sure there are no spaces after this attribute name. NetScaler will use this pull this attribute from AD, and use it to Single Sign-on the user to StoreFront.
   
2. In StoreFront Console, right-click  the Store, and click Manage Authentication Methods.
   
3. On the right, click the gear icon, and then click Configure Trusted Domains.
   
4. In the Trusted domains box, select Any domain.
5. Or add your domains in DNS format. The advantage of entering domain names is that you can select a default domain if internal users forget to enter a domain name during login. The DNS format is required for UPN logins (e.g. SSO from NetScaler Gateway).
   
6. On the NetScaler Gateway Virtual Server, bind LDAP authentication polices in priority order. It will search them in order until it finds a match.
   
7. In your Session Policies/Profiles, in the Published Applications tab, make sure Single Sign-on Domain is not configured. Since NetScaler is using the userPrincipalName there’s no need to specify a domain. If Single Sign-on Domain is configured then Single Sign-on authentication will fail.
   

Multiple Domains – AAA Groups Method

Another method of specifying the domain name when performing Single Sign-on to StoreFront is to use a unique session policy/profile for each domain. Use AAA Groups to distinguish one domain from another.

1. Go to NetScaler Gateway > Policies > Authentication > LDAP.
2. On the right, switch to the Servers tab. Make sure all domains are in the list. Edit one of the domains.
   
3. Scroll down to the Other Settings section,
4. In the Default Authentication Group field, enter a new, unique group name. Each domain has a different group name. Click OK.
   
5. Edit another domain and specify a new unique group name. Each domain has a different group name.
   
6. Go to NetScaler Gateway > User Administration > AAA Groups.
   
7. On the right, click Add.
   
8. Name the group so it exactly matches the group name you specified in the LDAP server. Click OK.
   
9. On the right, in the Advanced Policies section, add the Policies section.
   
10. On the left, in the Policies section, click the Plus icon.
    
11. Select Session, and click Continue.
    
12. Click the plus icon to create a new policy.
    
13. Give it a name that indicates the domain. You will have a separate policy for each domain.
14. Click the plus icon to create a new profile.
    
15. Give the Profile a name that indicates the domain. You will have a separate profile for each domain.
16. Switch to the Published Applications tab.
    
17. Check the Override Global box next to Single Sign-on Domain. Enter the domain name that StoreFront is expecting. Click Create.
    
18. Give the policy a ns_true expression, and click Create.
    
19. In the Priority field, give it a number that is lower than any other Session Policy that has Single Sign-on Domain configured. Click OK.
    
20. Click Done.
    
21. Create another AAA Group.
    
22. Give it a name for the next domain.
    
23. Create another Session Policy for the next domain.
    
24. Create another profile for the next domain. On the Published Applications tab, specify the domain name of the next domain.
    
25. Bind the new policy with a low Priority number.
    
26. When a user logs in, NetScaler loops through LDAP policies until one of them works. NetScaler adds the user to the Default Authentication Group specified in the LDAP Server. NetScaler finds a matching AAA Group and applies the Session Policy that has SSON Domain configured. Since the policy is bound with a low priority number, it overrides any other policy that also has SSON Domain configured.

Navigation

• Overview
• Monitor to verify that LDAP server is UP
• Server Objects
• Service Groups
• Virtual Server

Overview

If you plan to use LDAP (Active Directory) for NetScaler Gateway or NetScaler management authentication, load balance the Domain Controllers that are used for authentication.

An alternative to load balancing is to configure NetScaler Gateway and NetScaler management authentication with multiple authentication policies, each pointing to a single Domain Controller. However, NetScaler will try each authentication policy until it finds one that works. If the user enters a wrong password and if you have three authentication policies pointing to different Domain Controllers in the same domain then three different failure attempts will be recorded thus causing premature account lockout. Use Load Balancing to avoid this behavior.

This page details LDAPS, aka Secure LDAP. This protocol requires certificates to be installed on the Domain Controllers. When a user’s password expires, Active Directory does not allow password changes over clear text LDAP so LDAPS must be used instead. Make sure you have certificates installed on your Domain Controllers. The easiest way to accomplish that is to deploy a Microsoft Certificate Authority. Once that’s done the Domain Controllers will request certificates automatically.

An ldaps monitor can be used to verify that the Domain Controller is functional. The ldaps monitor will login as an account, perform an LDAP query, and look for a successful response. The ldaps monitor uses a service account to login. Make sure the service account’s password does not expire. Domain User permissions are sufficient. Since this monitor is a Perl script, it uses NSIP as the source IP. You can use RNAT to override this as described in CTX217712 How to Force scriptable monitor to use SNIP in Netscaler in 10.5.

If you have Domain Controllers in multiple datacenters, you can create multiple load balancing Virtual Servers and cascade them so that the local Domain Controllers are used first, and if they’re not available, then the Virtual Server fails over to Domain Controllers in remote datacenters.

The Load Balancing Virtual Server for LDAPS can be TCP or SSL_TCP:

• If the protocol is TCP, then SSL-encrypted LDAP traffic is not terminated on the NetScaler, and is simply forwarded to the LDAP servers. If your LDAP client needs to verify the LDAP server certificate, then this Load Balancing configuration will not work, since each back-end LDAP server will have a different certificate.
• If your Load Balancing Virtual Server is protocol SSL_TCP, then a certificate must be installed on the NetScaler and bound to the Load Balancing Virtual Server. SSL is terminated at the NetScaler and re-encrypted before sending it to the destination Domain Controller. The primary benefit of NetScaler SSL termination is that your LDAP clients can verify the Virtual Server SSL certificate.

When NetScaler uses a local (same appliance) load balanced Virtual Server for LDAPS authentication, the traffic is sourced from the NetScaler SNIP (Subnet IP). When NetScaler uses a direct connection to a Domain Controller without going through a local Load Balancing Virtual Server, or if NetScaler uses a remote (different appliance) Load Balancing VIP, then the traffic is sourced from the NetScaler NSIP (NetScaler IP). Adjust firewall rules accordingly.

LDAPS Monitor

Note: Perl monitor uses NSIP as the source IP. You can use RNAT to override this as described in CTX217712 How to Force scriptable monitor to use SNIP in Netscaler in 10.5.

1. In the NetScaler Configuration Utility, expand Traffic Management, expand Load Balancing, and click Monitors.
   
2. On the right, click Add.
   
3. Name the monitor ldaps-Corp or similar. The ldaps monitor logs into Active Directory, performs an LDAP query, and looks for a successful response. The monitor configuration has domain specific information so if you have multiple Active Directory domains, then you will need multiple ldaps monitors. Include the domain name in the monitor name.
4. Change the Type to LDAP.
   
5. Scroll down and check the box next to Secure.
   
6. Scroll back up and switch to the Special Parameters tab.
7. On the Special Parameters tab, use the Script Name drop-down list to select the nsldap.pl file.
8. In the Base DN field, enter your domain name in LDAP format (e.g. dc=company,dc=com)
9. In the Bind DN field, enter the UPN login (e.g. ctxsvc@company.com) of a service account in the domain that can browse all objects. Any normal Domain User should be sufficient. Just make sure the password doesn’t expire.
10. In the Filter field, enter cn=builtin. This limits the search results.
11. In the Password field, enter the password for the service account. Make sure there is no semicolon in the password or the script will be unable to parse the parameters.
12. Click Create.
    

    add lb monitor LDAP-Corp LDAP -scriptName nsldap.pl -dispatcherIP 127.0.0.1 -dispatcherPort 3013 -password Passw0rd -secure YES -baseDN "dc=corp,dc=local" -bindDN "corp\\ctxsvc" -filter cn=builtin

13. If you have multiple domains then create additional monitors: one for each domain.

Servers

1. On the left, expand Traffic Management, expand Load Balancing, and click Servers.
   
2. On the right, click Add.
   
3. Enter a descriptive server name, usually it matches the actual server name.
4. Enter the IP address of the server.
5. Enter comments to describe the server. Click Create.
   

   add server AD01 10.2.2.11
   add server AD01 10.2.2.12

6. Continue adding Domain Controllers.
   

Service Groups

1. On the left, expand Traffic Management, expand Load Balancing, and click Service Groups.
   
2. On the right click Add
   .
3. You will create one Service Group per datacenter. Enter a name reflecting the name of the data center. Also, you will create a set of service groups per Active Directory domain so include the domain name.
4. Change the Protocol to SSL_TCP. Scroll down and click OK.
   
   
5. On the left, in the Service Group Members section, click where it says No Service Group Member.
   
6. If you did not create server objects, then enter the IP address of a Domain Controller in this datacenter. If you previously created a server object, then change the selection to Server Based, and select the server object. In the Port field, enter 636 (LDAPS).
   1. Note: Any Domain Controller you add to this list must have an SSL certificate installed. The easiest way to install SSL certificates on the Domain Controllers is with Active Directory Certificate Services since it installs the certificates automatically.
7.  Click Create.
   
8. Click OK.
   
9. On the right, in the Advanced Settings column, click Monitors.
   
10. On the left, in the Monitors section, click where it says No Service Group to Monitor Binding.
    
11. Click the arrow next to Click to select.
    
12. Select your new LDAPS monitor and click Select.
    
13. Click Bind.
    
14. To verify the member is up, click in the Service Group Members section.
    
15. Click the ellipsis next to a member and click Monitor Details.
    
16. It should say Success – Probe succeeded. Click Close.
17. If the monitor doesn’t work, use ldp.exe to verify the Domain Controller certificate.
18. Click Close and Done to finish creating the Service Group.
    

    add serviceGroup svcgrp-LDAP-Corp SSL_TCP
    bind serviceGroup svcgrp-LDAP-Corp AD01 636
    bind serviceGroup svcgrp-LDAP-Corp AD02 636
    bind serviceGroup svcgrp-LDAP-Corp -monitorName LDAP-Corp

19. Add additional service groups for Domain Controllers in each data center.

Virtual Server

1. Create or import a certificate that matches the FQDN that resolves to the new Load Balancing VIP for LDAPS.
   
2. On the left, expand Traffic Management, expand Load Balancing, and click Virtual Servers.
   
   
3. On the right, click Add.
   
4. Name it LDAPS-Corp-HQ-LB or similar. You will create one Virtual Server per datacenter so include the datacenter name. Also, each domain has a separate set of Virtual Servers so include the domain name.
5. Change the Protocol drop-down to SSL_TCP.
6. Enter a Virtual IP. This VIP cannot conflict with any other IP + Port already being used. You can use an existing VIP that is not already listening on TCP 636.
7. Enter 636 as the Port. Click OK.
   
8. On the left, in the Service Group section, click where it says No Load Balancing Virtual Server ServiceGroup Binding.
   
9. Click the arrow next to Click to select.
   
10. Select the previously created Service Group and click Select.
    
11. Click Bind.
    
12. Click Continue.
    
13. On the left, in the Certificates section, click where it says No Server Certificate.
    
14. Click the arrow next to Click to select.
    
15. Select a certificate that matches the FQDN that will resolve to this VIP. Click Select.
    
16. Click Bind.
    
17. Click Continue.
    

    add lb vserver lbvip-LDAP-Corp SSL_TCP 10.2.2.210 636 -persistenceType NONE -cltTimeout 9000
    
    bind lb vserver lbvip-LDAP-Corp svcgrp-LDAP-Corp

18. If you haven’t enabled the Default SSL Profile, then perform other normal SSL configuration including: disable SSLv3, and bind a Modern Cipher Group.

    bind ssl vserver MyvServer -certkeyName MyCert
    
    set ssl vserver MyvServer -ssl3 DISABLED -tls11 ENABLED -tls12 ENABLED
    
    unbind ssl vserver MyvServer -cipherName ALL
    
    bind ssl vserver MyvServer -cipherName Modern
    
    bind ssl vserver MyvServer -eccCurveName ALL

19. Click Done to finish creating the Virtual Server.
    
20. The new Virtual Server should show as Up.
    
21. Create additional Virtual Servers for each datacenter. These additional Virtual Servers do not need a VIP so change the IP Address Type to Non Addressable. Only the first Virtual Server will be directly accessible.
    

    add lb vserver lbvip-LDAP-Corp-Backup SSL_TCP 0.0.0.0 0

22. Notice that the additional datacenter Virtual Servers show up with an IP Address of 0.0.0.0 and port of 0.
    
23. After you are done creating a Virtual Server for each datacenter, click the ellipsis next to the primary datacenter’s Virtual Server and click Edit.
    
24. On the right, in the Advanced Settings column, click Protection.
    
25. On the left, in the Protection section, change the Backup Virtual Server to one of the other datacenter Virtual Servers. If all of the services in this datacenter are DOWN, the backup Virtual Server will be used instead. You can cascade multiple Virtual Servers using this method. Click OK and Done.
    

    set lb vserver lbvip-LDAP-Corp -backupVServer lbvip-LDAP-Corp-Backup

Next Steps

You may now use this Virtual IP in your LDAP authentication policies for NetScaler Gateway or NetScaler management login.

Navigation

• Monitor to verify that StoreFront is UP
• Server Objects
• Service Group
• Virtual Server
• SSL Redirect
• StoreFront Base URL
• Subscriptions/Favorites Replication Load Balancing

Monitor

Note: This is a Perl monitor, which uses the NSIP as the source IP. You can use RNAT to override this as described in CTX217712 How to Force scriptable monitor to use SNIP in Netscaler in 10.5.

1. On the left, expand Traffic Management, expand Load Balancing, and click Monitors.
   
2. On the right, click Add.
   
3. Name it StoreFront or similar.
4. Change the Type drop-down to STORERONT.
   
5. If you will use SSL to communicate with the StoreFront servers, then scroll down, and check the box next to Secure.
   
6. Scroll up, and switch to the Special Parameters tab.
7. In the Store Name field, enter the name of your store (e.g. MyStore) without spaces.
8. Click Create.
   

   add lb monitor StoreFront STOREFRONT -scriptName nssf.pl -dispatcherIP 127.0.0.1 -dispatcherPort 3013 -secure YES -storename Store

Servers

1. On the left, expand Traffic Management, expand Load Balancing, and click Servers.
   
2. On the right, click Add.
   
3. Enter a descriptive server name, usually it matches the actual server name.
4. Enter the IP address of the server.
5. Enter comments to describe the server. Click Create.
   
6. Continue adding StoreFront servers.
   

   add server SF01 10.2.2.57
   add server SF02 10.2.2.58

Service Group

1. On the left, expand Traffic Management, expand Load Balancing, and click Service Groups.
   
   
2. On the right, click Add.
   
3. Give the Service Group a descriptive name (e.g. svcgrp-StoreFront-SSL).
4. Change the Protocol to HTTP or SSL. If the protocol is SSL, ensure that the StoreFront Monitor has Secure checked.
5. Scroll down and click OK.
   
   
6. Click where it says No Service Group Member.
   
7. If you did not create server objects then enter the IP address of a StoreFront Server. If you previously created a server object then change the selection to Server Based and select the server objects.
8. Enter 80 or 443 as the port. Then click Create.
   
9. Click OK.
   
10. On the right, under Advanced Settings , click Monitors.
    
11. Click where it says says No Service Group to Monitor Binding.
    
12. Click the arrow next to Click to select.
    
13. Select your StoreFront monitor and click Select.
    
14. Then click Bind.
    
15. To verify that the monitor is working, on the left, in the Service Group Members section, click the Service Group Members line.
    
16. Click the ellipsis next to a member and click Monitor Details.
    
17. The Last Response should be Success – Probe succeeded. Click Close twice.
    
18. On the right, under Advanced Settings, click Settings.
    
19. On the left, in the Settings section, check the box for Client IP and enter X-Forwarded-For as the Header. Then click OK.
    
20. Then click Done.
    

    add serviceGroup svcgrp-StoreFront-SSL SSL -maxClient 0 -maxReq 0 -cip ENABLED X-Forwarded-For
    
    bind serviceGroup svcgrp-StoreFront-SSL SF01 443
    bind serviceGroup svcgrp-StoreFront-SSL SF02 443
    bind serviceGroup svcgrp-StoreFront-SSL -monitorName StoreFront

21. If the Service Group is http and you don’t have certificates installed on your StoreFront servers (aka SSL Offload) then you’ll need to enable loopback in StoreFront.
    1. In StoreFront 3.5 and newer, you enable it in the GUI console.
    2. In StoreFront 3.0, run the following commands on the StoreFront 3.0 servers as detailed at Citrix Blog Post What’s New in StoreFront 3.0.

       & "C:\Program Files\Citrix\Receiver StoreFront\Scripts\ImportModules.ps1"
       
       Set-DSLoopback -SiteId 1 -VirtualPath /Citrix/StoreWeb -Loopback OnUsingHttp

Load Balancing Virtual Server

1. Create or install a certificate that will be used by the SSL Offload Virtual Server. This certificate must match the DNS name for the load balanced StoreFront servers. For email discovery in Citrix Receiver, the certificate must either be a wildcard (*.corp.local) or have a subject alternative name for discoverReceiver.domain.com (domain.com = email address suffix)
   
2. On the left, under Traffic Management > Load Balancing, click Virtual Servers.
   
   
3. On the right click Add.
   
4. Name it lbvip-StoreFront-SSL or similar.
5. Change the Protocol to SSL.
6. Specify a new internal VIP.
7. Enter 443 as the Port.
8. Click OK.
   

   add lb vserver lbvip-StoreFront-SSL SSL 10.2.2.221 443 -persistenceType SOURCEIP -timeout 60

9. On the left, in the Services and Service Groups section, click where it says No Load Balancing Virtual Server ServiceGroup Binding.
   
10. Click the arrow next to Click to select.
    
11. Select your StoreFront Service Group and click Select.
    
12. Click Bind.
    

    bind lb vserver lbvip-StoreFront-SSL svcgrp-StoreFront-SSL

13. Click Continue.
    
14. Click where it says No Server Certificate.
    
15. Click the arrow next to Click to select.
    
16. Select the certificate for this StoreFront Load Balancing Virtual Server and click Select.
    
17. Click Bind.
    

    bind ssl vserver lbvip-StoreFront-SSL -certkeyName WildCorpCom

18. Click Continue.
    
19. On the right, in the Advanced Settings column, click Persistence.
    
20. On the left, in the Persistence section, select SOURCEIP. Do NOT use COOKIEINSERT persistence or Android devices will not function correctly.
21. Set the timeout to match the timeout of Receiver for Web.
22. The IPv4 Netmask should default to 32 bits.
23. Click OK.
    
24. If the NetScaler communicates with the StoreFront servers using HTTP (aka SSL Offload – 443 on client-side, 80 on server-side), and if you have enabled the Default SSL Profile, then you’ll either need to edit the Default SSL Profile to include the SSL Redirect option, or create a new custom SSL Profile with the SSL Redirect option enabled, and then bind the custom SSL Profile to this vServer.
25. If the default SSL Profile is not enabled, then you’ll need to edit the SSL Parameters section on the vServer, and at the top right, check the box next to SSL Redirect. Otherwise the Receiver for Web page will never display.
    

26. set ssl vserver lbvip-StoreFront-SSL -sslRedirect ENABLED -ssl3 DISABLED

27. If you haven’t enabled the Default SSL Profile, then perform other normal SSL configuration including: disable SSLv3, bind a Modern Cipher Group, and enable Strict Transport Security.

    bind ssl vserver lbvip-StoreFront-SSL -certkeyName MyCert
    
    set ssl vserver lbvip-StoreFront-SSL -ssl3 DISABLED -tls11 ENABLED -tls12 ENABLED
    
    unbind ssl vserver lbvip-StoreFront-SSL -cipherName ALL
    
    bind ssl vserver lbvip-StoreFront-SSL -cipherName Modern
    
    bind ssl vserver lbvip-StoreFront-SSL -eccCurveName ALL
    
    bind lb vserver lbvip-StoreFront-SSL -policyName insert_STS_header -priority 100 -gotoPriorityExpression END -type RESPONSE

When connecting to StoreFront through load balancing, if you want to put the server name on the StoreFront webpage so you can identify the server, see Nicolas Ignoto Display server name with Citrix StoreFront 3.

SSL Redirect – SSL Load Balancing vServer Method

Users must enter https:// when navigating to the StoreFront website. To make it easier for the users, enable SSL Redirection.

This procedure details the SSL Load Balancing vServer method of performing an SSL redirect. An alternative is to use the Responder method.

1. On the left, under Traffic Management > Load Balancing, click Virtual Servers.
   
   
2. On the right, find the SSL Virtual Server you’ve already created, click the ellipsis next to it and click Edit.
   
3. In the Basic Settings section, click the pencil icon.
   
4. Click the More link.
   
5. In the Redirect from Port field, enter 80.
6. In the HTTPS Redirect URL field, enter your StoreFront Load Balancing URL (e.g. https://storefront.corp.com).
   
7. Scroll down and click Continue twice.
   

   set lb vserver lbvip-StoreFront-SSL -redirectFromPort 80 -httpsRedirectUrl https://storefront.corp.com

8. This method does not add any new vServers to the list so it’s not easy to see if this is configured.

StoreFront Base URL

1. Create a DNS Host record that resolves to the new VIP.
   
2. The DNS name for StoreFront load balancing must be different than the DNS name for NetScaler Gateway. Unless you are following the Single FQDN procedure.
   
   
3. In the Citrix StoreFront console, right-click Server Group and click Change Base URL.
   
4. Enter the new Base URL in https://storefront.corp.com format. This must match the certificate that is installed on the load balancer. Click OK.
   

Subscription Replication Load Balancing

If you have multiple StoreFront clusters (separate datacenters), you might want to replicate subscriptions between them. StoreFront subscription replication uses TCP port 808. To provide High Availability for this service, load balance TCP port 808 on the StoreFront servers. See Configure subscription synchronization at Citrix Docs for more information.

1. On the left, expand Traffic Management, expand Load Balancing, and click Service Groups.
   
   
2. On the right, click Add.
   
3. Give the Service Group a descriptive name (e.g. svcgrp-StoreFront-SubRepl).
4. Change the Protocol to TCP.
   
5. Scroll down and click OK.
   
6. Click where it says No Service Group Member.
   
7. Change the selection to Server Based and select the StoreFront servers.
8. Enter 808 as the port. Then click Create.
   
   
9. Click OK.
   
10. On the right, under Advanced Settings, click Monitors.
    
11. On the left, in the Monitors section, click where it says No Service Group to Monitor Binding.
    
12. Click the arrow next to Click to select.
    
13. Select the tcp monitor and click Select.
    
14. Then click Bind and click Done.
    
    

    add serviceGroup svcgrp-StoreFront-FavRepl TCP
    bind serviceGroup svcgrp-StoreFront-FavRepl SF01 808
    bind serviceGroup svcgrp-StoreFront-FavRepl SF02 808

15. On the left, under Traffic Management > Load Balancing, click Virtual Servers.
    
    
16. On the right, click the ellipsis next to the existing StoreFront Load Balancing vServer, and click Add.
    
17. Name it lbvip-StoreFront-SubRepl or similar.
18. Change the Protocol to TCP.
19. Specify the same VIP that you used for SSL Load Balancing of StoreFront.
20. Enter 808 as the Port.
21. Click OK.
    
22. Click where it says No Load Balancing Virtual Server ServiceGroup Binding.
    
    
23. Click the arrow next to Click to select.
    
24. Select your StoreFront Subscription Replication Service Group and click Select.
    
25. Click Bind.
    
26. Click Continue.
    
27. Then click Done.
    

    add lb vserver lbvip-StoreFront-FavRepl TCP 10.2.2.201 808 -persistenceType NONE
    
    bind lb vserver lbvip-StoreFront-FavRepl svcgrp-SF-FavRepl

Related Posts

• NetScaler Gateway Session Policies for StoreFront
• StoreFront Server Configuration

This page contains generic SSL instructions for all SSL Virtual Servers including: Load Balancing, NetScaler Gateway, Content Switching, and AAA.

Navigation

• Change Log
•  Preparation:
  • Cipher Group
  • Strict Transport Security Rewrite Policy
  • Default SSL Profile
• SSL vServer Configuration – Bind Cert, Ciphers, ECC, and STS
• SSL Tests
• SSL Redirect Methods:
  • SSL Redirect – SSL Load Balancing vServer Method
  • SSL Redirect – Down vServer Method
  • SSL Redirect – Responder Method

💡 = Recently Updated

Change Log

• 2018 Feb 1 – In SSL Profiles section, add conversion script info from Enabling the Default Profiles at Citrix Docs

Cipher Group

References:

• Citrix Blogs – Scoring an A+ at SSLlabs.com with Citrix NetScaler – 2016 update
• Citrix CTX201710 Cipher/Protocol Support Matrix of NetScaler Appliances
• CJHarms – NetScaler Cipher Lists – 2016 Edition with ECC/ECDSA

To create a custom secure cipher group:

1. Ryan Butler has a PowerShell script at Github that can automate NetScaler SSL configuration to get an A+.
2. The easiest way to create a cipher group is from the CLI. See Citrix Blogs Scoring an A+ at SSLlabs.com with Citrix NetScaler – 2016 update for cipher group CLI commands.
3. The last cipher is only needed for Windows XP machines. It doesn’t actually require SSL3. If you don’t need to support Windows XP, then skip that command.

   add ssl cipher custom-ssllabs-cipher
   bind ssl cipher custom-ssllabs-cipher -cipherName TLS1.2-ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384
   bind ssl cipher custom-ssllabs-cipher -cipherName TLS1.2-ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256
   bind ssl cipher custom-ssllabs-cipher -cipherName TLS1.2-ECDHE-RSA-AES-256-SHA384
   bind ssl cipher custom-ssllabs-cipher -cipherName TLS1.2-ECDHE-RSA-AES-128-SHA256
   bind ssl cipher custom-ssllabs-cipher -cipherName TLS1-ECDHE-RSA-AES256-SHA
   bind ssl cipher custom-ssllabs-cipher -cipherName TLS1-ECDHE-RSA-AES128-SHA
   bind ssl cipher custom-ssllabs-cipher -cipherName TLS1.2-DHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384
   bind ssl cipher custom-ssllabs-cipher -cipherName TLS1.2-DHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256
   bind ssl cipher custom-ssllabs-cipher -cipherName TLS1-DHE-RSA-AES-256-CBC-SHA
   bind ssl cipher custom-ssllabs-cipher -cipherName TLS1-DHE-RSA-AES-128-CBC-SHA
   bind ssl cipher custom-ssllabs-cipher -cipherName TLS1-AES-256-CBC-SHA
   bind ssl cipher custom-ssllabs-cipher -cipherName TLS1-AES-128-CBC-SHA
   bind ssl cipher custom-ssllabs-cipher -cipherName SSL3-DES-CBC3-SHA

4. Or you can create the cipher group using the GUI. Go to Traffic Management > SSL > Cipher Groups.
   
5. On the right, click Add.
   
6. Name it Modern or similar.
7. In the middle, click Add.
   
8. Use the search box to find a particular cipher.
9. Check the box next to one of the results and click the arrow to move it to the right. See Citrix Blogs Scoring an A+ at SSLlabs.com with Citrix NetScaler – 2016 update for recommended ciphers. The recommended ciphers vary based on the hardware platform and support for older clients.
   
10. Use the up and down arrows to order the ciphers. NetScaler prefers the ciphers on top of the list, so the ciphers at the top of the list should be the most secure ciphers.
    
11. Click Create when done.
    

Strict Transport Security Rewrite Policy

To get an A+ at SSLLabs.com, you need to insert the Strict-Transport-Security HTTP header in the responses. NetScaler Rewrite Policy can do this.

1. Go to AppExpert > Rewrite, right-click Rewrite, and click Enable Feature.
   
2. Go to AppExpert > Rewrite > Actions.
   
3. On the right, click Add.
   
4. Name the action insert_STS_header or similar.
5. The Type should be INSERT_HTTP_HEADER.
6. The Header Name should be Strict-Transport-Security.
7. The Expression should be the following:

   "max-age=157680000"

   

8. Click Create.
9. On the left, go to AppExpert > Rewrite > Policies.
   
10. On the right, click Add.
    
11. Name it insert_STS_header or similar.
12. Select the previously created Action.
13. In the Expression box, enter HTTP.REQ.IS_VALID.
14. Click Create.
    
15. Now you can bind this Rewrite Response policy to HTTP-based SSL vServers.
16. When editing an SSL vServer, if the Policies section doesn’t exist on the left, then add it from the Advanced Settings column on the right.
    
17. In the Policies section on the left, click the plus icon.
    
18. Select Rewrite > Response and click Continue.
    
19. Then select the STS Rewrite Policy and click Bind.
    

enable ns feature rewrite

add rewrite action insert_STS_header insert_http_header Strict-Transport-Security "\"max-age=157680000\""

add rewrite policy insert_STS_header true insert_STS_header

bind lb vserver MyvServer -policyName insert_STS_header -priority 100 -gotoPriorityExpression END -type RESPONSE

Default SSL Profile

You can use SSL Profiles to package several SSL settings together and apply the settings package (Profile) to SSL vServers and SSL Services. These settings include: disable SSLv3, bind ciphers, bind ECC curves, etc.

There are default SSL Profiles, and there are custom SSL Profiles. The default SSL Profiles are disabled by default. Once the default SSL Profiles are enabled, the default setttings apply to all SSL vServers and all SSL Services, unless you bind a custom SSL Profile. Also, once default is enabled, it’s not possible to disable it.

• Some features of custom SSL Profiles require default SSL Profiles to be enabled. For example, you cannot configure ciphers in a custom SSL Profile unless the default SSL Profiles are enabled.

If you enable the default SSL Profiles, then it’s not possible to configure SNI for backend (services and service groups).

Default SSL Profiles are intended to provide a baseline SSL configuration for all newly created SSL Virtual Servers and SSL Services. You can still create Custom SSL Profiles to override the Default SSL Profiles.

Enabling the default SSL profile will wipe out any SSL configuration on SSL entities (e.g. SSL Virtual Servers) that do not have a custom SSL profile bound. Citrix offers a script that can read your existing SSL entity SSL configuration and convert them to custom SSL Profiles. See Enabling the Default Profiles at Citrix Docs. The default_profile_scriptcan be downloaded from an individual NetScaler ADC firmware download page under Additional Components. The commands output by the script won’t work until the default SSL Profile is enabled.  💡

To enable the Default SSL profiles:

1. Make sure you are connected to the appliance using http and not https.
2. Go to Traffic Management > SSL.
   
3. On the right, in the right column, click Change advanced SSL settings.
   
4. Near the bottom, check the box next to Enable Default Profile. Note: this will change SSL settings on all SSL Virtual Servers to match the default SSL profile. You might want to do this during a maintenance window. Click OK when done.
   
5. If you go back into Advanced SSL Settings, notice that the Default Profile is enabled and there’s no way to disable it.
   
6. To change the default SSL profile, on the left, go to System > Profiles.
   
7. On the right, switch to the SSL Profile tab.
   
8. Click the ellipsis next to the frontend or backend default profile and click Edit. Frontend = client-side connections to SSL vServers. Backend = server-side connections (SSL Services and Service Groups).
9. Or you can create a new custom SSL profile.
   
10. Notice that SSLv3 is disabled by default.
    
11. If you do any SSL Offload (SSL on the client side, HTTP on the server side) then you’ll need to edit the Basic Settings section and enable SSL Redirect. Or you can create a new SSL Profile with this option enabled. It’s near the bottom of the section. With this option enabled, any 301/302 redirects from the server with HTTP locations are rewritten to HTTPS locations. You might need this option for StoreFront load balancing if doing SSL Offload.
    
12. Scroll down to the SSL Ciphers section and click the pencil icon.
    
13. Click Remove All and click OK. You must click OK before binding the custom cipher group.
    
14. Click the pencil icon again.
    
15. Click Add.
    
16. Scroll down and select your custom cipher group. Then click the arrow to move it to the right. Then click OK.
    
17. Click OK when you see the No usable ciphers message. Then click Done to close the SSL Profile.
    
18. If you edit one of your SSL Virtual Servers (e.g. Load Balancing vServer), there’s an SSL Profile section indicating that the default profile is being used. You can change the binding to a different SSL Profile.
    
19. SSL Profiles do not include forcing Strict Transport Security. You’ll still need to create the STS Rewrite Policy and bind it to every SSL vServer as detailed in the next section.

Bind Certificate, Bind Cipher Group, Disable SSLv3, Enable STS

Whether you use SSL Profiles or not, you need to bind certificates and STS Rewrite Policy to every SSL vServer.

If you enabled the Default SSL Profiles feature, you can either leave it set to the Default SSL Profile; or you can change it to a Custom SSL Profile. Or you can bind an SSL Profile without enabling the Default SSL Profiles. If you don’t use the SSL Profiles feature, then you’ll need to manually configure ciphers and SSL settings on every SSL vServer.

Do the following on every SSL vServer:

1. When creating an SSL Virtual Server (e.g. SSL Load Balancing vServer), on the left, in the Certificates section, click where it says No Server Certificate.
   
2. Click where it says Click to select.
   
3. Select a certificate and click Select.
   
4. Click Bind.
   

   bind ssl vserver MyvServer -certkeyName MyCert

5. If you want to bind a custom SSL Profile, if Default SSL Profile is enabled, in the SSL Profile section on the left, click the pencil icon.
   
6. If the SSL Profile section isn’t on the left, then on the right, in the Advanced Settings section, click SSL Profile
   
7. Select your custom SSL Profile and click OK.
   
8. If you didn’t bind an SSL Profile, on the left, in the SSL Parameters section, click the pencil icon.
   
9. Uncheck the box next to SSLv3. Make sure TLSv11 and TLSv12 are enabled. Click OK.
   

   set ssl vserver MyvServer -ssl3 DISABLED -tls11 ENABLED -tls12 ENABLED

10. If you didn’t bind an SSL Profile, scroll down to the SSL Ciphers section and click the pencil icon.
    
11. Click Remove All and click OK. You must click OK before binding the custom cipher group.
    
12. Click the pencil icon again.
    
13. Click Add.
    
14. Scroll down and select your custom cipher group. Then click the arrow to move it to the right. Then click OK.
    
15. Click OK when you see the No usable ciphers message.
    

    unbind ssl vserver MyvServer -cipherName ALL
    bind ssl vserver MyvServer -cipherName Modern

16. SSL Virtual Servers created on newer versions of NetScaler will automatically have ECC Curves bound to them. However, if this appliance was upgraded from an older version then the ECC Curves might not be bound. If you are not using SSL Profile, then on the right, in the Advanced Settings section, click ECC Curve.
    
17. On the left, in the ECC Curve section, click where it says No ECC Curve.
    
18. Click to select.
    
19. Choose ALL and click Select.
    
20. Click Bind.
    

    bind ssl vserver MyvServer -eccCurveName ALL

21. If the Policies section doesn’t exist on the left, then add it from the Advanced Settings column on the right.
    
22. In the Policies section on the left, click the plus icon.
    
23. Select Rewrite > Response and click Continue.
    
24. Select the STS Rewrite Policy and click Bind.
    

    bind lb vserver MyvServer -policyName insert_STS_header -priority 100 -gotoPriorityExpression END -type RESPONSE

If you experience SSL performance problems on a NetScaler MPX, Citrix CTX207005 Performance Issues with NetScaler MPX SSL recommends creating and binding the following TCP Profile:  💡

add ns tcpProfile tcp_test -WS ENABLED -SACK ENABLED -maxBurst 20 -initialCwnd 8 -bufferSize 4096000 -flavor BIC -dynamicReceiveBuffering DISABLED -sendBuffsize 4096000

SSL Tests

After you’ve created an SSL Virtual Server, run the following tests:

• Go to https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/ and check the security settings of the website.
  

SSL Redirect – SSL Load Balancing vServer Method

New in NetScaler 11.1, you can configure SSL Redirect directly in an SSL Load Balancing vServer (port 443) instead of creating a separate HTTP (port 80) Load Balancing vServer.

Limitations:

• This is only an option for SSL Load Balancing vServers; it’s not configurable in Gateway vServers or Content Switching vServers.
• Only one Redirect URL can be specified. Alternatively, the Responder method can handle multiple FQDNs to one VIP (e.g. wildcard certificate) and/or IP address URLs.

To configure an SSL Load Balancing vServer to redirect from HTTP to HTTPS:

1. Edit the SSL Load Balancing vServer (port 443).
2. In the Basic Settings section, click the pencil icon.
   
3. Click More.
   
4. In the Redirect from Port field, enter 80.
5. In the HTTPS Redirect URL field, enter https://MyFQDN. Click Continue twice.
   

SSL Redirect – Down vServer Method

If you created an SSL Virtual Server that only listens on SSL 443, then users must enter https:// when navigating to the website. To make it easier for the users, create another load balancing Virtual Server on the same VIP but listens on HTTP 80 and then redirects the user’s browser to reconnect on SSL 443.

The Down Virtual Server Method is easy, but the Redirect Virtual Server must be down in order for the redirect to take effect. Another option is to use Responder policies to perform the redirect.

To create the down Redirect Virtual Server:

1. On the left, under Traffic Management > Load Balancing, click Virtual Servers.
   
   
2. On the right, find an SSL Virtual Server you’ve already created, click the ellipsis next to it, and click Add. Doing it this way copies some of the data from the already created Virtual Server.
3. Or if you are redirecting NetScaler Gateway, create a new Load Balancing vServer with the same VIP as the Gateway.
   
4. Change the name to indicate that this new Virtual Server is an SSL Redirect.
5. Change the Protocol to HTTP on Port 80.
6. The IP Address should already be filled in. It must match the original SSL Virtual Server (or Gateway vServer). Click OK.
   
7. Don’t select any services. This vServer must intentionally be marked down so the redirect will take effect. Click Continue.
   
8. On the right, in the Advanced Settings column, click Protection.
   
9. In the Redirect URL field, enter the full URL including https://. For example: https://storefront.corp.com/Citrix/StoreWeb. Click OK.
   
   
10. Click Done.
    
11. When you view the SSL redirect Virtual Server in the list, it will have a state of DOWN. That’s OK. The Port 80 Virtual Server must be DOWN for this redirect method to work.
    

SSL Redirect – Responder Method

The Down Virtual Server Method is easy, but the Redirect Virtual Server must be down in order for the redirect to take effect. Another option is to use Responder policies to perform the redirect. This method requires the Redirect Virtual Server to be UP.

1. Create a dummy Load Balancing service. This dummy service can be bound to multiple Redirect Virtual Servers. Go to Traffic Management > Load Balancing > Services.
   
2. On the right, click Add.
   
3. Name it AlwaysUp or similar.
4. Use a loopback IP address (e.g. 127.0.0.1). After the service is created, it changes to a NetScaler-owned IP.
5. Click the More link.
   
6. This dummy service must always be UP so uncheck the box next to Health Monitoring. Click OK and then click Done.
   
   

   add server 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1
   add service AlwaysUp 127.0.0.1 HTTP 80 -healthMonitor NO

7. On the left, expand AppExpert and click Responder.
8. If Responder is not enabled, right-click Responder and click Enable Feature.
   

   enable ns feature RESPONDER

9. Under Responder, click Actions.
   
10. On the right, click Add.
    
11. Give the action a name.
12. Change the Type to Redirect.
13. Enter an expression. The following expression can be used by multiple Redirect Virtual Servers since it redirects to https on the same URL the user entered in the browser. Or you can create a Responder Action with a more specific Target. Click Create.

    "https://" + HTTP.REQ.HOSTNAME.HTTP_URL_SAFE + HTTP.REQ.URL.PATH_AND_QUERY.HTTP_URL_SAFE

    

    add responder action http_to_ssl_redirect_responderact redirect "\"https://\" + HTTP.REQ.HOSTNAME.HTTP_URL_SAFE + HTTP.REQ.URL.PATH_AND_QUERY.HTTP_URL_SAFE" -responseStatusCode 302

14. On the left, under Responder, click Policies.
    
15. On the right, click Add.
    
16. Give the policy a name.
17. Select the previously created Responder action.
18. For the expression, enter the following. Then click Create.

    HTTP.REQ.IS_VALID

    

    add responder policy http_to_ssl_redirect_responderpol HTTP.REQ.IS_VALID http_to_ssl_redirect_responderact

19. Create a Load Balancing Virtual Server with Protocol HTTP and Port 80. The VIP should match an existing SSL Virtual Server or NetScaler Gateway Virtual Server.
    
    
20. Bind the AlwaysUp service and click Bind. Then click Continue.
    
    
21. On the right, in the Advanced Settings column, click Policies.
    
22. Click the plus icon in the top right of the Policies box.
    
23. Select Responder and click Continue.
    
24. Select the http_to_https Redirect Responder policy and click Bind. Then click Done.
    

    add lb vserver MyvServer-HTTP-SSLRedirect HTTP 10.2.2.201 80
    
    bind lb vserver storefront.corp.com-HTTP-SSLRedirect AlwaysUp
    
    bind lb vserver storefront.corp.com-HTTP-SSLRedirect -policyName http_to_ssl_redirect_responderpol -priority 100 -gotoPriorityExpression END -type REQUEST

25. The primary advantage of this method is that the Redirect Virtual Server is UP.