Category: ADC / NetScaler

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• Here are three methods of creating certificates for NetScaler:
  • Import .PFX Certificate to NetScaler
  • Create Key and CSR on the appliance
  • Use NetScaler as Certificate Authority
• If the server certificate is signed by an intermediate authority, import the intermediate certificate and bind it.
• Export/Download certificate files from NetScaler  💡
• Default Management Certificate Key Length
• Replace the management certificate and then force SSL access for management.
• Update certificates before they expire.

💡 = Recently Updated

Convert .PFX Certificate to PEM Format

You can export a certificate from Windows and import it to NetScaler.

1. On the Windows server that has the certificate, run mmc.exe and add the certificates snap-in.
2. Right-click the certificate and click Export.
   
3. On the Export Private Key page, select Yes, export the private key and click Next.
   
4. On the Export File Format page, ensure Personal Information Exchange is selected and click Next.
   
5. Save it as a .pfx file. Don’t put any spaces in the filename.
   
6. Go to Traffic Management > SSL. If the SSL feature is disabled, right-click it and click Enable Feature.
   
7. In NetScaler 11.1, it is no longer necessary to first convert the .PFX file to PEM format since NetScaler will convert it for you automatically. Note: when the PFX is automatically converted to PEM, the key is not encrypted.
8. Go to Traffic Management > SSL > Certificates.
   
9. There are now three different certificate nodes. Server Certificates have private keys. These certificates are intended to be bound to SSL vServers.
10. Client Certificates also have private keys but they are intended to be bound to Services so NetScaler can perform client-certificate authentication against back-end web servers.
11. CA Certificates don’t have private keys. These certificates can authenticate client certificates. Or you can link Server Certificates to CA Certificates to create a trust chain.
12. On the left, click Server Certificates. On the right, click Install.
    
13. Browse (Local) to the PFX file.
    
14. Enter the PFX password, and then click Install.
    
15. If you click the information icon next to the certificate, you’ll see that NetScaler created a new file with a .ns extension.
    
    
16. If you look inside this file by going to Traffic Management > SSL > Manage Certificates / Keys / CSRs, notice that the RSA Private Key is not encrypted, encoded, or password protected.
    
    
    
17. If you want to encrypt your key file (recommended), use the older method of converting from PFX to PEM. In the NetScaler Configuration GUI, on the left expand Traffic Management and click SSL.
    
18. In the right column of the right pane, click Import PKCS#12 in the Tools section.
    
19. In the Import PKCS12 File dialog box:
    1. In the Output File Name field, enter a name (e.g. Wildcard.cer) for a new file where the PEM certificate and key will be placed.
    2. In the PKCS12 File field, click Browse and select the previously exported .pfx file.
    3. In the Import Password field, enter the password you specified when you previously exported the .pfx file.
    4. Change the Encoding Format selection to DES3. This causes the new Output file to be encrypted.
    5. Enter a password for the Output file and click OK.
       
20. If you browse to the /nsconfig/ssl directory on the NetScaler and view the new .cer file you just created, you’ll see both the certificate and the private key in the same file. You can use the Manage Certificates / Keys / CSRs link to view the files.
    
    
21. Notice that the file contains both the certificate and the RSA Private key.
    
22. Also, the Private Key is encrypted.
    
23. On the left side of the NetScaler Configuration GUI, expand Traffic Management > SSL, and click Certificates.
    
24. On the right, click Install.
    
25. In the Install Certificate dialog box:
    1. In the Certificate-Key Pair Name field, enter a friendly name for this certificate.
    2. In the Certificate File Name field, browse the appliance and select the .cer file you just created.
    3. If the private key is encrypted, enter the password.
    4. If desired, check the box next to Notify When Expires.
    5. Click Install. You can now link an intermediate certificate to this SSL certificate and then bind this SSL certificate to SSL  and/or NetScaler Gateway Virtual Servers.
       
26. To automatically backup SSL certificates and receive notification when the certificates are about the expire, deploy Citrix Command Center or NetScaler Management and Analytics System. Also see Citrix CTX213342 How to handle certificate expiry on NetScaler.
27. You can also export the certificate files and use them on a different NetScaler.

Create Key and Certificate Request

If you want to create free Let’s Encrypt certificates, see John Billekens’ PowerShell script detailed at Let’s Encrypt Certificates on a NetScaler.  💡

You can create a key pair and Certificate Signing Request directly on the NetScaler appliance. The Certificate Signing Request can then be signed by an internal or public Certificate Authority.

Most Certificate Authorities let you add Subject Alternative Names when submitting the Certificate Signing Request to the Certificate Authority and thus there’s no reason to include Subject Alternative Names in the Certificate Signing Request. You typically create a Certificate Signing Request with a single DNS name. Then when submitting the Certificate Signing Request to the Certificate Authority you type in additional DNS names. For a Microsoft Certificate Authority, you can enter Subject Alternative Names in the Attributes box of the Web Enrollment wizard. For public Certificate Authorities, you purchase a UCC certificate or purchase a certificate option that lets you type in additional names.

If you instead want to create a Certificate Signing Request on NetScaler that has Subject Alternative Names embedded in it as request attributes, see Citrix Blog Post How to Create a CSR for a SAN Certificate Using OpenSSL on a NetScaler Appliance. These instructions are performed on the NetScaler command line using OpenSSL. Or you can instead create a Subject Alternative Name certificate on Windows.

1. On the left, expand Traffic Management, expand SSL, and click SSL Files.
   
2. On the right, switch to the Keys tab.
   
3. Click Create RSA Key.
   
4. Give the .key file a descriptive name.
5. Set the Key Size to 2048 bits
6. Set the PEM Encoding Algorithm to DES3 and enter a password. This encrypts the key file.
7. Click OK. You will soon create a certificate using the keys in this file.
   
8. On the right, switch to the CSRs tab.
   
9. Click Create Certificate Signing Request (CSR).
   
10. In the Request File Name field, enter the name of a new file.
11. In the Key Filename field, browse to the previously created .key file.
12. If the key file is encrypted, enter the password.
13. Feel free to change the Digest Method to SHA256.
    
14. In the Common Name field, enter the FQDN of the SSL enabled-website. If this is a wildcard certificate, enter * for the left part of the FQDN.
15. In the Organization Name field, enter your official Organization Name.
16. Enter IT or similar as the Organization Unit.
17. Enter the City name.
18. In the State field, enter your state name without abbreviating.
    
19. Scroll down and click Create.
    
20. Click the ellipsis next to the new .csr file and Download the file.
    
    
21. You can then open the .csr file with Notepad and send the contents to your Certificate Authority. If the CA asks you for the type of web server, select Apache. Save the CA response as a Base64 file.
22. After you get the signed certificate, on the left side of the NetScaler Configuration GUI, expand Traffic Management > SSL > Certificates and click Server Certificates.
    
23. On the right, click Install.
    
24. In the Certificate-Key Pair Name field, enter a friendly name for this certificate.
25. In the Certificate File Name field, browse Local and select the Base64 (Apache) .cer file you received from the Certificate Authority.
    
26. In the Private Key File Name field, browse the appliance and select the key file you created earlier.
27. If the key file is encrypted, enter the password.
28. If desired, check the box next to Notify When Expires.
29. Click Install.
    
30. The certificate is now added to the list. Notice the Days to Expire. You can now bind this certificate to any SSL Load Balancing, NetScaler Gateway, or SSL Content Switching Virtual Server.
    
31. To automatically backup SSL certificates and receive notification when the certificates are about the expire, deploy Citrix Command Center or Citrix NetScaler Management and Analytics. Also see Citrix CTX213342 How to handle certificate expiry on NetScaler.
32. You can also export the certificate files and use them on a different NetScaler.

Intermediate Certificate

If your Server Certificate is signed by an intermediate Certificate Authority, then you must install the intermediate Certificate Authority’s certificate on the NetScaler. This Intermediate Certificate then must be linked to the Server Certificate.

1. Sometimes the public Certificate Authority will give you the Intermediate certificate as one of the files in a bundle. If not, log into Windows and double-click the signed certificate.
2. On the Certification Path tab, double-click the intermediate certificate (e.g. Go Daddy Secure Certificate Authority. It’s the one in the middle).
   
3. On the Details tab, click Copy to File.
   
4. In the Welcome to the Certificate Export Wizard page, click Next.
   
5. In the Export File Format page, select Base-64 encoded and click Next.
   
6. Give it a file name and click Next.
   
7. In the Completing the Certificate Export Wizard page, click Finish.
   
8. In the NetScaler configuration GUI, expand Traffic Management, expand SSL, expand Certificates, and click CA Certificates.
   
9. On the right, click Install.
   
10. Name it Intermediate or similar.
11. Browse locally for the Intermediate certificate file.
12. Click Install.
    
13. Go back to Server Certificates.
14. Click the ellipsis next to the server certificate, and click Link.
    
15. The previously imported Intermediate certificate should already be selected. Click OK.
    

Export Certificate Files from NetScaler

You can easily export certificate files from the NetScaler and import them to a different NetScaler.

1. Go to Traffic Management > SSL > Certificates > Server Certificates.
   
2. Move your mouse over the certificate you want to export, and then click the information icon on the far left.
   
3. Note the file names. There could be one or two file names.
   
4. Go to Traffic Management > SSL.
   
5. On the right, in the right column, click Manage Certificates / Keys / CSRs.
6. Find the file(s) in the list, right-click it, and click Download.
   
7. Also download the files for any linked intermediate certificate.
8. You can now use the downloaded files to install certificates on a different NetScaler.

Create Certificate with NetScaler as Certificate Authority

If you don’t have an internal Certificate Authority, you can use NetScaler as a Certificate Authority. The NetScaler Certificate Authority can then be used to sign Server Certificates. This is a simple method for creating a new management certificate. The main problem with this method is that the NetScaler root certificate must be manually installed on any machine that connects to the NetScaler.

1. On the left, expand Traffic Management, and click SSL.
   
2. On the right, in the left column, click Root-CA Certificate Wizard.
   
3. In the Key Filename field, enter root.key or similar. This is a new file.
4. In the Key Size field, enter at least 2048.
5. Optionally, to encrypt the key file, change the PEM Encoding Algorithm to DES3, and enter a new password.
6. Click Create.
   
7. In the Request File Name field, enter root.csr or similar. This is a new file.
8. If the key file is encrypted, enter the password.
9. Scroll down.
   
10. In the State field, enter the non-abbreviated state name.
11. In the Organization Name field, enter the name of your organization.
12. Fill in other fields as desired.
13. In the Common Name field, enter a descriptive name for this Certificate Authority.
14. Click Create .
    
15. In the Certificate File Name field, enter root.cer or similar. This is a new file.
16. Change the Validity Period to 3650 (10 years) or similar.
17. If the key file is encrypted, enter the password in the PEM Passphrase field.
18. Click Create.
    
19. In the Certificate-Key Pair Name field, enter a friendly name for this Certificate Authority certificate.
20. If the key file is encrypted, enter the password in the Password field.
21. Click Create.
    
22. Click Done.
    
23. In the right pane, in the left column, click Server Certificate Wizard.
    
24. In the Key Filename field, enter mgmt.key or similar. This is a new file.
25. In the Key Size field, enter at least 2048.
26. Optionally, to encrypt the key file, change the PEM Encoding Algorithm to DES3, and enter a new password.
27. Click Create.
    
28. In the Request File Name field, enter mgmt.csr or similar. This is a new file.
29. If the key file is encrypted, enter the password.
30. Scroll down.
    
31. In the State field, enter the non-abbreviated state name.
32. In the Organization Name field, enter the name of your organization.
33. Fill in other fields as desired.
34. In the Common Name field, enter the hostname (FQDN) of the appliance.
35. Click Create.
    
36. In the Certificate File Name field, enter mgmt.cer or similar. This is a new file.
37. Change the Validity Period to 3650 (10 years) or similar.
38. Scroll down.
    
39. In the CA Certificate File Name field, browse to the root.cer file.
40. In the CA Key File Name field, browse to the root.key file.
41. If the key file is encrypted, enter the password.
42. In the CA Serial File Number field, enter the name of a new file that will contain serial numbers.
43. Click Create.
    
44. In the Certificate-Key Pair Name field, enter a friendly name for this management certificate.
45. If the key file is encrypted, enter the password in the Password field.
46. Click Create.
    
47.  Click Done.
    

Default Management Certificate Key Length

In older NetScaler builds, the default management certificate (ns-server-certificate) key size is only 512 bits. To see the key size, click the ellipsis next to ns-server-certificate and then click Details.

If you try to use Internet Explorer to connect to the NSIP using SSL, Internet Explorer will consider 512 bits to be unsafe and probably won’t let you connect. Notice there’s no option to proceed.

You can configure Internet Explorer to accept the 512-bit certificate by running Certutil ‑setreg chain\minRSAPubKeyBitLength 512 on the same machine where Internet Explorer is running.

When you upgrade to 11.1, the management certificate remains at whatever was installed previously. If it was never replaced, then the management certificate is still only 512 bits. To replace the certificate with a new 2048-bit self-signed certificate, simply delete the existing ns-server-certificate certificate files and reboot.

1. Go to Traffic Management > SSL.
   
2. On the right, in the right column, click Manage Certificates / Keys / CSRs.
   
3. Highlight any file named ns-* and delete them. This takes several seconds.
   
4. Then go to System and reboot.
   
5. After a reboot, if you view the Details on the ns-server-certificate, it will be recreated as self-signed with 2048-bit key size.
   

Replace Management Certificate

You can replace the default management certificate with a new trusted management certificate.

Only one certificate will be loaded on both nodes in a High Availability pair so make sure the management certificate matches the names of both nodes. This is easily doable using a Subject Alternative Name certificate. Here are some names the management certificate should match (note: a wildcard certificate won’t match all of these names):

• The FQDN for each node NSIP in a High Availability pair. Example: ns01.corp.local and ns02.corp.local
• The shortnames (left label) for each node NSIP in a High Availability pair. Example: ns01 and ns02
• The NSIP IP address for each node in a High Availability pair. Example: 192.168.123.14 and 192.168.123.29
• If you enabled management access on your SNIPs, add names for the SNIPs:
  • FQDN for the SNIP. Example: ns.corp.local
  • Shortname for the SNIP. Example: ns
  • SNIP IP address. Example: 192.168.123.30

If you are creating a Subject Alternative Name certificate, it’s probably easiest to do the following:

1. Create the certificate using the Certificates snap-in on a Windows box. You can add the Subject Alternative Names in the certificate request wizard. The Subject Alternative Names for the IP addresses must be added as IP address (v4). The other Subject Alternative Names are added as DNS.
   
2. Export the certificate and Private Key to a .pfx file.
   
3. On the NetScaler, use the Import PKCS#12 tool to convert the .pfx to PEM format. Then follow one of the procedures below to replace the management certificate.
   

There are two methods of replacing the management certificate:

• Use the Update Certificate button for ns-server-certificate in the NetScaler GUI. This automatically updates all of the Internal Services bindings too.
  • You cannot rename the certificate in the NetScaler GUI. It remains as ns-server-certificate.
  • ns-server-certificate cannot be bound to Virtual Servers. So make sure it is a dedicated management certificate.
    
• Or manually Bind a new certificate to the Internal Services.

Update Certificate Method

The Update Certificate button method is detailed below:

1. You can’t update the certificate while connected to the NetScaler using https so make sure you connect using http.
2. On the left, expand Traffic Management, expand SSL expand Certificates, and click Server Certificates.
   
3. On the right, click the ellipsis next to ns-server-certificate and click Update.
   
4. Check the box next to Click to update the certificate and key.
   
5. Browse to the new management certificate. It could be on the appliance or it could be on your local machine.
6. If the PEM certificate is encrypted, enter the password.
7. Check the box next to No Domain Check. Click OK.
   
8. Click Yes to update the certificate.
   
9. You can now connect to the NetScaler using https protocol. The certificate should be valid and it should have a 2048 bit key.
   
10. Go to Traffic Management > Load Balancing > Services.
    
11. On the right, switch to the Internal Services tab.
    
12. Click the ellipsis next to one of the services and click Edit.
    
13. Scroll down to the SSL Ciphers section. Feel free to change the ciphers to a more secure cipher group. NetScaler 11.1 no longer includes RC4 ciphers in the DEFAULT cipher group, but you might want to rearrange the ciphers.
14. Repeat this for each of the Internal Services.
    

Manual Binding Method

The manual Binding to Internal Services method is detailed below:

1. You can’t update the certificate while connected to the NetScaler using https so make sure you connect using http.
2. On the left, expand Traffic Management, expand SSL, expand Certificates, and click Server Certificates.
   
3. On the right, use the Install button to install the new management certificate.
   
4. On the left, expand Traffic Management, expand Load Balancing, and click Services.
   
5. On the right, switch to the Internal Services tab.
   
6. You will see multiple services. Edit one of them.
   
7. Scroll down and click where it says 1 Server Certificate.
   
8. Select the existing management certificate, and click Unbind.
   
9. Click Yes to remove the selected entity.
   
10. Click Add Binding.
    
11. Click where it says Click to select.
    
12. Select the new management certificate, and click Select.
    
13. Click Bind, and click Close.
    
14. Scroll to the SSL Parameters section, and click the pencil icon.
    
15. Uncheck the box next to SSLv3. Make sure TLSv11 and TLSv12 are enabled. Click OK.
    
16. On the left, in the SSL Ciphers section, click the pencil icon.
    
17. Select a more secure Cipher Group. NetScaler 11.1 no longer includes RC4 in the DEFAULT cipher group, but the ciphers could be reordered in a more secure order.
18. Repeat for the rest of the internal services.
    

Force Management SSL

By default, administrators can connect to the NSIP using HTTP or SSL. This section details how to disable HTTP.

1. Connect to the NSIP using https.
2. On the left, expand System, expand Network, and click IPs.
   
3. On the right, select your NetScaler IP, and click Edit.
   
4. Near the bottom, check the box next to Secure access only, and then click OK.
   
5. If you are connected using http, the page will reload using https.
   

   set ns ip 10.2.2.126 -gui SECUREONLY

6. Citrix CTX204217 How to redirect users from HTTP to HTTPS while accessing NSIP/Management IP. Requires a Responder policy, and a nsapimgr command.
7. Repeat this on the secondary appliance.
8. Repeat for any SNIPs that have management access enabled.

SSL Certificate – Update

If your certificate is about to expire, do the following:

1. Create updated certificate files in PEM format. One option is to create a key file and Certificate Signing Request directly on the NetScaler. Another option is to convert a PFX file to a PEM file. Don’t install the certificate yet, but instead, simply have access to the key file and certificate file in PEM format.
2. In NetScaler, navigate to Traffic Management > SSL > Certificates > Server Certificates.
   
3. On the right, click the ellipsis next to the certificate you intend to update, and click Update.
   
4. Check the box next to Click to update the Certificate/Key.
   
5. Browse to the updated certificate and key files. If the private key is encrypted, specify the password.
   
6. Click Yes to update the certificate.
   
7. Click OK. This will automatically update every Virtual Server on which this certificate is bound.
8. Certificates can also be updated in Citrix Command Center or NetScaler Management and Analytics System.

Navigation

The newer 12.0 version of NetScaler MAS is detailed in a different post.

• Planning
• Import Appliance into vSphere
• IP Configuration and High Availability
• Add Instances
• Licensing
• Enable AppFlow
• NSroot Password
• Management Certificate
• System Configuration
• System Email Notifications
• Authentication
• Analytics (Insight) Thresholds and Alerts
• Geo Map
• Instance Email Alerts (SNMP Traps)
• Director Integration
• Use NetScaler MAS – HDX Insight, Gateway Insight, Security Insight
• Troubleshooting
• Upgrade NetScaler MAS

💡 = Recently Updated

Planning

NetScaler MAS is a replacement for NetScaler Insight Center, Command Center, and Control Center. It’s a combination of these three different tools.

NetScaler MAS is a licensed product. It’s free for 30 vServers. Beyond that, licenses can be purchased in 100 vServer packs. Alternatively, you can continue to use Insight Center and/or Command Center.

Requirements for HDX Insight (AppFlow):

• Your NetScaler appliance must be running Enterprise Edition or Platinum Edition.
• NetScaler must be 10.1 or newer.
• HDX Insight works with the following Receivers:
  • Receiver for Windows must be 3.4 or newer.
  • Receiver for Mac must be 11.8 or newer.
  • Receiver for Linux must be 13 or newer.
  • Notice no mobile Receivers. See the Citrix Receiver Feature Matrix for the latest details.
• For Session Reliability, NetScaler 10.5 build 54 and newer.
• ICA traffic must flow through a NetScaler appliance:
  • One method is to implement ICA Proxy through NetScaler Gateway. You can even do this internally. However Single Sign-on does not work through NetScaler Gateway. To use ICA Proxy without authenticating at NetScaler Gateway, see CTX200129 – How to Force Connections through NetScaler Gateway Using Optimal Gateways Feature of StoreFront.
  • Another method is to route ICA traffic through a NetScaler SNIP and use the NetScaler as a router. Citrix Blog Post – How to Deploy NetScaler Insight Center with Policy Based Routing
  • Docs.citrix.com How NetScaler insight Center is Deployed in a Network – Transparent Mode, NetScaler Gateway Single-Hop and Double-Hop, LAN User Mode (NetScaler as SOCKS Proxy), CloudBridge, Multi-Hop (NetScaler and CloudBridge with connection chaining)
  • New in NetScaler 11 is the ability to use SOCKS proxy (Cache Redirection) for ICA traffic without requiring users to use NetScaler Gateway and without making any routing changes. You configure this on the NetScaler appliance. See Citrix Blog Post Gathering HDX Insight Analytics for LAN Users with NetScaler Using SOCKS for more information.

For ICA round trip time calculations, in a Citrix Policy, enable the following settings:

• ICA > End User Monitoring > ICA Round Trip Calculation
• ICA > End User Monitoring > ICA Round Trip Calculation Interval
• ICA > End User Monitoring > ICA Round Trip Calculation for Idle Connections

Citrix CTX204274 How ICA RTT is calculated on NetScaler Insight: ICA RTT constitutes the actual application delay. ICA_RTT = 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +5 +6:

1. Client OS introduced delay
2. Client to NS introduced network delay (Wan Latency)
3. NS introduced delay in processing client to NS traffic (Client Side Device Latency)
4. NS introduced delay in processing NS to Server (XA/XD) traffic (Server Side Device Latency)
5. NS to Server network delay (DC Latency)
6. Server (XA/XD) OS introduced delay (Host Delay)

The version/build of NetScaler MAS must be the same or newer than the version/build of the NetScaler appliances.

Import Appliance

You can use either the vSphere Client, or the vSphere Web Client, to import the appliance. In vSphere Client, open the File menu, and click Deploy OVF Template. vSphere Web Client instructions are shown below.

You might see this operating system error when not using the vSphere Web Client. Click Yes to proceed. It seems to work.

1. Download NetScaler MAS for ESX, and then extract the .zip file.
   
2. In vSphere Web Client, right-click a cluster, and click Deploy OVF Template.
   
3. In the Select source page, select Local file, and browse to the NetScaler MAS .ovf files. Click Next.
   
4. In the Review details page, click Next.
   
5. In the Select name and folder page, enter a name for the virtual machine, and select an inventory folder. Then click Next.
   
6. In the Select a resource page, select a cluster or resource pool, and click Next.
7. In the Select storage page, select a datastore. If a single appliance, or if a database appliance, due to high IOPS, SSD or Flash is recommended.
8. Change the virtual disk format to Thin Provision. Click Next.
   
9. In the Setup networks page, choose a valid port group, and click Finish.
   
10. In the Ready to Complete page, check the box next to Power on after deployment, and click Finish.
    
11. If you try to power on the VM, and you see a message about freeBSD not being supported, then you might have to upgrade the VM Hardware Compatibility Level. VM hardware version 4 seems to be too old.  💡
    
    
    
12. CTX219344 How to Increase Storage space for NetScaler MAS: power off appliance, add a second disk that’s larger than the first, then power on the appliance.  💡

IP Configuration and High Availability

1. Open the console of the virtual machine, and configure an IP address.
   
2. Enter 7 when done.
   
3. When prompted for Deployment Type, enter 1 for NetScaler MAS Server. The first appliance must always be NetScaler MAS Server. Notice the new option for Remote Backup Node.  💡
   
4. If you want to deploy two NMAS appliances and HA pair them, enter no for Standalone and yes for First Server Node.
5. Note: HA is only for database redundancy. All other traffic (SNMP, AppFlow) only goes to one node.
   
6. Enter Yes to reboot.
   
7. Deploy another appliance.
8. This time, when asked if First Server Node, enter no. You will then be asked for the IP address of the first node. Enter the nsroot password.
   
9. From CTX220000 How to reboot or shutdown Netscaler MAS using CLI: when using the MAS CLI, do not use the reboot command since it will cause data corruption. Instead, run shutdown -r now.
10. If you need to add a static route to NetScaler MAS, then see CTX223282 How to Add a Static Route on NetScaler MAS.  💡
    
11. Once you’ve built all of the nodes, point your browser to the primary NetScaler MAS IP address and login as nsroot/nsroot.
    
12. If you see CUXIP, either Skip or Enable the Customer User Experience Improvement Program.
    
13. Click Get Started
    
14. Select Two servers deployed in High Availability Mode, and click Next.
    
15. It should show both nodes. Click Deploy on the top right.
    
16. Click Yes to reboot the appliances.
    
17. If you login to one of the appliances, at System > Deployment, you’ll see the performance of each node. Notice the Break HA icon on the top right.
    
    
18. You can manage the pair by logging in to either node.
19. Or you can load balance the pair. Load Balancing is only useful for administration. All other communications (e.g.  SNMP, AppFlow) go directly to one of the nodes. See High Availability Deployment at Citrix Docs for load balancing instructions.

Add Instances

NetScaler MAS must discover NetScaler instances before they can be managed. Citrix Docs How NetScaler MAS Communicates with Managed Instances.

1. Login to one of the NetScaler MAS appliances.
2. If you see the Get Started page, click Get Started.
3. In the Select Deployment Type page, click Next.
   
4. On the Add New Instances page, click + New near the top right.
   
   
5. Enter the NSIP address of a NetScaler appliance.
6. Click the pencil next to ns_nsroot_profile.
   
7. Enter the password for the nsroot account.
8. Enter an SNMP community string that NetScaler MAS will configure on the appliance.
9. The NetScaler Profile defaults to using https for instance communication. Click OK.
   
10. Then click OK to add the instance.
    
11. A progress window will appear.
    
12. You can add more instances, or just click Finish.
    
13. To add more instances later, go to Infrastructure > Dashboard, and on the top right, click All Instances.
    
14. Then click New.
    

Licenses

Virtual Server License Packs

Without licenses, NetScaler MAS only shows 30 Virtual Servers. You can install additional licenses in 100 Virtual Server packs.

1. Go to Infrastructure > Licenses > Settings.
   
2. On the right, notice the Host ID. Allocate your NetScaler MAS licenses to this Host ID. Then use the Browse button to upload the allocated license file.
   
3. You can use the Notification Settings section to email you when licenses are almost fully consumed or about to expire.
   

Allocate licenses to Virtual Servers 

If you have fewer Virtual Servers than the number of installed licenses, then licenses are automatically assigned to all Virtual Servers. You can manually unassign a license and reassign it to a different Virtual Server.

1. Go to Infrastructure > Licenses > System Licenses.
   
2. On the top right, click Modify licensed Virtual Servers.
   
3. In the top row, select the type of Virtual Server you want to unlicense or license.
   
4. Select one or more Virtual Servers, and click the Mark Unlicensed button.
   
5. Click Yes when asked to mark unlicensed.
   
6. To allocate a license to a Virtual Server, click the Add Virtual Servers button.
   
7. Select the Virtual Server(s) you want to allocate and click Select.
   
8. Click Finish now when done.
   

Enable AppFlow / Insight

1. Go to Infrastructure > Instances > Instance type (e.g. NetScaler VPX).
2. Click the ellipsis next to an instance, and then click Enable/Disable Insight.
   
3. At the top of the page are boxes you can check.
   
4. With Load Balancing selected in the View list, click the ellipsis next to your StoreFront load balancer, and click Enable AppFlow.
   
5. Type in true.
6. Select Web Insight. If App Firewall is enabled on the vServer then also select Security Insight.
7. HTML Injection injects JavaScript in HTTP responses to measure page load times.
8. Click OK.
   
9. Use the View drop-down to select VPN.
   
10. Click the ellipsis next a NetScaler Gateway Virtual Server, and click Enable AppFlow.
    
11. In the Select Expression drop-down, select true.
12. For Export Option, select ICA and HTTP, and click OK. The HTTP option is for Gateway Insight.
13. The TCP option is for the second appliance in double-hop ICA. If you need double-hop then you’ll also need to run set appflow param -connectionChaining ENABLED on both appliances. See Enabling Data Collection for NetScaler Gateway Appliances Deployed in Double-Hop Mode at docs.citrix.com for more information.
    
14. By default, with AppFlow enabled, if a NetScaler High Availability pair fails over, all Citrix connections will drop, and users must reconnect manually. NetScaler 11.1 build 49 adds a new feature to replicate Session Reliability state between both HA nodes.
    1. From Session Reliability on NetScaler High Availability Pair at Citrix Docs: Enabling this feature will result in increased bandwidth consumption, which is due to ICA compression being turned off by the feature, and the extra traffic between the primary and secondary nodes to keep them in sync.
    2. If you still want this feature, on NetScaler 11.1 build 49 and newer, go to System > Settings.
       
    3. On the right, click Change ICA Parameters.
       
    4. Check the box next to Session Reliability on HA Failover, and click OK.
       
15. AppFlow (e.g. HDX Insight) information can be viewed in NetScaler MAS on the Analytics tab.
    

Citrix Blog Post – NetScaler Insight Center – Tips, Troubleshooting and Upgrade

Nsroot Password

1. On the System tab, expand User Administration, and click Users.
2. On the right, click the ellipsis next to the nsroot account, and click Edit.
   
3. Enter a new password.
4. You can also specify a session timeout. Click OK.
   

Management Certificate

The certificate to upload must already be in PEM format. If you have a .pfx, you must first convert it to PEM (separate certificate and key files). You can use NetScaler to convert the .pfx, and then download the converted certificate from the appliance.

1. On the System tab, go to System Administration.
2. On the right, click Install SSL Certificate.
   
3. Click Choose File to browse to the PEM format certificate and key files. If the keyfile is encrypted, enter the password. Click OK.
   
4. Click Yes to reboot the system.
   

System Configuration

1. Click the System tab on the top of the page.
2. On the left, click the System Administration node.
3. On the right, modify settings (e.g.Time Zone) as desired.
   
   
4. To change the Session Timeout, click Change System Settings.
   
   
5. On the right column are additional settings. For example, System Prune Settings, which defaults to deleting SNMP traps after 15 days.
   
   
6. Instances Backup Settings lets you configure the number of backup files to retain for each instance.
   
7. There are more settings under System > Analytics Settings.
   
8. ICA Session Timeout can be configured by clicking the link. Two minutes of non-existent traffic must occur before the session is considered idle. Then this idle timer starts.
   
9. If you are using Web Insight, Configure Data Record Settings lets you enable Reports on the dashboard.
   
   
10. Auditing > Syslog Purge Settings controls how long Syslog data is retained (15 days by default).
    
    
11. On the left, click NTP Servers.
12. On the right, click Add.
    
    
    
13. After adding NTP servers, click NTP Synchronization.
    
14. Check the box next to Enable NTP Synchronization, and click OK.
    
15. Click Yes to restart.
    
16. On the System tab, on the left, expand Auditing, and click Syslog Servers.
    
17. On the right, click Add.
    
18. Enter the syslog server IP address, and select Log Levels. Click Create.
    
19. You can click Syslog Parameters to change the timezone and date format.
    
    

System Email Notifications

1. On the System tab, on the left, expand Notifications, and click Email.
2. On the right, on the Email Servers tab, click Add.
   
3. Enter the SMTP server address, and click Create.
   
4. On the right, switch to the Email Distribution List tab, and click Add.
   
5. Enter an address for a destination distribution list, and click Create.
   
6. On the left, click Notifications.
7. On the right, click Change Notification Settings.
   
8. Move notification categories (e.g. UserLogin) to the right.
9. Select a notification distribution list. Then click OK.
   

Authentication

1. On the System tab¸ expand Authentication, and click LDAP.
2. On the right, click Add.
   
3. This is configured identically to NetScaler. Enter a Load Balancing VIP for LDAP. Change the Security Type to SSL, and Port to 636. Scroll down.
   
4. Enter the bind account credentials.
5. Check the box for Enable Change Password.
6. Click Retrieve Attributes, and scroll down.
   
7. For Server Logon Attribute, select sAMAccountName.
8. For Group Attribute, select memberOf.
9. For Sub Attribute Name, select cn.
10. To prevent unauthorized users from logging in, configure a Search Filter. Scroll down.
    
11. If desired, configure Nested Group Extraction.
12. Click Create.
    
13. On the left, expand User Administration, and click Groups.
14. On the right, click Add.
    
15. Enter the case sensitive name of your NetScaler Admins group.
16. Select the admin Permission.
17. If desired, configure a Session Timeout. Click Next.
    
18. On the Select Applications page, click Finish.
    
19. On the left, click User Administration.
20. On the right, click User Lockout Configuration.
    
21. If desired, check the box next to Enable User Lockout, and configure the maximum logon attempts. Click OK.
    
22. On the left, click Authentication.
23. On the right, click Authentication Configuration.
    
24. Change the Server Type to EXTERNAL, and click Insert.
    
25. Select the LDAP server you created, and click OK.
    
26. Make sure Enable fallback local authentication is checked, and click OK.
    

Analytics Thresholds

1. Go to Analytics Settings > Thresholds.
   
2. On the right, click Add.
   
3. Enter a name.
4. Use the Traffic Type drop-down to select HDX or Web.
5. Use the Entity drop-down to select a category of alerts. What you choose here determines what’s available in the Rule section.
6. Check the box to Enable Alert.
7. Check the box to Notify through Email.
8. In the Rule section, select a rule, and enter threshold values. Click Create.
   

Geo Map

1. Download the Maxmind database from http://geolite.maxmind.com/download/geoip/database/GeoLiteCity.dat.gz.
2. Extract the .gz file.
   
3. On the System tab, expand Advanced Settings, and click Geo Database Files.
   
4. On the right, click Upload.
   
5. Browse to the extracted GeoLiteCity.dat file, and click Open.
6. You can also define Geo locations for internal subnets. Go to Infrastructure > Dashboard > Data Centers.
   
7. On the right, click Add.
   
8. Enter a name.
9. Enter the starting and ending IP address.
10. Select a Geo Location.
11. Click Create.
    

Instance Email Alerts (SNMP Traps)

You can receive email alerts whenever a NetScaler appliance sends a critical SNMP trap.

1. Go to Infrastructure > Events > Rules.
2. On the right, click Add.
   
3. Give the rule a name.
4. Move Severity filters (e.g. Major, Critical) to the right.
5. While scrolling down you’ll see additional alert filters.
   
6. On the bottom of the page, click Add Action.
   
7. Select an Action Type (e.g. Send e-mail), and select the recipients (or click the plus icon to add recipients).
8. Click OK.
   
9. Then click Create.
   

Director Integration

Integrating NetScaler MAS with Director adds Network tabs to Director’s Trends and Machine Details views. Citrix Blog Post Configure Director with Netscaler Management & Analytics System (MAS)

Requirements:

• XenApp/XenDesktop must be licensed for Platinum Edition. This is only required for the Director integration. Without Platinum, you can still access the HDX Insight data by going visiting the NetScaler MAS website.
• Director must be 7.11 or newer for NetScaler MAS support.
• NetScaler MAS must be 11.1 build 49 or newer.

To link Citrix Director with NetScaler MAS, on the Director server, run C:\inetpub\wwwroot\Director\tools\DirectorConfig.exe /confignetscaler.

1. Enter the NetScaler MAS nsroot credentials.
2. If HTTPS Connection (recommended), the NetScaler MAS certificate must be valid and trusted by both the Director Server and the Director user’s browser.
3. Enter 1 for NetScaler MAS.
   
4. Do this on both Director servers.

Use NetScaler MAS

Marius Sandbu NetScaler Management and Analytics Systems has a quick rundown of the major features.

The AppFlow Analysis tools (e.g. HDX Insight) are located on the Analytics tab.

NetScaler MAS also includes all of the previous Command Center functionality, which you can find on the Infrastructure and Applications tabs. For example, on the Infrastructure tab, select an instance, and view its Dashboard.

Backups are available at View Backup.

Dave Bretty Automating Your Netscaler 11.1 Vserver Config Using Netscaler Management and Analytics System: use a Configuration Job to deploy StoreFront load balancing configuration to an instance.

On the Applications tab, Dashboard node, Applications sub-tab, you can click New Application to group vServers together so they can be monitored as a group.

Links:

• Citrix CTX220158 Various Enhancements and Newly Added Features in NetScaler MAS release 11.1 51.21  💡
• NetScaler MAS How-to Articles at Citrix Docs.

HDX Insight

HDX Insight Dashboard displays ICA session details including the following:

• WAN Latency
• DC Latency
• RTT (round trip time)
• Retransmits
• Application Launch Duration
• Client Type/Version
• Bandwidth
• Licenses in use

HDX Insight can also display Geo Maps. Configure NetScaler MAS with Data Center definitions (private IP blocks). More info at Geo Maps for HDX Insight at Citrix Docs.

Gateway Insight

On the Analytics tab is Gateway Insight.

This feature displays the following details:

• Gateway connection failures due to failed EPA scans, failed authentication, failed SSON, or failed application launches.
• Bandwidth and Bytes Consumed for ICA and other applications accessed through Gateway.
• # of users
• Session Modes (clientless, VPN, ICA)
• Client Operating Systems
• Client Browsers

More details at Gateway Insight at Citrix Docs.

Security Insight

The Security Insight dashboard uses data from Application Firewall to display Threat Index (criticality of attack), Safety Index (how securely NetScaler is configured), and Actionable Information. More info at Security Insight at Citrix Docs.

Troubleshooting

Citrix CTX215130 HDX Insight Diagnostics and Troubleshooting Guide: Syslog messages; Error counters; Troubleshooting checklist, Logs

Citrix Blog Post – NetScaler Insight Center – Tips, Troubleshooting and Upgrade

See docs.citrix.com Troubleshooting Tips. Here are sample issues covered in docs.citrix.com:

• Can’t see records on Insight Center dashboard
• ICA RTT metrics are incorrect
• Can’t add NetScaler appliance to inventory
• Geo maps not displaying

Upgrade NetScaler MAS

1. Download the latest Upgrade Pack for NetScaler Management and Analytics System.
   
2. Login to NetScaler MAS.
3. On the System tab, on the left, click the System Administration node.
4. On the right, in the right pane, click Upgrade NetScaler MAS.
   
5. Browse to the Software Image Upgrade Pack .tgz file and click OK.
   
6. Click Yes to reboot the appliance.
   
7. After it reboots, login. The new firmware version will be displayed in the top right corner.
   

Navigation

• Change Log
• VPX Hardware – VMXNET3
• Customer User Experience Improvement Program (CUXIP)
• Welcome Wizard
• Licensing:
  • Get NetScaler VPX Mac Address for Licensing
  • Activate licenses at citrix.com
  • Install licenses on appliance
• Upgrade Firmware
• High Availability
• Networking
  • Port Channel
  • Dedicated Management Network
  • Multiple Subnets/VLANs (aka two-arm)
• DNS Servers
• NTP Servers
• Syslog Server
• SNMP Configuration
• Call Home
• Change nsroot password
• TCP, HTTP, SSL, and Security settings
• LDAP Authentication for Management
• CLI Prompt
• Backup and Restore

💡 = Recently Updated

Change Log

• 2018 Feb 8 – in TCP Settings section, added info from Citrix CTX232321 Recommended TCP Profile Settings for Full Tunnel VPN/ICAProxy from NetScaler Gateway 11.1 Onwards
• 2017 Dec 14 – in Dedicated Mgmt section, added config for floating mgmt IP

VPX Hardware

NetScaler VPX Release 11.1 supports new VPX models on ESXi. These new models include: VPX 25, VPX 5G, VPX 25G, etc. See the NetScaler VPX datasheet for more info.

NetScaler VPX Release 11.1 also supports changing the NIC type to VMXNET3 or SR-IOV. The imported appliance comes with E1000 NICs so you’ll have to remove all of the existing virtual NICs and add new VMXNET3 NICs.

• Citrix CTX224576 NetScaler VPX Loses Network Connectivity Intermittently on VMware ESXi After Upgrading to Version 12.0 recommends VMXNET3 as a workaround to network connectivity issues in recent 11.0, 11.1, and 12.0 builds.
• If you choose to use VMXNET3 instead of E1000, make sure all of the NICs are VMXNET3. You cannot mix NIC types.
• If you already licensed your appliance, jot down the E1000 MAC address, and configure the new VMXNET3 NIC with the same MAC address.
  

Power On VPX and configure NSIP

1. After swapping out the NICs to VMXNET3, power on the NetScaler VPX appliance.
   
2. Configure the management IP from the VM’s console.
   
3. Then point your browser to the management IP using either http or https and login as nsroot with password nsroot.
   

Auto-Provision IP Address

When importing VPX into a hypervisor, you can use VM advanced configuration parameters to set the NSIP. See CTX128250 How to Auto-Provision NetScaler VPX Appliance on a VMware ESX or ESXi Host, and CTX128236 How To Auto-Provision NetScaler VPX on XenServer.

Customer User Experience Improvement Program

1. You might be prompted to enable the Customer User Experience Improvement Program. Either click Enable, or click Skip.
   
   
2. You can also enable or disable the Customer Experience Improvement Program by going to System > Settings.
   
3. On the right is Change CUXIP Settings.
   
4. Make your selection and click OK.
5. See https://www.carlstalhood.com/delivery-controller-7-15-ltsr-and-licensing/#ceip for additional places where CEIP is enabled.
   

set system parameter -doppler ENABLED

Welcome Wizard

NetScaler has a Welcome! Wizard that lets you set the NSIP, hostname, DNS, licensing, etc. It appears automatically the first time you login.

1. Click the Subnet IP Address box.
   
2. You can either enter a SNIP for one of your production interfaces, or you can click Do it later, and add SNIPs later after you configure Port Channels and VLANs. Note: If you have a dedicated management network, to prevent it from being used for outgoing traffic, don’t put a SNIP on it.
   

   add ns ip 10.2.2.60 255.255.255.0 -type SNIP

3. Click the Host Name, DNS IP Address, and Time Zone box.
   
4. Enter a hostname. Your NetScaler Gateway Universal licenses are allocated to this hostname. In a High Availability pair each node can have a different hostname. You typically create a DNS record that resolves the hostname to the NSIP (management IP).
5. Enter one or more DNS Server IP addresses. Use the plus icon on the right to add more servers.
6. Change the time zone to GMT-05:00-CDT-America/Chicago or similar.
7. Click Done.
   

   set ns hostname ns02
   
   add dns nameServer 10.2.2.11
   
   set ns param -timezone "GMT-05:00-CDT-America/Chicago"

8. Click Yes to save and reboot.
   
9. Click the Licenses box.
   
10. On the far right side of the screen, you’ll see the Host ID. You’ll need this to allocate your licenses at citrix.com. See below for detailed instructions on how to allocate the license to this Host ID.
    
11. On the left, select Upload license files, and click Browse.
    
12. Browse to the license file, open it, and click Reboot when prompted.
    
13. After the reboot and logging in, a box will pop up showing you the installed license.
    
14. Also look in the top left corner to make sure it doesn’t say NetScaler VPX (1). The number in the parentheses should match the MPX or VPX model number.
    
    License files are stored in /nsconfig/license.

Licensing – VPX Mac Address

To license a NetScaler VPX appliance, you will need its MAC address.

1. Go to the Configuration tab.
   
2. In the right pane, look down for the Host Id field. This is the MAC address you need for license allocation.
   
3. Another option is to SSH to the appliance and run shell.
4. Then run lmutil lmhostid. The MAC address is returned.
   

Licensing – Citrix.com

1. Login to http://mycitrix.com.
2. On the left, click All Licensing Tools.
   
3. On the right, in the top right horizontal menu, click Activate and Allocate Licenses.
4. If you are activating an eval license, click Don’t see your product near the top, and enter the eval license key.

   

5. Otherwise, check the box next to a Citrix NetScaler VPX or MPX license, and click Continue.
   
6. If this is a NetScaler MPX license then there is no need to enter a host ID for this license. so just click Continue.
7. If this is a NetScaler VPX license, enter the VPX MAC address into the Host ID field. It’s not obvious, but you can enter text in this drop-down field.
8. If you have more than one VPX license, change the Quantity field to 1, and then click Continue.
   
   For a VPX appliance, you can get the Host ID by looking at the System Information page. Click the System node to see this page.
   
9. Click Confirm.
   
10. Click OK when asked to download the license file.
    
11. Click Download.
    
12. Click Save and put it somewhere where you can get to it later.
13. If you are running NetScaler 11.1 build 51 or newer, then 500 or more NetScaler Gateway Universal Licenses are already included in your NetScaler platform license. NetScaler Standard comes with 500 Gateway Universal, NetScaler Enterprise comes with 1,000 Gateway Universal, and NetScaler Platinum comes with unlimited Gateway Universal.
14. If you need more Gateway Universal licenses on your NetScaler, you can allocate them now. These licenses can come from XenMobile Enterprise, XenApp/XenDesktop Platinum Edition, NetScaler Platinum Edition, or a la carte.
    
15. Enter your appliance hostname as the Host ID for all licenses. If you have two appliances in a HA pair, allocate these licenses to the first appliance hostname, then reallocate them to the second appliance hostname.
    
16. Click Confirm.
    
17. Click OK when prompted to download your license file.
    
18. Click Download.
    
19. Click Save.
20. If you have two appliances in a High Availability pair with different hostnames then you will need to return the NetScaler Gateway Universal licenses and reallocate them to the other hostname. The top right horizontal menu bar has a Reallocate option.
    

Install Licenses on Appliance

If you haven’t already installed licenses on your appliance, then do the following:

1. In the NetScaler Configuration GUI, on the left, expand System and click Licenses.
   
2. On the top right, click Manage Licenses.
   
3. Click Add New License.
   
4. If you have a license file, select Upload license files from a local computer and then click Browse. Select the license file and click Open.
   
   License files are stored in /nsconfig/license.
5. Click Reboot when prompted. Login after the reboot.
   
6. After rebooting, the Licenses node should look something like this. Notice that Maximum ICA Users Allowed is set to Unlimited.
7. Maximum NetScaler Gateway Users Allowed will vary depending on your NetScaler Edition.
   
8. Note: the NetScaler SNMP counter allnic_tot_rx_mbits must remain less than the licensed bandwidth or packets will drop.

Upgrade Firmware

Citrix CTX220371 Must Read Articles Before and After Upgrading NetScaler

Citrix CTX127455 How to Upgrade Software of the NetScaler Appliances in a High Availability Setup

1. Download firmware. Ask your Citrix Partner or Citrix Support TRM for recommended versions and builds. At the very least, watch the Security Bulletins to determine which versions and builds resolve security issues. You can also subscribe to the Security Bulletins at http://support.citrix.com by clicking the Alerts (bell) link on the top right after logging in.
   
2. Make sure you Save the config before beginning the upgrade.
   
3. Transferring the firmware upgrade file to the appliance will be slow unless you license the appliance first. An unlicensed appliance will reduce the maximum speed to 1 Mbps.
4. When upgrading from 10.5 or older, make sure the NetScaler Gateway Theme is set to Default or Green Bubbles. After the upgrade, you’ll have to create a new Portal Theme and bind it to the Gateway vServers.
5. Start with the Secondary appliance.
6. Before upgrading the appliance, consider using WinSCP or similar to back up the /flash/nsconfig directory.
   
7. In the NetScaler GUI, with the top left node (System) selected, on the right, click System Upgrade.
   
8. Click Choose File and browse to the build…tgz file. If you haven’t downloaded firmware yet then you can click the Download Firmware link.
   
9. Click Upgrade.
10. The firmware will upload.
    
11. You should eventually see a System Upgrade window with text in it. Click Yes when prompted to reboot.
    
12. Once the Secondary is done, login and failover the pair.
    
13. Then upgrade the firmware on the former Primary.

To install firmware by using the command-line interface

1. To upload the software to the NetScaler Gateway, use a secure FTP client (e.g. WinSCP) to connect to the appliance.
2. Create a version directory under /var/nsinstall (e.g. /var/nsinstall/11.1.47).
3. Copy the software from your computer to the /var/nsinstall/<version> (e.g. /var/nsinstall/11.1.47) directory on the appliance.
4. Open a Secure Shell (SSH) client (e.g. Putty) to open an SSH connection to the appliance.
5. At a command prompt, type shell.
6. At a command prompt, type cd /var/nsinstall/<version> to change to the nsinstall directory.
7. To view the contents of the directory, type ls.
8. To unpack the software, type tar -xvzf build_X_XX.tgz, where build_X_XX.tgz is the name of the build to which you want to upgrade.
9. To start the installation, at a command prompt, type ./installns.
10. When the installation is complete, restart NetScaler.
11. When the NetScaler restarts, at a command prompt type what or show version to verify successful installation.

High Availability

Configure High Availability as soon as possible so almost all configurations are synchronized across the two appliances. The Synchronization exceptions are mainly network interface configurations.

High Availability will also sync files between the two appliances. See CTX138748 File Synchronization in NetScaler High Availability Setup for more information.

1. Prepare the secondary appliance:
   1. Configure a NSIP.
   2. Don’t configure a SNIP. In Step 2, Subnet IP Address, you can click Do It Later to skip the wizard. You’ll get the SNIP later when you pair it.
      
   3. Configure Hostname and Time Zone. Don’t configure DNS since you’ll get those addresses when you pair it.
      
      
   4. License the secondary appliance.
      
   5. Upgrade firmware on the secondary appliance. The firmware of both nodes must be identical.
      
2. On the secondary appliance, go to System > High Availability, double-click the local node, and change High Availability Status to STAY SECONDARY. If you don’t do this then you run the risk of losing your config when you pair the appliances. See Terence Luk Creating a Citrix NetScaler High Availability pair without wiping out an existing configuration for more information.
   
   
   

   set ha node -hastatus STAYSECONDARY

3. On the primary appliance, on the left, expand System, expand Network and click Interfaces.
   
4. On the right, look for any interface that is currently DOWN.
5. You need to disable those disconnected interfaces before enabling High Availability. Right-click the disconnected interface, and click Disable. Repeat for the remaining disconnected interfaces.
   

   show interface
   disable interface 1/1

6. On the left, expand System and click High Availability.
   
7. On the right, double-click node 0 to edit it.
   
8. Change the High Availability Status to STAY PRIMARY, and click OK.
   
9. On the right, click Add.
   
10. Enter the other NetScaler’s IP address.
11. Enter the other NetScaler’s login credentials, and click Create.
    
    add ha node 1 192.168.123.14
    Note: this CLI command must be run separately on each appliance.
12. If you click the refresh icon near the top right, Synchronization State will probably say IN PROGRESS.
    
13. Eventually it will say SUCCESS.
    
14. To enable Fail-safe mode, edit Node ID 0 (the local appliance).
    
    1. Change High Availability State back to ENABLED.
       
    2. Under Fail-safe Mode, check the box next to Maintain one primary node even when both nodes are unhealthy. Scroll down, and click OK.
       
       set ha node -failSafe ON
15. If you login to the Secondary appliance, you might see a message warning you against making changes. Always apply changes to the Primary appliance.
    
16. On the secondary appliance, go to System > High Availability, edit the local node, and change it from STAY SECONDARY to ENABLED.
    
17. Go to System > Network > Routes, and make sure you don’t have two 0.0.0.0 routes. Joining an appliance to an HA pair causes the default route on the primary appliance to sync to the secondary appliance. But, it doesn’t delete the default gateway that was formerly configured on the secondary appliance.
    
18. From the NetScaler CLI (SSH), run “sh ha node” to see the status. You should see heartbeats on all interfaces. If not, configure VLANs as detailed in the next section.
    
19. You can also disable HA heartbeats on specific interfaces.
    1. Note: Make sure HA heartbeats are enabled on at least one interface/channel.
    2. Note: this is an interface configuration, so this configuration change is not propagated to the other node.
       
20. You can force failover of the primary appliance by going to System > High Availability, opening the Actions menu, and clicking Force Failover.
    
    force ha failover
    If your firewall (e.g. Cisco ASA) doesn’t like Gratuitous ARP, see CTX112701 – The Firewall Does not Update the Address Resolution Protocol Table

Port Channels on Physical NetScaler MPX

If you are configuring a NetScaler MPX (physical appliance), and if you plugged in multiple cables, and if more than one of those cables is configured on the switch for the same VLAN(s), then you must bond the interfaces together by configuring a Port Channel. On the switch, create a Port Channel, preferably with LACP enabled. The Port Channel can be an Access Port (one VLAN), or a Trunk Port (multiple VLANs). On the NetScaler, configure LACP on the network interfaces, or create a Channel manually. Both are detailed below.

Also see Webinar: Troubleshooting Common Network Related Issues with NetScaler.

LACP Port Channel

To configure Port Channels on a NetScaler, you can either enable LACP, or you can configure a Channel manually. If your switch is configured for LACP, do the following on NetScaler to enable LACP on the member interfaces.

1. Go to System > Network > Interfaces.
   
2. On the right, edit one of the Port Channel member interfaces.
   
3. Scroll down.
4. Check the box next to Enable LACP.
5. In the LACP Key field, enter a number. The number you enter here becomes the channel number. For example, if you enter 1, NetScaler creates a Channel named LA/1. All member interfaces of the same Port Channel must have the same LACP Key. Click OK when done.
6. Continue enabling LACP on member interfaces and specifying the key (channel number). If you are connected to two port channels, one set of member interfaces should have LACP Key 1, while the other set of member interfaces should have LACP Key 2.
7. Note: in an HA pair, you must perform this interface configuration on both nodes. The LACP commands are not propagated across the HA pair.
   
8. If you go to System > Network > Channels.
   
9. You’ll see the LACP Channels on the right. These were created automatically.
   
10. If you edit a Channel, there’s a LACP Details tab that shows you the member interfaces.
    

Manual Channel

If your switch is not configured for LACP, then you can instead create a Channel manually.

1. Go to System > Network > Channels.
2. On the right, click Add.
   
3. At the top, choose an unused Channel ID (e.g. LA/2).
4. On the bottom, click Add.
   
5. Click the plus icon next to each member interface to move it to the right. Then click Create.
   

Redundant Interface Set

You can also configure the NetScaler for switch-independent teaming. Create a Channel manually, but select a Channel ID starts with LR instead of LA. This is called Link Redundancy or Redundant Interface Set.

Channel Minimum Throughput

Channels can be configured so that a High Availability failover occurs when the Channel throughput drops below a configured value. For example, if you have four members in a Channel, you might want a High Availability failover to occur when two of the member interfaces fail.

1. Go to System > Network > Channels, and edit a Channel.
   
2. Near the top, enter a minimum threshold value in the Throughput field. If the total bonded throughput drops below this level, a High Availability failover will occur.
   

Trunk Port and High Availability

If you are trunking multiple VLANs across the channel, and if every VLAN is tagged (no native VLAN), then a special configuration is needed to allow High Availability heartbeats across the channel.

1. Go to System > Network > VLAN.
2. Add VLAN objects, and bind to the channel (e.g. LA/1).
3. To bind multiple VLANs to a single interface/channel, the VLANs must be tagged.
   
4. Configure one of the VLANs as untagged. Only untag one of them. Which one you untag doesn’t matter, except that the same VLAN should be untagged on the other HA node. If your switch doesn’t allow untagged packets, don’t worry, we’ll fix that soon.
   
5. If your switch doesn’t allow untagged packets, go to System > Network > Channels, and edit the channel.
   
6. Scroll down. On the Settings tab, set Tag all VLANs to ON. This causes NetScaler to tag all packets, including the VLAN you formerly marked as untagged. This special configuration is necessary to also tag High Availability heartbeat packets.
7. Note: in an HA pair, you must perform this Tagall configuration on both nodes. The Tagall command is not propagated across the HA pair.
   

Common physical interface configuration

Here is a common NetScaler networking configuration for a physical NetScaler MPX that is connected to both internal and DMZ.

Note: If the appliance is connected to both DMZ and internal, then be aware that this configuration essentially bypasses (straddles) the DMZ-to-internal firewall. That’s because if a user connects to a public/DMZ VIP, then NetScaler could use an internal SNIP to connect to the internal server: in other words, traffic comes into a DMZ VLAN, but goes out an internal VLAN. A more secure approach is to have different appliances for internal and DMZ. Or use NetScaler SDX, partitioning, or traffic domains.

• 0/1 connected to a dedicated management network. NSIP is on this network.
  • 0/1 is not optimized for high throughput so don’t put data traffic on this interface. If you don’t have a dedicated management network, then put your NSIP on one of the other interfaces (1/1, 10/1, LA/1, etc.) and don’t connect any cables to 0/1.
  • To prevent NetScaler from using this dedicated management interface for outbound data traffic, don’t put a SNIP on this management network, and configure the default gateway (route 0.0.0.0) to use a router on a different data network (typically the DMZ VLAN). However, if there’s no SNIP on this VLAN, and if the default gateway is on a different network, then there will be asymmetric routing for management traffic, since inbound management traffic goes in 0/1, but reply traffic goes out LA/1 or LA/2. To work around this problem, enable Mac Based Forwarding, or configure Policy Based Routing. Both of these options are detailed in the next section.
  • It’s easiest if the switch port for this dedicated management interface is an Access Port (untagged). If VLAN tagging is required, then NSVLAN must be configured on the NetScaler.
• 10/1 and 10/2 in a LACP port channel (LA/1) connected to internal VLAN(s). Static routes to internal networks through a router on one of these internal VLANs.
  • If only one internal VLAN, configure the switch ports/channel as an Access Port.
  • If multiple internal VLANs, configure the switch ports/channel as a Trunk Port. Set one of the VLANs as the channel’s Native VLAN so it doesn’t have to be tagged.
  • If the networking team is unwilling to configure a Native VLAN on the Trunk Port, then NetScaler needs special configuration (tagall) to ensure HA heartbeat packets are tagged.
• 1/1 and 1/2 in a LACP port channel (LA/2) connected to DMZ VLAN(s). The default gateway (route 0.0.0.0) points to a router on a DMZ VLAN so replies can be sent to Internet clients.
  • If only one DMZ VLAN, configure the switch ports/channel as an Access Port.
  • If multiple DMZ VLANs, configure the switch ports/channel as a Trunk Port. Set one of the VLANs as the channel’s Native VLAN so it doesn’t have to be tagged.
  • If the networking team is unwilling to configure a Native VLAN on the Trunk Port, then NetScaler needs special configuration (tagall) to ensure HA heartbeat packets are tagged.

Dedicated Management Subnet

Dedicated Management Subnet implies that your NetScaler is connected to multiple VLANs. If you have a subnet that is for NSIP only, and don’t want to use the NSIP subnet for data traffic, then you’ll want to move the default route to a different subnet, which breaks the NSIP. To work around this problem, create a PBR for the NSIP to handle replies from NSIP, and to handle traffic sourced by the NSIP.

1. Go to System > Network > PBRs.
   
2. On the right, click Add.
   
3. Give the PBR a name (e.g. NSIP)
4. Set the Next Hop Type drop-down to New.
5. In the Next Hop field, enter the router IP address that is on the same network as the NSIP.
   
6. In the Configure IP section, set the first Operation drop-down to =.
7. In the Source IP Low field, enter the NSIP. This causes the PBR to match all traffic with NSIP as the Source IP address.
8. You don’t need anything else.
   
9. Scroll down, and click Create.
   
10. To handle DNS traffic sourced by the NSIP, create another PBR by right-clicking the existing one, and clicking Add.
    
11. Change the name to NSIP-DNS or similar.
12. Change the Action drop-down to DENY. This prevents the PBR from overriding normal DNS behavior.
13. Change the Priority to a lower number than the original PBR. Scroll down.
    
14. In the Configure Protocol section, click the Protocol drop-down, and select UDP (17).
    
15. In the Destination section, change the Operation to =.
16. In the Destination port Low field, enter 53.
    
17. Scroll down, and click Create.
    
18. Make sure the DENY PBR is higher in the list (lower priority number) than the ALLOW PBR.
    
19. Then open the Action menu, and click Apply.
    

    add ns pbr NSIP-DNS DENY -srcIP = 10.2.2.126 -destPort = 53 -nextHop 10.2.2.1 -protocol UDP -priority 5
    add ns pbr NSIP ALLOW -srcIP = 10.2.2.59 -nextHop 10.2.2.1
    apply ns pbrs

If you want a floating management IP that is always on the Primary appliance, here’s a method of granting management access without adding a SNIP to the management subnet:

1. Create a Load Balancing Service on HTTP 80 on IP address 127.0.0.1. You might already have one called AlwaysUp that is used with SSL Redirects. Note: NetScaler doesn’t allow creating a Load Balancing service on IP address 127.0.0.1 and port 443 (SSL).
   1. The IP address you enter is 127.0.0.1. When you view the Load Balancing Service, it shows the local NSIP. After a HA failover, the IP Address will change to the other NSIP.
      
2. Create a Load Balancing Virtual Server using a VIP on the management subnet. Protocol = SSL. Port number = 443.
   
   1. Bind the AlwaysUp:80 or loopback:80 service to the Load Balancing Virtual Server. In summary: the front end is 443 SSL, while the LB Service is 80 HTTP.
      
3. Add the new VIP to the PBRs so the replies go out the correct interface.
   
4. You should then be able to point your browser to https://Step2VIP to manage the appliance.
5. You can perform the same loopback trick for 22 SSH. Create a Load Balancing Service on TCP 22 on IP address 127.0.0.1.
   
6. Create a Load Balancing Virtual Server using the management VIP specified earlier. Protocol = TCP. Port number = 22.
   
   1. Bind the loopback:TCP:22 service to the Load Balancing Virtual Server.
      
7. You should then be able to point your SSH Client to <Step2VIP> to manage the appliance.
8. CLI Commands for the floating management VIP:

   add service AlwaysUp 127.0.0.1 HTTP 80
   add service mgmt-SSH 127.0.0.1 TCP 22
   add lb vserver mgmt-SSL SSL 10.2.2.128 443
   add lb vserver mgmt-SSH TCP 10.2.2.128 22
   bind lb vserver mgmt-SSL AlwaysUp
   bind lb vserver mgmt-SSH mgmt-SSH
   set ns pbr NSIP-DNS DENY -srcIP = 10.2.2.126-10.2.2.128 -destPort = 53 -nextHop 10.2.2.1 -protocol UDP -priority 5
   set ns pbr NSIP ALLOW -srcIP = 10.2.2.126-10.2.2.128 -nextHop 10.2.2.1
   apply ns pbrs

Multiple Subnets / Multiple VLANs

Citrix CTX214033 Networking and VLAN Best Practices for NetScaler discusses many of the same topics detailed in this section.

If this is a physical MPX appliance, see the previous Port Channel section first.

If you only connected NetScaler to one subnet (one VLAN) then skip ahead to DNS servers.

Configuration Overview

The general configuration process for multiple subnets is this:

1. Create a SNIP for each subnet/VLAN.
2. Create a VLAN object for each subnet/VLAN.
   1. Bind the VLAN object to the SNIP for the subnet.
   2. Bind the VLAN object to the Port Channel or single interface that is configured for the VLAN/subnet.

SNIPs for each VLAN

You will need one SNIP for each connected subnet/VLAN. VLAN objects (tagged or untagged) bind the SNIPs to particular interfaces. NetScaler uses the SNIP’s subnet mask to assign IP addresses to particular interfaces.

NSIP Subnet

The NSIP subnet is special so you won’t be able to bind it to a VLAN. Use the following SNIP/VLAN method for any network that does not have the NSIP. The remaining interfaces will be in VLAN 1, which is the VLAN that the NSIP is in. VLAN 1 is only locally significant so it doesn’t matter if the switch is configured with it or not. Just make sure the switch has a native VLAN configured, or configure the interface as an access port. If you require trunking of every VLAN, including the NSIP VLAN, then additional configuration is required (NSVLAN or Tagall).

Configure Subnets/VLANs

To configure NetScaler with multiple connected subnets:

1. Add a subnet IP for every network the NetScaler is connected to, except the dedicated management network. Expand System, expand Network, and click IPs.
   
2. On the right, click Add.
   
   1. Enter the Subnet IP Address for this network/subnet. This SNIP will be the source IP address the NetScaler will use when communicating with any other service/server on this network. The Subnet IP is also known as the Interface IP for the network. You will need a separate SNIP for each connected network (VLAN).
   2. Enter the netmask for this network.
   3. Ensure the IP Type is set to Subnet IP. Scroll down.
      

      add ns ip 172.16.1.11 255.255.255.0 -type SNIP

   4. Under Application Access Controls, decide if you want to enable GUI management on this SNIP. This is particularly useful for High Availability pairs, because when you point your browser to the SNIP, only the primary appliance will respond. However, enabling management access on the SNIP can be a security risk, especially if this is a SNIP for a DMZ network.
   5. Click Create when done.
3. Continue adding SNIPs for each connected network (VLAN).
   

   set ns ip 172.16.1.11 -mgmtAccess ENABLED -telnet DISABLED -ftp DISABLED

4. On the left, expand System, expand Network, and click VLANs.
   
5. On the right, click Add.
   
6. Enter a descriptive VLAN ID. The actual VLAN ID only matters if you intend to tag the traffic. If not tagged, then any ID (except 1) will work.
7. Check the box next to one physical interface or channel (e.g. LA/1) that is connected to the network.
8. If this is a trunk port, select Tagged if the switch port/channel is expecting the VLAN to be tagged.
   • If your switches do not allow untagged packets, then you will need to use the tagall interface option to tag NetScaler High Availability heartbeat packets. See CTX122921 – Citrix NetScaler Interface Tagging and Flow of High Availability Packets
9. If you don’t tag the VLAN, then the NetScaler interface/channel is removed from VLAN 1, and instead put in this VLAN ID.
10. Switch to the IP Bindings tab.
    
11. Check the box next to the Subnet IP for this network. This lets NetScaler know which interface is used for which IP subnet. Click Create when done.
    

    add vlan 50
    bind vlan 50 -ifnum LA/1 -IPAddress 172.16.1.11 255.255.255.0
    

12. On the left, expand System, expand Network, and click Routes.
    
13. On the right, click Add.
    
    1. Internal networks are usually only accessible through an internal router. Add a static routes to the internal networks, and set the Gateway (next hop) to an internal router.
    2. Make sure NULL Route is set to No.
    3. Set the Gateway (Next Hop) to an internal router.
    4. Then click Create.
       
       add route 10.2.0.0 255.255.0.0 10.2.2.1
14. The default route should be changed to use a router on the DMZ network (towards the Internet). Before deleting the existing default route, either enable Mac Based Forwarding, or create a Policy Based Route, so that the replies from NSIP can reach your machine. You usually only need to do this for dedicated management networks.
    1. Note: PBR is recommended over MBF, because PBR can handle traffic sourced by NSIP (e.g Syslog traffic), while MBF cannot.
    2. Mac Based Forwarding sends replies out the same interface they came in on. However, MBF ignores the routing table, and doesn’t handle traffic sourced by the NSIP (e.g. LDAP traffic). To enable MBF:
       1. On the left, expand System, and click Settings.
          
       2. On the right, in the left column, click Configure modes.
          
       3. Check the box next to MAC Based Forwarding (MBF), and click OK. More info on MAC Based Forwarding can be found at Citrix CTX1329532 FAQ: Citrix NetScaler MAC Based Forwarding (MBF).
          
15. Go back to System > Network > Routes. On the right, delete the 0.0.0.0 route. Don’t do this unless the NetScaler has a route, PBR, or MBF to the IP address of the machine you are running the browser on.
    
    
    rm route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 10.2.2.1
16. Then click Add.
    
17. Set the Network to 0.0.0.0, and the Netmask to 0.0.0.0.
18. Make sure NULL Route is set to No.
19. Enter the IP address of the DMZ (or data) router, and click Create.
    
    add route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 172.16.1.1

DNS Servers

1. To configure DNS servers, expand Traffic Management, expand DNS, and click Name Servers.
   
2. On the right, click Add.
   
3. Enter the IP address of a DNS server, and click Create.
4. Note: The NetScaler must be able ping each of the DNS servers or they will not be marked as UP. The ping originates from the SNIP.
   
   add dns nameServer 10.2.2.11
5. NetScaler 11.1 build 51 and newer includes DNS Security Options, which are useful if you use this NetScaler to provide DNS services to clients (e.g. DNS Proxy/Load Balancing, GSLB, etc.).
   
   

NTP Servers

1. On the left, expand System, and click NTP Servers.
   
2. On the right, click Add.
   
3. Enter the IP Address of your NTP Server (or pool.ntp.org) and click Create.
   
   add ntp server pool.ntp.org
4. Open the Action menu and click NTP Synchronization.
   
5. Select ENABLED and click OK.
   
   enable ntp sync
6. You can click the System node to view the System Time.
   
7. If you need to manually set the time, SSH (Putty) to the NetScaler appliances. Run date to set the time. Run date –help to see the syntax.
8. Ntpdate –u pool.ntp.org will cause an immediate NTP time update.

SYSLOG Server

Citrix CTX120609 NetScaler Log Rotation and Configuration Using Newsyslog

The NetScaler will by default store a few syslogs on the local appliance. You can create a syslog policy to also send the syslog entries to an external server, like Citrix Command Center.

1. On the left, expand System, expand Auditing, and click Syslog.
   
2. On the right, switch to the Servers tab and click Add.
   
3. Enter a name for the Syslog server.
4. If 11.1-49 or newer, you can change Server Type to Server Domain Name and enter a FQDN.
5. Enter the IP Address or FQDN of the SYSLOG server, and 514 as the port.
   
6. Configure the Log Levels you’d like to send to it.
7. Check the box for TCP Logging if you want the client IP. Note: TCP Logging requires significant disk space on the Syslog server.
8. Select your desired Time Zone and then click Create.
   

   add audit syslogAction MySyslogServer 10.2.2.12 -logLevel ALL -timeZone LOCAL_TIME
   add audit syslogAction MySyslogServer syslog.corp.local -logLevel ALL -timeZone LOCAL_TIME

9. On the right, switch to the Policies tab, and then click Add.
   
10. Give the policy a descriptive name, select the Syslog server, and then click Create.
    

    add audit syslogPolicy MySyslogServer ns_true MySyslogServer

11. While still on the Policies tab, open the Actions menu, and click Classic Policy Global Bindings or Advanced Policy Global Bindings, depending on which one you chose when creating the Syslog policy.
    
12. Click the arrow next to Click to select.
    
13. Select the Syslog policy you want to bind and click Select.
    
14. If you don’t select anything in Global Bind Type, then it defaults to SYSTEM_GLOBAL.
15. Click Bind.
    
16. Click Done.
    

    bind audit syslogGlobal -policyName MySyslogServer -priority 100
    bind system global MySyslogServer -priority 100

SNMP – MIB, Traps, and Alarms

1. On the left, expand System, and click SNMP.
   
2. On the right, click Change SNMP MIB.
   
3. Change the fields as desired. Your SNMP tool (e.g. NetScaler Management and Analytics System) will read this information. Click OK.
4. This configuration needs to be repeated on the other node.
   

   set snmp mib -contact NSAdmins@corp.com -name ns02 -location Corp

5. Expand System, expand SNMP, and click Community.
   
6. On the right, click Add.
   
7. Specify a community string and the Permission and click Create.
   

   add snmp community public GET

8. On the left, under SNMP, click Traps.
   
9. On the right, click Add.
   
10. Specify a trap destination and Community Name and click Create.
    

    add snmp trap generic 10.2.2.12 -communityName public
    add snmp trap specific 10.2.2.12 -communityName public

11. On the left, under SNMP, click Managers.
    
12. On the right, click Add. Note: if you do not add a manager then the NetScaler will accept SNMP queries from all SNMP Managers on the network.
    
13. Change the selection to Management Network.
14. Specify the IP of the Management Host and click Create.
    

    add snmp manager 10.2.2.12

15. The Alarms node allows you to enable SNMP Alarms and configure thresholds.
    
16. You can open an alarm to set thresholds. For example, CPU-USAGE can be set to 90% alarm and 50% normal with a Critical severity.
    
    

    set snmp alarm CPU-USAGE -thresholdValue 90 -normalValue 50 -severity Critical

17. You can also configure the MEMORY alarm.
    

    set snmp alarm MEMORY -thresholdValue 90 -normalValue 50 -severity Critical

From http://www.slideshare.net/masonke/net-scaler-tcpperformancetuningintheaolnetwork: In addition to the usual OIDs, we have found these very useful to warn of potential problems.

• ifTotXoffSent – .1.3.6.1.4.1.5951.4.1.1.54.1.43
• ifnicTxStalls – .1.3.6.1.4.1.5951.4.1.1.54.1.45
• ifErrRxNoBuffs – .1.3.6.1.4.1.5951.4.1.1.54.1.30
• ifErrTxNoNSB – .1.3.6.1.4.1.5951.4.1.1.54.1.31

Call Home

Citrix Blog Post – Protect Your NetScaler From Disaster With Call Home!: If you have a physical NetScaler (MPX or SDX) with an active support contract, you many optionally enable Call Home to automatically notify Citrix Technical Support of hardware and software failures.

1. On the left, expand System and click Diagnostics.
   
2. On the right, in the left column, in the Technical Support Tools section, click Call Home.
   
3. Check the box next to Enable Call Home.
4. Optionally enter an email address to receive notifications from Citrix Technical Support. Click OK.
   
5. If you go back into Call Home, it should indicate if registration succeeded or failed. Successful registration requires an active support contract.
   

Change nsroot Password

1. If you want to force strong passwords for local accounts, go to System > Settings, on the right, click Change Global System Settings
   
2. Scroll down to the Command Line Interface (CLI) section.
3. You can change Strong Password to Enable, and also specify a Min Password Length. Click OK.
   
4. Expand System, expand User Administration and click Users.
   
5. On the right, select nsroot, and click Change Password.
   
6. Specify a new password and click OK.
   

   set system user nsroot Passw0rd

TCP, HTTP, SSL, and Security Settings

Citrix Whitepaper Secure Deployment Guide for NetScaler MPX, VPX, and SDX Appliances

Citrix Knowledgebase articles:

• CTX127917 How to Configuring the Rate Limiting Feature of a NetScaler Appliance to Mitigate a DDoS Attack
• CTX131681 How to Use NetScaler Appliance to Avoid Layer 7 DDoS Attacks
• CTX209398 Addressing false positives from CBC and MAC vulnerability scans of SSHD

1. On the left, expand System and click Settings.
   
2. On the right side of the right pane, click Change TCP parameters.
   
   1. Check the box for Window scaling (near the top).
      
   2. Scroll down and check the box for Selective Acknowledgement. Click OK.
      

      set ns tcpParam -WS ENABLED -SACK ENABLED

3. On the right, click Change HTTP parameters.
   
   1. Under Cookie, change the selection to Version1. This causes NetScaler to set Cookie expiration to a relative time instead of an absolute time.
      

      set ns param -cookieversion 1

   2. Check the box next to Drop invalid HTTP requests.
   3. Scroll down and click OK.
      

      set ns httpParam -dropInvalReqs ON

4. From Citrix CTX232321 Recommended TCP Profile Settings for Full Tunnel VPN/ICAProxy from NetScaler Gateway 11.1 Onwards:  💡
   1. Expand System, and click Profiles.
   2. On the right, on the TCP Profiles tab, edit the nstcp_default_profile.
      
   3. Enable Window Scaling with a factor of 8.
      
   4. Set Minimum RTO (in millisec) = 600.
      
   5. Set TCP Buffer Size (bytes) = 600000
   6. Set TCP Send Buffer Size (bytes) = 600000
      
   7. Change TCP Flavor = BIC.
      
   8. Enable Use Nagle’s algorithm.
      
   9. Click OK when done.
5. You can run the following command to see statistics on the dropped packets:

   nsconmsg -g http_err_noreuse_ -d stats

6. See CTX209398 Addressing false positives from CBC and MAC vulnerability scans of SSHD to harden SSHD by editing /nsconfig/sshd_config with the following. Then run kill -HUP `cat /var/run/sshd.pid` to restart SSHD.

   Ciphers aes128-ctr,aes192-ctr,aes256-ctr
   MACs hmac-sha1,hmac-ripemd160

7. Implement Responder policies to prevent Shellshock attack against back-end web servers. See Citrix CTX200277 NetScaler Defends Against Shellshock Attack.

   add audit messageaction ShellShock_Log CRITICAL "\"The request was sent from \" +CLIENT.IP.SRC + \" Bash Code Injection Vulnerability\"" -bypassSafetyCheck YES
   
   add responder policy ShellShock_policy "HTTP.REQ.FULL_HEADER.REGEX_MATCH(re/\(\)\s*{/) || HTTP.Req.BODY(1000).REGEX_MATCH(re/\(\)\s*{/) || HTTP.REQ.URL.QUERY.REGEX_MATCH(re/\(\)(\s*|\++){/) || HTTP.REQ.BODY(1000).REGEX_MATCH(re#%28%29[+]*%7B#)" DROP ‑logAction ShellShock_Log
   
   bind responder global ShellShock_policy 10 END -type REQ_DEFAULT

The following security configurations are detailed by Jason Samuel at Mitigating DDoS and brute force attacks against a Citrix Netscaler Access Gateway:

• Maximum logon attempts on NetScaler Gateway Virtual Server
• Rate Limiting for IP.SRC and HTTP.REQ.URL.
• nstcp_default_XA_XD_profile TCP profile on the NetScaler Gateway Virtual Server.
• Syslog logging
• External website monitoring
• Obfuscate the Server header in the HTTP response
• Disable management access on SNIPs
• Change nsroot strong password, use LDAP authentication, audit local accounts
• Don’t enable Enhanced Authentication Feedback
• SSL – disable SSLv3, deny SSL renegotiation, enable ECDHE ciphers, disable RC4 ciphers. Also see Anton van Pelt Make your NetScaler SSL VIPs more secure (Updated) .
• 2-factor authentication
• Command Center and Insight Center
• Review IPS/IDS & Firewall logs

Management Authentication

Load balancing of authentication servers is strongly recommended since during an authentication attempt only one LDAP server is chosen. If you instead bound multiple LDAP servers it would try all of them and for incorrect passwords will lock out the user sooner than expected.

1. Expand System, expand Authentication, and then click LDAP.
   
2. On the right, switch to the Servers tab. Then click Add.
   
3. Enter LDAPS-Corp-Mgmt or similar 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. Also, the LDAP policy used for management authentication will be different than the LDAP policy used for NetScaler Gateway.
4. Change the selection to Server IP. Enter the VIP of the NetScaler load balancing vServer for LDAP.
5. Change the Security Type to SSL.
6. Enter 636 as the Port. Scroll down.
   
7. In the Connection Settings section, enter your Active Directory DNS domain name in LDAP format as the Base DN.
8. Enter the credentials of the LDAP bind account in userPrincipalName format.
9. Check the box next to BindDN Password and enter the password. Click Test Connection. Scroll down.
   
10. 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.
11. On the right, check the box next to Allow Password Change.
12. It is best to restrict access to only members of a specific group. In the Search Filter field, enter memberOf=<GroupDN>. See the example below:
    memberOf=CN=NetScaler Administrators,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=NetScaler Administrators,OU=Citrix,DC=corp,DC=local


    Citrix 132802 How to Use the ldapsearch Utility on the NetScaler Gateway Enterprise Edition Appliance to Validate a Search Filter
    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.
    Scroll down to distinguishedName, double-click it and then copy it to the clipboard.
    
    
    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.
    
13. Scroll down and click More to expand it.
14. For Nested Group Extraction, if desired, change the selection to Enabled.
15. Set the Group Name Identifier to samAccountName.
16. Set Group Search Attribute to –<< New >>– and enter memberOf.
17. Set Group Search Sub-Attribute to –<< New >>– and enter CN.
18. Example of LDAP Nested Group Search Filter Syntax
    
    
19. Scroll down and click Create.
    

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

20. Switch to the Policies tab and click Add.
    
21. Enter the name LDAPS-Corp-Mgmt or similar.
22. Select the previously created LDAPS-Corp-Mgmt server.
23. On the bottom, in the Expressions area, type in ns_true.
24. Click Create.
    

    add authentication ldapPolicy Corp-Mgmt ns_true Corp-Mgmt

25. Click Global Bindings in the right pane.
    
26. Click where it says Click to select.
    
27. Select the newly created LDAP policy, and click Select.
    
28. Click Bind.
    
29. Click Done.
    

    bind system global Corp-Mgmt

30. Under System, expand User Administration and click Groups.
    
31. On the right, click Add.
    
32. In the Group Name field, enter the case sensitive name of the Active Directory group containing the NetScaler administrators.
33. In the Command Policies section, click Insert.
    
34. Select the superuser policy, and click Insert.
    
35. Click Create.
    

    add system group "NetScaler Admins" -timeout 900
    bind system group "NetScaler Admins" -policyName superuser 100

36. If you logout:
    
37. You should be able to login to NetScaler using an Active Directory account.
    

CLI Prompt

1. When you connect to the NetScaler CLI prompt, by default, the prompt is just a >.
   
2. You can run set cli prompt %u@%h to make it the same as a UNIX prompt. See Citrix Docs for the cli prompt syntax.
   

Backup and Restore

1. Go to System > Backup and Restore.
   
   
2. On the right, click the Backup button.
   
3. Give the backup file a name.
4. For Level, select Full and click Backup.
   
5. Once the backup is complete, you can download the file.
   

For a PowerShell script, see John Billekens Create offline backups of the NetScaler config

To restore:

1. If you want to restore the system and if the backup file is not currently on the appliance, you click the Backup button. Yes, this seems backwards.
   
2. Change the selection to Add.
3. Browse Local to the previously downloaded backup file.
   
4. Then click Backup. This uploads the file to the appliance and adds it to the list of backup files.
   
5. Now you can select the backup and click Restore.
   

Next Steps

Return to NetScaler Procedures list