What’s new

A goal of Citrix is to deliver new features and product updates to Citrix DaaS for Azure customers when they are available. New releases provide more value, so there’s no reason to delay updates. To you, the customer administrator, this process is transparent.

Citrix prepared image updates

The Citrix prepared images have a current Citrix Virtual Delivery Agent (VDA) installed. Generally, new VDA versions are released several times each year, and the available Citrix prepared images are automatically updated with the latest VDA. To learn about new and enhanced features in the VDA’s current version, see:

• Windows VDAs
• Linux VDAs

July 2024

Hibernation support. You can now create virtual machines that can be hibernated. While a machine is hibernating, you aren’t charged for its usage and you save on energy consumption. Open apps and files are saved when the machine starts hibernating and are quickly available the next time a user connects to the machine. For information on how to create catalogs of machines that can be hibernated and set hibernation schedules, see Create a catalog using custom create. You can also put individual machines into hibernation using Full Configuration management interface. For information, see Shut down and restart machines in a delivery group.

August 2022

• This feature is generally available: You can now create catalogs of machines joined to your Azure Active Directory. See Create catalogs.

May 2022

• You can now create catalogs of machines joined to your Azure Active Directory. This feature is in preview. See Create catalogs.
• Citrix Service Providers can now remove the Citrix DaaS for Azure service from customers. See Remove a Service.

April 2022

• Host connection creation for Citrix Hypervisor, Microsoft SCVMM, VMware vSphere, Prism Central, and Nutanix AHV is now available. As such, you can now use on-premises hypervisors in addition to Azure.

• Product name change from Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Standard for Azure to Citrix DaaS Standard for Azure. For more information about the rebranding of all Citrix DaaS (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops service) offerings, see What’s New in Citrix DaaS. Learn more about the name changes at our announcement on our blog.

January 2022

• When you create catalogs, you can now store your machines on standard SSD storage. Previously, only standard disks (HDD) and premium SSD were supported.

• Support for these new regions for hosting VDA workloads: Brazil South, Central India, Japan East, South Central US, and UK South.

• Snapshots and restore are now available for persistent desktops hosted on Citrix Managed Azure and BYO Azure. See VDA snapshot and restore.

• Static public IP address for all outbound traffic from VDAs hosted are now available. You can configure an Azure NAT Gateway to get the IP address. See Create a public static IP address.

• Azure VPN is available for technical preview. Azure VPN lets you connect Citrix Managed Azure directly with on-premises data centers. See Azure VPN Technical Preview.

• New Linux images are available for Citrix prepared images.

November 2021

• Auto-approved 7-day trials are now available (in addition to sales-approved trials).

• Citrix Service Providers can now manage users from the service’s Manage > Azure Quick Deploy dashboard or the Citrix Cloud console. For details, see Partner access to customer identity provider.

October 2021

• New information about managing catalogs created in Quick Deploy.

September 2021

• Preview API content is available.
• Support for Windows Server 2022 (requires minimum VDA 2106).

July 2021

• Web Studio management interface renamed Full Configuration.

June 2021

• Support for two management interfaces: Quick Deploy and Web Studio.

May 2021

• This service supports the Service Continuity preview.

• Citrix prepared images now include Ubuntu single-sesssion and multi-session versions.

• When adding a Cloud Connector to a resource location, using a Citrix Managed Azure subscription, you can specify the Cloud Connector machine’s performance type.

• When creating a catalog, the machine performance choices include options that match the generation type (gen1 or gen2) of the image you selected. You can update a catalog with a different generation type image, if the catalog’s machines support that generation type.

April 2022

• Product name change from Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Standard for Azure to Citrix DaaS Standard for Azure.

January 2021

• Preview support for viewing consumption commitment usage.

October 2020

• You can use the Monitor shadow feature to view or work on a user’s VM or session.
• Production support for Remote PC Access.
• Enhanced catalog creation option to use your Azure Virtual Desktop eligible license or Azure Hybrid Benefit.
• If a restart action on a machine is unsuccessful, you can use a force restart action.

September 2020

• Details about images are reorganized and expanded. For example, you can now add and edit notes about images that you prepared or imported. You can also limit access to only specified IP addresses.
• When creating an Azure VNet peering connection that will use an Azure virtual network gateway, you can now also enable virtual network gateway route propagation.
• Product name change from Citrix Managed Desktops to Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Standard for Azure.

August 2020

• Preview support for Remote PC Access.
• A Citrix prepared Windows Server 2019 image is now available.

July 2020

• When adding a Cloud Connector to a resource location, using a customer-managed Azure subscription, you can specify the Cloud Connector machine’s performance type and Azure resource group. For details, see Resource location actions.
• When creating a catalog, you can specify a machine naming scheme. See Create a catalog using custom create.

June 2020

• In a CSP environment, SD-WAN connections are created on a per-tenant basis. For the SD-WAN connection option to be available to the CSP administrator, the tenant must have an SD-WAN Orchestrator service entitlement. For details, see Filter resources by customer (multitenant deployments).
• Production support for Linux VDAs when using a customer-managed Azure subscription.
• The limit of VDAs per subscription is now 1,200.

May 2020

• You can add another Citrix Managed Azure subscription when you need more machines than the limit per Citrix Managed Azure subscription.
• Additional information about DNS servers.

March 2020

• Production support for SD-WAN connections.

February 2020

• To view your Citrix license usage information, follow the guidance in Monitor license and usage monitoring for Citrix DaaS Standard for Azure.
• Preview support for catalogs containing Red Hat Enterprise Linux or Ubuntu machines. This feature is valid only when using a customer-managed Azure subscription, and requires an imported image containing a Citrix Linux VDA.
• You can now configure either vertical or horizontal load balancing for all of your multi-session machines. (Previously, all machines used horizontal load balancing.) This global selection applies to all catalogs in your deployment. See Load balancing.
• You can now add an Azure subscription if you’re not a Global Admin.
• A Citrix prepared image is now available for Windows 10 Enterprise Virtual Desktop (multi-session) with Office 365 ProPlus.

January 2020

• Add support for custom routes in VNet peering connections.
• Updates to security article to enhance port and rules information.

November 2019

• Preview support for SD-WAN connections.

October 2019

• In Supported operating systems, added entries for:

  • Windows 7 (supports only VDA 7.15 with the latest Cumulative Update).
  • Windows Server 2019.
• A Windows Server 2012 R2 Citrix prepared image is now available.
• Added resource location settings information. For details, see Resource location actions and Resource location settings when creating a catalog.

September 2019

• By default, machines are created in a Citrix Managed Azure subscription. Now you can also create catalogs and images in your own customer-managed Azure subscription.