Service continuity

Service continuity removes or minimizes dependence on the availability of components involved in the connection process. Users can launch their Citrix DaaS apps and desktops regardless of the cloud services health status.

Service continuity allows users to connect to their DaaS apps and desktops during outages, as long as the user device maintains a network connection to a resource location. Users can connect to DaaS apps and desktops during outages in Citrix Cloud components or in public and private clouds. Users can connect directly to the resource location or through the Citrix Gateway Service.

Service continuity improves the visual representation of published resources during outages by using Progressive Web Apps service worker technology to cache resources in the user interface.

Service continuity uses Workspace connection leases to allow users to access apps and desktops during outages. Workspace connection leases are long-lived authorization tokens. Workspace connection lease files are securely cached on the user device. When a user signs in to Citrix Workspace, Workspace connection lease files are saved to the user profile for each resource published to the user. Service continuity lets users access apps and desktops during an outage even if the user has never launched an app or desktop before. Workspace connection lease files are signed and encrypted and are associated with the user and the user device. When service continuity is enabled, a Workspace connection lease allows users to access apps and desktops for seven days by default. You can configure Workspace connection leases to allow access for up to 30 days.

When users exit Citrix Workspace app, Citrix Workspace app closes but the Workspace connection leases are retained. Users exit the Citrix Workspace app by right-clicking its icon in the system tray or by restarting the user device. You can configure service continuity to delete or retain Workspace connection leases when users sign out of Citrix Workspace during an outage. By default, Workspace connection leases are deleted from user devices when users sign out during an outage.

Service continuity is supported for double hop scenarios when Citrix Workspace app is installed on a virtual desktop.

For an in-depth technical article about Citrix Cloud resiliency features, including service continuity, see Citrix Cloud Resiliency.

Note:

The deprecated Citrix DaaS feature called “connection leasing” resembles Workspace connection leases in that it improved connection resiliency during outages. Otherwise, that deprecated feature is unrelated to service continuity.

User device setup

To access resources during an outage, users must sign in to Citrix Workspace before the outage occurs. When you enable service continuity, users must perform the following steps on their devices:

1. Download and install a supported version of Citrix Workspace app.

2. Add the Workspace URL for your organization to Citrix Workspace app (for example, https://example.cloud.com).

3. Sign in to Citrix Workspace.

When a user signs into Citrix Workspace for the first time, service continuity downloads Workspace connection leases to the user device.

Downloading Workspace connection leases might take up to 15 minutes for first-time sign-in. Users can continue launching published resources during the download period.

User experience during an outage

When service continuity is enabled, the user experience during an outage varies depending on:

• The type of outage
• Whether the Citrix Workspace app is configured with domain pass-through authentication
• Whether session sharing is enabled for the app or desktop the user connects to

For some outages, users continue accessing their DaaS with no change to their user experience. For other outages, user might see a change in how Workspace appears or be prompted to take some action.

This table summarizes how service continuity helps users access apps and desktops during different types of outages.

For information about validating outage scenarios in a non-production environment, refer to the Service Continuity Companion Guide.

During a Citrix Workspace outage, users see this message at the top of the Citrix Workspace home page: “Unable to connect to some of your resources. Some virtual apps and desktop may still be available.” Users see apps and desktops that they can connect to during the outage. If the app or desktop isn’t available, the icon appears dimmed.

To access available resources during an outage, users select a resource icon that isn’t dimmed. If prompted, the user then reenters their AD credentials at the VDA before accessing resources.

During an outage in the identity provider for workspace authentication, users might be unable to sign in to Citrix Workspace through the Workspace sign-in page. After 40 seconds, this message appears at the top of the Citrix Workspace home page.

Afterward, the Citrix Workspace home page appears. Users then access resources as they would during a Citrix Workspace outage.

Regardless of the type of outage, users can continue to access resources if they exit and relaunch Citrix Workspace app. Users can restart their user devices without losing access to resources.

In the default configuration of service continuity, users lose access to their resources if they sign out of Citrix Workspace. If you want users to retain access to their resources after signing out, specify that Workspace connection leases are kept when users sign out. See Configure service continuity.

Depending on how Citrix Workspace app and VDAs are configured, during an outage the VDA might prompt users to enter their credentials into the Windows Logon user interface. If this prompt occurs, users enter their Active Directory (AD) credentials or smart card PIN to access the app or desktop. This step is required when user credentials aren’t passed through during outages. Before accessing an app or desktop, users must reauthenticate to the VDA.

Users can access resources without entering their AD credentials if:

• Citrix Workspace is configured for single sign-on during installation by selecting the single sign-on box.

  

• Citrix Workspace app is configured with domain pass-through authentication. Users can access any available resource during a Citrix Workspace outage without entering their credentials. For information about configuring domain pass-through authentication for Citrix Workspace app for Windows, see Configure single sign-on using the graphical user interface, found in the Authenticate documentation.

  Note

  StoreFront isn’t needed to allow single sign-on to your VDA during an outage.

• Session sharing is enabled. Users can access apps or desktops hosted on the same VDA after they provide their credentials for one resource on that VDA. Session sharing is configured for the application group containing the resource on the VDA. For information about configuring application groups, see Create application groups.

In all other configurations, users are prompted to reenter their AD credentials at the VDA before accessing resources.

Requirements and limitations

Site requirements

• Supported in all editions of Citrix DaaS and Citrix DaaS Standard for Azure, when using Workspace Experience.

• Not supported for Citrix Workspace with site aggregation to on-premises Virtual Apps and Desktops.

• Not supported when on-premises Citrix Gateway is used as an ICA Proxy. (Using Citrix Gateway as a Workspace authentication method is supported.)

• Not supported for Citrix Cloud Government environments.

User device requirements

Minimum supported Citrix Workspace app versions:

• Citrix Workspace app for Windows 2106
• Citrix Workspace app for Linux 2106
• Citrix Workspace app for Mac 2106
• Citrix Workspace app for Android 22.2.0
• Citrix Workspace app for iOS 22.4.5
• Citrix Workspace app for ChromeOS 2301

Note:

For information on installing Citrix Workspace app for Linux, including information about installing the app for use with service continuity, see Citrix Workspace app for Linux.

• For users who access their apps and desktops using browsers:
  • Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge.
  • Citrix Workspace app 2109 for Windows at a minimum. Supported with Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.
  • Citrix Workspace app for Mac version 2112 at a minimum for use with Google Chrome.
  • Citrix Workspace app for Mac version 2206 at a minimum for use with Safari browser.

  See Service continuity in browser.

• Only one user per device is supported. Kiosk or “hot desk” user devices aren’t supported.

Supported workspace authentication methods

• Active Directory
• Active Directory plus token
• Azure Active Directory
• Okta
• Citrix Gateway (primary user claim must be from AD)
• SAML 2.0
• Conditional Authentication

Note:

If Adaptive Authentication or Device Posture service is configured in your environment, the connection lease files don’t download. Currently, users can’t start a virtual session with Service Continuity if Adaptive Authentication or Device Posture Service is enabled.

Authentication limitations

• Single sign-on with Citrix Federated Authentication Service (FAS) isn’t supported. Users enter their AD credentials into the Windows Logon user interface on the VDA.
• Single sign-on to VDA isn’t supported.
• Local mapped accounts aren’t supported.
• VDAs joined to Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Microsoft Azure AD) aren’t supported. All VDAs must be joined to an AD domain.

Citrix Cloud Connector scale and size

• 4 vCPU or more
• 6 GB memory or more

Citrix Cloud Connector Powershell Security

Make sure script execution is enabled by setting the Execution Policy to remotedSigned value appropriate for your environment. Other script execution privileges can also work, like Default or AllSigned.

Citrix Cloud Connector connectivity

Citrix Cloud Connector must be able to reach https://rootoftrust.apps.cloud.com. Configure your firewall to allow this connection. For information about the Cloud Connector firewall, see Cloud Connector Proxy and Firewall Configuration.

Workspace app network connectivity

If you configure connection to your resource location from outside your LAN, the Workspace app on user devices must be able to reach the Citrix Gateway Service FQDN, https://*.g.nssvc.net. Ensure that your firewall is configured to allow outgoing traffic to https://global-s.g.nssvc.net:443, so that user devices can connect to the Citrix Gateway Service at all times.

Connectivity optimization limitations

Advanced Endpoint Analysis (EPA) isn’t supported.

Enlightened Data Transport (EDT) isn’t supported during outages.

VDA requirements and limitations

• VDA 7.15 LTSR or any current release that hasn’t reached end of life are supported.
• VDAs joined to Microsoft Entra ID aren’t supported. All VDAs must be joined to an AD domain.
• VDAs must be online for users to access VDA resources during an outage. VDA resources aren’t available when the VDA is affected by outages in:
  • AWS
  • Azure
  • Cloud Delivery Controller, unless Autoscale is enabled for the delivery group delivering the resource
• VDA workloads supported during outages:
  • Hosted shared apps and desktops
  • Random non-persistent desktops (pooled VDI desktop) with power management
  • Static non-persistent desktops
  • Static persistent desktops, including Remote PC Access

  Note:

  Assign on first use isn’t support during outages. Random non-persistent desktops with power management are unavailable by default if Cloud Connectors lose connectivity with Citrix Cloud unless ReuseMachinesWithoutShutdownInOutage is configured for the delivery group. Review Application and desktop support for more details.

For more information about available VDA functions during outages, see VDA management during outages.

Local keyboard mapping requirements and limitations

The Windows Logon user interface that prompts users to reauthenticate on the VDA does not support local keyboard language mapping. To allow users to reauthenticate during an outage if they have local keyboard language mapping on their devices, preload the keyboard layouts these users require.

Warning:

Editing the registry incorrectly can cause serious problems that might require you to reinstall your operating system. Citrix can’t guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of the Registry Editor can be solved. Use the Registry Editor at your own risk. Be sure to back up the registry before you edit it.

Edit this registry key in the VDA image:

HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Keyboard Layout\Preload

The corresponding language pack in the virtual desktop image must be installed.

For a list of keyboard identifiers associated with keyboard languages, see Keyboard Identifiers and Input Method Editors for Windows.

Configure resource location network connectivity for service continuity

You can configure your resource location to accept connections from inside your LAN, outside your LAN, or both.

Configure for connections inside your LAN

1. From the Citrix Cloud menu, go to Workspace Configuration > Access.
2. Select Configure Connectivity.
3. Select Internal Only as your connectivity type.
4. Click Save.

Configure your Citrix Cloud Connector and VDA firewalls to accept connections over Common Gateway Protocol (CGP) TCP port 2598. This configuration is the default setting.

Configure for connections from outside your LAN

1. From the Citrix Cloud menu, go to Workspace Configuration > Access.
2. Select Configure Connectivity.
3. Select Gateway Service as your connectivity type.
4. Click Save.

Configure for connections both from outside and inside your LAN

Run this PowerShell command:

Set-ConfigZone -InputObject (get-configzone -ExternalUid YourResourceLocationExternalUid) -EnableHybridConnectivityForResourceLeases $true

Replace YourResourceLocationExternalUid with the external UID of the resource location.

This command allows direct connections to the Citrix Cloud Connector FQDN over TCP 2598 during outages. If that connection fails Gateway Service is used as fallback. Allow internal users to bypass the gateway and connect directly to the resource location reduces latency internal network traffic.

Note:

This PowerShell command is similar to Direct Workload Connection in that it optimizes connectivity to workspaces by allowing internal users to bypass the gateway and connect to VDAs directly. When service continuity is enabled, Direct Workload Connection is not available during outages.

Configure service continuity

To enable service continuity for your site:

1. From the Citrix Cloud menu, go to Workspace Configuration > Service Continuity.

2. Set Connection leasing for the Workspace to Enable.

   

3. Set Connection lease period to the number of days a Workspace connection lease can be used to maintain a connection. The Workspace connection lease period applies to all Workspace connection leases through your site. The Workspace connection lease period starts the first time a user signs in to the Citrix Cloud Workspace store. Workspace connection leases are refreshed each time the user signs in, up to once a day. The Workspace connection lease period can be from one day to 30 days. The default is seven days.
4. Click Save.

When you enable service continuity, it is enabled for all delivery groups in your site. To disable service continuity for a delivery group, use the following PowerShell command:

Set-BrokerDesktopGroup -name <deliverygroup> -ResourceLeasingEnabled $false

Replace deliverygroup with the name of the delivery group.

By default, Workspace connection leases are deleted from the user device if the user signs out of Citrix Workspace during an outage. If you want Workspace connection leases to remain on user devices after users sign out, use the following PowerShell command:

Set-BrokerSite -DeleteResourceLeasesOnLogOff $false

Note:

Workspace connection leases can’t be set to remain on user devices after users sign out for users connecting with Citrix Workspace app for Mac. Citrix Workspace for Mac is unable to read the value of the DeleteResourceLeaseOnLogOff property.

How service continuity works

If there’s no outage, users access virtual apps and desktops using ICA files. Citrix Workspace generates a unique ICA file each time a user selects a virtual app or desktop icon. Each ICA file contains a Secure Ticket Authority (STA) ticket and a logon ticket that can be redeemed only once to gain authorized access to virtual resources. The tickets in each ICA file expire after about 90 seconds. After the ticket in an ICA file is used or expires, the user needs another ICA file from Citrix Workspace to access resources. When service continuity isn’t enabled, outages can prevent users from accessing resources if Citrix Workspace can’t generate an ICA file.

Citrix Workspace generates ICA files when users launch virtual apps and desktops regardless of whether service continuity is enabled. When service continuity is enabled, Citrix Workspace also generates the unique set of files that make up a Workspace connection lease. Unlike ICA files, Workspace connection lease files are generated when the user signs into Citrix Workspace, not when the user launches the resource. When a user signs in to Citrix Workspace, connection lease files are generated for every resource published to that user. Workspace connection leases contain information that gives the user access to virtual resources. If an outage prevents a user from signing in to Citrix Workspace or accessing resources using an ICA file, the connection lease provides authorized access to the resource.

How sessions launch during outages

When users click an icon for an app or desktop during an outage, the Citrix Workspace app finds the corresponding Workspace connection lease on the user device. Citrix Workspace app then opens a connection. If connectivity to the resource location that hosts the app or desktop is configured to accept connections from outside your LAN, a connection opens to Citrix Gateway Service. If you configure connectivity to the resource location that hosts the app or desktop to accept connections from inside your LAN only, a connection opens to the Cloud Connector.

When the Citrix Cloud broker is online, the Cloud Connector uses the Citrix Cloud broker to resolve which VDA is available. When the Citrix Cloud broker is offline, the secondary broker for the Cloud Connector (also known as the High Availability service) listens for and processes connection requests.

Users who are connected when an outage occurs can continue working uninterrupted. Reconnections and new connections experience minimal connection delays. This functionality is similar to Local Host Cache, but does not require an on-premises StoreFront.

When a user launches a session during an outage, this window appears indicating that Workspace connection leases were used for the session launch:

After the user has finished signing into the session, these properties appear in the Workspace Connection Center:

The launch mode property provides information about the Workspace connection leases used to launch the session.

On devices running Citrix Workspace app for Mac, Citrix Viewer displays information showing that Workspace connection leases were used for the session launch:

What makes it secure

All sensitive information in the Workspace connection lease files is encrypted with the AES-256 cipher. Workspace connection leases are bound to a public/private key pair uniquely associated with the specific client device and can’t be used on a different device. A built-in cryptographic mechanism enforces use of the unique key pair on each device.

Workspace connection leases are stored on the user device in AppData\Local\Citrix\SelfService\ConnectionLeases.

The security architecture of service continuity is built on public-key cryptography, similarly to a public key infrastructure (PKI), but without certificate chains and certificate authorities. Instead, all the components establish transitive trust by relying on a new Citrix Cloud service called the root of trust that acts like a certificate authority.

Block connection leases

If a user device is lost or stolen, or a user account is closed or compromised, you can block Workspace connection leases. When you block Workspace connection leases associated with a user, the user can’t connect to resources. Citrix Cloud no longer generates or synchronizes Workspace connection leases for the user.

When you block Workspace connection leases associated with a user account, you block connections to that account on all devices associated with it. You can block Workspace connection leases for a user or for all users in a user group.

To revoke Workspace connection leases for a single user or user group, use this PowerShell command:

Set-BrokerConnectionLeaseRevocationDate -Name username -LeaseRevocationDays Days

Replace username with the user associated with the account you want to block from connecting. Replace username with a user group to block connection from all accounts in the user group. Replace Days with the number of days connections are blocked.

For example, to block connections for xd.local/user1 for the next 7 days, type:

Set-BrokerConnectionLeaseRevocationDate -Name xd.local/user1 -LeaseRevocationDays 7

To view the time period for which Workspace connection leases are revoked, use this PowerShell command:

Get-BrokerConnectionLeaseRevocationDate -Name username

Replace username with the user or user group you want to view the time period for.

For example, to view the time period for which Workspace connection leases are revoked for xd.local/user1, type:

Get-BrokerConnectionLeaseRevocationDate -Name xd.local/user2

This information appears:

FullName                        :
Name                            : XD\user2
UPN                             :
Sid                             : S-1-5-21-nnnnnn
LeaseRevocationDays             : 2
LeaseRevocationDateTimeInUtc    : 2020-12-17T17:34:25Z
LastUpdateDateTimeInUtc         : 2020-12-19T17:34:25Z

From this output, you can see that user xd.local/user2 has Workspace connection leases revoked for two days, from December 17, 2020, through December 19, 2020, at 17:34:25 UTC on each day.

To allow a user account that has Workspace connection leases revoked to receive connection again, remove the block using this PowerShell command:

Remove-BrokerConnectionLeaseRevocationDate -Name username

Replace username with the blocked user or user group you want to receive connection. To allow all blocked user account to receive connections, leave out the Name option.

Double hop scenarios

Service continuity can allow users to access virtual resources during outages in double hop scenarios if they’re signed in to Citrix Workspace before the outage occurs. In a double hop scenario, a physical user device connects to a virtual desktop that has Citrix Workspace app installed. The virtual desktop then connects to another virtual resource.

In the double hop scenario, service continuity can allow users to access virtual resources during an outage regardless of the type of virtual desktop. If the virtual desktop retains user changes, service continuity can also provide access to virtual resources during outages that occur while the user isn’t signed in.

Service continuity treats the physical user device and the virtual device in a double hop scenario as individual client endpoints. Each device has its own set of Workspace connection leases. When a user signs in to Citrix Workspace on a physical device, Workspace connection lease files are downloaded and saved to the user profile on the physical device. The user then accesses a virtual desktop and signs in to Citrix Workspace on the virtual desktop. At this point, a different set of Workspace connection leases is downloaded and saved the user profile on the virtual desktop. Workspace connection lease files are associated with the device they’re downloaded to. Workspace connection lease files can’t be copied to another device and reused, even by the same user. Thus, service continuity can’t provide access to resources during outages that occur after the session ends if the virtual desktop discards changes made during a user session. For this type of virtual desktop, Workspace connection leases are among the changes discarded.

Here’s how service continuity works in double hop scenarios with each type of supported virtual desktop.

VDA management during outages

Service continuity uses the Local Host Cache function within the Citrix Cloud Connector. Local Host Cache allows connection brokering to continue on a site when the connection between the Cloud Delivery Controller and the Cloud Connector fails. Because service continuity relies on Local Host Cache, it shares some limitations with Local Host Cache.

Note:

Although service continuity uses Local Host Cache within the Cloud Connector, unlike Local Host Cache, service continuity isn’t supported with on-premises StoreFront.

Power management of VDAs during outages

If Cloud Connectors lose connectivity to Citrix Cloud, Connectors are unable to to receive hypervisor credentials from Citrix Cloud. This means:

• During an outage, all machines are in the unknown power state and no power operations can be issued. However, VMs on the host that are powered-on can be used for connection requests.

By default, power-managed desktop VDAs in pooled delivery groups that have the ShutdownDesktopsAfterUse property enabled are not available for new connections if Cloud Connectors lose connectivity with Citrix Cloud. You can change this setting to allow those desktops to be used if Cloud Connectors lose connectivity with Citrix Cloud by configuring the ReuseMachinesWithoutShutdownInOutage flag on your delivery groups. Changing the ReuseMachinesWithoutShutdownInOutage parameter to $true can result in data from previous user sessions to be present on the VDA until it is restarted.

Power management resumes when normal operations resume after an outage.

Machine assignment and automatic enrollment

An assigned machine can be used only if the assignment occurred during normal operations. New assignments cannot be made during an outage.

Automatic enrollment and configuration of Remote PC Access machines isn’t possible. However, machines that were enrolled and configured during normal operation are usable.

VDA resources in different zones

Server-hosted applications and desktop users might use more sessions than their configured session limits, if the resources are in different zones.

Unlike Local Host Cache, service continuity can launch apps and desktops from registered VDAs in different zones, providing the resource is published in more than one zone. Citrix Workspace app might take longer to find a healthy zone as it cycles sequentially through all the zones in the Workspace connection lease.

Monitoring and troubleshooting

Service continuity performs two main actions:

• Download Workspace connection leases to the user device. Workspace connection leases are generated and synced with the Citrix Workspace app.
• Launch virtual desktops and apps using Workspace connection leases.

Troubleshooting downloading Workspace connection leases

You can view Workspace connection leases at this location on the user device.

On Windows devices:

C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Citrix\SelfService\ConnectionLeases\Store GUID\User GUID\leases

Username is the user name.

Store GUID is the global unique identifier of the Workspace store.

User GUID is the global unique identifier of the user.

On Mac devices:

$HOME/Library/Application Support/Citrix Receiver/CLSyncRoot

For example, open /Users/luca/Library/Application Support/Citrix Receiver/CLSyncRoot

On Linux:

$HOME/.ICAClient/cache/ConnectionLease

For example, open /home/user1/.ICAClient/cache/ConnectionLease

Workspace connection leases are generated when the Citrix Workspace app connects to the Workspace store. View registry key values on the user device to determine whether the Citrix Workspace app has successfully contacted the Workspace connection lease service in Citrix Cloud.

Open regedit on the user device and view this key:

HKCU\Software\Citrix\Dazzle\Sites\store-xxxx

If these values appear in the registry key, the Citrix Workspace app contacted or attempted to contact the Workspace connection lease service:

• leaseLastCallHomeTime
• leaseLastSyncStatus

If the Citrix Workspace app tried unsuccessfully to contact the Workspace connection lease service, leaseLastCallHomeTime shows an error with an invalid time stamp:

leaseLastCallHomeTime REG_SZ 1/1/0001 12:00:00 AM

If leaseLastCallHomeTime is uninitialized, the Citrix Workspace app never attempted to contact the Workspace connection lease service. To resolve this issue, remove the account from the Citrix Workspace app and add it again.

Citrix Workspace app error codes for Workspace connection leases

When a service continuity error occurs on the user device, an error code appears in the error message. Common errors include:

Access selfservice.txt

To access the selfservice.txt file for self-service troubleshooting, perform the following steps:

1. Create a blank text file and name it enableshieldandlogging.reg.

2. Copy the following text into the file and save:

   Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Citrix\Dazzle] “Tracing”=”True” “AuxTracing”=”True” “DefaultTracingConfiguration”=”global all -detail” “ConnectionLeasingEnabled”=”True”

   [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Citrix\Dazzle] “RemoteDebuggingPort”=”8088”

3. Place your saved file into your client endpoint.
4. The selfservice.txt file is now discoverable at the following path: %LocalAppData%\Citrix\SelfService.

Service continuity in browser

Extensions for Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge make service continuity available to Windows users who access their apps and desktops using those browsers. The extensions are called a Citrix Workspace Web extension and are available at the Chrome web store and the Microsoft Edge Add-on website.

These browser extensions require a native Citrix Workspace app on the user device to support service continuity. These versions are supported:

• Citrix Workspace app 2109 for Windows at a minimum. Supported with Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.
• Citrix Workspace app for Mac version 2112 at a minimum. Supported with Google Chrome.
• Citrix Workspace app for Mac version 2206 at a minimum for use with Safari browser.

Citrix Workspace app for Windows (Store) is not supported.

The native Workspace app communicates with the Citrix Workspace Web extension using the native messaging host protocol for browser extensions. Together, the native Workspace app and the Workspace Web extension use Workspace connection leases to give browser users access to their apps and desktops during outages.

This video shows how to install and use service continuity in browser.

User device setup for browser users

To use service continuity in a browser, users must perform the following steps on their devices:

1. Download and install a version of Citrix Workspace app that is supported for browser users.

2. Download and install the Citrix Workspace Web extension for Chrome or Edge.

Browser user experience

When users click their apps or desktops, the app or desktop opens without users being prompted to open the Citrix Workspace launcher.

Browser user experience during outages

Users can access their apps and desktops from a browser during outages, as long as the user device maintains a network connection to a resource location.

If an outage occurs while the user is logged in to Workspace through a browser, this message appears near the top of the browser window:

Users can access apps and desktops that are available offline by clicking any icon that is not dimmed. Users can also try to get back online by clicking Reconnect to Workspace.

When an outage prevents users from logging in to Workspace through a browser, the user is prompted work offline or try logging in again. To access available apps and desktops offline, users click Use Workspace Offline.

If an outage prevents users from logging in to the Workspace after navigating to the Workspace URL, the window appears after a specified timeout interval. By default, the window appears 60 seconds after the user navigates to the Workspace URL.

To configure the login timeout setting, click the extension icon in the browser on the user device. Use the window that appears to enable or disable login timeout and set the timeout duration:

An outage might prevent the user from logging in if the browser has been redirected to a third-party identity provider authentication site. In this case, the user can type the Workspace URL into the browser, which causes the window prompting users to work offline to appear. The user doesn’t have to wait through the login timeout interval for the window to appears.

Users can also access apps and desktops available during an outage this way:

1. Click the extension icon in the browser.

2. In the window that appears, click the button under Work Offline. This button says Go to and then the name of your Workspace store.

3. In the window that appears, click Use Workspace Offline.

During some outages, the warning window prompting users to work offline appears automatically when the extension detects Workspace-side issues. The user doesn’t need to take any action or wait through the login timeout interval.

Browser limitations

If users clear cookies and other site data in their browsers during an outage, service continuity doesn’t work until they authenticate to Workspace again.

Unless the user enables the extension to work in incognito mode, service continuity isn’t supported in incognito mode.

Troubleshooting for browser users

In the Advanced menu of the Citrix Workspace browser app account settings, ensure the current method for app and desktop launch preference is set to Use Citix Workspace App. If this option is set to Use Web Browser, service continuity isn’t supported in the browser.

Ensure that the extension icon in the browser appears green after the browser loads the Workspace URL.

To download logs, click the extension icon in the browser. Then click Download Logs.