Linux Virtual Delivery Agent

What’s new

What’s new in 2212

Version 2212 of the Linux VDA includes the following new features and enhancements:

Support for RHEL 9.0 and Rocky Linux 9.0

We have added RHEL 9.0 and Rocky Linux 9.0 as supported distributions. For more information, see System requirements.

USB device redirection enhancements

We have made the following enhancements for USB device redirection:

  • We now use USB/IP as the new virtual host controller for USB device redirection. Because, in most cases, the USB/IP kernel module is released with Linux kernel version 3.17 and later, you don’t have to build the kernel module by default.
  • We have added support for USB 3.0 ports. You can now insert USB 3.0 devices into USB 3.0 ports on a client device.
  • We have optimized bulk transfers and increased the transfer speed. The boost is more prominent for high latency environments.
  • We have extended USB device redirection to more USB devices such as TD-RDF5A Transcend USB device and the composite USB device, Yubico YubiKey OTP+FIDO+CCID.

For more information, see USB device redirection.

Hardware acceleration for specific non-virtualized GPUs from NVIDIA

In the Linux VDA documentation, non-virtualized GPUs refers to:

  • GPUs used in Remote PC Access scenarios
  • GPUs passed through from a hypervisor

For HDX 3D Pro graphics to render with superior performance, we now enable hardware acceleration for specific non-virtualized GPUs from NVIDIA. For the specific non-virtualized GPUs, see the supported hardware section of the release notes for NVIDIA Linux Capture SDK.

For more information, see Non-virtualized GPUs.

Replacing pam_krb5 with SSSD for smart card and FAS authentication

Previously, to use smart card or Federated Authentication Service (FAS) authentication on RHEL 8 and Rocky Linux 8, you had to build the pam_krb5 module manually. Starting with this release, performing this manual step is no longer necessary for RHEL 8 and Rocky Linux 8 machines delivered in VDI mode. For more information, see Federated Authentication Service and Smart cards.

Extending easy install GUI to include MCS configuration

Previously, you could configure MCS variables only by editing the /etc/xdl/mcs/mcs.conf file. This release extends the easy install GUI to include MCS configuration so that you can also configure MCS variables by using the GUI. After you click Deploy on the GUI, the variables you set on the GUI override the variables you set in the /etc/xdl/mcs/mcs.conf file. For more information, see Step 3: Prepare a master image.

Support for recording Linux sessions (experimental)

As an experimental feature, you can now record and replay sessions hosted on a Linux VDA. For more information, see Session recording (experimental).

Database options now available (experimental)

As an experimental feature, you can now use SQLite in addition to PostgreSQL. You can also switch between SQLite and PostgreSQL by editing /etc/xdl/db.conf after installing the Linux VDA package. To do so, complete the following steps:

  1. Run /opt/Citrix/VDA/sbin/ctxcleanup.sh. Omit this step if it is a fresh installation.
  2. Edit /etc/xdl/db.conf to specify a database to use.
  3. Run any of the following scripts based on your installation method:
  • /opt/Citrix/VDA/sbin/ctxinstall.sh or /opt/Citrix/VDA/bin/easyinstall if you are using east install
  • /opt/Citrix/VDA/sbin/ctxsetup.sh if you are installing the Linux VDA manually
  • /opt/Citrix/VDA/sbin/deploymcs.sh if you are using MCS to create Linux VDAs

Note:

  • We recommend you use SQLite for VDI mode only.
  • For manual installations, you must install SQLite and PostgreSQL manually before being able to switch between them. For easy install and MCS, you can switch between SQLite and PostgreSQL without having to install them manually.
  • You can also use /etc/xdl/db.conf to configure the port number for PostgreSQL.

For more information, see the installation articles.

What’s new in earlier releases

For new features included in the releases that shipped after the 1912 LTSR through the 2210 CR, see What’s new history.

What’s new