System requirements
Software prerequisites
.NET Framework 4.7.1 or later. This component is necessary for the Workspace Environment Management agent. If not already installed, it is automatically installed during agent installation. However, we recommend that you install this prerequisite manually before you install the agent. Otherwise, you need to restart your machine to continue with the agent installation, and it might take a long time to complete.
Microsoft Visual C++. This component is necessary for the Workspace Environment Management agent. If not already installed, the Microsoft Visual C++ 2015-2019 Redistributable is automatically installed during agent installation.
Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime version 98 or later. This component is necessary for the Workspace Environment Management service agent. If not already installed, it is automatically installed during agent installation.
Note:
- Only version 2209 and later require this component.
- To download and install Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime, you must have internet access.
Microsoft SQL Server 2012 or later. Workspace Environment Management requires sysadmin access to a SQL Server instance to create its database, and read/write access to the database to use it. During the database creation, Workspace Environment Management creates a SQL login and then adds a database user mapping to the login. The user is automatically granted read/write access to the database. The SQL Server instance must use case-insensitive collation. Otherwise, database creation or upgrade fails.
Note:
In case of an upgrade, we recommend using a user account that has the sysadmin server role.
Microsoft Active Directory. Workspace Environment Management requires read access to your Active Directory to push configured settings out to users.
Note:
- External trust relationships are not supported by WEM’s global catalog, which stores a copy of all Active Directory objects in a forest. Instead you must use other relationship types, such as forest trust relationships.
- WEM also does not support one-way forest trust relationship between forests.
Citrix License Server 11.14. Workspace Environment Management requires a Citrix license. Citrix licenses are managed and stored on Citrix License Servers.
Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops. Any supported version of Citrix Virtual Apps or Citrix Virtual Desktops is required for this release of Workspace Environment Management.
Citrix Workspace app for Windows. To connect to Citrix StoreFront store resources that have been configured from the Workspace Environment Management administration console, Citrix Workspace app for Windows must be installed on the administration console machine and on the agent host machine. The following versions are supported:
- On administration console machines:
- Citrix Receiver for Windows versions: 4.9 LTSR, 4.10, 4.10.1, 4.11, and 4.12
- Citrix Workspace app 1808 for Windows and later
- On agent host machines:
- Citrix Receiver for Windows versions: 4.4 LTSR CU5, 4.7, 4.9, 4.9 LTSR CU1, and 4.10
- Citrix Workspace app 1808 for Windows and later
For Transformer kiosk-enabled machines, Citrix Workspace app for Windows must be installed with single sign-on enabled, and configured for pass-through authentication. For more information, see Citrix Workspace app documentation.
Operating system prerequisites
Note:
Workspace Environment Management and associated components are supported only on operating system versions that are supported by their manufacturer. You might need to purchase extended support from your operating system manufacturer.
Infrastructure services
Supported operating systems:
- Windows Server 2022 Standard and Datacenter Editions
- Windows Server 2019 Standard and Datacenter Editions
- Windows Server 2016 Standard and Datacenter Editions
- Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard and Datacenter Editions
Note:
Running Workspace Environment Management infrastructure services on a pool of servers (infrastructure servers) with different operating system versions is supported. To upgrade the operating system of an infrastructure server, first install the infrastructure service on a different machine with the new operating system, manually configure it with identical infrastructure service settings, then disconnect the ‘old’ infrastructure server.
Administration console
Supported operating systems:
- Windows 11, 32-bit and 64-bit
- Windows 10 version 1607 and newer, 32-bit and 64-bit
- Windows Server 2022 Standard and Datacenter Editions
- Windows Server 2019 Standard and Datacenter Editions
- Windows Server 2016 Standard and Datacenter Editions
- Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard and Datacenter Editions
Agent
Supported operating systems:
- Windows 11, 32-bit and 64-bit
- Windows 10 version 1607 and later, 32-bit and 64-bit
- Windows 8.1 Professional and Enterprise Editions, 32-bit and 64-bit
-
Windows 7 SP1 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate Editions, 32-bit and 64-bit
- Windows Server 2022 Standard and Datacenter Editions*
- Windows Server 2019 Standard and Datacenter Editions*
- Windows Server 2016 Standard and Datacenter Editions*
- Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard and Datacenter Editions*
- Windows Server 2012 Standard and Datacenter Editions*
- Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Standard, Enterprise, and Datacenter Editions*
* The Transformer feature is not supported on multi-session operating systems.
In WEM 4.4, Windows XP was supported.
Note:
Citrix Workspace Environment Management agents running on multi-session operating systems cannot operate correctly when Microsoft’s Dynamic Fair Share Scheduling (DFSS) is enabled. For information about how to disable DFSS, see CTX127135.
SQL Server Always On
Workspace Environment Management supports Always On availability groups (Basic and Advanced) for database high availability based on Microsoft SQL Server. Citrix has tested this using Microsoft SQL Server 2017.
Always On availability groups allow databases to automatically fail over if the hardware or software of a principal or primary SQL Server fails, which ensures that Workspace Environment Management continues to work as expected. The Always On availability groups feature requires that the SQL Server instances reside on the Windows Server failover Cluster (WSFC) nodes. For more information, see https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/database-engine/availability-groups/windows/always-on-availability-groups-sql-server?view=sql-server-ver15.
To use Workspace Environment Management (WEM) with Always On availability groups:
- Open WEM Database Management Utility and then create a WEM database.
- Make sure that you select the Set vuemUser SQL user account password option and type a password for the vuemUser SQL user account. You must provide this password when you add the database to the availability group.
- For “Server and instance name,” type the name of the primary SQL Server.
Note:
The WEM database is created on the primary SQL Server.
- Go to your primary SQL Server and then back up the WEM database you created.
- To select the WEM database on the Add Database to Availability Group > Select Databases page, you must type the password (the password you created in step 1). To do so, right-click the corresponding blank area in the Password column, type the password, and then click Refresh.
- Select the Full recovery model for the database backup.
-
On the SQL Server, add the WEM database to the availability group and then configure the availability group listener.
- Go to the WEM infrastructure service machine and then open the WEM Infrastructure Service Configuration utility.
- Database server and instance. Type the name of the availability group listener.
- Database failover server and instance. Leave empty.
- Database name. Type the name of the database.
Hardware prerequisites
Infrastructure services: 4 vCPUs, 8 GB RAM, 80 GB of available disk space. For scale and size considerations for infrastructure services, see Scale and size considerations for deployments.
Administration console: minimum dual core processor with 2 GB RAM, 40 MB of available disk space (100 MB during install).
Agent: average RAM consumption is 10 MB, but we recommend that you provide 20 MB to be safe. 40 MB of available disk space (100 MB during installation).
Database: minimum 75 MB of available disk space for the Workspace Environment Management database.
Service dependencies
Netlogon. The agent service (“Norskale Agent Host service”) is added to the Net Logon Dependencies list to ensure that the agent service is running before logons can be made.
Antivirus exclusions
By default, the Workspace Environment Management agent and infrastructure services install into the following folders:
- Agent
- C:\Program Files (x86)\Citrix\Workspace Environment Management Agent (on 64-bit OS)
- C:\Program Files\ Citrix\Workspace Environment Management Agent (on 32-bit OS)
- Infrastructure services
- C:\Program Files (x86)\Norskale\Norskale Infrastructure Services
On-access scanning must be disabled for the entire “Citrix” installation folder for the agent and the entire “Norskale” installation folder for the infrastructure services. When this is not possible, the following processes must be excluded from on-access scanning:
In the infrastructure services installation folder
- Norskale Broker Service.exe
- Norskale Broker Service Configuration Utility.exe
- Norskale Database Management Utility.exe
In the agent installation folder
- Agent Log Parser.exe
- AgentCacheUtility.exe
- AgentGroupPolicyUtility.exe
- AppsMgmtUtil.exe
- Citrix.Wem.Agent.Service.exe
- Citrix.Wem.Agent.LogonService.exe
- PrnsMgmtUtil.exe
- VUEMAppCmd.exe
- VUEMAppCmdDbg.exe
- VUEMAppHide.exe
- VUEMCmdAgent.exe
- VUEMMaintMsg.exe
- VUEMRSAV.exe
- VUEMUIAgent.exe