Chapter 16: Securing Client Access with the Citrix Access Gateway

OVERVIEW

As discussed in Chapter 14, there are many ways to provide on-demand access to the server-based environment. Choosing which method depends on many factors, the most important of which is the location of the end users. For internal LAN/WAN users, securing access to the servers (above and beyond native ICA encryption) is often not needed, and thus a simple deployment of Web Interface for Citrix Presentation Server 4 (WI) with the appropriate ICA client provides a full solution. For home-based or traveling users, though (external users accessing the network via the public Internet), Citrix has developed two access methods that provides secure, simple access via a familiar Web interface. A secure access center, for the purpose of this book, can refer to both methods available for creating a web-based access solution: Secure Gateway for Citrix Access Suite (the combination of Web Interface and Secure Gateway), and the Citrix Access Gateway (the Access Gateway appliance with or without Advanced Access Controls [AAC]). The Secure Gateway/Web Interface (SG/WI) configuration is a "no cost" (no additional licensing) feature available for Citrix Presentation Server and has only minor changes since the MetaFrame XP version. The Citrix Access Gateway may be separately licensed or licensed as an included component of the Citrix Access Suite; however, the Access Gateway Appliance itself must be purchased separately.

This chapter focuses on the state of the art, deploying an access center using the Citrix Access Gateway with Advanced Access Controls. Readers who wish to deploy the legacy Secure Gateway/Web Interface as an access center should refer to Chapter 16 of Citrix MetaFrame Access Suite for Windows Server 2003: The Official Guide, McGraw-Hill/ Osborne, 2003), and to the current iterations of the Web Interface Administrator's Guide and the Secure Gateway for Windows Administrator's Guide (available from Citrix's Web site).