Chapter 16: Securing Client Access

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 is not needed, and thus a simple deployment of MetaFrame Web Interface with Program Neighborhood Agent provides a full solution. For home-based or traveling users though (external users accessing the network via the public Internet), Citrix has developed a client access method 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: MetaFrame Secure Gateway (the combination of MetaFrame Web Interface, Secure Ticket Authority, and MetaFrame Secure Gateway) and MetaFrame Secure Access Manager (a combination of Web Extensions, Secure Ticket Authority, and MetaFrame Secure Gateway). Secure Gateway and Web Interface are components of MetaFrame XP Presentation Server, and MetaFrame Secure Access Manager is a stand-alone product that integrates with MetaFrame XP Presentation Server.

Secure Access Center Deployments

Of all the trends leading organizations to server-based computing, one of the most significant is the dependency on IT staff to make everything easy to deploy and intuitive for end users. This dependency leads to the necessity of making any software deployment obvious, and void of any required end-user instructions. Thus, the largest cost savings of SBC is in the actual deployment of the application. Although Citrix allows a user to manually configure an ICA session, and even allows an administrator to automatically push an ICA application icon to users' desktops, the most recognized interface for users today is still a web interface. The web browser has become the ubiquitous access center—even the most nonsavvy end user has seen a web interface, and a significant number of the working population spends some portion of their day clicking web icons and blue hyperlinks, and typing URL addresses.

Although Citrix provides several automated ways to deploy an access center to end users (in addition to the nonautomated method of having a user create an ICA session from Citrix Program Neighborhood), the combination of MetaFrame Web Interface and MetaFrame Secure Gateway provides a secure, web-based deployment that continues to revolutionize server-based computing.

Web Interface and Secure Gateway are both included with all versions of MetaFrame XP. Web Interface is also supported on Solaris platforms, but the latest version of Secure Gateway is only supported on Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003 platforms. Some enterprises will want to go further than just secure access to MetaFrame applications, however, and will deploy MetaFrame Secure Access Manager to further "webify" their environment.