Installation guide
4 Implementing Windows Terminal Server and Citrix MetaFrame on IBM ^ xSeries Servers
WTS, such as IPX, NetBIOS, and Async (modem) using the Independent Computing
Architecture (ICA) protocol. MetaFrame provides essentially the same function set to clients
as WTS does, but MetaFrame broadens the client base and manageability of those clients.
MetaFrame also provides clients with services such as
published applications. By publishing
an application on the server, an administrator makes the application available to users as a
resource. Users of client machines can select an application and launch it for use. Figure 1-3
illustrates a user’s view of a set of published applications.
Figure 1-3 Citrix Program Neighborhood with some published applications
Users with Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, and XP and Java clients (in MetaFrame XP FR3) can
run these applications in seamless mode. This means that the remote application looks as if it
is running locally. The application window can be resized and moved around a user’s desktop
alongside other, perhaps local, applications. The Citrix ICA client can be loaded on Windows
clients automatically from a Citrix Web Interface server, making it a quick process for
companies to distribute new applications rapidly across an entire organization.
The benefit to administrators is that they can easily make applications available without
visiting users’ computers to install the application software. Managing the application is also
simplified since upgrades and patches can be applied centrally.
You may hear this technology dubbed
thin client. This is because the entire Windows desktop
or a Citrix MetaFrame published application is provided by a central high-powered server. It
uses a small client program (usually 1 to 2 MB in size) to render the display updates and
transmit keyboard and mouse input.
1.4 Citrix MetaFrame XP Presentation Server
The Citrix MetaFrame product suite has been simplified from previous versions, removing the
need for additional products like Load Balancing Services. Many of these additional services
have been integrated into the core product.
MetaFrame XP Presentation Server is available in three versions, XPs, XPa, and XPe.
Table 1-1 shows the product highlights of all three versions.