MWith Citrix NetScaler 11.0.63, you can use a StoreFront 3.0.1-specific monitor to check StoreFront services. However, attempts to configure this will fail for various reasons. Here’s a quick guide on how to do it:
- Netscaler SIP must be able to communicate with the StoreFront server (ports 80/443), which is not possible in a restrictive environment (Citrix; the monitor should use SNIP!).
- The StoreFront Monitor service must first be enabled on port 80/443! I use port 80 because the data isn't sensitive and it only shows whether Windows services are running. Plus, this helps me avoid potential certificate issues.
PowerShell with Administrative Privileges on the StoreFront server. The following lines can be used as a PowerShell script:
# Import StoreFront API Modules
& "$Env:PROGRAMFILES"\Citrix\Receiver StoreFront\Scripts\ImportModules.ps1"
$ServiceURL = "http://localhost:80/StorefrontMonitor"
Remove-DSServiceMonitorFeature
Install-DSServiceMonitorFeature -ServiceUrl $ServiceUR
This first removes the default service on port 8000 and then creates a new one on port 80. The monitor service can then be checked using the following URL: http://localhost/StorefrontMonitor/GetSFServicesStatus
3. In an environment with two or more StoreFront servers in a load-balanced configuration, the change is distributed across the server group.
The StoreFront monitor should now be set to active in Netscaler.
For more details, see: http://docs.citrix.com/en-us/storefront/3/integrate-with-netscaler-and-netscaler-gateway/load-balancing-with-netscaler.html
For me personally, however, the monitor service isn't enough, because even though all services are active, the error: „The request could not be completed“might appear. That’s why I’m using another monitor that searches the website for a specific pattern to ensure that the login page loads.”.
