What is Citrix Cloud ADM service, and does my company need it? Citrix Application Delivery Management (ADM) is a platform for Netscaler, whether a gateway or an Application Delivery Controller (ADC). However, the ADM service can do much more than manage Netscaler, and I will explain that in three parts. The first part will explain what can be done with the ADM service. The second part deals with the different configurations of the ADM agent and what to look out for. Finally, in the third part, I will explain what can be done with the data collected by the ADM service as an example. The Cloud ADM service offers excellent added value for Netscaler Gateway customers, especially from Netscaler version 13.x onwards.
When it comes to Citrix Netscaler, the main focus is on security for my company when the Netscaler provides services to the outside. Many Citrix customers use the Netscaler ADC, specifically the Netscaler Gateway, for secured HDX connections into the corporate network. However, many other options exist, such as VPN, reverse proxy connections for email, SharePoint, etc. Therefore, the security aspect of Netscaler is hugely important and should be constantly reviewed. The security impact is precisely why I recommend the free Citrix Cloud ADM to all my customers. Once set up, the ADM service monitors the Netscaler, whether one or multiple Netscaler instances and regardless of what edition.
The integrated notification then sends proactive emails, for example, when a newly available firmware fixes security problems or SSL certificates are about to expire, and other self-configurable notifications on various topics. Moreover, via the "Security Advisory", security issues and their importance, like Low, High, etc., are displayed.
An ADM agent appliance can also be used to manage the Netscaler, such as creating backups, remote firmware upgrades, or even setups via "Stylebook". In addition, Citrix Cloud ADM includes two free licences for advanced analytics. This, properly configured, provides a wealth of further information, especially for HDX connections via the HDX Insight, with values for each user connecting to the gateway. This data includes GEO location, latency, and bandwidths for individual virtual channels of the HDX data stream.
Even without a licensed application firewall, some things can be filtered via the syslog integration, such as incorrect logins or failed attacks! Here, the boss quickly becomes aware when it is shown how often attacks occur. For the customer indicated in the following picture, 556 hacker attacks were registered within one week.
Summery
The Citrix Cloud ADM service is a must-have for anyone using Netscaler ADC or Netscaler Gateway! Citrix makes it easy for businesses and offers this service free of charge, so don't hesitate to use Citrix Cloud ADM immediately!
In the second part, I will discuss the ADM agent's two configurations and explain their advantages and disadvantages. Unfortunately, Citrix does not make the differences between the ADM agents themselves obvious, and they are not clearly defined in the deployment of the ADM agent.