System Configuration – NetScaler 14.1 – Citrix ADC 13

set ns hostname ns02 add dns nameServer 10.2.2.11 set ns param -timezone "GMT-06:00-CST-America/Chicago"

• License files are stored in /nsconfig/license.

• NetScaler 14.1 build 21 and later let you expand size of Hard Disk 1 and after the reboot NetScaler will automatically expand the /var partition, which you can see by running df -h in the shell.
  
  
• If you SSH to the appliance, run shell , run cd /var , then you can run the following command to see disk space consumption sorted by highest:

  du -d 1 | sort -n -r

  

• /var/nsinstall has old firmware upgrades that can be deleted.
  
• Check /var/netscaler/nsbackup for old backup files.
  
• A common consumer of disk is the counter files located in /var/nslog.
  
• Also look in /var/core for crash dumps.

• Or go to System >High Availability >Nodes and do a Force Failover.
  

1. Go to System >High Availability >Nodes, open the menu named Select Action, and do a Force Failover.
   

   force ha failover

   Port Channels on Physical Citrix ADC MPX

   If you are configuring a Citrix ADC MPX (physical appliance), and if you plugged in multiple cables, and if more than one of those cables is configured on the switch for the same VLAN(s), then you must bond the interfaces together by configuring a Port Channel.

   • On the switch, create a Port Channel, preferably with LACP enabled.
   • The Port Channel can be an Access Port (one VLAN), or a Trunk Port (multiple VLANs).
   • On the Citrix ADC, configure LACP on the network interfaces, or create a Channel manually. Both methods are detailed below.

   LACP Port Channel

   To configure Port Channels on a Citrix ADC, you can either enable LACP, or you can configure a Channel manually. If your switch is configured for LACP, do the following on Citrix ADC to enable LACP on the member interfaces.

   1. Go to System > Network > Interfaces.
      
   2. On the right, edit one of the Port Channel member interfaces.
      
   3. Scroll down.
   4. Check the box next to Enable LACP.
      
   5. In the LACP Key field, enter a number. The number you enter here becomes the channel number. For example, if you enter 1, Citrix ADC creates a Channel named LA/1. All member interfaces of the same Port Channel must have the same LACP Key. Click OK when done.
      
   6. Continue enabling LACP on member interfaces and specifying the key (channel number). If you are connected to two port channels, one set of member interfaces should have LACP Key 1, while the other set of member interfaces should have LACP Key 2.
   7. In an HA pair, you must perform this interface configuration separately on both nodes. The LACP commands are not propagated across the HA pair.
   8. If you go to System > Network > Channels.
      
   9. You’ll see the LACP Channels on the right. These were created automatically after you set the LACP Key on the interface.
      
   10. If you edit a Channel, there’s a LACP Details tab that shows you the member interfaces.
       

   Manual Channel

   If your switch ports are not configured for LACP, then you can instead create a Channel manually.

   1. Go to System > Network > Channels.
      
   2. On the right, click Add.
      
   3. At the top, choose an unused Channel ID (e.g. LA/1).
      
   4. On the bottom, in the Bind/Unbind section, click Add.
      
   5. Click the plus icon next to each member interface to move it to the right. Then click Create.
      

   Redundant Interface Set

   

   You can also configure the Citrix ADC for switch-independent teaming. Create a Channel manually, but select a Channel ID starts with LR instead of LA. This is called Link Redundancy or Redundant Interface Set.
   

   Channel Minimum Throughput

   Channels can be configured so that a High Availability failover occurs when the Channel throughput drops below a configured value. For example, if you have four members in a Channel, you might want a High Availability failover to occur when two of the member interfaces fail.

   1. Go to System > Network > Channels, and edit a Channel.
      
   2. Near the top, enter a minimum threshold value in the Throughput field. If the total bonded throughput drops below this level, a High Availability failover will occur.
      

   Trunk Port and High Availability

   If you are trunking multiple VLANs across the channel, and if every VLAN is tagged (no native VLAN), then a special configuration is needed to allow High Availability heartbeats across the channel.

   1. Go to System >Network >VLAN.
   2. Add a VLAN object.
      
   3. Bind the VLAN to a channel or interface. To bind multiple VLANs to a single interface/channel, the VLANs must be tagged.
      
   4. Configure one of the VLANs as untagged. Only untag one of the VLANs. Which one you untag doesn’t matter. If your switch doesn’t allow untagged packets, don’t worry, we’ll fix that soon.
      
   5. If your switch doesn’t allow untagged packets, go to System > Network > Channels, and edit the channel.
      
   6. Scroll down and switch to the tab named Settings.
      
   7. Set Tag all VLANs to ON to cause Citrix ADC to tag all packets, including the VLAN you formerly marked as untagged.
      • We essentially moved the VLAN tagging from the VLAN to the Channel/Interface, which means VLAN tagging happens lower in the network stack so High Availability heartbeat packets are also tagged.
   8. Note: in an HA pair, you must perform this Tagall configuration separately on both nodes. The Tagall command is not propagated across the HA pair.
      

   Common physical interface configuration

   Here is a common Citrix ADC networking configuration for a physical Citrix ADC MPX that is connected to both internal and DMZ.

   Note: If the appliance is connected to both DMZ and internal, then be aware that this configuration essentially bypasses (straddles) the DMZ-to-internal firewall. That’s because if a user connects to a public/DMZ VIP, then Citrix ADC could use an internal SNIP to connect to the internal server: in other words, traffic comes into a DMZ VLAN, but goes out an internal VLAN. A more secure approach is to have different appliances for internal and DMZ. Or use Citrix ADC SDX, partitioning, or traffic domains.

   • 0/1 connected to a dedicated management network. NSIP is on this network.
     • No data on 0/1 – 0/1 is not optimized for high throughput so don’t put data traffic on this interface. If you don’t have a dedicated management network, then put your NSIP on one of the other interfaces (1/1, 10/1, LA/1, etc.) and don’t connect any cables to 0/1.
     • No SNIP on management network – To prevent Citrix ADC from using this dedicated management interface for outbound data traffic, don’t put a SNIP on this management network, and configure the default gateway (route 0.0.0.0) to use a router on a different data network (typically the DMZ VLAN). However, if there’s no SNIP on this VLAN, and if the default gateway is on a different network, then there will be asymmetric routing for management traffic, since inbound management traffic goes in 0/1, but reply traffic goes out LA/1 or LA/2. To work around this problem, enable Mac Based Forwarding, or configure Policy Based Routing. Both of these options are detailed in the next section.
     • Management VLAN tagging – It’s easiest if the switch port for this dedicated management interface is an Access Port (untagged). If VLAN tagging is required, then NSVLANmust be configured on the Citrix ADC.
     • Access Port – If only one internal VLAN, configure the switch ports/channel as an Access Port.
     • Trunk Port – If multiple internal VLANs, configure the switch ports/channel as a Trunk Port. Set one of the VLANs as the channel’s Native VLAN so it doesn’t have to be tagged.
     • Tag HA heartbeat packets – If the networking team is unwilling to configure a Native VLAN on the Trunk Port, then Citrix ADC needs special configuration (tagall) to ensure HA heartbeat packets are tagged.
     • Access Port – If only one DMZ VLAN, configure the switch ports/channel as an Access Port.
     • Trunk Port – If multiple DMZ VLANs, configure the switch ports/channel as a Trunk Port. Set one of the VLANs as the channel’s Native VLAN so it doesn’t have to be tagged.
     • Tag HA heartbeat packets – If the networking team is unwilling to configure a Native VLAN on the Trunk Port, then Citrix ADC needs special configuration (tagall) to ensure HA heartbeat packets are tagged.

     Dedicated Management Subnet

     If your Citrix ADC is connected to multiple subnets, then one of those subnets could be a Dedicated Management Subnet. If you have a subnet that is for NSIP only, and if you don’t want to use the NSIP subnet for data traffic, then you’ll want to move the default route off of the NSIP subnet and onto a different data subnet. However, moving the default route breaks traffic from the NSIP. To work around this problem, create PBRs for the NSIP traffic, including both replies from NSIP, and traffic sourced by the NSIP (e.g. Syslog).

     1. Go to System > Network > PBRs. You can also search the menu for PBRs.
     2. On the right, click Add.
        
     3. Give the PBR a name (e.g. NSIP)
     4. Set the Next Hop Type drop-down to New.
     5. In the Next Hop field, enter the router IP address that is on the same network as the NSIP.
        
     6. In the Configure IP section, set the first Operation drop-down to =.
     7. In the Source IP Low field, enter the NSIP. This causes the PBR to match all traffic with NSIP as the Source IP address.
        • In an HA pair, the PBR command is synced and applied to both nodes in the pair. To accommodate this, in the Source IP Low field, enter the lower NSIP address. Then in the Source IP High field, enter the higher NSIP address.
     8. You don’t need anything else.
        
     9. Scroll down, and click Create. This rule routes any traffic with NSIP as source IP address through a router on the NSIP subnet. The default route will be ignored, but only for NSIP traffic.
        
     10. DNS traffic is special. To handle DNS traffic sourced by the NSIP, create another PBR by right-clicking the existing one, and clicking Add.
         
     11. Change the name to NSIP-DNS or similar.
     12. Change the Action drop-down to DENY, which tells ADC that traffic matching this PBR should use normal routing instead of overriding to a different gateway.
     13. Change the Priority to a lower number than the original PBR so this rule is matched before the general NSIP rule. Scroll down.
         
     14. In the Configure IP section, remove all settings.
         
     15. In the Configure Protocol section, click the Protocol drop-down, and select UDP (17).
         
     16. Above the two Destination port fields, change the Operation to =.
     17. In the Destination port Low field, enter 53.
         
     18. Scroll down, and click Create.
         
     19. Make sure the DENY PBR is higher in the list (lower priority number) than the ALLOW PBR.
         
     20. Then open the Action menu, and click Apply.
         
     21. Click Yes to apply.
         

     add ns pbr NSIP-DNS DENY -destPort = 53 -nextHop 10.2.2.1 -protocol UDP -priority 5 add ns pbr NSIP ALLOW -srcIP = 10.2.2.126-10.2.2.127 -nextHop 10.2.2.1 apply ns pbrs

     Floating Management IP

     If you want a floating management IP that is always on the Primary appliance, here’s a method of granting management access without adding a SNIP to the management subnet:

     1. Create a Load Balancing Service on HTTP 80 on IP address 127.0.0.1. Note: Citrix ADC doesn’t allow creating a Load Balancing service on IP address 127.0.0.1 and port 443 (SSL).
        
        • The IP address you enter is 127.0.0.1. When you view the Load Balancing Service, it shows the local NSIP. After a HA failover, the IP Address will change to the other NSIP.
          
     2. Create a Load Balancing Virtual Server using a VIP on the management subnet. Protocol = SSL. Port number = 443. Bind a certificate.
        
        1. Bind the loopback:80 service to the Load Balancing Virtual Server. In summary: the front end is 443 SSL, while the LB Service is 80 HTTP.
           
     3. Add the new VIP to the PBRs so the replies go out the correct interface. Re-apply the PBRs after you modify them.
        
        
        
     4. You should then be able to point your browser to https://Step2VIP to manage the appliance.
     5. You can perform the same loopback trick for 22 SSH. Create a Load Balancing Service on TCP 22 on IP address 127.0.0.1.
        
     6. Create a Load Balancing Virtual Server using the same management VIP specified earlier. Protocol = TCP. Port number = 22.
        
        1. Bind the loopback:TCP:22 service to the Load Balancing Virtual Server.
           
     7. You should then be able to point your SSH Client to to manage the appliance.
     8. CLI Commands for the floating management VIP:

        add service mgmt 127.0.0.1 HTTP 80 add service mgmt-SSH 127.0.0.1 TCP 22 add lb vserver mgmt-SSL SSL 10.2.2.128 443 add lb vserver mgmt-SSH TCP 10.2.2.128 22 bind lb vserver mgmt-SSL mgmt bind lb vserver mgmt-SSH mgmt-SSH set ns pbr NSIP-DNS DENY -srcIP = 10.2.2.126-10.2.2.128 -destPort = 53 -protocol UDP -priority 5 set ns pbr NSIP ALLOW -srcIP = 10.2.2.126-10.2.2.128 -nextHop 10.2.2.1 apply ns pbrs

        Multiple Subnets / Multiple VLANs

        Best practices for network configurations at Citrix Docs and Citrix CTX214033 Networking and VLAN Best Practices for NetScaler discusses many of the same topics detailed in this section.

        If this is a physical MPX appliance, see the previous Port Channel section first.

        If you only connected Citrix ADC to one subnet (one VLAN) then skip ahead to DNS servers.

        Configuration Overview

        The general configuration process for multiple subnets is this:

        1. Create a SNIP for each subnet/VLAN.
        2. Create a VLAN object for each subnet/VLAN.
           1. Bind the VLAN object to the SNIP for the subnet.
           2. Bind the VLAN object to the Port Channel or single interface that is configured for the VLAN/subnet.

           SNIPs for each VLAN

           You will need one SNIP for each connected subnet/VLAN. VLAN objects (tagged or untagged) bind the SNIPs to particular interfaces. Citrix ADC uses the SNIP’s subnet mask to assign IP addresses to particular interfaces.

           NSIP Subnet

           The NSIP subnet is special, so you won’t be able to bind it to a VLAN. Use the following SNIP/VLAN method for any network that does not have the NSIP. The remaining interfaces will be in VLAN 1, which is the VLAN that the NSIP is in. VLAN 1 is only locally significant so it doesn’t matter if the switch is configured with it or not. Just make sure the switch has a native VLAN configured, or configure the interface as an access port. If you require trunking of every VLAN, including the NSIP VLAN, then additional configuration is required (NSVLAN or Tagall).

           Configure Subnets/VLANs

           To configure Citrix ADC with multiple connected subnets:

           1. Add a subnet IP for every network the Citrix ADC is connected to, except the dedicated management network. Expand System, expand Network, and click IPs.
           2. On the right, click Add.
              
              1. Enter the Subnet IP Address for this network/subnet. The SNIP will be the source IP address the Citrix ADC will use when communicating with any other service/server on this network. The Subnet IP is also known as the Interface IP for the network. You will need a separate SNIP for each connected network (VLAN).
              2. Enter the netmask for this network.
              3. Ensure the IP Type is set to Subnet IP. Scroll down.
                 

              add ns ip 172.16.1.11 255.255.255.0 -type SNIP

              

           3. Under Application Access Controls, decide if you want to enable GUI management on this SNIP. This feature can be particularly useful for High Availability pairs, because when you point your browser to the SNIP, only the primary appliance will respond. However, enabling management access on the SNIP can be a security risk, especially if this is a SNIP for a DMZ network.
           4. Click Create when done. Continue adding SNIPs for each connected network (VLAN).
              

              set ns ip 172.16.1.11 -mgmtAccess ENABLED -telnet DISABLED -ftp DISABLED

        3. On the left, expand System, expand Network, and click VLANs.
        4. On the right, click Add.
           
           1. Enter a descriptive VLAN ID. The actual VLAN ID only matters if you intend to tag the traffic. If not tagged, then any ID (except 1) will work.
           2. In the Interface Bindings section, check the box next to one physical interface or channel (e.g. LA/1) that is connected to the network.
           3. If this is a trunk port, select Tagged if the switch port/channel is expecting the VLAN to be tagged.
           4. If your switches do not allow untagged packets, then you will need to use the tagall interface option to tag Citrix ADC High Availability heartbeat packets. See CTX122921 Citrix NetScaler Interface Tagging and Flow of High Availability Packets
           5. If you don’t tag the VLAN, then the Citrix ADC interface/channel is removed from VLAN 1, and instead put in this VLAN ID.
              
           6. Switch to the tab named IP Bindings.
              
           7. Check the box next to the Subnet IP for this network. This lets Citrix ADC know which interface is used for which IP subnet. Click Create when done.
              

              add vlan 50 bind vlan 50 -ifnum LA/1 -IPAddress 172.16.1.11 255.255.255.0

        5. Add static routes to the internal networks through an internal router.
           1. On the left, expand System, expand Network, and click Routes.
           2. On the right, click Add.
              
           3. Make sure NULL Route is set to No.
           4. Set the Gateway (next hop) to an internal router.
           5. Then click Create.
              
              add route 10.2.0.0 255.255.0.0 10.2.2.1

        6. The default route should be changed to use a router on the DMZ network (towards the Internet). Before deleting the existing default route, either enable Mac Based Forwarding, or create a Policy Based Route, so that the replies from NSIP can reach your machine. You usually only need to do this for dedicated management networks.
           1. Note: PBR is recommended over MBF, because PBR can handle traffic sourced by NSIP (e.g Syslog traffic), while MBF cannot.
           2. Mac Based Forwarding sends replies out the same interface they came in on. However, MBF ignores the routing table, and doesn’t handle traffic sourced by the NSIP (e.g. LDAP traffic). To enable MBF:
              1. On the left, expand System, and click Settings.
              2. On the right, in the left column, click Configure modes.
                 
              3. Check the box next to MAC Based Forwarding (MBF), and click OK. More info on MAC Based Forwarding can be found at Citrix CTX1329532 FAQ: Citrix NetScaler MAC Based Forwarding (MBF).
                 

                 enable mode mbf

           Go back to System > Network > Routes.
           On the right, delete the 0.0.0.0 route. Don’t do this unless the Citrix ADC has a route, PBR, or MBF to the IP address of the machine you are running the browser on.
           
           
           rm route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 10.2.2.1
           1. Then click Add.
              
           2. Set the Network to 0.0.0.0, and the Netmask to 0.0.0.0.
           3. Make sure NULL Route is set to No.
           4. Enter the IP address of the DMZ (or data) router, and click Create.
              
              add route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 172.16.1.1

              DNS Servers

              1. To configure DNS servers, expand Traffic Management, expand DNS, and click Name Servers.
                 
              2. On the right, click Add.
                 
                 1. Enter the IP address of a DNS server, and click Create.
                 2. Note: The Citrix ADC must be able ping each of the DNS servers, or they will not be marked as UP. The ping originates from the SNIP.
                    
                 add dns nameServer 10.2.2.11

           5. Citrix ADC includes DNS Security Options, which are useful if you use this Citrix ADC to provide DNS services to clients (e.g. DNS Proxy/Load Balancing, GSLB, etc.). You can configure them at Security > DNS Security.
              
              
           6. Additional DNS Security Options are detailed at DNS security options at Citrix Docs.

           NTP Servers

           1. On the left, expand System, and click NTP Servers.
              
           2. On the right, click Add.
              
           3. Enter the IP Address of your NTP Server (or pool.ntp.org), and click Create.
              
           add ntp server pool.ntp.org

        7. On the right, open the Action menu, and click NTPSynchronization.
           
        8. Select ENABLED, and click OK. This starts the NTP daemon in BSD to perform the NTP sync.
           
           enable ntp sync

           

        9. You can click the System node to view the System Time.
           
        10. If you need to manually set the time:
            1. SSH (Putty) to the Citrix ADC appliances.
            2. Run shell to access BSD.
            3. Run date to manually set the time. Run date –help to see the syntax.
            4. Ntpdate –u pool.ntp.org will cause an immediate NTP time update. You’ll need to disable NTP Sync before you can run this command.

        SYSLOG Server

        The Citrix ADC will, by default, store a few syslogs on the local appliance. You can create a syslog policy to also send the syslog entries to an external server, like Citrix Application Delivery Management (ADM).

        1. On the left, expand System, expand Auditing, and click Syslog.
           
        2. On the right, switch to the Servers tab, and click Add.
           
           1. Enter a name for the Syslog server.
           2. You can change Server Type to Server Domain Name, and enter a FQDN.
           3. Enter the IP Address or FQDN of the SYSLOG server, and 514 as the port.
              
           4. Configure the Log Levels you’d like to send to it by clicking CUSTOM – typically select everything except DEBUG.
              
           5. Select your desired Time Zone and Date Format.
              
           6. You can optionally enable other logging features. User Configurable Log Messages lets you use Responder policies to generate log entries.
              
           7. Then click Create.
              

           add audit syslogAction MySyslogServer 10.2.2.12 -logLevel EMERGENCY ALERT CRITICAL ERROR WARNING -timeZone LOCAL_TIME -userDefinedAuditlog YES add audit syslogAction MySyslogServer syslog.corp.local -logLevel EMERGENCY ALERT CRITICAL ERROR WARNING -timeZone LOCAL_TIME -userDefinedAuditlog YES

     9. On the right, switch to the Policies tab, and then click Add.
        
        1. Give the policy a descriptive name,
        2. Change the Expression Type selection to Advanced Policy.
        3. Select the previously created Syslog server.
        4. And then click Create.
           

           add audit syslogPolicy MySyslogServer true MySyslogServer

     10. While still on the Policies tab, open the Actions menu, and click Classic Policy Global Bindings or Advanced Policy Global Bindings, depending on which one you chose when creating the Syslog policy.
         
         1. Click Add Binding.
            
         2. Click where it says Click to select.
            
         3. Click the radio button next to the Syslog policy you want to bind, and then click the blue Select button at the top of the page.
            
         4. Change the Priority to 100 or similar.
         5. If you don’t select anything in Global Bind Type, then it defaults to SYSTEM_GLOBAL.
         6. Click Bind.
            
         7. Click Done.
            

            bind audit syslogGlobal -policyName MySyslogServer -priority 100 bind system global MySyslogServer -priority 100

            SNMP – MIB, Traps, and Alarms

            1. On the left, expand System, and click SNMP.
               
            2. On the right, click Change SNMP MIB.
               
               1. Change the fields as desired. Your SNMP tool (e.g. Citrix Application Delivery Management (ADM)) will read this information. Click OK.
               2. This configuration needs to be repeated on the other node.
                  

               set snmp mib -contact NSAdmins@corp.com -name ns02 -location Corp

         8. Expand System, expand SNMP, and click Community.
            
            1. On the right, click Add.
               
            2. Specify a community string, and the Permission, and click Create.
               

               add snmp community public GET

         9. On the left, under SNMP, click Traps.
            
            1. On the right, click Add.
               
            2. Specify a trap destination. The fields will vary for V2 vs V3. Click Create. You’ll have to add the Trap Destinations twice so you can select both Generic and Specific.
               

               add snmp trap generic 10.2.2.12 -communityName public add snmp trap specific 10.2.2.12 -communityName public

         10. On the left, under SNMP, click Managers.
             
             1. On the right, click Add.
                
             2. Change the selection to Management Network.
             3. Specify the IP of the Management Host, and click Create.
                

                add snmp manager 10.2.2.12

             The Alarms node allows you to enable SNMP Alarms and configure thresholds.
             
             You can Edit an alarm to set thresholds. For example, CPU-USAGE can be set to 90% alarm, and 50% normal, with a Critical severity.
             
             

             set snmp alarm CPU-USAGE -thresholdValue 90 -normalValue 50 -severity Critical

             You can also configure the MEMORY alarm.
             
             

             set snmp alarm MEMORY -thresholdValue 90 -normalValue 50 -severity Critical

             From http://www.slideshare.net/masonke/net-scaler-tcpperformancetuningintheaolnetwork: In addition to the usual OIDs, we have found these very useful to warn of potential problems.

             • ifTotXoffSent – .1.3.6.1.4.1.5951.4.1.1.54.1.43
             • ifnicTxStalls – .1.3.6.1.4.1.5951.4.1.1.54.1.45
             • ifErrRxNoBuffs – .1.3.6.1.4.1.5951.4.1.1.54.1.30
             • ifErrTxNoNSB – .1.3.6.1.4.1.5951.4.1.1.54.1.31

             Call Home

             Citrix Blog Post – Protect Your NetScaler From Disaster With Call Home!: If you have a physical Citrix ADC (MPX or SDX) with an active support contract, you may optionally enable Call Home to automatically notify Citrix Technical Support of hardware and software failures.

             

             Call Home at Citrix Docs has information on how it work.
             

             From the Citrix ADC release notes: Call Home is now enhanced to send Citrix ADC usage metrics to Citrix Insight Services (CIS) periodically. Citrix collects the data to understand how the appliance works and how to improve the product. By default, Call Home sends the metrics once in every 7 days. For more information, see Call Home at Citrix Docs.

             To enable Call Home:

             1. On the left, expand System, and click Diagnostics.
                
             2. On the right, in the left column, in the Technical Support Tools section, click Call Home.
                
             3. Check the box next to Enable Call Home.
             4. Optionally enter an email address to receive notifications from Citrix Technical Support. Click OK.
                
             5. If you go back into Call Home, it should indicate if registration succeeded or failed. Successful registration requires an active support contract.
                

             Change nsroot Password

             1. In ADC 13.0 build 67 and newer, you’ll be forced to change the default nsroot password.
                
             2. If you want to force strong passwords for local accounts, go to System >Settings, and on the right, click Change Global System Settings
                
                1. Scroll down to the Password section.
                2. You can change Strong Password to Enable Local, and also specify a Min Password Length. Click OK.
                   
             3. Expand System, expand User Administration, and click Users.
                
             4. On the right, right-click nsroot, and click Change Password.
                
             5. Specify a new password and click OK.
                

                set system user nsroot Passw0rd

                TCP, HTTP, SSL, and Security Settings

                Best practice settings:

                1. On the left, expand System, and click Settings.
                   
                2. On the right, in the right column, click Change TCP parameters.
                   
                   1. Check the box for Window scaling (near the top) and set the Factor to 8.
                      
                   2. Scroll down and check the box for Selective Acknowledgement.
                   3. Nagle’s algorithm should not be checked.
                   4. Click OK.
                      

                   set ns tcpParam -WS ENABLED -SACK ENABLED

                On the right, click Change HTTP parameters.
                
                Under Cookie, change the selection to Version1. This causes Citrix ADC to set Cookie expiration to a relative time instead of an absolute time.
                

                set ns param -cookieversion 1

                

                1. Check the box next to Drop invalid HTTP requests. Note: this might break some web sites.
                2. Scroll down, and click OK.
                   

                   set ns httpParam -dropInvalReqs ON

             6. From Citrix CTX232321 Recommended TCP Profile Settings for Full Tunnel VPN/ICAProxy from NetScaler Gateway 11.1 Onwards:
                1. Expand System, and click Profiles.
                2. On the right, on the tab named TCP Profiles, edit the nstcp_default_profile.
                   
                3. Enable Window Scaling with a factor of 8.
                   
                4. Set Minimum RTO (in millisec) = 600.
                   
                5. Set TCP Buffer Size (bytes) = 600000
                6. Set TCP Send Buffer Size (bytes) = 600000
                   
                7. Change TCP Flavor = BIC.
                   
                8. Enable Selective Acknowledgement. Don’t enable Nagle’s algorithm.
                   
                9. Click OK when done.
             7. You can run the following command to see statistics on the dropped packets:

                nsconmsg -g http_err_noreuse_ -d stats

                Ciphers aes128-ctr,aes192-ctr,aes256-ctr MACs hmac-sha1,hmac-ripemd160

                Citrix Knowledgebase articles:

                

                • CTX228148 How to Lock Down the NetScaler Management Interfaces with ACLs
                  
                  • Also see CTP George Spiers How to secure management access to NetScaler and create unique certificates in a highly available setup
                • CTX109011 How to Secure SSH Access to the NetScaler Appliance with Public Key Authentication
                • CTX127917 How to Configuring the Rate Limiting Feature of a NetScaler Appliance to Mitigate a DDoS Attack
                • CTX131681 How to Use NetScaler Appliance to Avoid Layer 7 DDoS Attacks
                • CTX209398 Addressing false positives from CBC and MAC vulnerability scans of SSHD

                The following security configurations are detailed by Jason Samuel at Mitigating DDoS and brute force attacks against a Citrix Netscaler Access Gateway:

                • Maximum logon attempts on Citrix Gateway Virtual Server
                • Rate Limiting for IP.SRC and HTTP.REQ.URL.
                • nstcp_default_XA_XD_profile TCP profile on the Citrix Gateway Virtual Server.
                • Syslog logging
                • External website monitoring
                • Obfuscate the Server header in the HTTP response
                • Disable management access on SNIPs
                • Change nsroot strong password, use LDAP authentication, audit local accounts
                • Don’t enable Enhanced Authentication Feedback
                • SSL – disable SSLv3, deny SSL renegotiation, enable ECDHE ciphers, disable RC4 ciphers.
                • 2-factor authentication
                • Citrix Application Delivery Management (ADM)
                • Review IPS/IDS & Firewall logs

                Management Authentication – LDAP

                Load balancing of LDAP servers is strongly recommended. If you bind multiple LDAP servers instead of load balancing them, Citrix ADC will try each of the LDAP servers, and for incorrect passwords, will lock out the user sooner than expected. But if you instead load balance your LDAP servers, the authentication attempt will only be sent to one of them.

                1. Expand System, expand Authentication, expand Basic Policies, and then click LDAP.
                   
                2. On the right, switch to the Servers tab. Then click Add.
                   
                   1. Enter LDAPS-Corp-Mgmt or similar as the name. If you have multiple domains, you’ll need a separate LDAP Server per domain so make sure you include the domain name. Also, the LDAP policy used for management authentication will be different than the LDAP policy used for Citrix Gateway.
                   2. Change the selection to Server IP. Enter the VIP of the Citrix ADC load balancing vServer for LDAP.
                   3. Change the Security Type to SSL.
                   4. Enter 636 as the Port. Scroll down.
                      
                   5. In the Connection Settings section, in the Base DN field, enter your Active Directory DNS domain name in LDAP format.
                   6. In the Administrator Bind DN field, enter the credentials of the LDAP bind account in userPrincipalName format.
                   7. Enter the Administrator Password (bind account password). Click Test LDAP Reachability. Scroll down.
                      
                   8. In the Other Settings section, use the drop-down next to Server Logon Name Attribute, Group Attribute, and Sub Attribute Name to select the default fields for Active Directory.
                   9. On the right, check the box next to Allow Password Change.
                   10. It is best to restrict access to only members of a specific group. In the Search Filter field, enter memberOf= . See the example below:

                   memberOf=CN=Citrix ADC Administrators,OU=Citrix,DC=corp,DC=local

                   You can add :1.2.840.113556.1.4.1941: to the query so it searches through nested groups. Without this, users will need to be direct members of the filtered group.

                   

                   memberOf:1.2.840.113556.1.4.1941:=CN=Citrix ADC Administrators,OU=Citrix,DC=corp,DC=local
                   

                   An easy way to get the full distinguished name of the group is through Active Directory Users & Computers. Make sure Advanced Features is enabled in the View menu. Double-click the group object. Switch to the Attribute Editor tab. Find Distinguished Name and copy it.

                   

                   Scroll down to distinguishedName, double-click it, and then copy it to the clipboard.
                   

                   

                   Back on the Citrix ADC, in the Search Filter field, type in memberOf=, and then paste the Distinguished Name right after the equals sign. Don’t worry about spaces.
                   

                3. Scroll down and click More to expand it.
                4. For Nested Group Extraction, if desired, change the selection to Enabled.
                5. Set the Group Name Identifier to samAccountName.
                6. Set Group Search Attribute to –>–, and enter memberOf.
                7. Set Group Search Sub-Attribute to –>–, and enter CN.
                8. Example of LDAP Nested Group Search Filter Syntax
                   
                9. Scroll down, and click Create.
                   

                   add authentication ldapAction Corp-Mgmt -serverIP 10.2.2.210 -serverPort 636 -ldapBase "dc=corp,dc=local" -ldapBindDn "corp\\ctxsvc" -ldapBindDnPassword Passw0rd -ldapLoginName samaccountname -searchFilter "memberOf=CN=Citrix ADC Admins,CN=Users,DC=corp,DC=local" -groupAttrName memberOf -subAttributeName CN -secType SSL -passwdChange ENABLED

             8. On the left, go to System > Authentication > Advanced Policies > Policy.
                
             9. On the right, click Add.
                
                1. Enter the name LDAPS-Corp-Mgmt or similar.
                2. Change the Action Type drop-down to LDAP.
                3. Select the previously created LDAPS-Corp-Mgmt server.
                4. On the bottom, in the Expression area, type in true.
                5. Click Create.
                   

                   add authentication Policy LDAPS-Corp-Mgmt -rule true -action LDAPS-Corp-Mgmt

             10. Click Global Bindings in the right pane.
                 
                 1. Click where it says Click to select.
                    
                 2. Click the radio button next to the newly created LDAP policy, and then click the blue Select button at the top of the page.
                    
                 3. Click Bind.
                    
                 4. Click Done.
                    

                    bind system global LDAPS-Corp-Mgmt -priority 100 -gotoPriorityExpression NEXT

             11. Under System, expand UserAdministration, and click Groups.
                 
                 1. On the right, click Add.
                    
                 2. In the Group Name field, enter the case sensitive name of the Active Directory group containing the Citrix ADC administrators.
                    
                    • ADC 13.0 build 41 and newer lets you restrict a group to the CLI only. Note that GUI access requires API permissions.
                      
                 3. In the Command Policies section, click Bind.
                    
                 4. Select the superuser policy, and click Insert.
                    
                 5. Scroll down, and click Create.
                    

                    add system group "Citrix ADC Admins" -timeout 900 bind system group "Citrix ADC Admins" -policyName superuser 100

             12. To prevent somebody from creating an nsroot account in LDAP (Active Directory) and then using that external nsroot account to login to ADC, disable external authentication on the local nsroot account.
                 1. On the left, go to System > User Administration > Users.
                    
                 2. On the right, edit the nsroot user.
                    
                 3. At the top of the page, in the System User section, click the pencil icon.
                    
                 4. Uncheck the box next to Enable External Authentication and then click Continue.
                    
                 5. Click Save and then click Done.
             13. If you logout:
                 
             14. You should be able to login to Citrix ADC using an Active Directory account.
                 

             Management Authentication – Two Factor

             Citrix ADC supports two factor authentication for management access. The technology is based on nFactor but works in all editions of ADC (no licensing restrictions). Here’s a summary of the configuration steps with more detail coming later:

             1. The first authentication factor must be an Advanced Authentication Policy that is bound globally. Classic Authentication Policies will not work.
             2. Create a Login Schema to ask for the second factor password (i.e. passcode).
                • This Login Schema is for second factor only and has no effect on the first factor. The second factor Login Schema should only ask for a single password prompt. It doesn’t appear to be possible to ask for both factors using the same Login Schema.
                • Login Schema for the second factor does not use the normal nFactor language files and you instead must hard code the password prompt label for the second factor logon field directly in the Login Schema .xml file.
                  
                  
             3. Create an Advanced Authentication Server and Policy for the second factor (e.g. RADIUS).
             4. Create an Authentication Policy Label with Feature Type set to RBA_REQ. This is not the default so make sure you change the Feature Type drop-down field.
                
                1. When creating the Policy Label, select the Login Schema for the second factor.
                2. Bind the second factor Advanced Authentication Policy to the Policy Label.
             5. Go to Global Bindings for Authentication, edit the existing authentication binding, click Next Factor, and select your new Policy Label. That’s it.
                

             Here are detailed configuration instructions for adding a second authentication factor to the management logon page.

             1. Login Schema XML File:
                1. Point WinSCP to your ADC appliance.
                2. Navigate to /nsconfig/loginschema/LoginSchema and download the SingleAuth.xml file.
                   
                3. Rename the file to MgmtNextFactor.xml or something like that.
                4. Edit the file.
                5. Look for the element with ID of passwd. Then look for the Label and set the Text field to whatever you want displayed on the second password page. Save the file when done.
                   
                6. The Label Text you enter will be shown on the second factor logon page.
                   
                7. In WinSCP, change the directory to /nsconfig/loginschema, which is one directory up from where you downloaded the file.
                   
                8. Upload your modified file.
                   
             2. RADIUS Authentication Server:
                1. Follow the link for instructions to create a RADIUS Server. Only create the Server object. The Policy object will be created later when creating the Authentication Policy Label.

                   add authentication radiusAction RADIUSMgmt -serverName 10.2.2.42 -serverPort 1812 -radKey b746744 -encrypted -encryptmethod ENCMTHD_3

             3. On the left, go to System > Authentication > Advanced Policies > Policy Label.
             4. On the right, click Add.
                
             5. Name the Policy Label MgmtNextFactor or similar.
             6. In the Login Schema field, click Add.
                
                1. Name the Login Schema MgmtNextFactor or similar.
                2. In the Authentication Schema field, click the pencil icon.
                   
                3. On the left, select the Login Schema .xml file you uploaded earlier.
                4. On the top right, click the blue Select button. Do NOT click Create on the bottom left until you’ve clicked this blue Select button.
                   
                5. The window collapses showing you the Login Schema file that you selected. Now you can click Create.
                   

                   add authentication loginSchema MgmtNextFactor -authenticationSchema "/nsconfig/loginschema/MgmtNextFactor.xml"

             7. Back in the Authentication Policy Label screen, notice that you can edit the Login Schema object from here.
             8. Change the Feature Type drop-down to RBA_REQ. If you don’t do this, then you won’t be able to bind this later.
                
             9. Click Continue.
                

                add authentication policylabel MgmtNextFactor -type RBA_REQ -loginSchema MgmtNextFactor

             10. In the Policy Label’s Policy Binding field, click Add.
                 
                 1. Name the Authentication Policy RADIUSMgmt or similar.
                 2. Change the Action Type drop-down to RADIUS.
                 3. Select the RADIUS server that you created earlier. Or you can Add one from here.
                    
                 4. In the Expression box, enter the word true and then click Create.
                    

                 add authentication Policy RADIUSMgmt -rule true -action RADIUSMgmt

                 

             Back in the Policy Label Policy Binding screen, click Bind.
             

             bind authentication policylabel MgmtNextFactor -policyName RADIUSMgmt -priority 100 -gotoPriorityExpression NEXT

             1. The Authentication Policy Label configuration is complete so click Done.
                
             2. On the left, go to System > Authentication > Advanced Policies > Policy.
                
             3. On the right, click the Global Bindings button.
                
             4. You should already have an Advanced Authentication Policy bound globally.

                add authentication ldapAction LDAPS-Corp-Mgmt -serverIP 10.2.2.11 -serverPort 636 -ldapBase "dc=corp,dc=local" -ldapBindDn ctxsvc@corp.local -ldapBindDnPassword 5054fc33f673bf4c5c6 -encrypted -encryptmethod ENCMTHD_3 -ldapLoginName sAMAccountName -groupAttrName memberOf -subAttributeName cn -secType SSL -passwdChange ENABLED add authentication Policy LDAPS-Corp-Mgmt -rule true -action LDAPS-Corp-Mgmt bind system global LDAPS-Corp-Mgmt -priority 100 -gotoPriorityExpression END

             5. Right-click your existing global binding and click Edit Binding.
                
             6. In the Next Factor field, click where it says Click to select.
                
             7. Click the small circle next to your Management Next Factor Policy Label and then click the blue Select button at the top of the page.
                
             8. Back in the Policy Binding screen, click Bind.
                

                bind system global LDAPS-Corp-Mgmt -priority 100 -nextFactor RADIUSMgmt -gotoPriorityExpression END

                

             9. Click Done to close the Global Authentication Policy Binding screen.
                

             CLI Prompt

             1. When you connect to the Citrix ADC CLI prompt, by default, the prompt is just a > .
                
             2. You can run set cli prompt %u@%h to make it the same as a UNIX prompt. See Citrix Docs for the cli prompt syntax.
                

             Backup and Restore

             Citrix Application Delivery Management (ADM) can automatically backup your instances. Or you can do it manually:

             1. Save the configuration.
                
             2. On the left, expand System, and click Backup and Restore.
             3. On the right, click Backup/Import.
                
             4. Give the backup file a name.
             5. For Level, select Full, and click Backup.
                
             6. Once the backup is complete, you can download the file.
                

             For a PowerShell script, see John Billekens Create offline backups of the NetScaler config

             1. If you want to restore the system, and if the backup file is not currently on the appliance, click the Backup/Import button.
                
             2. Change the selection to Import.
             3. Browse Local to the previously downloaded backup file.
                
             4. Then click Backup. This uploads the file to the appliance and adds it to the list of backup files.
                
             5. Now you can select the backup, and click Restore.
                

             Next Steps

             Posted on April 25, 2024 Author Carl Stalhood Categories ADC / NetScaler, Citrix ADC 13

             123 thoughts on “System Configuration – NetScaler 14.1 – Citrix ADC 13”

             Dave FJ says:

             Hi Carl, We recently upgraded to NS 13.1 and have just become aware that HTTP DOS is deprecated in favour of APPQoE.
             The Citrix documentation leaves a lot to be desired – as usual….
             Do you have any guidance on how we can configure APPQoE to achieve DOS protection? I did some searching but couldnt find any relevant article – apologies if i have missed it!

             Mike Biracree says:

             Hi Carl, I tried upgrading my ADC to 14.1 this weekend and when I logged into it, everything was unlicensed (LB, CSG, CS, etc). If I’m reading this https://docs.netscaler.com/en-us/citrix-application-delivery-management-service/manage-licenses/flexed-capacity-license
             correctly, we have to move to using ADM (now Console) to do the licensing? Do we have to use Citrix Cloud or is ADM still going to be available on-prem? I don’t suppose you’ve got a walk through on that yet? 🙂

             Carl Stalhood says:

             Use WinSCP to connect to NetScaler. Go to /nsconfig/license. Edit the newest file. There are dates in the INCREMENT row. Are they expired? If so, go to https://citrix.com/account and re-download the license file.

             Mike Biracree says:

             Thanks, that was it. I thought it was weird that the same license file was fine through all the 13.x upgrades this year but failed on 14.1. Do you know if this flex license system is going to be required in the future? Mike

             Carl Stalhood says: Flex replaces Pooled Licensing. It’s an alternative to fixed bandwidth term licenses. Jeff says:

             If I use 10/1 and 10/2 in a channel for data, and port 0/1 for a dedicated management network, should I be worried about lack of redundancy on the management network as there’s only a single port being used?

             Carl Stalhood says:

             You can move the NSIP to a VLAN that is on a Port Channel and disconnect 0/1. HA Heartbeats go out all interfaces, not just 0/1.

             Arjan Langendijk says:

             Hi Carl, we want to publish the management server via Citrix ADC but because the traffic to the management server is routed (static) over de management IP we can’t. Any idea how to force this single virtual server to route ICA traffic via de SNIP and overrule the static route?

             Carl Stalhood says: Net Profile lets you specify a SNIP that Gateway should use. You can add /32 routes. Arjan Langendijk says:

             Hi Carl, thanks for your reply. If I create a net_profile to specify the SNIP address as source it does not overwrite the /32 route that is present to route to the management server. Sounds logic. As the default route is pointing to the internet. I guess the only thing we can do is enable management on the SNIP. There is a firewall behind it anyway.

             Carl Stalhood says: You can add a PBR to send all traffic with a source IP of your SNIP to whatever next hop you want. GJ says:

             Hi Carl, Question, is it possible to configure HA and synchronization heartbeat not in NSIP? We have a customer that has an HA pair but they want to configure HA pair only via data port where SNIP resides. Also they want that when the time management network down still the the status of HA is normal and the access to applications still working. For short they only want the management of Netscaler ADC to work as for management purposes only, so in case the management switches or network down still the ADC serves its purpose to users. Thank you,
             GJ.

             Carl Stalhood says: Andy says:

             Is it ok to use the virtual server (load balanced LDAPS) for DNS (SNIP) or should I put my two domain controllers separately? I’m not sure if some part of the ADC uses the management IP address for DNS lookup or it all goes through the SNIP. This has been one interesting learning experience! I’ve never touched a NS before but it sure does make my head hurt 🙂 Thanks for all you do! I have 6 days left on my license (out of 30) and I hope I can make it.

             Carl Stalhood says: DNS requests are NSIP to 127.0.0.2, which then uses SNIP to send to DNS servers. Fabio Bolognesi says:

             Hi Carl,
             after the upgrade to the NS14.1-8.50 firmware it seems that the floating IP management part for the SSL part no longer works.
             In fact, the part relating to the mgmt service is lost.
             For example:
             > show service -summary
             ————————————————– ——————————————-
             Name State IP Addr Port Protocol MaxClients MaxReqs
             ————————————————– ——————————————-
             1 DC01…OCAL UP 192.168.5.31 53 DNS 0 0
             2 DC02…OCAL UP 192.168.5.30 53 DNS 0 0
             3 mgmt-SSH UP 127.0.0.1 22 TCP 256 0
             Done
             >
             If I try to recreate the mgmt service, as per your example, I get the following error:
             > add service mgmt 127.0.0.1 HTTP 80
             ERROR: Resource already exists
             >
             and obviously then I can’t bind the service with the lb mgmt-SSL virtual server and consequently the floating IP for the management GUI over HTTPS doesn’t work.
             In the configuration I don’t find any reference to services that use 127.0.0.1 on port 80 except in the internal services (nshttpd-gui-127.0.0.1-80).
             If I connect with this service to the mgmt-SSL lb the floating point seems to work because it shows me the management page er HTTS, but even if I use the correct credentials it DOES NOT allow me to authenticate…
             Do you know how to resolve or other workaround?
             Thank you very much!
             Best regrds,
             Fabio.

             Carl Stalhood says: I see the same in 14.1. Citrix might have closed a loophole. Fabio Bolognesi says: Thanks for the answer, but there is a solution?
             Thanks,
             Fabio. David John Pickering says:

             Hi Carl,
             Can you configure a ‘Floating Management IP’ without the dedicated mgmt subnet in version 14.1?
             I had it working on older versions but keep getting ‘Resource already exists’ when creating the load balancing service as it clashes with Internal Services.
             Thanks
             Dave

             James Clarke says:

             Hi Carl, Followed your steps which were great! when i create the first citrix gateway, the state shows as down. netscaler has same routes as the old pair (currently still active) and has the same firewall rules for the new gateway. the netscaler can ping out externally and hit all required internal IPs. i can see that the “web interface” shows as disabled in the licensing features but it is enabled on the old ones – can this be the issue and is there a guide to enable this as i dont see an option in features in the gui for this or on command line? Thanks in advance

             Carl Stalhood says:

             Web Interface is a really old feature that should not be used. Down on Gateway usually means that a certificate is not bound to the Gateway. Or do you mean the STAs are down?

             James Clarke says:

             No problem, noted.
             The Gateway had the cert assigned (although the chain was incomplete) i have then recreated it using the gateway wizard and it now works (with the cert chain still incomplete) so not sure where i had gone wrong!