Investment Management System. Connectivity Guide. IMS Connectivity Guide Page 1 of 11

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1 Investment Management System Connectivity Guide IMS Connectivity Guide Page 1 of 11

2 1. Introduction This document details the necessary steps and procedures required for organisations to access the Homes and Communities Agency s Investment Management System (IMS). Organisations accessing IMS will fall into one of the following categories: Registered Providers Organisations who are registered with the HCA Regulator. Provider codes follow the format A# # # #, C# # ##, L# # # #, LH# # # #, ##AA Unregistered Providers Organisations who are not registered. Organisation codes follow the format NP# # # # Local Authorities some Local Authorities have read only access to view schemes within their local authority area. Bids for funding are not allowed using this log-in. A three-digit numerical code is provided for each local authority. 2. Client Requirements In order to provide full connectivity to the online system, there are certain software requirements that must be met. The following are required for full connectivity: Windows XP and higher Internet Connectivity (specifically on port 443) Microsoft Internet Explorer 8.0 and higher, Firefox, Chrome Citrix Client (Online Plugin 12.3 minimum. Receiver 3.0 and higher - latest version is recommended) Citrix Client New users of IMS will need to install a Citrix client. If your organisation already uses other Citrix based applications then you may already have a Citrix client installed on your computer. Due to changes in the industry standard encryption used by the IMS system, older Citrix clients will no longer work, so you will need to update to a later version if you are using Citrix Online Plugin 12.1 or lower. Older versions of the Citrix client do not support SHA-256 certificates, so you will get an error message SSL Error 61: You have not chosen to trust "thawte SSL CA - G2", the issuer of the server's security certificate." when launching IMS if your Citrix client version is less than Whilst you don t have to install the latest version of the Citrix client before accessing IMS as long as it meets the minimum requirement above, it is recommended to install the latest version. IMS Connectivity Guide Page 2 of 11

3 To install the Citrix client from the homepage Alternatively, you can go to and download the latest clients from there (listed under Downloads > Citrix Receivers). 1. From your computer, launch the web browser. 2. Enter the following URL: 3. The following page will be displayed. Click on the link entitled If you require a Citrix client, click here to download it 4. Click on the Run or Save button (if you saved the file, run the executable file once it has finished downloading). Depending on the version of Windows you are using you may receive an additional Security Warning. 5. Follow the installation wizard. If you see an option to Enable Single Sign-on leave the option un-ticked (the default) as this is not used. 6. Once the installation has completed you may be prompted to Add Account (this may change as Citrix update their client software). Click the Cancel button as this is not used. Note: you can alternatively save the installation file if you wish to deploy the Citrix client using your own software management system. IMS Connectivity Guide Page 3 of 11

4 3. Connectivity Details Overview IMS uses Citrix Secure Gateway which simplifies the connectivity requirements. The website is accessed on port 443 which is the default SSL port for secure connections (HTTPS). The IMS applications are then tunneled through to the same address on port 443 using a secure connection from the Citrix client (ICA/SSL), with the Citrix client configured to automatically use your web browser s connection settings. In the majority of cases the only requirement is that access to the above address is allowed on port 443. Because this is the default HTTPS port, it is envisaged that most organisations will already have this open. Note in reference to ICA/SSL: HTTPS is HTTP wrapped in SSL (the encryption protocol) and is typically delivered over port 443. As port 443 is the official registered port for HTTPS any traffic over port 443 is assumed to be HTTPS by firewalls and proxy servers. ICA/SSL is a Citrix-proprietary protocol used for secure communications between Citrix clients and servers, on port 443. Because SSL is the encryption protocol, firewalls, routers, proxies and so on between the client and the server cannot see what is inside the protocol. Therefore, firewalls and proxies do not really differentiate between ICA/SSL and HTTPS, and typically try to treat ICA/SSL as HTTPS. Connection process The following is the process which occurs when connecting to the IMS applications: 1. The user connects to the website and logs in. This should be accessible in most cases as it s the default HTTPS port and the Fully Qualified Domain Name is resolvable by any external DNS, like any other external website. 2. The user launches an application and a Citrix ICA file is automatically generated and passed to the Citrix client. The ICA file contains entries instructing the client to connect to on port 443 using the client s default web browser settings. 3. The client computer will try to resolve secure.hca-online.org.uk to an IP address before attempting to connect using the client computer s default web browser connection settings. 4. If the default web browser connection settings allow direct internet access, you should not experience any problems connecting to the IMS applications. 5. If the default web browser connection settings route internet traffic through a proxy server or firewall, most proxy servers and firewalls should allow the connection as they will try to treat ICA/SSL the same as HTTPS traffic. However, in some cases there may be issues caused by proxy servers/firewalls preventing or interrupting ICA/SSL traffic due to the way they are configured to handle HTTPS traffic. IMS Connectivity Guide Page 4 of 11

5 Potential connection problems The following are potential client side issues which can cause the majority of connection problems. For each of the issues below, a variety of error messages could be displayed. If the solutions don t resolve the issue, or you would like any help, please contact the HCA Service Desk on or 1. Certain proxy/firewall configurations may not allow or drop ICA/SSL traffic. You may see error messages such as There is no Citrix SSL server configured on the specified address or The Citrix SSL server you have selected is not accepting connections. Solution: If the Citrix client connection fails, verify that SSL tunneling is allowed for this address. ICA/SSL traffic requires a single continuous SSL connection between the client and server. For example: proxy servers allowing the CONNECT method (SSL tunneling) and firewalls in forwarding mode ensure that connections are opened directly between the client and the Secure Gateway. Proxy servers such as ISA and Squid allow SSL tunneling by default, but some require it enabling. Similarly, verify that no restrictions are placed on ICA/SSL traffic such as time-outs on sessions, including idle, absolute, and data traffic timeouts. Alternatively, allow to bypass the proxy/firewall and give direct internet access to this address. 2. The Citrix client cannot resolve the name secure.hca-online.org.uk even though you can access the website. This can give similar error messages to the issue above. Solution: If you can access the website but the application fails to launch, verify that the client computer can directly resolve the address secure.hca-online.org.uk. This issue can occur when the client computer is not able to resolve external addresses itself, such as when a proxy server is used for internet access, and the proxy server performs all external DNS resolution. For troubleshooting, you can add an entry to the hosts file on the client computer (C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc\hosts) with an IP address of and hostname of secure.hca-online.org.uk 3. Instead of launching the IMS application, you may receive a prompt to save an.ica file even though you have the Citrix client installed. This is more likely to occur with Internet Explorer 11. Solution: If you are using Firefox or Chrome the default action might be to download the.ica file then you can click on the downloaded file to run it they normally give an option to Always open files of this type which will allow the IMS application to load automatically when you click on the IMS Live link in the future. For Internet Explorer 1. Add to the Internet Explorer Trusted Sites: Open Internet Explorer and go to Tools > Internet Options > Security tab. Click on Trusted Sites then click on the Sites button. Type into the Add this website to the zone field, then click the Add button followed by the Close button. Click the OK button to save. IMS Connectivity Guide Page 5 of 11

6 2. Add to the Internet Explorer Compatibility View settings. Open Internet Explorer and go to Tools > Compatibility View settings. Type into the Add this website field, then click the Add button followed by the Close button. 3. If IMS still does not launch, lower the Trusted Sites security level: Open Internet Explorer and go to Tools > Internet Options > Security tab. Click on Trusted Sites - on the Security level for this zone section, drag the slider down until it displays Low then click on the OK button. 4. Instead of launching the IMS application, nothing happens even though you have the Citrix client installed. Solution: Check to see if the.ica file type is associated with Citrix Connection Manager : Open the Windows Control Panel. Click on Programs > Default Programs > Associate a file type or protocol with a specific program or Make a file type always open in a specific program. Scroll down the list to file type.ica and see what the Current Default program is set to. If it is NOT set to Citrix Connection Manager click on the Change program button. If Citrix Connection Manager is in the list click on it to set as default. If the Citrix Connection Manager is not listed here, click on the Browse button (for Windows 8 click on More options and scroll down to Look for another app on this PC and select this). Navigate to C:\Program Files\Citrix\ICA Client\wfcrun32.exe (or C:\Program Files (x86)\citrix\ica Client\wfcrun32.exe if the computer is 64bit) and click on the Open button to set the file association. 5. If the default web browser is Internet Explorer and Automatically detect settings is used for proxy server detection, the setting is ignored and the client will try a direct connection instead. Solution: Change Internet Explorer to use a different method of proxy configuration such as specifying a proxy server in the Proxy Server section of the LAN Settings tab or use a PAC file. Alternatively, allow to bypass the proxy server and give direct internet access to this address. 6. When setting the address for a.pac file (proxy auto configuration file) in Internet Explorer as a file name (for example: file://c:\pacfile.pac) on the client device instead of using a URL, this results in a connection error. Solution: Use a URL as an address for the proxy s.pac file (allow anonymous access to the.pac file) or use a different method of proxy configuration as above. Alternatively, allow to bypass the proxy server and give direct internet access to this address. IMS Connectivity Guide Page 6 of 11

7 7. Your version of the Citrix client may contain a software bug or is incompatible with more recent software. For example, some early versions of the client contain a number of bugs with regards to proxy/ssl connections and can cause errors preventing connection. Solution: If possible, upgrade the Citrix client to the latest version. The upgrade path will depend on what else you require the Citrix client for. For example: you may have version 12.x client installed if you use Citrix for other applications so you would need to verify that upgrading would not cause any issues with other Citrix applications. 8. Personal firewall software on your computer might stop the connection being made from the Citrix client. Solution: Check any personal firewall software and allow the Citrix client access on port 443. Testing the connection You can test the Citrix connection using the procedure below which will verify whether the IMS applications can be accessed successfully. 1. From your computer, launch the web browser. 2. Enter the following URL: which will display the homepage with the following login box. 3. Enter in the User name field. Enter CitrixTest1 in the Password field then click the Log On button, which will then display the following page. 4. Click on the icon to launch Connectivity Test. The Test Program will be displayed if successful. Click the OK button to close the box. IMS Connectivity Guide Page 7 of 11

8 4. Application Access 1. From your computer, launch the web browser. 2. Enter the following URL: 3. The following page will be displayed. 4. Enter your Citrix username and password supplied by the Homes & Communities Agency, which will then display the following page. 5. Click on the icon to launch IMS. The following page will be displayed as it connects to the application. IMS Connectivity Guide Page 8 of 11

9 6. When the application has been launched, enter your IMS User ID and Password. 5. Changing your Citrix password You will be prompted to change your Citrix password 7 days before it expires. You can also change it anytime as described below. Note: your Citrix password requires changing every 60 days, it must be a minimum of 8 characters in length and contain at least three of the following: upper case, lower case, number, special character. You cannot reuse the last 5 passwords. 1. In the top right hand corner of the web page there is a Settings link (highlighted in red below). 2. Click on the Change Password button (highlighted in red below). IMS Connectivity Guide Page 9 of 11

10 3. The Change Password page will now be displayed. Enter your old and new passwords as prompted then click OK. 4. Click OK to the confirmation that your password has been changed. 5. Click on either Save or Cancel to return to the application screen (clicking Cancel does not cancel your password change). 6. Printing from IMS When you login to the IMS application, only your default printer will be mapped. If you need to print to a different printer, you will need to change your default printer before logging into the application. If you are using an older version of the Citrix client then the following workaround will help with some of the known issues such as printing dots where the text should be, reversed text, hashes instead of numbers etc. IMS Connectivity Guide Page 10 of 11

11 Print to a PDF Writer If you have a PDF Writer already installed on your computer, you will need to set it as your default printer when you print reports from IMS. When prompted, select the location and filename of where you want to save the PDF file. Once it has saved it may automatically open the report, if not, open the file from where you saved it. If the report looks OK, you can then print this as a normal printout. However, some IMS reports may still have the text mirrored. If this occurs, you will need to make a change to the PDF Writer properties as below. Note: to do this, you may have to ask your IT department to help as it may require administration privileges. 1. Click on the Start button > Printers and Faxes. 2. Right click on the PDF Writer and select Printer Properties. 3. Click on the Advanced tab and un-tick the option Enable advanced printing features then click OK. If you do not have a PDF Writer installed, you can use this one which is free: 7. Help and Support For IMS Support, please contact the HCA Service Desk. Phone: IMS Connectivity Guide Page 11 of 11