Deployment Guide Microsoft SharePoint 2013 with Citrix NetScaler Deployment Guide citrix.com
Table of contents Introduction 3 NetScaler value-add to SharePoint 4 Product versions and prerequisites 4 Deploying SharePoint 2013 with NetScaler 4 Solution features 4 Content switching 5 Caching 5 Compression 5 Load balancing 5 Rewrite 5 Responder 5 SSL offload 5 Authentication 5 Application Firewall 6 SharePoint 2013 deployment and configuration 6 SharePoint 2013 deployment topology 6 SharePoint 2013 AppExpert Template configuration 6 1. Select import template 7 2. Specify deployment name 7 3. Specify template file 7 4. Provide domain name 8 5. Specify backend servers 8 6. Specify public endpoint. This is the IP used to reach the SharePoint content. 9 7. Select the server certificate binding 9 8. Select the authentication 9 9. Specify the authentication server 9 10. Specify certificate 10 11. Configure authentication policy. 10 12. Configure session profile 10 13. Configure session policy 10 14. View SharePoint 2013 11 Conclusion 11 citrix.com 2
This guide focuses on deploying Microsoft SharePoint 2013 with Citrix NetScaler. NetScaler is a world-class application delivery controller (ADC) with the proven ability to load balance, accelerate, optimize and secure enterprise applications. SharePoint is one of the most widely deployed enterprise web application platforms, providing intranet portals, content and document management, collaboration, social networks, enterprise search and business intelligence features. SharePoint 2013 is built on top of SharePoint 2010, which was a very successful enterprise platform, and has improved upon its flexibility, scalability and reliability with many of new features and enhancements. SharePoint 2013 is also optimized to support mobility and remote working use cases thanks to its association with cloud-based offerings through Office 365. NetScaler is the best solution to deploy Microsoft applications such as SharePoint 2013. Its rich feature set includes local and global server load balancing, full web app firewall security, fast application acceleration capabilities and an easy-to-use policy framework for simple deployment with absolutely no programming required. NetScaler acts as a secure reverse proxy to provide access to a SharePoint 2013 environment, in addition to providing performance and security enhancements including compression, caching and rewrite functionality. SharePoint 2013 deployment SharePoint 2013 can be deployed in one of three modes: Single tier: SharePoint Server and the database server are installed on a single appliance. Two tier: SharePoint Server components and the database server are installed on separate appliances. Three tier: SharePoint front-end web servers are deployed on the first tier, the application servers are deployed on the second tier and the database server is located on the third tier. In medium to large enterprises, SharePoint 2013 is usually deployed in two-tier or three-tier mode. Load balancing of the front-end web servers is required to provide high performance and resilience for users connecting to the SharePoint farm. For the application tier, multiple application servers running the same service applications are load balanced by default. Client persistence is no longer required for SharePoint 2013. Because the distributed cache service maintains authentication information across all SharePoint 2013 Web Servers and therefore a particular client no longer needs to persist to the same server. citrix.com 3
NetScaler value-add to SharePoint Enterprise app deployment often becomes complex due to requirements for scalability and support requirement; thus, setting up an ADC could take multiple days to weeks. As NetScaler is a very popular solution for a variety of enterprise apps, Citrix recognized the need for a simpler and faster way to deploy it. Therefore, Citrix introduced AppExpert Template modules, which automate the process of deploying the NetScaler App Delivery Controller for a variety of enterprise apps. The pioneering, state-of-art NetScaler AppExpert Template solution provides an application-centric view of NetScaler modules and configuration. AppExpert Templates abstract the complexity of deployments and provide a single-point solution for configuration, management and monitoring of applications. These templates can be easily imported into any system running NetScaler 9.0 or higher, jump-starting the configuration and deployment process. They are maintained by application experts and allow you to deploy your application in the most optimal way. Additionally, NetScaler AppExpert Templates allow you to drill down and see which individual NetScaler policies are active and which policies are inactive but available, by application component and NetScaler module. From this same view, individual policies can be created, activated and deactivated. AppExpert Templates can be downloaded, imported, modified and exported. Administrators can download templates built by Citrix, Citrix partners and members of the NetScaler community from the Citrix Community website. Templates developed in house can be easily exported and shared within your organization or posted back to the Citrix Community website for others to view and improve. Product versions and prerequisites Product Version Microsoft SharePoint SharePoint 2013 License NetScaler ADC License Enterprise Edition Release 9.3 and Above Platinum Deploying SharePoint 2013 with NetScaler Solution features The following features are implemented using the NetScaler AppExpert Template for SharePoint 2013. Please ensure these features are enabled in the NetScaler system. For SSL configuration you may want to use the certificate management module on the NetScaler configuration UI. Content switching Caching Compression Load balancing Rewrite Responder SSL offload Authentication Application firewall citrix.com 4
Here is a quick explanation on how these various features work. Content switching The content switching module directs incoming traffic to an optimal matching load balancing virtual server. This logical switching of incoming traffic based on content type allows you to configure specific optimization policies. For example, you may want to have different compression/cache policies for video and text documents. Caching The NetScaler in-memory cache can be used to cache SharePoint objects in order to quickly deliver frequently requested content to users. Cached content includes downloaded documents, scripts, FrontPage content, audio, video and image files. Compression The NetScaler compression engine identifies and compresses content that is compressible. This process improves data transmission time and reduces bandwidth on the front end while saving CPU cycles on SharePoint content servers. Load balancing NetScaler load balancing evenly distributes requests to backend servers. Intelligent monitoring of backend servers prevents requests from being sent to malfunctioning application servers. Rewrite The rewrite module is used to modify request/response headers, URLs or content on the fly. This module works inline with traffic processing and hence allows to change the flow meaningfully based on required use cases. Responder Responder functionality is used to seamlessly redirect users from HTTP to HTTPS. Responder can also be configured to provide customized error pages. SSL offload SSL connections are terminated at the NetScaler appliance. This process allows NetScaler to conduct advanced traffic monitoring features discussed in this deployment guide. Additionally, SSL offload can significantly reduce the computational overhead of offloading encrypted user connections on backend servers. Authentication NetScaler provides configuration of SharePoint authentication, allowing users to authenticate once at the NetScaler ADC and gain access to the SharePoint environment. NetScaler supports multiple authentication types including external and password-less authentication. Application Firewall The NetScaler Application Firewall is an advanced web application firewall designed to protect against common and rare threats to web and application tiers. The firewall comes with a set of built-in policies and profiles for the environment. citrix.com 5
SharePoint 2013 deployment and configuration SharePoint 2013 deployment topology SharePoint 2013 AppExpert Template configuration The AppExpert Template for SharePoint 2013 is preconfigured to improve SharePoint performance through compression and caching. During setup, a public endpoint is specified along with backend servers. The NetScaler ADC is automatically configured with a content-switching virtual server to direct requests to the appropriate backend servers. Each content type is also configured for the appropriate caching and compression policies. The table below specifies the policies associated with each traffic type. Product versions and prerequisites Description Compression Caching Rewrite Responder FrontPage_Services SOAP_Services Portal_Management Editable_Image_Management ReadOnly_Image_Management Video_Management Audio_Management Styles_and_Scripts Web_Service_Definintions Web_Service_Schemas default Once the AppExpert Template has been imported and installed, only a few modifications are required to finish the SharePoint setup. citrix.com 6
After initial installation, the SharePoint deployment can be centrally managed from the Applications View under AppExpert in NetScaler. Through this portal it is easy to customize the SharePoint configuration and add other features. 1. Select import template 2. Specify deployment name 3. Specify template file citrix.com 7
4. Provide domain name 5. Specify backend servers a. Open FrontPage Services b. Open Virtual Server Service Binding c. Click on Select Service to open load balancing service. Specify the backend server citrix.com 8
6. Specify public endpoint. This is the IP used to reach the SharePoint content 7. Select the server certificate binding 8. Select the authentication 9. Specify the authentication server citrix.com 9
10. Specify certificate 11. Configure authentication policy NetScaler supports multiple authentication types. Select the authentication type that is appropriate for your environment. Specify ns_true as the Expression policy and create the server. 12. Configure session profile 13. Configure session policy citrix.com 10
14. View SharePoint 2013 Conclusion NetScaler enables, optimizes and secures access to any SharePoint 2013 deployment. By serving as the front end for the deployment, NetScaler improves performance, scalability, availability and security of the SharePoint application. Using the AppExpert Template for SharePoint 2013, it is quick and easy to deploy NetScaler within a SharePoint environment. Corporate Headquarters Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA India Development Center Bangalore, India Latin America Headquarters Coral Gables, FL, USA Silicon Valley Headquarters Santa Clara, CA, USA Online Division Headquarters Santa Barbara, CA, USA UK Development Center Chalfont, United Kingdom EMEA Headquarters Schaffhausen, Switzerland Pacific Headquarters Hong Kong, China About Citrix Citrix (NASDAQ:CTXS) is a leader in mobile workspaces, providing virtualization, mobility management, networking and cloud services to enable new ways to work better. Citrix solutions power business mobility through secure, personal workspaces that provide people with instant access to apps, desktops, data and communications on any device, over any network and cloud. This year Citrix is celebrating 25 years of innovation, making IT simpler and people more productive. With annual revenue in 2013 of $2.9 billion, Citrix solutions are in use at more than 330,000 organizations and by over 100 million users globally. Learn more at www.citrix.com. Copyright 2014 Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Citrix and NetScaler and NetScaler App Delivery Controller are trademarks of Citrix Systems, Inc. and/or one of its subsidiaries, and may be registered in the U.S. and other countries. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies. 1114/PDF citrix.com 11