You may have noticed that Citrix is in the process of implementing changes announced at Synergy 2018 to unify its product portfolio. Some of these changes are cosmetic, affecting names only, but others contain functional changes. In particular, the new Citrix Workspace App will eventually replace the Receiver, ShareFile (now Citrix Content Management), and XenMobile (now Citrix Endpoint Management) clients, and will provide users with consolidated access to virtual apps and desktops, SaaS and mobile apps, shared content, and secure browsing within the Citrix Workspace ecosystem.
You may have also noticed Receiver has started to update itself to Workspace App on various devices. The user experience is similar to Receiver, should be familiar to users, and is compatible with all currently supported versions of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops (formerly XenApp and XenDesktop) and Citrix Gateway (formerly NetScaler Gateway), but most firms would like to control this behavior. There isn’t much you can do about mobile devices, or home PCs and Macs, but on firm-owned PCs, Receiver updates can be controlled via command line at installation, and via Group Policy after installation.
Most firms choose to disable Receiver updates, then push out an updated version after it is thoroughly tested. That’s the approach Kraft Kennedy recommends, but other options exist including the ability to limit updates to the Long Term Servicing Release (“LTSR”). Currently, that would limit update to Receiver 4.9.
Helpful links:
- Citrix Workspace App – System Requirements and Compatibility
- Configure Citrix Receiver Updates
- Configure Citrix Workspace App Updates
- Citrix Receiver Update Troubleshooting Guide