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A very capable multi-faceted appliance that has improved over the years
October 26, 2017

A very capable multi-faceted appliance that has improved over the years

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Citrix NetScaler

We provide global site load balancing with high availability pairs for redundancy in three data centers across the globe for our Citrix published applications as well as our virtual desktops to over then thousand users internal and external to our network. Citrix Netscaler helps achieve this as well as SSL VPN access and reverse proxy for secure access to some of our web applications and sites.
  • Provide secure and easy access to Citrix XenApp applications and XenDesktop VDIs to end users with customizable front-end.
  • Access can be from anywhere in the world from any device and any operating system.
  • Users with low bandwidth and high latency may still access our applications and virtual desktops securely with reasonably fast experience.
  • SSL VPN difficult to implement as well as manage with lack of fully functional tool to manage users for administrators.
  • Citrix Receiver to access Netscaler can be cumbersome to deploy and version stability and bugs need improvement.
  • Netscaler firmware updates can be difficult to upgrade with some native features not functioning correctly after an update.
  • Positive in replacing our aging IPSEC VPN solution from Checkpoint.
  • Consolidated several network appliances (Checkpoint VPN and F5 load-balancers) as well as Riverbed WAN accelerators.
  • GSLB feature improved high availability globally for all our sites with uniform user experience across the globe.
Netscaler has more features than F5 BIG-IP APM product and easier to manage with friendlier user interface for network admins. It was more cost efficient as well and if you have a Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop environment, it is more compatible with those products as well. Our annual maintenance cost is lower as well.
Citrix Netscaler can be a powerful network appliance for environments that are fully committed and open to utilizing a network appliance that isn't made by a traditional network vendor. Administrator user experience has improved over the years and will continue to improve with the flexibility of virtual and physical appliances available for medium and large enterprises.

Using Citrix NetScaler

Improve on the specifics I mentioned previously and could be a 10/10 product. It is also a confusingly branded product that I have supported in two large enterprises where IT departments are unsure if the product belongs to the Citrix remote access support team or the Network infrastructure support team (it should be the later) and typically under utilized.
ProsCons
Like to use
Relatively simple
Easy to use
Feel confident using
Requires technical support
Slow to learn
Lots to learn
  • Reverse proxy
  • XenApp and Desktop portals configuration
  • BInding HA to virtual sites and servers
  • applying SSL certificates
  • GUI access and navigation
  • SSL VPN
  • GSLB setup and confiugration
  • Firmware updates
  • Custom website configurations