Citrix Netscaler Access Gateway will secure it all for you just make sure YOU secure training before implementing it.
August 18, 2017
Citrix Netscaler Access Gateway will secure it all for you just make sure YOU secure training before implementing it.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Citrix NetScaler Access Gateway
We use Citrix Netscaler Gateway to secure the border between the public internet and our internal application gateway. It is the front end of our "VPN" solution, per se, in that we rely on it to mitigate external threats while allowing the internal users access to their applications. It is used across the whole company and was a replacement for the previous Citrix Product called CSG/Citrix Secure Gateway.
- Citrix Netscaler Gateway is a solid front end for any organizations externally facing infrastructure. Nothing is impenetrable but Netscaler is as close to it as you can get.
- Netscaler is high on available customization so it can be used by both small shops and large shops in that it offers opportunity to change most parts of the system to your liking.
- In blending well with Citrix XenApp and Xendesktop systems, Netscaler is particularly strong in protecting other Citrix products. Both the Netscaler and the Xen systems have hooks built into them to best use each other.
- In keeping up with the customization needs, Netscaler can be quite a behemoth as to learning how best to use it. It does not at all work well out of the box and requires specific training or looking up steps to make most changes.
- In line with he need for training, making simple changes on the system not only need expertise, they are harder than they should be. Even with the expertise it is quite easy to mess something up and go into full panic mode.
- Documentation for the product is not up to what I think it should be. Reading it requires more knowledge than it should as to understanding what it is trying to get across.
- The largest positive impact was that it provided a path up upgrade from the now defunct CSG Citrix product. Because Netscaler Gateway is an at cost product, where CSG was not, one could argue there is no monetary ROI but the ROI in this scenario comes more from the ability to not have to use a non Citrix product and learn the skills needed to administer it.
- Negative wise, Netscaler Gateway can be quite costly in both upfront costs and maintenance fees. It is part of business and a requirement but when using it as a replacement for CSG you will have to account for several thousands of dollars per year in additional cost.
- Because it can implemented as a virtual server (it comes in both hardware and non hardware versions) the lack of need to add one more piece of hardware to our data center saves in space, up front costs, and power/cooling needs if you opt to go with the software based version.
The only other SSL VPN type product I have used was Citrix Secure Gateway. Netscaler is a MUCH more feature filled product. CSG was a free add on to older versions of Citrix Metaframe and XenApp and was specifically just used for securing Citrix infrastructure. Netscaler excels in securing Citrix but can also be used to secure shared apps of all kinds regardless of how they are published.
I did do a test run on 2X's product which did include a secure gateway but then base 2X product was not really comparable to Citrix so did not go too far with it.
I did do a test run on 2X's product which did include a secure gateway but then base 2X product was not really comparable to Citrix so did not go too far with it.