microsoft sharepoint 2013 with citrix netscaler · pdf filemicrosoft sharepoint 2013 with...

Deployment Guide

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Microsoft SharePoint 2013 with Citrix NetScalerDeployment Guide

Deployment Guide

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Microsoft SharePoint 2013 with Citrix NetScaler

Table of contents

Introduction 3 NetScaler value-add to SharePoint 4 Product versions and prerequisites 4Deploying SharePoint 2013 with NetScaler 4 Solution features 4 Content switching 5 Caching 5 Compression 5 Load balancing 5 Rewrite 5 Responder 5 SSLoffload 5 Authentication 5 Application Firewall 6SharePoint2013deploymentandconfiguration 6 SharePoint 2013 deployment topology 6 SharePoint2013AppExpertTemplateconfiguration 61. Select import template 72. Specify deployment name 73. Specifytemplatefile 74. Provide domain name 85. Specify backend servers 86. Specify public endpoint. This is the IP used to reach the SharePoint content. 97. Selecttheservercertificatebinding 98. Select the authentication 99. Specify the authentication server 910.Specifycertificate 1011.Configureauthenticationpolicy. 1012.Configuresessionprofile 1013.Configuresessionpolicy 1014. View SharePoint 2013 11Conclusion 11

Deployment Guide

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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,andhasimproveduponitsflexibility,scalabilityandreliabilitywithmanyofnewfeaturesand enhancements. SharePoint 2013 is also optimized to support mobility and remote working usecasesthankstoitsassociationwithcloud-basedofferingsthroughOffice365.

NetScaler® is the best solution to deploy Microsoft applications such as SharePoint 2013. Its rich featuresetincludeslocalandglobalserverloadbalancing,fullwebappfirewallsecurity,fastapplication 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 deploymentSharePoint 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: SharePointfront-endwebserversaredeployedonthefirsttier,theapplicationserversare 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.

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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 viewofNetScalermodulesandconfiguration.AppExpertTemplatesabstractthecomplexityofdeploymentsandprovideasingle-pointsolutionforconfiguration,managementandmonitoringofapplications. These templates can be easily imported into any system running NetScaler 9.0 or higher,jump-startingtheconfigurationanddeploymentprocess.Theyaremaintainedbyapplication 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.

AppExpertTemplatescanbedownloaded,imported,modifiedandexported.Administratorscandownload 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 VersionMicrosoft SharePoint SharePoint 2013

License Enterprise Edition

NetScaler ADC Release 9.3 and Above

License Platinum

Deploying SharePoint 2013 with NetScalerSolution featuresThe following features are implemented using the NetScaler AppExpert Template for SharePoint 2013.PleaseensurethesefeaturesareenabledintheNetScalersystem.ForSSLconfigurationyoumaywanttousethecertificatemanagementmoduleontheNetScalerconfigurationUI.

• Content switching• Caching• Compression• Load balancing• Rewrite

• Responder• SSLoffload• Authentication• Applicationfirewall

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Here is a quick explanation on how these various features work.

Content switching Thecontentswitchingmoduledirectsincomingtraffictoanoptimalmatchingloadbalancingvirtualserver.Thislogicalswitchingofincomingtrafficbasedoncontenttypeallowsyoutoconfigurespecificoptimizationpolicies.Forexample,youmaywanttohavedifferentcompression/cache policies for video and text documents.

CachingThe 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, FrontPagecontent,audio,videoandimagefiles.

CompressionTheNetScalercompressionengineidentifiesandcompressescontentthatiscompressible.Thisprocess improves data transmission time and reduces bandwidth on the front end while saving CPUcyclesonSharePointcontentservers.

Load balancingNetScaler load balancing evenly distributes requests to backend servers. Intelligent monitoring of backend servers prevents requests from being sent to malfunctioning application servers.

RewriteTherewritemoduleisusedtomodifyrequest/responseheaders,URLsorcontentonthefly.Thismoduleworksinlinewithtrafficprocessingandhenceallowstochangetheflowmeaningfullybased on required use cases.

ResponderResponder functionality is used to seamlessly redirect users from HTTP to HTTPS. Responder can alsobeconfiguredtoprovidecustomizederrorpages.

SSLoffloadSSL connections are terminated at the NetScaler appliance. This process allows NetScaler to conductadvancedtrafficmonitoringfeaturesdiscussedinthisdeploymentguide.Additionally,SSLoffloadcansignificantlyreducethecomputationaloverheadofoffloadingencrypteduserconnections on backend servers.

Authentication NetScalerprovidesconfigurationofSharePointauthentication,allowinguserstoauthenticateonce at the NetScaler ADC and gain access to the SharePoint environment. NetScaler supports multiple authentication types including external and password-less authentication.

Application FirewallTheNetScalerApplicationFirewallisanadvancedwebapplicationfirewalldesignedtoprotectagainstcommonandrarethreatstowebandapplicationtiers.Thefirewallcomeswithasetofbuilt-inpoliciesandprofilesfortheenvironment.

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SharePoint 2013 deployment and configurationSharePoint 2013 deployment topology

SharePoint2013AppExpertTemplateconfigurationTheAppExpertTemplateforSharePoint2013ispreconfiguredtoimproveSharePointperformancethroughcompressionandcaching.Duringsetup,apublicendpointisspecifiedalongwithbackendservers.TheNetScalerADCisautomaticallyconfiguredwithacontent-switchingvirtualservertodirectrequeststotheappropriatebackendservers.Eachcontenttypeisalsoconfiguredfortheappropriatecachingandcompressionpolicies.Thetablebelowspecifiesthepoliciesassociatedwitheachtraffictype.

Product versions and prerequisites

Description Compression Caching Rewrite ResponderFrontPage_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 • •

OncetheAppExpertTemplatehasbeenimportedandinstalled,onlyafewmodificationsarerequiredtofinishtheSharePointsetup.

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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 SharePointconfigurationandaddotherfeatures.

1. Select import template

2. Specify deployment name

3.Specifytemplatefile

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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

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6. Specify public endpoint. This is the IP used to reach the SharePoint content

7.Selecttheservercertificatebinding

8. Select the authentication

9. Specify the authentication server

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10.Specifycertificate

11.Configureauthenticationpolicy

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.Configuresessionprofile

13.Configuresessionpolicy

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About CitrixCitrix (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.

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14. View SharePoint 2013

ConclusionNetScaler 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 securityoftheSharePointapplication.UsingtheAppExpertTemplateforSharePoint2013,itisquick and easy to deploy NetScaler within a SharePoint environment.

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