Citrix® NFuse™ Classic Portlet for IBM WebSphere® Portal Server FAQ
What capabilities does the Citrix® NFuse™ Classic Portlet for WebSphere® Portal Server provide to end users (after the portlet has been configured for the end user environment)? Citrix NFuse instantly Web-enables legacy client/server applications, allowing End users to access these applications from the WebSphere Portal Server along with Web-based applications.. Applications that have not been ported to the Web can now be accessed over a Web infrastructure. Citrix NFuse Classic works with Citrix MetaFrame® server-based computing software, which allows client/server applications to be centrally managed and deployed. Users view and work with the application as if it was running locally; however, only screen, keyboard and mouse updates are transmitted over the network. Because minimal data is sent between the client and server, users need only dial-up bandwidth to access any number of Windows®, UNIX® or Java™ applications running concurrently in a Citrix MetaFrame environment. Applications that previously were available only on desktop platforms are now accessible over any device -- including wireless devices -- over any bandwidth -- including low-bandwidth LANs or WANs. What is Citrix NFuse Classic Portlet for WebSphere® Portal Services? The Citrix NFuse Classic Portlet for WebSphere Portal Services is template code designed to illustrate how to leverage NFuse Classic functionality within a WebSphere Portal Server environment. Using the portlet code as an example, developers can better understand how to integrate the NFuse Classic extensions into the WebSphere Portal Server. What features of NFuse Classic are currently integrated in the portlet? The portlet has been designed to display the basic functionality of NFuse Classic and outline the key areas of code development when integrating NFuse Classic inside the WebSphere portal environment. Portlet • • • • • • features: Guest logon. Explicit logon. WebSphere integrated logon. The ability to display MetaFrame application list. The ability to limit the number of icons displayed per row within the portlet. The ability to launch applications from the portal.
Where can I find product information about NFuse Classic? To learn more about NFuse Classic and other Citrix products, direct your browser to http://www.citrix.com/products Where can I learn more about extending this portlet code? To learn more about the portlet design visit http://apps.citrix.com/CDN/nfuse/websphere/documentation.asp See the Reference section of this document for technical information about NFuse Classic customization. Also, take a look at the Citrix Developer Network for documentation that will enable you to customize NFuse Classic: http://www.citrix.com/download/bin/license.asp?client=nfusereg Are there any security risks with the portlet?
The current version of the Citrix NFuse Classic Portlet is designed to help portal developers integrate NFuse Classic into a WebSphere portal. Many IT environments have different security standards; therefore the NFuse Classic portlet describes how to pass credentials in a basic fashion, using server-side session variables. Out of the box, the portlet should not be used in a production environment until the security integration has been reviewed for your environment. What are the system and platform requirements? Windows 2000 Server or Windows 2000 Advanced Server or Windows XP Citrix MetaFrame XP (all versions) Citrix NFuse Classic 1.6 IBM WebSphere Portal Server 2.1 Can you deploy the NFuse Classic Portlet without MetaFrame? No. NFuse Classic is designed to provide access to Windows, UNIX and Java applications running on the appropriate MetaFrame platform. Can the portlet be used in other WebSphere platforms? Because the NFuse Classic Portlet for WebSphere leverages the Java Virtual Machine, an experienced developer can use the portlet as a guide to create similar functionality for other WebSphere platforms. What are the key benefits of using NFuse Classic Portlet in my current WebSphere portal environment? Publish interactive applications to the WebSphere Portal—instantly The robust enterprise-class management capabilities help streamline IT operations, while maintaining the highest level of security and control. Citrix NFuse Classic is a three-tier solution that includes a Citrix MetaFrame® server comp onent, a Web server component, and a Citrix Independent Computing Architecture (ICA®) client component with a Web browser. Web integration Publish Windows, UNIX and Java applications for access from any standard Web browser without application rewrites, and add information to existing applications without complex scripting. Citrix NFuse Classic supports virtually any client device or operating system. Support for Microsoft® Active Directory™ and Novell® NDS® makes user authentication even simpler and more flexible. Personalization Citrix NFuse Classic allows you to personalize the combination of Windows and UNIX applications presented to each user. Administrators can publish interactive applications to the WebSphere portal and provide users in any location with seamless, centralized access to all the tools, information and applications they need to be productive. Single-point control Deploy and manage applications on the Web from a single point with enterprise-class scalability. Enhanced usability features make life easier for administrators and users.
How does Citrix MetaFrame reduce Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)? The Citrix solution dramatically reduces application maintenance and desktop costs. In fact, studies (Doculabs Study) show that typical large organizations can save over 50 percent in hard costs in the first year following deployment. It is important to note that loss of productivity and training are often categorized as soft costs, which are not considered part of IT cost structure. However, organizations should consider soft costs when determining how they will deploy applications in the future. Organizations also derive other key benefits from the Citrix solution, including: • Improved, centralized management of their infrastructures • Unification of disparate and fragmented network infrastructures • Demonstrated cost benefits for organizations of all sizes that increase with the size of the organization Visit the Citrix Application Computing Environment (ACE) Cost Analyzer for additional details: http://acecostanalyzer.com/ How do I license the NFuse Classic portlet? Please read the end-user license agreement for additional details. What is the NavCode™ (Navigation code) that should be used to access the Citrix portlet description within the IBM WebSphere Portlet Catalog? From http://www.ibm.com, type the following code in the NavCode box: 1WP100026 What technical support is available? Support is provided to existing Citrix customers who have active support agreements for their MetaFrame products. In lieu of support agreements, customers will receive support on a for-fee basis. Also, there are technical forums available for Citrix products including NFuse products. Please see the note below under “Where to look for additional information”
Where to look for additional information
Technical Forums There are forums on the Citrix Developer Network (CDN) website addressing NFuse Classic and other Citrix products. Such forums also exist for Citrix MetaFrame software. Go to: http://apps.citrix.com/CDN/discussion_forum.asp
Citrix NFuse Classic
• Citrix NFuse Classic documentation for developers will enable you to customize NFuse Classic: http://www.citrix.com/download/bin/license.asp?client=nfusereg • The Citrix NFuse Supplementary Guide explains how to install NFuse Classic Version 1.61, and configure and use the new features. • The Citrix NFuse Administrator’s Guide introduces Citrix NFuse Classic and explains how to configure your NFuse Classic Web server, ICA Client devices, NFuse Classic security, and the ICA Program Neighborhood® Agent. This guide is on the NFuse CD-
ROM and on the Citrix Web site (http://www.citrix.com/support). Select Product Documentation. • The Configuring NFuse PDF file explains how to customize NFuse Classic. This file is on the NFuse CD-ROM and on the Citrix Web site (http://www.citrix.com/support/). Select Product Documentation. • The NFuse Readme file contains last minute updates, corrections to the documentation, and a list of known problems. This file is included in the NFuse Classic 1.61 Web download and is on the Citrix Web site.
Citrix® MetaFrame® for Windows® Operating Systems and Citrix® MetaFrame® for UNIX® Operating Systems
• The Citrix® MetaFrame XP™ for Windows® Operating Systems, Version 1.0, Feature Release 1 Administrator’s Guide explains how to install and configure MetaFrame XP on Windows servers. Included in this documentation is information about publishing applications, configuring the Citrix XML Service, and configuring the Citrix SSL Relay. The MetaFrame XP Administrator’s Guide is on the MetaFrame XP CD-ROM and on the Citrix Web site. • The Feature Release 1 and Service Pack 3 Installation Guide for Citrix MetaFrame for Windows Version 1.8 tells administrators how to install and configure Service Pack 3 and Feature Release 1 on MetaFrame 1.8 for Windows servers. Included in this documentation is information about configuring the Citrix XML Service and the Citrix SSL Relay. The Installation Guide is available on the Feature Release 1/Service Pack 3 CD-ROM and on the Citrix download site. • The Citrix® MetaFrame® for UNIX® Operating Systems, Feature Release 1 for Version 1.1, Administrator’s Guide tells administrators how to install and configure MetaFrame for UNIX. Included in this documentation is information about publishing applications and how to configure the XML Service for UNIX. The MetaFrame for UNIX Administrator’s Guide is available on the MetaFrame for UNIX, Feature Release 1 CD-ROM and on the Citrix Web site.
Security
• The Citrix SSL Relay for UNIX Administrator’s Guide is for system administrators who are responsible for installing, configuring, and maintaining Citrix SSL Relay on MetaFrame for UNIX Operating Systems servers. This guide is available on the MetaFrame for UNIX, Feature Release 1 CD-ROM and on the Citrix Web site. • The Citrix Secure Gateway Administrator’s Guide Version 1.0 tells administrators how to install and configure Citrix Secure Gateway. This guide is on the Citrix Secure Gateway CD-ROM
WebSphere Portal Server Documentation
Go to http://www.ibm.com Enter the following Navcode: 1WP10000K This navigation code will take you directly to the portion of IBM’s website for WebSphere Portal Server.