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The Citrix ICA Client window

The Citrix ICA Client for UNIX is controlled from the ICA Client's Citrix ICA Client window. This shows a list of the connection definitions you have set up, and allows you to initiate a connection.

Once you are connected to a Citrix server, the ICA Client application handles communication with the Citrix server and provides the display, keyboard, and mouse interface between the server and your local UNIX workstation.

The Citrix ICA Client window also allows you to create new connection definitions, or edit the definitions of existing connections.

For each connection you can define the following features:

Window size

The ICA Client window size can be set to one of four predefined window sizes, or a custom size up to your workstation display size.

Number of colors

The ICA Client window can be set to 256 or 16 colors, subject to the number of colors available on the client UNIX workstation.

In addition, you can define default values for the window size and window colors, which are then used as the default for all new connection definitions.

Remote Applications and Load Balancing

The ICA Client supports two types of connections: ICA connections and remote applications.

An ICA connection allows a user to access a Citrix desktop. The user can run any applications available on the desktop, in any order.

A remote application is a predefined application and its associated environment (for example directories and initialization files) that execute on a remote Citrix server.

There are several ways to define a remote application:

See Chapter 5, "Application Publishing," in the MetaFrame Administrator's Guide, or the WINFRAME System Guide for more information about application publishing.

The Load Balancing Services can be used with multiple Citrix servers to provide load balancing capabilities. Citrix load balancing support lets you define a remote application that runs on a predefined set of Citrix servers. When a user launches the remote application, the Citrix load balancing software uses a tunable algorithm to select a server to execute the application. The load balancing parameters are configurable and can be tuned to provide maximum throughput and system availability.

Another advantage of load balancing is increased reliability. By configuring a pool of servers that are capable of running your users' applications without your users ever needing to know which server is actually running the application, you can easily bring servers off-line for maintenance without affecting application availability, or add more servers for increased performance.

See Chapter 5, "Application Publishing," in the MetaFrame Administrator's Guide, or the WINFRAME System Guide for more information about load balancing.

Printer mapping

You can redirect printing jobs from applications you are running on a Citrix server and print them to a printer connected to your UNIX workstation.

The ICA client supports any spooled printer available from your UNIX workstation, as long as the relevant printer driver is installed on the Citrix server.

Drive mapping

You can also map any directory, CD-ROM or floppy disk mounted on your UNIX workstation to allow you to load and save documents using applications on the Citrix server.

Read and write access to local files can be individually controlled for each drive mapping.

Data compression

Data compression reduces the amount of data transferred across the ICA session to increase performance over bandwidth-limited connections.

Bitmap caching

Bitmap caching stores commonly-used graphical objects such as bitmaps in a local disk cache on the client computer to increase performance over bandwidth-limited connections.

Automatic client update

Automatic client update allows your ICA Client software to be updated automatically if a newer version is available on the Citrix server.

Color approximation

Because of differences in the palettes used between the ICA client (and the Windows applications it displays) and native UNIX desktops, there is an annoying flashing that occurs when switching context. The ICA UNIX Client's color approximation scheme eliminates this flashing by using colors from the local desktop palette to display the ICA Windows sessions.

Audio mapping

Audio mapping allows your client computer to play sounds generated by applications running on the Citrix server. ICA Client audio support includes configurable sound quality levels that allow you to customize sound quality based upon the amount of bandwidth available.

COM port mapping

Client COM port mapping allows devices attached to the client computer's COM ports to be used from ICA sessions on a Citrix server. This allows local devices like modems, serial printers, and bar-code scanners to be used by applications running on the Citrix server.