Thick client and Citrix deployment license issues

[Ryan_Wakefield]

Hello,

I have been searching all over and have been struggling to find an answer to my question regarding the use of Citrix and deploying the OnBase thick client (and Unity Client soon as well). Currently, we have a couple hundred thick client installations on computers that we have done due to licensing having to use the local computers hostname to pull the correct permissions. However, when you deploy a Citrix session, the Thick Client would be pulling the hostname of the Citrix boxes name and not the remotely connecting computers hostname. Now, I have read lots of Citrix forums where they talk about registry keys and other things, but none of those questions have gotten a clear cut answer yet. As well, I see lots of talk about deploying OnBase via Citrix on the Community forums, but none of them ever talk about if you have different work stations that would be all have different permissions to things in OnBase, but they all connect to the same Citrix box.

So this brings me to the point I am at to where I would like to know if any other Community members are deploying their Thick/Unity Clients via Citrix, but each of those clients who are connecting in are able to grab their respective licenses. As well, how do you set the permissions since you typically have to launch the software on the computer it is installed on to give it the appropriate licenses? Lastly, does anyone have any feedback on how "beefy" the boxes should be? I have honestly been struggling with this and would really like to find an answer.

Thanks Community. You never have let me down so far. 🙂

[Dan_Travers · Accepted solution]

Ryan, OnBase licensing in a Citrix environment requires Named User or Concurrent licensing. These license types do not require identifying a unique workstation for each user for example by using the workstation hostname.

Named User licenses are assigned to users in OnBase Configuration by navigating to the Users menu > User Names/Passwords > Settings. A User Template can be configured to define which Named licenses should be assigned when new users are created.

Concurrent Client licenses are consumed automatically when users login to OnBase for the first time provided there are concurrent licenses available in the system that are not in use and no other license types have been explicitly assigned to the user. Concurrent licenses can be reserved for user groups by creating a license pool for the user group in OnBase Configuration > Users menu > User Groups/Rights > Licenses. Other concurrent type licenses can be assigned in the OnBase Client under the Admin menu > User Management > Workstation Registration.

Workstation licenses should not be used in a Citrix environment where OnBase is deployed as a published application or via a Citrix published desktop due to the fact that all users are connecting to instances of OnBase running on the same workstation (i.e. the Citrix server).

A new feature is available in OnBase 17 called Group-Associated Licensing. Group-Associated Licensing provides the ability to associate different license types at the user group level which are evaluated for assignment when users login to clients such as the OnBase Client, Web Client and Unity Client. This new feature eases the overhead of licensing administration by allowing the administrator to design a licensing strategy that is deployed when users login to OnBase.

More information about configuring licensing can be found in the System Administration MRG:

https://www.onbase.com/community/onbase/m/ob15mrg/15987

Details about configuring OnBase in a Citrix environment can be found in the Citrix and Microsoft Windows Remote Desktop Environment Deployment Guide:

https://www.onbase.com/community/onbase/m/ob15mrg/16078

Client hardware requirements can be found in the Technical Requirements Overview for New Installations and Upgrades:

https://www.onbase.com/community/onbase/m/ob15mrg/19207

[Ryan_Wakefield]

Sorry to not have responded sooner Dan, but do you have a link to show how this works exactly with Group-Associated Licensing? I understand it from your description, but I more of wanted to see if there were any videos or anything else that might more of "show" me the way Group-Associated Licensing works. Thanks again for this post as my coworker and I are considering going to version 17 here early next year and if we are able to use Group-Associated Licensing, then I would like to look at doing so since it would make our license handling so much easier. 🙂

Thanks.

[Dan_Travers]

You can find more information about Group-Associated Licensing in the release notes for OnBase 17 available at What's New: whatsnew.onbase.com/.../. Select the following options in What's New to display the release notes for Group-Associated Licensing: Search by Build > Thick Client SCRs > build 16.1.0.180 > Changed Products: Configuration > I would like to see: Enhancements.

The Configuration dialog for Group-Associated Licensing is very easy to use; it consists of a select list that allows you to choose which licenses to associate with a user group. When users log in to a client, the licenses associated with the user group in Configuration will be evaluated and assigned automatically to the user or workstation where appropriate (for example there is a license available to assign to the user or workstation and no existing licenses take precedence).