The internet contains and delivers more content than ever before, this has become an increased part of our daily routine which can include watching YouTube videos for training or communicating with colleagues in remote locations. These scenarios place an increase on resources in corporate data centres, and can have a negative effect on user experience.
Our client is an organisation that serves to protect and respond to emergencies in South Wales. As part of their daily operations, staff members need to access various online resources for training and communication, often from remote locations. This includes using external training websites and Microsoft Teams for video/audio conferencing.
Resource Strain: Increased internet usage for training and communication was placing significant strain on corporate data centres.
User Experience: The resource demands negatively impacted the user experience, particularly for those connecting remotely.
Remote Access: Staff needed to access external content and communication tools effectively from various locations without degrading performance.
Optimisation Requirements: There was a need for a solution that could optimise the delivery of web content and multimedia to ensure efficient resource usage and enhanced user experience.
To address these challenges, our client adopted Citrix Browser Content Redirection (BCR). This approach included:
Content Redirection: By redirecting the web content from the Citrix server (VDA) directly to the user's endpoint device, we reduced the load on the corporate data centres. This ensures that the bulk of the processing is handled by the user's local device, improving performance and user experience.
Easy Setup: The solution was straightforward to implement, requiring users to have the Citrix Workspace app and a browser extension. Citrix policies were used to configure the content needing redirection.
Fallback Mechanisms: Windows media fallback prevention was implemented to prevent content from being rendered on the VDA if redirection failed (e.g., due to lack of internet access on the endpoint).
Teams Optimisation: Microsoft Teams was optimised using virtual channels to redirect audio and video to the user's endpoint, thereby reducing the load on the VDA. A fallback option was also included to manage scenarios where endpoints did not meet optimisation requirements.
Technology Used
Citrix Workspace App: A crucial component for enabling BCR and accessing Citrix applications and desktops installed on user devices.
Browser Extension: Required for redirecting web content from the Citrix server to the endpoint device.
Citrix Policies: Configured to manage the redirection of specific content.
Windows Media Fallback Prevention: Ensures media content is not rendered on the VDA if redirection fails.
Microsoft Teams Optimisation: Utilised virtual channels to redirect Teams audio and video, with fallback options for unoptimised endpoints.
By implementing these technologies, our client successfully addressed the challenges of resource strain and user experience degradation, enabling their staff to access necessary online resources efficiently from various locations.
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