Duration: 5 Days
In this course, you will learn the foundational concepts and advanced skills necessary to implement, configure, secure, monitor, optimize, and troubleshoot a Citrix Netscaler system from within a networking framework. This course is designed specifically for those with limited or no previous NetScaler experience. Through this course, you will participate in hands-on exercises within a virtual lab environment.
This course is based on the Citrix NetScaler 10.0 product, but the skills and fundamental concepts are common to earlier product versions.
Certification:
Citrix Certified Administrator (CCA)
What You Will Learn
- Capabilities and functionality of the NetScaler
- Basic NetScaler network architecture
- Obtain, install, and manage NetScaler licenses
- Use SSL to secure the NetScaler
- Implement NetScaler TriScale technology, including clustering
- Configure advanced load balancing and Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB) on the NetScaler system
- Optimize the NetScaler system for traffic handling and management
- Customize the NetScaler system for traffic flow and content-specific requirements
- Demonstrate monitoring and reporting through native NetScaler logging tools
- Employ recommended tools and techniques to troubleshoot common NetScaler network and connectivity issues
Audience
Networking professionals new to the NetScaler platform
Prerequistes
- Intermediate knowledge of TCP/IP and HTTP protocols and an understanding of the OSI model
- Experience with network devices, networking protocols, and aspects of application and site
- architecture
- Moderate exposure to UNIX or Linux
- Exposure to basic systems administration concepts, including logging, software upgrade procedures, and high availability operations
- Familiarity with web server software
- Knowledge of network security threats and site protection concepts
Course Outline
1. Getting Started
- NetScaler
- NetScaler System
- NetScaler Functionality
- NetScaler Operating System
- Hardware Platforms
- Hardware Components
- Planning a NetScaler Deployment
- Deployment Scenarios
- TriScale
- NetScaler Configuration
- Logging into the NetScaler System
- NetScaler Licenses
2. Basic Networking
- OSI Networking Model
- NetScaler Architecture
- Packet Forwarding
- NetScaler-Owned IP Addresses
- NetScaler IP Address
- Sending a Client IP Address to Servers
- Virtual Local Area Networks (VLAN)
- Network Address Translation
3. Basic Load Balancing
- Load Balancing Basics
- Configuring Basic Load Balancing
- Services Configuration
- Virtual Servers Creation
- Services Bound to a Virtual Server
- Configuration Verification
- Load-Balancing Methods
- Service Weights
- Session Persistence Methods
- Service Level Monitors
4. High Availability
- Functionality
- Node Configuration
- Propagation and Synchronization
- Management
5. Policies and Expressions
- Policies
- Policy Basics
- Basic Policy Components
- Policy Bindings
- Policy Priorities
- Hypertext Transfer Protocol
- Expression Structures
- Wildcards
- Context-Sensitive Fields
- Simple Expressions
- Compound Expressions
- Advanced Policy Conversion
6. Content Switching
- Configuring a Load Balancing Setup for Content Switching
- Content-Switching Policies
- Content-Switching Rule Precedence Without Priority Specified
- Content-Switching Rule Precedence With Priority Specified
7. Connection Tuning
- IPv6
- DNS and the NetScaler
- IP Routing
- Link Load Balancing
- SIP Load Balancing
- Custom Load
- Persistence and Persistence Connections
- Load Balancing Configuration Protection
- Load Balancing Setup Management
- Traffic Management
8. Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB)
- Deployment Methods
- Concepts
- DNS Methods
- Implementing Static GSLB
- Metric Exchange Protocol
- Configuring Site-to-Site Communication
- Customizing the GSLB Configuration
- GSLB Persistence
- Monitoring GSLB Services
- Protecting the GSLB Setup Against Failure
- Implementing GSLB Failover for Disaster Recovery
9. Clustering
- Features Supported by Clustering
- Clustering
- Cluster
- Synchronization
- Connections
- Communication Interfaces
- Striped and Spotted IP Addresses
- Traffic Distribution
- Cluster and Node States
- NetScaler Cluster
- Set up
- Traffic Distribution Mechanisms
- Management
- Troubleshooting
10. Security and Authentication
- SSL
- SSL Administration
- SSL Keys
- Digital Certificates
- Certificate Signing Request
- SSL Certificates
- Certificate Generation
- Certificate Key Pairs
- NetScaler System Communication
- Front-End SSL
- Front-End SSL_TCP
- Securing Traffic
- SSL_Bride
- SSL Termination Points
- SSL Offload
- Configuring SSL Offload
- Advanced SSL Settings
- Hardware Compliance
- Authentication Setup
- AAA for Traffic Management
- SAML 2.0 Consumer Support
- Enhanced NTLMv2 Support
- Authentication Policy Creation
- Single Sign-On Setup
- LDAP Authentication
- Detailed Access Control Lists Configuration
- Extended Access Control Lists
- Creation and Removal of Access Control Lists
- SYN, SSL Renegotiation, TLS Man-in-the-Middle, and DoS Protection
- Client Traffic Management Based on Traffic Rate
11. Rewrite, Responder, and URL Transformation
- Packet Processing Flow
- Policies
- Policy Process Evaluation Flow
- Advanced Policy Expressions
- Actions
- Bind Points
- Policy Labels
- Pattern Sets
- Typecasting
- Rewrite, Responder, and URL Transform
- Configuring Rewrite Policies and Actions
- Configuring Responder Policies and Actions
- Configuring URL Transformation Policies and Actions
12. Optimizing Traffic
- Compression
- Integrated Caching
- Reverse-Proxy-Cache Configuration
- Content Groups
- Cache Selectors and Policies
- Caching Static and Dynamic Content
- Request and Response Process Flow
- Cache Policies and Cache Expressions
- Action Analytics
- Evaluation Order
- Built-In Policies
- Graceful Cache Configuration Changes
- Cache Content Groups
- FlashCache
- Caching Management
- AppExpert Templates
- Terminology
- Methodology
13. Advanced Monitoring
- Monitoring Needs
- Simple Network Management Protocol
- Dashboard
- Citrix Command Center
- Reporting Tools
- NetScaler Log Management
- Audit Logging
- Configuring NetScaler for Audit Logging
- Configuring an Audit Logging Server
- Global Auditing Parameters
- Configuring Auditing Policies
- Monitoring Methods
- Reporting Tools
- Monitoring Needs
- Simple Network Management Protocol
- Configuring SMNPv1 and SMNPv2
- AppFlow on the NetScaler
- AppFlow Collectors and EdgeSight Monitoring
- AppFlow Actions and EdgeSight Monitoring
- Third-Party Collectors
14. Troubleshooting
- Methodology
- Resources
- Tools
- Network Issues
- Hardware Issues
- Load Balancing Issues
- Authentication, Authorization, and Access (AAA) Issues
- SSL Troubleshooting
- SSL Offload Troubleshooting
- Policy Troubleshooting
- High Availability Troubleshooting
Course Labs
