Question : Problem: Hardware and software needed for citrix

Hi experts,

I have a 2003 Enterprise server and wanted to go with a ctirix solution for 15 offsite users.  What would my hardware/software inventory list look like?


1 Which software version of Citrix do i need to buy? (Metaframe, access suite) It looks like they have a few offering.
2. Do I need a Citrix Access Gateway
3 I am looking at 15 users, most all of them are running a Medical Management program, only a few would also run some microsoft office products, and maybe quickbooks.


Thanks

Answer : Problem: Hardware and software needed for citrix

1.  You need to purchase Citrix Presentation Server 4.0 (previously known as Metaframe).  This is the latest version of Citrix.  http://www.citrix.com/English/ps2/products/product.asp?contentID=186&ntref=hp_nav_US
2.  No.  For a small implementation such as yours I don't think you need this.  You can use Web Interace & Secure Gateway that come included with Citrix PS 4.0 and will give you the same security.
3. This really depends on how much your users will do on the server at any given time and how memory/processor intensive the applications are.  Unfortunately there is no real concrete answer to this but generally you will be fine with just 1 server for only 15 users.  If possible 2 servers would be ideal for load balancing and fail over.  If you are going to use more than one server then make sure to get at least Advanced Edition of Citrix.  Standard edition does not allow for load balancing - so either go with Advanced or get Enterprise if you want all the bells & whistles.  Here's a chart of the differences between the versions: http://www.citrix.com/site/resources/dynamic/salesdocs/CitrixPresentationServerComparativeMatrix01SEPT2005.pdf

For your server hardware a dual processor is ideal (hyperthreading to make it a quad even better).  Probably one of the most important things is RAM.  I usually always recommend getting 4 GB of RAM on the server.  Bandwidth is another concern.  You need to make sure your site can handle the additional load otherwise it will make the user experience very bad.  Citrix does not take up a lot of bandwidth in general but if you are already maxed out it will just cause more problems.  Generally though bandwidth isn't much of a problem with high-speed internet connections.