Migrating from On‑Premise Citrix to an Azure‑Hosted Citrix Cloud Desktop Environment

Many organisations with long‑standing on‑premise Citrix environments eventually face rising maintenance costs, inconsistent performance, limited scalability and increasing pressure to support remote and hybrid work. This project involved replacing a legacy on‑premise VDI platform with a modern Azure‑hosted Citrix Cloud Desktop solution, accessible across thin clients, Windows PCs and Chromebooks.

This article outlines the architecture, deployment process, UAT approach and lessons learned during the migration.

Why Move Away From On‑Premise Citrix?

The previous environment had reached a point where it was:

• Costly to maintain due to ageing hardware
• Difficult to scale in response to business growth
• Prone to performance issues under load
• Operationally heavy, requiring significant on‑premise infrastructure
• No longer fit for a distributed and hybrid workforce

Transitioning to Citrix Cloud on Microsoft Azure provided a more scalable, flexible and efficient desktop delivery platform.

Architecting the New Citrix Cloud Environment

The new design centred around Azure‑hosted Windows 10 Multisession machines managed entirely through the Citrix Cloud control plane. This removed much of the complexity traditionally associated with running Citrix on‑premise.

Key Architectural Components

Windows 10 Multisession Desktops
Azure hosts the session machines, each supporting up to ten concurrent users. This delivers predictable performance while optimising cost.

Autoscaling
Autoscale automatically brings new session hosts online when utilisation increases, ensuring consistent performance during peak times. The environment can scale up to eighteen hosts when needed.

Machine Creation Services (MCS)
Session hosts are created from a single master image. The image does not need sysprep; it simply needs to be powered off for MCS to use it. This greatly simplifies image management and updates.

FSLogix Profile Containers
User profiles are stored in Azure Files as VHDX containers, resulting in faster sign‑ins and a consistent experience across sessions.

Authentication and Network Security
User authentication is protected with MFA via OKTA. A Network Virtual Appliance manages internet traffic from the Citrix desktops to enforce filtering and security policies.

Citrix Cloud Control Plane
Citrix hosts the delivery controllers, StoreFront services and other control components in the cloud. Only session hosts, Cloud Connectors and domain controllers run in Azure. Users access their workspace through a single cloud‑based portal.

Building the New Environment

The deployment followed a structured approach, beginning with the creation of a full User Acceptance Testing (UAT) environment.

Phase 1: Build and Configure the UAT Environment

The build included:

• Configuring the Citrix Cloud tenancy and licensing
• Deploying required Azure infrastructure
• Implementing the Barracuda CloudGen Firewall
• Configuring firewall rules and network routing
• Setting up backups, reports, policies and device group structures
• Deploying domain controllers
• Deploying Cloud Connector virtual machines
• Creating the Citrix master image and performing initial testing
• Installing required applications
• Configuring autoscale behaviour
• Completing environment testing before UAT sign‑off

Once complete, the UAT environment was reviewed and approved for the testing phase.

User Acceptance Testing

The UAT process involved three full testing cycles designed to validate real‑world use cases and performance expectations.

UAT Activities Included

• Testing login processes
• Verifying correct applications and permissions
• Checking restrictions and access policies
• Validating Microsoft Teams functionality
• Confirming autoscale triggers under simulated load
• Assessing overall performance and responsiveness

Issues identified during testing were remediated and retested across several rounds, ensuring a polished final environment.

Improved End‑User Experience

Once live, users accessed their cloud desktops through a unified portal secured with MFA. The new environment delivered:

• Consistent performance due to dynamic autoscaling
• Faster login times using FSLogix
• Increased reliability from Azure’s built‑in redundancy
• Support for a wide range of endpoint devices

Compared with the legacy on‑premise environment, the improvement in stability and usability was significant.

Benefits of the New Platform

Reduced Infrastructure Overhead
The shift to Citrix Cloud removes the need to manage delivery controllers, StoreFront servers and on‑premise SQL databases.

On‑Demand Scalability
Autoscaling ensures resources expand in line with user demand without manual intervention.

Improved Resilience
Azure’s high availability and redundancy improve uptime and business continuity.

Simplified Management
Citrix Cloud centralises configuration, updates and policy management.

Future‑Ready Workspace
The solution provides a foundation for evolving applications, growing user numbers and continued hybrid working strategies.

Lessons Learned

• FSLogix is essential for delivering a smooth, consistent desktop experience
• MCS dramatically simplifies image creation and updates
• Autoscaling must be designed carefully around user behaviour patterns
• Thorough UAT is critical for identifying and resolving real‑world issues early
• Ensuring all prerequisites (licensing, permissions, firewall rules) are in place prevents project delays

Conclusion

Migrating from an ageing on‑premise Citrix environment to an Azure‑hosted Citrix Cloud Desktop platform delivers major enhancements in performance, scalability and manageability. With careful planning, a robust technical design and a comprehensive UAT process, the organisation successfully modernised its desktop delivery platform and built a cloud‑first foundation for future growth.