Can you use FME Desktop in a Citrix Environment

Question

Does FME Desktop work in a Citrix Environment?

Answer

We have a number of customers that deploy FME Desktop via Citrix. We also have a XenApp Fundamentals Citrix Server configured internally for testing, if needed. We are not aware of anything that prevents FME Desktop from functioning as expected or any differently then in a stand-alone installation.

We highly recommend using floating licenses with Citrix and this requires FlexLM (FlexNet in FME 2013) software to be installed on a system in your LAN (or other network accessible location). If you choose fixed licensing, be aware that you will require a fixed license for each user that will be running the software. Additionally, if you use fixed licensing we will not provide technical support for this usage scenario.

Here are a few articles related to Citrix and FME that are worth reviewing if you are considering working with this environment:

FME Workbench crashes unexpectedly on Citrix

Errors due to missing Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable

With regard to performance, any impact would be due to working over a network, not directly with Citrix. If you are reading source data files from a network location, processing with FME on the Citrix server, and then writing the output files to a destination also on the network, then the flow of data back and forth will be limited by the speed of the network connections. If you are dealing with many large files then there could be a noticeable impact on performance. One option to consider in such a case is to use zip files. FME is able to read from source zip files and write out to zip files. Reading or writing a single zip file across a network connection is a lot quicker than hundreds of smaller files.

Usability notes

Geodatabase

If you are going to be working with the Geodatabase (File Geodb) formats that require a licensed installed ArcGIS, then the Esri product is required to be on the same machine as the FME install. The API format can be used if an Esri product is not installed on the same machine as FME.

Network Drives

If you are using mapped network drives, it is unlikely that the Citrix environment will be aware of them. To use network drives in a Citrix environment, please use the full UNC path. For example, you may have a mapped network drive, e.g. Z:\FMEData. To use this network drive in a Citrix enviroment enter the full path used to set it up, e.g. \\ServerName\FMEData, hit enter and then the list of folders or datasets will be displayed.

Example of navigating to the network drive using the full UNC path

Please contact us at fme.ly/support if you have any further questions about using FME in a Citrix Environment.