Insight center can be best described as an application visibility tool. It allows application and network owners to see how the applications hosted via the NetScaler are performing and the point of origin of delays, which helps narrow down areas for troubleshooting. It also helps identify the top users for applications and the applications that are most used. These applications can be standard web applications hosted by the NetScaler (web insight) or XenApp and XenDesktop Applications (HDX insight). The following screenshot is a sample HDX Insight showing the various delays adding up to slow application launches:
Source: Image from Citrix eDocs
There are a couple of technologies at the heart of Insight Center: IPFIX and AppFlow.
IPFIX is an IETF standard that allows TCP/UDP flow level information, that is, the 5-tuple info that contains Source IP, Destination IP, Source Port, Destination Port, and Protocol.
AppFlow is an extension to IPFIX that then adds application info to this mix by using a provision in the standard to include details such as URLs, request methods, and status codes. An excellent use of this provision is to include ICA information, such as the published app that is accessed (used by an Insight Center feature called HDX insight).
When NetScaler is set up for insight center, it knows to send IPFIX records with the AppFlow information added information to it. The application level info present in these records then allows insight center to provide in-depth visibility into how the applications are performing in the form of a wide range of performance reports.
Consider the following steps if you run into issues with Insight Center:
- Ensure the following ports are open between Insight Center and NetScaler:
- UDP port 4739 used by IPFIX and AppFlow
- TCP ports 80 (HTTP) 443 (SSL) for NITRO (API) communication. SSL can also be enforced though configuration. NITRO to query NetScalers for details such as the vServers that are configured.
- TCP port 22 for SSH between Insight Center and the NetScaler
- ICMP which Insight Center uses to verify reachability
- Verify that the feature is enabled and configured on the VIP.
- Ensure that the times are in sync; any inaccuracies here will mean there will be a skew in the reports.
- There is a dependency between the Insight Center version and the NetScaler version. Ensure that the Insight Center version is the same as the NetScaler version or higher.
- HDX Insight (ICA) reporting also has a dependency on the NetScaler license so ensure that NetScaler is adequately licensed. HDX Insight is not available for NetScaler Standard and is only available with certain granularities for the Enterprise Edition.