PoC Guide: Citrix ITSM Adapter service + ServiceNow

Overview

IT Service Management (ITSM) Adapter is a Citrix Cloud service that lets you extend the ServiceNow capabilities into your Citrix DaaS and on-premises environments. With the service, IT teams and end users can deliver and manage Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops using ITSM workflows in ServiceNow through the Self-Service capabilities.

This PoC document shows you how to integrate the Citrix ITSM adapter service + ServiceNow for a test environment with out-of-the-box features for End Users and Administrators.

These features and roles include:

Also, don’t forget to review the features released in new versions, what's new, enhancements, and what's in the roadmap.

Conceptual Architecture

Before getting started with the configuration guide, let's have a better understanding of the Architecture:

In the diagram, you can see that we’re working with two cloud services. The first is ServiceNow, and the second is the Citrix Cloud control plane.

Beginning with the ServiceNow service, we're going to require two components: the Orchestrator plugging, which is going to be the component to access all the workflow design, and the Citrix ITSM connector plug-in, and it's going to make the connection with the Citrix Cloud control plane.

Installing the Citrix ITSM connector plug-in from the ServiceNow store creates two tables in the ServiceNow database instance. These tables are related to the Citrix licensing and the Citrix VDA information. On the other hand, from a Citrix Cloud control plane standpoint, the Citrix ITSM adapter is already installed, so you only need to enable the service for your integration. If you have an on-premises environment, perform a site aggregation to discover that workload. Last but not least, the communication between both services happens through an OAuth profile from ServiceNow that provides a client ID and secret password to register with the Citrix ITSM service.

Now that you better understand the Architecture and how Citrix ITSM works and communicates with your environments (Cloud and on-premises), it’s time to move forward with our Readiness Review.

Prerequisites

To set up the ITSM Adapter service, make sure you have the following things ready:

• An account with system administrator permission to your ServiceNow instance
• After the service is set up, you can implement role-based access control. For more information, see Access Management.
• Register to Citrix Cloud control plane to get access to ITSM service and sign up for a free trial.
• A Citrix Cloud administrator account with Full Access.
• Connectivity between your ServiceNow instance and the IP address of the region where your Citrix Cloud account is located.

Scope

We’re going to summarize the integration in the following steps:

1. ServiceNow
   • Enable Orchestration plug-in
   • Install Citrix IT Service Management Connector from the ServiceNow Store
   • Create an OAuth application.
2. Citrix Cloud / ITSM service console
   • Enable ITSM service.
   • Add your ServiceNow instance.
   • Add the on-premises Citrix environment (Site aggregation)

Orchestration plug-in

Under the My Instance admin console, go to the Instance Action and click Activate Plugin. Search for the Orchestration plug-in and click activate. Once completed, you receive an email notification.

Install Citrix IT Service Management Connector from the ServiceNow Store

The Citrix ITSM plug-in for ServiceNow provides an easy way to extend ServiceNow’s capabilities into your Citrix infrastructure. While virtual app and desktop (Citrix Workspace) delivery allows organizations to be more flexible and end-users more productive with anywhere, any device access, this new plug-in further enhances the capabilities of Citrix environments with ServiceNow integration. With out-of-the-box workflows and the ability to create custom workflows, IT teams can now automate, monitor, and manage their Citrix environments, allowing them to focus on strategic projects while automating minor tasks.

Note:

Remember the Orchestration plug-in has a dependency, so make sure you activate the plug-in before installing the ITSM connector.

1. Go to the ServiceNow store, and on the search bar, type Citrix.

2. Select the Citrix IT Service Management Connector and click Get to start the installation process

   

3. Click Install.

   

4. Once completed, you can review the installation logs.

   

5. Finally, the ITSM connector shows as Installed.

   

So far, you’ve prepared your ServiceNow instance for the integration. A small piece (the OAuth client ID and Secret) is pending, but we go back later to the SNOW console to do that when needed.

Now is the time to start working on the Citrix Cloud console to activate the service and register your ServiceNow instance.

Registering SNOW with Citrix ITSM service

1. On the Citrix Cloud console, go to My Services (under the hamburger menu)
   • Go to Services > ITSM.
   • Click the + Add a ServiceNow instance tab.
   • Copy the Redirect URL in the window (you need it to create the OAuth application in the ServiceNow console).

Create the OAuth Application

1. To add the Client ID and secret, you must create the OAuth application:

   • Go to the ServiceNow Admin Console and search for OAuth > System OAuth and click New.

   

2. Select **Create an OAuth API endpoint for external clients.

   

3. Enter the following information:

   • Name: any friendly name (Citrix Cloud)
   • Client ID: it’s shown automatically.

   • Redirect URL: Paste the URL copied from the Citrix Cloud Console on the ITSM window.

     

4. Click Submit on the Top right corner.

   

5. Return to the OAuth application under the OAuth console on ServiceNow. (we named it POC-ITSM App in the following example.)

   • Select/open the new OAuth endpoint created.
   • Copy the Client ID and Secret and ServiceNow URL.
   • Return to the Citrix Cloud Console, past that information, and Connect.
   • Click Allow when prompted to connect to the ServiceNow account on instance XXXX.

   

6. You get a message asking to Allow your ServiceNow instance to connect with Citrix Cloud. Click Allow.

   

   Once completed, you can verify that your integration was completed.

7. At the ServiceNow console, go to Citrix IT Service Management Connector > Home. You see your Citrix Cloud connection Status as Connected

   

8. Go to the ITSM adapter service management console at Citrix Cloud Console. Click the Manage tab. You see your ServiceNow instance status as Registered.

   

9. You’ve completed the integration of Citrix ITSM service + ServiceNow. Now, start your POC. Login into your ServiceNow Admin Console. You see all the Citrix IT Service Management features in your ServiceNow console.

   

10. Under Citrix IT services Management > Services. You find the Out of the Box workflows.

    

Add and on-premises Citrix Site

You can add your site by doing a Site Aggregation for customers with on-premises environments. To Citrix Cloud. This does not modify how you manage your on-premises environments, as it only creates a connection to the ITSM service so your ServiceNow instance can discover and run Citrix + ServiceNow workflows.

It’s a straightforward process. For a detailed step-by-step, follow this Citrix Documentation.

We can summarize the process in the following steps:

1. Install a Cloud Connector on your on-premises hypervisor (Windows Server domain join VM).

2. Add your on-premises Delivery Controller to Citrix Cloud.

   

3. Complete the on-premises site registration. Enter the IP and FQDN of your Delivery Controller. Citrix Cloud establishes communication with it through the Cloud Connector.

   

4. Validate that your on-premises site is registered with Citrix Cloud. It shows up as Green.

   

Note:

After adding the on-premises site, it can take 24 hours until it shows up in the Citrix Cloud console