Terminology

The XenApp planning documentation uses the following terminology:

Multi-user environment
An environment, including XenApp and Remote Desktop Services, where
applications are published on servers for use by multiple users
simultaneously.
Production farm
A farm that is in regular use and accessed by users.
Design validation farm
A farm that is set up in a laboratory environment, typically as the design or
blueprint for the production farm.
Pilot farm
A preproduction pilot farm used to test a farm design before deploying the
farm across the organization. A true pilot is based on access by select users,
and then adding users until all users access the farm for their everyday
needs.

About Controllers
XenApp farms have two types of infrastructures:
The virtualization infrastructure consists of the XenApp servers that deliver
virtualized applications and VM hosted Applications, and controllers that
support sessions and administration, such as the data store, data collector,
Citrix XML Broker, Citrix License Server, Configuration Logging database
(optional), Load Testing Services database (optional), and Service Monitoring
components.
Access infrastructure consists of controllers such as the Web Interface,
Secure Gateway (optional), and Access Gateway (optional) that provide
access administration.

In small deployments, you can group one or more controllers together. In large deployments,
you provide services on one or more dedicated servers.

Factors other than size can affect how you group controllers. Security concerns, virtualized
servers, and user load play a part in determining which functions can be collocated.

Typically, in larger farms, you segregate the controller functions onto distinct servers. For
small farms, you might have one controller server hosting infrastructure functions and
multiple worker servers hosting published applications.

Small farms that require redundancy might have one or two servers hosting controllers. For
example, in a small farm, the data store might be configured on the same server as the data
collector and the XML Broker and, perhaps also the Citrix License Server and the Web
Interface.
Medium and large farms might group controllers and services together when they have
similar functions. For example, the XML Broker might be grouped with the data collector. In
some larger deployments, each infrastructure service would likely have one or more
dedicated servers. In large farms, the Citrix License Server and the Web Interface are
typically hosted on separate servers.

About Virtualization Infrastructure

The virtualization infrastructure, which is the center of a XenApp deployment, concerns the
following concepts:

Application enumeration
Application enumeration is when Citrix client software lists virtualized
applications available on the XenApp servers. The client software transmits
data to locate servers on the network and retrieves information about the
published applications. For example, during enumeration, the XenApp online
plug-in communicates through Citrix XML Service with the XenApp server to
determine applications available for that user.
Application publishing
To deliver an application to your users through Citrix Dazzle and the XenApp
online or offline plug-ins, whether virtualized on the desktop or the server, you
use the Delivery Services Console to publish the application.
Citrix Licensing
A Citrix License Server is required for all XenApp deployments. Install the
license server on either a shared or stand-alone server, depending on your
farms size. After you install the license server, download the appropriate
license files and add these to the license server.
Data Store
The data store is the database where servers store farm static information,
such as configuration information about published applications, users,
printers, and servers. Each server farm has a single data store.
Data Collector
A data collector is a server that hosts an in-memory database that maintains
dynamic information about the servers in the zone, such as server loads,
session status, published applications, users connected, and license usage.
Data collectors receive incremental data updates and queries from servers
within the zone. Data collectors relay information to all other data collectors in
the farm. By default, the first server in the farm functions as the data collector.

By default, the data collector is configured on the first farm server when you
create the farm and all other servers are configured with equal rights to
become the data collector if the data collector fails. When the zones data
collector fails, a data collector election occurs and another server takes over
the data collector functionality. Farms determine the data collector based on
the election preferences set for a server.
 The data collector is a controller and applications are typically not published
on it.

Zones
A zone is a grouping of XenApp servers that communicate with a common
data collector. In large farms with multiple zones, each zone has a server
designated as its data collector. Data collectors in farms with more than one
zone function as communication gateways with the other zone data collectors.

The data collector maintains all load and session information for the servers in
its zone. All farms have at least one zone, even small ones. The fewest
number of zones should be implemented, with one being optimal. Multiple
zones are necessary only in large farms that span WANs.

Streaming Profiles
You can deliver applications to users by either virtualizing them on the
desktop (streaming) or by virtualizing them on the server (hosting). If you are
virtualizing applications on the desktop, either streaming to the client or
server, create a streaming profile server in your environment. To virtualize
applications on the desktop, you create profiles of the application and then
store the profile on a file or Web server. The profile consists of the manifest
file (.profile), which is an XML file that defines the profile, as well as the target
files, a hash key file, the icons repository (Icondata.bin), and a scripts folder
for pre-launch and post-exit scripts.
Web Interface
The Web Interface is a required component in any environment where users
access their applications using either the online plug-in or a Web browser.
Install the Web Interface on a stand-alone computer; however, where
resources are limited, the Web Interface is sometimes collocated with other
functions..
XenApp Web and XenApp Services Sites
XenApp Web and XenApp Services sites (formerly known as Access Platform
and Program Neighborhood Agent Services sites, respectively) provide an
interface to the server farm from the client device. When a user authenticates
to a XenApp Web or XenApp Services site, either directly or through the
XenApp plug-in or the Access Gateway, the site:
Forwards the users credentials to the Citrix XML Service
Receives the set of applications available to that user by means of the
XML Service
Displays the available applications to the user either through a Web
page or by placing shortcuts directly on the users computer
Citrix XML Service and the Citrix XML Broker
The Citrix XML Broker functions as an intermediary between the other servers
in the farm and the Web Interface. When a user authenticates to the Web
Interface, the XML Broker:
Receives the users credentials from the Web Interface and queries the
server farm for a list of published applications that the user has
 permission to access. The XML Broker retrieves this application set
from the Independent Management Architecture (IMA) system and
returns it to the Web Interface.
Upon receiving the users request to launch an application, the broker
locates the servers in the farm that host this application and identifies
which of these is the optimal server to service this connection based on
several factors. The XML Broker returns the address of this server to
the Web Interface.

The XML Broker is a function of the Citrix XML Service. By default, the XML
Service is installed on every server during XenApp installation. However, only
the XML Service on the server specified in the Web Interface functions as the
broker. (The XML Service on other farm servers is still running but is not used
for servicing end-user connections.) In a small farm, the XML Broker is
typically designated on a server dedicated to several infrastructure functions.
In a large farm, the XML Broker might be configured on one or more
dedicated servers.

The XML Broker is sometimes referred to as a Citrix XML Server or the Citrix
XML Service. For clarity, the term XML Broker is used to refer to when the
XML Service functions as the intermediary between the Web Interface and the
IMA service, regardless of whether it is hosted on a dedicated server or
collocated with other controller functions.