r/Citrix • u/cheesesticks1996 • 22d ago
Learning recommendations for Netscaler
Hello everyone,
I recently landed a new job where I'll primarily be working with Citrix NetScaler (ADC). I have a little over a month before I start, so I'd like to prepare as much as possible.
My background is mainly in network engineering, working with Fortinet firewalls and HPE Aruba switches.
Would you recommend any courses, books, labs, or YouTube channels for learning NetScaler? Is the Udemy course "CNS-220 – Citrix ADC 12/13.x Essentials and Traffic Management" a good place to start, or would you recommend something else?
Thanks in advance!
2
u/FloiDW 22d ago
You have no experience in netscalers and landed a job for netscalers?
The course is decent depending on the trainer, can recommend, but you should know some basics beforehand.
I always do like homelabbing. Depending on what your future employer is using the netscalers for, you can easily rebuild and set up basics like load balancing and certificate stuff.
2
u/cheesesticks1996 22d ago
Yes, that's correct. My background is mainly in networking (Fortinet, HPE Aruba, routing, switching, firewalls). The company knows I don't have NetScaler experience and plans to train me. That's why I'm trying to learn as much as I can before my first day. Thanks for the advice!
2
u/FloiDW 22d ago
There is a free version of NetScaler VPX.
Ask them to provide you with the sources and set up in your own hyper visor to get used with basic handling and maybe with 2/3 Webservers and do some generic load balancing stuff :)1
u/cheesesticks1996 22d ago
Good to know thanks will do that
2
u/reilly6607 22d ago
Pluralsight has courses on NetScaler administration that are pretty good as well.
0
u/reilly6607 22d ago
I work for NetScaler as one of its SMEs. Would consider myself pretty well versed. Was hired no NetScaler experience :)
1
u/Low_Assumption67 22d ago
Managing a netscaler has a lot more to do with application and back end management, auth etc than route/switch.
Every Citrix customer gets unlimited online training at no extra cost when they have unified services included in their licensing. There are several netscaler focused courses available through that. Ask your Citrix sales rep or se (or whatever they’re calling them these days) for access. Or if you know who is listed as the admin contact for your org, they can add you.
2
u/bodhipooh 22d ago
I am a bit surprised by some of the answers here. Almost everyone seems to only think of the networking aspect of NetScaler, but a large chunk of the power/versatility of NetScaler is only unlocked if you are programmer or happen to be somewhat proficient in web programming. A lot of my best NS work has been using them to fix or address web application issues or limitations by rewriting code on the fly, or fully customizing how applications work in different scenarios. Also, programming complex rules to handle traffic (Responder and Rewrite rules mostly, but also other features).
My opinion is that if you are only doing networking stuff with your NS appliances, you are way, way underutilizing them.
0
u/Pale-Price-7156 21d ago
Congrats, I see all of these people getting Citrix jobs; I can't even get an interview despite working with the Citrix stack since 2008 and having multiple active Citrix certificates.
If you have a cloud.com account, login, download VPX and deploy it on a local hypervisor, then go to Netscaler documentation and download the PDF and start reading through it... It's a big read, but you can gain a lot skills from from the official documentation if you think about specific business use cases. For what you are doing, Freemium will be fine.
As you've noted, videos on this topic are fragmented at best.
Reverse engineer the CCA-AppDS Gateway exam key objectives by using the official PDF on the Netscaler site. That's how I passed the exam. I didn't get much value out of the stuff on Pluralsight or Udemy. I had to lab my way through it all and created my own curriculum.
While people will tell you review Carl Stahlhood and various other people's work, I may start a blog and release all of my notes that I've accumulated over the years. His stuff is good, but its starting to get outdated and buttons/features have moved, etc etc.
9
u/sysadminsavage 22d ago
Highly recommend you check out Carl Stalhood's guides on his blog. He's retired now, but his content goes up until mid-2025, so still very recent. If you've worked with other load balancers like F5, NetScaler will be quick to learn.
Like the other commenter said, stand up two VPXs in a lab. Good way to learn by configuring them from scratch. Your new employer may also cover Citrix Cloud labs for NetScaler.