Access a NetScaler BLX appliance and configure ADC features

You can access a NetScaler BLX appliance and configure ADC features by using one of the following methods:

• Citrix ADC CLI
• Citrix ADC GUI
• Citrix NITRO REST APIs

For information about Citrix ADC features, see Citrix ADC Documentation.

Access a NetScaler BLX appliance and configure ADC features by using the Citrix ADC CLI

A BLX appliance has a command line interface (CLI) where you can run ADC CLI commands to configure ADC features on the appliance.

You can remotely access the CLI of a BLX appliance by connecting through the secure shell (SSH) from a workstation.

The following table lists the IP address and port on which the Citrix ADC CLI is available through SSH:

To access a NetScaler BLX appliance by using the Citrix ADC CLI:

1. On your workstation, start an SSH client.
2. Specify the IP address and port on which the CLI of the BLX appliance is available, and then connect to the CLI.
3. Log on to the BLX appliance by using your BLX login credentials.

IMPORTANT:

• On your first logon with default admin (nsroot) password, the BLX appliance prompts you to change the password for security reasons. After changing the password, you must save the configuration. If the configuration is not saved and the appliance restarts, you must log on with the default password. Change the password again at the prompt and save the configuration.

• Strong password enforcement is enabled by default in a BLX appliance for all local system users. The default minimum length for a strong password is 4 characters. A strong password must contain at least one lower case character, one upper case character, one numeric character, and one special character from the set (!, @, #, (, ), $, %, ^, &, *). Make sure that the password for each system user of a BLX appliance matches the strong password criteria. Otherwise, users with weak passwords cannot access the appliance. For more information on the strong password criteria, see:

  • How to enforce password complexity on a Citrix ADC appliance
  • Citrix ADC command reference

For more information about Citrix ADC CLI commands, see the Citrix ADC Command Reference Guide.

Access a NetScaler BLX appliance and configure ADC features by using the Citrix ADC GUI

The Citrix ADC GUI includes a configuration utility and a dashboard utility.

The following list shows the management IP address of the BLX appliance deployed in dedicated and shared mode:

• BLX in dedicated mode: Citrix ADC IP address (NSIP)
• BLX in shared mode: Linux host IP address

The following table lists the default IP address and port on which the Citrix ADC GUI is available:

You can modify these default port numbers to access the GUI in the BLX configuration file (blx.conf) file. You must restart the BLX appliance after you modify the blx.conf file.

The Citrix ADC GUI prompts you for BLX login credentials. Once you log on to the Citrix ADC GUI, you can configure the BLX appliance through the configuration utility.

IMPORTANT:

• On your first logon with default admin (nsroot) password, the BLX appliance prompts you to change the password for security reasons. After changing the password, you must save the configuration. If the configuration is not saved and the appliance restarts, you must log on with the default password. Change the password again at the prompt and save the configuration.

• Strong password enforcement is enabled by default in a BLX appliance for all local system users. The default minimum length for a strong password is 4 characters. A strong password must contain at least one lower case character, one upper case character, one numeric character, and one special character from the set (!, @, #, (, ), $, %, ^, &, *). Make sure that the password for each system user of a BLX appliance matches the strong password criteria. Otherwise, users with weak passwords cannot access the appliance. For more information on the strong password criteria, see:

  • How to enforce password complexity on a Citrix ADC appliance
  • Citrix ADC command reference

To access a NetScaler BLX appliance in shared mode by using the Citrix ADC GUI:

1. Open a web browser.

2. Use one of the following access methods:

   • For HTTP access, type the following in the URL field: <Linux host IP address>:9080

   • For HTTPS access, type the following in the URL field: <Linux host IP address>:9443

3. On the login page, enter your BLX login credentials, and click Login.

To access a NetScaler BLX appliance in dedicated mode by using the Citrix ADC GUI:

1. Open a web browser.

2. Use one of the following access methods:

   • For HTTP access, type the following in the URL field: <Citrix ADC IP address (NSIP)>:80

   • For HTTPS access, type the following in the URL field: <Citrix ADC IP address (NSIP)>:443

3. On the login page, enter your BLX login credentials, and click Login.

Configure a NetScaler BLX appliance and configure ADC features by using the NITRO APIs

You can use the Citrix ADC NITRO API to configure a BLX appliance. NITRO exposes its functionality through Representational State Transfer (REST) interfaces. Therefore, NITRO applications can be developed in any programming language. Also, for applications that must be developed in Java or .NET or Python, NITRO APIs are exposed through relevant libraries that are packaged as separate Software Development Kits (SDKs).

Similar to the Citrix ADC GUI, the NITRO API requests must be sent to port 9080 (HTTP) or 9443 (HTTPS) of the BLX management IP address.

To configure a NetScaler BLX appliance in shared mode by using the NITRO API, in a web browser, type:

http://<Linux host IP address>:9080/nitro/v1/config/<resource-type>

https://<Linux host IP address>:9443/nitro/v1/config/<resource-type>

To retrieve statistics of a NetScaler BLX appliance in shared mode by using the NITRO API, in a web browser, type:

http://<Linux host IP address>:9080/nitro/v1/stats/<resource-type>

https://<Linux host IP address>:9443/nitro/v1/stats/<resource-type>

To configure a NetScaler BLX appliance in dedicated mode by using the NITRO API, in a web browser, type:

http://<Citrix ADC IP address (NSIP)>:80/nitro/v1/config/<resource-type>

https://<Citrix ADC IP address (NSIP)>:443/nitro/v1/config/<resource-type>

To retrieve statistics of a NetScaler BLX appliance in dedicated mode by using the NITRO API, in a web browser, type:

http://<Citrix ADC IP address (NSIP)>:80/nitro/v1/stats/<resource-type>

https://<Citrix ADC IP address (NSIP)>:443/nitro/v1/stats/<resource-type>

For more information about using the Citrix ADC NITRO API, see Citrix ADC NITRO APIs.