ADC

The Web App Firewall configuration interfaces

May 24, 2018

All hardware and virtual versions of the Citrix ADC application delivery controller (appliance) can be configured and managed from the Citrix ADC command line interface or the web-based GUI. All features of most Citrix ADC features can be configured using either of these tools. The Citrix Web App Firewall is an exception: not all Web App Firewall configuration tasks can be performed at the command line. Inexperienced users also find the GUI easier to use. In particular, the Web App Firewall wizard considerably reduces the complexity of configuring the Web App Firewall. Unlike most Citrix ADC wizards, the Web App Firewall wizard can serve as your primary interface to the Web App Firewall.

The command line interface is a modified UNIX shell based on the FreeBSD bash shell. To configure the Web App Firewall from the command line interface, you type commands at the prompt and press the Enter key, just as you do with any other Unix shell. For instructions for using the command line interface, see [Command Reference](https://developer-docs.citrix.com/projects/netscaler-command-reference/en/12.0/appfw/application-firewall-commands/).

The GUI is a web-based GUI interface to the appliance. The Web App Firewall configuration section is found under Security > Web App Firewall. Figure 1 shows the navigation pane expanded to display the Web App Firewall screens, and in the detail pane the main Web App Firewall screen.

GUI screen, with areas labeled.

The GUI has two main areas on all screens. The panel othe left, called the navigation pane, contains a navigation tree, with which you navigate to the screens on which you configure the features that are installed on your appliance. The screens to which you navigate appear to the right of the navigation pane, in the details pane.

When you access the GUI, the details pane displays the System Overview screen. If, in the navigation pane, you click plus sign next to the Web App Firewall folder, the Web App Firewall node expands to include the main Web App Firewall elements that you can configure. If you click the first element, Profiles, the details pane displays the configured profiles, if any profiles have been configured. At the bottom of the details pane, you can click Add to configure a new profile. Other buttons at the bottom of the details pane are grayed out until you select an existing profile. Screens for the other elements work in the same way.

If, instead of expanding the Web App Firewall node, you click the node itself, the details pane displays different options, one of which is the Web App Firewall wizard, as shown in Figure 1. Citrix recommends that you use the wizard for initial configuration, and many users use it almost exclusively. It includes most of the functionality that is available elsewhere in the GUI.

For information and instructions on accessing the GUI, see “Citrix ADC Getting Started Guide.”

The Web App Firewall configuration interfaces