Configuring the Citrix virtual channel allow list policy

Citrix ICA policies include an option to control if applications are allowed to allocate a virtual channel, which the VDI Zoom Meeting client requires. Zoom uses the virtual channel to connect to the Zoom VDI Plugin on the thin client, in order to provide an optimized Zoom Meeting and Zoom Phone experience.  

Starting with Citrix VDA 2109, the default virtual channel allow list policy changed from Enabled to Disabled. This occurs even if you are upgrading an existing installation where you did not change the policy. Additional steps are required to allow Zoom to open a virtual channel.

This article covers:  

• How to change the virtual channel allow list policy to disabled
• How to add values for Zoom VDI client to the virtual channel allow list

Prerequisites for configuring the Citrix virtual channel allow list policy for Zoom

• Citrix Studio access and permissions to make the required changes

How to change the virtual channel allow list policy to disabled

The easiest way to ensure that Zoom can create and open a virtual channel to connect to the VDI plugin is to set the policy for the virtual channel allow list to disabled. If the policy state was changed to enabled after updating to release 2109, you can edit the policy to return the status to disabled.

1. Open Citrix Studio and navigate to the ICA policies section.
2. Find the location to update the virtual channel allow list policy and change the policy to disabled.

Note: If your virtual desktops allow end users to download and install software themselves, we recommend configuring the virtual channel allow list to disabled. Unless the installation default for all users is selected, creating a policy exception based on the application path for all users (provided below) will not apply to individual users.

How to add values for the Zoom VDI client to the virtual channel allow list

If you prefer to keep the virtual channel allow list policy configured as enabled, you will need to add the Zoom application to the list of applications that are allowed.

1. From Citrix Studio, add the following channel and .exe file listed for each Zoom process for Zoom VDI client installation into the virtual channel allow list policy:
   • ZOOMHDX,C:\Program Files (x86)\ZoomVDI\bin\Zoom.exe,C:\Program Files (x86)\ZoomVDI\bin\ZoomVDITool.exe,C:\Program Files\ZoomVDI\bin\Zoom.exe,C:\Program Files\ZoomVDI\bin\ZoomVDITool.exe
   • ZOOMHDC,C:\Program Files (x86)\ZoomVDI\bin\Zoom.exe,C:\Program Files\ZoomVDI\bin\Zoom.exe
   • ZOOMHDA,C:\Program Files (x86)\ZoomVDI\bin\Zoom.exe,C:\Program Files\ZoomVDI\bin\Zoom.exe
   • ZOOMHDS,C:\Program Files (x86)\ZoomVDI\bin\Zoom.exe,C:\Program Files\ZoomVDI\bin\Zoom.exe
   • ZOOMHDV,C:\Program Files (x86)\ZoomVDI\bin\Zoom.exe,C:\Program Files\ZoomVDI\bin\Zoom.exe
   • ZOOMPHX,C:\Program Files (x86)\ZoomVDI\bin\Zoom.exe,C:\Program Files\ZoomVDI\bin\Zoom.exe
   • ZOOMCCX,C:\Program Files (x86)\ZoomVDI\bin\Zoom.exe,C:\Program Files\ZoomVDI\bin\Zoom.exe
   • ZOOMCCA,C:\Program Files (x86)\ZoomVDI\bin\Zoom.exe,C:\Program Files\ZoomVDI\bin\Zoom.exe
   • ZOOMAUS,C:\Program Files (x86)\ZoomVDI\bin\Zoom.exe,C:\Program Files (x86)\ZoomVDI\bin\ZoomVDITool.exe,C:\Program Files\ZoomVDI\bin\Zoom.exe,C:\Program Files\ZoomVDI\bin\ZoomVDITool.exe
2. Provide the installation path for the Zoom.exe file in your environment. Depending on if you installed the 32-bit or 64-bit, the default file path will be one of the following:
   • 32-bit version: C:\Program Files (x86)\ZoomVDI\bin\
   • 64-bit version: C:\Program Files\ZoomVDI\bin\
3. Restart the VDA environment for the changes to take effect.

Please refer to the virtual channel allow list policy for more information.

Explanation of each channel

• ZOOMHDX handles general commands associated with the Zoom client.
  
• ZOOMHDC handles general commands associated with Zoom Meetings and Webinars.
  
• ZOOMHDA handles audio for Zoom Meetings and Webinars.
  
• ZOOMHDS handles shared content for Zoom Meetings and Webinars.
  
• ZOOMHDV handles video for Zoom Meetings and Webinars.
  
• ZOOMPHX handles general Zoom Phone commands.
  
• ZOOMCCX handles general Zoom Contact Center commands.
  
• ZOOMCCA handles audio for Zoom Contact Center.
  
• ZOOMAUS auto-update for the VDI plugin.