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Exam Information
Official specifications published by Citrix
Exam Format
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Skills this practice test covers
- Turn business drivers and user segmentation data into design decisions for a Citrix site.
- Design StoreFront stores, access paths and Citrix Gateway scaling for internal and remote users.
- Compare Citrix Provisioning, Machine Creation Services and App Layering for image management.
- Size VDA machines and hypervisor hosts with NUMA, graphics hardware and storage in mind.
- Design FMA zones, GSLB and Site Database high availability for several locations.
- Choose a disaster recovery strategy and plan the failover to a recovery datacenter.
Explore related topics
1Y0-403 exam content
9 domains · 47 topics · 258 of 319 questions sorted by domain
Methodology and Assessment7.5%23 questions
A Citrix design starts from the business, not the product. Candidates rank business drivers, segment users, sort applications into categories and assess the current environment, from client devices and the network to Active Directory and the existing recovery plan.
Skills tested
- Identify and rank business drivers, then tie each design decision to one of them.
- Plan a data collection strategy and complete the user segmentation process.
- Categorize applications from assessment data and choose an analysis option.
- Assess client devices, network architecture, storage risks and the Active Directory setup.
Questions by topic
- Determine the design decisions that should be made based on given business drivers.13
- Determine how to complete the user segmentation process for a given environment.6
- Determine how to categorize applications based on a scenario.4
User Layer7.5%22 questions
The user layer covers the user's end of each session: the endpoint, its peripherals, the Citrix Workspace app and the network link to the site. Bandwidth, latency and graphics needs found here shape the later layers.
Skills tested
- Match endpoint types, ownership models and peripherals to each user group.
- Plan a Citrix Workspace app rollout that avoids trouble with mixed versions.
- Estimate user bandwidth and choose graphics and transport protocols for each connection type.
- Plan media content redirection and session interruption management for weak networks.
Questions by topic
- Determine the network connectivity and graphics requirements for a design.11
- Determine the appropriate profile strategy to use in a given environment.1
- Determine the appropriate endpoint type and peripherals required for a given environment.9
- Determine how to complete the user segmentation process for a given environment.1
Access Layer11%26 questions
The access layer decides how users reach their resources. Candidates choose between Citrix Workspace and a customer-hosted StoreFront, design store access paths for each user group, and scale Citrix Gateway and StoreFront for high availability.
Skills tested
- Choose an on-premises Citrix Gateway or the Citrix Gateway Service in Citrix Cloud.
- Decide when an environment needs multiple StoreFront stores and how many URLs it needs.
- Recognize when security rules call for a double-hop access architecture.
- Scale StoreFront from a single server to a load-balanced server group.
Resource Layer - Images11%33 questions
This section covers the machines that host sessions and the images they start from. Candidates size and secure Virtual Delivery Agent machines, then compare Citrix Provisioning, Machine Creation Services and App Layering as ways to build and update images.
Skills tested
- Size server OS and desktop OS VDA machines with NUMA boundaries in mind.
- Harden VDA machines, prevent breakouts and follow antivirus leading practices.
- Choose a Citrix Provisioning target device boot method, write cache type and vDisk store location.
- Pick a Machine Creation Services cloning type and size its storage.
- Decide when App Layering is the right image management solution.
Questions by topic
- Determine how to design the appropriate image provisioning strategy for a given environment.5
- App Layering - Key Design and Scalability Considerations9
- Citrix Provisioning -Target Device Boot Method3
- Citrix Provisioning Architecture Across Sites2
- Compare Image Management Methods3
- App Layering as an Image Management Solution4
- Write Cache Type4
- Machine Creation Services -Cloning Type3
Resource Layer - Applications and Personalization9%25 questions
Here the design decides how each application reaches users and how their settings persist. Candidates compare delivery options, from installed and published apps to elastic layers and user layers, then plan profiles and a baseline Citrix policy.
Skills tested
- Choose installed, streamed, layered, published, local or SaaS delivery for each application.
- Decide when user settings must persist, and plan Citrix Profile Management with folder redirection.
- Build a baseline policy that works with Active Directory and keeps logons fast.
Questions by topic
- Determine the appropriate profile strategy to use in a given environment.10
- Citrix Profile Management Design Considerations5
- Determine the appropriate delivery options for Application deployment7
- Determine the appropriate policies to implement in a given environment.3
Control Layer9%29 questions
The control layer holds the components that broker and manage sessions. Candidates choose an on-premises site, the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Service or a hybrid of the two, then plan scale, high availability and security for the Site Database, Delivery Controllers and licensing.
Skills tested
- Design a site with pod architecture, or a Citrix Cloud setup with Cloud Connectors.
- Plan high availability for the Site Database, Delivery Controllers and Citrix License Server.
- Secure XML, SQL and licensing traffic inside the site, and plan Session Recording.
- Plan Citrix Director, the location of management consoles and change control.
Questions by topic
- Determine the Control Layer security requirements7
- FlexCast Management Architecture (FMA)5
- Citrix Cloud and Hybrid Environment2
- Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Site Design Pod Architecture3
- Site Database High Availability5
- Citrix License Server Scalability3
- Delivery Controller Component High Availability3
- Zone Considerations1
Hardware/Compute Layer19%35 questions
This section sizes the platform under the sessions. Candidates choose a hypervisor or public cloud, work out virtual machines per host and hosts per pool, and plan storage, datacenter networking and hypervisor security.
Skills tested
- Compare the major hypervisors and hyper-converged infrastructure for a given design.
- Calculate virtual machines per host and hosts per pool, including hosts with advanced graphics.
- Plan storage tiers, RAID and LUN sizes from the I/O profile of each workload.
- Set up NIC teaming or LACP and keep the management network separate.
- Size workloads in Azure and Amazon Web Services.
Questions by topic
- Advanced Graphics Hardware Options4
- Determine the appropriate storage allocations to ensure optimization in a given environment.4
- Virtual Delivery Agent Machine Sizing with NUMA6
- Determining Virtual Machines per Host4
- Determine the appropriate Datacenter configurations for network traffic2
- Hyper-Converged Infrastructure Considerations9
- High Availability in a Public Cloud3
- Storage Sizing3
High Availability and Multiple Location Environments20%43 questions
The largest section asks how one design serves users in several locations. Candidates choose a global, regional or functional site structure, steer users with GSLB and zone preference, and keep images, profiles and printing working across sites.
Skills tested
- Tell redundancy, fault tolerance and high availability apart in a requirement.
- Choose a global, regional or functional site structure and design FMA zones for it.
- Route users with GSLB, optimal gateway routing and zone preference and failover.
- Aggregate resources and sync subscriptions across the StoreFront deployments in each site.
- Replicate profiles and user data between locations, and plan printing for every site.
Questions by topic
- Multi-location architecture requirements8
- Determine how to design a site and FMA zones to ensure users have continuous access7
- Determine the appropriate access configurations to recommend2
- Determine the appropriate strategy to support printing in a multi-location solution.4
- Multi-Location Architecture (Zones and Geographical Connectivity)3
- Determine the appropriate access configurations to recommend when designing a multi-site environment.5
- Zone Considerations9
- Multi-Location Architecture Options in Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops3
- Citrix Provisioning Architecture Across Sites1
- Citrix Cloud and Hybrid Environment1
Disaster Recovery6%22 questions
This section plans for the loss of a whole datacenter. Candidates decide how much recovery capacity the business needs, where it runs, and how users move to it during a disaster and back afterward.
Skills tested
- Decide the level of disaster recovery required and whether the recovery site needs full capacity.
- Compare Citrix Cloud-based and public cloud disaster recovery options.
- Plan the failover, user onboarding during the event and the return to normal operations.
- Test the business continuity plan and set the team structure and crisis communications.
Questions by topic
- Determine the appropriate Disaster Recovery Strategy for a given environment.13
- Determine how to recover a primary datacenter in the disaster recovery datacenter9
Requirements
- CCE-V sits above CCA-V and CCP-V in Citrix's virtualization track: earn both of those first.
- The two lower exams are Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Administration and Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 7 Advanced Administration.
- Recommended: at least six months of hands-on work with Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 7, Citrix Cloud, Citrix Provisioning and App Layering.
- Recommended: experience with the Microsoft technologies around a site, such as Active Directory, SQL Server, DNS and DHCP.
About the 1Y0-403 exam
1Y0-403 is Citrix's expert exam for architects and consultants who analyze Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops environments, recommend changes and design new deployments. Its nine sections follow a Citrix design project in order: the assessment, then the user, access, resource, control and hardware layers, then high availability across locations and disaster recovery. Most objectives start with "Determine", so a typical question describes an organization and asks which design fits its needs. Passing it earns Citrix Certified Expert - Virtualization (CCE-V).
The PlanetCert practice test has the most questions on High Availability and Multiple Location Environments, where zones, GSLB and printing must work across sites. The explanations show why one design meets the stated requirements and the others fall short, which matters when every option could work. Study Mode suits the Hardware/Compute Layer, where virtual machines per host, storage sizing and graphics hardware need careful working. Brainy AI Assistant can compare Citrix Provisioning with Machine Creation Services for an image, or explain what a write cache type changes.
How to earn the certification
- Earns
- Citrix Certified Expert - Virtualization (CCE-V)Expert
- Before
- CCA-V Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Administration (CCA-V)
The associate level of the track, about installing, configuring and managing a site.
- 1Y0-312 Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 7 Advanced Administration (CCP-V)
The professional level, with the advanced administration that this design exam builds on.
- CCA-V Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Administration (CCA-V)
How to prepare for 1Y0-403
- 1
Confirm booking, then read the guide
Check on Citrix's training site that 1Y0-403 is open for registration. Then read Citrix's exam preparation guide, which lists every objective with its topics and points each section to a module of CWS-415.
- 2
Design one company end to end
Take one fictional organization through all nine sections: rank its business drivers, segment its users, then choose its access, image, control and hardware design. Write one line for each decision that names the requirement behind it.
- 3
Build one image three ways
In a lab, deliver the same image with Machine Creation Services and with Citrix Provisioning, then build it again with App Layering. Compare boot behavior, storage use and update steps, because the image section asks about these trade-offs.
- 4
Give multi-site design the most hours
High Availability and Multiple Location Environments is the largest section. Draw a two-site design with zones, GSLB, StoreFront aggregation and profile replication, then trace what users see when each site fails.
- 5
End with timed scenario sets
Take the 1Y0-403 practice test in Timed Mode once the design notes are complete. For each missed scenario, ask Brainy AI Assistant which requirement in the question decided the answer.
Start a timed 1Y0-403run
Citrix Education recommends the course CWS-415: Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 7 Assessment, Design and Advanced Configuration. The exam preparation guide points each exam section to the matching module of that course.
Who 1Y0-403 is for
- Citrix architects and senior consultants who assess and design Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops environments.
- Holders of CCP-V who are ready for the top level of the virtualization track.
- Engineers who plan multi-site and disaster recovery designs for large Citrix deployments.
- Consultants who review an existing Citrix environment and recommend changes to it.
Typical job titles: Citrix architect · Virtualization architect · End-user computing consultant · Senior Citrix engineer · Solutions architect
1Y0-403 glossary
20 terms from the exam objectives and the vendor's official material, each defined in a sentence.
- Citrix Gateway
- The Citrix remote access gateway that lets users outside the network reach their sessions. It runs on Citrix ADC or as a Citrix Cloud service.
- Citrix Profile Management
- The Citrix profile solution that stores each user's settings centrally and applies them on whichever machine the user logs on to.
- Citrix Provisioning
- A Citrix technology that streams one shared vDisk image over the network to many target devices.
- Cloud Connectors
- Windows servers in each resource location that connect the local machines and Active Directory to Citrix Cloud.
- Delivery Controller
- The server component that registers VDA machines, checks which resources a user may open and brokers each session to a machine.
- Double-Hop Access Architecture
- A layout with Citrix Gateway tiers in two separate DMZ segments, used when security rules do not allow one hop from the internet to the internal network.
- Elastic Layering
- An App Layering feature that adds application layers to a user's session at logon instead of building them into the image.
- FlexCast Management Architecture (FMA)
- The service-based design of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, in which Delivery Controllers broker sessions and keep the site's configuration in a database.
- Folder Redirection
- A Windows feature that keeps folders such as Documents on a file server instead of inside the user profile.
- Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB)
- DNS-based load balancing that directs users to one of several sites and moves them to another site if one fails.
- Hyper-Converged Infrastructure
- Servers that pool their compute and storage into one cluster, managed as a single system.
- Machine Creation Services
- A Citrix technology that creates virtual machines from a master image through the hypervisor or cloud platform's own storage.
- NUMA
- Non-uniform memory access: a host design in which each CPU socket has its own local memory, which affects how many virtual CPUs a VDA machine should get.
- Optimal Gateway Routing
- A StoreFront setting that sends session traffic through the Citrix Gateway nearest the resource, not the one where the user logged on.
- Session Recording
- A Citrix feature that records user sessions so that they can be reviewed for audits and compliance.
- Site Database
- The Microsoft SQL Server database that holds a site's configuration, so its availability matters to every Delivery Controller.
- StoreFront
- The Citrix store server that authenticates users and lists the apps and desktops they may open.
- Virtual Delivery Agent
- The Citrix software on each server or desktop machine that registers with the site and runs user sessions.
- Write Cache Type
- The Citrix Provisioning setting that decides where each target device keeps its changes to the read-only vDisk, such as in RAM or on a local disk.
- Zone Preference and Failover
- Rules that send each user to resources in a preferred zone and move the user to another zone when that zone is unavailable.
Related practice tests
- 1Y0-341Citrix ADC Advanced Topics - Security, Management, and Optimization
- 1Y0-130Citrix DaaS on Citrix Cloud
- 1Y0-240Citrix NetScaler 12 Essentials and Traffic Management
- CCA-AppDS-GatewayCitrix NetScaler 14.x Essentials and NetScaler Gateway
- 1Y0-204Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 7 Administration