MDX Service

You can use the MDX Service to prepare iOS and Android mobile apps by wrapping the apps with MDX, an app container technology. The MDX Service is used to wrap apps created within your organization. You can then manage the apps with Citrix Endpoint Management.

The MDX Service can use MDX version 21.6.0 for wrapping third-party apps.

Note:

The MDX Service has reached end of life (EOL) in September 2021. As an alternative to wrap mobile productivity apps, use the latest version of the Citrix MDX Toolkit available at Citrix downloads.

Announcements

• WKWebView Issues and Citrix SSO

  Citrix started supporting WKWebView for mobile productivity apps as of version 20.11.x, after Apple ended support for apps using UIWebView. WKWebView is an Apple framework that replaced the previously used UIWebView framework. Due to technical limitations and the complexities of WKWebView, some tunneling issues may occur with some websites.

  Citrix may be able to provide analysis and suggest modifications to the way you render your website on a best-effort basis. Ultimately, however, if you are experiencing issues, we recommend that you use the Citrix SSO app for VPN tunneling.

  For details about Citrix SSO, see Citrix Gateway clients.

• A Mobile Application Management (MAM) SDK is available to replace areas of MDX functionality that aren’t covered by iOS and Android platforms. For more details about the MAM SDK (Preview), see the Citrix Developer section about Mobile App Management (MAM) SDK. You can find more information as well in this Citrix blog post.

  The SDK is available for download when you sign on to Citrix downloads.

• The MDX Toolkit is scheduled to reach end of life (EOL) in July 2022. To continue managing your enterprise applications, you must incorporate the MAM SDK.

• The MDX Service is scheduled to reach end of life (EOL) in September 2021. To continue managing your enterprise applications, you must incorporate the MAM SDK.

For more details about wrapping iOS apps, see To wrap an iOS app

For more details about wrapping Android apps, see To wrap an Android app

For information about MDX, the traditional MDX wrapping process using the MDX Toolkit, and a description of signing required assets, see:

• About the MDX Toolkit
• Wrapping iOS mobile apps
• Wrapping Android mobile apps

Data retention policy

The data retention policy for the MDX Service is as follows:

• App binaries (IPA and APK files): 90 days.
• Wrapped app (MDX files): 90 days (available for downloads).
• Certificate and keystore files: Deleted immediately after wrapping.
• iOS mobile provisioning profile: Deleted immediately after wrapping.

Getting started with the MDX Service

Follow these steps to start using the MDX Service. To provide feedback on your experience, use your Citrix ID to join the MDX Service discussion forum.

1. Sign up for Citrix Cloud by requesting a trial if you do not already have a Citrix Cloud account. For details on signing up, see Sign up for Citrix Cloud.

2. Click the hamburger menu on the upper-right corner of the page and then click Library.

3. On the upper-right corner of this page is a blue circle with a plus (+) in it. Mouse over that icon and click Wrap a Mobile App.

   

To use the MDX Service

To use the MDX Service, upload the application package binary and the required signing assets. Then, verify the app details and modify the attributes, as necessary. You can then download the wrapped application package.

To start, on the MDX Service Overview page, at the bottom of the screen, click Start.

Then, follow the steps for wrapping either an iOS or an Android app.

To wrap an iOS app

1. Upload the .ipa file for the app. The time required for the upload to complete depends on the file size. The allowed file size limit for the .ipa file is 209 MB. If you have an app that is over this limit, then use the MDX Toolkit.

   

   After the .ipa file uploads and is processed successfully, the Verify App Details screen appears.

2. On the Verify App Details screen, enter the following information:
   1. (Optional) Change the App Name, Minimum OS Version, and Maximum OS Version.
   2. Enter a Description (required).
   3. Select an MDX SDK version with which to wrap the app.
   4. Upload the following iOS signing assets:
      • Provisioning Profile
      • Certificate
      • Certificate Password

      To collect the iOS provisioning profile and certificate information, see the “MDX Service or MDX Toolkit” section in the Endpoint Management Certificates article on Endpoint Management Certificate Administration.

   After the MDX Service uses the signing assets to modify the app, the Create Mobile App screen appears.

3. (Optional) On the Create Mobile App screen, change the bundle ID of the mobile app, and then click Next. The wrapping process begins.

4. After the wrapping process finishes, download the wrapped MDX application package (.mdx file). You can also download the file later from the Jobs tab.

To wrap an Android app

1. Upload the .apk file for the app. The time required for the upload to complete depends on the file size. The allowed file size limit for the .ipa file is 209 MB. If you have an app that is over this limit, then use the MDX Toolkit.

   

2. After the .apk file is uploaded to the MDX Service and is processed successfully, the Verify App Details screen appears.
3. On the Verify App Details screen, enter the following information:
   1. (Optional) Change the App Name, Minimum OS Version, and Maximum OS Version.
   2. Enter a Description (required).
   3. Select an MDX SDK Version with which to wrap the app.
4. On the Create Mobile App screen, upload the following Android signing assets:
   • Keystore
   • Keystore Password
   • Alias Name
   • Alias Password

   

   To collect the Keystore and Alias Name information, follow the steps in CTX220480.

5. Click Next to begin the wrapping process.

   

6. Download the wrapped MDX application package (.mdx file). You can also download the file later from the Jobs tab.

Known Issues

Known issues in MDX Service 20.10.5

• You can’t wrap iOS apps developed on macOS 10.14 and later using the MDX Service. To add iOS apps with MAM SDK or MDX functionality, prepare the app with the MAM SDK or wrap the apps using the on-premises MDX Toolkit. [CXM-90666]