Setting up a custom NetScaler application

Last published : Sep 22, 2026
If an AppExpert application template is not available for the Web application that you want to manage through the NetScaler appliance, or if available AppExpert application templates do not suit your requirements, you can create an AppExpert application without a template.
To create an AppExpert application without a template, you must first create an application and application units. Then, you configure public endpoints, services, and service groups. Finally, you configure the policies that determine how application traffic is evaluated and processed.
After you create the application and application units and configure policies, you must verify the configuration and test it to make sure that it is working correctly, just as you would when you configure an application by using a prebuilt AppExpert application template. Then, you must monitor the application to make sure that the application and its entities are working correctly.
Related information

Creating an application

When you create an AppExpert application, the appliance creates a container to which you can add application units. The default application unit is not created until you create the first application unit.
To create an AppExpert application by using the GUI:
  1. Navigate to AppExpert > Applications.
  2. In the details pane, right-click Applications, and then click Add.
  3. In the Create Application dialog box, in Name, enter a name for the application, and then click OK.

Creating application units

For each subset of traffic associated with your web application, you must create an application unit.
To create an application unit for the AppExpert application by using the GUI:
  1. Navigate to AppExpert > Applications.
  2. In the details pane, right-click the application for which you want to add an application unit, and then click Add.
  3. Click Create.

Configuring public endpoints for an AppExpert application

After you have created all the application units that you require, you must configure one or more public endpoints to enable clients to access the web application through the NetScaler appliance.
To configure public endpoints for an AppExpert application by using the GUI:
  1. Navigate to AppExpert > Applications.
  2. In the details pane, right-click the application for which you want to configure public endpoints, and then click Configure Public Endpoints.
  3. In the Choose Public Endpoints dialog box for the application, do one of the following:
    • If the endpoints you want are listed in the dialog box, click the corresponding check boxes.
    • If you want to specify all the public endpoints, click Activate All.
    • If you want to dissociate endpoints from the AppExpert application, clear the corresponding check boxes.
    • If you want to create a new public endpoint, click Add. Then, in the Create public endpoint dialog box, configure endpoint settings, and then click OK.
      In the Create public endpoint dialog box, you can specify only the name, IP address, port, and protocol for the endpoint. You can specify additional endpoint settings after you create the public endpoint. To specify additional endpoint settings, after you create the endpoint, in the Choose Public Endpoints dialog box, click the endpoint, and then click Open. Then, in the Configure Public Endpoint dialog box, provide additional settings, and then click OK.
      For more information about the parameters in the Create public endpoint and Configure Public Endpoint dialog boxes, see Content Switching.
    • If you want to modify a public endpoint, click the endpoint, and then click Open. Then, in the Configure Public Endpoint dialog box, modify settings for the endpoint, and then click OK.
      For more information about the parameters in the Configure Public Endpoint dialog box, see Content Switching.
  4. Click Close.

Configuring public endpoints for an application unit

For an application unit, you specify public endpoints in the same way as you would specify public endpoints for an application that is created from an AppExpert application template. For more information about specifying a subset of the endpoints for an application unit, see Configuring Endpoints for an Application Unit.
To configure endpoints for an application unit by using the GUI:
  1. Navigate to AppExpert > Applications.
  2. In the details pane, right-click the application unit for which you want to specify public endpoints, and then click Configure Public Endpoints.
  3. In the Choose Public Endpoints dialog box for the application unit, do one of the following:
    • If you are specifying endpoints for the application unit for the first time, clear the check boxes that correspond to the endpoints that you do not want to be bound to the application unit.
    • If you want to specify endpoints that are listed in the dialog box but not currently bound to the application unit, click the corresponding check boxes.
  4. Click OK.

Configuring Services and Service Groups for an AppExpert Application

Services and service groups are available for application units only after you configure the services and service groups for the AppExpert application. Therefore, you must configure services and service groups for the AppExpert application before you configure the services for the application units. All the services and service groups that you configure for an AppExpert application must use the same protocol (either HTTP or HTTPS). The procedure for configuring services and service groups for an AppExpert application that is not created from a template is the same as that for an application created from a template.
To configure a service or service group for the AppExpert application by using the GUI:
  1. Navigate to AppExpert > Applications.
  2. In the details pane, right-click the application for which you want to configure services or service groups, and then click Configure Backend Services.
  3. In the Configure Backend Services dialog box, do one of the following:
    • To configure services, click the Services tab.
    • To configure service groups, click the Service Groups tab.
  4. On the Service or Service Groups tab, do one of the following:
    • If the services or service groups that you want are listed on the tab, click the corresponding check boxes.
    • If you want to specify all the services or service groups, click Activate All.
    • If you want to create a new service or service group, click Add. Then, in the Create Service dialog box or Create Service Group dialog box, configure settings for the service or service group, respectively, and then click Create.
    • If you want to modify a service, click the service, and then click Open. Then, in the Configure Service dialog box or Create Service Group dialog box, configure settings for the service or service group, respectively, and then click OK.
For information about the settings in the Create Service, Configure Service, and Create Service Group dialog boxes, see Load Balancing.

Configuring services and service groups for an application unit

After you configure services and service groups, you must configure services and service groups for each application unit. However, this step is not necessary if each backend service hosts all the content associated with the web application. You configure services and service groups for an application unit if the content associated with the application unit is hosted on only a subset of the backend servers.
To configure services or service groups for an application unit by using the GUI:
  1. Navigate to AppExpert > Applications.
  2. In the details pane, right-click the application unit for which you want to configure a service or service group, and then click Configure Backend Services.
  3. In the Configure Backend Services dialog box, do one of the following:
    • To configure services, click the Services tab.
    • To configure service groups, click the Service Groups tab.
  4. In the Services or Service Groups tab, do one of the following:
    • Clear the check boxes that correspond to the services or service groups that you do not want configured for the application unit. Make sure that the check boxes that correspond to the services or service groups that you want configured for the application unit are selected. Then, in the Weight column, specify the weight that you want to assign to each configured service.
    • To specify all services or service groups, click Activate All.
  5. On the Method and Persistence and Advanced tabs, specify the desired parameters.
  6. Click OK.

Configuring policies

The procedures for configuring policies for an AppExpert application that is created without using a template are the same as those for an AppExpert application that was created from a template. For more information, see Configuring Policies for Application Units.