Below process is in normal option, when you login to netscaler, click configuration tab, expand traffic management, expand load balancing, then virtual servers:

step 1 create a vip(ex, name, citrix.company.com, ip, 172.16.1.1), with http protocol(port 80), which means it accepts http requests(when users hit the netscaler link, http://netscaler.company.com, this vip receives it) and add a redirect url in it as https://netscaler.company.com. Dont add any services or service groups or any servers. When nothing is added, by default, that VIP will be down. As it is down, redirect url https comes into picture. So, user’s request then goes to https://netscaler.company.com. Create VIP which would load balance your web interface servers(ex, webvip is vip, and web01 and web02 are real WI servers added to webvip).

By this way, users connection is on https://netscaler.company.com, even if they open http://netscaler.company.com.

Below process is in netscaler gateway:

step 2 Create session profile policy(Netscaler gateway, policies, session, session profiles) in netscaler gateway and add your web interface VIP (webvip) or if you have only singe web interace server, add WI link there, in published applications tab. In Netscaler gateway,create new vip with same ip address(172.16.1.1, above example, but with 443 protocol. This is for https), and add the newly created session profile to that vip.

Now finally, we have two vips with same ip address but with two diff ports, one with 80 and one with 443. Basic rule is, netscaler gateway receives any incoming connections.

Whenever users open http://netscaler.company.com, (as it is http, protocol, port will be 80), it goes to the vip which has protocol 80(step 1), and it converts that to https://netscaler.company.com. Now that link is on https, means 443 protocol. Now that will be handled by vip in netscaler gateway.

When users open https://netscaler.company.com, it directly reaches netscaler gateway vip(which has https protocol 443), and it has session profile, with web interface vip. It would open any of the web interface’s link and users will be presented with username and password.