Posts tagged ‘XenDesktop’
Citrix released XenDesktop 5 FAQ
Citrix released the XenDesktop 5 FAQ which contains answers to things you always wanted to know about XenDesktop 5.
For example:
- What happens if the database is unavailable?
- Which tasks require administrative access to the Data Store?
- Why does the XenDesktop Setup Wizard not seem to work with XenDesktop 5?
And much more interesting details. Grab it while it is hot: http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX128328
XenApp and XenDesktop progressive compression feature causes Internet Explorer pages to flicker
Many of our customers currently experiecing an issue that Internet Explorer pages are flickering if IE is published as application or even running inside a published desktop.
Every experienced Citrix guy will instantly think of the “Force Offscreen Composition” key for Internet explorer. But this key unfortunately doesn’t solve the problem.
In this case the root of all evil is the Citrix progressive compression feature which causes the flickering. This issue exists in every XenApp or XenDesktop release which contains the progressive display feature.
There are currently three workarounds available.
1. Disable progressive compression through Citrix policies. In XenApp 6 and XenDesktop 5 this is done by setting the progressive compression level to None.
2. Disable the EnableOSS feature on client side through a registry key. To disable the OSS feature open the registry (regedit.exe) navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareCitrixICA ClientEngineLockdown ProfilesAll RegionsLockdownVirtual ChannelsThinwire Graphics and change the EnableOSS data from “*” to “FALSE”.
3. Disable the EnableOSS feature through modification of your web interface instance. For this workaround open the default.ica of your specific web interface site (e.g. c:inetpubwwwrootcitrixxenappconfdefault.ica) using your favorite text editor and add the EnableOSS=False in the [Application] section.
For more information what exactly the EnableOSS setting just look at the Citrix eDocs library.
This issue is currently investigated by Citrix technical support so hotfixes for this issue should be available to a later date.
XenDesktop 4 SP1 is the First Enterprise-Ready SHVD Platform
With the release of Service Pack 1 XenDesktop 4 is the first enterprise-ready SHVD platform. This was announced by Burton Group, a division of Gartner, recently.
Burton Group developed evaluation criteria a server-hosted virtual desktop (SHVD) has to meet to become enterprise ready. The criteria include 53 features which are focused on security, management and user experience. The evaluation criteria is categorized in required, preferred and optional features.
With Service Pack 1 XenDesktop 4 meets 100% of the required features.
For more information about Burton Group, the evaluation criteria and Service Pack 1 for XenDesktop just visit the following links.
Delegated Administration and Configuration Logging for XenDesktop 4
As part of the previously mentioned service pack 1 release for XenDesktop 4 Citrix now released two additional components: delegated administration and configuration logging.
Delegated adminstration:
This feature allows you to control which administrator can do what in your XenDesktop farm. For example which desktop group he can control. Mainly it is absolute similar to the delegated administration functionality which is available in XenApp since several years.
Configuration logging:
Configuration logging allows you to keep track of administrative changes made to your Desktop Delivery controllers (DDC). For example if a Desktop group was created or a virtual desktop was shutdown through the Delivery Services Console, Presentation Server Console or a custom scripts using MFCOM this is logged and available as a report for later clarification.
Citrix released a video which is explaining and demoing these features in detail.
More…
XenDesktop 4 Service Pack 1 is available for download
Citrix just released Service Pack 1 for XenDesktop 4.0 with over 40 issues fixed.
There will be no new installation media. Instead you have to install the both the agent and the server-side fixes manually on top of every XenDesktop installation.
Because of the level of stress and functional testing Citrix has done with this service pack they recommend the installation for every customer. More…
Hotfix: Citrix XenDesktop Virtual Desktop Agent Version 4.0.4546 (XDE400VDAWX86003 / XDE400VDAWX64003)
Citrix released the third hotfix for the XenDesktop 4.0 virtual desktop agent. The hotfixes are available for 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows.
Here’s a quick overview of what is fixed:
When an application running inside a virtual desktop changes the state of the Caps Lock, Num Lock, or Scroll Lock keys programmatically, the LED indicators on the endpoint keyboard are not updated to indicate the changed state to the user. As a result, users can be locked out of external Web sites if they inadvertently mistype and submit their case-sensitive passwords multiple times.
[From XDE400VDAWX86003][#222015]
Using workspace control to log off a session on a Virtual Desktop Agent running on Windows XP when the session desktop is locked can cause the session to stop responding.
[From XDE400VDAWX86003][#223799]
Print jobs on network print servers are deleted unexpectedly when an administrator logs off from a session.
[From XDE400VDAWX86003][#225658]
When using a Windows 7 or Windows Vista Virtual Desktop Agent with a custom logon message, the session becomes unresponsive if you do not click OK in the the message dialog box within a few minutes.
[From XDE400VDAWX86003][#227368]
A system exception can cause the Citrix Audio Service to stop.
[From XDE400VDAWX86003][#227493]
When connecting to a virtual desktop session with a new user profile for the first time, both the endpoint cursor and the virtual desktop cursor are visible in the session.
[From XDE400VDAWX86003][#228309]
Windows Media content embedded in a Web page does not invoke HDX MediaStream Multimedia Acceleration on Virtual Desktop Agents running on Windows 7.
[From XDE400VDAWX86003][#228495]
Attempts to reconnect to a disconnected virtual desktop session can fail with EventID 1008.
[From XDE400VDAWX86003][#228805]
HDX Mediastream Multimedia Acceleration does not work properly with some media players, including GOM Player. For the fix to work, [Use WM ASF Reader] or [Use Windows Media Source] options may need to be selected in GOMPlayer preferences.
[From XDE400VDAWX86003][#229356]
Single sign-on to a XenDesktop session can intermittently fail, causing users to be prompted for credentials when launching a virtual desktop. This can result in failures to reconnect and unexpected behavior of PicaSvc.exe until the Citrix ICA Service is restarted.
[From XDE400VDAWX86003][#229633]
Attempts to connect to a virtual desktop session might fail intermittently.
[From XDE400VDAWX86003][#230024]
Attempts to reconnect to a disconnected session might fail. When this happens, the virtual desktop appears locked and users cannot pass Ctrl+Alt+Delete to invoke the Windows logon screen; a 9032 ThinWire error is logged in the Event Log of the Virtual Desktop Agent.
[From XDE400VDAWX86003][#230272]
This fix addresses logon issues, including excessive logon times and reconnect failures.
[From XDE400VDAWX86003][#230685]
Unresponsive windows in a virtual desktop session can prevent users from reconnecting to a disconnected session.
[From XDE400VDAWX86003][#230689]
When resizing the Desktop Viewer window, the Windows taskbar shifts up and down three times, and six times when maximizing the window. The issue does not occur on systems with Fix #230577 installed. After applying this fix, resizing the window causes the taskbar to move up and down only once, and twice when maximizing the window.
[From XDE400VDAWX86003][#231063]
Attempts to reconnect to a session from a different endpoint device using a different type of smart card reader than the original session fail and the login becomes unresponsive.
[From XDE400VDAWX86003][#231370]
After making an RDP connection to a Virtual Desktop Agent, ICA connection attempts no longer succeed.
[From XDE400VDAWX86003][#232247]
Intermittent failures to reconnect to a Virtual Desktop Agent might be observed. The virtual desktop appears blacked out and is unresponsive at the console.
[From XDE400VDAWX86003][#255306]
Also all fixes from the previous released hotfixes are included. For the download link and more information use the following two links.
Hotfix XDE400VDAWX86003 (Version 4.0.4546) – For Citrix XenDesktop 4.0 Virtual Desktop Agent x86
http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX124873
Hotfix XDE400VDAWX64003 (Version 4.0.4546) – For Citrix XenDesktop 4.0 Virtual Desktop Agent x64
http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX124876
Hotfix: Citrix XenDesktop Pool Management Version 4.0.4540 (XDE400PM002)
Citrix released the second hotfix for the XenDesktop Pool Management Service a few days ago. The following problems are fixed with this release:
- The Pool Management Service, CdsPoolMgr.exe, can consume excessive memory.
[From XDE400PM002][#212622]
- The System Center Virtual Machine Manager custom property CTXMgtInfo representing the status of the Virtual Desktop Agent can return inaccurate results.
[From XDE400PM002][#225274]
- The Pool Management Service does not recover from a lost connection provided the server and the network are still up.
[From XDE400PM002][#225544]
XDE400PM002 supersedes the previous hotfix XDE400PM001.
The hotfix is available for download at http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX125093.
Tools for Citrix XenDesktop
When you start to deploying and managing XenDesktop then you miss one or another functionality. But luckily there are some very helpful tools around which will give you exactly what you wanted (hopfully 
)!
Following you will find a list of tools for XenDesktop which were developed by Citrix itself or other well known members of the community.
XenDesktop Session Parser
Did you ever wanted to know which user is logged on to which desktop in your virtual desktop pool but you never found the option for that in the Delivery Servics Console? Then a tool called XenDesktop Session Parser is exactly what you waited for.
Link: http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX124012
Direct download link: http://support.citrix.com/servlet/KbServlet/download/23659-102-645219/XenDesktop%20Session%20Parser.zip
Developed by: Citrix Systems
XenDesktop VDA Farm Changer
This tool lets you change then the farm for any virtual desktop agent starting with version 3.0. Also it allow you to show more information about your VDA like current farm, desktop group, VDA version and so on.
Link: http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX124379
Direct download link: http://support.citrix.com/servlet/KbServlet/download/23474-102-643136/XD_VDA_CHGFARM.zip
Developed by: Citrix Systems
HDX Experience Monitor for XenDesktop
If you want to know how much bandwidth your XenDesktop session or HDX feature is currently consuming or which specific HDX features are enabled or not you should give the HDX Experience Monitor for XenDesktop a try. It also allows you to see your current HDX settings and troubleshoot a few HDX options.
Link: http://hdx.citrix.com/hdx-monitor or http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX123058
Direct download link: http://support.citrix.com/servlet/KbServlet/download/23474-102-643136/XD_VDA_CHGFARM.zip
Developed by: Citrix Systems
XDPing
XDPing is the easiest way to verify your configuration settings on your Desktop Delivery Controller and Virtual Desktop Agent.
Just run it on the command line on your DDC or VDA and you know if both systems can communicate without errors.
Link: http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX123278
Direct download link: http://support.citrix.com/servlet/KbServlet/download/21883-102-641796/XDPing.zip
Developed by: Citrix Systems
XenDesktop Cloning Tool
The XenDesktop Cloning Tool developed by Pierre Marmignon lets you automate the customizations that are needed if you want to clone your virtual desktops or if you want to deploy it via Provisioning services.
Link: http://www.citrixtools.net/en/Home/newsid374/406.aspx
Direct download link: http://www.citrixtools.net/en/Downloads/id/37.aspx
Developed by: Pierre Marmignon (CitrixTools.Net)
Do you miss a useful tool or want to add your own tool to this list? Just contact us by mail, via twitter or through our contact page.
Not so common XenDesktop problems and their solutions
While implementing XenDesktop in several environments you sometimes run into a problem or another. While most of this problems are easy to fix, the solutions for some specific problems aren’t always that obvious.
In this article I want to collect some problems which aren’t that common and of course also their solutions.
Problem #1: When a user tries to log on to a virtual desktop the log on process stucks at “Applying computer settings”
Solution #2: Disable the Windows “Theme” service.
Problem #2: XenDesktop ICA session crashes when you’re resizing the ICA session or a window inside the ICA session.
Solution #2: Try to use the latest Virtual Desktop Agent or disable the Citrix CGP Server service (Session reliability) in your virtual desktop (http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX121493)
Problem #3: When you connect to your virtual desktop as a user you get immediately disconnected but as an admin you can log on to the virtual desktop normally.
Solution #3: Make sure your event log is not full or corrupt. If it is corrupt, fix it (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/172156)!
Problem #4: When you try to connect to your virtual desktop you get immediately disconnect and sometimes your virtual desktop runs into a blue screen (mostly seen if your virtual desktop runs on VMware vSphere or directly on a normal computer hardware)
Solution #4: Try to use a non WDDM driver for your graphic card. (http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX123952, http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX118769)
Problem #5: Connecting to your virtual desktop takes a very long time before you actually see something in your Desktop viewer.
Solution #5: Make sure that your client connects directly to the virtual desktop and not through some proxy. Try to fix it using proxy exceptions.
Intel Atom/NVIDIA ION and Citrix XenDesktop – a match made in heaven for thin clients?
Today I received my brand new NVIDIA ION mainbord from Point of View which I bought to update my personal HTPC. But it came to my mind why no one is using this thing as thin client?
In my following article I assume that the customer is going to use Citrix XenDesktop for delivering desktops and applications to his employees. That means the thin clients are going to connect to Windows flavored desktops which are published through XenDesktop.
You can get a full featured NVIDIA ION-based PC for about 257€. Full featured means: Single- or Dual Core 1,6 Ghz Atom CPU, 2Gigs of RAM, 320GB HDD, Geforce 9400m GPU, Gigabit ethernet and even a DVD writer. Oh and yes, you can also use multiple monitors as you have HDMI, DVI and VGA video output.
The power consumption is also pretty low compared to a normal desktop PC, a DELL Optiplex 740n needs about 60 to 90 watts. The ION only needs about 20 watts in idle state and between 25 and 30 watts under full load. More…