Archive for the ‘Tips and Tricks’ Category

Tip: Citrix session drops if you open a second ICA connection in a XenApp/XenDesktop session

Tuesday, July 9th, 2013

Hi Folks,

i just got an issue where the user opens a session from an IGEL Linux / Windows PC to a XenApp / XenDesktop environment. This works fine until the user starts a second session in the first session to an other XenDesktop/XenApp environment.

The connection are done thru a Storefront server.

If this issue happens also to you, try the following registry setting in the Server / Desktop the user connects first.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Citrix\Dazzle]

“WSCReconnectMode”=”0”

Please note: Test in advance, i do not provide any warranty that this will fix the issue at all or for a data loss in case of a wrong impementation. You are fully responsible if you apply this setting!

Cheers
Michael

Info: Important to know if you want to try a IGEL OS with Citrix XenDesktop 7

Tuesday, July 2nd, 2013

Hello Folks,

if you already Setup a XenDesktop 7 Test Environment to test it with you IGEL Thin Clients you should be aware that the current inbuild receiver is not optimized for XenDesktop 7.

For Windows based devices you need Citrix Receiver 4 for Windows and for Linux you need Citrix Receiver 13, last one is still not released by Citrix. For Windows based devices you might be able to upgrade the Receiver by your own but for Linux you have to wait for the official release. See also: http://www.citrix.com/cms/ready/excalibur-overview/faqs/

Why is this important to know, XenDesktop 7 brings a lot of new Features and these Features are mostly not supported by the old Receiver Versions. This can cause Performance, Display or other issues (like no multitouch Support if a touch Screen is used).

So you can Setup your XenDesktop 7 Environments but for your final PoC you should wait for the right Receiver Version. 🙂

This do also apply for the XenApp Feature Pack 2.

Cheers
Michael

Bootime for Windows Embedded device explained (short version)

Tuesday, June 11th, 2013

Hi Folks,

very often i’ve been asked why IGEL´s Windows based OS is taken a little bit longer for the boot time then Thin Clients from other Vendors.

First of all a few specs…

The new UD5 Windows 7 Dual Core provide’s: A faster CPU, faster Storage (WD SSD), faster Memory and a faster Chipset but still it takes (only for the Boottime!) a little bit longer then (much) slower Devices from other Vendors. See also my UD5 Performance Whitepaper.

The Myths:

– IGEL is running a virtualized Windows Embedded OS = Nonsense… IGEL has a Linux Partition to pevent the use of PXE crap and provide a secure and high available firmware deployment solution. There is no “Thin Client” Hypervisor or something funny at all (like the Citrix XenClient).
– IGEL devices are slower= Nonsense… Compare the overall UD5 Dual Core performance with any other current high end client and you will see which device is slower in general. Tip: It´s not the IGEL. Of course you should try devices on the same level… Comparing a UD5 with a 3rd Party entry Thin Client or a IGEL UD2 with a 3rd Party High End Thin Client doesn’t make sense at all.

The reallity:

– IGEL comes with a lot of services compared to other vendors, most of these services are enabled by default and not disabled or better: Not available.
– IGEL’s Management is very stong but these management tasks are not for free… They do require a little bit time. If a device with no really or only basic management is offered: Of course it will boot faster! If you have nothing do to at work… Of course you can make a break earlier; It’s very similar.
– IGEL Boot Loader takes a few seconds to time out.

How can it be optimized:

– Disable not used services
– Make sure the UMS is available, the Clients will always try to talk to the UMS and it takes a few seconds for a Time Out.
– Use the Standby Mode if possible, no device will boot faster if an standby mode and the new devices only requires a little bit more power compared to switched off client.
– Some vendors are using a Standby Mode by default (without mention this in the documentation), plug off the power cable to check this or enable the Standby Mode for the IGEl too.

Things to consider:
– If you’re only looking at the boot time you should figure out how often your Users are “booting” there device and compare this to other performance figures.
– People complaining about the boot time for a thin client… Compare it to your Active Directory Profile Management (if in place), how long is your logon time?
– Use the IGEL Universal Management to wake up the clients for the user’s, the new devices require less power then ever and every User is happy (or not 😉 ) if his client is ready to use.

I hope this helps a little bit…

Cheers
Michael

Tip: USB Storage security with IGEL Linux (LX/OS)

Thursday, June 6th, 2013

Hi Folks,

maybe you already noticed that you have an USB Security configuration in the Device section of the IGEL Setup.

If you want to allow a special USB Memory mostly people use the Vendor ID (VID) and Product ID (PID) for this. This works quite well but has one big disadvantage…. It works for all USB Memory with the same VID and PID.

To extend this, you can use the UUID (Unique ID) but how can you setup this?

1) First of all, it will only work with an Filesystem that supports a UUID… NTFS will do, FAT16 or FAT32 will not. So you need to format the USB Memory with NTFS.

2) Now use a thin client where one or more storage devices are allowed without any USB restrictions.

3) Open a console session and type in the command: “ls /dev/disk/by-uuid”. You will get a short list now and insert the USB Stick. Type in “ls /dev/disk/by-uuid” again, compare these lists and write down the new one. The UUID should look like “FE1CFEABB210AA”.

4) Create a new USB Device configuration and type in the PID/VID and the UUID you have written down and assign the configuration to a client. Don’t forget to allow HID devices (Mouse/ Keyboards) in General before assigning the configuration. For VID and PID, use always 4 Digits like 0C00 and remember: Linux is case sensitive! If you don’t know how you can get the VID and PID type in lsusb.

5) Done… Now you have a unique USB Memory to use with the client, all other will not work anymore. Also if someone format this USB Memory it will also not work anymore. Secure and easy to setup.

 

Cheers

Michael

Tip: Troubleshooting VGA Display issues for IGEL Linux based Operating Systems

Friday, May 31st, 2013

Hi Folks,

if you’re using a Linux based IGEL Thin Client together with an analog Monitor or TV and you get only a black Screen/frequency error or the Monitor goes in the standby mode this article will provide you some guidance how this can be fixed.

1) Don’t use a KVM Switch in general for your tests.

2) Make sure that you have the right VGA cable in place, there are two Versions available: 14 and 15 pole. Depending on the Display you could be required to use an 15 pole cable.

3) Not all issues can be fixed and if possible test also the connection with a DVI cable.

4) If using a DVI-I splitter cable to VGA / DVI-D make sure that the cable is an original IGEL Y-Cable or if using a Universal Desktop OS converted device a Y-Cable certified by the Vendor of the inbuild Graphic Card. Splitter cables DVI-I to 2x DVI or DVI to 2x VGA (both are not DVI Standard and only used if a vendor extend the DVI standard by there own) are not supported with original IGEL Thin Clients, for Universal Desktop OS converted devices this depends on the inbuild GFX Card: Please contact the hardware Vendor in this case.

5) If you’re using VGA and you got an issue try the following Settings in the IGEL Setup->System->Registry:

x.xserver0.analog_timings= Enabled
x.xserver0.connector= VGA, if you’re using two Displays also set x.xserver0.screen1.connector to the right port
x.xserver0.noddc= Enabled

Assign the configuration and reboot the device, if this did not solve the issue try 1-4 or open a support case at IGEL but mostly the issue should be fixed thru these Settings.

Cheers
Michael

 

Tip: Setting default ICA (Citrix) Audio Device for a IGEL Universal Desktop Linux based OS

Monday, March 25th, 2013

Hi,

if you’ve connected several Audio Devices to an IGEL Linux based Thin Client, you might want to be able to configure the default Audio Device for your Citrix Session. This will only work for IGEL Firmware with Citrix Receiver 12 or 12.1!

Currently this can’t be done via the IGEL Setup but there is a way how this task can be performed.

First of all: This will only work as long the Client configuration is not touched or modified by the IGEL Universal Management Suite or the local Setup! If you change something here, you have to reboot the Client to setup the configuration again.

Preparing the configuration: Connect all Audio Devices to the Thin Client and open the Sound Mixer Tool (Speaker Symbol in the Taskbar), to open the Tool use the right mouse button and click on the Symbol->Select Audio-Settings

Now select Input and click on Advanced Settings, in the drop down menu “Soundcard” write down the name for the device without the (Alsa mixer) extension. Sample UD5 Internal Soundcard= HDA VIA VT82xx or the 1st USB Headset = USB Headphone Set

After this is done and you got the name for the Audio Device close the Audio Mixer and open the local IGEL Setup or the UMS Profile. Now browse to System->Firmware Customization->Custom Commands->Desktop Commands->Custom Command Desktop final and enter here:

echo “[ClientAudio]” >> /config/ica/wfclient.ini
echo “AudioDevice=HDA VIA VT82xx” >> /config/ica/wfclient.ini

Replace HDA VIA VT82xx with the name of the Audio Device you want to set as default, after this is done you can assign the configuration and reboot the device. Now the default Audio Device is configured until a new Audio Device is connected to the Client, a new device will be automaticly set as default.

For Firmwares with an ICA Client 11 or older change the Audio Device Name to /dev/dsp0 (1st Audio Device) /dev/dsp1 (2nt Audio Device) and so on…. The ICA Client Version 11 and below is using an other Audio System and will not work with the Device Names shown in the Sound Mixer.

Cheers
Michael

 

Tip: Fix for network issues after a Windows ES W7 based IGEL Client has joined a domain

Tuesday, March 19th, 2013

Hello Folks,

yesterday i got a strange issue during a customer Thin Client Setup for Windows ES W7 based IGEL Clients.

The issue: After the ES W7 based Thin Client has joined a Domain the Network did not work at all (Firewall Policy for private Networks). This is not a recurrent issue, it can happen sometimes or not… So really strange to trouble shoot.

Now it looks that we fixed the issue by installing two Microsoft Hotfixes, the issue is also mentioned here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2524478/en-us.

Cheers
Michael

Tip: Tabs bar is not hidden in the IGEL Linux Firefox/Webbrowser if starting/configured for a Kiosk mode look and feel

Thursday, March 14th, 2013

Hello Folks,

if you’ve configured the Firefox Browser coming with the IGEL LX/OS Operating System to start in Kiosk Mode (no menus available) you maybe have noticed that still the Tabs bar is shown and the user can open an other Website. I’ve currently not found a setting in the regular IGEL Setup GUI but you will found it in the registry.

To hide the tab bar again open the local Setup or the UMS Profile and browse to System->Registry->Sessions->browser*no*->app and enable the setting “tabs_bar_hidden”, after this configuration is applied the tab bar will not be shown anymore.

This is related to the newer Firefox Versions coming with the IGEL Linux and you will not see this issue with older Firmware Versions.

Cheers

Michael

P.S.: There are a lot of more Settings in this part of the registry to configure the browser session a lot more then in the GUI, just check it out.

Test: Using IGEL Linux based Thin Clients together with Citrix CloudGateway Enterprise

Friday, February 15th, 2013

Hi Folks,

today i’ve tested the IGEL Universal Desktop LX/OS together with Citrix XenApp 6.5, XenDesktop 5.6 and VDI in a Box 5.2 and Citrix CloudGateway Enterprise (LAN and WAN thru Citrix Netscaler).

I’ve used the internal Webbrowser coming with the IGEL Linux for the connection, in both cases (LAN and WAN) it works like a charm. For my test i’ve used the IGEL Firmware 4.11.100.

CloudGateway thru IGEL Universal Desktop LX Webbrowser

 …and connected to a session (XenApp 6.5)

 

Connection thru CloudGateway to XenApp 6.5


If you plan to upgrade your Citrix Environment to CloudGateway this should work for you, so the IGEL Linux based Clients seams to be ready for the new Citrix products. Official i’ve read no confirmation from IGEL about this, so in anyway you should test this to confirm the results. If you discover issues here feel free to contact me.

Update: I forgot, in the screenshots the Desktop Connections to XenApp,XenDesktop and VDI in a Box are missing but i works also fine for me.

Cheers
Michael

P.S.: The old PNAgent Service Site is now called “Legacy” in Citrix products…..

Tip: Setting up a disclaimer for public used IGEL Linux based Terminals.

Friday, February 15th, 2013

Good morning,

i’ve been asked if it is possible to Setup a public dislaimer with use Terms for the IGEL LX/OS based Clients.

This can be done but the configuration is hidden in the registry, open the local IGEL Setup or the UMS Profile and browse to system->registry->userinterface->disclaimer. Here you will find several Settings to configure the disclaimer, the disclaimer will pop up after a boot and prevent Access until the disclaimer is confirmed or perform a shutdown/reboot after the user denied the disclaimer.

Cheers
Michael

Tip: Mousewheel is not working after optimizing a profile from IGEL Linux 3 to IGEL Linux 4

Wednesday, February 6th, 2013

Hi Folks,

if you are using older IGEL LX based Thin Clients like the Compact 3210 LX (IGEL Linux 3) and you just migrate to new Universal Desktop LX devices you might want to keep your old profiles in the IGEL Universal Management Suite.  In general this upgrade (“Profile optimized for” in the UMS Console) works fine but if you have configured a Wheelmouse in the old Profile: You have to configure this again after you “upgraded” the Profile to an Universal Desktop LX firmware.

Thanks to the Lady for sharing this information with us, i did not note it before.

Cheers
Michael

Tip: Fixing mouse pointer issues with IGEL Universal Desktop LX/OS

Friday, February 1st, 2013

Hi Folks,

this is really rare but sometimes it might happen that you have issues with the display of a mouse pointer in an ICA or RDP session. If this is the case, try first this setting: IGEL Setup or Profile->System->Registry->x.xserver0.sw_cursor

Mostly this will fix the issue.

Cheers
Michael

Whitepaper: Using GPRS/UMTS Devices together with IGEL Universal Desktop LX/OS

Tuesday, January 29th, 2013

Hello Folks,

a new Whitepaper is available here:  http://www.cloud-client.info/whitepaper/WhitepaperUsingUMTSGPRSwithIGELLXOS.pdf

Please note: No Support or guarantee at all, i’ve not tested this with the IGEL UD2 Multimedia ARM device!

Cheers
Michael

Tip: Wake on LAN/Magic Packet information collection and check list

Monday, January 21st, 2013

Hello,

very often i’ve been asked related to Wake On LAN and mostly people are not getting it to work. Please note: WoL/Magic Packet’s is a technology created by AMD and not IGEL!

Setting up WoL mostly requires good networking skills and the right infrastructure, so you have to figure this out: There is no “general” tip or configuration at all!

Here are some good 3rd Party information sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wake-on-LAN (english)
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wake_On_LAN (german)
http://support.amd.com/us/Embedded_TechDocs/20213.pdf (AMD Tech Specs for Wake on LAN)
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb932199.aspx ( Troubelshooting WoL-Microsoft Technet)

Checklist for WoL:
1) In general make sure that WoL/Magic Packet’s are supported by “ALL” of your network devices like routers and switches.
2) Do not hard power off your devices (power disconnect), by definition WoL will not wake up a device after a hard power off!
3) WoL do not work thru WiFi (WoL is pre-WiFi time), for VM’s and/or devices with an Intel 10GB network card (not supported by Intel)!
4) Play around with the Wake on LAN configuration in the IGEL UMS Administrator or for Universal Desktop LX/OS you can also perform some configuration task thru System->Registry->network.interfaces.ethernet.device0.wol. Attention: Make sure what you’re configuring, otherwise the device will be powered on very often… 😉
5) Make sure the ARP cache/table (for Switches/Routers)  is large enough, typical symptom: Wake on Lan is working for a few hours after the device is (soft-) switched off, then it doesn’t work anymore from one second to an other. Cheap retail switches mostly provide a very limited ARP cache and/or high end switches needs to be configured in the right way to handle this.

Dealing with Wake on Lan is tricky and you should figure out which component’s are creating the issue but in 99,99999% it’s not the (IGEL) end device!

Cheers
Michael

Tip: Windows ES/ES W7 loosing login script mapped user drives if a domain is joined

Monday, January 21st, 2013

Hello,

if you’re using a Windows based IGEL Client in a Domain it happens that mapped User Drives are lost after a few seconds, to prevent this disable in the IGEL Setup / Profile->System->Registry network.usesmbmountconfig

After this setting is disabled the mapped user drives will be not removed anymore.

Cheers
Michael

Tip: Automatic start/restart for IGEL Universal Desktop LX/OS without IGEL UMS or wake on lan

Monday, January 21st, 2013

Hello Folks,

sometimes it’s not possible to use wake on lan or the IGEL Universal Management Suite to start a client in the morning.. So what can you do in a case like this?

There is a nice Linux command called “rtcwake”, the “rtcwake” command can control the BIOS in combination with the real time clock in your device to perform some power management actions here.

For example the command rtcwake -m mem -s 10 will suspend the device for 10 seconds and then the device is back in action, it’s only one sample. To use the command to start the client at a specified time just enter something like rtcwake -m no -l -t $(date +%s -d ‘tomorrow 07:50’)

The mentioned command will configure everything and perform a system restart “tomorrow” at 7:50am, be aware this sample is not able to handle the weekend! Of course you can play around with this command, there is a good description available here: http://www.howtogeek.com/121241/how-to-make-your-linux-pc-wake-from-sleep-automatically/

I’ve tested this with the IGEL UD5 and a Universal Desktop migrated PC but it can be that this will not work on all migrated devices because the hardware needs to support it (ACPI compliant). It will also not work if you disconnect the device from power!

To use this i recommend to setup a cron job (running Monday-Thursday), see also here: https://blog.cloud-client.info/2012/10/03/tip-running-a-scheduled-job-on-an-igel-universal-desktop-lx-os-without-a-management-server/

You can also use this by using the IGEL Setup->System->Firmware Customization->Custom Commands->Desktop Commands->Custom Command Desktop Final or as seperate command/script but please be aware: In this case you have to take care for the weekend’s.

Have Fun
Michael

P.S.: Use this on your own risk!

Tip: Backup licenses from the UDC installation dongle

Tuesday, January 8th, 2013

Hello Folks,

everytime you install the Universal Desktop OS with the IGEL UDC installation dongle the license will be generated from the license smart card and installed into the Universal Desktop OS.

IGEL UDC dongle

During this process the license will be also saved in the folder \licenses, if you now update the installation dongle with a newer installer Version these licenses will be wiped out. The issue here, if the hard disk is broken in your migrated device you need to apply a new license.

The licenses written on the UDC dongle can be also used thru the IGEL Universal Management Suite license administration console, so you can use the UMS to apply an already created license to a device.

Cheers
Michael

P.S.: Universal Desktop OS licenses are not compatible to Universal Desktop ES or LX firmwares!

Tip: Building a mobile/flexible UDC (Universal Desktop OS) test device

Wednesday, December 19th, 2012

Hi Folks,

currently IGEL provides free test licenses to test the IGEL Unversal Desktop Converter solution but if you test a lot of devices or need to do a lot of demo’s and test’s this way is mostly a little bit complicated and you’re required to pick up licenses from IGEL every time and maybe for devices that are not working/not supported.

So it would be cool to have a flexible solution and this can be done with a few trick’s.

Note: This way is legal and the IGEL license system by assigning a license to an MAC-ID will not be bypassed; it’s not a crack or something similar!

The IGEL License system assign’s a license to an onboard ethernet network card (MAC-ID) and by default this can not be bypassed for the general license assignment but the trick is to use a mobile device like an USB WiFi Adapter.  Disadvantage: You can not assign a license during the installation or thru the IGEL Universal Management Suite to an WiFi MAC-ID. So you can do two things: Install the software in a VM and use the MAC-ID of your WiFi card for the virtual ethernet card, then you can assign a license thru the UMS to the device or directly request a license from IGEL by providing the MAC-ID of your WiFi device; last one should be the easiest way. The license system inside the Universal Desktop OS will also work with a WiFi adapter, so only installation and assigning a license is tricky.

If you got a license from IGEL you mostly get also a small manual to deploy the license thru the local command line, this will work here to deploy the license after the Universal Desktop OS is installed to an USB Memory (i recommend to use a 1 or 2GB USB memory). The UDC can also directly install the Universal Desktop OS to an USB Memory (…without license), so no issue here and the license deployment is done with a few console commands. Be careful, don’t forget to select the USB Memory during the installation; otherwise you blow up your HDD!

My Universal Desktop OS test environment.

Important: You need to enable the WiFi Setup in general in the IGEL Setup! If no wireless LAN is assigned, the boot process will take a few times longer. Make also sure that the USB WiFi device in general is supported by the Universal Desktop OS in advance, this can be tested quite simple because you don’t need a license for this.

Disadvantage: Deploying/Assigning a license require’s a little bit time (only required one time), regarding the WiFi Setup the boot process will take longer (permanent).

Advantage: A not limited, fully licensed and always available Universal Desktop OS test environment without wasting licenses or time for requesting a trial license.

If you want to test a WiFi device, for an Laptop or similar, it should also work; the USB WiFi device is mostly the second WiFi device for Linux and will be only used to validate the license, not for a WiFi connection. If not, no problem: Unplug your USB WiFi device (license dongle 🙂 ), you can test WiFi in general without a assigned license (but without sessions in this case).

Make also sure that you disable native graphic card driver support (if used) each time before you test a new device, otherwise it might happen that the device will not boot and you will get a wrong result because you believe the device is not supported in general!

This solution is not designed or useful for a single test but if you’re working in larger installation’s or have the job do test a bunch of devices and you want to be flexible for these test’s and demo’s: than this is your choice to go.

Update: This is not official supported by IGEL in any way!

Cheers

Michael

P.S.: I can’t guarantee that this will work for the future but as said: it’s not a legal fault and currently i see no reason why IGEL should discontinue the way how it works. I’ve used it now for months and never got a issue, so i can now recommend it.

P.S.2: Of course no written guarantee or something similar, you’re mostly old enough. 😉

P.S.3: It would be cool if you support this blog by reporting your device test results, so everyone incl. IGEL has an advantage!

Tip: Solving audio issues with IGEL Universal Desktop OS (UDC) migrated devices

Tuesday, December 18th, 2012

Hello Folks,

sometimes if you migrate a Laptop or PC with the IGEL Universal Desktop OS it can happen that audio playback doesn’t work. Very often users assume that the audio device is not supported: this is mostly wrong!

During my last test nearly always the audio device was not set right or better: the wrong device was selected. This can happen if you’re migrating a device with more then one audio output device, as sample the most Laptop’s are coming with a HDMI port and a onboard sound card providing two Audio devices at all. In my test’s nearly always the HDMI Output was selected by the Universal Desktop OS as default and i only need to change this one time in the Sound Mixer/Sound Preference configuration (audio tool in the local taskbar if the taskbar is not hidden thru the configuration) to solve the issue. Just change the Output device/channel to the device you want to use and check the audio output again. That’s it…. 😉

Cheers
Michael

Tip: Configure USB HID device redirection with IGEL Universal Desktop LX/OS and VMWare View (PCOIP)

Tuesday, December 18th, 2012

Hello,

sometimes a user want to redirect a Human Interface (keyboard, dictation device or similar) via PCOIP USB redirection, if you configure this only in the VMWare View USB redirection configuration it will not work!

On top of the USB redirection you need also to enable two settings in registry, open the IGEL Setup or the UMS Profile and browse to vmware.view.usb and enable here allowhid and allowlasthid.

After this is done apply the configuration and fully restart the VMWare View session, now it should work but note: The USB HID devices can’t be used locally at the Client or in other sessions as long the VMware View session using/redirecting the HID device is running. Try to use only the needed Product and Vendor ID to enable/configure the USB redirection and not the class rule, so only “required” HID devices are redirected.

No written guarantee, you need to test it before rolling out the configuration! It might happen that the device is not supported for redirection by the software running in the session incl. the VMWare View software in general.

Cheers
Michael