Archive for the ‘Tips and Tricks’ Category

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USB Redirection and five things you should be aware….

Tuesday, September 18th, 2012

Hello folks,

very often users blame that “real” USB redirection doesn’t work well and they´re running in serveral issues. Some reasons why…

USB

1) USB Speed: If you are not using a zero client with a USB 1.1 port (i call it speed limitation on hardware level), the most important thing is “speed”. Don´t try to redirect a device that require 36mbit/s / 4,5mbit/s (Blue Ray Burner single speed) thru a 2mbit WAN connection… It will not work stable.

2) Voltage: If using an old USB Harddisk, use the right cable (Y-cable if needed) and make sure that the USB port can deliver the required voltage or use an active USB Hub with a seperate power supply. If you’re using a thin client which is a low voltage device, check this out first! Also do not use USB christmas gimmicks or USB coffee cup heater together with a thin client or any other low voltage device (tablet computer/netbook). Low voltage devices in general don’t provide a 450w power supply which is able to compensate this..

3) USB devices mostly require a “stable” network connection to be redirected, if this is not available.. Be prepared to have some fun with the users!

4) A USB device which is redirected to a virtual desktop or somewhere else can not be used with the local OS, this applies especially for keyboards, USB network devices and similar. Redirecting a USB WiFi device is a bad idea if you´re using this device also for the local network connection (connections loss after connection to the VM is established), redirecting a keyboard is a bad idea if you want to use it local (alt+ctrl+del as sample will be processed only in the VM and not at the end user device).

5) For IGEL devices: Enabling USB redirection in general will not redirect all connected usb devices, you have to allow it seperatly by class or device id to prevent issues mentioned in 4).

Cheers

Michael

P.S.: A small extension… Try to use “real” USB redirection only if you’re really need it! Very often there are more effective ways to use a USB device in a remote session thru virtual protocol channels like for audio devices, memory sticks, printers or smart card readers.

Posted in None IGEL | No Comments »

Improve LX/OS performance for ICA sessions

Tuesday, September 18th, 2012

Hello Folks,

here are some settings that can improve the User experience for ICA sessions, mostly this is important for smaller devices like the old UD2 or UDC migrated old devices.

All settings can be found in system->registry, please test the settings one by one and not all at the same time! Use on your own risk! Test in advance!

General:

x.xserver0.backingstore: activate
x.xserver0.backingstorepolicy: WhenMapped

ICA related:

x.xserver0.backingstorepolicy
ica.wfclient.enableoss
ica.wfclient.twredundantimageitems (300 or 1000)
ica.wfclient.useserverredraw

Speedscreen:
ica.wfclient.speedscreenbacompressedcachesize: 1024 or 4096
ica.wfclient.speedscreenbacompressionenabled
ica.wfclient.speedscreenbadecompressedcachesize: 4096
ica.wfclient.speedscreenbamaximumcompressionlevel: low
ica.wfclient.speedscreenmmasecondstobuffer: 5

Please note: This might improve the user experience but it don’t have to be, depending on the user scenario/environment!

Cheers
Michael

Posted in IGEL Universal Desktop LX/OS (x86), VDI in a Box, XenApp, XenDesktop | No Comments »

IGEL Universal Management Suite for Windows management pack for Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2012

Tuesday, July 24th, 2012

IGEL Universal Suite management pack for SCOM 2012Version: 1.0.0

Release Date: 24.07.2012

Copyright 2012 cloud-client.info

EMail: blog@cloud-client.info

This is a non commercial release without any official support by IGEL Technology or cloud-client.info.

Use on your own risk, the publisher is not responsible for any damage or issue related to the use of this free release.

This Management Pack provides the ability to monitor a IGEL Universal Management Suite Server including the HA feature running on Microsoft Windows based Servers.

Tested with: IGEL Universal Management Suite Server 4.02.100 and Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2012

How to start
————

1) Open the Operations Manager 2012 console
2) Expand the Administration tab
3) Click with the right mouse button on Management Packs and select “Import Management Pack”
4) Click on “Add” and select “Add from disk”
5) Select the file “IGEL.Universal.Management.Suite.for.Windows.xml” coming with this archive and select install
6) Close the import dialog, you’re done

The management pack add’s a entry “IGEL Universal Management Suite for Windows” to the Operations Manager Monitoring tab, it provides the ability to monitor different events/task for the System and contains also a subfolder to monitor the IGEL UMS HA feature. You can also start/restart the related services from here. The management pack is preconfigured to detect the IGEL UMS Features without any interaction for all Systems in the Operations Manager console.

The download is available here: http://www.papershare.com/app/paper.aspx?id=2563&o=3736 and here: http://www.cloud-client.info/ums4scom/cloud-client.info-UMS4SCOM.zip

Cheers
Michael

Posted in IGEL Universal Management Suite, System Center, Tools | No Comments »

New Version: IGEL Universal Management Suite 4.02.100.02

Thursday, July 12th, 2012

Version 4.02.100.02 contains the same software version as 4.02.100. Changes were made in the installation process only. Customers do NOT need to update to version 4.02.100.02, if there are no problems starting the UMS Administrator application with version 4.02.100.

Fixed bugs

=========================================

– [Windows and linux installer] RMAdmin does not start if there is no internet connection available.

Posted in Firmware / UMS Releases, IGEL Universal Management Suite | 1 Comment »

Fix: UMS Admin doesn’t start after a 4.02.100 installation and if no internet connection is available.

Wednesday, July 11th, 2012

After installing the new UMS Server 4.02.100 it can happen that the UMS Administrator tool doesn’t start anymore with a Java error message and if no internet connection is available, Linux and also Windows Server can get this behavior.

The fix is quite simple, open the file RMAdmin.config in the rmadmin folder with a text editor; the folder is placed in the UMS installation folder (C:\Program Files (x86)\IGEL\RemoteManager\rmadmin). Now change the line “addjars ../rmguiserver/common/lib” to “addjars ../rmguiserver/lib” and save the file. Now start the UMS Administrator again and the error is gone.

Cheers
Michael

Posted in IGEL Universal Management Suite | No Comments »

UD2 MultiMedia (ARM) Beta features

Thursday, July 5th, 2012

Here is some info about what you can and can not do with the just shipped ARM (1.01.500 Beta) devices from IGEL:

Citrix Receiver (12.2.0.203213)

USB Redirection NO

Multimedia Redirection YES (alpha)

Smartcard Authentication YES

DSP accelerated ICA YES

Flash Redirection NO (next SDK)

RDP/RemoteFX Client (1.6.0)

USB Redirection NO

Multimedia Redirection NO

Smartcard Authentication NO

RemoteApps Support YES

DSP accelerated RemoteFX support YES

VMware View (1.5.0)

Currently only the integrated standard VMware View client is integrated, which only provides limited acceleration through the SoC architecture.

Local media player accelerated through DSP

Supported Container: ASF, AVI, MPEG1, MPGE2

Supported Codecs: WMA, WMV VC1, MPEG3, MPEG4, H.264

Additional Clients/Tools

XDMCP, Leostream Java Connect, Appliance Mode, Firefox, SSH

Network

WOL, DNS, DHCP

Print Services

LPD, IPP, CUPS

DSP Chooser, required to select DSP accelerated content in the Universal Desktop LX for ARM firmware

The Acceleration Chooser Setup ist required to configure which type of content (ICA or RemoteFX) is accelerated through the DSP.

Sebastian

Posted in IGEL Hardware, IGEL Universal Desktop LX (ARM) | 2 Comments »

Solved: New UD5 LX shows no screen @ display port if configured for dual monitoring and high resolutions

Wednesday, June 27th, 2012

Today i played a little bit with resolution’s and dual monitor settings with a UD5. When using a high resolution (2 times 1920×1200, millions of colors) i got no screen on my second display connected via the display port.

I tested a couple of settings but finally i only need to increase the video memory in the BIOS to 256MB, after this both screens are available and the issue was gone. Funny, Windows ES/Windows 7 don’t need this configuration…  To change the setting press DEL to enter the BIOS after you powered on the client. In the Advanced BIOS settings increase the shared video memory to 256mb and save the configuration, it’s quite simple to solve if you know it. 🙂

Cheers
Michael

Posted in IGEL Hardware, IGEL Universal Desktop LX/OS (x86) | No Comments »

Quick configuration for IGEL Linux based devices without the IGEL Universal Management Suite

Tuesday, June 26th, 2012

Maybe you’re environment don’t need a UMS Server, UMS configuration is not possible or it’s just to small to setup an extra management server… A quick and easy configuration is also possible in environments like this, all you need is a FAT32 formatted USB Memory.

Note: If you want to deploy background pictures or firmware updates just create a folder on the USB Memory and place the files into this folder.

1) Setup the first thin client like you want it, enable at least one USB Device in the Devices->Storage Devices! If you want to use the USB Memory also to deploy firmwares, change the update settings to file and point to the folder on the USB Memory where the firmware or other files are placed. For all related settings point to the Update configuration (like background picture or in the flash player download configuration)!

2) Press ALT+CTRL+F11 and login as root, now execute “store_usbconfig”. You will be asked for the configuration name (you can store a couple of different configurations if required) and you’re done here.

3) Boot the client where you want to deploy the configuration and press ALT+CTRL+F11. Execute “load_usbconfig”, you will be asked to replace the existing configuration and after this you can select a configuration from the USB Memory. Reboot the device and execute the “update” command if you want to start the firmware update (needs to be configured and the firmware @ the USB Memory).

4) Proceed 3) at all clients where you want to deploy a configuration….

That’s it… If you want to switch back to the IGEL Desktop just press ALT+CTRL+F1.

Cheers
Michael

Posted in IGEL Universal Desktop LX/OS (x86) | No Comments »

Creating more then one Internet Explorer (or other) session(s) with IGEL Windows based Thin Clients

Friday, June 15th, 2012

Sometimes customers/users ask to have more then one Internet Explorer Session on the Desktop, by default this can’t be configured with the Internet Explorer configuration in the IGEL Setup / IGEL Universal Management Suite but there is a simple way to do this… With the Internet Explorer or any other session where the client do support command line parameters.

1) Just open the IGEL Setup or the Profile in the IGEL Universal Management Suite.
2) Go to System -> Firmware Customization-> Custom Application
3) Create a new custom application
4) Type in the Name and where the session should appear
5) In settings set (sample for Internet Explorer)
– Icon Name= c:\program files\internet explorer\iexplore.exe
– Application= c:\program files\internet explorer\iexplore.exe
– Parameter= https://blog.cloud-client.info (the site to open or other parameters)

You can do this for several sites and session types, the global settings for the session are still working in this sample but you are flexible to provide the user several direct start links on the desktop like in Linux.

Have Fun

Michael

Posted in IGEL Universal Desktop ES / ES W7 | No Comments »

Fixed: IGEL LX/OS and images are Tinted Blue in Published Photoshop when using XenApp 6 (CTX128332)

Friday, June 8th, 2012

In XenApp 6 environments it can happen that images are tinted blue in a published Photoshop session, for the Windows Citrix Receiver is a fix available which is mentioned here: http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX128332

To setup this for a Linux based IGEL Thin Client or a UDC converted device open the profile or IGEL Setup and set System->Registry->ICA->wfclient->enableoss to disable. In general tweaks like this can be found in the wfclient area in the IGEL Setup or the profile in the IGEL UMS. If a setting is not available it might be a good idea to contact the IGEL support to provide information’s like this to the IGEL development.

Cheers
Michael

Posted in IGEL Universal Desktop LX/OS (x86), XenApp | No Comments »

USB redirection issues

Wednesday, May 30th, 2012

If you enable USB redirection for Citrix XenDesktop, VMWare View, Fabulatech or Microsoft RemoteFX the rule to enable USB redirection in general does not mean that this will redirect all USB devices now. You need also to setup class rules (Printers, HID..) or device rules to get it working.

Cheers
Michael

Posted in IGEL Universal Desktop LX/OS (x86) | No Comments »

Configuring VMWare View Display settings

Wednesday, May 30th, 2012

If you want to setup the monitor configuration for VMWare View sessions, you need to configure this thru the RDP Global configuration in the IGEL Setup or UMS Profile. It’s not really clear and i noticed this today in a workshop, so a good reason to post it here.

Cheers
Michael

Posted in IGEL Universal Desktop LX/OS (x86), View | No Comments »

Fixing WiFi connection issues when using IGEL Universal Desktop LX / OS

Thursday, May 24th, 2012

If you run into WiFi connection issues try the following settings as add-on to your WiFi configuration. All settings can be found in the IGEL Setup / Profile -> System -> Registry -> network -> interfaces ->wirelesslan.

wireless_mode = IEEE 802.11 b/g
device0.channel = Try to setup the used channel if possible

Make alway sure that you setup the right regulatory domain and location in the regular wireless configuration in the IGEL Setup, this can also cause a lot of issues if configured wrong.

Cheers

Michael

Posted in IGEL Universal Desktop LX/OS (x86) | No Comments »

Tip: IGEL Thin Clients don’t refresh there status in the UMS Console or don’t get a new configuration

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012

Setup a DHCP Option 224 as string field or a DNS hostname “igelrmserver” which points to the management server. If using the DNS hostname make sure that the name can be resolved…

Make sure that the client-server communication port’s are open, see also http://www.papershare.com/app/paper.aspx?id=1617&o=3736

If using Linux based IGEL Thin Clients you can create a terminal session (IGEL Setup->Accessories) and after you start the terminal session use “ping igelrmserver” and “probeport +server name/ip+ 30001” to verify a working UMS connection. If using the DHCP option type in “cat /wfs/dhclient.leases.eth0”, you should now see the options provided by your DHCP incl. “option igelrmserver “+servername/ip+”;. If you can not read the servername/ip you have not used the string type for the DHCP Option 224 and you need to fix this in your DHCP Server configuration.

Cheers
Michael

Posted in IGEL Universal Management Suite | No Comments »

Using Citrix VDI in a Box 5 with IGEL Linux clients (Firmware 4.09.100 or higher)

Saturday, May 19th, 2012

Hello,

before the firmware release 4.09.100 it was only possible to use Citrix VDI in a Box 5 thru the XenApp configuration in the IGEL Universal Desktop LX/OS but not with the Firefox browser. Since the 4.09.100 you can also use the firefox browser but:

You need to enable a setting in the registry for this, it’s only mentioned with a short context in the release notes for the 4.09.100 firmware.

Open the IGEL Setup or the UMS profile and go to System->Registry and enable the setting browser_plugin.ica.vdi_fix.

After this configuration the VDI in a Box Webinterface works like a charm for the users.

Cheers
Michael

Posted in IGEL Universal Desktop LX/OS (x86), VDI in a Box | No Comments »

Improve USB storage write performance

Saturday, May 19th, 2012

To improve the write performance for USB storage devices in general follow these steps:

1) Open the IGEL Setup or your UMS Profile and go to System->Registry
2) Disable devices.autofs.sync_option

Note: This will not work for “true” USB Redirection (View, XenDesktop, RemoteFX, Fabulatech and so on) but it will improve the general performance for RDP, ICA and other drive mappings. Test in advance!

Cheers
Michael

Posted in IGEL Universal Desktop LX/OS (x86) | No Comments »

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