Archive for the ‘VDI in a Box’ Category

Tip: Optimizing Windows Server 2012 (R2) or Windows 8(.1) for VDI/Terminal Server use

Wednesday, March 18th, 2015

Hi Folks,

Citrix already one year ago released in article with several optimizations for Windows Server 2012 (R2) and Windows 8(.1) to optimize these systems for VDI / Terminal Server use. A lot of people doesn’t know it and it can be really helpfull, you can find the article here and it also include a .vbs script to run all these optimizations in one step. It will work for Citrix and also other solutions and can be very usefull to improve the user experience in general.

Just try it!

Cheers

Michael

Windows Update KB3013455 breaks Font Smoothing on Windows XP, Server 2003R2 and 2008

Thursday, February 12th, 2015

Hello Folks,

if you are using Windows XP as VDI or have old Terminal Server’s (incl. Citrix solutions) running Microsoft Windows Server 2003R2 or 2008 (32-Bit) you should not deploy KB3013455 which was released during the last Microsoft Patch Day.

The Update will cause a general font smoothing issue with a bunch of fonts and the users will/can get a much lower user experience if working with a lot of text content.

There is currently no work around for this issue, Windows Server 2008R2/2012(R2) and Windows 7/8(.1) do not show any issue once the update is applied.

The issue is already confirmed by Microsoft, read also here: MS15-010

The MS15-010 article currently doesn’t mention Windows XP (or Vista) but i was able to reproduce it also with a Windows XP 32-Bit VM.

Cheers
Michael

P.S.: Some Users also reporting issues with Windows Vista 32 Bit but i believe this is less important for VDI environments.

Tip: Business Card Scanners for Linux / MacOSX in virtual environments and without USB Redirection.

Monday, February 9th, 2015

Hi Folks,

from time to time customers are asking what type of Business Card Scanners can be used with the IGEL Linux or any other “none” Windows Client devices together with XenApp or Microsoft Remote Desktop Services. Typical these customers don’t want to deal with USB Redirection (XenApp 7.x or Microsoft Remote FX) or don’t have USB Redirection available (XenApp <=6.5 / Windows Terminal Server <= Windows 2008 R2)

If you run in a situation like this you should look out for solutions like IRIS Card Anywhere (Canon). Devices working in the same way don’t need a “special” driver installed, they come with an internal memory or SD-Card and can be used like an regular USB Memory and this means: It can be used with Windows, Linux, MacOSX or an Android Tablet providing a USB Port. Disadvantage: They are a little bit more expensive but if you calculate the work to get a driver installed or deployed in your environment than you will have a much cheaper TCO.

Cheers

Michael

P.S.: I used the IRIS Card as sample regarding my past experience, it’s not an advertisement. 🙂 In any way there are several solutions out there and you should test it in advance and before ordering a bunch of these devices. 😉

Tip: Flashplayer 16, Citrix HDX Flash redirection and Linux based Thin Clients

Monday, February 2nd, 2015

Hello Folks,

the Flashplayer 16 plugin  now comes in two plugin versions (NPAPI and PPAPI), one for Chrome and one for Firefox… Both Plugins will currently not work with HDX Flash Redirection for Linux based Thin Clients.

To get it working you need to perform the configuration settings from an older article here in the blog and you have now to install the following Flash Players to the VM / Terminal Server / Thin Client.

Follow these steps:

1) Install the Flash Player 15 Plugin (not the ActiveX Plugin!) to the VDI/Terminal Server (download can be found in the flash player archive)
2) Install the Flash Player 16 ActiveX Plugin to the VDI/Terminal Server
3) Disable Flash Player Updates in the system control
4) Perform the configurations to the registry mentioned here: HDX Flash Tweaks
5) Deploy the Flash Player for Linux to the IGEL LX/OS based devices and make sure HDX Flash Redirection is enabled in the Sessions->Citrix->ICA Global configuration!
6) Make sure the Citrix Policies for the Flash redirection are in place incl. the website compatibility Policy!!

That’s it!

Cheers

Michael

P.S.: I forgot… Install the Internet Explorer 11 or any other HTML 5 enabled browser if you want to watch youtube and kick out any Flash Player in your environment! This is the best multimedia support.. 🙂 🙂 🙂 Do you believe i hate flash? Yes, you’re right but iam sorry to say that we currently still have to live it. 🙁 🙁

P.S.2: Perform the steps in the order like shown! Tested with XenDesktop 7.5 and XenApp 6.5.

Tip: How to optimize the Adobe Acrobat Reader for Terminal Server / VDI use

Monday, December 1st, 2014

Hi Folks,

do you get performance issues if using Adobe Acrobat Reader on a Terminal Server / VDI?

Here are some tweaks to improve it.. 🙂

First of all you should be aware that the Adobe Acrobat Reader works with User based settings, this is very important to know because you need to make sure that all configurations “must” be applied to the User hive in the Windows Registry. This can be done thru a Windows Login Script to apply the registry settings and so on but never forget to do it!

You also can provide the User a settings guide, but this mostly is not usable if you are working with a bunch of users and not only a small group.

So where to start? First of all you should install the Adobe Acrobat Reader you want to use, all settings provided in this guide are pure Acrobat Reader Settings so it can be used with VMWare View, Microsoft Remote Desktop Services, Citrix XenApp/XenDesktop or whatever.

Now you should start the Acrobat Reader with you administration account and open any PDF document… Try how it looks and feel during you work with the pdf file, if it not run smooth or it feels very laggy open the menu Edit->Preferences and browse to the Page Display settings. Configure the settings like shown below:

AdobeReader1

The screenshot is from Adobe Acrobat Reader Version 11, if you are using an older Version you will also have an Option “2D Graphic Acceleration”. This setting should be also disabled, disable also the “Auto Update” Feature in the Updater configuration.

Now close the Acrobat Reader and open it again and try the same test as done before, the result should be much better now.

I’ve also prepared a small registry file that contains already the needed modifications (without the disabled updates), you can download the .reg file from here: Download

Please note: The registry file is configured to be used with the Acrobat Reader 11, if used with an other Acrobat Reader Version open the .reg file with notepad and replace “11.0” with your Version like “10.0” and so on.

Have fun!

Michael

Tip: Troubleshoot Citrix HDX Flash Redirection Windows .reg file

Wednesday, November 26th, 2014

Hello Folks,

i’ve been asked to provide a ready to use .reg file to setup the Windows registry settings from our HDX Flash Redirection Troubleshooting guide (Here).

The registry file can be downloaded here: Here

You can also create it thru copy and paste, the file will do the 64-Bit and x86 related settings but please note:

1) You still need to enable HDX Flash thru Citrix Policies
2) You still need to install the Flash Plugin (not ActiveX Plugin!!!) at the Server and the Client!

 

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Citrix\HdxMediaStreamForFlash\Server\PseudoServer]
“FlashPlayerVersionComparisonMask”=dword:00000000
“UserEnabledFlashV2″=dword:00000001
“IEBrowserMaximumMajorVersion”=dword:0000000b

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Citrix\HdxMediaStreamForFlash\Server\PseudoServer]
“FlashPlayerVersionComparisonMask”=dword:00000000
“UserEnabledFlashV2″=dword:00000001
“IEBrowserMaximumMajorVersion”=dword:0000000b

 

Have fun

Michael

P.S.: This will more or less force flash redirection for all Flash enabled Websites (thru Citrix Policy), for clients without a installed Flash Plugin only a colored Windows (color set thru a Citrix Policy.. again) will appear. So you need to verify that all clients in the environment have the Flash Plugin installed! Not compatible flash content will provide the same result!

P.S.2: You are responsible for it… And still this is my personal opinion how to handle flash movies for users:Best way how to handle flash content in business areas and yes.. Iam a bad Admin.

Tip: Workaround for NumLock issues in Citrix Session with the IGEL Linux

Monday, November 24th, 2014

H Folks,

maybe you run into an issue that the NumLock Key is partial not working in a ICA Session if you’re using the Citrix Receiver for Linux.

To fix create a new profile  or open the local setup at the IGEL and browse to System->Firmware Customizations->Custom Commands->Desktop Commands and add the following line to the Custom Command Desktop Final Area:

xmodmap -e 'remove mod2 = Num_Lock'

Close the setup and apply the configurations or assign the profile to the affected devices.

After a reboot the issue should be gone but please note, the NumLock key will be not available for local Applications if used. This is only a temporary work around until this behavior is fixed with newer Citrix Receiver Versions.

Cheers

Michael

Info: Will Microsoft’s licensing change boost VDI installations?

Thursday, November 6th, 2014

Hi Folks,

some important change has been done by Microsoft to the volume Licensing, this can boost the VDI business in the future…

What was done exactly:

peruserlic

 

What does it mean? Microsoft changes the Licensing for Desktop OS’s from per Device to Per Device and Per User for Enterprise customers and allows also a installation at the same time on any device incl. Tablets. This can be a big driver for Enterprises to roll out or validate Desktop VDI Installation in the upcoming months now, it makes VDI licening much more simpler and flexible for Enterprise customers. It also includes Windows 8.1 Pro and Enterprise incl. Windows 7 and 8, so it’s not only limited to devices running Windows 8.1 Enterprise and this point could be important too.

For VDI also important is the Remote Access Right and here the Per User option comes with “Any device” access, the device licensing only offer support for “noncorporate” devices. Means the User licensing supports now also corporate owned Linux based Thin Clients or IOS/Android based devices.

One big step in the right direction from Microsoft, really nice! You can also read the full article here: VL Licensing Windows 8.1

Cheers

Michael

Tip: Getting legacy printer names back in XenApp 7.5

Thursday, October 2nd, 2014

Hello Folks,

i got some questions regarding the use of legacy printer names in XenApp 7.5. In XenApp/XenDesktop 7.5 the legacy printer name policy is not available any more. This is really bad for a couple of applications which needs to get the old Printer name convention.

After doing a small research i found a working solution in the Citrix Forums, after the Login was done and the Printers are mapped you need to run a small powershell script:

$SessionID=((qwinsta /server:$ServerName | foreach { (($_.trim() -replace “\s+”,”,”))} | ConvertFrom-Csv)|Where-Object {$_.SESSIONNAME.StartsWith(">")}).id
$MyPrinters=Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Printer -Filter "PortName like 'Client:$SessionID%'" -Property PortName,DeviceID
$MyPrinters|% {$_.RenamePrinter("Client/$env:clientname#/"+$_.PortName.Split(':')[2])}>$null

Save this code in a powershell script and execute it as last command in a logon script.

Of course you can modify it if required but please note: This comes without any support or warranty!

Cheers
Michael

Tip: Troubleshoot Citrix HDX Flash redirection issues

Friday, September 12th, 2014

Hi Folks,

you have issues with the HDX Flash redirection? Just try the following steps:

 

1) Make sure the Flash Player plugin is installed on the Server and the Client site, it’s not available for ARM based devices like the IZ1(!).

 

2) Disable the Flash Player Auto Update at the Server site!

 

3) Flash redirection in general is not 100% compatible and never could be it.

 

4) Make sure that all Citrix Server Policies for HDX Flash redirection are enabled and configured in the right way.

 

5) Make sure that the Flash Redirection feature is enabled at the client site.

 

6) Make sure content fetching is enabled if the client can not access the Internet directly, this needs to be enabled at the Server and the Client.

 

7) Follow http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX134786, perform the registry settings to disable the Version check:

You can disable the version check by modifying Windows Registry Key on VDA, named “FlashPlayerVersionComparisonMask” which is a dword that should be set to zero.

This needs to be set on each and every VDA you need the checking disabled on.

32-bit OS HKLM\\Software\\Citrix\\HdxMediaStreamForFlash\\Server\\PseudoServer

64-bit OS HKLM\\Software\\Wow6432Node\\Citrix\\HdxMediaStreamForFlash\\Server\\PseudoServer

 

8) Ask user where they have to upload or download data thru websites and verify that these sites will not be redirected. Why? If the content is redirected the user will only see the file system coming from the Thin Client! It’s running redirected local at the client right… 🙂

 

9) For XenApp 6.5 make sure CTX140236 Hotfix is installed, http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX140236

 

10) For XenDesktop 5.x/XenApp 7.x or higher make sure the latest VDA Version incl. Hotfixes are installed.

 

11) If it is still not working add the following Registry Keys to the PseudoServer Registry Part (see 7).

UserEnabledFlashV2 as REG DWORD = 1
IEBrowserMaximumMajorVersion as REG DWORD = Installed IE Version in decimal, for example IE 9 = 9

 

Cheers

Michael

Tip: How to avoid Adobe Flash in Terminal Server/VDI environments with the IGEL LX/OS

Wednesday, May 28th, 2014

Hi Folks,

maybe you also agree that Adobe Flash content is one of the biggest crap that can be used in a Terminal Server/VDI environment. For example youtube or similar site’s mostly waste expensive Server CPU resources only for watching a “funny” video..

flashtaskbar
Yeah… One User with one HD Flash Movie use 41% of  Server CPU resources!

HTML5 is still not a big deal for most site’s, so how can you handle it?

1) Ban it… Block unwanted traffic with a firewall or proxy. This is highly efficient but will upset the user base and maybe you need it (schools/education), so mostly this option is no deal.

2) Buy more Server.. More or less efficient and very expensive (Hardware, licensing, setup and cooling). No deal!

3) Use solutions like Citrix HDX Flash Redirection… More or less efficient, hard to setup and not 100% compatible, it could be a option but it’s not a real solution.

4) Ban it from the servers… I just setup this for a PoC and it seams to be the most efficient way which is also acceptable for most users. So how is the setup?

a) You need IGEL Linux based devices (LX or OS) based on the x86 architecture to do this.

b) Setup a local Firefox browser session and deploy any Version of the Adobe Flash Player for Linux to it (Browser Plugins in the IGEL Setup).

c) Assign a Hotkey to the Firefox Browser Session like ALT+CTRL+i.

d) Setup a IIS/Webserver on any System that is not already running a IIS/Webserver

e) On the Terminal Server/VDI (i recommend to use the golden Image) site open the hosts file which is located in the Windows/System32/drivers/etc folder and edit it. Now add any Website you want to outsource, point it to the “new” Webserver. Example:

192.168.1.150 youtube.com
192.168.1.150 youtube.de
192.168.1.150 anyotheruselessflashsite.com

Do not perform this for any Website which is used for “business” uploads/work! Don’t use a DNS Server to apply the configuration, this might also point the Thin Clients to a “wrong” site… Of course you can also add Webradio Website’s, browser based games or what ever you don’t want to see in a Webbrowser on the server backend. But at all.. It’s not a security solution at all, it’s to save resources only!

f) Create a small HTML Website with a short Text like “This site can not be used on a Server/VDI! Please press ALT+CTRL+i to open the local Browser and use ALT+CTRL+TAB to switch between the Browser/Session.” or similar. Make it simple and easy to understand… Now set this HTML Page as default and 404 error page for the new Webserver (d).

g) Let the user test it… If the User enter www.youtube.com the “new” Website will open and point the user how to work with the local Browser.. For the User it looks “very” embedded into the session, not 100% but it will be good enough to watch movies for most of them.

I know this solution is also not a 100% one and it can be bypassed if the User is using the IP. 😉 ..but it’s not a security solution, the User can watch Movies and you have minimized the wasted CPU resource on your backend. It’s easy to control, high compatible and everyone is happy. From my point it’s currently the best way to handle Flash until it will be fully replaced by HTML5 or any other “better” working solution. The performance depends on the User device, a UD5 will better perform than a UD2 but still: A slow client is better than a slow server for most company environments.

Also some more benefit’s.. You can seperate client traffic from your server traffic quite simple, the customer where i suggest this mentioned that they have 10GB or more “flash” streaming traffic (only youtube) per day in the server infrastructure with a little bit more than 300 user’s. You can use it with any Terminal Server/VDI solution but please note: If using VMWare View, Microsoft RemoteFX, Citrix XenDesktop x.x / XenApp 7.5 or any other solution that support real USB redirection don’t setup USB Redirection for Human Interface Devices (HID) because in this case the Mouse and Keyboard can not be used outside the Session (…and with the local Browser).

You can also add other description’s to the created “manual” website, for example for Android press the home button and open the local Browser or similar.

If you have suggestions to improve this solution feel free to give me a mail or add a comment.

Cheers

Michael

Tip: Hidden Citrix Receiver failback switch in the IGEL Linux

Wednesday, April 30th, 2014

Hello Folks,

iam not sure how long this feature already exists but i should mention it here….

IGEL has included in all current LX/OS Firmware Versions (V4.13.x or V5.01.x to < 5.03.100) a hidden “failback” Switch which can help to bypass issues with the latest included Citrix Receiver Version.

In the current IGEL Firmware 5.02.100 you are able to switch between Citrix Receiver 12.1.8.250715 (default, mentioned in the release notes) and Citrix Receiver 12.1.6.231670 (mentioned nowhere… 🙁 ). I do not unterstand why this is included as a hidden feature because it’s a clear benefit to have this option available.

Switching between these Versions is quite simple, you only need to execute the command /services/ica/bin/switch_ica_fallback. This can be done from a command line/terminal session for tests / troubleshooting or you can execute it during boottime for production. If you want to switch back to the “default” version just execute the command again… Funny right?

If you want to perform the last option open a profile or the local IGEL Setup and browse to System – Firmware Customization – Custom Commands – Desktop Commands and enter the command in the Custom Command Desktop Final field. After this change is done the setting will be active after the next reboot.

Update: This solution is not available in the Firmware 5.03.100, use here the switch in the gui or the registry setting System->Registry->ICA and enable useversion13.

Cheers

Michael

P.S.: It might be that this switch will be removed in later firmware releases..

Tip: Troubleshoot Certificate issues with Citrix Receiver and Apple IOS / MacOSX / Android / Linux

Friday, April 4th, 2014

Hello Folks,

if you are using the Citrix Receiver together with Apple devices you may have discovered some certificate issues in the last weeks or months.

This means, you have imported a “valid” Certificate but the user is still not able to connect to your Citrix environment. Very common for this issue is the public CA GoDaddy and there are a couple of Admins running into this issue in the last weeks.

The reason for this issue is quite simple, a few CA’s now create all certificates valid after the 01-01-2017 as a SHA2 certificate, this SHA2 certificate is not supported by the Citrix Receiver for Apple OS’s in the moment. See also http://blogs.technet.com/b/pki/archive/2013/11/12/sha1-deprecation-policy.aspx

Only way to fix this at moment is to use an other certificate type or to wait until Citrix adds the SHA2 support for the Apple/Android/Linux receiver versions.

Cheers
Michael

P.S.: Please refer also to the Citrix Client Feature Matrix mentioned in the previous post.

Tip: Troubleshoot disconnecting ICA Session with Citrix Receiver for Linux

Monday, March 10th, 2014

Hi Folks,

if you have an issue with disconnecting ICA Session coming with the lates Version of the Citrix Receiver try the following steps:

1) Make sure you have no network issue (use the network tool coming with the IGEL Linux)

2) Disable all not needed redirection features in Sessions->ICA->ICA Global like Printer redirection, Serial Port redirection and so on.

3) Very often it seams to be that this issue is related to Flash (last Flash versions are very unstable, try also an older one on client and also server side) or Multimedia redirection, disable this in the ICA Global settings too.

Please report if this fixed the issue for you and what setting helps most.

Cheers

Michael Hoting

P.S.: If you run in a issue like this, request exact reports what was the last user action before the session drops.

Tip: Citrix Linux Receiver settings explained

Thursday, December 5th, 2013

Hello Folks,

Citrix has released  a new Version for the Linux Receiver documentation explaining a couple of settings, the new document is already for the Receiver Version 13 but most settings are similar to Receiver 12 and explaining a lot of useful settings that can be found in the IGEL Setup->System->Registry->ICA->wfclient area.

You can found the documentation here: Download Linux Receiver Guide

Cheers
Michael

Release: Citrix VDI-in-a-Box 5.4

Wednesday, November 13th, 2013

Hello Folks,

if you already using Citrix VDI-in-a-Box you should get a look on the new release 5.4 which comes with couple of new cool features:

– Support for Microsoft Windows Server 2012R2 Hyper-V incl. shared storage
– Support for Windows 8.1 virtual desktops
– Support for VMWare vSphere ESXi 5.5 as Hypervisor
– Build-in HTML5 device support (Browser needs to support it)
– Much improved SSL certificate handling
– Follow me Desktop (shared/dedicated User accounts)
– Improved VM image/template handling
– Remote Assistance support
– Support for multiple AD’s
– Storefront Smart Card support if Storefront is used (seperate download!)
– Wizard based upgrade path to XenDesktop 7 if required

I will test it soon together with the IGEL Linux V5 🙂

Cheers

Michael

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

New Tool: XenDesktop Helper

Wednesday, May 8th, 2013

Hi Folks,

i’ve written a small tool that i need for my own but maybe you can also use it…. It’s primary based on the idea that you can not figure out the Client IP, MAC-ID or Hostname in a connected XenDesktop/VDI in a Box session with user rights in a Login script in a simple way, also it can force a user logoff if the Client Hostname or IP do not fit compared with a given variable. The result will be displayed and also written into the registry to use it with other scripts, see also the readme for more informations.

xdhelper

 

The download is available in the www.cloud-client.info download area, this tool is not directly related to IGEL but of course it can be used in a XenDesktop/VDI in a Box session running on an IGEL Thin Client.

Important: It’s called XenDesktop Helper and not XenApp Helper->Do not use this tool with XenApp!!

Have Fun!
Michael

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: Application can’t be started from a mapped USB Memory with IGEL Universal Desktop LX/OS in a Citrix Session

Thursday, October 25th, 2012

Hello Folks,

try http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX105611 to solve this issue.

Cheers
Michael