Group Policy Settings Reference for Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop V1.01
Thanks to Hal Lange, CTP Alum and the #2 WEM expert in the world, we have added the WEM Host Configuration ADMX file. Hal sent me the file and Esther…
Group Policy Settings Reference for Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop
Five weeks ago, on the same day, I received three emails asking if I had a spreadsheet listing all the Citrix policy settings like Microsoft supplies. I replied I did not and had been asking Citrix for such an Excel file since March 2012. Someone pointed me to this Citrix article on Citrix Policy Reference but it has not been updated in three years. It also contains no data for any version of XenApp or XenDesktop 7.x. I reached out to several people at Citrix to see if such a file existed and all promised to get back to me. No one ever responded. So I started my own Excel file based on what little I had from the documentation scripts. There was so much missing information that I reached back out to my Citrix contacts because surely this information is sitting on some developer’s computer somewhere at Citrix. After pestering my Citrix contacts, I, again, never received a single response. I decided to take matters into my own hands and start a community project.
Unable to Delete Citrix XenApp/XenDesktop 7.xx Hosting Connection or Resource “There is currently an active background action”
A few weeks ago, the town I live in had extremely severe thunderstorms roll through. When the tornado sirens went off and all our mobile devices started screaming “Warning: tornado sighted in your immediate area. Take shelter immediately!”, I did not bother doing a proper shutdown of all my lab equipment. The tornado did extensive damage in our town but missed our house by about a mile or two as the crow flies. We were without power most of the night. The power outage lasted longer than the batteries in all my battery backup systems. Needless to say, all my XenServer, vSphere, and vCenter hosts did an ungraceful power off. My two Synology NAS units have USB connections to their UPS and are configured for proper shutdowns in the event of power loss. For the past few weeks, I thought all was well in my lab, but that wasn’t the case I found out.
Deploying Printer Drivers for Citrix XenApp
Printers and printer drivers aren’t an exiting technology as the latest HDX Features in XenApp 7.12 and so on. But every Citrix admin out there has ran into issues with printers and printer drivers at one point or another. And we’ve all been felt the same need at least once: how do I get those print drivers out there without breaking everything?
Sure, XenApp 6.5 has had a driver replication feature for a long time, but that isn’t without flaws… So I wanted something different, something where I was in control.
Implementing Microsoft SQL Server 2016 Standard Basic Availability Groups for Use in Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops
On a recent project, I needed to set up high availability for the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops (CVAD) databases. The customer wanted to use Microsoft SQL Server 2016 Standard and I was tasked with implementing the new Basic Availability Groups. This article details the steps I took to implement Microsoft SQL Server 2016 Standard Basic Availability Groups for CVAD.
Citrix Director – How to Make Director the Default Page within IIS
On a recent project, I needed to create two Citrix Director servers. One for Citrix XenApp 6.5 and the other for XenApp 7.6. I looked for an article from Citrix on making the Director site the default page in IIS and did not find anything. So I have ripped off, I mean borrowed heavily from, the Citrix article How to Make StoreFront the Default Page within IIS to do what I needed done.
Removing Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, and Videos Folders from Navigation Pane
For a recent XenApp 7.6 project, the IT Manager wanted no one to access various folders shown in the Navigation pane in Explorer, Save, or SaveAs dialogs. This article shows how I solved this request.
Removing the Network location from the Navigation Pane
On a recent XenApp 7.6 project, the IT Manager was insistent that the Network location be removed from the Navigation pane. The manager wanted no one to see the Network location from Explorer, Save, or SaveAs dialogs from any of the published resources on any of the XenApp 7.6 servers. This is how I accomplished this for the manager.
Internet Explorer 10 and 11 Open to Blank White Screen or Become Unresponsive
Yet another plus for being a consultant is running into issues never seen before, searching for a solution, seeing tens of thousands of hits with no solution in sight, and coming up with a solution. I have done many XenApp 7.x and XenDesktop 7.x deployments where Internet Exploder, I mean Explorer, 10, and 11, were used, and I have never seen or heard of this issue. On a recent project, I was asked to finish a XenApp 7.6 deployment running Windows Server 2012 and Server 2012 R2. One of the issues I was tasked to resolve was that IE 10 and 11 had two weird issues for any user, regular or administrator. This is how we solved the issue.
Citrix XenApp 7.x on Windows Server 2012 or 2012 R2 – Setting File Type or Application Associations
One of the nice things about being a consultant is that on every project, you run into something you had never seen before or asked to do something no one else has asked you to do before. As a consultant, I am always learning new things or a new way of doing something I have been doing for years. Recently I was asked to help finish up a XenApp 7.6 deployment running on Windows Server 2012 and Server 2012 R2. One of the problems I was tasked to resolve was that some application associations were not working. One specific example was that embedded links in emails, when Ctrl+Clicked, would not open in the default browser. Here is how I solved that issue.