XenDesktop 5.x – Carl Webster https://www.carlwebster.com The Accidental Citrix Admin - The site for those who find themselves supporting Citrix involuntarily or accidentally Thu, 01 Sep 2022 12:10:50 +0000 en hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.2 42228915 Citrix XenDesktop 5.x Documentation Script Update Version 1.27 https://www.carlwebster.com/citrix-xendesktop-5-x-documentation-script-update-version-1-27/ Fri, 15 Jul 2022 23:16:05 +0000 https://www.carlwebster.com/?p=62268 While old scripts that are not actively maintained do not get new features, they get bug fixes.

#Version 1.27 15-Jul-2022

  • Changed all Write-Verbose $(Get-Date) to add -Format G to put the dates in the user’s locale
  • Fixed numerous issues reported by Visual Studio Code
  • Fixed typo found by Guy Leech “PerparingSession” should be “PreparingSession”
  • Replaced the following functions with the most current version
    • CheckExcelPrereq
    • Check-LoadedModule
    • Check-NeededPSSnapins
    • CheckWordPrereq
    • GetCtxGPOsInAD
    • UpdateDocumentProperties
    • validStateProp
  • Updated the help text
  • Updated the ReadMe file

You can always find the most current script by going to https://www.carlwebster.com/where-to-get-copies-of-the-documentation-scripts/

Thanks

Webster

]]> 62268 Citrix XenDesktop 5.x Documentation Script Update Version 1.26 https://www.carlwebster.com/citrix-xendesktop-5-x-documentation-script-update-version-1-26/ Sat, 09 May 2020 14:40:18 +0000 https://www.carlwebster.com/?p=18452 While old scripts that are not actively maintained do not get new features, they do get bug fixes.

#Version 1.26 9-May-2020

  • Add checking for a Word version of 0, which indicates the Office installation needs repairing
  • Add Receive Side Scaling setting to Function OutputNICItem
  • Change color variables $wdColorGray15 and $wdColorGray05 from [long] to [int]
  • Change Text output to use [System.Text.StringBuilder]
    • Updated Functions Line and SaveAndCloseTextDocument
  • Fix bug in HTML output when using -AddDateTime from creating two HTML files
  • Reformatted the terminating Write-Error messages to make them more visible and readable in the console
  • Remove the SMTP parameterset and manually verify the parameters
  • Reorder parameters
  • Update Function SendEmail to handle anonymous unauthenticated email
  • Update Function SetWordCellFormat to change parameter $BackgroundColor to [int]
  • Update Functions GetComputerWMIInfo and OutputNicInfo to fix two bugs in NIC Power Management settings
  • Updated help text

You can always find the most current script by going to https://www.carlwebster.com/where-to-get-copies-of-the-documentation-scripts/

Thanks

Webster

]]> 18452 Group Policy Default Settings Reference for Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop V1.06 https://www.carlwebster.com/group-policy-default-user-settings-reference-for-citrix-xenapp-and-xendesktop-v1-06/ Mon, 27 May 2019 21:48:47 +0000 https://www.carlwebster.com/?p=14507 Updated for Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 1808.

I am sure I may have missed something, so if I did, please let me know.

You can always find the most current Excel file by going to https://www.carlwebster.com/where-to-get-copies-of-the-documentation-scripts/

Thanks

Webster

]]> 14507 Set-SageSet1 PowerShell Script V1.10 https://www.carlwebster.com/set-sageset1-powershell-script-v1-10/ Sat, 15 Dec 2018 15:15:59 +0000 https://www.carlwebster.com/?p=14072 My Windows 10 management VM received the 1809 release. In the Disk Cleanup utility (cleanmgr.exe), Microsoft added the Downloads folder to the list of items that can be cleaned.

Figure 1
Figure 1

That may not be a good thing because if you run V1.00 of this script, or just blindly select every checkbox, you can find yourself missing all your downloaded files.

In this update, I added a -Downloads switch parameter. The parameter is $False by default so the DownloadsFolder is excluded. If you use -Downloads, that sets the switch to True which will cause the DownloadsFolder to be selected and then cleaned up the next time you run cleanmgr /SageRun:1.

I also added a -Reset witch parameter. If you use this switch, the script will set all items in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\VolumeCaches to 0 which means the checkbox is unselected.

Figure 1 shows the initial run of cleanmgr /SageSet:1. Running the script with no parameters, as shown in Figure 2, results in all but the Downloads item selected, as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 2
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 3

Using -Downloads will also select Downloads as shown in Figures 4 and 5.

Figure 4
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 5

Using -Reset will set all the items in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\VolumeCaches to 0, as shown in Figures 6 and 7.

Figure 6
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 7

I hope you find the updated script useful, especially for keeping your computer, servers, and master images for Citrix XenApp/XenDesktop, VMware Horizon, Microsoft RDS, and Parallels RAS clean and disk space usage down.

Thanks

Webster

]]> 14072 Learning to Install Adobe Acrobat Reader DC https://www.carlwebster.com/learning-to-install-adobe-acrobat-reader-dc/ https://www.carlwebster.com/learning-to-install-adobe-acrobat-reader-dc/#comments Thu, 13 Sep 2018 17:58:37 +0000 https://www.carlwebster.com/?p=13780 Back in April 2009, I wrote an article on installing Adobe Acrobat Reader. A reader reported to me that the process does not work for Adobe Acrobat Reader DC. There were enough changes to the process, I worked through and documented the process so the reader could get Acrobat Reader DC installed.

Portable Document Format (PDF) files are a popular way to transfer documents between computer users. A PDF file presents documents, including formatting and images, independent of software, hardware, and operating systems. There are over 10,000 free viewers available on http://www.download.com which allows the viewing of PDF files.

In this article, you will learn:

  • how to sign up to distribute the free Adobe Acrobat Reader DC version
  • download the distributable file
  • download the Adobe Customization Wizard
  • extract the Acrobat Reader MSI file
  • customize the MSI file
  • install the customized file on your master image
  • remove additional menu items using JavaScript

Note: This article has been updated three times with feedback from the community. Scroll down to the bottom to see the updates.

While it may be less time consuming to download the free Acrobat Reader and use that MSI file, Adobe requires any entity that will install the program for multiple users to agree to the Adobe Reader Distribution Agreement.

Many things have changed in the world of virtualization since April 2009. The process outlined in this article can be used for Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, Microsoft Remote Desktop Services, Parallels Remote Access Server, and VMware Horizon.

For this article, I used a master Microsoft Windows Server 2016 image usable by all four technologies list above.

To get started, open your browser and go to http://www.adobe.com (Figure 1).

Figure 1
Figure 1

Scroll down and click on the Adobe Acrobat Reader DC link (Figure 2).

Figure 2
Figure 2

Click Are you an IT manager or OEM (Figure 3).

Figure 3
Figure 3

A new browser window opens. Click distributing Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (Figure 4).

Figure 4
Figure 4

A new browser tab opens. Scroll down and click on Apply now under Apply for a desktop license (Figure 5).

Figure 5
Figure 5

Another browser tab opens. If you have an Adobe ID, sign in with it. If you do not have an Adobe ID, create an Adobe ID, and then continue with this process (Figure 6).

Figure 6
Figure 6

Fill in the necessary information (Figure 7).

Figure 7
Figure 7

Then click Accept and Submit (Figure 8).

Figure 8
Figure 8

You will receive an e-mail from Adobe to verify the e-mail address you entered. Click the verification link in the e-mail. Adobe will send you another e-mail with the information necessary to download the Redistributable version of Acrobat Reader DC. In the second e-mail, click the link to download the full installer for Adobe Reader DC. My email says Adobe Acrobat Reader XI, but the download is for Acrobat Reader DC.

Select the operating system and language that matches your destination operating system, select the download product, and click Download now (Figure 9).

Note: Adobe does not list options for Windows Server 2012 R2 or Windows Server 2016.

Figure 9
Figure 9

Save the file to a central location (Figure 10).

Figure 10
Figure 10

In the second e-mail from Adobe, click the link for Adobe enterprise deployment tools.

Click IT Tools (Figure 11).

Figure 11
Figure 11

Scroll down and click on Customization Wizard (Figure 12).

Figure 12
Figure 12

On the Customization Wizard Home page, under Wizard Downloads, click on DC Windows (Both tracks) (Figure 13).

Figure 13
Figure 13

Click on CustWiz1502020039_en_US_DC.exe (Figure 14).

Figure 14
Figure 14

Save the file to a central location (Figure 15).

Figure 15
Figure 15

Exit your browser.

Double-click CustWiz1502020039_en_US_DC.exe to install the Customization Wizard. Accept all the defaults during the installation.

Extract the Acrobat Reader MSI file. Click Start, Run, type in “<path to download\ AcroRdrDC1801120058_en_US.exe” -sfx_o”<extractFolder> –sfx_ne and press Enter.

For example (Figure 16),

“\192.168.1.254\ISOFiles\Adobe Acrobat Read DC Installer\AcroRdrDC1801120058_en_US.exe” -sfx_o”e:\adobe” -sfx_ne

Note: There is no space in -sfx_o”e:\adobe”

Figure 16
Figure 16

Note: See this Adobe link for more information. https://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/Wizard/basics.html#expanding-exe-packages

Click Start, Adobe Customization Wizard DC, and Run as administrator (Figure 17).

Figure 17
Figure 17

Click File, Open Package, type in <Path>\AcroRead.msi, and press Enter (Figure 18).

Figure 18
Figure 18

Click Personalization Options and select Suppress display of End User License Agreement (EULA) (Figure 19). Selecting this option will prevent the EULA Agreement page from being displayed for every user the first time Acrobat Reader runs.

Figure 19
Figure 19

Click Installation Options in Figure 20. If you use both full Adobe Acrobat and Acrobat Reader, select which one will be the default. Select any other options you require. Since you will be installing a customized Acrobat Reader, you can ignore the options Run Installation and If reboot required at the end of installation.

Figure 20
Figure 20

Click Online Services and Features (Figure 21). Select Disable product updates and Disable Upsell. Select any other options you need disabled.

Figure 21
Figure 21

Click Transform, Generate Transform (Figure 22).

Figure 22
Figure 22

Name the Transform file and save it (Figure 23).

Figure 23
Figure 23

Note: If you get an error about access to setup.ini is denied, that means you did not start the wizard as administrator.

Exit the Adobe Customization Wizard DC program.

To install Acrobat Reader DC with your customizations:

Click Start, Run, type in msiexec /i “<path>\acroread.msi” TRANSFORMS=”<path>\CustomARDC.mst” and press Enter.

Note: TRANSFORMS must be in upper case.

Start Acrobat Reader DC and the EULA Agreement page is not displayed.

Click the Help menu, and you will see two options you do not want in a multi-user or non-persistent desktop environment: Repair Adobe Reader Installation and Online Support (Figure 24).

Figure 24
Figure 24

Note:  The following information is adapted from https://stealthpuppy.com/deploying-adobe-reader-81/ and still works for Acrobat Reader DC.

There is no way to remove those options from the customization wizard or via a registry key. To remove the options, you need to create a JavaScript file and place it in the C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\Javascripts folder.

//HideMenu.js
//Hides Help – Repair Adobe Reader Installation
app.hideMenuItem(“DetectAndRepair”);
//Help – Online Support
app.hideMenuItem(“OnlineSupport”);

When Acrobat Reader starts, it may take a few seconds for the JavaScript file to remove the Help menu items (Figure 25).

Figure 25
Figure 25

Many menu items can be removed using the JavaScript file. See the link “JavaScript to Hide Menu Items” at https://stealthpuppy.com/deploying-adobe-reader-81/.

You have now successfully customized your Acrobat Reader DC to work better in a virtualized application, desktop, and server environment.

UPDATE 1

Thanks to Citrix Technology Advocate DJ Eshelman, I realized I forgot to add that Adobe now has Group Policy ADM/ADMX files available.

Back in Figures 13 and 14, where you downloaded the Adobe Customization Wizard, there is a file that contains the Group Policy files (Figure 26).

Click on AcrobatADMTemplate.zip and save the file to a central location.

Figure 26
Figure 26

Extract the files (Figure 27).

Figure 27
Figure 27

Copy the required file(s) to where you store ADM or ADMX/ADML files. Create a Group Policy and you can see the settings that Adobe makes available as shown in Figures 28 through 32.

Figure 28
Figure 28
Figure 29
Figure 29
Figure 30
Figure 30
Figure 31
Figure 31
Figure 32
Figure 32

Update 2

This update comes from Microsoft Exchange MVP (and a personal friend and mentor) Michael B. Smith.

I found the transform unnecessary. This is just another way.

AcroRdrDC1801120058_en_US.exe /sAll /rs /msi /q DISABLE_DISTILLER=YES DISABLE_ASIAN_FONTS=YES EULA_ACCEPT=YES OWNERSHIP_STATE=2 DISABLE_PDFMAKER=YES DISABLEDESKTOPSHORTCUT=0 UPDATE_MODE=3

For all the cmd line options: https://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/AdminGuide/properties.html#command-line-example

Update 3

This update comes from CTA Carl Behrent.

Carl recommends setting the Adobe IPM (In Product Management) (Figure 33) registry keys via a Group Policy Preference (GPP).

Figure 33
Figure 33

You can set these via a GPP, or, you set these in your master image’s registry and update your transform file. Before we update the transform file, there is one other registry setting to make.

Even though back in Figure 21 we disabled product updates, there is still one setting for updates that is set to Automatically download and install updates (Figure 34)!

Figure 34
Figure 34

Sure enough, after installing Adobe Acrobat Read DC using the customized transform file with product updates disabled, this registry key is still set to Automatically download and install updates (Figure35).

Figure 35
Figure 35

You can either set that value to 0 in a GPP or set it in your master image and update your transform file.

If you want to update your master image and then update the transform file, make the necessary changes in the master image’s registry, start the Adobe Customization Wizard, open the MSI file, and then load your customized transform file.

Click on Registry (Figure 36).

Figure 36
Figure 36

Expand HKLM/SOFTWARE/WOW6432Node/Adobe/Adobe ARM/Legacy/Reader/{GUID}

Click on the Mode value and drag and drop it into the Destination Computer window into HKLM/Software/Adobe/Adobe ARM/Legacy/Reader/[ProductCode] (Figure 37).

Figure 37
Figure 37

Even after all these changes, we are still not done. Adobe keeps the Adobe Acrobat Update Service set to Automatically start (Figure 38).

Figure 38
Figure 38

Again, this is something you can fix with a GPP or Stop and Disable the service in your master image.

After you make all the changes Carl Behrent recommends, you should be able to rest better knowing your users should not see any Adobe messages, and updates to Adobe Reader DC should not happen.

In this article, you learned to:

  • sign up to distribute the free Adobe Acrobat Reader version DC
  • download the distributable file
  • download the Adobe Customization Wizard
  • extract the Acrobat Reader MSI file
  • customize the MSI file
  • install the customized file on your master image
  • remove additional menu items using JavaScript

Thanks

Webster

]]> https://www.carlwebster.com/learning-to-install-adobe-acrobat-reader-dc/feed/ 7 13780 Group Policy Default User Settings Reference for Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop V1.05 https://www.carlwebster.com/group-policy-default-user-settings-reference-for-citrix-xenapp-and-xendesktop-v1-05/ Tue, 05 Jun 2018 20:09:04 +0000 https://www.carlwebster.com/?p=13546 Updated for XenApp/XenDesktop 7.18.

I am sure I may have missed something, so if I did, please let me know.

You can always find the most current Excel file by going to https://www.carlwebster.com/where-to-get-copies-of-the-documentation-scripts/

Thanks

Webster

]]> 13546 Group Policy Default Computer Settings Reference for Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop V1.05 https://www.carlwebster.com/group-policy-default-computer-settings-reference-for-citrix-xenapp-and-xendesktop-v1-05/ Tue, 05 Jun 2018 19:01:26 +0000 https://www.carlwebster.com/?p=13542 Updated for XenApp/XenDesktop 7.18.

I am sure I may have missed something, so if I did, please let me know.

You can always find the most current Excel file by going to https://www.carlwebster.com/where-to-get-copies-of-the-documentation-scripts/

Thanks

Webster

]]> 13542 Set-SageSet1 PowerShell Script V1.00 https://www.carlwebster.com/set-sageset1-powershell-script-v1-00/ https://www.carlwebster.com/set-sageset1-powershell-script-v1-00/#comments Thu, 17 May 2018 16:37:16 +0000 https://www.carlwebster.com/?p=13488 A Windows utility I am surprised that a lot of admins don’t know about is Disk Cleanup. Running the Windows app doesn’t provide as many options as running the same program from the command line. I use the command line option when finalizing master images before the provisioning process. You can also run this on manually provisioned Citrix XenApp servers. This script automates setting all the options for running cleanmgr.exe.

In Windows 10 1803 and Server 2016 with all updates, running cleanmgr.exe /sageset:1 shows 24 options for items that can be cleaned up. These items are called Disk Cleanup Handlers. Full details can be found at Creating a Disk Cleanup Handler. The Handlers are registered in the registry at Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\VolumeCaches. The number of entries in VolumeCaches varies by Windows version and which updates are installed. Instead of spending a couple of minutes manually selecting every item in the dialog for cleanmgr.exe, I decided to script the process. On my test virtual machines, setting all 24 entries takes less than one second.

The “magic” is in the entry named StateFlagsnnnn and setting a REG_DWORD value of 2. This is explained in the MSDN article:

<quote>

By running the disk cleanup manager’s executable file—Cleanmgr.exe—from a command line, you can declare cleanup profiles. These profiles are composed of a subset of the available handlers and are given a unique numeric label. This allows you to automate the running of different sets of handlers at different times.

The command line “cleanmgr.exe /sageset:nnnn“, where nnnn is a unique numeric label, displays a UI allowing you to choose the handlers to be included in that profile. As well as defining the profile, the sageset parameter also writes a value named StateFlagsnnnn, where nnnn is the label you used in the parameter, to all of the subkeys under VolumeCaches. There are two possible data values for those entries.

  • 0: Do not run this handler when this profile is run.
  • 2: Include this handler when this profile is run.

For example, suppose that the command line “cleanmgr.exe /sageset:1234” is run. In the UI that is presented, the user chooses Downloaded Program Files, but does not choose Temporary Internet Files. The following values are then written to the registry.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
   Software
      Microsoft
         Windows
            CurrentVersion
               Explorer
                  VolumeCaches
                     Downloaded Program Files
                        StateFlags1234 = 0x00000002
                     Internet Cache Files
                        StateFlags1234 = 0x00000000

The command line “cleanmgr.exe /sagerun:nnnn“, where the value of nnnn matches the label declared with the sageset parameter, runs all of the handlers selected in that profile.

A generic StateFlags value is written to the registry when Disk Cleanup is run normally. This value simply stores the state (checked or unchecked) of the handler the last time it was presented as an option to the user. There are two possible data values for those entries.

  • 0: The handler was not selected.
  • 1: The handler was selected.

</quote>

Depending on how long the master image (or computer) has been in production and how many Windows updates have been installed/replaced/superseded, running cleanmgr.exe /SageRun:1 can take from a minute to many hours. The longest I have seen is on a XenApp 7.5 Windows Server 2012 manually provisioned server that had been in production for a couple of years and was fully patched. The cleanup process took 4.5 hours and reclaimed over 40GB of hard drive space on the almost full C drive.

As I stated at the beginning of this post, I am really surprised by how many admins do not know about this handy tool and how to use it to free up space on their computers and images. For manually provisioned computers, you can also use Task Scheduler to schedule running this process at a regular interval.

The script is very simple to use. Let me know what you think.

Figure 1
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 5

You can always find the most current script by going to https://www.carlwebster.com/where-to-get-copies-of-the-documentation-scripts/

Thanks

Webster

]]> https://www.carlwebster.com/set-sageset1-powershell-script-v1-00/feed/ 6 13488 Group Policy Default Computer Settings Reference for Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop V1.04 https://www.carlwebster.com/group-policy-default-computer-settings-reference-citrix-xenapp-xendesktop-v1-04/ Wed, 28 Feb 2018 15:14:54 +0000 https://www.carlwebster.com/?p=10739 Updated for XenApp/XenDesktop 7.17.

I am sure I may have missed something, so if I did, please let me know.

You can always find the most current Excel file by going to https://www.carlwebster.com/where-to-get-copies-of-the-documentation-scripts/

Thanks

Webster

]]> 10739 Group Policy Default User Settings Reference for Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop V1.04 https://www.carlwebster.com/group-policy-default-user-settings-reference-citrix-xenapp-xendesktop-v1-04/ Wed, 28 Feb 2018 15:11:22 +0000 https://www.carlwebster.com/?p=10738 Updated for XenApp/XenDesktop 7.17.

I am sure I may have missed something, so if I did, please let me know.

You can always find the most current Excel file by going to https://www.carlwebster.com/where-to-get-copies-of-the-documentation-scripts/

Thanks

Webster

]]> 10738 Group Policy Default User Settings Reference for Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop V1.03 https://www.carlwebster.com/group-policy-default-user-settings-reference-citrix-xenapp-xendesktop-v1-03/ Wed, 06 Dec 2017 16:21:24 +0000 https://www.carlwebster.com/?p=10637 Updated for XenApp/XenDesktop 7.16.

I am sure I may have missed something, so if I did, please let me know.

You can always find the most current Excel file by going to https://www.carlwebster.com/where-to-get-copies-of-the-documentation-scripts/

Thanks

Webster

]]> 10637 Group Policy Default Computer Settings Reference for Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop V1.03 https://www.carlwebster.com/group-policy-default-computer-settings-reference-citrix-xenapp-xendesktop-v1-03/ Wed, 06 Dec 2017 15:41:48 +0000 https://www.carlwebster.com/?p=10632 Updated for XenApp/XenDesktop 7.16.

I am sure I may have missed something, so if I did, please let me know.

You can always find the most current Excel file by going to https://www.carlwebster.com/where-to-get-copies-of-the-documentation-scripts/

Thanks

Webster

]]> 10632 Group Policy Settings Reference for Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop V1.04 https://www.carlwebster.com/group-policy-settings-reference-citrix-xenapp-xendesktop-v1-04/ Tue, 05 Sep 2017 13:19:15 +0000 https://www.carlwebster.com/?p=10497 Excel file has been updated with settings for XenApp/XenDesktop 7.15.

Fellow CTP, Esther Barthel (the CTP’s favorite Minion), updated all the ADMX file worksheets. She also split the three ShareFile ADMX files into their own worksheet.

If you find any errors or omissions, please send an email to webster@carlwebster.com.

We hope you find the Excel file with all the policy settings and Citrix related ADMX files useful.

You can always find the most current Excel file by going to https://www.carlwebster.com/where-to-get-copies-of-the-documentation-scripts/

Thanks

Webster, Esther, Markus, Carl and Jon

]]> 10497 Group Policy Default Computer Settings Reference for Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop V1.02 https://www.carlwebster.com/group-policy-default-computer-settings-reference-citrix-xenapp-xendesktop-v1-02/ Tue, 05 Sep 2017 10:00:34 +0000 https://www.carlwebster.com/?p=10487 Updated for XenApp/XenDesktop 7.15.

I am sure I may have missed something, so if I did, please let me know.

You can always find the most current Excel file by going to https://www.carlwebster.com/where-to-get-copies-of-the-documentation-scripts/

Thanks

Webster

]]> 10487 Citrix Profile Management – How to Use One Image to Point to Multiple Profile Management Stores https://www.carlwebster.com/citrix-profile-management-use-one-image-point-multiple-profile-management-stores/ https://www.carlwebster.com/citrix-profile-management-use-one-image-point-multiple-profile-management-stores/#comments Thu, 10 Aug 2017 12:44:24 +0000 https://www.carlwebster.com/?p=10482 Guest article by Hal Lange.

Let me set a stage for configuration:

There are multiple XenDesktop Sites for your environment.  Either Citrix Provisioning Services (PVS) or Machine Creation Service (MCS) is being used for image deployment.  Whether your Sites are Active/Active or Active/Passive doesn’t matter.  The only difference between the images will be the Citrix Profile Management (CPM) store that the image points to.  As we all know, using the Distributed File System (DFS) for profiles is against Microsoft’s best practices.  Using DFS for profiles is a terrible, as well as an unsupported, practice.  (Information about Microsoft support policy for a DFS-R and DFS-N deployment scenario).

Now with that said, you are using the policies for CPM configuration in any scenario (GPO, Studio, WEM, etc…).  The policies have the CPM store as the only change for each site.  My thought was let’s set the CPM service to “Delayed Start”.  Citrix has made that an impossible task.  That service must be set to Automatic to start correctly.  An old standby that I have used, restart the CPM service after the GPO has applied.  This works as far as the CPM service.  It will now log in and download users’ profiles from the correct store.

Now for the interesting twist.  If the CPM service crashes or is restarted, Citrix Director components break.  The Logon Duration and Personalization parts of the User Session Details will become unavailable as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1
Figure 1

What is happening, is that the WMI calls being made by Director to the VDA are broken.  You can see this by running the following PowerShell command:

Get-<u>wmiobject</u> -Class "session" -Namespace "Root\Citrix\profiles\metrics"

This PowerShell command will show results for the users that have logged in before the CPM service fails.  Any user logging in after the CPM service has been restarted will not be tracked by the WMI counters, which means Citrix Director is broken.

Here are the workarounds attempted:

  1. Changing the CPM service to Automatic Delayed – This is not allowed by Citrix programming
  2. Changing the CPM service to Manual – Starting the service via a script after the CPM policy applied. This acts as a restart of the service and breaks the WMI session data.
  3. System Variable – Setting a system variable to be used by the policy. This would dynamically change the server name but not change the policy.  This has the same effect as statically setting a server name and then trying to change it during boot.

I have tried many scenarios to try and get this to work.  Citrix has been working on a fix for this as well.  This is an issue for changing CPM stores dynamically as well as the CPM service crashing.

The resolution that I have found so far, to be able to keep one image and change CPM stores dynamically by Site is to use a Host entry.  I set the policy to a server name that will never exist (e.g. MultiCPMServer.company.com).  I then set a policy/scheduled task to add this server to the host file with the IP of the server that I am trying to use for the CPM store.

Example Host file for Site A:
<IP of File Server for Site A>        MultiCPMServer.company.com

Example Host file for Site B:
<IP of File Server for Site B>         MultiCPMServer.company.com

While this is not the most elegant solution, it is very functional and has worked at every client that needs this.  Again….  This will only be used until Citrix resolves the issues with the CPM service breaking WMI.

Now, back to learning what else is broken.

If you have any questions, please send me an email.

Thanks

Hal Lange

 

]]> https://www.carlwebster.com/citrix-profile-management-use-one-image-point-multiple-profile-management-stores/feed/ 1 10482 Group Policy Default User Settings Reference for Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop V1.01 https://www.carlwebster.com/group-policy-default-user-settings-reference-citrix-xenapp-xendesktop-v1-01/ Mon, 12 Jun 2017 10:00:21 +0000 https://www.carlwebster.com/?p=10405 Updated for XenApp/XenDesktop 7.14.

I am sure I may have missed something, so if I did, please let me know.

You can always find the most current Excel file by going to https://www.carlwebster.com/where-to-get-copies-of-the-documentation-scripts/

Thanks

Webster

]]> 10405 Group Policy Default Computer Settings Reference for Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop V1.01 https://www.carlwebster.com/group-policy-default-computer-settings-reference-citrix-xenapp-xendesktop-v1-01/ Mon, 12 Jun 2017 09:55:39 +0000 https://www.carlwebster.com/?p=10404 Updated for XenApp/XenDesktop 7.14.

I am sure I may have missed something, so if I did, please let me know.

You can always find the most current Excel file by going to https://www.carlwebster.com/where-to-get-copies-of-the-documentation-scripts/

Thanks

Webster

]]> 10404 Group Policy Settings Reference for Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop V1.03 https://www.carlwebster.com/group-policy-settings-reference-citrix-xenapp-xendesktop-v1-03/ Mon, 12 Jun 2017 09:55:19 +0000 https://www.carlwebster.com/?p=10403 Excel file has been updated with settings for XenApp/XenDesktop 7.14.

If you find any errors or omissions, please send an email to webster@carlwebster.com.

We hope you find the Excel file with all the policy settings and Citrix related ADMX files useful.

You can always find the most current Excel file by going to https://www.carlwebster.com/where-to-get-copies-of-the-documentation-scripts/

Thanks

Webster, Esther, Markus, Carl and Jon

]]> 10403 Group Policy Settings Reference for Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop V1.02 https://www.carlwebster.com/group-policy-settings-reference-citrix-xenapp-xendesktop-v1-02/ Wed, 05 Apr 2017 14:40:28 +0000 https://www.carlwebster.com/?p=10341 Thanks to fellow CTP Esther Barthel, the ADMX worksheets have been updated with more data. I will let Esther explain what she did.

PowerShell: Updated ADMX Translation Script (v1.3)

If you find any errors or omissions, please send an email to webster@carlwebster.com.

We hope you find the Excel file with all the policy settings and Citrix related ADMX files useful.

You can always find the most current Excel file by going to https://www.carlwebster.com/where-to-get-copies-of-the-documentation-scripts/

Thanks

Webster, Esther, Markus, Carl and Jon

]]> 10341 Group Policy Default Computer Settings Reference for Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop V1.00 https://www.carlwebster.com/group-policy-default-computer-settings-reference-citrix-xenapp-xendesktop-v1-00/ Mon, 13 Mar 2017 10:00:56 +0000 https://www.carlwebster.com/?p=10254 Now that we have an Excel file of all the Citrix policy settings, I decided to go one step further. I created a separate Excel file for all the default computer policy settings for XenApp and XenDesktop 7.0 through 7.13. That takes 20 worksheets which is why I decided to do a separate Excel file.

I am sure I may have missed something, so if I did, please let me know.

You can always find the most current Excel file by going to https://www.carlwebster.com/where-to-get-copies-of-the-documentation-scripts/

Thanks

Webster

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