Fix for Citrix XenApp Published Apps Disabling Windows Visual Effects

A lot of time One of the minor issues I have encountered is that the Connection Center component of the Citrix Plugin client disables some of the visual effects at log on in Windows including the “Animate Window Minimizing and Maximizing” setting.  I have also noticed that the “Show Windows Contents While Dragging” setting also sometimes gets deactivated.  Having these disabled if you are using the Aero interface is particularly unattractive. To...

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Web Interface Logon process in Citrix

Web Interface(WI) logon process:1. User enter URL of WI server and logs on.2. Web Interface server contacts XML broker, xml broker authenticates user and returns application list3. User clicks on application4. Web Interface server contacts XML broker5. XML broker contacts ZDC to find least loaded server, 6. ZDC returns IP of least loaded server to XML broker7. XML broker returns IP address of least loaded server to Web Interface8. Web Interface creates ICA file with IP of least loaded server and returns it to client9. Browser launches ICA client...

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Adding Second Farm to web Interface

Open the first farm and:Open the Access Management Console at Web Interface Server,click “Configuration Tool” -> “Web Interface” --> right click on the site you created and select “Manage Server Farm” -> Add second F...

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Backup Access Data Store and Restore

While there is no built-in backup scheduler with Access, Presentation Server includes the DSMAINT BACKUPcommand for backing up Access Data Stores only. Citrix recommends that this command be executed daily using a scheduler script. WARNING! Do not attempt to backup Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle databases using this command.MDB: A file with the MDB file extension is a Microsoft Access Database file. Moving / Restoring an Access DatabaseAccess...

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P2V error - BlockLevelVolumeCloneMgr and Sysimgbase_DiskLib_Write

The other day we had to do a number of hot P2V's on some Citrix servers running Win2k3. I had succesfully completed a test migration a week before (with VMware Converter Standalone 5 installed locally on the source) on one of the same servers but when we re-initiated the P2V in the planned maintenance window, both servers failed at 90-something percent with an error stating the following:SingleVolumeCloneTask:DoRun: Volume cloning failed with...

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Install app on Citrix server - change user

This is mostly a reminder to myself as I seem to forget the syntax.When installing applications on a Citrix server in production, you need to change to install mode. After installation the mode has to be changed back to 'execute'.From CMD prompt:Install mode:change user /installExecute mode:change user /exec...

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Configure Offline Access in Citrix

Administrators can configure applications that are published to stream to desktops for offline access. This feature allows users to disconnect from the company network and continue to run their applications in offline mode for a specified length of time. No additional configuration is needed while profiling the application to create application profiles or targets that can be accessed offline.After you configure the offline application policy settings and configure a streamed application for offline access, the next time the user device...

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If you loose the connectivity to the Data Store and if you are loosing PS 3.0 OR later

* Users can connect to the farm without no issues (no grace period or any time limitation)* Do not restart the servers (as it will try to contact DS and try to refresh the LHC)* Do not reset the local host cache (it will not rebuild since DS is down)* 96 hours grace period only applied to PS & Metaframe versions before PS 3.0.* There is no way to seize PS/XenApp servers try contacting DS upon a reboot,* Unless you use Management Console/Delivery console to manage your citrix farm it wont contact DS,* LHC is there to perform the required functionality....

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Points to remember in Citrix

Below points are very useful while attending interviews in citrix. Most of us know these statements, but just to gather all the key points at a single place, I have started this post. I will keep it updated everytime. If the data collector fails, existing and incoming sessions connected to other servers in the farm are not affected. The data collector election process begins automatically and a new data collector is elected almost instantaneously. The data collector election process is not dependent on the data store.   If...

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Which Applications can't be virtualized in Citrix

While most applications can be successfully virtualized for use with SoftGrid, some applications may have certain characteristics that would prevent them from being completely virtualized using the current version of Microsoft SoftGrid.  This includes: 1. Applications that install and rely on a system-level driver, i.e. an application that installs a print driver or a USB device driver. Some applications may allow for the drivers to be installed independent of the other components of the application. As a work around for this...

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Working with Citrix Policies

To control user access or session environments, configure a Citrix policy. Citrix policies are the most efficient method of controlling connection, security, and bandwidth settings. You can create policies for specific groups of users, devices, or connection types. Each policy can contain multiple settings. For example, you can configure settings to:Configure farm settings such as Virtual IP, Health Monitoring and Recovery, and multimedia accelerationControl sound quality for client devicesAllow users to access the Documents folder on their...

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Local Host Cache in Citrix

A subset of data store information, the local host cache, exists on each server in the farm, providing each member server with quick access to data store information. The local host cache also provides redundancy of the data store information, if for example, a server in the farm loses connectivity to the data store.When a change is made to the farm’s data store, a notification to update the local host cache is sent to all the servers in the farm. However, it is possible that some servers will miss an update because of network problems. Member...

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Script to find all the disconnected sessions in citrix servers

I know the effort in logging into all the citrix servers for disconnected sessions and logging them off everyday. So I have designed a batch script which would run the qfarm command in all the servers mentioned in the text file and output the result to a text file. Here goes my script: @echo offTitle Developped by Chaitanyakumar Gcd \cd %userprofile%\Desktop\Serversdel /q *cd \cd %userprofile%\Desktop\Appsfor /f %%i in (hostnames.txt) do psexec.exe \\%%i -u Domain\username -p UR_PWD cmd /c "qfarm %%i /disc" >> .\Servers\%%i_Applications.txtpauseIn...

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Memory/CPU Optimization in Citrix

Citrix Presentation Server 4.0 introduced two resource optimization features that help increase scalability by as much as 25% and ensure a smoother user experience. These two features, memory optimization and CPU optimization, are distinct and function in unique ways. Memory and CPU optimization are not enabled by default.Memory OptimizationWhen an application starts, the operating system maps application DLLs to the base memory address space. The...

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Making Virtual IP Addresses Available to Applications in Citrix

Some applications, such as CRM and CTI, use an IP address for addressing, licensing, identification, or other purposes and thus require a unique IP address or a loopback address in sessions. Other applications may bind to a static port, which, because the port is already in use, causes the failure of multiple attempts to launch an application in a multiuser environment. For such applications to function correctly in a XenApp environment, a unique IP address is required for each device.Use the virtual IP address feature to assign a static range...

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Citrix Access Gateway

Citrix Access Gateway is a secure application access solution that provides administrators granular application-level policy and action controls to secure access to applications and data while allowing users to work from anywhere. It gives IT administrators a single point of control and tools to help ensure compliance with regulations and the highest levels of information security across and outside the enterprise. At the same time, it empowers users with a single point of access—optimized for roles, devices, and networks—to the enterprise applications...

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XenApp Content Redirection

I see a lot of people struggling with content redirection. The issues that people normally have are understanding what it is, how it works, and it’s limitations. Hopefully this blog post will clear it up.What it is Content redirection is a XenApp technology which, as the name implies, allows content to be passed from either the client to the server, or from the server to the client.In real terms – for client to server – this is the ability to double-click...

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How to change the STA ID when cloning PSE Server in Citrix

Cloning Presentation Server 4.0 will not change the STA ID that is integrated in the XML service! To change the STA ID edit CtxSta.conf file in %ProgramFiles%\Citrix\system32 and change the STA ID with a value you like.[GlobalConfig]UID=STABB4BD26E58F5 <= change this (sample) valueAfter changing the STA ID, restart the Citrix XML service to pick-up the new ID.How to disable right mouse clickThis is a very old feature from Project Columbia but was never included to any Web Interface version. The following change is the simplest way to do...

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