Search results matching tag 'Tips'

ControlUp - The free management tool I wish I had when I was a full-time admin

Gabe Knuth — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 05:01:00 GMT

Have you heard of ControlUp yet? Smart-X, its creator, has received a bit of press lately for it due to it's simple, unique approach to monitoring and management. I had a chance to meet with Yoni Avital and Asaf Ganot when I was at Citrix Synergy in Barcelona, and while Control-Up isn't going to be everything to everyone, it is a free monitoring tool with some snazzy features.

Like a lot of people, I'm likely to glaze over when it comes to monitoring apps. VMware's Kevin Goodman coined the term "YAM" a few years ago, which is a TLA (Three Letter Acronym) for "Yet Another Monitor". There are probably a dozen, if not more, monitoring solutions in the desktop virt space, and while some are very comprehensive (and complex), others are just dashboards that find new ways to display PerfMon counters. There are exceptionally powerful ones that use their own technology, but in many every-day situations, those solutions can be overkill.

ControlUp takes a different approach. As it is today, ControlUp runs entirely in memory. On the server side, the management console collects data from lightweight agents that have been pushed out to the clients using RPC. There's little impact on the client side, but since all of this is not cached or otherwise stored for later, the memory impact on the server side can be substantial. Nothing a typical box can't handle, mind you, but you're probably not going to roll this out in production on a Windows 7 VM with 1GB of memory.

What I like about ControlUp is the real time aggregate view of the organization's computers. It works on physical and virtual desktops, including both VDI and TS-based. From the management console, you can get sortable views of every single process running on monitored machines, sessions, accounts, and executables with process-specific and aggregate CPU and Memory information. From there, you can also dig into some of the more subtle features of ControlUp, all of which can be done on single or multiple machines at once, in real time:

Group policy refresh
Filterable event log aggregator
Session screen shots (Check out the comments on this blog post from Citrix)
Manage Windows services
Copy files/folders
Registry edits
Shutdown/reboot
Remote Desktop Connection console to access multiple computers via RDP from one interface

Click for a larger view

While many of these things can be done with scripts or existing tools, ControlUp gives you the ability to do it from a single console, for free, and without the complex backend to worry about installing or maintaining. If you want oodles of metrics saved off to a massive database to correlate events with historical data, this isn't for you. But, if you've got a bunch of homemade or disparate solutions to accomplish what ControlUp enables you to do, check it out. That's what captured my interest. During the demo, I found myself thinking back to how much I could've used this (free) app back in my days as a full-time admin.

Things to note:

I'm not sure how well some of the features scale, especially when dealing with less-than-optimal networks. Things like file copies could be problematic, I think, but I could be wrong.
Control-Up does require you to have an account on the Smart-X website to verify your license (even though it's free) and collect usage stats. It seems legit, but unnecessary.
There is no offline way of using this as an ongoing monitoring solution. When you shut down the management console, all the info goes away.
Smart-X is working on an enterprise version of Control-Up, so if you have ideas for features you think it should have (like offline use, database storage, etc…), let them know. Many features, like being able to turn off the desktop screenshot feature, have come from user requests.

For more info, check out the ControlUp website or watch some demos on their YouTube Channel. If it's not quite where you'd like it to be, get in touch with them and let them know how they can enhance the product. They seem more than willing to listen.

How HTML5 remote desktop clients work

Gabe Knuth — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 04:01:00 GMT

Earlier this week, I wrote about my initial thoughts on the Chromebook, and I talked a little bit about HTML5 remote desktop clients, specifically AccessNow from Ericom. In the comments, we also heard from the creator of Spark View, Walter Wang. Walter's comment, plus a subsequent phone call with Ericom, helped to shed some light on exactly how Chrome (and other HTML5 compliant browsers, which is all of the big ones now, I think) use HTML5 technologies to show remote desktops. In that article, I speculated that Ericom was somehow wrapping RDP and shipping it to the client. It turns out that what actually is happening is a bit more complex, and it involves translating RDP data for consumption by the browser. Before I get too far ahead, though, let's break this down.

There are two key technologies that enable remote desktop clients within a browser, WebSockets and Canvas. WebSockets is how the remote desktop data is sent from your environment to the browser, and Canvas is the technology that allows it to be redrawn on the screen.

WebSockets is a protocol/API that is built in to all the recent browsers that allows for continuous transmission of data via one TCP socket, as opposed to HTTP, which requires each request to have a response. Multiple requests, then, require multiple connections, which is pretty complex and inefficient for anything that needs to have a realtime feel to it. WebSockets changes this by essentially opening a channel between the client and the server that remains open between requests. The main drawback of WebSockets is that it only supports textual data, not binary data (which is what remote protocols use), which we'll get into later.

Canvas was created by Apple way back in 2004, and has grown into being a native HTML5 element. Canvas enables the ability to control every single pixel discretely through the use of javascript, which allows the browser to render 2d graphics dynamically. When you see animations or games that play in the browser and don't use Flash (i.e. HTML5 games like Angry Birds for Chrome), you're seeing Canvas in action. For remote desktop connections, the client (in this case, mostly a javascript program) consumes the data coming in via WebSockets and draws the desktop on the screen via Canvas.

Right now you may be thinking "Canvas...no binary data support...that's not RDP at all," which is absolutely correct. But if what you're using at the client isn't RDP, then how is this working? The secret there is with a gateway of sorts. Ericom calls this AccessNow Server (which is really just a lightweight service), and Spark View calls it a Spark Gateway. In both cases, these gateways establish an RDP session with the remote host and translate (or re-encode) that binary data into textual data for use with WebSockets. That text data is sent on to the browser where the client interprets that data and draws it on the screen with Canvas.

The entire process looks something like this (click for larger image):

Ericom has also introduced a version of AccessNow that works with VMware View. There's an added step that involves hosting the web client on a View server so that it can take advantage of the View Open Client, which handles authentication and desktop selection before handing the connection off to the AccessNow Server (remember, that's more of a service than a server). Ultimately, they view this as a way to expand endpoint support for VMware View to anything with an HTML5-compliant browser, which will level the playing field with Citrix when it comes to number of client devices supported by the platform.

At this point, AccessNow does not support virtual keyboards like what you would find on iOS or Android devices. It appears that only Spark View supports those types of devices today, although I haven't had a chance to actually look at the product yet. We know Walter reads this blog, though, so maybe he can comment :) Ericom has said that they are close to providing it, they just want to make sure they get it right before releasing the next version.

Since the Citrix HTML5 client hasn't been released yet, I'm not sure how it works. I imagine it has the same basic architecture, though, while utilizing some of Citrix's existing components (web interface, connection broker, NetScaler, etc...). It's my plan to do a HTML5 remote desktop client roundup when Citrix releases theirs, but if that winds up being too far out, I'll do it without them. It's all so new, though, it seems only fair to give it a little more time.

Based on his comment, Walter believes that WebSockets will be amended to include binary data at some point in the future, which may or may not eliminate the need for a gateway in the middle. There's not much doubt, though, that this article will be obsolete in the near future as more advances are made with HTML5 and remote desktop connections. Call it "Job Security," I guess :)

Creating a scriptable virtual channel, from BriForum 2008

Brian Madden — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 01:50:00 GMT

This is a video of a breakout session from BriForum 2008, presented by Kevin Goodman and Michael Thomason.

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Session Description: In this session, Kevin Goodman and Michael Thomason provide an in depth exploration of Citrix Virtual Channels. Included is a comprehensive analysis of the often misunderstood wfshell.exe. As a bonus, the authors will present a fully working virtual channel that can be controlled entirely though scripting. After this session, attendees will be able to write scripts that:

run when a user logs on or off
when a user connects or disconnects
transfer files between the Citrix server and the client and vice versa.
run applications on the client or collect information on the client based upon events on the server

Journey to the Center of the Windows Server 2008 Virtualization Platforms: TS and Hyper-V, from BriForum 2008

Brian Madden — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 16:04:00 GMT

This is a video of a breakout session from BriForum 2008, presented by Bernhard Tritsch.

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Session Description: As an IT professional responsible for virtualization platforms based on Windows Server 2008, you need to dig beneath the surface if you really want to understand how the technology works. This session introduces you to the core Terminal Services and Hyper-V concepts. Get in-depth information on installing, managing and using these important Windows Server 2008 roles. Discover how to modify related system settings in order to fine-tune your servers. Comprehensive demonstrations will help you to improve your technical and professional skills in mastering the Windows Server 2008 platform.

Techie on the Cheap: Building your own WAN Lab, from BriForum 2008

Brian Madden — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 19:13:00 GMT

This is a video of a breakout session from BriForum 2008, presented by Cláudio Rodrigues.

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Session Description: Starting with the Techie on the Cheap series, this session will teach you how to build a lab environment to test different WAN conditions for you Terminal Services or Citrix connections. It will clearly help you understand the impact that latency, bandwidth, jitter, etc have on the user session and ultimately on the perceived performance (user experience).

Performance Monitoring 101, from BriForum 2008

Brian Madden — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:54:00 GMT

This is a video of a breakout session from BriForum 2008, presented by Michael Thomason.

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Session Description:

Is it possible to have a 100% CPU usage yet still maintain a responsive system?
Ever wondered that all the memory values in task manager actually mean?
What exactly is VM memory size versus Memory Usage?
How do I know when my processor, disk, or RAM is bottleneck? Mysterious application hangs and performance complaints?

Many attendees face these and many more performance questions every day. In this session attendees will get a basic understanding of using performance monitor to indentify system bottlenecks. They will also leave with acceptable “metric” values which can be used to indentify issues in their organization.

Knowledge required: Intermediate knowledge of Windows required.

BriForum Video - Decreasing Windows Login Time

Gabe Knuth — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 00:11:00 GMT

At BriForum 2007 Amsterdam, Michael Thomason presented an updated version of his highly-regarded session entitled "Decreasing Windows Login Time." In this session, Michael will show you how you can achieve the same 5-7 second login time that he enjoys.

From the session description:

As more and more users rely on Citrix/Terminal Services for application delivery, extremely fast login times have become more and more of a necessity. Not only does it enhance the user experience it also creates less resistance for porting applications. Between profile creation, policy processing, folder redirection, antivirus software, and “roaming profiles” login times seem to be increasing! Users expect consistent, reliable, and fast login times regardless of server user load.

Attendees will learn:

Detailed overview of the user login process.
Various system settings which dramatically decrease login time.
How to enable User Environment Debugging to trace user login experience to determine bottlenecks.
Streamline GPO policy processing time.
Proper antivirus software configuration and other various filter driver tweaks.
Various redirector and workstation service settings which enhance performance.
Understanding of how various disk/profile layouts affect login time.
How to reduce user profile size.
Demonstrate efficient methods for creating “roaming” user profiles/settings.
Recommended methods and techniques for folder redirection including Favorites, My Documents, IE history, cookies, and others.
Monitoring/Reporting on user login/application experience.

Michael will be updating his session once again for this year's BriForum in Chicago to include multi-threaded logons. Be sure to check out the session description.

To watch the session click here or on the screen shot below. You can download the PPT that accompanies the presentation here .

BriForum Video: Scriptable Virtual Channel

Gabe Knuth — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 10:45:37 GMT

Haven't had a video yet this week, so I was looking through them and found this video from Kevin Goodman and Michael Thomason. It's entitled "Scriptable Virtual Channels," and it covers how to create your own virtual channel for Citrix or Microsoft (with some information on Windows Server 2008) SBC products.

From the session description:

In this session, Kevin Goodman and Michael Thomason provide an in depth exploration of Citrix Virtual Channels. Included is a comprehensive analysis of the often misunderstood wfshell.exe. As a bonus, the authors will present a fully working virtual channel that can be controlled entirely though scripting. After this session, attendees will be able to write scripts that:

run when a user logs on or off
when a user connects or disconnects
transfer files between the Citrix server and the client and vice versa.
run applications on the client or collect information on the client based upon events on the server.

To watch the video, click the image below. To download the supporting files for this session, click here .

If you want to suggest a video for release, check our the session lists from BriForum 2007 Chicago and BriForum 2007 Amsterdam and let me know.

BriForum 2008 Chicago takes place on Navy Pier from June 16-18 and is open for registration right now.

Conversations from the MVP Summit: PowerShelling Citrix and Terminal Server login scripts?

Brian Madden — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:51:17 GMT

I'm at the MVP Summit this week. I was eating lunch the other day with Steve Greenberg, Benny Tritsch, and Tim Mangan. We got to talking about how all these "application frameworks" (Java, .NET Framework, Silverlight, etc.) have to load in every user session on a Terminal Server and how slow that is. (And how ultimately, as more apps are written in these ways, some of the "user density" advantages of Terminal Server versus VDI will disappear... But that's a topic for another day.)

We got onto this topic because I mentioned that a student in our 5-day Citrix Master class in Ausralia a few weeks ago told of doing the "right" thing. He said that he had taken the time to learn PowerShell and rewrote all of his VBS Citrix login scripts in PowerShell. The result? Login times went from about 2.5 seconds to over 15 seconds per user!

This is because PowerShell requires the .NET Framework. On a Terminal Server, the .NET Framework has to load in every user session. So not only does this produce a login delay as it loads the framework in each session, it is also very inefficient.

As a quick aside, during this conversation, Tim asked, "What? Powershell requires the .NET Framework? Then how does it work on Windows 2008 Server Core? (Since Server Core doesn't support .NET.)"

Benny's response: "It doesn't."

BriForum Video: Automated Installs

Gabe Knuth — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 23:02:06 GMT

For this week's BriForum video, we thought we'd do a 2-for-1 special. In Chicago last year, Joe Shonk put on an excellent 2-part presentation called "Automated Installs."

In the first session, Joe gives a beginner to intermediate presentation on how to script installs. In this session, you'll learn:

Why every Administrator/Engineer should learn how to script
The different types of installers
Develop a methodology and approach
Scripting best practices
How to troubleshoot and pinpoint problems
In-depth analysis of several installation scripts

In the second session, Joe dives in a little deeper and talks about how to create a flexible scripting framework to tie in all the techniques learned in Part One.

To download the materials used and mentioned in this presentation, click here.

To view the presentations, click the appropriate image below: