If you came to my presentation at Citrix Synergy 2012 in San Francisco, thanks for being there.

I would like to thank the following people for their help in putting together the information and for verifying its accuracy and up-to-dateness.

Michael B. Smith, Exchange MVP, http://TheEssentialExchange.com

Brian Desmond, Directory Services MVP, http://BrianDesmond.com

Andrew S. Baker, Directory Services Expert, http://about.me/Andrew.S.Baker

Jo Harder, former Citrix XenApp product architect, now at http://www.compushare.com/

My presentation, in PDF form, is available here for FREE:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/43555945/Citrix%20Synergy%20SYN515%20Presentation%20GSL.pdf

Thanks

Webster

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I would recommend downloading the Citrix PVS PowerShell Programmer’s Guide for the version of PVS for your Farm. While most of each guide is the same, each guide is specific to each version of PVS. For example, the PVS 6.1 guide has information on the new Personal vDisk that is only supported in PVS 6.1.

Citrix Provisioning Services 5.6 SP1 PowerShell Programmer’s Guide

Citrix Provisioning Services 6.0 PowerShell Programmer’s Guide

Citrix Provisioning Services 6.1 PowerShell Programmer’s Guide

My initial goal was to see if I could walk down the nodes in the Provisioning Services Console (PSC) and see if I could document every nook and cranny. PVS 5.6 SP2 is shown in Figure 1 and PVS 6.1 is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Before we can start using PowerShell to document anything in the PVS farm we first need to register the PVS Console PowerShell snap-in. Even if you are running PVS on a 64-bit Windows Server Operating System you must still register the snap-in with the 32-bit .Net Framework.

Change to the folder where the PSC is installed. By default, this is C:\Program Files\Citrix\Provisioning Services Console.

To register with the 32-bit .Net Framework, enter the following command (Figure 3):

%systemroot%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\installutil.exe McliPSSnapIn.dll

Figure 3

To register with the 64-bit .Net Framework, enter the following command (Figure 4):

%systemroot%\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v2.0.50727\installutil.exe McliPSSnapIn.dll

Figure 4

Click Start, Administrative Tools, Windows PowerShell Modules. A PowerShell session starts. Enter the following command:

Add-PSSnapin –Name McliPSSnapIn

Everything is now setup for us to get started.

PowerShell commands are supposed to be done in a Verb-Noun format. Get-Something, New-Something, Copy-Something, etc. That is the way Citrix did the PowerShell commands for XenApp 5, XenApp 6.x and XenDesktop 4. But that is not what Citrix did for PVS.

In XenApp or XenDesktop 4, if I wanted to retrieve farm information I would use Get-XAFarm or Get-XDFarm. I thought the obvious thing to do was to use Get-PVSFarm but that doesn’t work. For some bizarre reason, Citrix decided to wrap PowerShell around the PVS MCLI command line utilities.

I could write an article on all the things Citrix did wrong with their PVS PowerShell implementation but that would not serve any useful purpose. This article will do its best to stay focused on what is needed to use what Citrix gave us to document a PVS farm.

To get a list of the MCLI commands, showing just the Name, where the “verb” starts with “mcli”, type the following in the PowerShell session (results are shown in Figure 11):

Get-Command -Verb mcli | Select-Object Name

Figure 5

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Thanks

Webster

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This article will focus only on XenDesktop 4.  I am planning on writing articles and scripts for XenDesktop 5.x.

The prerequisites to follow along with this article are:

• A computer, physical or virtual, running Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Server 2008, Server 2008 R2 or Microsoft Windows XP, Vista or 7 for running the XenDesktop Desktop Delivery Controller SDK.
• Citrix XenDesktop 4 Desktop Delivery Controller (DDC) installed with at least one Desktop Group created.

In this article, we will be installing the Citrix Delivery Controller SDK.  You can install the SDK from either the XenDesktop 4 installation media or download it from citrix.com.  Since I am at a customer site creating this script on a production network, I do not have access to the installation media.  Therefore, I will be downloading the SDK.

My initial goal was to see if I could walk down the nodes in the Delivery Services Console (DSC) (Figure 1) and see if I could document every nook and cranny.

Figure 1

Before we can start using PowerShell to document anything in the XenDesktop 4 farm we first need to install the XenDesktop SDK.  From either your XenDesktop 4 DDC or another computer, go to http://community.citrix.com/display/xd/Download+SDKS (Figure 2).

Note:  For instructions on how to install the SDK from the XenDesktop 4 installation media, please see http://blogs.citrix.com/2010/08/11/xendesktop-4-powershell-sdk-primer-part-1-getting-started/.

Figure 2

Click on Download SDK and Save the file to C:\XD4SDK.  You can now close your Internet browser.

Click Start, Run, type in C:\XD4SDK\XenDesktopControllerSDK.msi and press Enter.

Click Run (Figure 3).

Figure 3

Click Next (Figure 4).

Figure 4

Select I accept the terms in the License Agreement and click Next (Figure 5).

Figure 5

Click Next to accept the default installation location (Figure 6).

Figure 6

Click Install (Figure 7).

Figure 7

After a few seconds, the installation completes.  Click Finish (Figure 8).

Figure 8

You now have new Start Menu items under All Programs, Citrix.  Windows 7 is shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9

Click Start, All Programs, Citrix, Desktop Delivery Controller SDK, Citrix Desktop Delivery Controller SDK Shell.  A PowerShell session starts with the Citrix XenDesktop 4 PowerShell modules already loaded.

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Top 20 Articles (Original CarlWebster.com, dabcc.com/Webster and the new CarlWebster.com combined):

All 99 articles have been viewed 1,053,081 times.  View counts are from November 3, 2008 through April 30, 2012.

Top 20 Countries since August 4, 2011

The new CarlWebster.com has been visited by 149 different countries. 

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• “How do I show published applications to my users when I have multiple XenApp farms?”
• “How can I use Web Interface to migrate users to a new XenApp farm while using both farms?”
• “If I have the same application published in multiple farms, how can I control which farm the application is run from?”

In this article, you will learn how to configure Web Interface 5.4 and Citrix Secure Gateway 3.3 for multiple XenApp farms.

There are several potential reasons for using multiple XenApp farms:

• XenApp 6.0 and XenApp 6.5 require new farms
• Distinct farms for 32-bit applications and 64-bit applications
• Organizational security requirements
• Business mergers and acquisitions
• Multiple internal environments

XenApp 6.x cannot be integrated into the farm of an earlier version of XenApp or Presentation Server. Similarly, XenApp 6.5 cannot be mixed with a XenApp 6.0 farm. Attempting to join a XenApp 6.x server into an earlier farm will damage the data store.

Deploying a 32-bit application on a 64-bit server will install the application, by default, in the C:\Program Files (x86)\ folder tree. Deploying a 32-bit application on a 32-bit server will install the application, by default, in the C:\Program Files\ directory. This means that the default application location used when publishing the application is different for 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Server when installing a 32-bit application.

An enterprise may have applications that are required to be separated from other applications for security or business requirements. Installing the applications to XenApp servers that are in different farms can allow for segregated farm administration and more granular user access.

When one business merges with or acquires another business, it is possible that both businesses may have pre-existing XenApp farms. Business requirements, during the transition phase, may necessitate the need to keep the XenApp farms separate temporarily or permanently.

A highly structured environment with strict change management controls may require different farms for different environments. For example, an organization may have Development, Test, QA, Training and Production environments. An application may be installed into the Development farm until network and systems administration procedures are documented. Once documented, the settings for the application can be moved into the Test farm. The Test farm can then be used for user acceptance testing. Once user testing has been completed, the settings for the application can be moved into the next farm. And so on, until the application is put into the production farm.

For this article, the following Virtual Machines (VMs) will be used:

• Domain Controller: TrainingDC
  • The VM will be assigned two virtual CPUs (vCPUs), 2GB of RAM and 24GB of Hard Drive space
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
  • Domain Controller for the WebstersLab.com Active Directory domain
  • Remote Desktop Services License server and Citrix Licensing server
  • Static IP Address 192.168.1.100
• SQL Server: TrainingSQL
  • The VM will be assigned two vCPUs, 2GB of RAM and 24GB of Hard Drive space
  • Hosts the SQL Server data stores for all four XenApp farms
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1 on Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
  • Static IP Address 192.168.1.101
• XenApp 5 #1: XA520031
  • The VM will be assigned two vCPUs, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of Hard Drive space
  • XenApp 5 for Server 2003 Hotfix Rollup Pack 7 on Windows Server 2003 SP2 32-bit
  • Static IP Address 192.168.1.102
  • Default XML port of 80
  • Farm name XA52003
• XenApp 5 #3: XA520081
  • The VM will be assigned two vCPUs, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of Hard Drive space
  • XenApp 5 for Server 2008 Hotfix Rollup Pack 1 on Windows Server 2008 SP2 32-bit
  • Static IP Address 192.168.1.104
  • Default XML port of 80
  • Farm name XA52008
• Web Interface and Citrix Secure Gateway: CitrixWI
  • The VM will be assigned two vCPUs, 2GB of RAM and 24GB of Hard Drive space
  • Windows Server 2003 SP2 32-bit
  • Web Interface 5.4 with Hotfix WI540MSI002 and Citrix Secure Gateway 3.3
  • Not a member of the WebstersLab.com domain
  • Static IP Address 192.168.1.105
• XenApp 6.0: XENAPP60
  • The VM will be assigned two vCPUs, 4GB of RAM and 40GB of Hard Drive space
  • XenApp 6.0 Hotfix Rollup Pack 1 on Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
  • Static IP Address 192.168.1.106
  • XML port 8060
  • Farm name XA60Farm
• XenApp 6.5: XENAPP65
  • The VM will be assigned two vCPUs, 4GB of RAM and 40GB of Hard Drive space
  • XenApp 6.5 on Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
  • Static IP Address 192.168.1.107
  • XML port 8065
  • Farm name XA65Farm

In addition to the Administrator account, five accounts were created in the WebstersLab.com domain:

• User03, who has access to only the XA52003 farm
• User08, who has access to only the XA52008 farm
• User60, who has access to only the XA60Farm farm
• User65, who has access to only the XA65Farm farm
• UserAll, who has access to all four farms

Each farm has two resources published.

• XA52003
  • Notepad
  • Word 2010
• XA52008
  • Paint
  • Word 2010
• XA60Farm
  • Calculator
  • Word 2010
• XA65Farm
  • WordPad
  • Word 2010

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• Backup an SQL Server Express data store,
• Create a new File DSN for a SQL Server data store,
• Migrate to the new data store,
• Configure all XenApp servers to communicate with the new data store,
• Stop and restart the IMA service on a XenApp server, and
• Using AppCenter, verify communication with the new data store.

There are a couple of advantages to using SQL Server Express for the data store:

• Easy to setup during the XenApp 6.x installation.
• No complicated ODBC DSN file to create or configure.

The disadvantages to using SQL Server Express for the data store:

• If the XenApp server hosting the data store goes down or is restarted, Farm functionality is severely crippled.
• Only recommended for small Farms because of performance reasons.
• No High Availability options.
• Rarely included in backup or disaster recovery planning.

The advantages to using SQL Server for the data store:

• Is not run on a XenApp server.
• Can be used for any size Farm.
• High Availability options.
• Usually included in backup and disaster recovery planning.

For this article, XenServer 6 will be used with Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard and Citrix XenApp 6.5 Platinum.  The following Virtual Machines (VM) will be used:

SQL Server: SQL

• The VM will be assigned two processors, 2GB of RAM and 24GB of Hard Drive space
• This VM will host the migrated SQL Server data store
• This VM will use SQL Server 2008 R2
• Static IP Address 192.168.1.150

XenApp 6.5 #1: XENAPP65-1

• The VM will be assigned two processors, 4GB of RAM and 24GB of Hard Drive space
• This VM will host the original SQL Server Express data store
• Static IP Address 192.168.1.153

XenApp 6.5 #2: XENAPP65-2

• The VM will be assigned two processors, 4GB of RAM and 24GB of Hard Drive space
• This VM is used to show how to change additional XenApp servers to use the new SQL Server data store
• Static IP Address 192.168.1.154

XENAPP65-1 has a folder named CTXBACKUP that will be used to store the data store backup.  XenApp 6.5 was installed on XENAPP65 and a new XenApp Farm named Webster was created during the installation.  After restarting the VM, XenApp 6.5 was installed on XENAPP65-2 and joined to the Webster Farm.  XenApp 6.5 has a new configuration option.  A XenApp 6.5 server can be configured to either host sessions only or host sessions and be a data collector.  Both servers are configured with the Controller and Session-host mode enabled.  Two applications were published on the Farm: Notepad and Paint (Figure 1).

Figure 1

Both applications are configured to run from both XenApp servers (Figure 2).

Figure 2

It is a Best Practice to always backup the data store before performing the migration.  The SQL Server Express based data store, by default, is located in C:\Program Files (x86)\Citrix\Independent Management Architecture and is named MF20.mdf.

From a command prompt on XENAPP65-1, the following command, as shown in Figure 3, was run to generate a backup:

dsmaint backup c:\ctxbackup

Figure 3

The command “dsmaint backup” makes a copy of the MF20.mdf SQL Server Express data store to the location specified.  “dsmaint backup” must be run on the XenApp 6.x server hosting the SQL Server Express data store.

BEFORE YOU START THE MIGRATION, make sure the account being used for this procedure is a Full Farm Administrator.

Note:  If you have a Microsoft SQL Server DBA available, please reference the appropriate Citrix eDocs sections:

• XenApp 6.0 – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenapp6-w2k8-install/ps-database-ref-sql-srvr.html
• XenApp 6.5 – http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenapp65-install/ps-database-ref-sql-srvr.html

To create the SQL Server data store database, open SQL Server Management Studio.  Click Start -> All Programs -> Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 -> SQL Server Management Studio (Figure 4).

Figure 4

Login using the necessary credentials (Figure 5).

Figure 5

Expand Databases in the left column (Figure 6).

Figure 6

Right-click Databases and select New Database (Figure 7).

Figure 7

You may want to consider putting the XenApp Farm name in the database name as shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8

Click OK and the new data store database is ready for use as shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9

On the XenApp server hosting the SQL Server Express data store, a new Data Source Name (DSN) needs to be created for the SQL database.

Click Start -> Administrative Tools -> Data Sources (ODBC) (Figure 10).

Figure 10

Note: What is ODBC?  This is taken from http://support.microsoft.com/kb/110093

“Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) is Microsoft’s strategic interface for accessing data in a heterogeneous environment of relational and non- relational database management systems. Based on the Call Level Interface specification of the SQL Access Group, ODBC provides an open, vendor- neutral way of accessing data stored in a variety of proprietary personal computer, minicomputer, and mainframe databases.

ODBC alleviates the need for independent software vendors and corporate developers to learn multiple application programming interfaces. ODBC now provides a universal data access interface. With ODBC, application developers can allow an application to concurrently access, view, and modify data from multiple, diverse databases.”

Click the File DSN Tab (Figure 11).

Note:  What is the difference between “User DSN”, “System DSN” and “File DSN”?  This is taken from  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/213772.

User DSN: The User DSN is a data source that is user-specific. A User DSN is stored locally but is available only to the user who creates it.

System DSN: Unlike a User DSN, a System DSN is not user-specific. A System DSN is stored locally and is not dedicated to a particular user. Any user who logs on to a computer that has permission to access the data source can use a System DSN. Some programs, such as Microsoft SQL Server or Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS), require a System DSN.  This DSN must be created on the server where the program is located. System DSNs are stored in the Windows registry under the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Odbc\Odbc.ini\Odbc Data sources

File DSN: The File DSN is created locally and can be shared with other users. The File DSN is file-based, which means that the .dsn file contains all the information required to connect to the data source. Note that you must install the ODBC driver locally to use a File DSN.  File DSNs are not stored in the Windows registry. The .dsn file is a text file that you can view in any text editor, such as Microsoft Notepad.

Figure 11

Change the Look in to C:\Program Files (x86)\Citrix\Independent Management Architecture as shown in Figure 12.  The new DSN must be placed in this folder.  The IMASERVICE service is programmed to look in only this folder.

Figure 12

Click the Add button (Figure 13).

Figure 13

Click on SQL Server and click Next (Figure 14).

Figure 14

Type in C:\Program Files (x86)\Citrix\Independent Management Architecture\WebsterFarmSQLDS.dsn and click Next (Figure 15).

Note: The DSN can be named anything as long as it has a .dsn file extension.  It does not need to contain “MF20″ anywhere in the name.

Figure 15

Click Finish (Figure 16).

Figure 16

Enter a Description, type in the name of the SQL Server and click Next.

Figure 17

If a successful connection to the SQL Server is made click Next (Figure 18).  A common problem is the Windows Firewall is not configured to allow SQL traffic (TCP Port 1433).  To configure an instance of SQL Server 2008 R2 to use a static port, follow the steps described in the “How to: Configure a Server to Listen on a Specific TCP Port (SQL Server Configuration Manager)” topic located at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms177440.aspx.

Figure 18

Note:  If SQL Server is set to use a static port, click Client Configuration, then uncheck Dynamically determine port and enter the value for the static port number (Figure 19).

Figure 19

If the account listed in the grayed out Login ID authenticates successfully to the SQL Server, Change the default database to the new SQL Server data store and click Next (Figure 20).

One problem could be the Login ID account is not setup to access the SQL Server.

Figure 20

Click Finish (Figure 21).

Figure 21

Click Test Data Source (Figure 22).

Figure 22

If the message TESTS COMPLETED SUCCESSFULLY is shown, click OK (Figure 23).   Otherwise, you will need to troubleshoot the ODBC connection to the SQL Server.  Information on SQL Server 2008 R2 ODBC can be at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms131415.aspx.

Figure 23

Click OK (Figure 24).

Figure 24

Your new DSN is created (Figure 25).   Click OK.

Figure 25

Click Start, right-click Command Prompt and select Run as administrator (Figure 26).

Figure 26

Type in dsmaint migrate /srcdsn:”C:\Program Files (x86)\Citrix\Independent Management Architecture\MF20.dsn” /srcuser:citrix /srcpwd:citrix/dstdsn:”C:\Program Files (x86)\Citrix\Independent Management Architecture\WebsterFarmSQLDS.dsn” /dstuser:administrator /dstpwd:password and press Enter.

/srcdsn is the SQL Server Express MF20.dsn that was created when the Farm was created

/srcuser and /srcpwd are both, by default, “citrix”

/dstdsn is the new DSN file

/dstuser and /dstpwd are the username and password of the account that has rights to the new SQL Server data store database

Click Yes on the Dsmaint confirmation popup (Figure 27).

Figure 27

The migration starts as shown in Figure 28.

If the following error is received:

“Result: “an unknown error occurred while migrating the table, please verify the destination datasource is clean. [Microsoft][ODBC SQL server Driver][SQL server]violation of primary key constraint ‘CL’. Cannot insert duplicate key in object “keytable”. Indexes have been successfully patched.”

This is usually caused by the default database being set to Master.  That is a huge mistake.  Make sure the default database for the DSN file is set to the new SQL Server data store database.

Figure 28

When the migration completes, answer Yes to the Dsmaint comparison popup (Figure 29).

Figure 29

The comparison runs and completes as shown in Figure 30 and Figure 31.

Figure 30

Figure 31

Next DSMAINT CONFIG needs to be run.  The /pwd option needs to be used and according to the XenApp Administrator’s Guide:

“You must stop the Citrix Independent Management Architecture service before using config with the /pwd option.”

In the command prompt window, type net stop imaservice and press Enter (Figure 32).

Figure 32

Type in dsmaint config /user:websterslab\administrator /pwd:password /dsn:”C:\Program Files (x86)\Citrix\Independent Management Architecture\WebsterFarmDSMF20.dsn” and press Enter (Figure 33).

/user and /pwd are the username and password of the account that has rights to the new SQL Server data store database.

Figure 33

The Local Host Cache file needs to be recreated.  Type in dsmaint recreatelhc and press Enter (Figure 34).

Figure 34

Type in net start imaservice and press Enter (Figure 35).

One cause of the IMASERVICE not restarting is the currently logged in account is not a Full Farm Administrator.

Figure 35

Type in CD “C:\Program Files (x86)\Citrix\Independent Management Architecture” and press Enter.

Edit the new DSN file and remove the computer name on the WSID line as shown in Figure 36 and Figure 37.  The WSID line is not used.

Figure 36

Figure 37

Copy the new DSN file to the remaining XenApp server’s C:\Program Files (x86)\Citrix\Independent Management Architecture folder (Figure 38).

Figure 38

On each remaining XenApp server, as shown in Figure 39, type in:

net stop imaservice and press Enter.

dsmaint config /user:\administrator /pwd:password /dsn:”C:\Program Files (x86)\Citrix\Independent Management Architecture\WebsterFarmSQLDS.dsn” and press Enter.

dsmaint recreatelhc

net start imaservice and press Enter.

Figure 39

On any of the XenApp servers, start AppCenter (Figure 40).

Figure 40

AppCenter communicates with the data store to retrieve the Farm information.

If any errors are received, go to http://support.citrix.com and search for the error number.

An alternate way to test connectivity to the data store is from a command prompt type in QFARM and press Enter (Figure 41).

Figure 41

In this article, you learned how to:

• Backup an SQL Server Express data store,
• Create a new File DSN for a SQL Server data store,
• Migrate to the new data store,
• Configure all XenApp servers to communicate with the new data store,
• Stop and restart the IMA service on a XenApp server, and
• Using AppCenter, verify communication with the new data store.

You just finished reading Learning to Migrate a Citrix XenApp 6.x Data Store from SQL Server Express to SQL Server on Carl Webster. Please consider leaving a comment!

On November 1, 2008 I created carlwebster.com and published my first article two days later.  In January 2009, Doug Brown asked me to move my articles to his site and start writing for him exclusively.  I was floored that someone of Doug’s stature would ask an unknown to write for his famous web site.  In August, 2011 I moved back to CarlWebster.com.

In November 2009 I was nominated for the Citrix Technology Professional (CTP) award.  When I submitted my CTP application I had 33 articles which had been viewed a cumulative 243,526 times.  I now have 90 articles written which is an average of 2.5 articles a month since November 2008.  All my articles from both carlwebster.com and dabcc.com/Webster have been viewed 935,678 times!  That is just simply mind boggling to me.

The most popular articles are on XenApp 5 for Windows Server 2008 which have been viewed 247,032 times.

The second most popular articles are on Citrix Secure Gateway which have been viewed 118,321 times.

My first book has now sold 289 copies as of October 31, 2011.

On another note, I spend a lot of time on Experts Exchange helping people with their Citrix issues and questions.  As of November 1, 2011 I have 1,919,265 points making me #1 in the Citrix zone, have answered 1,272 questions, participated in another 703 questions and have made a total of 4,761 comments.

I want to make sure I continue to thank my friend Michael B. Smith (Exchange MVP) for his encouragement to get started writing and for Jo Harder not brushing me off when I met her at Summit 2008.

It has been a very busy three years!  Thanks to everyone who reads my articles.

Thanks

Carl Webster
Consultant and Citrix Technology Professional
http://www.CarlWebster.com

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Here is what the policy setting looked like before:

Computer settings:
Server Settings\Health Monitoring and Recovery\Health monitoring - Value: Enabled
Server Settings\Health Monitoring and Recovery\Health monitoring tests - Value: <HMRTests xmlns:
xsi='http://www.w3.o
rg/2001/XMLSchema-instance' xmlns:xsd='http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema' version='0'><Tests><Test name='Citrix IMA Serv
ice test' file='Citrix\IMATest.exe' description='This test queries the service to ensure that it is running by enumerat
ing the applications available on the server.' interval='60' threshold='5' allowRunningCustomHmrTests='true' timeout='6
0' recoveryAction='AlertOnly' /><Test name='Logon Monitor Test' file='Citrix\LogonMonitor.dll' arguments='/SessionTime:
5 /SessionThreshold:50 /SampleInterval:600' description='Logon/logoff cycles are monitored to determine whether there i
s a problem with session initialization or possibly an application failure. If there are a lot of short cycles within
a short time period, a problem is assumed to exist.' interval='1' threshold='5' allowRunningCustomHmrTests='true' timeo
ut='1' recoveryAction='AlertOnly' /><Test name='XML Service test' file='Citrix\RequestTicket.exe' description='This tes
t requests a ticket from the XML service running on the server and prints the ticket.' interval='60' threshold='5' allo
wRunningCustomHmrTests='true' timeout='60' recoveryAction='RemoveServerFromLoadBalancing' /><Test name='Terminal Servic
es test' file='Citrix\CheckTermSrv.exe' description='This test enumerates the list of sessions running on the server an
d the session user information, such as user name.' interval='60' threshold='5' allowRunningCustomHmrTests='true' timeo
ut='30' recoveryAction='AlertOnly' /></Tests></HMRTests>

Here is what it looks like now:

Server Settings\Health Monitoring and Recovery\Health monitoring - Value: Enabled
Server Settings\Health Monitoring and Recovery\Health monitoring tests - Value:
	Name: Citrix IMA Service test
	File Location: Citrix\IMATest.exe
	Description: This test queries the service to ensure that it is running by enumerating the applications available on the server.
	Interval (seconds): 60
	Time-out (seconds): 60
	Threshold: 5
	Recovery action: AlertOnly

	Name: Logon Monitor Test
	File Location: Citrix\LogonMonitor.dll
	Arguments: /SessionTime:5 /SessionThreshold:50 /SampleInterval:600
	Description: Logon/logoff cycles are monitored to determine whether there is a problem with session initialization or possibly an application failure. If there are a lot of short cycles within a short time period, a problem is assumed to exist.
	Interval (seconds): 1
	Time-out (seconds): 1
	Threshold: 5
	Recovery action: AlertOnly

	Name: XML Service test
	File Location: Citrix\RequestTicket.exe
	Description: This test requests a ticket from the XML service running on the server and prints the ticket.
	Interval (seconds): 60
	Time-out (seconds): 60
	Threshold: 5
	Recovery action: RemoveServerFromLoadBalancing

	Name: Terminal Services test
	File Location: Citrix\CheckTermSrv.exe
	Description: This test enumerates the list of sessions running on the server and the session user information, such as user name.
	Interval (seconds): 60
	Time-out (seconds): 30
	Threshold: 5
	Recovery action: AlertOnly

Looks a little better now. Here is the relevant PowerShell code:

If($Setting.HealthMonitoringTests.State -ne "NotConfigured")
{
	line 3 "Server Settings\Health Monitoring and Recovery\Health monitoring tests - Value: "
    # remove the spaces in the [ x m l ] you see below in front of $XML
    # the code format utility I am using uses that for its own use
	[x m l]$XML = $Setting.HealthMonitoringTests.Value
	ForEach($Test in $xml.hmrtests.tests.test)
	{
		line 4 "Name: " $test.name
		line 4 "File Location: " $test.file
		If($test.arguments)
		{
			line 4 "Arguments: " $test.arguments
		}
		line 4 "Description: " $test.description
		line 4 "Interval (seconds): " $test.interval
		line 4 "Time-out (seconds): " $test.timeout
		line 4 "Threshold: " $test.threshold
		line 4 "Recovery action: " $test.recoveryAction
		line 0 ""
	}
}

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I also noticed that I had not included the settings for CPU Utilization Management or Memory Optimization. In XenApp 5 for Windows Server 2003, both of those are just checkboxes so they are either Enabled or Disabled. In XenApp 5 for Windows Server 2008, CPU Utilization Management has three settings available:

• No CPU utilization management
• Fair sharing of CPU between sessions
• CPU sharing based on Resource Allotments

XenApp 5 for Windows Server 2003 returns the same value of 255 whether the option is Enabled or Disabled! At this time, I am unable to report on what the setting is so I just report that “CPU Utilization Management: Cannot be determined for XenApp 5 on Windows Server 2003″.

The XenApp 5 scripts have been updated and can be found via this article:

http://carlwebster.com/where-to-get-copies-of-the-xenapp-farm-documentation-scripts/

Here is the additional PowerShell code that goes in the Server Default section of the Farm settings:

line 2 "Memory/CPU"
line 3 "CPU Utilization Management: " -NoNewLine
If($Farm.CpuManagementLevel.ToString() -eq "255")
{
	line 0 "Cannot be determined for XenApp 5 on Windows Server 2003"
}
Else
{
	line 0 "" $Farm.CpuManagementLevel
}
line 3 "Memory Optimization: " $Farm.MemoryOptimizationEnabled

line 2 "Health Monitoring & Recovery"
If($Farm.HmrEnabled)
{
	$HmrTests = Get-XAHmrTest -EA 0 | Sort-Object TestName
	If($?)
	{
		ForEach($HmrTest in $HmrTests)
		{
			line 3 "Test Name: " $Hmrtest.TestName
			line 3 "Interval: " $Hmrtest.Interval
			line 3 "Threshold: " $Hmrtest.Threshold
			line 3 "Time-out: " $Hmrtest.Timeout
			line 3 "Test File Name: " $Hmrtest.FilePath
			If($Hmrtest.Arguments)
			{
				line 4 "Arguments: " $Hmrtest.Arguments
			}
			line 3 "Recovery Action: " $Hmrtest.RecoveryAction
			line 3 "Test Description: " $Hmrtest.Description
			line 0 ""
		}
	}
	Else
	{
		line 3 "Health Monitoring & Recovery Tests could not be retrieved"
	}
}
Else
{
	line 3 "Health Monitoring & Recovery is not enabled"
}

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This article will focus only on XenApp 6.5. There are already articles for XenApp 5 and XenApp 6.0 available on my web site.

The prerequisites to follow along with this article are:

• A server, physical or virtual, running Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 with or without SP1
• Citrix XenApp 6.5 installed

The nice thing about XenApp 6.5 compared to both XenApp 5 and XenApp 6 is that all the basic Citrix PowerShell stuff is installed when you install XenApp 6.5. But we still need the XenApp 6.5 PowerShell Help and the Citrix Group Policy PowerShell Commands.

My initial goal was to see if I could walk down the nodes in the AppCenter (Figure 1) and see if I could document every nook and cranny.

Figure 1

Before we can start using PowerShell to document anything in the XenApp 6.5 farm we first need to install the SDK (for the Help file) and Citrix Group Policy commands. From your XenApp 6.5 server, go to http://tinyurl.com/XenApp65PSSDK (Figure 2).

Figure 2

Scroll down and click on Download XenApp 6.5 Powershell SDK — Version 6.5 (Figure 3). Do not exit your Internet browser at this time.

Figure 3

Extract the file to C:\XA65SDK. Click Start, Run, type in C:\XA65SDK\XASDK6.5.exe and press Enter (Figure 4).

Figure 4

Click Run (Figure 5).

Figure 5

Select I accept the terms of this license agreement and click Next (Figure 6).

Figure 6

Select Update the execution policy (to AllSigned) and Click Next (Figure 7).

Note: If you do not update the execution policy to AllSigned, the Citrix supplied XenApp PowerShell scripts will not load.

Figure 7

Click Install (Figure 8).

Figure 8

After a few seconds, the installation completes. Click Finish (Figure 9).

Figure 9

Back in your Internet browser; go to http://tinyurl.com/XenApp6PSPolicies (Figure 10).

Figure 10

Scroll down and click on Citrix.GroupPolicy.Commands.psm1 (Figure 11).

Figure 11

Save the file in two different places:

C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Modules, in a new folder named Citrix.GroupPolicy.Commands (Figure 12)

C:\Windows\SysWOW64\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Modules, in a new folder named Citrix.GroupPolicy.Commands (Figure 13)

Figure 12

Figure 13

You can now close your Internet browser.

Click Start, Administrative Tools, Windows PowerShell Modules.

To prepare for processing the Citrix farm policies, type in import-module Citrix.GroupPolicy.Commands and press Enter.

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