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  • Learning the Basics of VMware Horizon 7.12 – Part 4 – ControlUp and IGEL Overview

    June 4, 2020

    Blog, VMware

    [Updated 19-Sep-2021]

    I use ControlUp for monitoring what goes on in the lab, and I use two IGEL devices to test accessing published resources. I am part of the ControlUPExpert Program, which gives me an unlimited license for lab use. After a lot of begging, IGEL sent me a UD7 for my lab; you can also request a free UD Pocket when you request a hardware trial. You might be able to pick up a free UD Pocket at a community event that IGEL sponsors or at a major vendor conference (if held in-person again).

    As noted in the previous articles, I have dedicated servers for ControlUp and IGEL.

    I do not intend for this article to be a “how-to” on installing, licensing, and configuring either product. Both vendors have documents, knowledge articles, how-to guides, and videos freely available to show you around their products.

    https://www.controlup.com/resources/tutorials/

    https://support.controlup.com/hc/en-us/categories/200792529/

    ControlUp and IGEL now have an integration package available:

    Update:

    IGEL released firmware version 11.04.100 that has integration with ControlUp built into the firmware. There is no longer a need for the ControlUp custom partition to integrate with IGEL.

    https://www.igel.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/lxos_11.04.100.txt

    ### ControlUp

    * Integrated ControlUp Monitoring Tool for Citrix and Horizon sessions.

    https://www.controlup.com/controlup-igel/

    https://www.igel.com/about-us/press-releases/igel-and-controlup-partner-to-deliver-a-more-seamless-and-productive-end-user-computing-experience/

    https://support.controlup.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005133837-ControlUp-Integration-with-IGEL

    https://www.controlup.com/resources/controlup-igel-integration-download/

    Figure 1 looks at my ControlUp console.

    Figure 1
    Figure 1

    Here is the breakdown of what you see in the console:

    • Monitoring Status: By default, ControlUp only monitors and collects data while you’re logged in to the console and it’s running. A separate ControlUp Monitor signs in to your ControlUp organization, connects to your managed devices, runs 24/7, requires no user interaction, and performs continuous monitoring. My ControlUp Monitor is installed on the file server (LabFS), as it is the server with the lowest utilization in my lab. In a production environment, you should install the ControlUp Monitor on a dedicated server.
    • Webster’s Lab: The lab’s ControlUp Organization.
    • Hypervisors: ControlUp supports the major hypervisors from Citrix, Microsoft, Nutanix, and VMware.
      • Infrastructure Pool: The lab’s XenServer 8.1 pool holds the infrastructure servers listed in the previous articles.
      • vCenter 6.7 U3: The VMware cluster.
    • Linux Data Collectors: A recent addition to the ControlUp technology family. Allows the monitoring of some Linux distributions and some Linux-powered devices.
      • labaddomain.com: I am testing a Linux data collector for Synology NAS devices.
      • IGEL: The new ControlUp/IGEL integration pack mentioned above.
    • Horizon: Where I will place the Horizon-related computers during this article series.
    • IGEL Devices: The lab’s UD7 and UD Pocket devices have the ControlUp custom partition (Integration Pack) mentioned above.
    • Infrastructure Servers: The lab’s Microsoft infrastructure servers.
    • Old Crap: An old XenApp 6.5/Provisioning Services 6.1 server. I keep it around because it takes so long to update a clean Windows Server 2008 R2 VM.
    • Parallels: I am working on a documentation script for Parallels Remote Application Server. These are the servers for that script.
    • Synology: The lab’s Synology 1817 and 1817+ devices are used for all kinds of things and used as Guinea Pigs for the new Linux Data Collector.

    IGEL is a software company that makes it easy to manage endpoints, endpoint security, and endpoint optimizations. The first thing you should learn about IGEL is they have a wonderful community that you should join. The community has put together a Step-by-Step Getting Started Guide.

    Figure 2 shows my UMS Console. I am color blind to Green/Grey, so I switched to the Smart Contrast color scheme.

    Figure 2
    Figure 2

    If you read the community’s Step-by-Step Guide, I used all installation defaults and followed their recommendations for folder structure.

    IGEL and Thin Client Computing supplied me with full Workspace Edition and Enterprise Management Licenses along with technical support.

    Profiles/OS11/Device Settings/ControlUp: Settings for the ControlUp/IGEL Custom Partition/Integration Pack, as shown in Figures 3 through 5.

    Figure 3
    Figure 3
    Figure 4
    Figure 4
    Figure 5
    Figure 5

    What I would love to see in a firmware update for IGEL is ControlUp’s software included. That way, there is no custom partition required for integration.

    Profiles/OS11/Sessions: Will contain the session configuration for Horizon 7.12. I cover that process in detail in another article.

    Devices/Lab: Contains the UD7 and the UD Pocket. Both devices have the same configuration, as shown in Figure 6.

    Figure 6
    Figure 6

    In Figure 6, the password configured for the Administrator is the password for the root account. The root account and this password are needed to configure the ControlUp and IGEL Integration pack credentials. ControlUp requires SSH access into the device. You can also use PuTTY to SSH into the device for troubleshooting, Figure 7.

    Figure 7
    Figure 7

    For User Account for Remote Access, the password entered is for shadowing, Figures 8 through 10.

    Figure 8
    Figure 8
    Figure 9
    Figure 9
    Figure 10
    Figure 10

    That is a quick look at the ControlUp and IGEL configurations in the lab.

    Up next (finally): The Horizon Connection Server







    About Carl Webster

    Carl Webster is an independent consultant specializing in Citrix, Active Directory, and technical documentation. Carl (aka “Webster”) serves the broader Citrix community by writing articles (see CarlWebster.com) and by being the most active person in the Citrix Zone on Experts Exchange. Webster has a long history in the IT industry beginning with mainframes in 1977, PCs and application development in 1986, and network engineering in 2001. He has worked with Citrix products since 1990 with the premiere of their first product – the MULTIUSER OS/2.

    View all posts by Carl Webster →

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