resource manager to edgesight migration - v2 0

EdgeSight 4.5 for Citrix XenApp® Environments: Transitioning from Resource Manager

Justin Venezia Principal Consultant Worldwide Consulting Solutions

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Table of Contents Overview ................................................................................................1

Executive Summary........................................................................................................... 1 Citrix XenApp Monitoring Tools - Overview & Terminology .................................................... 2 EdgeSight for XenApp - Overview & Terminology................................................................. 4

Features and Functionality .....................................................................5 Feature Comparison .......................................................................................................... 5 EdgeSight Benefits over Resource Manager ......................................................................... 8

EdgeSight – Planning Considerations...................................................11 EdgeSight Architecture Considerations ...............................................................................11 Alerting (Notification) & Metrics Considerations...................................................................13 Reporting Considerations ..................................................................................................16 EdgeSight Agent Considerations ........................................................................................19

Transition Strategy & Key Points..........................................................21 EdgeSight Analysis and Design..........................................................................................21 EdgeSight Build/Test & Rollout..........................................................................................22 Resource Manager Considerations .....................................................................................22

Reference Information .........................................................................24

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Overview

Executive Summary Many customers who use Citrix XenApp (formerly known as Citrix Presentation Server) have leveraged Resource Manager for performance metrics and reporting on the health of their Citrix XenApp environments. The capability of measuring end-user experience and having visibility into an application’s availability, performance and functionality on Citrix XenApp is becoming increasingly important. EdgeSight for XenApp enhances Resource Manager’s capabilities by capturing, aggregating and reporting on end-user and application experience all in a single, easy-to-use interface. The end result is the ability to monitor and measure the successful delivery of an application to any user, over any network, to any device.

This article will provide a high-level overview on how to successfully transition your Citrix management architecture from Resource Manager to EdgeSight 4.5 for XenApp. The key areas of focus include:

• Overview of Resource Manager & EdgeSight Architecture • Feature Comparison & EdgeSight Benefits • EdgeSight Planning Considerations • Transition Strategy and Key Points

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Citrix XenApp Monitoring Tools - Overview & Terminology The management components of Citrix XenApp provide monitoring of resources on computers running Citrix XenApp. The suite of tools enables administrators to collect, display, store, and analyze data about system performance, application or process use, and user activity and are available in the Enterprise or Platinum versions of Citrix XenApp and are installed by default. These tools include:

• Resource Manager - configured in the Presentation Server Console, which tracks and stores information about a wide variety of system and network processes and events. These are known as metrics. If the value of a metric falls outside normal limits, Resource Manager can inform you. When installed, it automatically creates a set of default metrics and assigns limits to define the normal operation of each one.

• Dashboard – a Citrix snap-in to the Access Management Console, which gives you displays of metric data in tabular and graph formats to help you monitor server performance and help diagnose server issues. Other dashboard capabilities include:

o Viewing real-time data such as performance data and Resource Manager metrics. o Viewing historical data such as event logs and Resource Manager server logs. o Viewing metric graphs as a function of time. Graphs update every 15 seconds. To get

detailed information, you can zoom in and out of the graphs, and create a “snapshot” report of metric values for any time on the graph.

• Report Center - a Citrix snap-in to the Access Management Console that enables you to analyze

and report on various aspects of your deployment using records of system activity. You can create reports about current activities or past activities based on the Resource Manager summary database.

The following diagram represents a typical server farm using the Resource Manager summary database. It shows the flow of both server-specific and farm-wide summary data from the farm servers to the summary database through the Database Connection Server.

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Each server with Resource Manager installed has a Microsoft Jet Access database in which it stores metric values and application information for the last 96 hours. It writes data to the Resource Manager summary database and is accessed when you create real-time graphs, displaying Server Snapshot reports, and running reports on a specific server. The IMA service reads and writes to the database periodically. The local Resource Manager database is compacted every day automatically, and its size is managed automatically. Each server running Resource Manager creates a summarized version of its daily activity. This information is known as summary data. There are various types of summary data:

• Server-specific performance metrics • Server-specific session information • Farm-wide application metrics • Farm-wide server events (for example, server-down) • Alert metrics

Farm-wide metric and server event information is generated as summary data by the Farm Metric Server in addition to its own server-specific information and metrics. Farm-wide metrics are routed from servers to the Farm Metric Server by means of each zone data collector. Summary data is kept in temporary summary files that are stored locally on each server in a database-compatible format. Each hour, Resource Manager adds the summary data gathered over the previous hour to the local summary file. If configured, on a daily basis, the summary data held by each server in the server farm is forwarded to the Database Connection Server. The Database Connection Server then updates the Resource Manager summary database. After the summary database is updated, local summary files are overwritten with new data.

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EdgeSight for XenApp - Overview & Terminology

Citrix EdgeSight for XenApp is an end-to-end performance management solution for Citrix XenApp servers. It monitors user sessions and server performance in real time, allowing you to quickly analyze, resolve, and proactively prevent problems. You can also use the information collected and displayed by Citrix EdgeSight for XenApp to proactively and reactively address system management problems and to make effective migration and upgrade decisions. The main components are the agents, the server, and an administration and reporting console. In addition, EdgeSight requires SQL Server Reporting Services for the generation of reports, and Citrix License Server for Windows 4.5 for software licensing management. The following figure shows Citrix EdgeSight components in relation to one another.

The components of EdgeSight perform the following functions:

• Citrix EdgeSight for XenApp Agent—Software that runs on Citrix XenApp servers and records information about user sessions, client and server performance, application usage, and network connections. Data is collected, correlated, and stored in a local database and uploaded to Citrix EdgeSight Server on a daily basis.

• Citrix EdgeSight Server—Allows IT users to display performance data on Citrix XenApp servers in the enterprise. Users can also configure real-time alerts for notification of critical system events. The following components make up Citrix EdgeSight Server:

o Database Server—Stores the data uploaded from end user systems. o Web Server—Displays performance and availability information in a wide range of

standard reports through the Citrix EdgeSight Server Console. o Citrix EdgeSight Server Console— This web-based console allows users to display

reports and drill down into data to isolate and resolve problems. Users can display data directly from an agent database for use in problem resolution. The console can be run from any workstation using a supported browser.

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Features and Functionality

Feature Comparison The following matrix itemizes key features available in EdgeSight for XenApp and Resource Manager:

Feature EdgeSight for XenApp

Resource Manager

Monitored Performance Metrics Session Counts X X Process List X X Process Usage X X Process Runtime X X Process Errors X Process Faults X Process Hangs X CPU User Time X X CPU Privilege Time X X Total Processor Time X X Thread Count X Thread Queue Length X % Disk Usage X X Data I/O Bytes/Sec X Data Operations/Sec X Process Handle Count X Pages/Sec X X Available Bytes X X Virtual Bytes X X Working Set X X Private Bytes X X Hardware & Software Inventory X X Network Delay to Backend Servers X Network Volume to Backend Servers X Network RTT to Backend Servers X Network Trace Route X Machine Reboots X New Processes X Data Store Connection Failure X X

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Resource Manager

Alerting, Notification & Response SMTP Support X X SNMP Support X X SMS Support X Third-party monitoring systems integration X X Run script/action based on event X Windows NT Event Log integration X Applying specific alerts to groups of servers X X Monitoring of Network Ports X Customized Counter Integration X X Reporting Custom Report Capabilities X Report Scheduling X Report Exporting Formats PDF X Excel X Text X CSV X X HTML X X Automated Report Distribution via Subscription Service X Ability to Modify Canned/Standard Reports X Gathering Reporting on Asset History (Hardware/Software) X X Third-party reporting tools integration X X SQL Reporting Services tool for report creation X Centralized location for all reporting needs X X Billing Create Billing Reports based on Application or Resource usage Custom Report X Administration & Security Active Directory Integration X X Security Administrator Roles X X Report Viewer Roles X X Custom Roles X X

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Resource Manager

Agent Configuration Customize Data Retention Times on each agent X Customize Summary Data Upload Time X Customize Summary Data Upload Interval X Customize Data Collection Times X X Customize Specific Worker Processes X XenApp Integration XenApp User-to-Session correlation X Multiple Farm Support X User Interface Granular ability to search real-time and historical data X X Device filtering based on departments, groups, operating systems, etc. X X SQL View capabilities for data archival and extraction X Correlation of data (network, client, server, etc.) X X Database Support SQL Server 2005 (Standard or Enterprise) X X Oracle X Session Login Experience Metrics Login Scripts X Authentication X Group Policy X Profiles X ICA Virtual Channel (Printer & Drive Mapping) X ICA Channel Round Trip Time X

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EdgeSight Benefits over Resource Manager

• Performance Alerts & Application Fault Management - Performance threshold alerts are easily configurable and notify support personnel ahead of an impending performance problem. EdgeSight for XenApp includes application crashes or hangs, as well as network, host and client unavailability and responsiveness.

Figure 1 – Sample Application Crash Report

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• Network Connection Data - EdgeSight for XenApp monitors back-end connections between the Citrix server and application and/or database servers. Measurements include network latency, delay and volume per user-session. Understanding network and back-end server performance is critical to pinpointing the true source of performance problems.

Figure 2- Sample Report on Server, Network and Client Delays

• User-to-Server Identification - EdgeSight for XenApp automatically locates all sessions for a given user eliminating guesswork and allowing support to quickly dig into reported problems and diagnose root-cause.

• User Session Data and Analysis - Citrix EdgeSight for XenApp captures session-level

performance metrics, providing a detailed understanding of application performance as experienced by the end-user and enabling faster problem identification and resolution. This includes metrics around an end-user’s login experience.

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Figure 3 – Sample of end-user startup/login metrics

• Flexible Reporting - EdgeSight for XenApp aggregates performance data in an easy-to-access

format. Reports are customizable and flexible allowing users to edit based on business requirements, export and save in multiple formats (Excel, PDF, etc.) and push out to relevant constituents via subscription services.

• Management Console & Service Desk Application Support - EdgeSight for XenApp

complements industry standard systems management consoles and service desk applications, such as HP OpenView, IBM Tivoli Event Console, Microsoft Systems Center Operations Manager 2007, BMC Magic and Remedy Service Desk.

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EdgeSight – Planning Considerations Citrix EdgeSight can be deployed in a single or multiple server architecture. Generally, single server configuration is used for proof of concepts and small environments. Multi-server deployment is typically used for larger deployments to provide a certain level of fault tolerance and scalability. Regardless of the environment size, there are some important points to consider when planning and deploying EdgeSight for XenApp.

EdgeSight Architecture Considerations

EdgeSight Server Database – EdgeSight 4.5 for XenApp only supports Microsoft SQL 2005 Standard or Enterprise editions. Microsoft SQL 2000 Server, SQL Server Express, MSDE, Microsoft Access or Oracle database architectures are not supported.

Planning and preparation around database storage requirements and maintenance procedures are essential to ensuring the right set of data can be retrieved quickly and efficiently. Influencing factors around database sizing and grooming include:

• What data to I need to keep (current and archive)?

• How long is historical data retained?

• What applications will I be monitoring/measuring?

• How many endpoints and/or servers are monitored/measured?

• How long do I want to keep alerts and network performance statistics?

• Are there regulatory or other factors driving data retention requirements?

As each environment is unique in its size, complexity and monitoring methodology, performing a proof of concept with EdgeSight 4.5 for XenApp helps establish a baseline database size based on a company’s defined requirements. Evaluating these results, in conjunction with the number of monitored nodes, monitoring requirements, and planned/unplanned growth will assist in determining the appropriate amount of space required by the EdgeSight database.

Depending on the number of end-user systems, applications, and network activity, databases can grow quickly without proper management. In addition to standard database maintenance guidelines for Microsoft SQL Server, EdgeSight addresses growing databases with database grooming features and data archiving techniques:

• Grooming is the process of removing older data from a database at regular intervals to make

room for new data. Grooming is critical for maintaining efficient database operation. An effective grooming schedule controls database size and helps ensure acceptable performance while retaining sufficient data for business operations. Additional information on database grooming in EdgeSight is available in the EdgeSight 4.5 Administrator’s Guide (page 62) and http://support.citrix.com/article/ctx111021 on how to properly configure and manage this feature.

• Archiving is housing data required for long-term use, such as trend analysis, compliance documentation, and capacity planning. Data should be warehoused in preference to relaxing the grooming configuration. Archiving ensures that required data is available for long-term reporting without compromising the performance of Citrix EdgeSight in day-to-day operations. Additional information on data warehousing and archiving concepts with EdgeSight 4.5 can be found at http://support.citrix.com/article/ctx111016, http://support.citrix.com/article/ctx111019 and in the EdgeSight User’s Guide (Page 53).

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Web Server – Typical configurations include the EdgeSight Web Server to be placed on a secure, internal network. However, there may be instances where agent-to-server communication and/or access to the EdgeSight console needs be secured. EdgeSight offers support for securing the console and agent-to-server communication using industry-standard SSL technology. Refer to page 49 in the EdgeSight 4.5 Administrator’s Guide for additional information.

High Availability – The EdgeSight database server can implement fault tolerance based on SQL Server fault tolerance and Microsoft best practices. The EdgeSight database retains historical data collected by agents and does not retain session data as some other Citrix products (such as Advanced Access Control). For more information on fault-tolerant options with Microsoft SQL Server, please refer to the Microsoft SQL 2005 Server Planning and Architecture Site on MSDN at http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/sqlserver/bb671446.aspx.

The data retention architecture used by the EdgeSight Agent (Endpoint Agents retain uploaded data for three days, retain non-uploaded data for 29 days, and upload collected data from Monday through Friday 7am to 7pm by default) removes the need to have a fault tolerant system for the EdgeSight Web server. If the EdgeSight Web server fails, the agents will continue to collect and retain data up to the configured maximum number of days, giving the EdgeSight administrators time to resolve the Web server issues or rebuild a new server.

Third-Party Monitoring Integration – EdgeSight 4.5 integrates with several third-party monitoring tools. Enabling an alert notification on the EdgeSight server instructs the associated agents to send that alert in real-time to the server using a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) trap to the third-party monitoring console. If there are firewalls between third-party monitoring consoles and the EdgeSight web server, make sure the ports are open for this traffic to pass. In addition, make sure the monitoring system permits receiving SNMP traps from the EdgeSight web server. Refer to page 50 in the EdgeSight Administrator’s Guide on how to change the port used for SNMP.

EdgeSight Server Settings – EdgeSight allows logical groupings of endpoints by companies, departments and/or custom groups. Other functions, such as reporting, alerting, endpoint configuration, client installation information and device filtering are dependent upon organizing endpoints appropriately. Having these server-side settings planned and tested thoroughly will ensure agents are registered appropriately and provide accurate alerting and reporting functionality. These options can be configured under Server Status Configuration Company and Company Settings Server Device Management.

EdgeSight can also convert a process name (iexplore.exe) into a legible application name (Internet Explorer). In some cases, custom or other third party applications may not report this information accordingly. You can register or modify application information under Company Settings Server

Categories to have an application properly recognized.

Server-side database grooming and job scheduling can also be adjusted in the server configuration section of the EdgeSight console. For this and other server-setting related information, refer to the EdgeSight for XenApp Introduction and Administration guides. Licensing – Citrix License Server for Windows 4.5 or higher is used to supply licenses authorizing EdgeSight Agents to upload data to an EdgeSight Server. The license server can be anywhere on the network, as long as it can be reached from the EdgeSight Web server and by EdgeSight for XenApp agents. EdgeSight for Endpoints is NOT included in the Citrix XenApp Platinum license – only EdgeSight for XenApp. By default, EdgeSight XenApp agents will contact the licensing server issuing licenses for XenApp connections. This configuration will work if the licensing server is version 4.5 and the EdgeSight for XenApp or Citrix XenApp Platinum Edition license is loaded on this server. If the EdgeSight for XenApp/Platinum license is on a different licensing server, the agents will need to be configured to obtain licenses from the alternate licensing server. Refer to the EdgeSight Administrator’s Guide

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(page 35) on how to configure the EdgeSight for XenApp agent to obtain a license from a specific licensing server.

Firewalls – Depending on network topology or security requirements, firewalls may potentially separate EdgeSight agents from the EdgeSight web server and devices that will be used to administer EdgeSight. Additionally, the EdgeSight Web Server may also be separated from the database server hosting the EdgeSight database. The following table will identify the ports and services required for EdgeSight agent, web server and database communications:

EdgeSight 4.5 Network Port Requirements

Port Source Destination Usage 80 or 443

Endpoints/ XenApp Servers

EdgeSight Web Server Used to upload performance and usage data from the agents to the EdgeSight Server at configured intervals

27000 Endpoints/ XenApp Servers

Citrix Licensing Server Allows agents to communicate with Citrix Licensing server hosting EdgeSight Licenses. If there is a firewall between EdgeSight agents and the licensing server, refer to http://support.citrix.com/article/ctx108658 for additional configuration information.

161 (UDP)

EdgeSight Web Server

Third-Party Monitoring System

Allows SNMP traps generated by EdgeSight to be sent to other third-party monitoring solutions.

1433 EdgeSight Web Server

EdgeSight SQL Server Default SQL port – used to upload data from the Web Server to the SQL Server for storage if the components are on different physical servers

9035 EdgeSight Console for Remote Reporting

Endpoints/XenApp Servers

Used for remote operations, including viewing real-time reports using Excel

Citrix Clients – EdgeSight for XenApp can provide granular data around session experience. This data is collected through the XenApp server and Citrix ICA Client and includes ICA round trip times, client/server startup times, and network bandwidth usage. In order to collect these valuable metrics, the following items must be present in the Citrix XenApp environment:

o EdgeSight for Presentation Server 4.5 (or later) Agent

o Citrix Presentation Server 4.5 Enterprise or Platinum Versions

o ICA Client version 10.x or higher

Alerting (Notification) & Metrics Considerations

Citrix EdgeSight agents generate real-time alerts when they detect defined anomalies or errors on monitored systems. EdgeSight 4.5 for XenApp enhances Resource Manager with additional capabilities such as detailed process monitoring, network port monitoring and event log monitoring. Since each customer’s environment and monitoring methodology is different, it is important to properly plan, test and tune/optimize alerting and metrics for your organization. Monitoring key elements (network communications, critical Citrix processes, printing, application processes, login/access, etc.) will provide network administrators with the right data to proactively address or troubleshoot problems.

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Here are some recommended EdgeSight real-time alerts (and their Resource Manager counterparts, if applicable) that are beneficial in monitoring the overall health of the Citrix XenApp environment:

Monitored Item Resource Manager Equivalent Category Monitoring Specifics

Citrix Critical Processes • IMA Service

(IMASRV.EXE) • XTE Service

(XTE.EXE) • Health Monitoring

and Recovery (HCSERVICE.EXE)

• Terminal Services (TERMSRV.EXE)

• SMA Services (SMASERVICE.EXE)

• Citrix Service Manager (IMAADVANCESERV.EXE)

Cannot be monitored in RM Infrastructure Health

• High application resource usage - Processes consuming a high amount of CPU or memory could impact the overall performance of the server and have a negative impact on the end user experience. • Process fault - The process configured in the alert rule has faulted due to an unhandled exception within the process. It can give a total picture of what was occurring on the server when the fault occurred without expending time and resources trying to reproduce the problem. • Thrashing application - Thread queue length is invaluable in determining applications that are bottlenecked on a system as the parameter indicates the number of CPU work items currently waiting for the threads of the application to process them.

Network Communications Monitoring

• IMA (Port 2512) • License Server

(Port 27000) • XML Service (Port

80 • Session Reliability

(Port 2598) • Data Store

(Default ports based on type of Database Used)

Data Store Communication Failure, License Server Connection Failure – others cannot be monitored in RM

Network Communications

• Network socket error - an attempt at making a connection from a particular port returns an error. By assigning a value to the server port as well as a WinSock error code, administrators will be notified when a connection has been refused (10061), has timed out (10060), or the host was unreachable (10065). A complete list of error codes can be found at http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-US/library/ms740668.aspx. • Network connection performance exceeded SLA - Slow connections from these ports can also be tracked by setting values for either the Round trip time (ms) or Transaction delay (ms) values if a connection is taking longer than expected..

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Printing Services Windows Print Service (spoolsrv.exe) Citrix Print Manager Service (Cpsvc.exe)

Cannot be monitored in RM Printing Services

• Generic NT event log alert definition - Within the Application Event Log, the print service will write an event with IDs between 1103 and 1109 if the printer cannot be auto-created. These alerts detail the circumstances of the event, be it due to bad drivers, incompatibility, or denied access. In addition, event ID 1113 is written when a network printer cannot be auto-created. • Process fault - This alert notifies administrators when the process configured in the alert rule has faulted. • High application resource usage - Processes consuming a high amount of CPU or memory could impact the overall Performance of the server and have a negative impact on the end user experience.

Login/Access • Windows Logon

Service (winlogon.exe)

• Terminal Server Service (termsrv.exe)

• Citrix License Server Service (lmgrd.exe, citrix.exe)

Cannot be monitored in RM Login/Access • Generic NT event log alert definition - Within the Application Event Log, Terminal Server writes an event with an ID of 1003 or 1004 if valid licenses cannot be found. In addition, event ID 9018 is written as a MetaFrame event if the XenApp server cannot contact the license server. • High application resource usage - Processes consuming a high amount of CPU or memory could impact the overall performance of the server and have a negative impact on the end user experience.

System Disk Bottleneck Alert or Generic System Performance Alert

Logical Disk – % Disk Time Infrastructure Health

Monitors the percent of time that the logical disk drive is busy

Run Disk Usage Performance Report and configure Worker Process with desired collection interval

Logical Disk – % Free Space Infrastructure Health

Monitors free disk space

Generic PS Performance Alert

Memory – Available Bytes Infrastructure Health

Informs you if too much memory is being used and what amount of memory is available/unused.

Generic PS Performance Alert

Paging File – %Usage Infrastructure Health

Monitors the % of the paging file that is in use.

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Generic System Performance Alert

Processor – %Interrupt Time Infrastructure Health

The processor is spending a large amount of time responding to input and output rather than user processing. A large value for interrupt time usually indicates a hardware problem or a very busy server.

System Slowdown Alert or Generic System Performance Alert

Processor – %Processor Time Infrastructure Health

A high processor time for a long period of time indicates that the processor is the bottleneck of the server, too many users are logged on, or there is a rogue user or process

Network Connection Performance Exceeded SLA

Network Interface – Bytes Total/sec

Infrastructure Health

Monitors the amount of network activity the server is experiencing

System Thrashing Alert or Generic System Performance Alert

System – Context Switches/sec Infrastructure Health

A large number of threads and/or processes are competing for processor time.

Active Session Count High Alert

Terminal Services – Active Sessions


Monitors number of sessions currently connected and actively running apps

Excessive Disconnected Sessions Alert

Terminal Services – Inactive Sessions


Monitors number of sessions in which no activity detected

Reporting Considerations

Custom Reporting - Before modifying a report, ensure that there are no existing reports that meet your business needs which will help avoid the creation of duplicate reports. Also, consider modifying an existing report before creating a custom report. By modifying an existing report definition (RDL) file instead of creating a new one, you can save time and effort while creating custom reports with a consistent presentation. If you need to create a custom report, use the Report Designer for SQL 2005 Reporting Services, following these high-level guidelines: • Is this a repeatable business need? • Define reporting requirements • Create the report using the Reporting Services Report Designer • Upload the new report definition file to the report server • Verify that the new report is displayed correctly and shows the intended data

Subscriptions - A subscription is a standing request to distribute a report in a selected format at specified times. Report distribution (subscription type) is done by email or by transfer of a file to a file share. A subscription is a useful method of distributing targeted data to people in your organization without having to give them access to the EdgeSight Server Console. Detailed procedures on creating subscriptions can be found in the “Working with Reports” section of the online help.

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Reporting from Multiple EdgeSight Severs – For those environments that may require multiple EdgeSight data sources, there may be a need to generate reports using data from multiple Citrix EdgeSight databases. EdgeSight’s SQL-based architecture allows for linking servers through standard SQL technology. For additional information on this topic, refer to the EdgeSight Administrator’s Guide (Page 32).

Valuable Reports - Here are some commonly used reports from EdgeSight 4.5 and its Resource Manager/Report Center equivalent (if applicable) that can provide network administrators with important system-related information and assist in troubleshooting potential problems. In addition to these reports, EdgeSight provides almost three hundred others that can help administrators truly understand the end-user experience. Refer to http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX116455 for additional information on EdgeSight reports.

Report Name (EdgeSight)

Report Name (Resource Manager or Report Center)

Category Description

Custom Report Application Availability Report

Application Utilization

Details the percentage of time that published applications (but not published content or streamed applications) were available.

Usage for a Process by Day or Server

Environment Usage Report, Application Usage Report


Allows the administrator to select an application and see how many servers it is running on, which users are running it, and for how long.

Most Used Processes for a Group

Environment Usage Report, Application Usage Report


Shows the administrator which applications are being used the most across any group of Citrix servers. Departments and/or Groups can be created so that the data can be displayed for the entire farm, for a silo of application servers or for any other group of servers.

CPU Summary CPU Utilization Management Report, Server CPU Utilization Report

Capacity Planning Gives the administrator a complete picture of the CPU utilization by class of server across any group of Citrix servers. Departments and/or Groups can be created so that the data can be displayed for the entire farm, for a silo of application servers or for any other group of servers.

Memory Summary Server Memory Utilization Report

Capacity Planning Gives the administrator a complete picture of the memory utilization by class of server across any group of Citrix servers. Departments and/or Groups can be created so that the data can be displayed for the entire farm, for a silo of application servers or for any other group of servers.

Performance Summary for a Transaction

Not available in RM Web Application Health

Allows the administrator to select a specific host and view the average network delay, volume, round trip time and transaction or web errors that have occurred over a specified time frame. Expanding any date within the display table will show the individual transactions within the application.

Web Errors for a Transaction by Day

Not available in RM Web Application Health

Allows the administrator to select a specific host and view the transaction or web errors that have occurred over a specified time frame. Expanding any date within the display table will show the individual transactions within the application.

Network Summary for a Process

Not available in RM Client/Server Application Health

Allows the administrator to select a specific application and view the average network delay, volume, round trip time and transaction or web errors that have occurred over a specified time frame.

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Performance Summary for a Process


Allows the administrator to select a specific application and view the average system resources that are being utilized over a specified time frame.

Stability Summary for a Process


Allows the administrator to select a specific application and view the amount of errors, crashes and not responding alerts that have occurred over a specified time frame.

Startup Time Detail for a User by Session

Not available in RM ICA Logon Times Allows the administrator to select a particular user and view the startup time on both the client and the server for that session. Furthermore, the data is broken down into the individual pieces of the login process to help determine which part is taking the longest.

Longest Login Times for a Group by Device

Not available in RM ICA Logon Times Allows the administrator to see which servers have historically had the highest login times. Expanding any of the server names in the display table will detail the users contributing to that data

Presentation Server Summary Report

Server Performance Report. ICA Latency & Login Times not available in RM.

Citrix Farm Health & Capacity Planning

Administrators can visualize ICA Latency, Login Times, Session Counts and System Utilization across the entire farm or for a subset of users, servers or locations. From this report, administrators can drill into any peaks of the dataset to determine which users or servers were contributing to the data. Departments and/or Groups can be created so that the data can be displayed for the entire farm, for a silo of application servers or for any other group of servers.

Process Faults for a Process by Day

Not available in RM Application Stability Allows the administrator select a particular process and view each crash that has occurred over a specified time frame. Expanding any of the dates where there are crashes will display the details surrounding the event. Clicking on the info button will open a dialogue box where the crash files collected can be downloaded.

Process Errors by Day

Not available in RM Application Stability Lets the administrator select a particular process and view each error that has occurred over a specified time frame. Expanding any of the dates where there are errors will display the details surrounding the event, including the exact error message.

Most Process Faults for a Group by Process

Not available in RM Application Stability Shows the administrator which applications have crashed the most in their environment. Expanding any of the applications in the display table will detail additional information surrounding the event. Clicking on the info button will open a dialogue box where the crash files collected can be downloaded.

Most Process Errors for a Group by Process

Not available in RM Application Stability Shows the administrator which applications have had the most errors in their environment. Expanding any of the applications in the display table will detail additional information surrounding the event, including the exact error message.

Client Type for a Device by Day

Client Type Report Informational Shows the different types of clients connecting to the selected servers.

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Alerts for a Group by Alert Name, Device, Hour, Process, Type or User

Alerts Report Citrix Farm Health Shows the distribution of alerts in a given time frame.

Custom Report Disconnected Session Report

Citrix Farm Health Shows the number of disconnected sessions in a given time frame.

Alert for a Group by Type (Reboot) – Must also configure Device Reboot Alert

Server Reboot Report

Citrix Farm Health Servers that have rebooted (expected and unexpected) in a specified time period.

Device Summary, or under Real-Time -> Remote -> Summary

Server Snapshot Report


Produces a snapshot of the selected server at the specified time, displaying running processes and the metrics being captured at that time.

Session Summary for a Device by Day

Session Statistics Report


Displays the servers with the highest number of concurrent sessions and graphs the number of sessions over time.

EdgeSight Agent Considerations

Performance - Configuration settings such as defining custom counters, configuring a significant number of alerts, data retention and worker schedules have direct impact on the CPU, RAM, hard-disk space and network utilization of the endpoint. Plan, test and implement the required counters, alerts and agent configuration settings in accordance with your company’s monitoring requirements and methodology.

Agent Database - The Agent also uses a local database to store real-time information. At specified intervals, the data is uploaded to the EdgeSight server. The agent data retention parameters are defined in the agent configuration. Data is retained in the agent database according to the following configuration values:

• Days To Keep In DB—The number of days that data is retained in an agent database that

has been uploaded to the server. After this number of days has elapsed, data that has been uploaded is groomed from the agent database. The default value of 3 days guarantees a week of data available on a device which uploads regularly.

• Max Days To Keep In DB—The number of days that data is retained in an agent database that has not been uploaded to the server. After this number of days has elapsed, data is groomed from the agent database whether or not it has been uploaded to the server. The default value of 29 days helps ensure that devices which have been disconnected

In most cases, the default settings on retaining data are sufficient. Increasing the data retention parameters of the agent database may require more aggressive database maintenance and cause additional system resource consumption. Changes to the agent database should be planned and tested in an isolated environment prior to deploying them into production.

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Agent Security Configuration – In EdgeSight 4.5, there are security mechanisms that are built into the agent to prevent unauthorized access to EdgeSight data. By default, members of the local administrators group can access the EdgeSight agent remotely. Additional options include specifying a group authorized to access the agent or disabling remote security completely. It is recommended that these settings be planned and tested prior to the agent deployment. Additional information on this setting and how to customize agent settings during deployment can be found at:

• Agent Remote Security: http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX111046

• Customizing Agent Settings for Deployment: EdgeSight Installation Guide (Page 30)

Agent Configurations – There are two major configuration components of the EdgeSight agent that have direct impact on agent functionality and performance.

Agent Configurations – Agent Configuration settings pertain to agent functionality, including database grooming/retention, data collection start/stop times, licensing server configurations, etc. By default, the agents check in for updated configuration information at 6:30 each day. Worker Configurations - Workers are tasks that run on EdgeSight Agents which focus specifically on when to schedule and execute tasks around gathering and uploading information, configuration checks, database maintenance, drive space calculations and fault report maintenance. Worker configurations are also executed based on certain systems conditions.

In most cases, creating a custom agent or worker configuration is not necessary. You should use the default configuration at first and adjust it over time based on user requirements and system performance. Changes to the agent or worker configurations/scheduling should be planned and tested in an isolated environment prior to deploying them into production. If you create a customized agent or worker configuration, you must explicitly assign the configuration to a department in order to override the default configurations.

For more information on Agent and Worker Configurations, refer to the EdgeSight Administrator’s Guide (Pages 35 through 43) or http://support.citrix.com/article/ctx112491 in the Citrix Knowledge Center.

Client-Side Firewalls - If a firewall is installed on the machine running the EdgeSight agent, it must allow inbound TCP communications to the server running the EdgeSight agent on port 9035. This is the port on which the agent listens for remote connections from the browser displaying the Citrix EdgeSight console.

Anti-Virus Settings - You must configure antivirus software running on your EdgeSight Server and all managed running an EdgeSight Agent to exclude specific processes and files. If these files and processes are not excluded, communications between the agents and the server may be disrupted. Refer to the EdgeSight Installation Guide (page 14) for a listing of files and required anti-virus software configurations. Refer to your anti-virus company’s documentation on how to apply the exclusions to the EdgeSight server(s) and agents.

Client Deployment – The EdgeSight agent can be automatically installed using Active Directory, Installation Manager or other third-party software that supports MSI file types. In larger environments that may organize agents by companies or departments, want to redirect agents to a specific EdgeSight web server, change default communication ports or installation points, configure agent security, etc. it’s best to configure installation packages with applicable settings prior to deployment. For detailed information on how to automate and configure and EdgeSight installation agent, refer to Page 30 in the EdgeSight Installation Guide.

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Transition Strategy & Key Points Based on the architectural and database differences between EdgeSight and Resource Manager, there is no technical path for migrating alerts, reports or summary/historical data. However, the following information, in conjunction with a sound project management methodology and the EdgeSight planning & considerations section of this document, can provide guidance for developing and successfully executing a transition to EdgeSight for XenApp.

EdgeSight Analysis and Design Some key points to consider when analyzing and designing your EdgeSight implementation are:

• Proof of Concept/Testing Environment – Consider testing EdgeSight as a proof of concept prior to designing any type of EdgeSight architecture. This will validate the functionality of EdgeSight against a company’s business and technical specifications around Citrix monitoring. Having a dedicated test environment will allow regression testing and validation of any change to an EdgeSight component prior to rolling it into production.

• Sizing the Environment – Administrators should plan an EdgeSight solution around the key points mentioned in the Planning and Considerations section of this document. The more Citrix administrators monitor and retain, the more overhead and resources you will need to ensure EdgeSight functions optimally.

• EdgeSight Consoles & Access Control – It is important to properly plan and secure your EdgeSight environment. Grant the required level access only to those who need it and plan for either Active Directory-integrated or stand-alone access control. Also, users will need to be educated on how to use the functions and features of the EdgeSight administration console. Finally, Resource Manager administrators may continue to utilize the Access Management Console for reporting for accessing historical data or accessing current Citrix resource information during the EdgeSight transition.

• Plan to Run “In Parallel” – If currently using Resource Manager, it is recommended to run your Resource Manager systems in parallel to implementing EdgeSight. This will provide monitoring continuity until the transition to EdgeSight is complete.

• Firewalls – Review the network port requirements and implement the required changes to any firewall that will sit between any of the EdgeSight components. This is one of the most common issues seen during EdgeSight implementations.

• Reporting – With over 300 canned reports, check to see if the required report already exists. If not, consider modifying an existing report (easy to do and less time consuming). For those who require custom reporting, it is recommended that the Report Designer for SQL Server 2005 be used for developing custom report templates. Information on database tables and views, see the Accessible SQL Views topics in the Citrix EdgeSight Server Online Help.

• Alerting & Monitoring – Plan, document and test all the required alerts and statistics that are require to be captured with EdgeSight. It is recommended that administrators establish “baseline” metrics around a system’s health and overall performance. After the baseline metrics are established, fine-tune the alerting and monitoring thresholds accordingly. Also, coordinate with your respective network monitoring teams if sending SMTP alerts or SNMP traps to other 3rd-party monitoring systems. Use departments to apply specific alerts required for a group of servers.

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EdgeSight Build/Test & Rollout Some key points to consider when deploying EdgeSight components are:

• Automated Agent Deployment – It is recommended that the agent software package contain all the required settings for an EdgeSight environment. In addition, leverage any software deployment tools (Installation Manager, SMS, etc) currently used in the environment for automated installation. These steps will reduce any manual efforts around configuration or installation of EdgeSight.

• Pilot Deployment – After testing the EdgeSight configurations in a controlled environment and the core EdgeSight components (Web and Database servers) are installed, deploy the agent to a controlled group of servers to validate the EdgeSight configurations and its impact on the XenApp environment. Also, this pilot deployment of the agent will provide a sampling of data that EdgeSight can gather, alert and report on. Administrators can then make any adjustments to EdgeSight configurations or deployment schedules to ensure a smooth and successful deployment.

• Controlled Agent Deployment –With the EdgeSight agent, develop a sensible rollout schedule and roll-back plan based on the support capacity of the IT staff and network environment. It is easier to deploy and manage 25 EdgeSight agents than it is 250 EdgeSight agents (especially if it’s required to execute a roll-back plan). Also, this approach reduces risk and overall customer impact in the event an issue arises.

• Baseline Performance and Fine-Tuning – As mentioned earlier, establish baseline performance metrics on the systems and adjust/fine-tune the EdgeSight alerting and monitoring accordingly. This process should be repeated regularly, especially if environmental factors (i.e. user load increase/decrease, new applications, new hardware, etc.) are changing.

• Knowledge Transfer – It is recommended that an organization develop documentation and policies/procedures around administering and maintaining the EdgeSight agent, web server and database components. Keeping the monitoring system healthy will allow organizations to keep their XenApp environment healthy and scalable.

Resource Manager Considerations Some key Resource Manager points to consider when planning the transition from Resource Manager to EdgeSight are:

• Accessing Historical Summary Database Information – Data cannot be migrated from Resource Manager to EdgeSight because of the differences in the database architectures. Once the EdgeSight environment is planned, tested and deployed, it is recommended that the summary database be disabled from collecting any additional data and used for historical reference only.

• Alerts - It is recommended that alerts and thresholds be documented and translated to

EdgeSight-alerting equivalents. Most of the common and recommended alerts in EdgeSight and their Resource Manager counterparts (if applicable) are noted in the Alerting and Metrics Consideration section of this document. Alerts and thresholds cannot be migrated from Resource Manager to EdgeSight. If you are currently using Monitoring Profiles in Resource Manager, consider grouping alerts and metrics by department in EdgeSight.

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• Reporting – Also included in the Reporting Considerations section is a matrix of recommended reports available in EdgeSight and a Resource Manager equivalent, if applicable. Custom reports developed for Resource Manager cannot be used against an EdgeSight database because of the difference in database architecture. Administrators should check the 300 out-of-the-box reports in EdgeSight before modifying or creating reports.

• Security – Resource Manager security was primarily controlled through the Presentation

Server Console, or through SQL/Microsoft Security if accessing the Resource Manager database directly. Any security settings for Resource Manager will not migrate to EdgeSight and users may still require access to the Access Management Console/Presentation Server Console for historical reporting.

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Reference Information The following links provide more detailed information on the EdgeSight 4.5 for XenApp product and features:

• Citrix EdgeSight Administrator’s Guide – http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX113673

• Citrix EdgeSight Installation Guide - http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX113676

• Citrix EdgeSight User’s Guide - http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX113675

• Introduction to EdgeSight 4.5 for Presentation Server - http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX113678

• Microsoft SQL 2005 Server Planning and Architecture - http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/sqlserver/bb671446.aspx.

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Notice

The information in this publication is subject to change without notice.

THIS PUBLICATION IS PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. CITRIX SYSTEMS, INC. (“CITRIX”), SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR TECHNICAL OR EDITORIAL ERRORS OR OMISSIONS CONTAINED HEREIN, NOR FOR DIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR ANY OTHER DAMAGES RESULTING FROM THE FURNISHING, PERFORMANCE, OR USE OF THIS PUBLICATION, EVEN IF CITRIX HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES IN ADVANCE.

This publication contains information protected by copyright. Except for internal distribution, no part of this publication may be photocopied or reproduced in any form without prior written consent from Citrix.

The exclusive warranty for Citrix products, if any, is stated in the product documentation accompanying such products. Citrix does not warrant products other than its own.

Product names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Copyright © 2008 Citrix Systems, Inc., 851 West Cypress Creek Road, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 33309-2009 U.S.A. All rights reserved.

Version History Author Version Change Log Date

Justin Venezia 0.1 Content Created 2/19/2008

Justin Venezia 1.0 First-pass QA 3/17/2008

Justin Venezia 1.4 Updates and Changes 3/26/2008

Craig Marinella 1.6 Initial QA 3/31/2008 Justin Veneza 1.7 Revisions 4/2/2008 Craig Marinlla 1.8 Final QA 4/5/2008 Justin Venezia 1.9 Final Revisions 4/6/2008 Justin Venezia 2.0 Final Document 4/7/2008

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Copyright © 2008 Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Citrix, the Citrix logo, Citrix ICA, Citrix MetaFrame, and other Citrix product names are trademarks of Citrix Systems, Inc. All other product names, company names, marks, logos, and symbols are trademarks of their respective owners.

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