One key thing to know about Citrix CloudStack (now known as CloudPlatform) is that the Management Server does not display error details in the UI (User Interface). The reason for this is to prevent exposure of the infrastructure setup and information to end users (non-root admin accounts). Recently working with CloudStack I experienced this first hand and was shown one of the key resources to use for troubleshooting issues, errors, and failures. CloudStack Management Server logs all activities to /var/log/cloud/management/management-server.log allowing for review of the error messages by Root Admins assisting in remediation. Using the hypervisor’s API the management-server.log will also present the hypervisor’s error response. The Management Server logs should be your FIRST destination in your troubleshooting steps. You want to locate the first occurrence of the error and trace back to see if the cause is displayed.
I was onsite recently with a client working on some issues they were having trying to run homegrown applications in their new XenApp 6.5 farm. After spending some time digging in we found they were Microsoft ClickOnce applications, Oy Vey! Per Citrix Knowledge Center document CTX125453 ClickOnce technology installation is not a supported technology on XenApp but the KB also covers some possible workarounds. Having gone through the workarounds we were unable to get either of the applications working successfully in the XenApp farm. The other thing that didn’t help out was that the client’s original in-house developer was no longer around and the new developer had no background with Citrix XenApp. After spending time with the developer reviewing the application and the installation we were able to confirm the installation location of the .deploy files in a randomly generated directory under the user’s AppData folder.
Last week there were a few rumors going around about this possibility and now it’s confirmed Citrix announced the acquisition of RingCube. RingCube is the maker of vDesk a workspace virtualization solution providing virtual desktop users true isolation from the operating system. vDesk enables VDI deployments running shared desktops the ability for users to personalize and preserve their custom settings. vDesk captures these user requests for resources, files, and registry settings through management/isolation of the operating system. vDesk will handle the users’ session changes, the admin’s changes to the base VM, and will also addresses user changes that may conflict with the admin’s based on configured rules. vDesk is not profile management, vDesk enables the corporate user to maintain already learned computing experience once transitioned to virtual desktops and will ultimately assist in a successful VDI implementation.
There are more questions left to be answered over the next couple weeks during this time of merging solutions. With VMware just now adding profile management to View 5, dare I ask what becomes of “vDesk VDI Edition” support for VMware View? We can only begin to image where and how this will fit into the Citrix FlexCast model, so many unknowns around XenDesktop, XenClient, Kaviza, XenApp, and Citrix Cloud scenarios. For now Citrix already has their user Profile Management and now with RingCube have they taken a step forward towards “user installed applications”?
At Synergy this year I was introduced to one of Citrix’s new initiatives to streamline and enhance product support, support tools and the plan to provide this as a cloud service. Tools as a Service (TaaS) brings the Citrix technical “Tribal Knowledge” (a term Mike Stringer uses) to an IE browser accessible with your MyCitrix account. TaaS, your tailored online auto analysis will have the ability to maintain the Service Request (SR) with Citrix Diagnostic Facility (CDF) and configurations centralized. TaaS will analyze the Citrix Product and present you with “Know Issues” in three (3) different notification modules:
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Critical Errors
- These notifications require immediate action, and will provide the remediation recommendations including any associated Knowledge Base (KB) article(s)
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Warnings
- These notifications show potential issues and provide any remediation recommendations including any associated KB article(s)
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Informational
- These notifications will show simply that information only regarding the Citrix Product and may not require and actions or remediation
TaaS can maintain the uploaded data as a historical record of the Citrix Product; offering the ability to compare current state configuration with the pervious configuration answering the question “What’s Changed since last time?“. If a historical repository is not what you’re looking for well just delete your uploaded data once you’re done, TaaS is many things to all. Look for TaaS’s go-live date later this year with XenServer, followed by XenDesktop, NetScaler, and XenApp.
Thanks to Mike Stringer and David McGeough for the TaaS Preview
See Mike Stringer cover Citrix Support and TaaS further in the following video
Follow Citrix Support on…..
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LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=3139565
Last week we mentioned the Citrix Ready Finalists and now here are the winners of the Citrix Ready Awards for 2011:
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Citrix Ready Solution of the Year Technology Category
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Liquidware Labs
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Liquidware Labs on CitrixTV
- Read more on Liquidware Labs
- Read more on Liquidware Labs
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Citrix Ready Solution of the Year Business Category
Congratulations to LiquardWare Labs and Cisco, and we look forward to next year’s innovations.
Sitting here in 9E on my flight back home from Summit/Synergy 2011 I am taking some time to sit back and reflect on EVERYTHING Citrix has done this past year. With all the new products, features, services, and solutions that Citrix announced this past week it truly shows:
- What a fascinating time we Techies are living in today
- What amazing end-to-end solutions we have to meet the demands of our users
Where would we be without the drive, risks, and innovations taken by Citrix and their partners?
I want to say goodbye to Summit/Synergy 2011, to old friends, and to the new friends made this year. I want to also thank our Convergence Team and their support making it possible for us to attend Summit/Synergy each year. Now it’s time for me to go back to work digesting all the new wonders of Citrix and prepare for our Convergence Post Synergy events in the Mid-Atlantic and North Carolina.
Citrix Ready is a partnership between Citrix and vendors who work with Citrix to validate their solution (either software or hardware) compatible with Citrix products. This validation allows for Citrix to recommend the vendors product to enrich the customer’s overall Citrix deployment. Each year Citrix nominates those partners whose product(s) have excelled in bringing value-add to Citrix, its partners, and its customers. This year Citrix has nominated:
- Cisco
- Cisco is nominated for their UCS solution’s reliability to scale XenDesktop environments
- Read more on Cisco here: http://bit.ly/jvXiOV
- Cisco is nominated for their UCS solution’s reliability to scale XenDesktop environments
- Liquidware Labs
- Liquidware Labs is nominated for their ProfileUnity solution and its capabilities to provide a universal profile for XenDesktop users
- Read more on Liquidware Labs here: http://bit.ly/lupYu2
- Liquidware Labs is nominated for their ProfileUnity solution and its capabilities to provide a universal profile for XenDesktop users
- McAfee
- McAfee is nominated for their innovate product Management for Optimized Virtual Environments (MOVE) for VDI
- Read more on McAfee here: http://bit.ly/jgVG51
- McAfee is nominated for their innovate product Management for Optimized Virtual Environments (MOVE) for VDI
- RES Software
- RES Software is nominated for the positive impact of their Workspace Manager and PowerFuse as it relates to Citrix XenDesktop
- Read more on RES Software here: http://bit.ly/iPsWun
- RES Software is nominated for the positive impact of their Workspace Manager and PowerFuse as it relates to Citrix XenDesktop
- ThinPrint
- ThinPrint is nominated for their .print version 8.0 and how it simplifies yet still provides scalability of a customer’s print environment
- Read more on ThinPrint here: http://www.thinprint.com/
- ThinPrint is nominated for their .print version 8.0 and how it simplifies yet still provides scalability of a customer’s print environment
- WYSE
- WYSE is nominated for their Xenith zero client allowing for a simplified yet secure XenDesktop
- Read more on WYSE here: http://bit.ly/in4Jw0
- WYSE is nominated for their Xenith zero client allowing for a simplified yet secure XenDesktop
Congratulations to each of these Citrix Ready partners and we wish each of them luck. We will share with you the winner once Citrix announces this week at Synergy. We will showcase the winner, their solution as well as feedback and insight from the winning partner themselves.
