eG Enterprise Logon Simulator for Citrix XenApp & XenDesktop

© eG Innovations, Inc | www.eginnovations.com
eG Enterprise Logon Simulator for
Citrix XenApp & XenDesktop
Troubleshooting Slow Logon Problems in Citrix Environments

Moderator
Renne Bots
Area Sales Manager
eG Innovations
renne.bots@eginnovations.com

 Questions: please submit at any time during the
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 A copy of this presentation is posted on Slideshare:
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Logistics

Become a Citrix Performance HERO

Easier
Said Than
Done!
Great Application Performance is

Focus of Performance Monitoring Today
Great User Experience

Citrix Logon – The #1 Problem for Citrix
Admins
Source: 2016 Citrix Performance Survey by eG Innovations & DABCC

Automated
Diagnosis
User
Experience
Management
Pre-emptive
Alerting
Total
Performance
Visibility
End User
Experience
Storage
Connection
Brokers
Profile Servers
Network
Applications
Virtualization
Infrastructure
Performance
Service
Performance
Online
Banking
Accounts
Trading
Patient
records
. . .
Infrastructure
Optimisation
eG Enterprise solution suite

Today we focus on Citrix Logon Simulator for
XenApp and VDI:
 Deliver great user experience for Citrix users
 Pro actively detect Citrix Logon issues
 Speed up meantime to resolution (MTTR)
 Benchmarck and optimize your Citrix Infrastructure
 Complete visibility into Citrix logon performance

Today’s Presenter
Stuart Kennedy
Technical Services Manager
eG Innovations
stuart.kennedy@eginnovations.com

Agenda
• What is the eG Citrix Logon Simulator?
• How it works
• Key metrics monitored
• Features & benefits
• See it in action
• Q&A

3/31/2
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Oracle Confidential –
Internal/Restricted/Highly Restricted
1
2
eG Citrix Logon Simulator
with eG Enterprise v6.2

Monitoring Citrix Logons
• How eG Enterprise monitors Citrix Start-up:
– Watches real user logons
– Accesses Citrix Delivery Controller APIs to determine logon times
– Tracks session startup times on Citrix XenApp
– Determines when a logon was slow and why it was: profile
loading? AD authentication? GPOs?
• NEW Logon simulator:
– What if Citrix logon has a problem and no one is logging in?
– Baseline logon time & desktop or application launch from
different locations?
• Is application launching as expected? How long does it take?

What is the eG Citrix Logon Simulator?
• A tool that periodically simulates a logon session for Citrix
XenApp and XenDesktop environments
– Uses browser scripting in Internet Explorer and simulates the
exact process that the user goes through
– Black box approach; external view of the Citrix infrastructure
– Verifies that the entire Citrix delivery infrastructure is working
(StoreFront, DC, XenApp, PVS, License server…), the Citrix
session is established, and the application is about to launch.
• The simulated session helps detect logon issues
proactively, so Citrix administrators can solve them before
users notice/complain.
• Run 24/7 against a Citrix farm (XenApp/XenDesktop).

How eG Citrix Logon Simulator Works
• Simulate from any Windows client (desktop/laptop) with
Citrix Receiver and Internet Explorer installed.
1. The Logon Simulator opens IE, connects to a StoreFront/NetScaler URL
2. Logs in through the web browser
3. Sees the enumeration of applications (for XenApp)
4. Launches an application from the list
5. Closes the application
6. Logs off the Citrix session
These steps are repeated for each published application that needs to be
simulated.
• Reports vital logon metrics and presents detailed
diagnostics about the Citrix session.

How eG Citrix Logon Simulator Works
Simulated
User Session
eG Logon Simulator
for Citrix
(part of eG Enterprise)
Note:
 eG Logon Simulator is deployed on thin or thick client
 System must have Citrix Receiver and Internet Explorer
Test
Real User
For
Simulated User
From
Real Endpoint

Supports Multiple Applications & Multiple
Users
• Supports multiple applications per user for logon
simulation.
• Supports multiple users from the same endpoint for
logon simulation.
• Can be run from multiple endpoints from any global
or remote location.

Supports Multiple Applications for Same User
Endpoint Running
Citrix Logon Simulator
Log into Citrix Session
with User Credentials
for User 1
Enumerate
Application(s)
Open
Application 2
Close
Application
Logoff
Citrix Session
Logon Simulation Test for Application 2 with User 1
Log into Citrix Session
with User Credentials
for User 1
Enumerate
Application(s)
Open
Application 1
Close
Application
Logoff
Citrix Session
Logon
Simulation Test
for Application 1
with User 1

Logon Metrics Monitored
• Logon availability
• Logon duration
• Application enumeration
availability
• Application enumeration
duration
• Application launch
availability
• Application launch
duration
• Logoff duration
You can also drill down for detailed diagnostics about the
Citrix session.

Key Problems Identified
• Identify slow session logon
• Session disconnect after
logon
• Logon authentication
failure
• Application unavailability
• Slow application
enumeration
• Slow application launch
• Citrix session not starting
after logon
Since the all tiers of the Citrix environment need to work in
concert for the logon operation, simulating logon helps test
the availability and readiness of entire Citrix delivery
infrastructure.

Feature Highlights
• Real-time simulation and
testing of user session
• Complete visibility of logon
process by testing entire
Citrix delivery
infrastructure
• Simulates exact same steps
of a real user
• 24/7 logon testing allows
simulation whenever and
wherever needed
• Can be run from local or
remote system
• Automated alerts
accurately pinpoint logon
issues
• Supports Citrix XenApp
versions 6.x and 7.x,
XenDesktop 7.x
• Simple to deploy – no
recording/scripting;
Deploy in minutes

3/31/2
017
2
3
in Action…

3/31/2
017
2
4

Configuring the Logon Simulator
Enter the
StoreFront (or)
NetScaler URL
Click here to add
Applications and
User Credentials

Configuring the Logon Simulator (contd.)
Enter username and password for
the user with whose credentials
logon test will be performed.
Enter names of multiple applications.
During logon simulation, these will be
launched in the same sequence.
Add multiple users per logon simulation test.
In a single session, logon simulation will
happen sequentially for all the listed users
and their published applications/desktops.

Scheduled Simulation on Target Endpoint
Simulated logon into
Citrix via NetScaler
Applications
enumerated on the
StoreFront console
Launching
application on
StoreFront

Getting to the Layer Model View of Citrix
Logon Simulator
Click the ‘Citrix Logon
Simulator’ Component Type

Citrix Logon Simulation Dashboard
Get at-a-glance view of status of
simulations for applications and desktops.
Access the above dashboard
directly from: Monitor 
Hosts/Applications 
Citrix Logon Simulations
Drill down for detailed
performance metrics.

View Logon Performance Metrics
(Layer Model View)
Monitored metrics and
measured values.
Click here for
detailed
diagnostics.
Click each Citrix delivered
application or desktop to view
performance metrics.

Drill Down for Detailed Diagnostics

Tie-in with Monitoring Real Citrix Logons
If slowness is seen by the
Citrix logon simulator, details
provided by eG agents using
Citrix APIs highlight where
the problem is.

Customer Benefits
 Benchmark your Citrix infrastructure – know if any
changes (upgrades, patches) affect Citrix logon
experience
 Provides true end-to-end Citrix logon performance
measure by testing every element involved in the process
 Enables you to be alerted to problems before users
know about them
 Solve Citrix logon problems before users call the
helpdesk
 360o visibility into Citrix logon performance – real user
monitoring + simulated monitoring

Licensing & Deployment
• Citrix Logon Simulator is run by an eG external agent
• A dedicated external agent is required for logon
simulation (just like Itexis emulation)
– No other external tests from the same agent
– Browser/client windows will be opened by these tests so
the simulation system must be dedicated for these tests
• No third-party software dependencies
– Does not require Itexis (uses IE browser scripting)
• Can be deployed from multiple locations – one
external agent in each location

Licensing & Deployment (contd.)
• One external agent can test multiple StoreFront/
NetScaler logins
– Tests are run one after the other so they don’t interfere with
each other
– Licensed by external agents (not by simulation targets)
• Simple to get started:
– Specify the URL (StoreFront or NetScaler) to connect to
– Specify user/password/domain for simulation
– Indicate the application(s) to be launched
– No scripting/additional config—up and running in 2 mins

Pre-Requisites
• A dedicated eG external agent is required for Citrix Logon
Simulator.
• Citrix Receiver 4.0 (or above) should be installed on the
system hosting the external agent that performs the
simulation.
• The endpoint must have a user account (with admin rights)
always logged in for the simulation to run continuously.
• Supported Citrix platforms: XenApp 6.5 and 7.x, and
XenDesktop 7.x.

FAQ
• Will the logon simulation work when the screen is locked out
on the endpoint used for simulation?
– Even when the screen is locked, Citrix logon simulation will continue to
work as scheduled; but the user should remain logged in.
• Can client emulation with Itexis AppsMon and eG Citrix Logon
Simulator run on the same system?
– Yes. Both can run on the same system and use the same external agent.
But, it is to be noted that both of them cannot run at the same time.
They can function in a sequence where one executes after the other.
• Can eG Citrix Logon Simulator be used to monitor logon from
multiple Citrix farms?
– Yes, it is possible. But logon simulation will happen in a sequence.

FAQ (contd.)
• Is there any plan to support other browsers for Citrix logon
simulation?
– The eG Citrix Logon Simulator works only with Internet Explorer version
11 now. We will consider support for other browsers in future releases.
• Does eG Citrix Logon Simulator need any eG manager add-on
license?
– No. There is no additional manager-side license needed for eG Citrix
Logon Simulator.

Citrix Logon Simulator vs. Client Emulation
with Itexis AppsMon
Capabilities Citrix Logon Simulator Client Emulation with Itexis
AppsMon
Supports published
applications and virtual
desktops
How it works Using IE browser, logs into
StoreFront/ NetScaler, enumerates
applications/desktops and
launches a specific
application/desktop. No need to
record and playback.
Records typical steps involved in a user
session: logon, enumeration,
application/desktop launch, further
actions using applications/desktops (e.g.,
login in to SAP using a client app,
perform transactions on the SAP sever).
Plays back recording for performance
analysis.
Monitors the entire
Citrix delivery
infrastructure
Detect issues/slowness
with Citrix logon to
StoreFront/NetScaler

with Itexis AppsMon
AppsMon
Detect
application/desktop
enumeration issues
Detect session
establishment issues with
the XenApp
server/XenDesktop VM
Performs actions after
application launch and
measures performance Cannot perform any action
after application launch
(limited to browser control).
Can perform any action after
application/desktop session is
launched.

with Itexis AppsMon
AppsMon
Use cases
supported
IE browser-triggered Citrix access
only
Works for any client application –
web-based on non-web based, thin
client (Citrix, Terminal Services) and
thick-client (e.g., SAP)
Deployment Simple
Very little configuration required.
Just point to StoreFront/NetScaler
URL and provide user credentials.
No additional scripting needed.
Complex
Needs scripts to be created to emulate
user session and checkpoints to be
placed to track response times for
each step. Script creation and handling
failure cases can be time consuming.
Licensing Dedicated external agent Dedicated external agent + Itexis
AppsMon agent

Free Trial
http://www.eginnovations.com/freetrial
Send an Email
info@eginnovations.com
Call Us
+31 (70) 2055210
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Thank You!

eG Enterprise Logon Simulator for Citrix XenApp & XenDesktop

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