Accessing Network Drive for App 1

[denacho]

We have an app that requires users to map a drive to the server that hosts the app. When the user launches the app (in-house), the app does dynamic updating. It compares files on the server share to that on the workstation at each launch and updates the necessary files. For whatever reason, our app deployment person tells me the application cannot use UNC pathing. We use PS4 and the WI. How can I make this work through Web Interface? I'm looking at the policy for Client Devices | Resources | Drives, but am not finding what I think I need.

Could we map a drive from the server and somehow make that available to the user even if they don't see it through WI? Is it possible to map the drive and when I publish the app, reference the mapping (for example L:\updateshere) in the Working Directory?

 

[patrickrouse]

You can do this via logon script.

Patrick Rouse
Microsoft MVP - Terminal Server

http://www.workthin.com

 

[denacho]

i'm a newbie in general, not just citrix, can you give me a little more info that i can take to our app deployment guy so i can explain it to him and we can work together to get it working? i understand the concept of login scripts - we use them now when our users here in the office login to the network. we login through novell at the office, but are not planning to put novell on the citrix server because we just haven't had luck with it on our Test boxes yet. i'm not sure how to use login scripts with Citrix. i'd really appreciate anything you can give me and i'll google around and check the Admin Guide in the meantime. thanks if you can!

 

[enigma99]

You can map the drive within the the usrlogon.cmd login script.

Just put "net use L: \\servername\share" in the usrlogon.cmd or you can call another batch file that will do it for you.
Just make sure it's in the usrlogon.cmd file and you should be good.

Or if you are running Windows 2000 or 2003, you can put this in the Local Policy of the server for login scripts.

Open MMC and add snap it named Group Policy Object. In this snap-in you can tell it to run logon and logoff scripts.
Just create a "net use L: \\servername\share" cmd file and add it to the login script.

Hope that helps.

 

[denacho]

Thanks enigma99! We're giving that a try today. Can you make sure I understand this process though?

When the user launches the app through the WI, does it "register" their domain account that they logged into WI with against the server serving up the app?

Right now, I set the net use up under Group Policy User Config (not Computer Config). I'm trying to determine the best way to handle this. I'd rather have it map the drive only when a user from the group that needs the app logs into Citrix. If I understand what I've done so far, anyone logging into WI is getting that L:\ mapped (even though they won't see it). Can I limit it to the people using the app by creating a Citrix Policy?

 

[enigma99]

denacho,
When they log into WI they are actually doing authentication with their NDS user account or Windows User account. This is how they are presented with their application list within Web Interface.

Once they click on the application, it is using their credentials to launch and log into the published applicaiton. So I guess you can say that they are registering with the domain using their domain account.

The user configuration login script is launched for every user that is logging into the Citrix server. You can allow or deny client drive mappings with a Citrix policy.

So you can create a policy and tell it to only allow client device drive mapping for only "global group app" within the CMC.

Just login and launch your CMC go to policies.
Click on "Create Policy" and name the policy.
Go to the properties and client devices-resources-drives and under connections enable client drive mappings.
Then go to mappings and choose enable.

Once you have that policy in place..right-click and go to "Apply this policy to" and choose either a user group or servers.

That way only those users will be allowed to map their client drives.

Make sure to test it out before putting into production!
Hope that helps.

thx

 

[denacho]

well, i created 2 policies: AppMap and AppNoMap. i applied the AppMap my Test group and my AppNoMap to myself.

For AppMap - in Connection, I enabled the policy and selected Connect Client Drives at Logon. in Mapping, I selected Turn Off CDRom (just to test). I log on to WI using my test account and I can see the mapped drive to the other server.

But, when I edited the policy for AppNoMap (applying only to my logon), I enabled Connections and selected Connect Client Drives at Logon - because I want other users to be able to see their local drives. For Mapping, I enabled it and Turned Off Remote Drives here - because I don't want them to be able to see the mapped drive for the "special" app. When I login as myself, I still see the mapped drive.

I tried different combinations of turning off and on Remote Drives and it doesn't seem to matter who I login as or what I check, the mapped drives are still seen. What am I missing????

 

[denacho]

oh, even if I enable Connections and Turn Off Client Drives at logon, I don't get my local drives, but I still see the mapped drive for the app.

maybe the clarification here is that we mapped the drive on the server, it's not something that happens on their workstation - because they will be accessing this from their home computers and the drive will not be mapped on their home pc. does that make a difference?

 

[enigma99]

denacho,
I might have an easier solution for your mapping.
Go out to

http://www.kixtart.org/

and download KiXtart2010.

Extract the file contents and copy the kix32.exe file to a test server.
Open notepad and create a .kix file (name it like appmap or something).

In the kix file type this in.
;******************************
;Drive Mappings
;******************************
IF INGROUP("my Test group")

net use L: "\\servername\share"

EndIf

;******************************
;End Of Script
;******************************

Once you have created this kix file.
Go to the login script you currently have running and modify it with this.

%systemdrive%\kix32.exe %systemdrive%\appmap.kix

When users log into the application and launch the kix32 program which will run the "appmap.kix" script.
That script will check to see if they are a member of the "mytestgroup" group and map the drive if they are. If they are not a member of this group, then it will simply not map it and continue with the login process.

Hope that helps.