Centralised CITRIX Profiles

[DotNetNewbie]

Hi,

I've just taken on a role that has a farm of 4 CITRIX servers, which are all very low on space and we have to keep deleting files to ensure the server works correctly.

I am only used to having 1 CITRIX server but I would have thought that there must be a way of centralising the profiles for the users instead of having profiles on all 4 servers.

My experience with CITRIX is limited but im guessing it cant be that hard to change, its just a case of knowing were to look and what to change. So if anyone could give me pointers on if this is possible and if so how.

I also guess there will be distinct advantages/disadvantages in doing this, if someone could also let me know these as well i would be very greatful.

Regards

.NetNewbie

 

[byteya]

Assuming your environment is Microsoft, there is a tab in the user's profile, Terminal Services Profile. Point that at a shared location.

You can also use the registry or group policies on the Citrix servers to delete profiles when the user logs off to save more space.



*J*

 

[nanor9909]

If you are using roaming profiles, its a good idea to delete the roaming profile cache on logoff (in group policy) so that the locally cached copy of the profile is deleted from the terminal server when the user logs off - the updated profile is copied to the network location and the local copy deleted. You can also redirect certain folders out of the profile e.g. temp files, to the network and schedule them to be deleted.

 

[DotNetNewbie]

Super stuff,

Thanks for the info. I've created a test user and all seems to be working. Just need to change the rest of the users to the same settings and im sorted.

Thx for your help.

.NN

 

[volk125]

also use UPHCLEAN utility

Explanation:
Frequently, a driver or application leaks registry handles, which means the driver or application opens the registry but doesn't close it. The open registry isn't a problem until you log off, when the profile of the logged-on user tries to unload the user's registry but fails because it's still in use. An open registry connection is a major problem if you use roaming profiles; because the system can't unload your profile, Windows can't copy it back to the profile storage server. If the system doesn't unload your profile, when you log on the next day you'll receive an error stating that your local profile is newer than your remote profile. Typically, with this problem an administrator will see event ID 1517, 1524, or 1500 in the event logs.

Microsoft provides a service called UPHClean, which checks for leaked connections to the registry and cleans them up, thereby letting a user's profile unload cleanly so Windows can copy it back to the remote profile storage area. You can download UPHClean at Web site. Your best option is to download file UPHClean-Setup.msi, which you can then deploy through Group Policy or--if you need to deploy UPHClean on a large scale--Systems Management Server (SMS). You need Administrator privileges to install UPHClean interactively. I've used UPHClean many times, and it has always fixed the profile-locking problems.

 

[NickSoefje]

You did not specify the server OS, but if it is 2003, then I would recommend the following approach:

As mentioned above:
- ** use UPHClean
- Delete locally cached profile at logoff

I would also suggest the following items:
- exclude specific folders from the roaming profile. Search for "Exclude directories in roaming profile" on Internet.

- The suggestion of setting the "roaming profile server" in the users domain account is a good suggestion, In my experience, this has caused me issues. If the users that are using this Citrix server and using other Citrix or TSE servers then they will pickup the same roaming profile and if profile server is set they will also get any lock down that you have configured.
As mentioned in my first line, if your AD DC servers are running 2003 you can set this in a GPO. Better yet in 2003, you can set this in the local machine policy. Whatever is set in the GPO of local machine policy will override what is configured in the users account.

- You can also use redirected folders and set perms so users can't save to My Documents or Desktop etc...

(If running Published Desktop)
- What also greatly helps is to use redirected folders and redirect "Start Menu" "Programs" and Desktop" so that you do not have to configure the icons users see on all 4 and future servers... the users will all pickup the same "icons"
from these redirected folders.

To answer your other question:
Many obvious good points for the admin (you) and for the users.
By implementing roaming profiles or mandatory roaming profiles, you will gain knowledge researching and implementing these changes.

Down sides:
- Must keep an eye on the size of the users roaming profile.
- Must monitor new applications and watch what files they place in the users profile. I did a test install of Lotus Notes Designer a few days ago and it placed a 43 meg help file in all users profiles. This quickly adds up in space when you have 6,800 roaming profiles.
- Depending on the location/speed of the network between the Citrix servers and the file server you will use store the profiles, the users could see a longer login time.
My users typically have 20 to 40 MB roaming profiles and a have a max set at 50MB.

Hope this helps, but I can say you are on the correct course.








"Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right."
- Henry Ford

Nick Soefje

 

[angelo65]

Thanks NickSoefje. But I was wandering how you set the max profile to 50Mb. On my 2003 Server the max I get is 30