Will Citrix improve application performance? 1

[cathysnarey]

I am running a project to upgrade the IT Service Desk from Assyst 4.6 to Assyst 5.5. Performance over the WAN is a source of contention so we undertook a comparision test 4.6 vs. 5.5. The result of this was that 5.5 was slower than 4.6 - due to a new 'feature'. Every time a select statement was required, the new version issued one select statement to find out how many rows would be returned and then another to actually retrieve them. The vendor will not take any action to improve the code (no stored procedures allowed) and suggested we implement Citrix to address the situation. Is Citrix likely to improve the performance of the application?

 

[Jontmke]

Probably, yes. Since the software will be running on a computer that is doing a query on another computer that is probably in the same room, it should run better. Also, the server will probably be a dual processor with a lot more ram. We run Foxpro apps on our Citrix server for just those reasons.
JON

 

[CitrixEngineer]

If the application is slow, then Citrix will not speed it up. That is not what MetaFrame does.

I am not familiar in any way with the application you are trying to run, but you can perform a comparativity test by building a Windows 2000 server, installing Terminal Services, and installing your app in change user /install mode.

I'd recommend having the database portion installed on a separate server, if possible, and running the client portion on the server.

Checklist;

1. Does that application run OK at the console? If the answer to this is no, and the server is of high enough calibre (dual processor recommended, 256Mb RAM minimum), then there will be no improvement running it over MetaFrame.

2. If the app runs OK at the console of a Terminal Server machine, try running it via a Terminal Services client.

3. If this is acceptable, then running it over Citrix MetaFrame will be better, especially over WAN connections.

4. Finally, run a trial with several users in disparate locations (still using Terminal Services).

As with anything in a Terminal Server environment, the more you test, the smoother your implementation will be. It is highly probable that MetaFrame will provide a better response from your app - but better to find out first hand than make the investment and find out the hard way...

Hope this helps

CE CitrixEngineer@yahoo.co.uk

 

[jdemmi]

My 2 cents.....

TRUE, Citrix will not improve the application's performance, PHYSICALLY.

However, it may APPEAR to your WAN users that performance has increased.

We run many applications which access databases on the back end. Obviously since these applications are developed by a variety of manufacturers there are varying programming techiniques and languages in place. We have found that the ONLY way to implement an enterprise (WAN) application that is NOT browser based is via Citrix. Reason being, is that the connection from the client PC to the database is now "localized" (in the same room, as Johntmke put it). Instead of sending the DATA across the WAN we are only sending Citrix screen refreshes.

 

[CitrixEngineer]

jdemmi - absolutely!

I was a bit clumsy with my wording - it looks like I'm completely contradicting johntmke - which is not the case.

The point I'm making is that there is no guarantee, but following the steps I outlined will prove whether Citrix would be a good solution. If it doesn't work at all over T/S, MetaFrame won't fix it.

If it does, then you can be sure that MetaFrame will "improve application performance", and your own manageability of the application.


Note, when I said "run the client portion on the server", I meant on the Citrix/Terminal server. The database should reside on a separate server.

Hope this clarifies what I said above.



CitrixEngineer@yahoo.co.uk