Recognize that toolbar? It's the Desktop Toolbar and it's pretty useful - when you're using a Desktop resource. If you're using a Seamless Published Application, it's a nuisance if it's not configured properly. And what's properly? Configuring the Desktop Toolbar to only show with Desktop resources and not showing for published applications allowing them to run properly in Seamless Mode. To do this, follow these general steps. On your Web Interface server, backup the current configuration. I recommend copying the c:\inetpub\wwwroot\citrix\xenapp\ folder somewhere else for safekeeping

If you are suddenly (June 2011) unable to Scan for Updates or Remediate VMware ESX 3.5 Hosts, you may be without ESX350-201012410-BG (VMware KB 1030001). When running ESXUpdate via SSH on the host, you'll receive an Integrity Error that includes "Signature 0BFA1C860F0B0A6CF5CD5D2AEE7835B14789B619: keyExpired: 4789B619" To resolve this, you'll need to bypass the Signature Requirement for patching so the new Secure Key Patch can be applied. To do this, connect via SSH to the host, and run the following command. esxupdate -d http://patchdepoturlhere --nosig update This will install all upd

When using the Citrix XenDesktop Setup Wizard on your Provisioning Services server, you may encounter this error when creating new virtual desktops from a template. Unable to create the desktop DESKTOPNAME. Unable to clone the virtual machine for this desktop. Exception thrown : SR_BACKEND_FAILURE_44 Unable to provision a vDisk for the desktop. This error often appears when there is no longer sufficient space on your Storage Repository to clone the VM Template. To resolve this, either remove the storage requirement from your template (if it's not needed) or add additional space to the des

While XenServer 5.5 has a pretty decent GUI, there are still a few tasks that we have to use the command line for. Resizing Storage Repositories would be one of those tasks. In my environment, we use a Fibre Channel SR in our main XenServer resource pool, so I can vouch that these steps will work for that type of environment. Before starting with these steps, make sure you have actually resized the LUN using whatever software provided by your SAN vendor. This process is simply getting XenServer to recognize the change. Open the console of your XenServer Resource Pool Master. Run xe sr

As an administrator of both XenDesktop and XenApp environments, I'm absolutely sick of multiple consoles. I've finally managed to easily integrate XenDesktop and XenApp administration into a single console (AMC). Unfortunately, we're unable to integrate the "Presentation Server Console" that is still used for manging policies. While alternative methods may exist, I know the following steps will work. On your XenDesktop 3.0 Media, run autorun.exe Select Install Optional Components. Install Management Consoles. Install XDE300AMC004 (Download here). Open the Access Management Conso

When configuring your vDisks in Citrix Provisioning Server, you're able to define which mode you would like your vDisk to be in. While many people know the basic differences, not everyone understands how to leverage them in their environment. Private Mode Private mode puts the vDisk into a volatile state where a target device can make permanent changes to the vDisk. Changes are not stored in a write cache file, they are changed immediately. When a target device connects to the vDisk, it gains exclusivity and no other device may connect to that vDisk. This mode is best used when a sing

Citrix Provisioning Services (PVS) is a great tool that is what our local Citrix Sales Engineer calls "the Secret Sauce" behind XenDesktop. For those who are new around these parts, PVS is software that allows us to stream an Operating System to a PC, physical or virtual, ESX or Hyper-V or XenServer - anything that can PXE boot pretty much (including Thin Clients!). Once you've made the plunge and start deploying or planning your PVS infrastructure, High Availability and Redundancy is going to be a top concern. Here are a few guidelines to help you plan. Let's assume we have a single farm,

When troubleshooting problems, it's essential you have as much information is possible. Logging is the best passive way to achieve this. Even in these modern times, we're editing files in Notepad... Virtual Desktop Agent Logging 1.     Create a new directory called c:\ctxlogging\. The Network and Local service accounts should have write access. If you are using standard vDisks, I recommend putting the log file on local storage so that it persists after log out. 2.     Navigate to c:\Program Files\Citrix\Virtual Desktop Agent\ 3.     Open WorkstationAgent.exe.config with your

I'm often asked how to update a vDisk for use with XenDesktop, so I figured I should publish my answer.   1. Navigate to your store via Windows Explorer, Copy the .VHD file currently in use, then Paste it. 2. Rename it - We use A,B,C,D and rotate each time we update. 3. Open the PvS Console, Navigate to your vDisk Pool. 4. Right Click on vDisk Pool, Select Add Existing vDisk. 5. Make sure your Store and Server are correct, then click Search. 6. Select the new vDisk and click Add then Close. 7. Open your vDisk Pool in the PvS Console. 8. Right Click on the new vDisk, click Propert