Citrix has released a new version of the Virtual Desktop Agent for XenDesktop 3.0 (Not Feature Pack 1). In this new version, the file copy process between target and endpoint device has been improved. Time last Modified and Accessed will be properly updated when copying between devices. Also, mapped network drives on the endpoint device will now be properly mapped on the target device (A fix welcome by all).

For those who use Registry-based Desktop Delivery Controller Discovery on their target devices, registration should now complete properly and consistently.

Other fixes and the download can be found on the Citrix Knowledge Center, here.

Citrix Virtual Desktop Agent, Version 3.0.3075 (XDE300VDA004), CTX122134

Only 5 days after Citrix released XDE310VDA003, VDA004 was released. It fixes a total of 28 issues, many of which have plagued XenDesktop users. This recent trend of hot fixing is comforting and worrysome – so many issues with XenDesktop, but on the other hand, Citrix is fixing them relatively quickly.

Some fix examples:

Disconnecting from an RDP session can cause a Virtual Desktop Agent running on Windows XP to become unresponsive or to restart.

After installing Version 3.1 (Build 3231) of the virtual desktop agent on Windows XP, the Citrix Audio Service fails to start.

After installing Version 3.1 (Build 3231) of the virtual desktop agent, logon times might take in excess of one minute.

Attempts to register Virtual Desktop Agents in large Active Directory domains might time out. The issue occurs because Active Directory searches are conducted on FQDNs, which are not indexed. With this fix, searches are conducted using NameProperty to find the matching FQDNs.

Citrix Virtual Desktop Agent, Version 3.1.3242 (XDE310VDA004) can be found at the following location:

http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX122445

Installation consists of running a .MSI and upgrading the previous version of the Virtual Desktop Agent.

On Saturday Citrix released a new version of the Citrix Virtual Desktop Agent (VDA) for XenDesktop 3.0 Feature Pack 1. It upgrades version 3.1.3236 to 3.1.3241 via XDE310VDA003.

All in all there are 22 fixes in this release; 7 fixes for the previous hotfix, and 15 new fixes. Usually I would recommend waiting a while before applying a hotfix unless you experience one of the issues addressed, but most XenDesktop environments will suffer from at least one of these.

• Virtual Desktop Agents fail to register with Desktop Delivery Controllers located in separate Active Directory farms. This fix extends Active Directory searches from farms to forests.
• After configuring XenDesktop according to Knowledge Center Article CTX118976 (Configuring XenDesktop to Function Properly Without an Organizational Unit in Active Directory), the virtual desktop agent fails to register.
• After installing Version 3.1 (Build 3231) of the virtual desktop agent, logon times might take in excess of one minute.

You can download the hotfix and see the full list of fixes here: http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX122136

While I’m sure many are still struggling to get XenDesktop working properly with a VMWare ESX hosting infrastructure and vSphere 4, Citrix is still hard at work pumping out fixes for it.

Yesterday, Citrix released a hotfix for Citrix Pool Management which updates it to 3.0.3068 using hotfix XDE300PM002.

The Citrix Pool manager can now reconnect to ESX after losing network connectivity or if Virtual Center restarts. It also fixes an issue with the previous hotfix where you could not import virtual machines through pool management if using vSphere 4.

Get the hotfix and read the release notes here: http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX122378

On Thursday, Citrix released a hotfix that resolved an issue where Virtual Machines would crash when migrated on Intel Nehalem processors. If you are using Intel Hardware with EPT support, you should install this hotfix.

You can download Hotfix XS55E002, CTX122348 at the link below.

http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX122348

Apple has released iPhone OS 3.0.1 this afternoon. It addresses the SMS vulnerability that allows hackers to take control of your handset. This update should be considered critical and should be performed immediately.

To update your iPhone to 3.0.1, plug it in and launch iTunes. If you do not have Auto Update enabled, check for updates manually and then apply.

Details on the Vulnerability:
http://jorgeorchilles.blogspot.com/2009/07/iphone-and-sms-hack-what-does-it-mean.html

Informal Announcement w/ Screenshot:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=9915844&tstart=0

Yesterday Citrix released a new version of the Citrix XenDesktop Setup Wizard. The Setup Wizard is the tool used to provision Virtual Machines for use with XenDesktop. It creates the VM using a template, names it according to your specified convention, adds the target device to the Provisioning Server database, creates the Active Directory Machine Account, and then places the VM in the desired Desktop Group.

Previously, there was an issue when you attempted to query vSphere 4 for VM Templates in order to provision new VMs. According to Citrix, this issue was fixed in CTX122057 as part of Citrix XenDesktop Setup Wizard, Version 3.0.3063 (XDE300SW001). This version addresses the following issues:

When run on Provisioning Server 5.1, the Setup Wizard fails to list virtual disks on the Virtual Disk page. [From XDE300SW001][#210877]

XenDesktop cannot see machine states and control VMs. This occurs when using the Setup Wizard to add desktops to an existing desktop group. It does not occur when adding desktops to a new group. [From XDE300SW001][#211398]

When run connecting to a VMWare (vSphere 4) hosting infrastructure, the Setup Wizard fails to retrieve VM templates and users cannot proceed. [From XDE300SW001][#210879]

The update is available at http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX122057 and is a simple executable.

When troubleshooting problems, it’s essential you have as much information is possible. Logging is the best passive way to achieve this. Even in 2009, 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 Text Editor of Choice.

4.     Find the <appSettings> tag.

5.     Within the <appSettings> tag, insert the following two lines:

<add key="LogToCDF" value ="1"/>
<add key="LogFileName" value ="C:\ctxlogging\vda.log"/>

6.     Restart the Virtual Desktop to start logging.

Desktop Delivery Controller Logging

1.     Create a new directory called c:\ctxlogging\. The Network and Local service accounts should have write access.

2.     Navigate to c:\Program Files\Citrix\VMManagement\

3.     Open CdsPoolMgr.exe.config with your Text Editor of choice.

4.     Find the <appSettings> tag.

5.     Within the <appSettings> tag, insert the following two lines:

<add key="LogToCDF" value ="1"/>
<add key="LogFileName" value ="C:\ctxlogging\ddc_cdspoolmgr.log"/>

6.     Navigate to c:\Program Files\Citrix\Desktop Delivery Controller\

7.     Open cdscontroller.exe.config with your Text Editor of choice.

8.     Find the <appSettings> tag.

9.     Within the <appSettings> tag, insert the following two lines:

<add key="LogToCDF" value ="1"/>
<add key="LogFileName" value ="C:\ctxlogging\ddc_cdscntrl.log"/>

10.  You will need to reboot your DDC for this to take effect. If you have more than 1 DDC, perform these steps on all of them.

Some of the paths may vary depending on OS (x64) and whether you changed the default install paths during installation.

EDIT 8/23/09: Added CTX Article, http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX117452 and CTX Article for Enabling PortICA Logging http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX118837

The user Network Service will need Full Control over the log directory. While this is not officially documented by Citrix, it has been reported by others. (Thanks to Alistair Gillespie)