MetaFrame Secure Access Manager Deployment/Integration Tips and TricksMetaFrame Secure Access Manager
Deployment/Integration Tips and Tricks
Trey Baumgardner
System Engineer – Dallas Texas
Citrix Systems
Trey Baumgardner
System Engineer – Dallas Texas
Citrix Confidential
Disclaimer
• Some customizations, tips, tricks and info supplied on this power point may not be fully supported by Citrix. • Please use the information supplied in this power point
at your own risk.
• Download these slides - detailed notes with Reg tweaks etc.
Agenda
•
Deployment
•
Integration
•
Performance
•
Configuration and
Deployment
Deployment Basics
• Uninstall Tech Preview
• Update Service Packs and OS Hotfixes
• Disable unused Services (windows media, ftp etc)
• Single Server Setup (Workgroup or Domain)
• Distributed Server Setup (Domain)
– Multi-server installation
• Web, Agent and State Server
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Architect Your Users/Roles
• Avoiding Login Delays
– Create a local group
– Install a DC for the remote domain
– Active directory Universal groups
State Server Cache
• The template file is located in:
– c:\Program Files\Citrix\Secure Access Manager\Config\State Server
• Cache types
– Session
– User
– Role
– Configstore
– Group
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Access for Unique Users
• What about dial-up and wireless users?
– Limit the amount of data on the pages
– Limit the size of header graphics
– Use fewer CDAs on each page
– Publish Access Center on a MetaFrame server
– Enhance client side performance
Time keeps on slipping…..
• ICA sessions action counted as idle time
– Adjust ICO time
• Working in Website Viewer or Embedded applications can count as idle time
– Increase session timeout
• Synchronize Agent servers time
– Bios and OS clocks
• Unsynchronized Agent servers can…
– User session time-outs counted inaccurately
Integration
Integrating new ideas….
Integration
Give your CDA’s Namespaces!!!
• Shared action:
<a name="<%=application("cdainstanceid")%>">
• At the end of any links to this CDA, or form actions posting to this CDA append #<
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Web Favorites CDA
Shared Documents CDA
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Program Neighborhood CDA
• Do not place too many apps in Add menu
Performance
Improving the User
Experience
Performance
Server Profiles
• Agent servers are CPU intensive
• Performance may be improved with…
– Additional processors up to 71% faster!!!
– Faster processors
– Add additional Agent Servers up to 77% faster!!!
– 256MB is sufficient
• Disk caching vital in State server performance
– Lots of MEMORY
– Not CPU intensive
– Use 15,000 rpm, SCSI-3 disk drive for best performance
– Accessing data from memory up to 150% faster
– Reg tweak IOPageLockLimit reg key to 4 - 8 MB. The default is 0.5 MB or 512 KB
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Further improving Server Performance
• Menu configuration affect Agent server performance
– Menus appear on every page
• Reduce number of pages and folders
– Less than 10 Folders
• Reduce pages associated with roles
Also consider Client Side Performance
• Client CPU affects page display
• Web Browser processes HTML and JavaScript
• Menu processed by JavaScript
– Reduce Pages and Folders
– Limit number of published applications
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Adjust IIS Bandwidth
• Tune/enable Bandwidth Throttling for the Default Web Site
How?
• To throttle the bandwidth for the Default Site, right-click on its icon in the IIS
console, select Properties, choose the Performance tab, select "Enable
Bandwidth Throttling," and type in the
maximum number of kilobytes per second (KBps) you want to allow.
Why?
Tuning the IIS
• Accurately set Performance Tuning settings based on hits per day
How
• To set the Hit Rate Performance Tuning setting, right click on its icon in the IIS console, select Properties, choose the
Performance tab and move the slider to the range that most accurately described your monitored usage. If this is a new
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Adjust IIS Cache
• Tune the size of the IIS5 data cache
How?
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \Services \Inetinfo \
Parameters\ MemCacheSize (REG_DWORD) (size set in megabytes)
Why?
Avoid potential
Bottlenecks
• Recommended 5:1 Agent server to Web server ratio with SP1
• Monitor MetaFrame servers for excessive CPU utilization
– IMAService specifically
• Load balance MetaFrame servers
– Inadequate MetaFrame Servers can cause delays in Secure Access Manager environment
– Never list the data collector or Master ICA Browser as the first server in priority list
• Use NIC aggregation technologies or upgrade the network to gigabit technology
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CDA Profiling
• The CDA title bar displays execution time in milliseconds and output in bytes
• 1. Stop the Citrix Secure Access Manager State Server service
• 2. Edit the following file:
– install_ directory\Config\State Server\Access
CenterNam e\ConfigStore\{\2\{235F25C0-F04D-11D3-8113-00C04F607D9F}|cdsconfig.txt
• 3. Change the following line: – <profile>false</profile>
– To:
Configuration and
Management
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Citrix Service Utility
• Use Citrix Service Utility to
change the accounts used for
NFuse.conf File
• Configurations outside the AMC
– Timeout
– AlternateAddress
– EnableServerLoadBalancing
– CacheExpireTime
– BypassFailedServerDuration
– ClientAddressMap
– ServerAddressMap
– Etc…
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CDA Management
• Limit the number of CDAs on a page
• Lock down CDAs
• “Silo” resource-intensive CDAs on separate pages
• Include small number of low-impact CDAs on Home page
• Non dynamic data on Home page
Recovering Data
• To recover the server farm configuration data, copy the Config folder from the most recent backup
• Use SQL Enterprise Services to Restore backed up databases
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Recovering Virtual Directory
• You can regenerate Virtual Directory on Secure Access Manager Webserver
– 1. In the AMC, right-click the server farm and choose Properties.
– 2. On the Web Servers tab, clear the check box of the Web server with the problem virtual directory.
– 3. Click OK.
– 4. Verify that the virtual directory has been deleted from the Web server. If the directory still exists, delete the
directory manually.
Import/Export
• Moving from a development to production a production environment
• Duplicate configurations by exporting and importing with a different name
– Portal cannot be overwritten by an imported portal
• Users added to the environment individually are exported
• Importing portals is resource intensive
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• Focus on end user experience • Shouldn’t be a liability
• Successful deployment draws users • Scale as necessary
• Read between the lines • TEST, TEST, TEST!!!
Special thanks to Jason Maynard, Chong Yi, Kevin Castleman, Chirag Patel and Adam Marano
Creating Citrix Value-Added Solutions
• Get Educated on Citrix Products
– Understand full product suite: http://www.citrix.com/products/
– Download SDKs and relevant whitepapers from the Citrix Developer Network: http://apps.citrix.com/CDN
• Build Value Add Solutions
– Leverage industry standards and tools such as Visual Studio.NET and Web Forms
– Leverage SDKs to guide development and test efforts • Post Solution
- Fill out form, and post screen shot, link and/or solution to
http://apps.citrix.com/CDN and www.mycitrix.com
• Other useful sites
- www.dabcc.com
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