Version 7.14 of XenDesktop & XenApp comes with an updated version of Scout, version 3.0 to be exact – up from 2.23 before that. As you will find out throughout this post there are a couple of substantial differences between the two. I’ll start by highlighting some of the main features/capabilities of Scout as part XenDesktop & XenApp 7.13 and earlier versions, followed by how this is now handled within version 3.0. I have included a couple of screenshots as well.
Citrix Smart Check — the latest addition to the Smart Tools portfolio. Make sure to take it for a test-ride
A few months ago Citrix renamed their Lifecycle Management Services to Smart Tools. Take a look at this post from fellow CTP Andrew Wood, it explains in-detail what Citrix Lifecycle Management Services is all about, including the name change. Smart Tools consists out of four distinct services each fulfilling their own purpose, for this post I would like to focus on the Smart Check service.
Citrix Support – A new model, a new hope, Citrix Customer Success Services
About two weeks ago Citrix announced part of their new support portfolio for 2017 and beyond, a.k.a. Citrix Customer Success Services. Starting January 1st 2017 customers will be able to purchase, or better said subscribe to (annually) a new support package named ‘Select’ (as part of the Customer Success Services umbrella) with two more packages following mid-2017 (June / July) referred to as ‘Priority’ and ‘Priority Plus’, although for now there is no detailed information available regarding these two additional packages. Let’s have a look at what we do know.
Citrix Call-Home, a potential successor for Scout — here is what you need to know
Citrix Call Home according to the e-docs pages “Call Home collects diagnostic data and then periodically uploads telemetry packages containing that data directly to Citrix Insight Services for analysis and troubleshooting”. A nice summary, but of course there is a bit more to it. Below I have put together a brief ‘did you know that’ overview, a somewhat different format then what you are used here on basvankaam.com — let me know what you think.
The Citrix Long Term Service Release vs. the Current Release. What’s (really) new?
Not that long ago (during Summit 2016 to be exact) Citrix introduced two new XenApp / XenDesktop servicing options, the LTRS, which stands for Long Term Service Release and the CR a.k.a. Current Release. And while this is sort of a big deal, it does tend to confuse people on what to expect when it comes to Citrix support. This post is meant to clarify a couple of misconceptions that have been slowly formed during the last two months or so.
I’m presenting at the Dutch Citrix User Group… And to me that’s huge!
After two years of blogging, hiding behind my MacBook :) and virtually on Twitter, Linked-In etc… the time has finally come to take the next step. On March 6th I will be presenting at the next DuCUG event, or Dutch Citrix User Group in full, taking place at Dell in Amsterdam. In fact if you are reading this, chances are that I’m on stage at this very moment. For me it is an absolute first, not just at DuCUG but also with regards to presenting, or public speaking, in general. I have had multiple opportunities in the past but I just kept making up excuses so I wouldn’t have to go up on stage. Because to be honest, the thought of standing in front of a big crowd and doing ‘my thing’ kind of scares me. And DuCUG can be considered a big crowd, at least in my book. It has been sold out for weeks, as it always is, meaning that no less than 150 IT professionals will be there to hear what I, and others, have to say. It’s an honour to be part of their line-up, check their agenda (screenshot below), there are some ‘big’ names on there.
Troubleshooting Citrix XenDesktop & XenApp 7.x ? Read this !
When I was thinking about what to write next I thought it might be a good idea to use something ‘from the field’, an issue that I’ve been involved in personally during the past two weeks or so. Then I figured, why just discuss one specific use case when there is so much more to tell. So I won’t, instead I’ll focus on troubleshooting in general and use my ‘real world’ example as a reference throughout this article.
Citrix Printing Pathway… an overview
Citrix printing can be, or at least can be made, pretty complex, unfortunately I had to find out the hard way myself. When troubleshooting print issues the path a print job follows throughout your infrastructure is always a good place to start especially when its performance related. However, you do need to understand the differences between the various routes a print job can take, why and where it could impact performance. I remember a few years back all this got me buzzing… Let’s start and see what comes up.
The Shadow key… what’s it all about?!
One of those lesser known Terminal Server (Citrix) concepts which is often overlooked.
What is it and what does it do?! I learned about the shadow key in more detail about 6 years ago and since then I noticed that not all, or very few to be honest, system admins know about its existence, or that they do know, but don’t know how to treat it… does that make any sense? First I’ll briefly try and explain the use, advantages and disadvantages. Also, there have been made a few small changes to the overall architecture with the introduction of 64 bit systems and Server 2008R2 which I’ll address later on