Although I’m not that deep into the whole Netscaler jibba jabba, I find this book very helpfull and it gives a lot of real world recipes to get the job done.

These are the topics:

• DMZ;
• Triple A;
• Surge/Burst;
• Content Switching;
• Zombie Cleanup;
• Disaster Recovery;
• DOS and attack preventions; (I like this topic )
• Learning application firewall;
• Access Gateway integation forn XA and XD
• Network Management.

Carmel Jacob, good job

Click here or on the image below to get your copy

It looks like this:

On the interweb there is no info what these settings are doing exactly. In this post I will try to make this clear.

• Max active actions: This value determines the maximum active actions on the virtualization host;
• Max new actions per minute: This value determines the maximum new actions per minute. When the max active actions is full, these new actions are stored in a queue in the XenDesktop Database;
• Max power actions as percentage of desktops: This value is the maximum “On/Off” actions in percentage at the same time. (the entire hypervisor pool accessed by this connection);
• Max personal vDisk power actions as percentage: This value is the maximum concurrent personal vDisk actions. Think about: Create/Wipe/Maintenance.

Note: Last two settings can have a lot of impact on the needed IOPS. Tune these values correct for optimized performance.

Jeroen, you just repeated the settings name. Oké, lets dig in deeper.

The Setup:

My setup is simple:

• 2x a XenDesktop Controller (XenDesktop and XenDesktop2);
• 1x a Windows7 machine;
• The XenDesktop Controllers are hosting there own XenDesktop farm.

The VDA Installation:

The VDA installation asks the controller location:

• Manually enter controller location;
  • This is know as the Registry Discovery. On the client there will be a list with the DDC’s;
• Select from Active Directory;
  • This is know as the Active Directory Discovery. On the client there will be a FarmGUID. In the AD there is a relation between the FarmGUID and the DDC’s;
• Configure at a later time;
  • This is most the most flexible way. On the client there is no list, or what so ever, with DDC’s to contact.

In all the examples below, I have chosen: Configure at a later time. So I have to do it manually.

Registry Discovery:

When Registry Discovery is used. The following registry key (Type RES_SZ) is added to the client:

• 32Bit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Citrix\VirtualDesktopAgent\ListOfDDCs
• 64Bit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Citrix\VirtualDesktopAgent\ListOfDDCs

The data in the key is the FQDN of the DDC’s to use. For instance:

• XenDesktop.JeroenTielen.Local (Use the first DDC);
• XenDesktop2.JeroenTielen.Local (Use the second DDC);
• XenDesktop.JeroenTielen.Local XenDesktop2.JeroenTielen.Local (It will randomly select a DDC and uses another until a successful connection is established).

When this registry key is in place and the “Citrix Desktop Service” service is restarted, the Desktop is successful  registered.

To make this more dynamically/flexible. This key can be deployed by a Group Policy using Preferences.

This method is easy to implement. When a VDA is moved between Organizational Units the policy on the specific OU will instruct the VDA to the correct DDC.

Note: When a Citrix Policy is configured in the Desktop Studio, instructing the VDA to contact a specific DDC, this interfere with the GPO. This Citrix Policy is kept on the client. When changing OU/GPO this setting will always kicks in. Delete the file: “C:\Program Files\Citrix\Virtual Desktop Agent\Policy\FAMachinePolicyRules.xml” and reboot the VDA will solve the problem. When using a GPO for Registry discovery, don’t set a Citrix Policy in the Desktop Studio.

Active Directory Discovery:

To enable Active Directory Discovery you first need to start a PowerShell script on 1 DDC in the Farm. This script is located in the following directory: “C:\Program Files\Citrix\Broker\Service\Setup Scripts” and is named: “Set-ADControllerDiscovery.ps1”

In this example I’m going to use the same OU as where my computer accounts exists:

.\Set-ADControllerDiscovery.ps1  -on –existingOuDn “OU=Win7, OU=Test, DC=JeroenTielen, DC=local”

This will add DDC information into the specified OU. Within this information there is a group named: “Controllers”. All DDC’s computer accounts are placed into this group. Making it easy to change DDC’s. (Just add the correct DDC into the group.)

Before you continue, restart on all DDC’s the “Citrix Broker Service” service.

In the results of the PowerShell script, there is a line saying:

• Important: You must make sure that your VDAs are using the correct OU (e.g. set  HKLM\SOFTWARE\Citrix\VirtualDesktopAgent\FarmGUID to “ID”).

The following registry key (Type RES_SZ) must be added to the client:

• 32Bit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Citrix\VirtualDesktopAgent\FarmGUID
• 64Bit: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Citrix\VirtualDesktopAgent\FarmGUID

The data in the key is the “ID” found in the result of the PowerShell script. In my case:

• 51C37CDF-3CA7-4237-B2A5-7803138DBC5C

When this registry key is in place and the “Citrix Desktop Service” service is restarted, the Desktop is successful registered.

To make this more dynamically/flexible. This key can be deployed by a Group Policy using Preferences.

This method is easy to implement. When a VDA is moved between Organizational Units the policy on the specific OU will instruct the VDA to the correct DDC.

Note: When a Citrix Policy is configured in the Desktop Studio, instructing the VDA to contact a specific DDC, this interfere with the GPO. This Citrix Policy is kept on the client. When changing OU/GPO this setting will always kicks in. Delete the file: “C:\Program Files\Citrix\Virtual Desktop Agent\Policy\FAMachinePolicyRules.xml” and reboot the VDA will solve the problem. When using a GPO for Active Directory discovery, don’t set a Citrix Policy in the Desktop Studio.

Citrix Active Directory Policy

If you install GPMC on a DDC or install Desktop Studio and GPMC on a management workstation. You can create a Citrix Policy direct on a specific OU. This will direct the VDA to register itself with the specified DDC’s.

This policy is only viewable on a machine where the desktop studio is installed.

Citrix Policy

Within the Citrix policies in the Desktop Studio. There is an option to configure the controller. This policy will overrule all settings above. But keep in mind. To apply this policy the VDA must first register with the DDC. So first you need to use some methods above and then a Citrix Policy to overrule that setting. Not ideal

Hopefully this post will clear up any questions about howto register a VDA with a DDC or DDC’s.

Every chapter is dived into:

• Introduction about the chapter;
• Getting Ready;
• How to do it;
• How it works.

Where possible the are some extra’s like:

• PowerShell or other scripts;
• Best practices;
• Tips and Tricks.

The book covers everything a Hyper-V nerd needs to know

Click on the logo to go directly to the book.

The Test User

First we create a user named: Manny. This user is used to create the profile. You can name it any way you want. Don’t give it any profile. You can create a local user, but my test machine is also a domain controller, so I only can create an AD user.

Login with Manny and customize the environment. (Don’t forget to remove the PowerShell and Server Manager pinned icons in the taskbar).

Now logoff Manny. (Click in the upper right corner on the user name )

Create The Mandatory Profile Folder

Log back in with an Administrator. Copy the Manny profile to you profile share on the network. Rename the folder into: Mandatory.v2 (or any other name you like). The .v2 must be added because Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8 make use of the .v2 type profiles. (Like Windows 7 and 2008 R2)

Load The Profile Into The Registry To Edit It

Start regedit and open the: ntuser.dat from the profile.

Set The Registry Permissions

Open the permissions of the Manny profile. Remove Manny and the Administrators group. Add authenticated users, full control. The permissions would look like this:

I always check, under advanced, “replace all child object permissions entries with inheritable permissions”. Now, for VDI environments this works good. But in RDS environments the same users on the system could access the registry of other users. This can be locked down with subinacl.exe. This will be another blog post soon

Registry Changes

Search the registry for Manny en clean those value’s or change the type from REG_SZ to REG_EXPAND_SZ and add the value %USERNAME%

Delete all policies: Manny\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies and Manny\Software\Policies

Check: Manny\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVerion\Run and RunOnce if they are empty. Things that have to start at logon must be started via other methods like logon script/RES WorkSpace Manager/AppSense

The value’s in Manny\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders should not be touched. Because on top of that key there is a line saying: DO NOT USE THIS REGISTRY KEY. But you can change this value’s to %USERPROFILE%\etc. I had some issue’s with applications which use this key and can’t handle the variable. Then you can try to change to REG_EXPAND_SZ or contact the vendor. Because applications should not use this key anymore. Read this blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/oldnewthing/archive/2003/11/03/55532.aspx

Unload The Profile

Unload the profile and close the registry editor.

Open explorer and navigate to the profile. Delete the log and TM files.

Rename the NTUSER.DAT file to NTUSER,MAN. The profile should look like this:

Delete Profile Files

Delete the Local and LocalLow directory from the AppData directory.

Windows Explorer Libraries

To get the Libraries working we have to edit some XML files. Open the following file in notepad: Mandatory.V2\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Libraries\Documents.library-ms

Remove the lines with ownerSID and serialized. The XML should look like this:

The last searchConnectorDescription is the public folder on a system. If you don’t want users to use this library simply remove that element. then the XML would look like this:

This link to the microsoft site will explain all folders: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/dd940483(v=vs.85).aspx

Do the same for Music.Library-ms, Pictures.Library-ms and Videos.Library-ms

Windows Explorer Favorites (Links)

Navigate to the Links folder in the root of the Mandatory profile. The Links folder contains Shortcuts which are presented at the top of the Windows Explorer window under Favorites. Don’t mix them with Internet Explorer Favorites.  Open the properties of the Desktop shortcut. Change the target to %USERPROFILE%\Desktop

Do the same for the Download. (Recent Places, can’t be edited).

Assign The Mandatory Profile To A Test User

Now open the properties of a test account and add the mandatory profile. Don’t add the .v2, Windows will add that automatically.

Of course in a real production environment you would set the mandatory profile with a GPO.

Taskbar Pinned Icons

The pinned icons in the taskbar are stored in the following locations:

File: %AppData%\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\Taskbar
Registry: HKCU\Sotware\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVerion\Explorer\Taskband

That registry key is not easy editable. Use your profile management software to roam these settings. And remove the Server Management and PowerShell icons while creating the default profile

Tips

These tricks also work on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2

The Active Setup is still in this profile. There will be a post update soon

Terry Duchastel has made a very clean and easy how-to about branding the site. I’ve borrowed some elements from that post and put it in this simple CSS He has made a couple of links in the logon page for helpdesk purpose. That part is skipped (because I don’t want to change the default html structure). The only thing with that type of branding, is that it will be gone when an upgrade is performed.  

Citrix made the structure of the site so that it first reads it’s default CSS and at the end all custom settings. Due to this way we only need to change the file named: custom.style.css

There is always a demand for the Fokke and Sukke Web Interface, that I made just for fun a long time ago. I don’t have the sources for this anymore. This is not gone happen again .

Paste this CSS structure into C:\inetpub\wwwroot\Citrix\StoreWeb\contrib\custom.style.css (Assuming default installation) and refresh your Receiver or Web

All images are hosted on my site. I know that isn’t the way it should be, but it’s more to see how easy it is to change the appearance.

Logon to the admin panel on the CAG. Edit the logonpoint that we made in part3. Make changes so that the logonpoint looks like this:

(Click title to read more..)

Now make a new logonpoint named ‘mobile’ with the following settings:

Web Address: https://storefront.lab.local/citrix/store/pnagent
Home Page: https://storefronts.lab.local/citrix/store/pnagent/config.xml
Don’t forget to thick the checkmark: Authenticate with Web Interface.

This logonpoint is used for iOS/Android devices.

Open the Citrix Receiver StoreFront Management Console. Navigate to the authentication section. Enable: User name and password. This is because internal access and legacy access (iOS/Android) is going to be used.

In the Store section we enable Legacy Support.

And now the environment is ready to use the nice Self Service Plugin within the Citrix Receiver.

On the clients workstations open a web browser and login into the Receiver for Web website. On the left bottom corner click on the activate button (if you didn’t disabled it ) and let the magic begin.

Select: Add (Duhhh )

Now the Citrix Receiver is configured to use the StoreFront server through the CAG. You can close the web browser and use the receiver instead.

The activate button downloads a receiverconfig.cr file. This file can be distributed to other users to configure their receiver.

To configure the receiver on the iPhone/iPad. Open the receiver and add an account with the following url: https://fqdn/lp/mobile and let the receiver automatically do his thing.

Stay tuned for part 5 where all the pieces come together  

Part 1: http://www.jeroentielen.nl/self-service-plugin-storefront-merchandising-server-citrix-access-gateway-part1/

Part 2: http://www.jeroentielen.nl/self-service-plugin-storefront-merchandising-server-citrix-access-gateway-part2/

Part 3: http://www.jeroentielen.nl/self-service-plugin-storefront-merchandising-server-citrix-access-gateway-part3/

As you can see everything is covered and really really deep technical. Just the way we like it. So if you are an App-V dude, don’t hasitate and buy.

I’m not done reading at the moment But I will finish it soon. And keep it in a save place as reference.

• A = Always, allow adding and removing stores;
• N = Never, allow adding and removing stores;
• S = Secure (https) stores allowed.

When the client is already deployed the following registry key can be changed to change this behavior:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Woe6432Node\Citrix\Dazzle\AllowAddStore

Here is what it looks like for the end user:

Not Allowed:

Allowed:

Welcome back, in this part I’m going to talk about the configuration between the CAG and StoreFront server. While I’m typing this blog there are some new releases. First off all the new version of the Receiver Storefront is v1.1. And there are new Citrix Receivers clients for OSX and Windows. All of my testing is done with the new versions. (As of April 2012)

I want to point out that this blog is how-to configure the StoreFront and the CAG (VPX) without the Self Service Plug-In (that blog comes later). What I’m going to show is how users connect to the environment with the help of a webbrowser (So only the Storefront StoreWeb site).

The CAG is using two network adapters. One connected to the internet and one connected to the internal LAN (And off course you should use an FireWall between the LAN and DMZ but that one is not present here ) Here’s the NIC configuration of the CAG:

UPDATE: Change the CAG hostname to the name on the certificate

Now we create a LDAP Authentication profile. I want my users to authenticate at the CAG and to pass-through this credentials to the StoreFront Express server. Here’s my configuration:

Now we are going to create a basic-logon point which show the StoreFront StoreWeb website.

And the Website Configuration:

Don’t forget to tick the SSO checkmark and don’t tick the: Authenticate with Web Interface checkmark. Because we want to authenticate at the CAG.

Now we switch over to the StoreFront Express machine and open the Citrix Receiver StoreFront Management Console.

In the authentication section we can choose 3 types of authentication. In this scenario only 1 is used. Enable the Pass-through from Citrix Access Gateway method.

And add a trusted domain, in my case the LAB domain. If you want to create a website for the internal users, then enable the: User name and password method.

I’m assuming that the Store is already configured. So go to the beacons section. Add some external beacons. Beacons are used to determine if users are in an internal or external LAN.

Go to the Gateways section and add the Gateway Server.

The name must match the name configured at the CAG and must match the name on the SSL certificate. The gateway url is the logon point we created in the CAG. In my case the logon point has the name: lab

The silent authentication is to authenticate users from an external network. Give your FQDN of the CAG here.

The StoreFront Express server must access the CAG on the internal NIC by it’s FQDN. So update your DNS or (in my case) edit the HOSTS file on the StoreFront Express server.

Go to the Stores section and enable Remote Access on your Store. Select your Gateway server.

Now we have a fully functional StoreFront Express website which is accessed though the CAG. Users authenticate at the CAG and are then taken to the StoreWeb website. The same as the old Citrix Secure Gateway and WebInterface worked. Keep in mind that I didn’t enable the pnagent xml file and the discovery/activation file isn’t working. So my Self Service Plugin generates an error.  

If you receive this error: (Cannot complete your request. Could not log off from Access Gateway. Please close your browser to log off.)

Then don’t forget: The StoreFront Express machine needs to access the CAG at his internal NIC by his FQDN (change DNS or edit HOSTS file).

In part 4 I’m going to enable the Self Service Plugin with the StoreFront and CAG. At the moment, this is not working like it should be So please be patient.

Part 1: http://www.jeroentielen.nl/self-service-plugin-storefront-merchandising-server-citrix-access-gateway-part1/

Part 2: http://www.jeroentielen.nl/self-service-plugin-storefront-merchandising-server-citrix-access-gateway-part2/

Now open an elevated command prompt en start diskpart.

Select the vDisk with the following command: select vdisk file=”<VHD FILE>”

To shrink/compact the VHD file give the following command: compact vdisk

Now (in my case) the file is the smallest size possible. (hmmm I should have delete more files )

Only Windows 2008 and be sure that the vDisk isn’t in use

Update: You can use SDELETE (http://blog.it-ic.nl/wordpress/?p=318) to shrink the VHD even more.

• Do you want to serve/update the receiver and plugins from the internet?
• Then you need an SSL certificate and web address.
• do you want to serve/update the receiver and plugins only from the internal LAN?
• You still need an SSL certificate but this can be a self signed.

Download the MS from the Citrix website (you need a mycitrix account for that). There are downloads for different Hypervisors. Upload the appliance and start it. Then follow the steps on the console to give it’s name and ip-adres. When it’s done, open you browser and navigate to this url: https://<ip-adres>/appliance Login with the default name and password: root C1trix321

First you want to add the domain controller so that domain users can authenticate. And to create an administrator account for the MS administrator. My DC is on 192.168.1.1 and I’m using Service Account SA_MS. My domain name is jeroentielen.local

Now add a user who’s gone be the MS administrator . Log out and log back in with the just added administrator and you have a lot more options.

There are a view steps to take to configure the MS and serve clients.

• Create rules for specific clients;
• Download/Upload the appropriate receivers and plug-ins;
• Create deliveries for the specific clients with their specific receivers and plug-ins.

I want to serve all Windows and OSX clients. There are rules for al types of OS versions. I find it handy to create rules for all windows versions. Like this:

Now you can use these rules with you deliveries. But first download the receiver and plug-in to use. Before we do that, last talk about the default client deployed with the MS. When users navigate, with their browsers, to the merchandising server. They see this screen:

When they click on ‘download’ it will download the Citrix Receiver 3.0 (OSX users: 11.4.3). This is the default version which comes with MS 2.2. You can change this version, but I suggest to upgrade first to 3.1 with a delivery . If you do want to change the default version. Go to the console. Type 8 (for diagnostics) and 4 (for appliance terminal) login with root and password. En type: service sshd start

Now you can start WinSCP and change the clients. (located in /usr/local/apache-tomcat-6.0.32/webapps/appliance/download)

CitrixReceiverUpdater.msi is used when
there is already an Citrix Reicever
present on the workstation.

ReceiverSetup is default used by the
download page.

ReceiverUpdaterForMac.dmg is used
by OSX machines.

But save yourself the trouble (changing msi/exe files, signing problems etc etc). Upgrade to the latest version, by creating a delivery.

Download the: Receiver Updater 3.1 for Windows. http://www.citrix.com/English/ss/downloads/details.asp?downloadId=2310183&productId=1689163

The latest version of the Receiver for Max (11.4.3) is already present on the MS. (Well, it is while I’m typing this post )

Upload the MSI with Metadata.xml to the MS so we can use it with a delivery.

The metadata.xml files used are the setup switches and parameters for the msi/exe files. To learn more about this files. Read this awesome blog post from Toni Kirk: http://community.citrix.com/display/receiver/Metadata+windows

Here’s the list with all the Receivers and Plug-Ins I’m currently using:

As you can see, I’m using the MS to deploy the App-V client. And using the App-V Conduit to stream App-V packages to my end users their home pc’s. ‘Just because you can’ But that’s a story for another time.

When all the right Receivers and Plug-Ins are downloaded It’s time to create the deliveries. Because I’m deploying the App-V client, I have 3 types of deliveries:

1. Windows x86;
2. Windows x64;
3. OSX.

When you just deploy the Receiver and Plug-ins (which are x64/x86 compatible). You can create 2 deliveries (Windows and OSX).

The default ‘Evaluation Order’ is used when the workstation isn’t part of any other delivery. I’m using the following method: All Windows x86 versions (rules) are part of delivery Windows x86 and all Windows x64 versions (rules) are part of delivery windows x64. So all other operating systems must be OSX and are part of the Default delivery. Easy and simple.

No create the deliveries. Here are the screenshots of my Windows x64 delivery with the correct configurations:

When going to the website and download the default plugin. The following screen appears:

And when applying you domain credentials, first the receiver is updated to the new version and then the plug-ins are installed.

And after a reboot. The Citrix Receiver (3.1) with the Self Service Plugin is deployed and configured.

Remember: FQDN/Appliance is the Administrator Site. And the FQDN is the normal download site. There is no way to sort the deployment. (feature request????)

In Part 3, I’m going to talk about the StoreFront Express server behind the CAG.

To use this nice feature within the new receiver (which is connected to the WebInterface). Edit the following file(Assuming Default Installation): C:\inetpub\wwwroot\Citrix\XenApp\conf\WebInterface.Conf

Search for: # ShowDesktopViewer=Off

Change to: ShowDesktopViewer=On

When using PNAgent. Change the same file in the PNAgent site.

In Part 1 I’m going to show you what the Citrix Receiver looks on Windows and OSX and how the Self Service Plugin looks. There are tiny bit’s about customizing the StoreFront.

Oké here is my lab environment:

If you want to know how the CAG and StoreFront servers are configured to work with each other, contact me Can’t give to much information on the post

Remote users (To be exactly only me ) connect through de Citrix Access Gateway (looks like this):

And when authenticating, they see their available applications, which are presented by the StoreFront server.

Nothing new, nothing fancy Well the StoreFront looks kinda fancy isn’t it? Just like the Receiver on the iPad. And for the end users the same user experience.

So what if the workstation doesn’t have the Citrix Receiver installed. What message will the StoreFront display?

When checking the box and click on Install. The file will be downloaded from the StoreFront server. The file can be edited for your needs. When there is a new Citrix Receiver,  you must add it to the StoreFront server and change a file to enable update. Here is a screenshot of the file: C:\inetpub\wwwroot\Citrix\StoreWeb\web.config (Assuming default installation)

Here you can change the stuff to your needs:

• Enable or Disable the PluginAssistant (To Disable the client installation offer from StoreFront);
• Enable or Disable client upgrades at login;
• Location and/or name of the installer files.

At the bottom of the screenshot you see: ReceiverConfiguration. With this option you can enable or disable the left-bottom icon in the StoreFront website. What???? Here’s the screenshot

With this option we can access our applications locally from the desktop without using the StoreFront WebSite. You need the Citrix Receiver 3.1 for this to work. It look like this:

So now we got a nice looking Self Service Portal for my end users. Yes, just the same as the old Program Neighborhood. But now it’s the same user interface as the website.

On an OSX system the Citrix Receiver looks like this:

And when configured it look like this:

The problem is that the interface is different then that from the Windows Citrix Receiver. If you want the same interface for both platforms. Downgrade the Citrix Receiver to version 3.0. Download the Self Service-Plugin 2.1 from the Citrix website. (You need a mycitrix account for that).  Then the Windows Receiver look like this:

For now, I’m using:

• Windows: Citrix Receiver 3.1 (Green look and feel self service plug-in);
• OSX: Citrix Receiver 11.4.3 (Dazzle look and feel self service plug-in).

In Part 2, I’m going to talk about the Merchandising server. And how to deploy pre configured Receivers and plug-ins to the end points.

In de vertaling zijn weer niet de error/foutmeldingen meegenomen. Dit omdat er natuurlijk weinig te vinden is hierover op internet. Foutmeldingen naar de gebruikers zelf zijn wel vertaald.

De installatie is ditmaal handmatig. Omdat hij zo reuze eenvoudig is dat het makkelijk met de hand kan.

Opmerking: Deze vertaling is een extra taal voor de StoreFront. Dit houd in dat de originele talen nog steeds blijven werken. Aan de hand van de regional settings van de gebruiker wordt de juiste taal ingesteld.

Wilt u zo vriendelijk zijn om fouten aan mij te melden. Dan zal ik zorgen dat deze verwerkt worden.

Update 15 April: Getest en werkt ook op de nieuwe 1.1 versie.

In de vertaling zijn niet de error/foutmeldingen meegenomen. Dit omdat er natuurlijk weinig te vinden is hierover op internet. Foutmeldingen naar de gebruikers zelf zijn wel vertaald.

Natuurlijk nog steeds veel dank aan: Aleks Nikolic, Martijn Bosschaart, Pieter Verkiel en vooral Peter Huegen welke een groot deel van deze versie heeft vertaald.

Wilt u zo vriendelijk zijn om fouten aan mij te melden. Dan zal ik zorgen dat deze verwerkt worden.

Hierbij sluit ik 5.4.0 af. En gaan we verder met 5.4.2.

In the word document I have a table and the screenshot is pasted in the table. Like this example.

Now when inserting this image from the clipboard the image isn’t auto resized to fit the cell. So It looks like this:

Then I have to change te image to fit the cell.

BUT. When I paste the image into MSPAINT and then: Select All, Copy and Paste into the Cell the autoresize works. What’s the differences? And howto paste images directly from Screenhunter or Snagit into the cell and auto size them????

First open the XenServer host console.

Check the current partition table: fdisk –l

As you can see in the screenshot, my boot partition is the /dev/sda1 (SD = Mass Storage Drive, A = First Registered Device, 1 = First Partition)

To get more info on this disk type: gdisk /dev/sda –l

Now you see that there are 3 partitions on my disk: 2x 4GB (SDA1/SDA2) and 1 with the rest (SDA3).

I will use the /dev/sda3 for ISO repository.

Format the /dev/sda3 with the following command: mkfs.ext3 /dev/sda3

After the format is done, we are gone mount it to /mnt/iso.

Create the iso directory: mkdir /mnt/iso

Mount the partition: mount –t ext3 /dev/sda3 /mnt/iso/

The mount must be active after a reboot. So add it to the fstab script: echo “/dev/sda3 /mnt/iso ext3 defaults 1 1” >> /etc/fstab

Make it available in XenServer: xe-mount-iso-sr /mnt/iso –o bind

Use FileZilla to make a SFTP connection to the XenServer host and to upload the ISO files to /mnt/iso

And now the ISO files are ready to use in XenServer.

First start the event viewer. This can be done (there are more ways) by clicking on: Diagnostics –> User Sessions –> Double click on the users you want to view.

It opens the Workspace Analysis for that specific user. Now browse to: Diagnostics –> Event Log and choose a session.

As you can see in the screenshot. There are a lot of steps (events). In the front there’s the Date/Time. But is it the Start or Ending time?

After digging into this question. I found out that it’s the ending time of that specific event. So the start time is actually the ending time of the previous event.

For instance: 23-11-2011 13:08:05 Detecting connection state…

It’s ended on: 13:08:05 and started on: 13:08:04.

To figure it out yourself. Add a drive mapping to an unknown file share and watch the event log.

After my successful blogpost about the Web Interface (Link), it’s time for a new one for the CloudGateway. Although it’s a technical review and not released yet, I wanted to be earlier then Andrew Morgan

This is the original Logon Page for the new Citrix Cloud Gateway:

It’s pretty easy to customize it. Here is the layout:

Here is a direct link for better reading: http://www.jeroentielen.nl/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/CloudGateway.png

So here we go:

Black & White

Fokke & Sukke

Stay tuned, for the Dutch Language pack for the Cloud Gateway.

The scripts are located here: “C:\Program Files (x86)\Citrix\App Delivery Setup Tools″

Install-CtxDesktopExperience.ps1

• Adds Desktop Experience & XPS Viewer
• Moves Citrix Administration tools folder
• Creates a new Windows Theme and default wallpaper
• Starts Windows Themes service and configures it to start automatically
• Then runs CommonDesktopExperience.ps1

CommonDesktopExperience.ps1

• Sets Themes service to automatic & starts
• Backs up existing user tile and copies a new user tile to user.jpg

New-CtxManagedDesktopGPO.ps1

• This powershell script not important to delivering Windows 7 look and feel
• Creates GPO’s that allow lockdown and personalization of shared desktop

Enable-CtxDesktopExperienceUser.ps1

• Customizes the task bar
• Has error checking not to double create links
• Removes server manager & powershell links
• Adds IE & media player links
• Applied at login via a GPO

New-CtxTheme.ps1

• Create a news Windows Theme file by copying Basic.theme to the file specified in the ThemeFile parameter
• Configure the new theme to use the wallpaper specified in the WallpaperFile parameter

The following GPO’s are created by the New-CtxManagedDesktopGPO.ps1 script

CtxStartMenuTaskbarUser: Enables the Windows 7 look and feel for published desktops. It also changes the pinned shortcuts on the Taskbar and configures the user’s Start menu to match the Windows 7 environment. This GPO includes a script that executes when a user logs on to the server for the first time. To ensure the script executes correctly, the PowerShell execution policy on the server must be set to AllSigned.

CtxPersonalizableUser: Configures the user account that is accessing the XenApp server. It configures Windows policies to limit the available Control Panel applets and restricts users from installing programs, viewing properties, scheduling tasks, or shutting down the server.

CtxRestrictedUser: Includes most of the policies from the CtxPersonalizableUser GPO. Additionally, this GPO configures the Desktop wallpaper policy to prevent users from personalizing their desktops and prevents users from modifying settings for the Start menu and Taskbar.

CtxRestrictedComputer: Configures certain restrictions on the XenApp servers allocated to the tenant. This GPO restricts users from accessing Windows Update or removable server drives.

Windows XP:

When you configure this setting in Windows XP:

Windows will remember each and every folder settings. It stores the settings in the registry on four locations:

• HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags
• HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\BagMRU
• HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\Bags
• HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\BagMRU

The BagMRU is the database of folders which are currently stored. It has the location of the folder and which ID (NodeSlot) it has in the Bags tree.

What does which tree stores?

The position of icons in the folder (only for icons on the desktop):

• HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags
• HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\BAGMRU

Folder View Settings, Size of the Windows, Position of the Windows:

• HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\Bags
• HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\BagMru

For administrators who want to create a policy to control this settings. This is the registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
DWORD ClassicViewState 1/0 (1 = Disabled, 0 = Enabled)

Windows 7

In Windows 7 it’s a little bit different. There is no option in the settings menu for configuring this. In the help there is this explanation:

Windows 7 will only remember each folder views settings, and off course the position of icons on the desktop.

This is stored in the following locations:

• HKCU\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags
• HKCU\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\BagMRU

The BagMRU is the database of folders which are currently stored. It has the location of the folder and which ID (NodeSlot) it has in the Bags tree. 

Utility

Nirsoft has a little utility called: Shell Bags View. Use it to read which folder is currently stored in your Bags.

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/shell_bags_view.html

Direct Link for better reading  http://www.jeroentielen.nl/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/WebInterface_5.4.01.png

For instance a WHITE theme:

Or a BLACK theme:

Or a Fokke & Sukke theme:

Well you get the idea

When the Web Interface server is rebooted or an iisrest is given the first user who access the Web Interface has to wait longer than normal. In the background different worker process (Application Pools) are started. And the .NET framework does his magic thing.

To speeds up things a little bit, you can disable the check for digital signatures.

Open the file: “C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework (or Framework64)\v2.0.50727\Aspnet.config”

Add the line: <generatePublisherEvidence enabled=”false”/> (Watch out for the “” if you copy/paste the line )

Reboot the server or give a iisreset. Now the first user doesn’’t have to wait

But there is more. If you have a dedicated Web Interface server and the available resources aren’t that important. You can change the default 20 minutes of idle time per Application Pool to, for instance, 60 minutes.

First we copy the clients from the folder: “Citrix Receiver and Plug-ins” on the installation source to the following location: “C:\Program Files (x86)\Citrix\Web Interface\5.4.0\Client”

From:

To:

Then navigate to: “C:\inetpub\wwwroot\Citrix\XenApp\conf” and open (with notepad) WebInterface.conf

Search for the following section:

Uncomment the client which you want to deploy. If you want to deploy everything then it looks like this:

But the “Citrix Online Plugin” is replaced bij the Receiver. So the CitrixIcaWin32 line must be changed to:

ClientIcaWin32=Filename:CitrixReceiverEnterprise.exe,Directory:Windows,Mui:Yes,ClassID:238f6f83-b8b4-11cf-8771-00a024541ee3

And then the config file look like this:

Save it, restart the Web Interface (iisreset or restart server )

Open “Client Deployment” in the Web Interface management console.

Select: “Perform client detection at logon” (and/or Offer upgrades for clients)

Select: “Deploy a native client”

Now the following screen will appear when a user hasn’t got a client and want to access his applications:

Update: If the PNAgent isn’t required for your environment. The use the CitrixReciever.exe file. So the ClientIcaWin32 line would be:

ClientIcaWin32=Filename:CitrixReceiver.exe,Directory:Windows,Mui:Yes,ClassID:238f6f83-b8b4-11cf-8771-00a024541ee3

What’s the differences between a laptop and a desktop? Correct, the battery. So the simplest way to achieve our goal is to check if there is a battery present in the system.

Open the OSD Task Sequence and add the required step.

Then open the options tab in that step, and add the following condition:

WMI NameSpace: root\cimv2

WQL Query: Select * from Win32_Battery where Batterystatus > 0

Here is the complete list: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa394074(v=vs.85).aspx

Q: Howto run a specific OSD job only on laptop?

A: Add the following condition: Select * from Win32_Battery where Batterystatus > 0

First off all, how big is my WinSxS folder? Right click on it says around 9GB.

But it contains hardlinks, so how big is it for real?? Download ctTrueSize. Run: ctts C:\Windows\WinSxS

9,35GB – 1,04GB = 8,30GB

So what’s the deal with that size?? Nothing Just fun to know. Oke run an elevated command prompt. And within that the following command: DISM /online /Cleanup-Image /SpSuperseded

Now how big is the WinSxS folder?? Around 6GB

And without the hardlinks??

6,25GB – 133MB = 6,12GB

Before 8,30GB – After 6,12GB = 2,18GB Reduced.

With a normal HDD is not that important, but all free space extra is welcome on my SSD

Hoe te installeren:

Upload de twee bestanden naar de AGEE in de map: /netscaler/ns_gui/vpn/resources

Als de AGEE reboot zullen de bestanden weer verdwenen zijn. Dit is op te lossen door een copy script in rc.netscaler te plaatsen. Het bestand rc.netscaler bestaat niet standaard. Deze word automatisch gemaakt als NTP word geconfigureerd, of anders met de hand plaatsen in de /nsconfig directory.

Voeg de volgende regel toe: cp -r /var/vpn/vpn/* /netscaler/ns_gui/vpn

When booted from media. The installer is asking on which partition it will install Windows. Because BitLocker has encrypted the old system partition, we aren’t able to format the partition. Just delete the partition, recreate it, format and install Windows. (Do not touch the data partition). If you want to preserve the data on the old system partition, you have to recover that partition. (Hmmm new post will come in the future )

When the installer is ready and Windows runs normally. Open the Windows Explorer. As you can see, the Data partition has a nice looking icon. But is not accessible.
Right click on the partition and choose: Unlock Drive.
Insert the USB flash drive. Click on: Get the key from USB flash drive.
Select the drive on which the key is stored. Click: Next.
Now click on Manage BitLocker.
It’s not possible to automatically unlock the drive, because the system partition isn’t encrypted. (Read my other post howto do this: Link) Click on: Add a password to unlock the drive.
Give a nice strong password and click: Next.
Your done. Click: Close.
Now the partition is accessible.

Encrypt the system partition and you are able to automatically unlock the partitions at system boot.

I started BitLocker Drive Encryption.
On the left bottom there is a link for TPM Administration.  Because my laptop has a TPM chip. I want to use it. TPM holds my certifications for the Encryption.
Choose: Initialize TPM.
Click: Restart.
The BIOS of the computer will ask for permissions. Give it . After login into Windows. The following screen will popup.  Choose: Manually create the password.
Give a TPM Owner Password.  Click on: Save the Password. Save it on a USB stick. When ready, click on: Initialize.
When ready, Close.  We can use the TPM chip with BitLocker.
Start BitLocker again.  Click on: Turn On BitLocker.
Click: Save the recovery key to a USB flash drive.  When ready, click Next.
Select: Run BitLocker system check. Just to be sure everything is working   When you are ready to encrypt. Click on: Start Encrypting.
And then, we wait…

Now the harddisk/partition is encrypted. But no password is asked when booting the pc. This is because the certificates are stored on the TPM chip. Windows is owner of this chip, so only your Windows can unlock the partition/harddisk. That’s why Windows 7 comes with a 100MB hidden boot partition. This unencrypted partition is needed for booting the encrypted system. The following steps shows how to enable a PIN or password for booting Windows. Just to have that hand’s on experience of safety

First open: GPEDIT.MSC
Navigate to: Computer Configuration –> Administrative Templates –> Windows Components –> BitLocker Drive Encryption –> Operation System Drives.  Open: Require additional authentication at startup.
Select: Enabled  Deselect: Allow BitLocker without a compatible TPM Configure TPM startup PIN: Require startup PIN with TPM Click on: OK !!Tip!! If you want to use characters in your PIN, enable the: Allow enhanced PINs for startup policy.
Open an elevated command prompt.
Type: manage-bde.exe –protectors –add c: –tpmandpin  Give the pin twice.

Every time Windows boot, it will ask for the PIN.

Edit: 10/05/2011 Encrypting the next partition.

In the following steps I’m showing how to encrypt the next partitions (eg. D:).

Start Windows Explorer and right click on the partition. Select: Turn on BitLocker.
Since the system partition is also encrypted, it’s possible to select: Automatically unlock the drive on this computer. If you want a password. Select: Use a password to unlock the drive.
Save the recovery key to the same USB fash drive as above. Store the USB key in a safe place. Click: Next.
Click: Start Encrypting
The partition is now encrypted. It will automatically unlock when Windows boots.

Open the Management Console. Navigate to Reporting. Right click on Reports and select New –> Report.
Give it a name. Select the category under which the report will be displayed. (eg Hardware – General) Click on: Edit SQL Statement.
Paste the Statement(displayed and the bottom of this blog post.) in the SQL Statement box. Remove the default statement.
Run the report and it will display al kind off useful stuff. Like the Serial Number.

Q: How do we read  the systems serial number with SCCM?

A: Create custom report with the following SQL Statement:

SELECT  distinct
CS.name0 as ‘Computer Name’,
CS.domain0 as ‘Domain’,
CS.UserName0 as ‘User’,
BIOS.SerialNumber0 as ‘Bios serial’,
SE.SerialNumber0 as ‘System Enclosure serial’,
CS.Manufacturer0 as ‘Manufacturer’,
CS.Model0 as ‘model’,
OS.Caption0 as ‘OS’,
RAA.SMS_Assigned_Sites0 as ‘Site’,
RAM.TotalPhysicalMemory0 as ‘Total Memory’,
sum(isnull(LDisk.Size0,’0′)) as ‘Hardrive Size’,
sum(isnull(LDisk.FreeSpace0,’0′)) AS ‘Free Space’,
CPU.CurrentClockSpeed0 as ‘CPU Speed’
from 
  v_GS_COMPUTER_SYSTEM CS right join v_GS_PC_BIOS BIOS on BIOS.ResourceID = CS.ResourceID
right join v_GS_SYSTEM SYS on SYS.ResourceID = CS.ResourceID 
right join v_GS_OPERATING_SYSTEM OS on OS.ResourceID = CS.ResourceID 
right join v_RA_System_SMSAssignedSites RAA on RAA.ResourceID = CS.ResourceID
right join V_GS_X86_PC_MEMORY RAM on RAM.ResourceID = CS.ResourceID
right join v_GS_Logical_Disk LDisk on LDisk.ResourceID = CS.ResourceID
right join v_GS_Processor CPU on CPU.ResourceID = CS.ResourceID   
right join v_GS_SYSTEM_ENCLOSURE SE on SE.ResourceID = CS.ResourceID
where
LDisk.DriveType0 =3
group by
CS.Name0,
CS.domain0,
CS.Username0,
BIOS.SerialNumber0,
SE.SerialNumber0,
CS.Manufacturer0,
CS.Model0,
OS.Caption0,
RAA.SMS_Assigned_Sites0,
RAM.TotalPhysicalMemory0,
CPU.CurrentClockSpeed0

Copy, Paste, Cut, Delete

CTRL+C = Copy
CTRL+V = Paste
CTRL+X = Cut
CTRL+Z = Undo
CTRL+Insert = Copy (This one I use very often, learned it in the old days )
Shift+Insert = Paste
Shift+Delete = Permanently Delete

The Windows Key

Windows+R = Run
Windows+P = Projector/monitor/Dual/Etc (Keep Windows key pressed)
Windows+E = Explorer
Windows+D = Show Desktop (Press it again brings back the applications)
Windows+F = Find
Windows+L = Lock Windows
Windows+M = Minimize all the applications
Windows+Pause = Computer Management

Application Switching

ALT+TAB = Good old application switching
Shift+ALT+TAB = Reverse application switching
Windows+TAB = New Aero application switching
Windows+# (Like Windows+1) = The number equals the position of the application or icons in the taskbar.
Windows+T = Switching applications and icons on the taskbar with peak

Windows Explorer (Shortcuts within Windows Explorer)

ALT+Space = Right click on top left (Move, Size, Minimize, Maximize, Close)
TAB = Switching area’s
Shift+F10 = Context menu of selected icon
Space = Select icon
ALT = Activate top menu

Windows

CTRL+Shift+Escape = Task Manager
CTRL+Escape = Start Menu
CTRL+ALT+Delete = Duhhhh

Internet Explorer

CTRL+TAB = Tab’s switching

Outlook

CTRL+Enter = Send composed email

Q: So, how to show the desktop and right click on the recycled bin?
A: Windows+D, Navigate with arrows to recycled bin, SHIFT+F10.

Q: Why are you using SHIFT+F10, CTRL+Escape etc?
A: Long long time ago, there weren’t keyboards with the Windows keys.

Open the registry, expand to: HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class

Search for: AutoPowerSaveModeEnabled

Change the value to: 0

Before: 99% (10Mbps)

After: 10% (1Gbps)

• The SMS_CCM folder (if the management point site system role is enabled on the computer);
• The Inetpub\wwwroot\SMSComponent and Inetpub\wwwroot\SMSReporting_sitecode folders (if the reporting point role is enabled on the computer);
• The %Windir%\System32 folder.

Configuration Manager 2007 will not install site role component files on a drive that contains a file named no_sms_on_drive.sms. Instead, site role components will be installed on a different NTFS formatted disk drive that does not contain the no_sms_on_drive.sms file.

The no_sms_on_drive.sms file prevents site system role component installation, on a drive with this file present, for all site systems that are installed by site component manager. If site role installation files are already present on the drive before placing the no_sms_on_drive.sms file on the drive, the installation files are not moved.

Windows has a built in trick for this.

When the computer boots and the login screen is displayed set Num Lock to the preferred status. Then DON’T login but restart/shutdown the computer. The next time Num Lock is just the way the users want’s it

Q: Is is possible to let users change the default Num Lock status with a BIOS password?

A: Yes, set the preferred status at the login screen and reboot the pc.

There is even a solution for doing this in the registry.

1. Start the registry-editor.
2. Go to HKEY_USERS\.Default\Control Panel\Keyboard.
3. Change the value of InitialKeyboardIndicators from 0 to 2.

The solution is to encrypt only the second partition (D Drive). But the problem then is that my important documents are back upped to the cloud (a DropBox construction) and the agent, responsible for that, is started at boot. When I’m to late entering the password for TrueCrypt password the agent gives an error. But reinstalling Windows is easy

Anyone else who have the same problems? Comments are welcome…

Update:

Oke, time to do some research/”trial on error” about reinstalling Windows…

I have 1 partition with Windows installed, and 1 partition with aprox 40GB data. Both on the same harddisk. The data partition is encrypted with TrueCrypt. I have the recovery disc. When booted from the Windows 7 installation DVD, I can see both the partitions but the encrypted partition is empty (100% free disk space). I choose the Windows partition, format and install…. wait….. After installing the first thing I did was installing TrueCrypt. Then mounted the data partition and all the data was not accessible. I rebooted the computer with the recovery disc, choose F8 (repair options) and then 1 (Permanently decrypt system partition/drive). Type the password and…. “Incorrect Password” WTF…. Oke, option 3 (Restore key data). Modify drive 0? YES Please …. Header restored…Rebooting Windows… Data still not accessible. Damn this is getting frustrating… Rebooting again with the recovery disc. Choose F8 and the option 1. Type in the password… There is a warning that this is much faster in Windows. But I’m not able te decrypt the data partition only in Windows So I select YES. My laptop is doing around 7MB/s and the HardDisk is 150GB…So it’s time to eat, watch The A-Team etc.. The next morning the decryption was ready. All the data is now available. Not an option for me. Reinstalling takes a verry long time so.

Conclusion.. Before you reinstall Windows on a TrueCrypt protected partition/disk, first copy the data to an USB disk. Then install Windows, Encrypt the partitions en copy back the data.

On the site server the are two files named: rc.exe and rdpencom.dll Copy these two file to the servicedesk desktops so they can access them. (for Windows 2000 clients use remote.exe)

Open the SCCM Management Console and navigate to: Client Agents. Right click on: Remote Tools Client Agent select: Properties.

Add the Servicedesk User Group in the security tab.

And your done. When the rc.exe is started. Click: File –> Connect. Give the computer name to remote control, wait for acceptance and happy shadowing.

Q: Howto arrange remote control for the servidesk with the SCCM tools?

A: Copy rc.exe and rdpencom.dll from Site server to servicedesk, give servicedesk group rights to permit remote control.

In this example I’m using the Windows XP Task Sequence which is advertised to the All Unknown Computers Collection and I want to choose to install AutoCAD 2010.

Right click on the collection and choose: Modify Collection Settings.

Go to tab: Collection Variables click on the new variable icon. Give the variable a name like: Install_AutoCAD_2010 and leave the value empty.

Edit the Task Sequence and go to the step where AutoCAD 2010 is being installed. Open tab: Options. Add a condition like the screenshot below.

When running the Task Sequence you are presented a screen where you set the variable. Set it to 1 to install AutoCAD.

Q: Howto filter software during OSD Task Sequence?

A: Create a variable to the collection and add it as a condition in the Task Sequence.

• 450g Kebab;
• 500g French fries;
• Cheese;
• Lettuce;
• Cucumber;
• Tomato;
• Red onion;
• Lot’s off Garlic sauce (I don’t know the correct English word for that ).

Roast the kebab.
Fry the French fries. (I use oven fries. I’ts less creasy )	Oops, forgot to take a picture…
Cut the cucumber and cheese.
Grap a baking dish.
And now the trick First make a layer of French fries.
Then a layer kebab.
Then complete cover it with cheese.
Put it in the grill (only top grill). And remove it when the cheese is melted.
Cover it with lettuce, cucumber, red onion, tomato.(we don’t have the onions and tomato )
Cover it with Garlic Sauce (knoflooksaus, shoarmasaus)

And that’s all. Leave a comment when you tried it

Bon Appetit, Jeroen.

In de vertaling zijn niet de error/foutmeldingen meegenomen. Dit omdat er natuurlijk weinig te vinden is hierover op internet. Foutmeldingen naar de gebruikers zelf zijn wel vertaald.

Als resources heb ik oude vertalingen gebruikt, met dank daarvoor aan Aleks Nikolic, Martijn Bosschaart, Pieter Verkiel en vooral Peter Huegen welke een groot deel van deze versie heeft vertaald.

Opmerking: Deze vertaling is een extra taal voor de StoreFront. Dit houd in dat de originele talen nog steeds blijven werken. Aan de hand van de regional settings van de gebruiker wordt de juiste taal ingesteld.

Wilt u zo vriendelijk zijn om fouten aan mij te melden. Dan zal ik zorgen dat deze verwerkt worden.

Edit: 5 Januari 2011: LoggedOnAs is aangepast.

Edit: 18 Februari 2011: Ne?m is aangepast naar Neem.

Edit: 31 Maart 2011: Draai het installatie script wel met Admin rechten (Nasty UAC)

Edit: 4 Januari 2011: Installatie.txt aangepast met UAC. En fout uit installatie gehaald.

But. When the folder Jeroen doesn’t exist I want to auto create it by an ‘External Task’ (RES PowerFuse) or login script.

To do this, add the following line in the loginscript.

IF NOT EXIST \\FILESERVER\USERS$\%USERNAME% MD \\FILESERVER\USERS\%USERNAME%

Or create an External Task (before running any other task, runonce, no time-out, wait before continue), in RES PowerFuse with that line.

Now the tricky part. Because that script is run with the users his credentials, the NTFS rights on the share must be pretty damn good . Otherwise, other users can access folders from other users.

In this example I have profiled Acrobat Reader and added to the Res PowerFuse environment. I have also added the pdf file extension to the application. Now when opening a direct pdf file on my home directory, an empty Acrobat Reader window is displayed.

Edit the pdf file extension in PowerFuse and replace “%1” with /extracmdline:”%1”

(sorry for the Dutch screenshot)

Q: How-to direct open a file from Explorer and parse the file name into a Citrix Profile which is managed by RES PowerFuse.

A: Replace in RES PowerFuse the file extension parameter from “%1” to /extracmdline:”%1”

First step is to close the already running Live Messenger.
Navigate to the installation folder of Windows Live.
Open the properties of: msnmsgr.exe
Go to the tab: Compatibility Select: Run the program in compatibility mode for: Select: Windows Vista Click on: OK
Open Live Messenger and, after logging in, close it. The messenger is still active but only in the tray.

Q: How to minimize Live Messenger to the tray?

A: Run msnmsgr.exe in Windows Vista compatibility mode.

Advertise (‘NO’ mandatory assignment) the task sequence to the collection: All Unknown Computers.
  
Click on thumbnails for larger image.

Right click on the collection: All Unknown Computers and select: Modify Collection Settings.

Go to tab: Collection Variables click on the new variable icon. Give the variable the name: OSDcomputerName and leave the value empty.

When booting the task sequence, on a new computer (or remove the computer first in sccm) the following screens will appear:

When the following screen appears, double click on the variable and give the right computername for the new computer.

 
The task sequence will install the new computer with the new given computername.

There is a much easier way

1. Open an elevated command prompt on Windows 7
2. Open Diskpart
3. List volume (remember the volume number of the usb stick)
4. Select volume # (3 = the number of the usb stick)
5. Clean (This will wipe the USB stick)
6. Create partition primary
7. Select partition 1
8. Format fs=fat32 quick
9. Assign
10. Active
11. Leave Diskpart
12. Copy the installation DVD on the usb stick
13. Happy installing

---

In this tutorial I explain how to create a bootable USB stick for installing Windows 2008/2008 R2/Vista/windows 7. First, format the stick. Fat32/ntfs doesn’t matter. (Remember that fat32 doesn’t support files larger then 4GB)

On the Windows 7 / Server 2008 install media in the folder "Boot” there is an executable named: Bootsect.exe

Open a command prompt, navigate to the directory boot (on the media).
And run: Bootsect.exe /nt60 F: (where f: is the formatted USB stick)

Now, copy the installer media to the USB stick. Or, in my case, the Task Sequence Bootable Media. (SCCM 2007)

Your, bootable media is ready.

Update:

Q: Hey Jeroen, bootsect.exe doesn’t work.. I’m getting an access denied.

A: Run you command prompt in elevated mode

For instance, my D partition on my laptop (which runs Windows 7) has default the built in USERS group with right to read the partition. Oké lets remove those rights. Now the partition has only Administrators and System with Full Control. But when opening the partition we are getting a Access Denied warning .

How is that possible? Well, the explorer process is still running in ‘User’ mode. When opening the explorer in ‘Admin’ mode we still getting the Access Denied warning.

Why? Well, actually the explorer isn’t started in elevated mode. But only the first process. That triggers a DCOM to open the Explorer, witch runs in ‘User’ mode

How do we disable that? First open regedit en navigate to: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AppID\{CDCBCFCA-3CDC-436f-A4E2-0E0207520C2}

Rename the RunAs to something else, like: _RunAs (Become owner first )

And now it’s possible to open the explorer in elevated mode. And it’s possible to set the correct permissions without adding your own account first.

Sorry for the Dutch screenshots

First we do a manual installation. This will generate the response files. This isn’t documented here After the installation you have an “ats” file in the following location: installation location\instlog

Copy this file into your installation source. (In the directory Cognos\impa)

To perform the unattended installation run the following command: issetup.exe /s <location>\ts-impa-version-yyyymmdd-hhmm.ats (of course you can change the name of the ats file )
 
Now that the software is installed it must be configured. Start the Configuration Manager on the source machine on which the software is installed manually and correct configured. Click on Start and choose Open the current configuration.
 
Select Actions and Export Script.

Save the file in the installation source. (in this tutorial configuration.ccp)

To import the configuration file into the machines which are unattended installed. Execute the following command: <local_installation_path>\bin\configcp.exe –t <location>\configuration.ccp

Hello, I’m Jeroen Tielen from the Netherlands. I’m primary a SEnior Server Based Computing Consultant, but my daily job is more than that.
Architect, Trainer, Troubleshooter, Consultant for Citrix, Microsoft, VMWare, etc etc I’m working in SBC/VDI environments since 1995. And therefore I started this blog.

This blog is to share my problems (and solutions) with you and for a reminder for myself

My hobby’s are riding a motorbike as fast as possible, and the only way to do that is on tracks. For my personal race blog browse to www.tyl.nl. I give race trainings on tracks in The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain, France and Italy. For: www.race-academy.nl and www.racecracks.nl.

You can contact me anytime for any questions. Just send me an email: Jeroen@JeroenTielen.nl

Currently Owned Certificates:

Appsense
Appsense Certified Administrator

Citrix
Subject Matter Expert for CCEE 
Citrix Certified Administrator (XP/3/4/5/6)
Citrix Certified Administrator XenDesktop 5
Citrix Certified Enterprise Administrator (3/4)
Citrix Certified Enterprise Engineer for Virtualization
Citrix Certified Integration Architect for Virtualization
Citrix Certified Administrator NetScaler (9)
Citrix Certified Administrator WanSaler (Branch Repeater)
Citrix Certified Sales Professional

Microsoft
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (2000/2003)
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (2000/2003)
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist Business Desktop Deployment
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuration
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist Server 2008 Application Infra, Configuration
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist Server 2008 Network Infra, Configuration
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist Exchange Server 2010, Configuration
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, Configuration
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist System Center Configuration Manager, Configuration 
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist System Center Operations Manager, Configuration 
Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist System Center Virtual Machine Manager, Configuration
Microsoft Certified IT Professional Enterprise Messaging Administrator 2010
Microsoft Certified IT Professional Enterprise Administrator

RES
RES PowerFuse Certified Professional (8/2010)
RES Wisdom Certified Professional (4/2009)
RES Certified Professional
RES Certifies Sales Professional

VMWare
VMWare Certified Professional (3/4)