Citrix HDX Desktop Logins Test

Use this test to determine the current session load on the virtual desktops in your XenDekstop infrastructure. The detailed diagnosis of this test also reveals who launched the sessions, when, from which client, to which server, the session duration, and the overall quality of each user’s session. This way, administrators can quickly identify which user’s experience with virtual desktops is below-par and what is causing it – latent client-side network connection? a slow server-side network connection? or a bandwidth-intensive communication over the network? The test also tracks session logouts, and points to abnormal logouts.

Target of the test : An AppFlow-enabled ADCappliance

Agent deploying the test : A remote agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for the ADCappliance being monitored

Configurable parameters for the test
Parameter	Description
Test period	How often should the test be executed. It is recommended that you set the test period to 5 minutes. This is because, the eG AppFlow Collector is capable of capturing and aggregating AppFlow data related to the last 5 minutes only.
Host	The host for which the test is to be configured.
Cluster IPs	This parameter applies only if the ADCappliance being monitored is part of a ADCcluster. In this case, configure this parameter with a comma-separated list of IP addresses of all other nodes in that cluster. If the monitored ADCappliance is down/unreachable, then the eG AppFlow Collector uses the Cluster IPs configuration to figure out which other node in the cluster it should connect to for pulling AppFlow statistics. Typically, the collector attempts to connect to every IP address that is configured against Cluster IPs, in the same sequence in which they are specified. Metrics are pulled from the first cluster node that the collector successfully establishes a connection with.
Enable Logs	This flag is set to No by default. This means that, by default, the eG agent does not create AppFlow logs. You can set this flag to Yes to enable AppFlow logging. If this is done, then the eG agent automatically writes the raw AppFlow records it reads from the collector into individual CSV files. These CSV files are stored in the <EG_AGENT_INSTALL_DIR>\NetFlow\data\<IP_of_Monitored_NetScaler>\hdxappflow\actual_csv folder on the eG agent host. These CSV files provide administrators with granular insights into the HDX appflows, thereby enabling effective troubleshooting. Note: By default, the eG agent creates a maximum of 10 CSV files in the actual_csv folder. Beyond this point, the older CSV files will be automatically deleted by the eG agent to accommodate new files with current data. Likewise, a single CSV file can by default contain a maximum of 99999 records only. If the records to be written exceed this default value, then the eG agent automatically creates another CSV file to write the data. If required, you can overwrite these default settings . For this, do the following: Login to the eG agent host. Edit the Netflow.Properties file in the <EG_AGENT_INSTALL_DIR>\NetFlow\config directory. In the file, look for the parameter, csv_file_retention_count. This is the parameter that governs the maximum number of CSV files that can be created in the auto_csv folder. By default, this parameter is set to 10. If you want to retain more number of CSV files at any given point in time, you can increase the value of this parameter. If you want to retain only a few CSV files, then decrease the value of this parameter. Next, look for the parameter, csv_max_flow_record_per_file. This is the parameter that governs the number of flow records that can be written to a single CSV. By default, this parameter is set to 99999. If you want a single file to accommodate more records, so that the creation of new CSVs is delayed, then increase the value of this parameter. On the other hand, if you want to reduce the capacity of a CSV file, so that new CSVs are quickly created, then decrease the value of this parameter. Finally, save the file.
DD Frequency	Refers to the frequency with which detailed diagnosis measures are to be generated for this test. The default is 1:1. This indicates that, by default, detailed measures will be generated every time this test runs, and also every time the test detects a problem. You can modify this frequency, if you so desire. Also, if you intend to disable the detailed diagnosis capability for this test, you can do so by specifying none against DD Frequency.
Detailed Diagnosis	To make diagnosis more efficient and accurate, the eG Enterprise embeds an optional detailed diagnostic capability. With this capability, the eG agents can be configured to run detailed, more elaborate tests as and when specific problems are detected. To enable the detailed diagnosis capability of this test for a particular server, choose the On option. To disable the capability, click on the Off option. The option to selectively enable/disable the detailed diagnosis capability will be available only if the following conditions are fulfilled: The eG manager license should allow the detailed diagnosis capability Both the normal and abnormal frequencies configured for the detailed diagnosis measures should not be 0.

Measurements made by the test
Measurement	Description	Measurement Unit	Interpretation
Current sessions	Indicates the number of desktop user sessions that are currently active on the ADCappliance.	Number	This is a good indicator of the session load on the virtual desktops managed by the ADCappliance. To know which users are contributing to the load, use the detailed diagnosis of this measure. The detailed diagnosis additionally reveals when each user logged in, from which client, to which desktop, the session duration, and the quality of the user’s session. This way, administrators can quickly identify which application user’s experience is below-par and what is causing it - latent client-side network connection? a slow server-side network connection? or a bandwidth-intensive communication over the network?
New sessions	Indicates the number of desktop user logins since the last measurement period.	Number	A consistent zero value could indicate a connection issue. If this measure reports a non-zero value, use the detailed diagnosis of the measure to know which user logged into which virtual desktop, when.
Percent of new sessions	Indicates the percentage of current desktop sessions that logged in during the last measurement period.	Percent
Sessions logging out	Indicates the number of desktop sessions that logged out.	Number	If all the current sessions suddenly log out, it indicates a problem condition that requires investigation. The detailed diagnosis of this measure lists the sessions that logged out. The quality of each user’s session is also revealed. This way, administrators can quickly identify which application user’s experience is below-par and what is causing it – latent client-side network connection? a slow server-side network connection? or a bandwidth-intensive communication over the network?

To know which users are contributing to the load on XenDesktop, use the detailed diagnosis of the Current sessions measure. The detailed diagnosis additionally reveals when each user logged in, from which client, to which desktop, the session duration, and the quality of the user’s session. This way, administrators can quickly identify which desktop user’s experience is below-par and what is causing it - a latent client-side network connection? a slow server-side network connection? or a bandwidth-intensive communication over the network?

Figure 3 : The detailed diagnosis of the Current sessions measure of the Citrix HDX Desktop Logins Test

The detailed diagnosis of the New sessions measure lists the desktop users who logged in during the last measurement period. The quality of each user’s session is also revealed. This way, administrators can quickly identify which desktop user’s experience is below-par and what is causing it - latent client-side network connection? a slow server-side network connection? or a bandwidth-intensive communication over the network?

Figure 4 : The detailed diagnosis of the New sessions measure of the Citrix HDX Desktop Logins test