HDX Channels Test

ICA traffic is composed of virtual channels. A virtual channel is a bidirectional, error-free connection used for the exchange of generalized packet data between a Citrix host for online delivery (XenApp or XenDesktop) and the Citrix Workspace App online plug-in. Connections for sound, graphics, client drive mapping, printing, and end user experience monitoring are a few examples of the virtual channels. One of the important motives behind ICA traffic monitoring is to understand how much bandwidth is being consumed by each channel and in the process identify the most bandwidth-intensive channel. The HDX Channels test helps administrators with this. This test monitors the ICA traffic handled by each channel and leads administrators to that channel which is consuming bandwidth excessively. The insights provided by this test help administrators in understanding how the NetScaler appliance needs to be fine-tuned to optimize bandwidth consumption.

Target of the test : Citrix NetScaler HDX Insight

Agent deploying the test : A remote agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for every virtual channel

Configurable parameters for the test
  1. 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 Nitro API using which the eG agent collects metrics from HDX Insight, is capable of capturing only the performance data related to the last 5 minutes.
  2. Host - The host for which the test is to be configured.
  3. insight username, insight password, and confirm password -  To connect to HDX Insight and collect the metrics it captures, the eG agent needs to be configured with the credentials of a user with read-only permissions to HDX Insight. Type the name of this user against insight username and the password of this user against insight password. Then, confirm the password by retyping it in the confirm password text box.
  4. ssl – By default, HDX Insight is not SSL-enabled. This is why, this flag is set to No by default. If it is SSL-enabled, then change this flag to Yes.
Measurements made by the test
Measurement Description Measurement Unit Interpretation

Avg bandwidth:

Indicates the rate at which data is transferred over this virtual channel.

Kbps

Ideally, the value of this measure should be low.

A high value indicates excessive bandwidth usage by a virtual channel.

Compare the value of this measure across channels to know which channel is consuming bandwidth excessively

Bandwidth consumed in the last measure period:

Indicates the amount of data (in MB) transferred / received over this virtual channel during the last measurement period.

MB

A consistent increase in the value of this measure over time is indicative of excessive bandwidth usage by a virtual channel.