Citrix Users in Sessions Test

The Citrix XenDesktop 7 environment is a shared environment in which multiple users may connect to a Citrix Virtual Apps server/server farm and access a wide variety of applications. When server resources are shared, excessive resource utilization by a single user could impact the performance for other users. Therefore, continuous monitoring of the activities of each and every user on the server is critical. Towards this end, the Citrix Users in Sessions test assesses the traffic between the user terminal and the server, and also monitors the resources taken up by a user's session on the server. The results of this test can be used in troubleshooting and proactive monitoring. For example, when a user reports a performance problem, an administrator can quickly check the bandwidth usage of the user's session, the CPU/memory/disk usage of this user's session as well as the resource usage of other user sessions. The administrator also has access to details on what processes/applications the user is accessing and their individual resource usage. This information can be used to spot any offending processes/ applications.

Note:

This test will report metrics only if the Virtual Apps server being monitored uses the .Net framework v3.0 (or above).

Target of the test : A Citrix Virtual Apps server

Agent deploying the test : An internal agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for each user connected to the Citrix Virtual Apps that is to be monitored

Configurable parameters for the test
Parameters Description

Test Period

How often should the test be executed. By default, this is 15 minutes.

Host

The host for which the test is to be configured.

Port

Refers to the port used by the target Citrix Virtual Apps server .

Show Published Apps

The detailed diagnosis of this test typically lists the applications accessed by a user during his/her session on the Virtual Apps server, and the resource usage of each application. By default, when listing applications, the detailed diagnosis displays the underlying process name of each application (in the Process Name column), and not the actual display name using which the application is published on the Virtual Apps server. This is because, the Show Published Apps flag is set to No by default. If you set this flag to Yes, then the published application name will be displayed as the Process Name in the detailed diagnosis. Prior to changing the flag status to ‘Yes’, you need to make sure that a ‘Citrix Delivery Controller 7.x’ component is also managed by the eG Enterprise system and is reporting metrics.

Show Published Desktops

By default, this flag is set to No. If this flag is set to Yes, then the detailed diagnosis of this test will list the resource-intensive processes/applications accessed by a user along with the exact published desktop that has been used by the user to access the application. Note that, in the detailed diagnosis, the ‘host name’ of the monitored server will be displayed as the ‘published desktop name’.

Report by Domain Name

  • By default, this flag is set to Yes. This implies that by default, the detailed diagnosis of this test will display the domainname\username of each user who accessed an application on the server. This way, administrators will be able to quickly determine which user logged into the server from which domain. If you want the detailed diagnosis to display only the username of these users, set this flag to No.
  • Collect Extended Metrics

    By default, this parameter is set to No, indicating that the test will report only a standard set of user experience metrics. To enable the test to collect additional metrics per user, set this flag to Yes.

    Use WMI

    By default, the eG agent uses WMI scripts to collect the user experience metrics from the Virtual Apps server. This is why, the Use WMI flag is set to Yes by default. In some environments, the WMI scripts used by the eG agent may not report valid values. Under such circumstances, it is best to switch off WMI script usage by setting the Use WMI flag to No. Once this is done, the eG agent will automatically use certain built-in executables to fetch the user experience metrics.

    Enable Browser Monitoring

    By default, this flag is set to No, indicating that the eG agent does not monitor browser activity on the Virtual Apps server. If this flag is set to Yes, then, whenever one/more IE (Internet Explorer) browser instances on the Virtual Apps server are accessed, the detailed diagnosis of the User sessions measure will additionally reveal the URL being accessed via each IE instance and the resources consumed by every URL. Armed with this information, administrators can identify the web sites that are responsible for excessive resource usage by an IE instance.

    Show All Desktop Processes

    Using this flag, you can indicate whether the test should report top resource-intensive processes alone or all processes running in the background when the user accesses an application. By default, this flag is set to No, indicating that this test will report only top three resource-intensive processes e.g. CPU, Memory and IO Reads processes from the desktop OS processes. This helps the administrator optimize the database. To report all the processes, you need to set this flag to Yes.

    Combined IE Report

    This flag is applicable only if the SHOW PUBLISHED APPS flag is set to Yes.

    Typically, the detailed diagnosis of this test lists the applications that a user accessed on the Virtual Apps server and the resource usage of each application. To fetch these details, the eG agent takes the published name (eg., Word) of each application that is open on the Virtual Apps server, determines the underlying process and process arguments that drive the application (eg., winword.exe is the process that drives Word), and tries to find an exact match for this process name and arguments in the task manager. If an exact match is found, then, by default, the underlying process name of the application is displayed in the detailed diagnosis. The resource usage metrics that correspond to that process name in the task manager are also displayed as part of detailed diagnosis.

    For published applications that open in the Internet Explorer (IE) browser on Virtual Apps, this process name matching algorithm may not work. This is because, if multiple applications on Virtual Apps are opened using IE, each such application will open only in a different tab page of the IE browser. As a result, though the underlying process names will be different for each of these applications, in the task manager, the process names for all these applications will only be 'iexplore.exe'. Because of the name mismatch (between Virtual Apps and the task manager), the eG agent will wrongly determine that no instance of an application is running, and will exclude that application name from the detailed diagnostics. To avoid this, with the Show Pbulished Apps flag set to Yes, set this flag to Yes.

    If this is done, then, the eG agent will be able to capture every application or application instance that is opened in a different tab page of an IE browser, despite the process name mismatch. Also, the eG agent will be able to collect detailed metrics of such applications and display them in the Detailed Diagnosis page against the process name 'Internet Explorer'.

    Report Total

    By default, this flag is set to No. If set to Yes, then the test will report measures for only a Total descriptor. For this descriptor, the test will report the aggregate resource usage across all users to the Citrix server. The default setting (No) of the flag on the other hand, implies that the test reports a set of metrics for each user to the server, by default.

    Report by Client Name

    By default, this flag is set to No. If set to Yes, this test will report metrics for each client machine from which users logged into the Virtual Apps server - i.e., the host name of the client machines will be the descriptors of this test. In this case therefore, the User name column of the detailed diagnosis of this test will indicate the names of the users who logged into the Virtual Apps server.

    On the other hand, if this flag is set to No, then user names will be the descriptors of the test, and the User name column in the detailed diagnosis will display a '-' (hyphen).

    Idle Time

    Specify the time duration (in minutes) of inactivity beyond which a session is considered to be “idle” by this test. By default, this parameter is set to 30 (minutes). This implies that by default, the test counts all sessions that have been inactive for over 30 minutes as idle sessions

    Low Bandwidth in Mbps

    Here, specify the bandwidth below which the test should consider the connection quality of the user on the target Citrix Virtual Apps server as poor or weak. By default, this is set to 1 Mbps.

    High Bandwidth in Mbps

    Specify the bandwidth beyond which the test should consider the connection quality of the user on the target Citrix Virtual Apps server as strong. By default, this is set to 8 Mbps.

    Low Latency in Ms

    Indicate the latency below which the connection quality of the user on the target Citrix Virtual Apps server is considered as strong by this test. By default, this is set to 120 milliseconds.

    High Latency in Ms

    Indicate the latency beyond which the connection quality of the user on the target Citrix Virtual Apps server is considered as poor or weak by this test. By default, this is set to 220 milliseconds.

    Low ICA RTT in Ms

    Specify the ICA Round Trip Time (RTT) below which the connection quality of the user on the target Citrix Virtual Apps server is considered as strong by this test. By default, this is set to 150 milliseconds.

    High ICA RTT in Ms

    Indicate the ICA Round Trip Time (RTT) beyond which the connection quality of the user on the target Citrix Virtual Apps server is considered as poor or weak by this test. By default, this is set to 300 milliseconds.

    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

    CPU usage for user's processes:

    The CPU utilization for a session is the percentage of time that all of the threads/processes of a user session used the processor to execute instructions. If a user is connected via multiple sessions, the value reported is the sum of all cpu utilizations across all the sessions.

    Percent

    This value indicates the percentage of Cpu resources that are used by a specific user. Excessive CPU usage by a user can impact performance for other users. Check the detailed diagnosis to view the offending processes/applications.

    Handles used by user's processes:

    Indicates the total number of handles being currently held by all processes of a user.

    Number

    A consistent increase in the handle count over a period of time is indicative of malfunctioning of programs. Compare this value across users to see which user is using a lot of handles. Check detailed diagnosis for further information. 

    Audio bandwidth input:

    Indicates the bandwidth used while transmitting sound/audio to this user.

    Kbps

    Comparing these values across users will reveal which user is sending/receiving bandwidth-intensive sound/audio files over the ICA channel.

    To minimize bandwidth consumption, you may want to consider disabling client audio mapping.

    Audio bandwidth output:

    Indicates the bandwidth used while receiving sound/audio from this user.

    Kbps

    Input bandwidth:

    Indicates the average bandwidth used for client to server communications for all the sessions of a user.

    KB/Sec

     

    Output bandwidth:

    Indicates the average bandwidth used for server to client communications for all the sessions of a user.

    KB/Sec

     

    COM bandwidth input:

    Indicates the bandwidth used when sending data to this user’s COM port.

    Kbps

    Comparing these values across users will reveal which user’s COM port is sending/receiving bandwidth-intensive data over the ICA channel.

    These measures will be reported only if the collect extended metrics flag is set to ‘Yes’.

    COM bandwidth output:

    Indicates the bandwidth used when receiving data from this user’s COM port.

    Kbps

    Input compression:

    Indicates the average compression ratio for client to server traffic for all the sessions of a user.

    Number

     

    Output compression:

    Indicates the average compression ratio for server to client traffic for all the sessions of a user.

    Number

     

    Drive bandwidth input:

    Indicates the bandwidth used when this user performs file operations on the mapped drive on the virtual desktop.

    Kbps

    Comparing the values of these measures across users will reveal which user is performing bandwidth-intensive file operations over the ICA channel.

    If bandwidth consumption is too high, you may want to consider disabling client drive mapping on the client device. Client drive mapping allows users logged on to a virtual desktop from a client device to access their local drives transparently from the ICA session. Alternatively, you can conserve bandwidth by even refraining from accessing large files with client drive mapping over the ICA connection.

    These measures will be reported only if the collect extended metrics flag is set to ‘Yes’.

    Drive bandwidth output:

    Indicates the bandwidth used when the virtual desktop performs file operations on the client’s drive.

    Kbps

    HDX media stream for flash data bandwidth input:

    Indicates the bandwidth used from this user to virtual desktop for flash data traffic.

    Kbps

    Comparing the values of these measures across users will reveal which user has been transmitting/receiving bandwidth-intensive flash data.

     

     

    HDX media stream for flash data bandwidth output:

    Indicates the bandwidth used from the virtual desktop to this user for flash data traffic.

    Kbps

    Output clipboard bandwidth:

    Indicates the bandwidth used for clipboard operations performed such as cut-and-paste, from the ICA session to this user's endpoint.

    Kbps

    Comparing the values of these measures across users will reveal which user has been performing bandwidth-intensive clipboard operations.

     

    Input clipboard bandwidth:

    Indicates the bandwidth used when performing clipboard operations such as cut-and-paste, from this user's endpoint to the ICA session.

    Kbps

    I/O reads for user's processes:

    Indicates the rate of I/O reads done by all processes being run by a user.

    KBps

    These metrics measure the collective I/O activity (which includes file, network and device I/O's) generated by all the processes being executed by a user. When viewed along with the system I/O metrics reported by the DiskActivityTest, these measures help you determine the network I/O. Comparison across users helps identify the user who is running the most I/O-intensive processes. Check the detailed diagnosis for the offending processes/applications.    

    I/O writes for user’s processes:

    Indicates the rate of I/O writes done by all processes being run by a user.

    KBps

    Screen refresh latency - avg:

    Indicates the average time interval measured at the client between the first step (user action) and the last step (graphical response displayed) of this user's interactions with the server. The value reported is the average of the latencies for all the current sessions of a user. 

    This measure maps to the 'ICA RTT' measure in Citrix Director.

    Secs

    This is a measurement of the screen lag that a user experiences while interacting with the Virtual Apps server. In other words, is the latency detected from when the user hits a key until the response is displayed.

    Comparing the value of this measure across users will enable administrators to quickly and accurately identify users who are experiencing higher latency when interacting with the Virtual Apps server.

    If both the Screen refresh latency and Client network latency measures report high values, it implies that network slowness is contributing to user-perceived Citrix slowness (i.e., the problem is not due to the Citrix servers, but probably due to the network connection that the user is connecting from - e.g., a wireless WAN).

    If Screen refresh latency is high and Client network latency is low, this implies that there is a bottleneck in the Citrix stack that is causing user experience to be poor (e.g., overloaded server or virtual platform, slowness in storage, etc.). Slowness can also occur because of client-side processing delays on the receiver end.

    Screen refresh latency - deviation:

    The latency deviation represents the difference between the minimum and maximum measured latency values for a session. The value reported is the average of the latency deviations for all the current sessions of a user.

    Secs

    Ideally, the deviation in latencies over a session should be minimum so as to provide a consistent experience for the user.

    This measure will be reported only if the collect extended metrics flag is set to ‘Yes’.

    Screen refresh latency - last:

    Represents the average client latency for the last request from a user. The latency is measured by the Citrix Virtual Apps server based on packets sent to and from each client during a session - this includes network delay plus server side processing delays. The value reported is the average of the last latencies for all the current sessions of a user.

    Secs

    A consistently high latency may be indicative of performance degradations with the Citrix Virtual Apps servers. Possible reasons for an increase in latency could be increased network delays, network congestion, server slow-down, too many simultaneous users on the server etc.

    Memory usage for user's processes:

    This value represents the ratio of the resident set size of the memory utilized by the user to the physical memory of the host system, expressed as a percentage. If a user is connected via multiple sessions, the value reported is the sum of all memory utilizations across all the sessions. 

    Percent

    This value indicates the percentage of memory resources that are used up by a specific user. By comparing this value across users, an administrator can identify the most heavy users of the Citrix Virtual Apps server. Check the detailed diagnosis to view the offending processes/applications.

    User sessions:

    Indicates the current number of sessions for a particular user.

    Number

    A value of 0 indicates that the user is not currently connected to the Citrix Virtual Apps server. 

    Use the detailed diagnosis of this measure to know the details of the sessions.

    Input line speed:

    Indicates the average line speed from the client to the server for all the sessions of a user.

    Kbps

     

    Output line speed:

    Indicates the average line speed from the server to the client for all the sessions of a user.

    Kbps

     

    Printer bandwidth input:

    Indicates the bandwidth used when this user prints to a desktop printer over the ICA channel.

    Kbps

    Comparing the values of these measures across users will reveal which user is issuing bandwidth-intensive print commands over the HDX channel.

    If bandwidth consumption is too high, you may want to consider disabling printing. Alternatively, you can avoid printing large documents over the HDX connection.

    Printer bandwidth output:

    Indicates the bandwidth used when the desktop responds to print jobs issued by this user. 

    Kbps

    Speed screen data channel bandwidth input:

    Indicates the bandwidth used from this user to the virtual desktop for data channel traffic.

    Kbps

    Comparing the values of these measures across users will reveal which user has been transmitting/receiving bandwidth-intensive data channel traffic.

    These measures will be reported only if the collect extended metrics flag is set to ‘Yes’.

     

    Speed screen data channel bandwidth output:

    Indicates the bandwidth used from virtual desktop to this user for data channel traffic.

    Kbps

    HDX media stream for flash v2 data bandwidth input:

    Indicates the bandwidth used from this user to virtual desktop for flash v2 data traffic.

    Kbps

    Comparing the values of these measures across users will reveal which user has been transmitting/receiving bandwidth-intensive flash v2 data.

     

    HDX media stream for flash v2 data bandwidth output:

    Indicates the bandwidth used from the virtual desktop to this user for flash v2 data traffic.

    Kbps

    Page faults for user's processes:

    Indicates the rate of page faults seen by all processes being run by a user.

    Faults/Sec

    Page Faults occur in the threads executing in a process.  A page fault occurs when a thread refers to a virtual memory page that is not in its working set in main memory.  If the page is on the standby list and hence already in main memory, or if the page is in use by another process with whom the page is shared, then the page fault will not cause the page to be fetched from disk. Excessive page faults could result in decreased performance. Compare values across users to figure out which user is causing most page faults.

    CPU time used by user's sessions:

    Indicates the percentage of time, across all processors, this user hogged the CPU.

     

    Percent

    The CPU usage for user’s processes measure indicates the percentage of overall server CPU time that a user is using. For example, if a user is taking up one of the server’s CPUs for 100% of the time and there are 8 CPUs on the server, CPU usage for user’s processes will be 12.5% (100/800). While 12.5% may seem to be a low number, the fact that the user is taking up one of the CPUs of the server is significant. Hence, CPU time used by user’s session measure is a better indicator of CPU usage by users. In the above example, since the user is consuming 100% of one processor, CPU time used by user’s session will be 100%. A high value of this measure or a consistent increase in the value of this measure demands attention. Use the detailed diagnosis to know what CPU intensive activities are being performed by the user.

    Input bandwidth usage:

    Indicates the percentage HDX bandwidth consumed by client to server traffic of this user.

    Percent

    Compare the value of these measures across users to know which user is consuming the maximum HDX bandwidth.

    Output bandwidth usage:

    Indicates the percentage HDX bandwidth consumed by the server to client traffic of this user.

    Percent

    Thinwire bandwidth input:

    Indicates the bandwidth used from client to server for ThinWire traffic.

    Kbps

    Typically, ICA traffic is comprised of many small packets, as well as a some large packets. Large packets are commonly generated for initial session screen paints and printing jobs, whereas the ongoing user session is principally comprised of many small packets. For the most part, these small packets are the highest priority ICA data called Thinwire. Thinwire incorporates mouse movements and keystrokes. 

    Compare the value of these measures across users to know which user’s keystrokes and mouse movements are generating bandwidth-intensive traffic.

    Note:

    • This measure will be reported only if the collect extended metrics flag is set to Yes.
    • This measure will report the value 0, if Framehawk is enabled for a user.

    Thinwire bandwith output:

    Indicates the bandwidth used from server to client for ThinWire traffic.

    Kbps

    Note:

    • This measure will be reported only if the collect extended metrics flag is set to Yes.
    • This measure will report the value 0, if Framehawk is enabled for a user.

    Seamless bandwidth input:

    Indicates the bandwidth used from client to server for published applications that are not embedded in a session window.

    Kbps

    Compare the value of these measures across users to know which user is accessing bandwidth-intensive applications that are not in a session window.

    This measure will be reported only if the collect extended metrics flag is set to ‘Yes’.

    Seamless bandwidth output:

    Indicates the bandwidth used from server to client for published applications that are not embedded in a session window.

    Kbps

    This measure will be reported only if the collect extended metrics flag is set to ‘Yes’.

     

    Resource shares:

    Indicates the total number of resource shares used by this user.

    Number

    By comparing the value of this measure across users, you can identify the user who is hogging the resources.

    Frame rate:

    Indicates the rate at which frames are processed during this user session.

    Frames/Sec

    FPS is how fast your graphics card can output individual frames each second. It is the most time-tested and ideal measure of performance of a GPU. Higher the value of this measure, healthier is the GPU.

    Framehawk frame rate:

    Indicates the rate at which frames are processed by the Framehawk virtual channel, if it is enabled for this user session.

    Frames/Sec

    The Framehawk virtual channel optimizes the delivery of virtual desktops and applications to users on broadband wireless connections, when high packet loss or congestion occurs.

    A high value is desired for this measure, as it indicates faster delivery of applications to users, which in turn makes for a better user experience.  

    You can compare the value of this measure with that of the Frame rate measure of a user to ascertain whether/not the Framehawk virtual channel has indeed enhanced that user’s experience with applications deployed on Virtual Apps. If this comparison reveals that the value of this measure is higher than that of the Frame rate measure, it is a clear indicator of the effectiveness of the Framehawk virtual channel.

    Note:

    This measure will report the value 0 if Framehawk is not enabled for a user or if the device from which the user is accessing the application does not support Framehawk.

    Framehawk network bandwidth:

    Indicates the bandwidth consumption of this user session when the Framehawk virtual delivery channel is used.

    KB

    This is a good measure of the effectiveness of Framehawk in optimizing the bandwidth usage over the virtual delivery channel. A low value is desired for this measure.

    Note:

    This measure will report the value 0 if Framehawk is not enabled for a user or if the device from which the user is accessing the application does not support Framehawk.

    Framehawk latency:

    Indicates the latency experienced by this user session when the Framehawk virtual delivery channel is used.

    Secs

    To judge the effectiveness of Framehawk, compare the value of this measure with that of the ICA network latency measure for a Framehawk-enabled user. If the comparison reveals a lower value for this measure, it implies that Framehawk has succeeded in minimizing the latencies over the delivery channel.

    Note:

    This measure will report the value 0 if Framehawk is not enabled for a user or if the device from which the user is accessing the application does not support Framehawk.

    Framehawk network loss:

    Indicates the percentage of packet loss experienced by this user session when the Framehawk virtual delivery channel is used.

    Percent

    If the value of this measure is very low, it indicates that Framehawk has been very effective in minimizing the loss ofpackets that typically occur when data is transmitted or received over a channel.

    Note:

    This measure will report the value 0 if Framehawk is not enabled for a user or if the device from which the user is accessing the application does not support Framehawk.

    Client network latency:

    Indicates the latency experienced by this user when transmitting/receiving data over the ICA channel.

    This measure maps to the 'Network RTT' measure in Citrix Director.

    Secs

    This measure represents the network latency detected between the ICA client and the Citrix Virtual Apps server being monitored.

    If both the Screen refresh latency and Client network latency measures report high values, it implies that network slowness is contributing to user-perceived Citrix slowness (i.e., the problem is not due to the Citrix servers, but probably due to the network connection that the user is connecting from - e.g., a wireless WAN).

    If Screen refresh latency is high and Client network latency is low, this implies that there is a bottleneck in the Citrix stack that is causing user experience to be poor (e.g., overloaded server or virtual platform, slowness in storage, etc.). Slowness can also occur because of client-side processing delays on the receiver end.

    Total bandwidth

    Indicates the total bandwidth usage of the sessions of this user.

    Kbps

    Compare the value of this measure across users to know which user is consuming the maximum bandwidth.

    Total time in session:

    Indicates the time that has elapsed since this user logged in.

    Mins

    Compare the value of this measure across users to know which user has been logged in for the longest time.

    Active time in last measure period

    Indicates the percentage of time in the last measurement period during which this user actively used the server.

    Percent

    Ideally, the value of this measure should be 100%.

    A low value for this measure denotes a high level of inactivity recently.

    Time since last activity:

    Indicates the time that has elapsed since this user performed an action on the server.

    Minutes

    A high value for this measure indicates that the user has been idle for a long time. Compare the value of this measure across users to know which user has been idle for the longest time.

    Is session idle in long time?

    Indicates whether/not the session has been idle beyond the time duration specified against the Idle Time parameter.

     

    The values that this measure can report and their corresponding numeric values are discussed in the table above:

    Measure Value Numeric Value
    No 0
    Yes 1

    Note:

    By default, this measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above. In the graph of this measure however, the value of this measure is represented using their numeric equivalents only.

    Total idle time in session:

    Indicates the total time for which this user was idle during the session.

    Minutes

    If the value of this measure is the same as the value of the Total time in session measure for a user, it means that the user has been idle throughout the session.

    If the value of this measure is close to the value of the Total time in session measure for a user, it implies that the user has been idle for a long time.

    If the value of this measure is much lesser than the value of the Total time in session measure for a user, it means that the user has been active for most part of the session.

    Working set memory for user's processes:

    Indicates the current size of the working set of this user's processes

    MB

    The Working Set is the set of memory pages touched recently by the threads in a process. If free memory in the server is above a threshold, pages are left in the Working Set of a process even if they are not in use. When free memory falls below a threshold, pages are trimmed from Working Sets. If they are needed they will then be soft-faulted back into the Working Set before leaving main memory. If multiple processes are running in the user's session, the memory working set reported is the sum of the working sets for all the user's processes. Comparing the working set across users indicates which user(s) are taking up excessive memory.  Check the detailed diagnosis to view the offending processes/applications.

    Processes running in the user's session:

    Indicates the count of processes running in this user's session.

    Number

     

    User's connection quality indicator:

    Indicates the connectivity of this user with the Citrix environment.

     

    The values that this measure can report and their corresponding numeric values are discussed in the table above:

    Measure Value Numeric Value
    Poor connection 1
    Weak connection 2

    Strong connection

    3

    None

    4

    Note:

    By default, this measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above. In the graph of this measure however, the value of this measure is represented using their numeric equivalents only.

    A major alert will be generated when this test reports the "Poor connection" value for this measure. Likewise, a minor alert will be generated when the value of this measure is "Weak connection".

    Input delay for user's sessions - max

    Indicates the maximum amount of time lag detected between this user's input through any input device (e.g., mouse, keyboard) and the time at which the application picked up the input.

    Seconds

    Poor application performance is one of the most difficult problems to diagnose by the administrators. Traditionally, diagnosis was done by collecting CPU, memory, disk I/O and a few other metrics. The data collected from traditional metrics were not sufficient to figure out the root cause of poor performance of the applications since the variations measured by the metrics were large. In virtual environments where multiple users accessed an application from remote at the same time, users faced difficulties in accessing the application whenever there was an increase in the count of users. The more the users are accessing the application, the higher was the CPU usage of the systems in the environment and the higher was the user input delays i.e., the users were forced to wait for a longer duration to interact with the application. The user input delay is measured by how long any user input (such as mouse or keyboard usage) stays in the queue before it is picked up by a process.

    These two measures capture such user input delays at the user session level. These insights enable administrators to accurately identify which user’s Citrix experience is being scarred by user input delays.

    These measures will be reported only on Windows 2019 (and above).

    Ideally, the values of these measures should be 0 or very low.

    Input delay for user's sessions - avg

    Indicates the average amount of time lag detected between this user's input through any input device (e.g., mouse, keyboard) and the time at which the application picked up the input.

    Seconds