Sessions - Sessions by Host Pool Report

AVD host pools are often sized based on expectations of the number of simultaneous sessions that the host pool will be required to support and the average duration of each session. A significant deviation in either the number of simultaneous sessions or the duration of sessions may warrant a rethink of the pool’s capacity. This is why, administrators wish to track the session activity in a host pool over the period of time. An analysis of the session activity in a host pool can indicate:

How many simultaneous sessions does the host pool handle?
Is the session load evenly balanced across the virtual desktops in the host pools?
What is the average duration of a user’s session?
How many unique users are logging into the host pool?
Who are the users with longest sessions (since long sessions often take more server resources)?

Administrators need to closely observe the session activity on an AVD host pool so as to make a fair judgment of current pool capacity and make sizing recommendations for the future. To facilitate effective session monitoring, eG Enterprise provides a comprehensive Sessions by Host Pool report. Besides furnishing pre-configured details pertaining to user sessions to virtual desktops in a host pool, this report also sheds light on the longest sessions and the users with the maximum access duration both at the host pool level and individual session host level. This enables administrators identify sessions that were open for a long period of time and the users who had probably kept them open for a longer time, investigate the reasons for this abnormal behavior, and immediately initiate the required remedial action. Using the user session analysis report, administrators can also verify whether the server has been sized commensurate to its active and anticipated workload, and can thus perform effective capacity planning. This report also provides a list of all the users who have accessed any of the virtual desktops in the host pool. Thus, any unauthorized access can be spotted and corrected.

To generate this report, do the following:

Follow the menu sequence: REPORTS BY FUNCTION -> Domain-specific Reports -> Azure Virtual Desktop -> By Host Pool -> Sessions -> Sessions by Host Pool.
will then appear.

Figure 1 : Setting criteria for generating a Sessions By Host Pool report
When Figure 1 appears, choose a Report Type (Graph or Data). The default Report Type is Graph. To closely observe and clearly understand the behavior of a single performance parameter of a component or across a zone/service/segment, you can plot a single measure's data alone in a Graph report (see Figure 1).
Next, select a criterion for analysis from the Analyze By list box. Using this report, you can analyze the user sessions on one/more independent Azure virtual desktops, or those that are part of a segment, service, or a zone. This way, you can assess the impact of the user sessions on the virtual machines of a particular service/segment/zone, and accordingly take decisions. The options provided by the Analyze By list box are discussed hereunder:
- Component: Select this from the Analyze By list to choose the component(s) from across all the managed components in the environment. Then, select all the host pools listed in the Host Pool list of Figure 1. If the Host Pool list consists of too many host pools, then viewing all the host pools and selecting the ones you need for report generation could require endless scrolling. To avoid this, you can click the button next to the Host Pool list. The Host Pool pop up window will then appear using which you can view almost all the host pools in a single interface and Select the ones for which the report is to be generated. You can narrow your search further by using the Search text box. Specify the whole/part of the host pool name to search for in this text box, and click the icon next to it.
- Service: Select this option if the host pools for which a report is to be generated are involved in the delivery of a business service. Then, select a Service.
- Segment: Choose this option if the host pools to be evaluated are part of a segment. Then, pick a Segment for analysis.
- Zone: Pick this option for a report on the session performance of host pools that are included in a zone. Then, choose a Zone.
Next, select the component type from the Component Type list. By default, this is set to Microsoft AVD Host Pool.
When the Report Type is Graph, a Criteria list box will appear, containing the complete list of measures that you have configured for the report. From this list, pick the Criteria based on which the graph is to be generated (see ).
Then, specify the Timeline for the graph. You can either provide a fixed time line such as 1 hour, 2 days, etc., or select the Any option from the list to provide a From and To date/time for report generation.

Note:

For every user registered with the eG Enterprise system, the administrator can indicate the maximum timeline for which that user can generate a report. Once the maximum timeline is set for a user, then, whenever that user logs into eG Reporter and attempts to generate a report, the Timeline list box in the report page will display options according to the maximum timeline setting of that user. For instance, if a user can generate a report for a maximum period of 3 days only, then 3 days will be the highest option displayed in the Timeline list - i.e., 3 days will be the last option in the fixed Timeline list. Similarly, if the user chooses the Any option from the Timeline list and proceeds to provide a start date and end date for report generation using the From and To specifications, eG Enterprise will first check if the user's Timeline specification conforms to his/her maximum timeline setting. If not, report generation will fail. For instance, for a user who is allowed to generate reports spanning over a maximum period of 3 days only, the difference between the From and To dates should never be over 3 days. If it is, then, upon clicking the Run Report button a message box will appear, prompting the user to change the From and To specification.
In addition to the settings discussed above, this report comes with a set of default specifications. These settings are hidden by default. If you do not want to disturb these default settings, then you can proceed to generate the Analyze By clicking the Run Report button soon after you pick a Measure. However, if you want to view and then alter these settings (if required), click on the icon. The default settings will then appear in the More Options window (see Figure 2). The steps below discuss each of these settings and how they can be customized.

Figure 2 : The default settings for the generating the Sessions by Host Pool report
The speed with which a report is generated depends primarily on the report Timeline. While a Timeline that varies between a couple of days to a week enables the eG Enterprise system to quickly retrieve the required data, timelines that span multiple weeks/months could slow-down the data retrieval and report generation process to a considerable extent, owing to the volume of data involved. In order to ensure quick and easy access to reports, eG Enterprise provides you the option of enabling data retrieval from the Trend information in the database, instead of the Detailed test information that is used by default for report generation. The Detailed test information base comprises of multiple measurement records for a test - one or more each for every test execution. Whereas, the Trend information includes only hourly, daily, and monthly summary computations for a test performed on a continuous basis. For instance, during a period of 1 hour, a test that runs every 5 minutes inserts atleast 12 records into the Detailed test information base. On the other hand, the Trend information base would consist of only 1 record for the same 1 hour period. Fewer the number of records, query execution becomes that much more quicker, and data retrieval faster. To use the trend data for report generation, you will have to select the Trend option from the Show Data field in Figure 2. By default, the Detailed option is selected in Figure 2 indicating that, by default, the report data is retrieved from the detailed test information in the database. If need be, you can also ensure that all reports always use the Detailed test tables alone by hiding the Show Data field from the reporter interface. To achieve this, do the following:
- Edit the eg_services.ini file in the <eG_Install_Dir>\manager\config directory.
- In the [misc_args] section of the file, you have an AvgSumTrends flag that is set to Yes by default. This makes sure that the Show Data field appears in the reporter interface, by default.
- If you set the AvgSumTrends flag to No, then the Show Data field will not appear in the reporter interface; this denies users access to the Trend option, and thus ensures that reports are always generated using the Detailed tables.
  
  Note:
  - A Trend report will not include the data for the current day since trend data is only computed at the end of the day.
  - If the Trend option is chosen, the time period of the report should be greater than 1 day.
  - The usage of Detailed test tables for generating reports, especially those that span weeks, increases the stress on the eG database, thus resulting in undue delays in report generation. In order to ensure that the database is not choked by such voluminous data requests, you can configure eG Enterprise to automatically "force" the use of the Trend option if the Timeline of a report exceeds a pre-configured duration. To specify this time boundary, do the following:
    - Edit the eg_report.ini file in the <eG_Install_Dir>\manager\config directory.
    - In the [MISC] section of the file, you will find a DetailedTime parameter.
    - Specify the duration (in days) beyond which Detailed reports cannot be generated, against the DetailedTime parameter, and save the eg_report.ini file.
    - For instance, to make sure that Detailed reports are disallowed for a Timeline of over 2 weeks, set the DetailedTime parameter to 14 and save the file.
    - Say, subsequently, you attempt to generate a Detailed report for a FixedTimeline of 3 weeks (which is greater than the 14-day limit set in our example). The instant you select the 3 weeks option from the Fixed list box, the Detailed option gets automatically disabled, and the Trend option gets enabled. Similarly, if you specify an AnyTimeline that runs over 14 days, then, upon clicking the Run Report button to generate the report, a message box appears (see Figure 8) informing you that only the Trend option is permitted.
    - To proceed with the Trend report generation, click the ok button in the message box. To terminate Trend report generation, click the Cancel button.
Next, specify the start time and end time for report generation against the Time period field.
If the timeline specified for the report needs to exclude the data collected during the Weekends, then set Exclude weekends to Yes. If not, select No.

Note:

By default, the weekend constitutes Saturday and Sunday. To override this default setting, do the following:
- Edit the eg_report.ini file in the <eG_Install_Dir>\manager\config directory.
- In the [CITRIX SESSION REPORT] section of the file, the exclude_weekend parameter is set to Saturday,Sunday by default. You can modify this by setting the exclude_weekend parameter to a comma-separated list of other days of the week - say Friday,Saturday.
- Save the file after making the required changes.
In large environments, reports generated using months of data can take a long time to complete. Administrators now have the option of generating reports on-line or in the background. When a report is scheduled for background generation, administrators can proceed with their other monitoring, diagnosis, and reporting tasks, while the eG manager is processing the report. This saves the administrator valuable time. To schedule background processing of a report, you can either select the Background Save - PDF option or the Background Save - CSV option from the Report Generation list. In this case, a Report Name text box will appear, where you would have to provide the name with which the report is to be saved in the background. To process reports in the foreground, select the Foreground Generation - HTML option from this list.

Note:
- The Report Generation list will appear only if the EnableBackgroundReport flag in the [BACKGROUND_PROCESS] section of the eg_report.ini file (in the <eG_Install_Dir>\manager\config directory) is set to Yes.
- The default selection in the Report Generation list will change according to the Timeline specified for the report. If the Timeline set is greater than or equal to the number of days specified against the MinDurationForReport parameter in the [BACKGROUND_PROCESS] section of the eg_report.ini file, then the default selection in the Report Generation list will be Background Save - PDF. On the other hand, if the Timeline set for the report is lesser than the value of the MinDurationForReport parameter, then the default selection in the Report Generation list will be Foreground. This is because, the MinDurationForReport setting governs when reports are to be processed in the background. By default, this parameter is set to 2 weeks - this indicates that by default, reports with a timeline of 2 weeks and above will be processed in the background.
Finally, click the Run Report button.
If the Report Type is Graph and the option chosen from the Report Generation list is Foreground Generation - HTML, then, clicking on the Run Report button will invoke Figure 3.

Figure 3 : A graphical Sessions By Host Pool report

The generated report will reveal the following:
- A distribution pie chart reveals the number of components in different distribution ranges (see Figure 3). The distribution ranges are obtained based on the first of the configured functions on the chosen Criteria. For instance, assume that Established sessions is the chosen Criteria. Say that you have configured to display the Avg and Max of Active sessions in the session report. Typically, both these configured values will appear only in a Data report. In the case of a Graph report however, the first of the two functions - i.e., Avg of Active sessions - alone is calculated for the chosen zone. A quick glance at the pie chart indicates whether or not session load is uniformly distributed across the various components in the zone. Click on a particular slice in the pie chart to view the list of components that fall within the value range represented by that slice (see Figure 4). Against every component name, the actual values for each of the configured functions (both Avg and Max, in our example) will be displayed. A zone-level Summary of the chosen Criteria, and the maximum and average session durations at the zone-level will also be displayed.
  
  Figure 4 : A list of components with Session Duration in a given range
  
  Note:
  
  By default, the chart type for distribution is a pie chart. However, you can have a bar graph depict the same data instead of a pie chart, by following the steps given below:
  - Edit the eg_report.ini file in the <eG_Install_Dir>\manager\config directory.
  - Change the value of the chartTypeForDist parameter in the [citrix session report] section of this file from the default Pie, to Bar.
  - Save the eg_report.ini file.
  By default, the number of value ranges that need to be configured for the distribution chart is 5. To override this default setting, do the following:
  - Edit the eg_report.ini file in the <eG_Install_Dir>\manager\config directory.
  - Specify a number of your choice against the nofRangeForDist parameter in the [citrix session report] section of this file. By default, this parameter will hold the value 10.
  - Save the eg_report.ini file.
- Adjacent to the pie chart, you will find a bar chart that indicates the components that have topped/failed in a selected performance realm (i.e., the Criteria) during the specified Timeline. For example, for the Established sessions measure, this bar chart reveals the top components in terms of current session activity. Like the pie chart, the values for the bar chart are also calculated by applying the first of the configured functions on the chosen Criteria. Clicking on the bar corresponding to a host pool name results in Figure 5 that enables you to focus on the performance of that host pool.
  
  Figure 5 : The report that appears upon clicking on a bar chart
  
  Note:
  
  The number of components to be displayed in the Top <N> Components bar chart is configurable. To specify the number, do the following:
  - Edit the eg_report.ini file in the <eG_Install_Dir>\manager\config directory.
  - Specify a number of your choice against the NoOfServersforChart parameter in the [citrix session report] section of the file. By default, the value displayed here is 10, indicating that, by default, the bar chart will be for the Top 10 Components. For example, if you change this value to 5, then a bar chart displaying the Top 5 Components will appear.
  - Finally, save the eg_report.ini file.
  Note:
  
  You can configure the colors to be used in the distribution chart and the Top <N> Components bar chart in the session report, by editing the eg_report.ini file in the <eG_Install_Dir>\manager\config directory. The [citrix session report] section of the file defines the 20 default colors of the distribution and bar charts:
  
  [CITRIX SESSION REPORT]
  
  ChartColor=#8399b0,#ffd95a,#a4ac91,#98d980,#d5b996,#f48848,#8b8cc2,
  #eb4052,#c4b3d0,#b18651,#ebb7ce,#028768,#f5c372,#887c65,#e4c536,
  #b5582c,#f94989,#770d72,#97a067,#89aeb7
  
  distColor=#115fa6,#f25454,#60bd68,#b276b2,#81bef7,#a61120,#ffd13e,
  #770d72,#887c65,#a4ac91
  
  You can override the default color settings of the distribution chart by modifying the color-codes specifying against distColor. For changing the colors used by the Top <N> Components chart, alter the codes listed against the ChartColor parameter.
A Data report does not graphically represent the measure data. Instead, the configured details are presented in a tabular format in the report. To generate a Data report, select Data as the Report Type (see ).
Then, like in the case of a Graph report, provide a Time period, Timeline, indicate whether/not to Exclude weekends, and also indicate whether Detailed data or Trend data is to be used for report generation (see ). Finally, click on the Run Report button.
If the Report Type is Data and the option chosen from the Report Generation list is Foreground Generation - HTML, then, upon clicking the Run Report button, you will find a report providing session information in two sections. The Summary section displays the following:
- the total number of sessions on all host pools (as the case may be) (see Figure 6)
- the average and maximum duration of the sessions on the host pools (as the case may be) (see Figure 6)
  
  Figure 6 : The Sessions by Host Pool report when the Report Type is set as Data
Links to the top sessions (see Figure 6) and users (see Figure 6) in the host pool will also be available in this section. Clicking on the Up-arrow hyperlink corresponding to the Top <N> longest sessions entry will reveal Figure 7, which will provide the details of the top sessions in the farm. The details include the servers that were accessed, the users who accessed them, the time of login, and the duration of access. Click on the Back button in Figure 7 to return to the previous page.

Figure 7 : The longest sessions in the host pool

Similarly, clicking on the Up-arrow hyperlink corresponding to the Top <N> users by duration of usage entry in the Summary section, will lead you to Figure 8 that reveals the top users in the host pool in terms of duration of access.

Figure 8 : The top users of the host pools
Besides, the total number of 'distinct' users to the zone during the given Timeline, is also displayed in the first section of Figure 6. Clicking on the number of Unique users invokes a distribution bar chart that depicts the number of unique users who logged into the host pool every day during the specified Timeline (see Figure 9). This chart enables you to identify the exact date on which there was excessive user activity on the zone.

Figure 9 : A day-wise distribution chart for the user activity on the zone

To know which users have contributed to this abnormal user activity, click on the bar that indicates more users on a particular day. A list of distinct users to the host pools in the zone on that date will then appear (see Figure 10).

Figure 10 : The list of users to the host pool on a particular date
The User details table in Figure 9 lists the 'distinct' users who logged into one/more of the servers in the host pool during the specified Timeline.
Using the Session details section in Figure 6, administrators can find out the number of unique users logged in to each of the host pools, total number of sessions and the average and maximum number of sessions established to each host pool and the average and maximum duration that the sessions were open on each host pool over the chosen period of time. In addition, the top-n users who had kept the sessions open for a longer duration and the top-n longest sessions are also reported in the Session details section.
If the Background Save - PDF option is chosen from the Report Generation list, then clicking on the Run Report button will not generate the report and display it in this page for your benefit. Instead, a message indicating that the report is being processed in the background will appear. This will be accompanied by a link that will lead you to the page that lists all the reports that are being processed in the background, and their current status. If background report generation fails for a report, you can regenerate that report using this page, or can even delete that report if need be. On the other hand, if background processing successfully completes for your report, then, you can view a PDF of the report by clicking on the icon in that page.

Note:

You can configure the per-host pool information that needs to appear in the session report, by editing the eg_report.ini file in the <eG_Install_Dir>\manager\config directory. For example, to ensure that the session report displays the average and maximum number of sessions that are currently active on each of the virtual desktops in a host pool, and the average and maximum number of sessions that are inactive, do the following:

In the [citrix session report] section of this file, specify the following:

[CITRIX SESSION REPORT]
WVD_RDS_server:WVDSessionTest:Active_sessions#Established Sessions=Avg,Max
WVD_RDS_server:WVDSessionTest:Inactive_sessions#Inactive sessions=Avg,Max

Here, WVD_RDS_server is the Internal Component Type, WVDSessionTest is the InternalTestName that reports the Established sessions. Avg and Max are the functions that need to be executed on the values of the configured measure (i.e., Active_sessions) in order to compute the average and maximum number of sessions. Note that if no functions are configured, then the report will, by default, display the average (Avg) values of the measure. Active sessions and Inactive sessions are the display names of the measures.

Therefore, the specification should be of the format:

<InternalComponent-type>:<InternalTest>:<InternalMeasure>#<Displayname>=<Comma-separated list of functions>.

If a Displayname is not provided, then the actual measure name will automatically become the Displayname.

To know the internal component type, test, and measure names, use the procedure discussed in Top - N Analysis Report .
Finally, save the eg_report.ini file.