Workspace App Usage Report

Whenever a user complained of slowness when accessing applications/desktops launched on a Citrix server, administrators may instantly want to know which type/version of Workspace App was used by the user for connecting to the server. This knowledge will ease the troubleshooting pains of administrators as it will clearly indicate if the slowdown occurred owing to the usage of an unsupported or an outdated Citrix Workspace App. The Workspace App Usage report offered by eG Enterprise helps administrators figure out the Citrix Workspace App version/type used by each user. By historically analyzing the Citrix Workspace Apps that were in use, administrators can determine which user logged into the Citrix environment using which Workspace App, and in the process, figure out Workspace App-related issues that are contributing to a user’s unsatisfactory experience with Citrix.

To generate this report, do the following:

  1. Select the Citrix Workspace App Usage option by following the menu sequence: REPORTS BY FUNCTION -> Domain-specific Reports -> Virtual Applications / Desktops -> Sessions

  2. Figure 1 will then appear.

    Figure 1 : Generating the Workspace App Usage report

  3. Next, select a criterion for analysis from the Analyze By list box. Using this report, you can analyze the Workspace App usage / distribution on one/more independent virtualized components, or those that are part of a segment, service, or a zone. This way, you can assess the impact of the virtual components 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 option to choose the component(s) from across all the managed components in the environment.
    • Service: Select this option if the components 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 virtual hosts to be evaluated are part of a segment. Then, pick a Segment for analysis.
    • Zone: Pick this option for a report on the performance of virtual components that are included in a zone. Then, choose a Zone.
  4. Pick a component type for which the report is to be generated from the Component Type list.

  5. As soon as the Component Type is chosen, the Components list is populated with all the components pertaining to the chosen Component Type. If the Components list consists of too many components, then viewing all the components and selecting the ones you need for report generation could require endless scrolling. To avoid this, you can click the button next to the Components list. The Components pop up window will then appear using which you can view almost all the components 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 component name to search for in this text box, and click the icon next to it.

  6. By default, * option is specified in the Client Version text box indicating that this report will be generated for all versions of Citrix Workspace Apps being used by the users for logging into the virtual environment. However, if you want to analyze the performance of a Citrix Workspace App alone, then, you can specify the version of the Citrix Workspace App in this text box.

  7. Then, specify the Timeline for generating this report. 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.

  8. 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 report by clicking the Run Report button soon after you pick an application. 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 drop down window (see Figure 2). The steps below discuss each of these settings and how they can be customized.

    Figure 2 : The default settings for generating the report

  9. Next, indicate the report Time period.

    Note:

    By default, the Time period is set to 24 hours. Accordingly, the From and To parameters in the [timeframe] section of the eg_report.ini file (in the <eg_install_dir>\manager\config directory) are set to 00:00 and 24:00 respectively. If need be, you can override this default setting by configuring a different timeframe against the From and/or To parameters. 

  10. 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 [EXCLUDE_WEEKEND] section of the file, the Days parameter is set to Saturday,Sunday by default. You can modify this by setting the Days parameter to a comma-separated list of other days of the week - say Friday,Saturday.
    • Save the file after making the required changes.

  11. 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.
  12. Finally, click the Run Report button to generate the report.

  13. If the option chosen from the Report Generation list is Foreground Generation - HTML, then, Figure 3 will appear upon clicking on the Run Report button.

    Figure 3 : The generated Workspace App Usage Report

    Figure 3 reveals the following sections:

    • A distribution pie chart (Workspace App Distribution by Session Usage section) revealing the percentage of sessions initiated through each Citrix Workspace type/version. Using this pie chart, administrators can figure out the Citrix Workspace that is less frequently used and troubleshoot issues regarding that Workspace. Clicking on a slice of pie will lead you to the Sessions by Users Report which will help administrators in tracking the user activity on the servers in the farm.
    • The Workspace App Usage by Unique Users section reveals a horizontal bar graph which represents the unique users who have initiated sessions on the Citrix server using each type/version of Citrix Workspace App. Clicking on a bar will lead you to the Sessions by Users Report which will help administrators in tracking the user activity on the servers in the farm.

    • For each Client version, the Details section provides the Client type, unique users logged into the server, the total sessions completed by the users and the duration for which the user had logged into the server. This analysis will help administrators in identifying the outdated Citrix Workspace Apps i.e., the Citrix Workspace Apps through which the users did not connect to or connected only for a limited time duration. Expanding the Client Version column in Figure 3 will reveal Figure 4.

    Figure 4 : The name of the unique users logged in through each Workspace App Client Version

    Figure 4 reveals the name of the unique users logged in through each Citrix Workspace App Client Version. Using this section, administrators can figure out the users who have frequently logged into the server.