Citrix XenApp 5 Best Practices

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1 Citrix XenApp 5 Best Practices Installation Configuration Published Application Access Backup Strategy Deployment Proprietary Information FUJIFILM Medical Systems USA, Inc.

2 Disclaimer No part of this document may be reproduced without prior written permission. The information provided within this document is proprietary. Without prior written permission from FUJIFILM Medical Systems USA, Inc., the duplication or reproducing this document in whole or in part is strictly prohibited. Without prior written permission from FUJIFILM Medical Systems USA, Inc., disclosing the contents of this document, in whole or in part, to persons other than authorized personnel, is strictly prohibited. Without prior written permission from FUJIFILM Medical Systems USA, Inc., the lending or transferring of this document, in whole or in part, to a third party is strictly prohibited. The information contained in this document may be subject to change without prior notice. FUJIFILM Medical Systems USA, Inc. shall not be liable for malfunctions and damages resulting from improper installation, relocation, remodeling, maintenance, and repair performed by FUJIFILM Medical Systems USA, Inc. and all other FUJIFILM Subsidiaries or Distributors. FUJIFILM Medical Systems USA, Inc. shall not be liable for malfunctions and damages of FUJIFILM Medical Systems USA, Inc. products due to products of other manufacturers not supplied by FUJIFILM Medical Systems USA, Inc. FUJIFILM Medical Systems USA, Inc. shall not be liable for malfunctions and damages resulting from remodeling, maintenance, and repair using repair parts other than those specified by FUJIFILM Medical Systems USA, Inc. FUJIFILM Medical Systems USA, Inc. shall not be liable for malfunctions and damages resulting from negligence. FUJIFILM Medical Systems USA, Inc. shall not be liable for malfunctions and damages resulting from natural disasters. FUJIFILM Medical Systems USA, Inc. may have patents or pending patent applications, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights covering various subject matters contained in this document. The furnishing of this document does not extended any rights to said patents, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights, except as expressly set forth in any written license agreement from FUJIFILM Medical Systems USA, Inc. Synapse is a computer program, which is protected by copyright law and international treaties. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this program, or any portion of this program, is strictly prohibited. Certain images/diagrams contained in this document may not appear clearly on high-resolution monitors. Synapse is a registered trademark of FUJIFILM Medical Systems USA, Inc. Copyright 2011 FUJIFILM Medical Systems USA, Inc. All rights reserved. All brand, product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or organizations. Page 2 of 13

3 Revision History Date Revision Description August 12, 2011 A Initial document release October 10, 2011 B Reformatted into current document template Page 3 of 13

4 Table of Contents 1 Introduction Overview References Intended Use Citrix XenApp 5 Installation Server Virtual Hardware Tuning Considerations Virtual Memory Disk Partitioning Network Interface Card Citrix XenApp 5 Configuration Speed Screen Latency Reduction Manager Citrix Policies Load Evaluators Load Managed Systems Published Application Access Online Plug-in Citrix Web Interface Backup Strategy Deployment Appendix A, Network Diagram Page 4 of 13

5 1 Introduction This document is intended for FUJIFILM Medical Systems USA, Inc. (FMSU) technical personnel, customer implementers, and others who have an interest in installing and configuring a Citrix XenApp 5 environment to host Synapse PACS and Cardiovascular applications. The information contained in this manual has been carefully checked and is believed to be entirely reliable. However, as FMSU improves the reliability, function, and design of its products, the possibility exists that information or screen images may not be current. If you require technical service or support, contact FMSU at the following address or by calling the phone number listed below. For general information, visit our web site at FUJIFILM Medical Systems USA, Inc 419 West Avenue Stamford, Connecticut Synapse (PACS/RIS/CV) Technical/Service Support (1-888-fujimed) Page 5 of 13

6 2 Overview This document provides recommended best practices for setting up a Citrix XenApp 5 environment that hosts Synapse PACS and Cardiovascular client applications. This document covers the following key topics related to XenApp 5 best practices: XenApp 5 installation XenApp 5 configuration Published application access Backup strategy Deployment 3 References A FUJIFILM partner web site has been created to serve as a central public resource for implementers. Detailed information for Citrix XenApp 5 is available at: FUJIFILM personnel may reference the following internal documents: XenApp Configuration Guide (INT ) XenApp Installation Guide (INT ) 4 Intended Use Any Synapse application hosted in a Citrix XenApp 5 server farm is intended for non-diagnostic use only. This document provides a set of recommended best practices that have been developed for Synapse PACS and Cardiovascular applications hosted in a Citrix environment. Refer to all applicable Citrix documentation for detailed instructions for installing and configuring a baseline system. Page 6 of 13

7 5 Citrix XenApp 5 Installation 5.1 Server Virtual Hardware A dedicated Citrix XenApp 5 server farm should be used for hosting Synapse client applications. This will minimize the effect of external factors that could negatively impact Synapse applications running in a thin client environment. All XenApp 5 servers running Windows bit Enterprise addition and above will have the option of increasing memory beyond the 4GB limit that the standard version of Windows bit server provides. Table 1 provides recommended hardware properties for the Citrix server system. Server Role License + Zone Data Collector Web Interface 15 Concurrent Users License + Zone Data Collector + Web Interface vram 2 GB Min 4 GB Recommended 8-12 GB Min 4 GB Recommended 8-12 GB vcpu 2 x 2 GHz Plus 4 x 2 GHz Plus 4 x 2 GHz Plus vvideo 1 MB 16 MB 16 MB Network 1 GB 1 GB 1 GB vdisks speeds 10,000 RPM 10,000 RPM 10,000 RPM vdisks Size C:\60 GB D:\20 GB C:\60 GB D:\20 GB C:\60 GB D:\20 GB Storage Fiber Channel Storage Fiber Channel Storage Fiber Channel Storage Table 1, Recommended Hardware Properties Page 7 of 13

8 5.2 Tuning Considerations The following fine tunings are recommended: 1. In System Properties, Advanced Performance Options set Processor scheduling to Programs instead of Background Services. This will boost CPU scheduling for published applications 2. Turn off MDAC: bcdedit.exe /set {current} nx AlwaysOff 3. This article covers in detail how to tune parameters relating to the XenApp Farm. This article is for reference purposes only; not all settings are required Server-XenApp-Tuning-Tips.aspx Operating System Tuning for XenApp / Terminal Services Additional Windows Explorer Tuning XenApp Tuning User Profile Tuning XenApp Client Tuning CAUTION Incorrectly using Registry Editor can cause serious problems that require reinstallation of the operating system. We cannot guarantee that problems resulting from incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Make careful use of Registry Editor and back up the registry before editing. Page 8 of 13

9 5.3 Virtual Memory Virtual memory size is very important for Synapse applications. Virtual memory is used for the temporary storage of images when physical memory is not available. At a minimum, virtual memory should be larger than the size of two studies that are used for comparison. The default virtual memory configured out of the box may not be enough to handle the large size of these studies. In this case, virtual memory size needs to be reconfigured. The calculation for virtual memory size with 50% margin is: Minimum virtual memory size = (MB of one image x number of images per one study x 2) x 1.5 Examples: 512 x 512 x 2B CT image, 1,000 images per study = 1.57 GB 2000 x 2000 x 2B CR image, 30 images per study = 0.72 GB 4000 x 4000 x 2B CR image, 30 images per study = 2.88 GB 5.4 Disk Partitioning Use the default disk partitioning scheme and make the changes below: File System Size C:\ 60 GB Fixed D:\ 20 GB Fixed 5.5 Network Interface Card As the server is a VMware guest, the virtual NIC should have a static IP address connected to a 1Gbps vswitch as a guest in ESX. Page 9 of 13

10 6 Citrix XenApp 5 Configuration 6.1 Speed Screen Latency Reduction Manager Speed Screen Latency Reduction is a term used to describe features such as Local Text Echo and Mouse Click Feedback that enhance the user experience on a slow network. Configure Speed Screen Latency Reduction for each published application. Enabling this setting for Internet Explorer-based applications can enhance the user experience. Speed Screen Browser Acceleration is disabled if Internet Explorer is running in protected mode. However, you can turn on Speed Screen Browser Acceleration even when Internet Explorer is running in protected mode by adding EnableProtectedModeSpeedBrowse and setting it to 1 in the Windows registry. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CITRIX\SpeedBrowse 6.2 Citrix Policies Citrix policies can be configured in the Citrix XenApp Advanced Configuration console. Set a policy for lossy compression as shown in Figure 1 below. Figure 1, Lossy Compression Setting Page 10 of 13

6.3 Load Evaluators Load evaluator settings are configured in the Citrix XenApp Advanced Configuration console. The default Advanced evaluator is the recommended starting point.

11 6.3 Load Evaluators Load evaluator settings are configured in the Citrix XenApp Advanced Configuration console. The default Advanced evaluator is the recommended starting point. Create new, custom policies for other types of load evaluation. 6.4 Load Managed Systems Citrix has a powerful built-in load balancing utility. It leverages the load evaluator policy to govern new client sessions connecting to the farm. All Synapse applications running in the XenApp farm should be configured to every web interface in the farm. This will improve the user experience as more users connect to the same application. The published application properties will display every server assigned to present the application to client connections. Figure 2 shows the Load Evaluator to use as a baseline when configuring the application to be load managed: Figure 2, Baseline Load Evaluator Page 11 of 13

12 7 Published Application Access 7.1 Online Plug-in Use the most current online plug-in for connecting to the web interface to access published applications. 7.2 Citrix Web Interface Publish all applications in the Web Interface and assign appropriate users to each application. This allows you to avoid managing client configuration issues with Citrix Program Neighborhood. 8 Backup Strategy The backup strategy remains the same as for any physical architecture. The XenApp implementer should use backup agents installed within each VM. 9 Deployment Create a Windows 2008 VM with no license key and apply all service packs and updates. Install the latest version of VMware Tools. Clone this VM to a template and use it to deploy the rest of the system. Page 12 of 13

13 10 Appendix A, Network Diagram Figure 3, Citrix Farm Network Diagram Page 13 of 13

Citrix XenDesktop 5 Best Practices

, Cardio Citrix XenDesktop 5 Best Practices Server Best Practices Master Images Proprietary Information FUJIFILM Medical Systems USA, Inc. Disclaimer No part of this document may be reproduced without