Goliath Logon Simulator for Citrix Frequently Asked Questions Document Date: May 2015 www.goliathtechnologies.com
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Table of Contents I. Introduction to Goliath Logon Simulator for Citrix... 4 II. Frequently Asked Questions... 5 3
I. Introduction to Goliath Logon Simulator for Citrix The Goliath Logon Simulator enables a Citrix administrator to simulate the logon process locally, remotely, or in the cloud, generate failure and application/desktop availability alerts, identify the root cause of issues encountered, and troubleshoot and resolve these issues prior to end users being impacted. Much more than a point-in-time testing utility or traditional load testing tool, the Goliath Logon Simulator is a must-have proactive performance management tool for Citrix administrators that can be integrated into the ongoing IT Operations toolset. When Citrix logon issues occur, they are usually a result of problems in one or more of these three areas: Remote location connection Application and/or desktop availability The Citrix delivery infrastructure including NetScaler, Web Interface/StoreFront, Delivery Controllers, Active Directory, the licensing server, and SQL The Goliath Logon Simulator facilitates continuous and real-time testing of the Citrix delivery infrastructure, including the NetScaler, by simulating the exact same steps a user would take during the logon process. By launching real sessions with simulated end users the Goliath Logon Simulator provides visibility into all applications and desktops being launched and whether they are succeeding, failing, or slow. This allows the Goliath Logon Simulator to alert the Citrix administrator to a problem the moment it occurs, triggered by the simulated user, not the end user. If there is a logon failure an administrator will be alerted immediately and pinpoint where the failure occurred and the root cause. In cases where the logon is simply slow, the administrator can see the breakdown of the logon into each of the stages including group policy, script, profile loading in real-time to determine where in the process the slowness occurred. Goliath Logon Simulator POC Limitations Goliath Logon Simulator POCs will be limited to launching a single Citrix XenApp or XenDesktop application or desktop from one location. If your evaluation and Proof of Concept process requires a different configuration than that which the licensing indicated herein allows for, please contact your account manager, or Goliath Sales or Support as follows for assistance with your query: Sales: email: sales@goliathtechnologies.com Phone: 1-855-465-4284 Support: email: support@goliathtechnologies.com Phone: 1-855-465-4284 4
II. Frequently Asked Questions Q: Can the logon simulator be used to determine application or desktop availability, 24/7? Yes. The Goliath Logon Simulator can be scheduled to check and determine if an application is available and if it is not, alert that the application cannot be accessed Q: Does the Logon Simulator have the ability to be scheduled to launch at a set time? Yes. The Goliath Logon Simulator can be scheduled to launch at a specific point and time or on a schedule to test application or desktop availability. This allows, for example, administrators to set the simulations to start before users come into the office to determine ahead of time if end users will encounter a problem. Q: Does the Logon Simulator support Load Testing? Yes. The Goliath Logon Simulator can load test multiple simulated Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop users logging on simultaneously locally or from remote locations. Q: Can I launch sessions for multiple users, at the same time? Yes. Each user you wish to simulate sessions for at the same time, need to be executed from their own VM. Multiple users can be launched from the same VM, if launched successively, on a staggered schedule. Because Goliath Logon Simulator goes through the Citrix Delivery Infrastructure we can only simulate one user at a time from a single VM. Q: I have a customized Citrix Storefront or Web Interface. Will Logon Simulator support it? Yes. Logon Simulator has been designed to support a wide range of customization by default. It can also be customized on a per-client basis. Q: Does Logon Simulator support both published apps and published desktops? Yes. Logon Simulator will be able to access both types. 5
Q: Can I launch published apps alongside published desktops? There is no limitation on the number of apps and desktops that can be run. If your apps and desktops are organized in separate folders, it will be necessary to configure a separate monitoring rule for each folder. Q: Some of my users have access to different apps than others. Can I monitor them both? Logon Simulator can monitor anything that its test account has access to. Multiple accounts can be used if needed. Q: Can I run Logon Simulator from a remote site? Logon Simulator can run on any server that also has a MonitorIT agent installed on it. It is recommended to run Logon Simulator on a dedicated server, but it can run on any machine in your network. If there is an issue at a remote site, Logon Simulator can be run there to diagnose the issue. Q: What versions of Citrix do you support? We support the versions as follows: XenApp: 4.5 7.9 XenDesktop: 5.5 7.9 Q: The log window is empty when I bring it up on the Logon Simulator dashboard. Logon Simulator is failing before it is able to create the log file. Check to see if there is an agent deployed on the server, that it is updated, and that it is running properly. It is also possible that User Account Control has not been disabled. Q: What is the Citrix Account name for? How is it different from the Authentication User Name? Q: How does Logon Simulator disconnect the instance? Q: Why does Logon Simulator need an agent on the farm? Citrix uses the account name and the agent to ask the farm to disconnect any sessions used by the test account. This is important because it allows the farm to free up resources and prevents multiple sessions from building up and slowing down everything. 6
Q: How quickly will I receive alerts? Q: How will I be alerted when there is a problem? Alerts can be received via email and will arrive as soon as the Logon Simulator completes its session. Detailed reports can be scheduled and sent to your email regularly. Q: Can I make a report of logon sessions and Citrix uptime/downtime? Reports can be created for Logon Simulator in the same way that other metrics can be reported on. Reports will include the LOS logs to allow for easier reading and comparison Q: Can I monitor multiple apps or desktops at once? With a single monitoring rule, you are limited to a single account, Citrix portal, and folder (if you have apps nested in folders). Any number of monitoring rules can be created and can be run in parallel or serially. Q: How much of the system resources does it use? The GPM agent uses less than 0.1% CPU and 24-50MB of RAM. Logon Simulator s usage varies depending on how often it runs and how many apps are tested. CPU usage may be high when running multiple apps in parallel, but this can be mitigated by spreading out the run times. Q: Logon Simulator is failing on the log in page. Q: Why can't Logon Simulator find the Apps? If you have customized your login screen, please report the id/name of the HTML fields of the login form. We will add them to the list of supported ids/names and issue and update. If you have customized your Citrix app screen, you may need to modify your Logon Simulator rule. If you have placed the apps inside of a frame, you need to specify the name of the frame in the Tab/Folder name with <name of frame>#; the # lets Logon Simulator know that it needs to look for a frame. If you have placed them inside of a folder as well, you will need to add the path in this box. They can be combined: framename#folder1/folder2 will look inside the frame and navigate through both folders before looking for the app names. Finally, LOS looks at the alt names of the icon images to determine what needs to be clicked. If the alt name does not match the app name, you need to specify the alt name in the monitoring rule instead. 7
Q: The log shows an error that it can't find a 'contentwindow' property. Updating PowerShell to at least version 3.0 will allow you to properly search for frames imbedded in your Citrix page. Q: Log window shows Unable to Start the Logon Simulator Powershell Command and Script for App= LogonSimulator.exe needs to be running on the host machine. It can be found in the MonitorIT installation directory inside of the bin folder. If Logon Simulator is not running on the MonitorIT host machine (which is recommended), then this file needs to be moved to the Logon Simulator machine manually. It should be placed in the Startup folder to ensure that it is running. Q: There isn't a Logon Simulator tab under monitoring. Q: There isn't a Logon Simulator option when creating rules. Logon Simulator requires Goliath Performance Monitor to be at least version 11.4.3.0. It is preferable to update to the latest version for the best results. Q: Is secondary authentication or two-factor authentication supported by the Logon Simulator? Q: Does the Logon Simulator support smart card authentication? Yes, Goliath Performance Monitor support two-factor, multi-stage, and smart card based authentication Q: Does this work with RDS or Terminal Services? As of now no, it is on the roadmap and we are looking for design partners to get involved in the bet program. If you are interested please indicate as much in an email to us and product management will reach out. 8
Q: Is the Logon Simulator creating real Citrix Sessions? Yes, and this is what makes the product so effective because it is real world and will give you the same experience metrics as if a real user attempted to log on. Q: Does the Logon Simulator replace Citrix EdgeSight? The combination of Goliath Performance Monitor and Goliath Logon Simulator the majority of the capabilities of Citrix EdgeSight. Q: Can the Logon Simulator be purchased as a stand-alone product? Yes, it can be purchased stand-alone or in conjunction to Goliath Performance Monitor. Q: What type of alerting and reporting comes with the stand-alone product? With the stand-alone product, you are alerted when there is a logon failure. Also, by looking at the Logon Simulator dashboard you will be able see which application(s) failed or were successful, the portal address, user, what time the logon was started and the last, average and maximum logon duration time. On this screen you will also be able to drill into each simulator to see what was going on. Q: How does this product differ from a product like LoginVSI? You would have to speak with LoginVSI to do a comparison but we believe the major difference is that we test the entire delivery infrastructure, including the NetScaler. Q: How often does/can the Logon Simulator by scheduled to run? The Logon Simulator can be scheduled to run as often as you d like. 9
Q: Does the Logon Simulator record profile load failure? When integrated with Goliath Performance Monitor, the Logon Simulator has the ability to identify and alert on Profile Load Failures. Q: Does the Logon Simulator provide how long each stage of the logon process took? Yes it does. After the simulation has completed you can look at the steps broken down and see how long each one took for a logon success and failure. Q: Is there any scripting involved with the Logon Simulator? No we do all of that for you. To start a simulation all you have to do is set up the monitoring rule. Q: I have 8 data centers, do I have to deploy 8 simulators? Only if the requirement is to test the architecture and delivery infrastructure present in each datacenter. Q: I have 100 applications, do I have to make a rule for each one in order to test them? No, multiple applications can be listed in one Monitoring rule. Q: Will the Logon simulator tell you where an application in XenApp fails? Yes, for instance we can identify invalid username/password, application not found, application not available, and popups. 10
Q: My users use XenDesktop from home, how does this work with the Logon Simulator? Our customers will generally deploy the logon simulator for home users to facilitate troubleshooting issues at a point in time, and then remove it after the necessary insight is gained for that particular user; this might mean the simulator is deployed for a matter of hours or perhaps days. Q: Can you play back a simulation to visually see what was happening during the logon process? The Logon Simulator cannot be visually played back but all information about the process, for either a success or a failure, is reported for you. Q: Can the Logon Simulator open applications within a XenApp published Desktop? Q: Can it simulate applications after the launch of a session for example, launching a web page from a published desktop? As of now no, it is on the roadmap for future releases Q: Does the Logon Simulator detect issues like database, Citrix license servers and RDS licenses servers? Yes, when integrated with Goliath Performance Monitor, these elements can be identified. Q: Does the Logon Simulator detect issues outside of the initial login, like failure of mapping printers/drives or loading profiles? Yes, the Logon Simulator will identify the timing and faults with printers/driver issues and loading profiles, especially when integrated into Goliath Performance Monitor to identify those conditions. 11
Q: Is the Logon Simulator installed as an appliance physical or virtual, software based, etc? The Logon Simulator is a software package deployed on a windows platform. Q: Does the Logon Simulator work with only certain profile management tools like Citrix UPM, Flex Profiles, etc? No, the Logon Simulator is agnostic to Profile Management Tools. Q: Does the Logon Simulator give the same results without using NetScaler for ICA transparency? Yes, we do not have any dependency on the NetScaler to gather ICA metrics. Q: Are you able to use the Logon Simulator to simulate logging onto a regular PC in addition to Citrix Sessions? No, at this time we support launching Citrix Sessions. We are actively looking for design partners to support simulating logons to VMware Horizon/View and Microsoft Remote Desktop Services. Q: What would the configuration look like if we are using all Wyse zero clients (Xenith Tx0) and wanted to run the Logon Simulator? The logon simulator would be run from a VM, server, or workstation from the location with the Wyse clients are located. Q: When configuring a simulation by making a monitoring rule, can I add more than 1 application to a rule? Yes, each application would be separated by a semi-colon. There is a limit of about 15 applications per rule, with no limit on the number of rules. 12
Q: Is there a limit to how many applications/desktops can be added to a single rule? There is no limit. Q: Is the ICA Channel metrics featured in Goliath performance Monitor limited to real users, or does it also capture information on simulated users as well? The ICA Channel metrics are available for both real and simulated users. 13