Virtual Apps and Desktops in 2020

My colleagues Mayank Singh and Rob Beekmans, both Architects in Technical Marketing, packed a ton of good information into this video If you want to see what's new with Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, Citrix Managed Desktops, and Citrix SD-WAN in 2020 (so far) and have 91 minutes, I recommend watching the whole thing. Here are a few demos and sections that I want to provide shortcuts to.
 

 
Microsoft Teams Optimization

• Starts here https://youtu.be/UcEmqQjdQUY?t=2196
• Optimizing Teams requirements
• Delivery controller 1906.2 and newer
• VDA 1906.2 and newer
• Windows 10 x64 1906 - 1909
• Windows 2012 R2 and newer
• BCR_x64.msi
• More info in Citrix Docs
• High-Level Architecture https://youtu.be/UcEmqQjdQUY?t=2380
• Demo of a video call between the Netherlands and India both unoptimized and optimized https://youtu.be/UcEmqQjdQUY?t=2537
• Citrix TechZone article to learn about optimizing a variety of other Unified Communication solutions

Browser Content Redirection (BCR)

• Browser Content Redirection renders whitelisted webpages on the endpoint and seamlessly feeds it back into the session.  Offloading video rendering to endpoints provides both a great user experience as well as reduces backend VDA resources.
• Supported VDA browsers: Internet Explorer, Chrome, and Edge (new Chromium). Edge is in Tech Preview.
• Overview and configuration starts here https://youtu.be/UcEmqQjdQUY?t=2925
• Configuration and demo video of watching YouTube without and with BCR https://youtu.be/UcEmqQjdQUY?t=3250
• Learn more in Citrix Docs

FSLogix and Office 365

• FSLogix will only save data for a single session. It does not support accessing multiple sessions and consolidating to its profile container. Use Citrix User Profile Manager to write back profile data to FSLogix when accessing more than one session at a time https://youtu.be/UcEmqQjdQUY?t=1985

Machine Creation Services (MCS)

• What is it and how does it work? https://youtu.be/UcEmqQjdQUY?t=656
• Machine Creation Services Input-Output (MCSIO). Deeper dive into MCS workings. It was revamped in version 1903 for on-prem hypervisors and Azure. Allows for placement of the master and caching disk on different storage. This allows you to use HDD (vs SSD) which scales higher (more users per machine) and provides better response time for users https://youtu.be/UcEmqQjdQUY?t=1239
• Publishing an app or desktop using Citrix Managed Desktop (Citrix TechZone) and MCS.  Keep in mind Managed Desktops has a simplified web wizard vs Studio https://youtu.be/UcEmqQjdQUY?t=754
• Azure on-demand provisioning using MCS. It creates machines on power-on which means you only pay for what you use. Overview and demo using Apps and Desktop Service https://youtu.be/UcEmqQjdQUY?t=1073

Citrix App Layering

• Background on image management and how it was historically done vs the app layering way https://youtu.be/UcEmqQjdQUY?t=1565
• Elastic layers https://youtu.be/UcEmqQjdQUY?t=1777
• User layers https://youtu.be/UcEmqQjdQUY?t=1820
• There are several types:
• Full
• Office 365
• Session Office 365
• Learn more in Citrix Tech Zone and check out this User Layer video (8 minutes).
• Use Azure Files to store layers https://youtu.be/UcEmqQjdQUY?t=1882 and see Citrix TechZone for more

Business Continuity

• Using Remote PC (access to the physical computer at your office). A look at the conceptual architectures available https://youtu.be/UcEmqQjdQUY?t=254

I hope this furthers your understanding of what's new in Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops.  Stay tuned for a bunch of exciting announcements in the second half of 2020.

Brian @sagelikebrian

Citrix PVS - After Reverse Imaging Unable To Change Computer Name

Purpose:

Show the steps taken after reverse imaging a W2K8R2 Citrix PVS Target Device to fix the inability to rename the server and add back to the AD Domain

Symptom:

After the reverse imaging process is done, the machine removed from the domain, rebooted, name changed and rebooted again the name of the server doesn't change and the ability to add the machine back to the domain is grayed out.



Resolution:

In the registry navigate to the below location:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ComputerName

There are 2 subkeys called ActiveComputerName and ComputerName and within each of there are valumes called ComputerName. Verify that both have the new computer name.

On my issue the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ComputerName\ActiveComputerName\ComputerName value had the old computer name. I renamed the key and then restarted the computer.

Cause:
Computer account not updating correctly

SageLike Post ID: SL0014

Applies to:

Citrix Provisioned Target Devices
Windows Server 2008 R2
Windows 7

Maybe others but these are the OS's that I've had issues with.

References:

http://discussions.citrix.com/topic/283685-after-reverse-image-unable-to-change-computer-name/

Kenneth is Speaking at BriForum Denver

I sat down with one of my coworkers, Kenneth Fingerlos, to discuss his upcoming speaking engagement at the BriForum conference in Denver, Colorado on July 20th.  Our brief conversation covered the details of his session, "vSGA, vDGA, vGPU, and Software - When and Why", his background in the industry, and what gets him excited in the technology space right now.

"BriForum excites me because it is everybody" - Kenneth

Me: Kenneth, can you tell me a little bit about your industry experience?

Kenneth: So, after college I took a left turn in my career path and went into corporate IT for ten years.  Various positions: desktop management, server management, data center.  Various kinds of things.  After ten years of that I decided I didn't care for IT management and tried to correct the course change and landed in consulting.  I've been doing IT consulting for about the last ten years around storage, data management, virtualization of various types, and building up my skill sets trying to help customers solve problems.

Me: Great, great.  So have you been to BriForum before? 

Kenneth: I have not been to BriForum.  This will be my first year.

Me: What attracted you to BriForum? 

Kenneth: I'm excited.  The whole idea of a conference that has some size to it and is established that is not tied to a specific vendor is just exciting, right?  You go to a Cisco conference and it is all about what is the latest widget from Cisco.  Cisco can do no wrong.  You find the same thing if you go to, you know, Dell World.  Dell is perfect.  Whatever Dell has got going is awesome and whatever everyone else has is garbage.  BriForum excites me because it is everybody. It is a marketing company--a media company that puts on the conference as opposed to a product manufacturer. insert kennth photo here

Me: So what will you be discussing at BriForum? 

Kenneth: I'm discussing a topic that is near and dear to my heart which is the idea of virtualized graphics.  Taking things we do everyday in the physical world with physical PCs and trying to bring this into this virtualized environment.  Things like disaster recovery, security, flexibility.  You know, the physical world is pretty restricted.  Graphics have always been one of these things that is hard and is difficult.  Technology is evolving and has advanced dramatically over the last couple of years in terms of what we can do.  But there is also a lot of complexity and a lot of information and I find my customers have a lot of confusion about what they can and can't do.  What works, what doesn't work.  My session is all about trying to bring some clarity to that area.

Me: Ok, so I am going to open this up a little bit and say maybe don't limit this to just the enterprise world but what is the technology you are most excited about right now? 

Kenneth: The technology I am most excited about right now....I think the stuff that is most exciting is really this idea of graphics virtualization.  I mean, so many things go into a user experience, right?  And all of the traditional things that you think about: servers, storage, memory, CPUs--graphics is part of that.  Remoting protocols, right?  What's going on with actually getting that content delivered to a user.  Networking, right? 3G, 4G networks and starting to think about what's next, what's beyond 4G.  These are huge enablers to let people consume and develop content in ways that have never been envisioned before.  Letting you take that stuff to the cloud, to the remote data center, and access it from anywhere.  I've been sitting on top of a mountain in my 4x4 holding a virtual desktop, just because I'm a geek and into this stuff, but yes--I can access that app, whatever it is, from a mountain top in the middle of nowhere.  That's cool stuff. And it's all about enabling people to work and function in ways they've never been able to before.  That excites me.

Me: Very cool.  Well, looking forward to seeing your session at BriForum!  Until next time.

As I wrote about earlier, BriForum Comes to Denver, and I am excited to have such a great event in my backyard.  If you are going to be at BriForum or just have general questions about Denver, reach out to either @kfingerlos or myself (@sagelikebrian) and let's catch up.


Brian @sagelikebrian

BriForum Comes to Denver

IT conferences are a great way to catch up on what is new, take classes, and network with peers in the industry. I have been lucky enough to attend great shows like Citrix Summit and Synergy as well as VMware VMworld over the years. The conference for me that always fell just out of reach was BriForum. This year it is all going to change. I am more than a little excited that one of the world's premier IT conferences has chosen Denver, Colorado for this year's US location. BriForum is an independent conference that provides vendor-neutral perspective on current and emerging technologies and services.

 
Check out this year's list of sessions: http://www.brianmadden.com/blogs/gabeknuth/archive/2015/03/09/check-out-the-list-of-sessions-for-briforum-denver-2015-july-20-22.aspx

If you have a keen eye, you may have noticed a third of the way down the list a special session, "vSGA, vDGA, vGPU, and Software - When and Why", being presented by our very own expert speaker Kenneth Fingerlos (@kfingerlos).

Kenneth will be talking about the new graphics intensive workloads that are possible in VDI thanks to highend GPUs from NVIDIA. He will specifically be digging into the different methods you can use to virtualize the GPU and when and why you would want to choose each method. I promise you this will be a deep technical dive preparing you for your next graphics intensive virtual desktop project.  Come join us at BriForum 2015 if you would like to learn more about solutions from Citrix, VMware, Microsoft and much more.

Brian Olsen (@sagelikebrian)

Windows File Copy Guy

Check out more great webcomics at www.xkcd.com.

Dude, where's my admin?

My standard joke for a long time has been that I get paid to click “Next” for a living.  2011 will go down as the year that I stopped getting paid to click “Next” and started getting paid to read admin guides.  I am certainly not alone.  Guys and girls around the world are taking this work home with them.  The process usually goes like this: I check my morning tweets and find out that virtualization company X has released a new version of their product (this typically happens at a conference).  The next step is to go to their site and download the install and administration guides.  Then, curl up next to the fireplace with a hot beverage and be amazed by how much easier my job will become.  OK, that’s not exactly how it typically happens.  Replace fireplace with seat-back tray and hot beverage with nothing and you get the idea.  Personally, I would rather be reading about “Steve Jobs” (barnes and noble, kindle) then another product update novel but this is my life. 

This got me thinking, “how many virtualization products have been released in the last twelve months?”  Let’s see, Citrix released new versions of XenDesktop and XenApp.  Oh, VMware also released a new version of vSphere.  It didn’t take long to realize I would need help counting.  I reached out to my go-to VMware guy, Rene (@vrenenelson), to help me fill in gaps in the VMware product set.  Very quickly, we realized that nearly every major virtualization product has had a revolutionary (as opposed to evolutionary) revamp.

We collaborated to bring you this list.  You may be thinking, “but what about AppSense or Unidesk or [insert your product here]?”  We stuck with the virtualization big three:

Citrix

Microsoft

VMware

That is only the tip of the iceberg. We tried to stick to the major products that administrators have to install. If it is some kind of cloud offering or tech preview we left it off the list. August 2011 should be considered a hallmark month for virtualization due to the perfect storm of major products released.

If you are still looking for your administrator, there’s a good chance they are holed up somewhere going through another admin guide.  Studying like it was the night before the SATs.  Pat your virtualization girl or guy on the back because they are fighting to keep up with an incredibly quick moving industry.

Drop us a line in the comments about what product we scandalously forgot to chart.

Upgrading MS-DOS to Windows 7

I recently ran across a video that shows the upgrade process from MS-DOS all the way to Windows 7, stopping along the way to run a couple of classic games: Doom2 and Monkey Island using the original install files. It’s nothing short of amazing that it can be done. Watching the video was a bit like watching my computer life flash before my eyes.

It got me thinking about backwards compatibility which may be one of Microsoft’s greatest achievements. The fact that you can play a 17 year old game on Windows 7 is neat and fun but also speaks volumes about Microsoft's commitment to running legacy software. This commitment has made life infinitely easier for developers but often more difficult for system administrators who get tasked with deploying ancient software.

My coworker is currently fighting with an app that was written in 1996 and is not enterprise-ready. I’m confident he’ll find a way to deploy it and get users the information they need but it may take some time. Looking through thirty years of rear-view mirror, an environment that makes life easy for developers and users while guaranteeing system administrators employment may be the perfect balance after all.

Watch the video