Tag: Provisioning Services

How to Enable Continuous CDF Tracing in Provisioning Services 7.0

This article describes how to enable continuous CDF tracing in Provisioning Services 7.0.

Requirements

CDFMonitor

Background

With the introduction of Provisioning Services 7.0, the Provisioning Services logging mechanism has changed from persistent log files to CDF tracing. Provisioning Services no longer logs streaming event to a log file. You must configure CDF tracing to capture persistent logging for determining the root cause of a problem.

Procedure

To enable continuous CDF tracing in Provisioning Services 7.0, complete the following procedure:

  • Download the Provisioning Services specific configuration file from this article.
  • Extract the files to the C:cdfmonitor folder.
  • Replace the CDFMonitor.exe.config that comes with CDFMonitor with the one downloaded from this article.
  • Open a command line interface and open the C:cdfmonitor folder.
  • Run the following command:
    cdfmonitor.exe /installservice

    CDFMonitor runs as a service that persists even after the server restarts. Continuous CDF trace is then captured on all modules. The trace file will grow to 100 MB in size and will rotate between five files. The moment the CDFMonitor service is restarted, a new CDF trace file is created.

Download

You can read more instructions and download the special CDFMonitor.exe here.

New Citrix Provisioning Services tool: PVSDataTools

PVSDataTools is a set of tools used to collect and parse data from a Provisioning Services (PVS) Server to assist in troubleshooting an issue. PVSDataTools contains two tools: PVSDataCollector and PVSDataParser.

PVSDataCollector v1.2.2

The PVSDataCollector collects the following information from the PVS Server:

  • System Information
  • Windows Event Logs
  • TCP and UDP Port Information

How to enable advanced logging in Provisioning Services 6.1 including Target Devices

Provisioning Services has the ability to run a Target Device from a vDisk in Standard Image Mode, meaning that the vDisk is in a read-only state.

Changes to the vDisk are stored in one of three locations:

  • RAM cache
  • Target Device hard drive (Local hard drive which rules out Thin Clients)
  • Server side cache, using disk space on the Provisioning Services Server

Changes to the disk are not persistent and are lost if the Target Device is rebooted.

Q: So if a Target Device is accessing a vDisk in Standard image mode, where is the “debug” or “trace” log written to? Indeed, can one take a trace from a PVS Target Device? Continue reading “How to enable advanced logging in Provisioning Services 6.1 including Target Devices”

Citrix Provisioning Services 6.1 hotfix packaging policy

Previously hotfixes for all Citrix Provisioning Services 6.1 components were delivered as loose binaries and that resulted in overhead for customers and required many manual steps to track and deploy the hotfixes correctly. To improve the customer experience, the Server and Console hotfixes will now be provided as an installation package only. The advantages of having an installer include:

  • Reducing manual tasks for deploying hotfix
  • Tracking what hotfixes are installed on the local machine

For the Target device, based on the customer feedback we will continue to only provide loose binaries as a flexible deployment option.

Packaging Policy Continue reading “Citrix Provisioning Services 6.1 hotfix packaging policy”

Hotfix CPVS61017 for Citrix Provisioning Services 6.1

Citrix has released a new hotfix for Provisioning Services 6.1 Hotfix 17 is the latest one and here’s the small fix list:

  • When streaming multiple guests to a XS 6.1 host, Provisioning Services consumes one PVS target license per virtual machine instead of checking for available XenServer licensing options.

    Note: To enable this fix in its entirety, you must also install XenServer Hotfix XS61E010 or its replacement hotfix.

    [From PVS610TargetDeviceWX86017, PVS610TargetDeviceWX64017]<cat_pvs_targetdevice>[#LA3362]

You can download the hotfix here.

Hotfix CPVS61E016 for Citrix Provisioning Services 6.1

Citrix has released a new hotfix for Provisioning Services 6.1. This hotfix contains fixes for the console, server and target device software. Here’s what’s new in all three categories:

Console Issues

  1. In VMware ESX deployments, the XenDesktop Setup wizard can throw an exception, preventing users from setting up templates and machines properly.

    [From PVS610ConsoleWX86016, PVS610ConsoleWX64016][#LA2499]

  2. Selecting the Streamed image with Personal Vdisk option of the XenDesktop Setup wizard results in the creation of a fixed disk rather than a dynamic disk.

    [From PVS610ConsoleWX86016, PVS610ConsoleWX64016][#LA2501]

Server Issues Continue reading “Hotfix CPVS61E016 for Citrix Provisioning Services 6.1”

Citrix Provisioning Service 6.1 Target Device hotfix lnstall guide

Important Note: Target Device hotfixes can be deployed only on the Master Target Device. You can install Target Device hotfix on a device that has not been imaged to a vDisk as a fresh installation, or on a device that has been imaged to a vDisk as an upgrade installation.

For fresh installations, see eDocs, the Citrix product documentation library.

For upgrade installation, complete the following steps:

Uninstalling Provisioning Services from the Original Hard Drive on Master Target Device Continue reading “Citrix Provisioning Service 6.1 Target Device hotfix lnstall guide”

Setting vDisk boot menu as a default option

A Provisioning Services vDisk boot menu appears when the user is starting a provisioned Virtual Machine, but what if you want to start the Virtual Machine unattended.

Caution! This fix requires you to edit the registry. Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Citrix cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk. Be sure to back up the registry before you edit it.”

  • Set the boot option as the first option in the start menu.
  • On all Provisioning Services servers, open the Registry Editor and browse to HKLMSoftwareCitrixProvisioningServices
  • Right-click Provisioning Services, click New, then DWORD Value “SkipBootMenu”.
  • Double-click the new DWORD and give it a Value data of 1 (a value of 0 will enable normal boot menu behavior).
  • Close Registry Editor.
  • Restart the Citrix Provisioning Services Stream Service on the Provisioning Services server(s).

View the original post here on the Citrix Knowledgebase.

Hotfix CPVS60E018 for Citrix Provisioning Services 6.0

Citrix has released the 18th hotfix for Provisioning Services 6.0.

Here’s an overview of the issues fixed in this hotfix.

Issues

  • BUG0340132: MAK activation fails with error: Command timeout. Error number 0xE0070102 when PVS server host name is mixed or lowercase
  • BUG0306766: When exporting vdisk versions and importing into new store, the previous merge base cannot be deleted by using the PVS console. You do not get the option to delete the merge version as you do on the original store.
  • BUG0313326: PVS Console does not allow you to alter the vdisk description after the vdisk is created. Continue reading “Hotfix CPVS60E018 for Citrix Provisioning Services 6.0”