Citrix have released three tools to troubleshoot a XenServer environment.

Perfco.sh – Performance Data Collection Script for XenServer Dom0
Lstdomco.sh- Domain and XenStore Data Collection Script
Memco.sh – Memory Data Collection Script for XenServer Dom0 or Linux Systems

Perfco.sh – Performance Data Collection Script for XenServer Dom0

Description

Use Perfco.sh when you require detailed logging of Dom0 performance.

The script collects iostat, process usage (CPU/MEM), and, xentop output information every 10 seconds. The sleep interval can be modified to change the sample rate.

The script has a log size limit of 100 megabytes to prevent Dom0 from filling up with log data. If any one of the three log files reaches 100 megabytes, the script terminates.

Read more how to configure Perfco.sh here

Lstdomco.sh

Description

Use Lstdomco.sh when you require detailed logging of virtual machine domain ID’s and XenStore activity.

This script collects output of the list_domains command and xenstore-ls every 10 minutes. The sleep interval can be adjusted to the required sample rate.

The script has a log size limit of 100 megabytes to prevent Dom0 from filling up with log data. If any one of the two log files reaches 100 megabytes, the script terminates.

Read more about Lstdomco.sh – how to install and use

Memco.sh – Memory Data Collection Script for XenServer Dom0 or Linux Systems

Memco.sh- Memory Data Collection Script for XenServer Dom0 or Linux Systems

Description

Use Memco.sh when you require detailed logging of Dom0 or Linux systems memory utilization.

This script collects kernel memory information every 10 minutes and has been used to identify memory leaks outside of userspace.
The sleep interval can be adjusted to the required sample rate.

The script has a log size limit of 100 megabytes to prevent Dom0 from filling up with log data. If any one of the two log files reaches 100 megabytes, the script terminates.

Read more about Memco.sh – HowTo configure and use

Back in September 2010 i wrote some articles about which Hotfix for XenApp6 and Windows Server 2008R2 RDS that i recommended. Citrix have been so kind and made a great overview of “Recommended Citrix and Microsoft hotfixes for XenApp6 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (CTX129229) so go ahead check it out, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.

Summary

Based Citrix Technical Support experience and customer feedback, the following Citrix and Microsoft hotfixes are found to resolve the most common issues with XenApp 6 running on a Windows Server 2008 R2 server. These hotfixes focus on basic functionality and stability. For a complete list of Citrix hotfixes for XenApp 6, click here.

Note: Refer to individual readme files for each of the following hotfixes to review complete details of issues addressed. Details listed below only mention the most common issues known to be resolved with each hotfix. Also, see CTX126711 for our support statement on this and a list of known issues with Windows 2008 R2, SP1.

Recommended Citrix Hotfixes

XA600W2K8R2X64002

Installing hotfixes or performing a repair on the base product for Citrix XenApp 6 for Windows Server 2008 R2 can inadvertently remove the Citrix Licensing component from the system, if present,. This fix prevents the Citrix Licensing component from being removed when installing subsequent hotfixes.

XA600W2K8R2X64010

This enhancement is a part of the XenApp Printing Optimization Pack. The Printing Optimization Pack improves the user experience and printing speed by reducing the printer bandwidth required. For more information, including system requirements, required components, and known issues, see XenApp Printing Optimization Pack in eDocs, the Citrix Product Documentation Library.

XA600W2K8R2X64012

This fix addresses security vulnerability. For more information, see CTX123359.

XA600W2K8R2X64017

This fix addresses session reliability issues that can occur when using multiple, disparate client devices to reconnect to the same session.

XA600W2K8R2X64018

Servers running XenApp 6 can become unresponsive when shutting down. The issue occurs when the picadm.sys driver encounters certain error conditions that prevent it from gracefully shutting down. Also. servers might experience a fatal exception, displaying a blue screen on picadm.sys with bugcheck code 0×22 (FILE_SYSTEM)
If a session is disconnected while it is still reading or writing a Client Drive Mapping (CDM) file, the resulting deadlock condition can prevent servers from accepting new session requests.

XA600W2K8R2X64021

This fix addresses a security vulnerability. For more information, see CTX128169

XA600W2K8R2X64026

Attempts to log on to a XenApp 6 server using Version 7 or earlier of the clients can cause svchost.exe to exit unexpectedly. As a result, further connection attempts to the server failure until it is restarted.
The CPU consumption of the CitrixCseEngine.exe process can spike unexpectedly and cause logon delays.
Attempts to launch a published application that resides on a mapped network drive rather than on a XenApp server failure
When connecting to a server running Windows Server 2008 R2 with Service Pack 1, Terminal Services can exit unexpectedly. This causes users to experience a black screen when logging on and the logon process fails to complete.

XA600W2K8R2X64029

Servers might experience a fatal exception, displaying a blue screen, with bugcheck code 0xf4 on IMAAdvanceSrv.exe.
Attempts to launch Windows Internet Explorer from an http, https, or mms hyperlink embedded in a streamed application failure. The issue occurs because XenApp 6 does not create the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\htmlfile\shell\opennew\command_backup registry key as part of server file type association

XA600W2K8R2X64056

Certain applications fail to launch when Administrator Approval Mode is enabled in User Account Control
This fix addresses the following issues for sessions launched as streamed to server or by a script: 1) The application name can be missing from the session information of the Delivery Services Console Session information might not appear under the Applications folder of the Delivery Services Console, 2) Application limits might not get honored, 3) Attempts to reconnect to disconnected sessions can fail.

Other Citrix Hotfixes

XASCTW2K8R2X64001

This hotfix contains an updated version of the XenApp Server Configuration Tool, which is used to configure XenApp 6 for Windows Server 2008 R2 server role installations. The XenApp image can be prepared for imaging and provisioning before, during, or after configuring XenApp.

DSCXAGPMX100WX64001

This enhancement is a part of the XenApp Printing Optimization Pack. The Printing Optimization Pack improves the user experience and printing speed by reducing the printer bandwidth required. For more information, including system requirements and required components, see XenApp Printing Optimization Pack in eDocs, the Citrix Product Documentation Library.

Recommended Microsoft Hotfixes

KB979530

A Windows Server 2008 R2-based Remote Desktop server denies some connection requests randomly under heavy logon or logoff conditions.

KB975777

There is a delay when you shut down, restart, or log off on a Windows Server 2008 R2.

KB980663

There is a stop error message in Windows 7 and in Windows Server 2008 R2 if a heavy load situation exists or if connectivity issues exist: “STOP: 0x000000B8″

KB2265716

A computer that is running Windows Server 2008 R2 randomly stops responding. 

Note: It has been reported that this hotfix must be applied prior to installing SP1.

KB2465772

An application or service that uses Winsock API or Winsock Kernel API might randomly stop responding in Windows Server 2008 R2.

KB917607

Installing a 32-bit help System 2008R2 might be required if hosting 32-bit applications.

KB2383928

Remote desktop sessions do not completely exit, and you cannot establish new remote desktop sessions to a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 R2.

KB983460

Startup takes a long time on a Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2-based computer that has an Intel Nehalem-EX CPU installed.

KB2388142

A computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 intermittently cannot use a shared network printer to print.

To check the latest hotfixes that Citrix is recommending for for XenApp 6 and Windows Server 2008 R2  Click here

I will be speaking at the upcoming events:

PubForum 2011 Dublin, 13-15 May 2011.  

Saturday 14th May 2011 from 16.00 – 16.30 i will be presenting:

3D Rich User Experience SMACKDOWN!

- 3D Rich User Experience with XenApp6
- XenDesktop HDX 3D Pro Graphics, XenServer MultiGPU.

Real Life experience. Which hardware options are available. Whats new and next generation with HDX 3D Pro Graphics, XenServer MultiGPU and Q&A.

for further info about PubForum the E2E Virtualization Conference check here

Citrix Consulting have created this great whitepaper on which design considerations if you want to virtualize your provisioning services hosts.

Introduction

Today, IT architects strive to virtualize most server workloads in the datacenter. When designing a virtual desktop solution with Citrix XenDesktop or Citrix XenApp, there are conflicting schools of thought with regard to implementing Citrix Provisioning Services as virtual servers. As architects begin to standardize on a virtualized platform, the imminent question that always appears to arise is ‘Should Citrix Provisioning Services be installed on a Physical or Virtual Server?’ In the past, it was always considered a best practice to have Citrix Provisioning Services installed on a physical server. Now with advances in virtualization technology, there are several options available that make virtualizing Provisioning Services a reality in the enterprise.

Citrix Consulting Solutions has been involved in multiple scenarios where Provisioning Services was successfully virtualized within XenDesktop and XenApp environments on all three major hypervisors (Citrix XenServer, Microsoft Hyper-V, and VMware vSphere). The most notable reference of these successful implementations was accomplished in partnership with Cisco and is documented within the Cisco Validated Design documents. In each circumstance, the Provisioning Services virtual server was designed to ensure that it was adequately able to handle the assigned workload and ensure that the virtual Provisioning Services server was not the major restricting factor within the environment.1

Based on the experience of the Citrix Consulting Solutions team, this document provides detailed design considerations for virtualizing Provisioning Services such as:

• Ensure that the hypervisor host is able to distribute processing power across multiple CPUs.
• A 10Gbps network is the most conducive environment for virtualizing Provisioning Services and the respective Provisioning Services network traffic.
• If a 10Gbps network is not available, consider link aggregation at the hypervisor level to provide more available bandwidth for the virtual Provisioning Services machine.
• Consider utilizing SR-IOV or Pass-Through to minimize the virtualization overhead associated with network intensive virtual machines, such as Provisioning Services.
• Always configure Provisioning Services in a high-availability configuration with multiple virtual machines distributed across different hypervisor hosts.
• Virtualize Provisioning Services on an x64 version of Windows to take advantages of Windows System Cache.

In summary, Provisioning Services workloads can and have been successfully virtualized in both XenDesktop and XenApp deployments if the design considerations outlined in this document are thoroughly evaluated.

READ THE FULL WHITEPAPER HERE

Download – Design Considerations for Virtualizing Provisioning Services here

Summary

The attached PDF file contains a list of tools that are most commonly used by Citrix Support to troubleshoot critical issues in XenDesktop environments. Citrix Technical Support has prioritized these tools into high and medium categories as described below:

High (without these tools proactively in place we can miss opportunities for collecting critical data):

Downloaded, installed, and / or configured proactively
Used for proactive monitoring and alerting
Commonly used during critical issues

Medium (These tools do not typically need to be proactively configured or running to capture critical data):

Easily accessible
Required in specific circumstances
Commonly used during or after critical issues

Download Critical Tool Matrix PDF for XenDesktop Environments (these tools apply to XD4 / XD5) here