SneakPeak at E2EVC, the new RES Software IT Store

Written by Thomas Poppelgaard. Posted in Automation Manager, Citrix, IT Store, RES Software

At E2EVC (Experts to Experts Virtualization Conference) 2-4th November 2012, RES Software showed a sneakpeak from their new IT Store, that will be released in 2013.

My opinion, “I love the new looks of the new client, its simplified and “VERY” userfriendly and it does what the user needs” its build for the new Windows 8 feel and look.

The IT Store is the new client, and the new name that replaces the Service Orchestration Client for Automation Manager. The IT Store will be available in 2013.

The new login screen

The new user interface that the users will see, when the request services.

 

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Whitepaper – Best Practice RES Software: Workspace Manager Advanced Connection States for laptops

Written by Thomas Poppelgaard. Posted in RES Software, Windows 7, Workspace Manager

RES Software have released a best practice whitepaper on how to configure advanced connection states for laptops with RES Workspace Manager.
If you are using RES Software Workspace Manager and Windows 7 combined with your laptops this is a “must read” whitepaper.

About this Guide

This best practice is written for IT professionals, who are going to design, build and/or maintain a RES Workspace Manager managed Windows 7 laptop environment which is fully context aware.

Objectives

RES Software wants to create insight in understanding the configuration of different connection states. Configuring the correct connection state is essential for a fully working, context aware, Windows 7 laptop environment. The objective of this guide is to zoom in on the connection state detection feature in different scenarios.

Approach

This best practice guide is created based on our own experience together with the input and knowledge of our partners and customers, related to Windows 7 laptops in combination with the configuration of RES Workspace Manager.

There are multiple paths you can take and scenarios you can build. In this paper we try to describe RES Workspace technology as simple as possible and deliver a fundament to help you as an IT administrator with context-aware challenges to come.

The shown scenarios are tested and build by ourselves, so combining real life scenarios with proven technology will give you everything you need for a successful implementation.

Challenge

Context awareness of a laptop environment all starts with detecting the right connection state. Based on the detected connection state, the Workspace is dynamically built. The type of connection (LAN, WAN, VPN, Wi-Fi, UMTS, 3G, HSDPA, etc.) determines in which context the RES Workspace Manager session will start.

Keep in mind that not every connection type has the same bandwidth available, so decisions need to be made what to allow/disallow in which context. Offline is also considered as a connection state.

When switching between connection types (e.g. Wireless to Wired or vice versa) the RES Workspace Manager needs to detect a connection change, determine the current context and perform a refresh of the Workspace.

The configuration that is discussed in this guide contains a Windows 7 laptop environment with RES Workspace Manager installed.
The laptops move between headquarters and external locations. At the external location a connection to the corporate network is allowed. So basically both scenarios result in the same context for RES Workspace Manager Configuration.

Besides these two “online” states the laptop should also be able to work in “offline” state. “Online scenario”

Source

Read the full whitepaper -
Best Practice - Configuring RES Workspace Manager Advanced Connection States for laptops  HERE

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RES Workspace Manager 2011 SR4

Written by Thomas Poppelgaard. Posted in RES Software, Workspace Manager

RES Software have released RES Workspace Manager 2011 SR4, this article explains the new enhancements and improments in RES Workspace Manager 2011 SR4

Enhancements and Improvements in RES Workspace Manager 2011 SR4

App-V: New option to generate user package by App-V on application end

At Composition > Applications > Managed Applications, on the User Settings > Capturing tab, a new capture option for App-V applications has been added: User package generated by App-V on application end. This setting will preserve the App-V package when the application ends.

Cache Updates: Take long time when using many App-V applications

In an environment with a large number of App-V applications, an initial cache update (which will occur e.g. in an environment which uses a provisioning server/golden image) the normal cache updates (objects, resources) could take minutes to complete. An optimization has been made. Now, updating objects and resources will have a higher priority, so they will be completed first.

Desktop Sampler: Several improvements for Uninstall procedure

Several improvements have been made, providing extra Desktop Sampler info in case the automatic uninstall procedure of the DTS should fail:

  • A non verbose logfile is now saved by the msiexec.exe in the user temp directory (defined by the environment variable %temp%) for additional feedback
  • Uninstall could only proceed if the DTSampler GUID was found at the right place in the registry. This has now been changed by a more direct approach.
  • A lot of trace lines have been added. The most important one is feedback about whether the Trace file has been written (or not…).

Environment Variable: Improvement when handling %localappdata% on Microsoft Windows XP

On Microsoft Windows XP machines, the environment variable %localappdata% does not exist. This could pose a problem for configuration items defined in the Management Console and based on %localappdata%. This was already handled as a special case for User Settings, but it will now work for any configuration item. The RES Workspace Manager now uses %userprofile%\local settings\application data as a replacement for %localappdata%. If needed, this behavior can be superseded by defining an environment variable for %localappdata% in the Management Console.

Folder Synchronization: Improved behavior “Run at Interval”

At Composition > Files and Folders > Folder Synchronization, Folder Synchronization tasks that were configured to run at a specific interval, always ran immediately after the session had started. This was not the intended behavior. Folder synchronization tasks now run after the first completed interval. If a Folder Synchronization task MUST also be run during logon, select Run at Logon for the Folder Synchronization task.

Global Authorized Files: Option Logging and default rule for svchost.exe added

At Security > Global Authorized Files, on the Settings tab, a new option Logging and a new default rule for svchost.exe have been added. This security rule determines whether svchost.exe is allowed to start other unmanaged applications or file associations (such as e.g. Windows Media Player and .MP3 files) indirectly.

The Logging option can be used as a Learning mode for this feature. With Logging enabled, security warnings for svchost.exe will be logged. With Logging disabled, no warnings will be logged.

When upgrading from SR3 to SR4, the svchost.exe rule will be added automatically and is enabled by default.

In a new RES Workspace Manager site, the rule will also be created, but it will disabled by default.

Improved Dynamic Privileges

Previously, Dynamic Privileges made use of a temporary administrative account. This is no longer necessary: Dynamic Privileges does not require any special account anymore.

Locations and Devices: Zone rule “Minimum screen resolution” extended

At Context > Locations and Devices, Add/Change Zone, the Zone rule Minimum screen resolution has been extended with ten additional screen resolutions.

RES VDX: RemoteFX now supported by RES Workspace Manager

The following enhancement has been made to RES VDX:

  • RemoteFX is now supported by RES Workspace Manager.

RES VDX: Switching between managed sessions with/without RES VDX/Subscriber now supported

The following enhancement has been made to RES VDX:

  • Switching from one managed session with/without RES VDX/Subscriber to another managed session with/without RES VDX/Subscriber is now supported.

RES Workspace Manager Console: Starting Console on local computer slow

Starting a Workspace Manager Console on a local computer account could be very slow if the computer also resides in an Active Directory Domain. This has been fixed.

User Sessions: Cleaning up “guard.lock”

When User Sessions is enabled, and the current session is not logged off normally (e.g. by doing a “reset session” from a Terminal Server console), the guard.lock file will remain in the user’s Home directory. As a result, the user will be unable to log on for another 10 minutes.

The User Sessions mechanism has now been improved to check if the previous session still exists. If this is not the case, the guard.lock file will be deleted, and the session logon will be granted.

User Sessions: Protocol type PCoIP also shown in User Sessions overview

At Diagnostics > User Sessions, PCoIP was not shown in the column Protocol. It now also shows PCoIP for VMWare View when appropriate.

User Settings: Delete targeted items before applying

When starting a user session in which a User Registry was applied, the registry settings would be merged with the existing registry entries. Thus, any “garbage” within the registry tree/keys would not be cleaned up. Targeted items for capturing User Settings on application or user session level, can now be set to be deleted before applying them.

An extra check box, Empty target when applying user setting, has been added to enable/disable this feature. When this check box is enabled, the corresponding User Setting will be deleted before applying the setting.

User Settings: Saved even when .UPR file is empty

When there are no registry settings to be saved in a user settings file (.UPR) file, an empty file would be created anyway. This has been fixed, no new file will be created in this case.

Various improvements in the Dutch translation of RES Workspace Manager

Various improvements have been made in the Dutch translation of RES Workspace Manager.

Workspace Composer: Configurable waiting time before Composer starts

In certain situations it is desirable to have the Workspace Composer wait a few seconds before starting. This can be done by adding the following registry key:

Key:

HKLM\Software\RES\Workspace Manager (32-bits) HKLM\Software\Wow6432Node\RES\Workspace Manager (64-bits)

Type:

REG_DWORD

Value name:

WaitBeforeStart

Value data:

Number of seconds to wait

Workspace Composer: Restart behavior improved for Microsoft Windows Vista and later

In certain situations, when a user restarted a workstation running Microsoft Windows Vista and later, this initiated a shutdown. The way in which the RES Workspace Composer handles restarts has been improved.

Workspace Composer: Startup time with RES VDX improved

The startup time of Workspace Composer in combination with RES VDX was slower than the Workspace Composer with RES Subscriber. This has been improved.

Workspace Preferences: JPG picture now allowed as Wallpaper

When the options Hide and Limit “Change Desktop Picture” in WM Console were switched off (at Composition > Desktop > Lockdown and Behavior > Personalization by end user), the end user could only select BMP pictures in Workspace Preferences when changing the Windows Background (Wallpaper).

JPG pictures and other graphical formats are now allowed as well.

Source

Download RES Workspace Manager SR4 from RES customer portal here. (Require ID)

To read the fixes in SR4 download  the release notes (require RES ID) here

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RES Automation Manager 2012

Written by Thomas Poppelgaard. Posted in Automation Manager, Citrix, Dell, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Provisioning, RES Software, SCCM, XenApp, XenDesktop, XenServer

RES Software have released RES Automation Manager 2012. RES Automation Manager now supports Linux and better integration with Microsoft System Center. In the following article i will describe whats new in RES Automation Manager 2012.

Whats new in RES Automation Manager 2012

RES Automation Manager 2012 introduces the RES Automation Manager Agent for Linux Operating Systems. With this Agent, you can execute the following new RES Automation Manager Tasks on machines running Linux Operating Systems:

  • Linux Command (Execute) (“Task “Linux Command (Execute)
  • Linux Computer (Reboot, Shutdown) (“Tasks “Linux Computer (Reboot, Shutdown)
  • Linux Resource (Download) (“Task “Linux Resource (Download)RES Automation Manager Agents for Linux need to be installed with a separate installation file. The RES Automation Manager Agents for Linux will run on the following Linux Operating Systems:
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux release 4: 4.5 and higher
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux release 5: 5.3 and higher
  • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server release 10: versions higher than 10.0
  • IBM AIX 5L: version 5.3

Licensing: Evaluation licenses valid for 45 days

When you install RES Automation Manager 2012, 75 evaluation licenses are provided automatically. These evaluation licenses are now valid for 45 days, instead of 60.

New RES Automation Manager Dispatcher: Dispatcher+

RES Automation Manager 2012 introduces a new Dispatcher that has been developed using the latest Microsoft tools. This has enhanced the Dispatcher with the following capabilities:

  • Improved scalability: The Dispatcher+ is no longer limited to 150 concurrent connections.
  • Native 64-bit installer.
  • Resource integrity check: When the Dispatcher+ starts, an integrity check is now performed on the available Resources in the Resource cache of the Dispatcher+. This ensures that Agents can always download valid Resources from the Dispatcher+.
  • The availability of a Web API provides full support for building and deploying RESTful and SOAP web services. This allows you to integrate Job scheduling in external systems.
  • The Dispatcher+ logs all events in the Event log, which can be viewed with e.g. the Event Viewer that is part of the Microsoft Windows Operating System.The new Dispatcher requires the installation of Microsoft .NET Framework 4 (full version) on all machines hosting a Dispatcher. Please make sure to update all Dispatcher hosts with this version before installing or upgrading to RES Automation Manager 2012

New RES Automation Manager Upgrade Pack

RES Automation Manager 2012 introduces a new Upgrade Pack: the Upgrade Pack now consists of a standalone executable file. This differs from Upgrade Packs of previous releases of RES Automation Manager, in which you could upgrade your RES Automation Manager environment by importing a .WUP file in the Console. The RES Automation Manager 2012 Upgrade Pack can also be used on machines on which no Console has been installed.

As a result of the new Upgrade Pack, the buttons Update Wizard and have been removed from the node Infrastructure > Datastore > Setup > Components in the Console.

If necessary, it is now possible to downgrade to a previous version of RES Automation Manager by right-clicking the node Infrastructure > Datastore > Setup > Components and choosing Downgrade (WUP).

The RES Automation Manager 2012 Upgrade Pack needs to be deployed manually and is not suitable for unattended installations.

RES Automation Manager 2012 upgrade requirements

  • RES Automation Manager 2011 SR3 or later
  • Microsoft Windows XP SP3 Professional or later (x64/x86)
  • Microsoft Windows Installer 3.1
  • Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 or later: Client Profile is the minimum requirement for the machine on which the Upgrade Pack is run; Full Version (Client Profile and Extended) is required for all Dispatchers. Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 Full Version can be installed on your Dispatchers from the Console.

RES Automation Manager samples for RES Automation Manager 2012

RES Automation Manager introduces a set of samples that make it easier to perform certain IT tasks. These samples are Building Blocks of predefined Modules and include hypervisor Modules, Linux Modules and Microsoft Windows Modules. After importing these Building Blocks into your RES Automation Manager environment, you can adapt the predefined Tasks to your situation if necessary.

The samples are included in the file RES-AM-2012-Samples-6.5.0.0.zip, which can be downloaded from the support portal.

The samples cover the following:

  • Linux Tasks:
    • Application Management
    • Disk Management
    • Network Management
    • Security Management
    • Service Management
    • System Management
    • User Management
  • Hypervisor Tasks: These Tasks allow you to manage snapshots and VMs on:
    • VMware vSphere Hypervisor
    • Microsoft Hyper-V Server
    • Citrix XenServer
  • Additional Tasks:
    • Citrix XenApp 6.5 Unattended Deployment
    • Write Event to Microsoft Windows Event Log

Support for Bare Metal OS deployment using WDS and RES Automation Manager

When deploying new workstations or servers, Bare Metal OS deployment usually is the first task that is performed. This task can now easily be carried out by combining Microsoft Windows Deployment Services (WDS) and RES Automation Manager.

For more information about Microsoft Windows Deployment Services, please refer to the Windows Deployment Services Getting Started Guide, available at http://technet.microsoft.com/en- us/library/cc771670(WS.10).aspx.

For more information about Bare Metal OS deployment using WDS and RES Automation Manager, please refer to the chapter Appendices\Best Practices\Bare Metal OS deployment using WDS and RES Automation Manager of the RES Automation Manager 2012 Administration Guide, available at http://support.ressoftware.com/automationmanageradminguide2012.

Variables

RES Automation Manager 2012 introduces Variables.

When configuring a Task, the values of many fields can now optionally be replaced with Variables. Similar to parameters, Variables function as placeholders for customer-specific values, such as, for example, server names, passwords or credentials. Different from parameters however, Variables are resolved at the moment of Job execution, rather than at the moment of Job scheduling.

The global values of Variables can be set up at Infrastructure > Datastore > Settings > Global Variables. These values are inherited by default by all Teams and Agents, but exceptions for individual Teams and Agents can be set up on the Team’s Team Variables tab and the Agent’s Agent Variables tab.

Team Variables and Agent Variables allow “owners” of a specific Team or Agent to override the Global Variables by specifying a custom-value. This makes Variables especially useful for use in multitenant RES Automation Manager sites, because it makes it easier to manage different settings for different customers and assigned projects, and to exchange Modules, Projects and Run Books with other branches of an organization.

Example

You can set up Global Variables to specify a Domain, Security Context and Domain controller for usage in a Task Manage Active Directory Computer. This creates a generic Task that can be used by all customers in your multitenant site. “Owners” of a specific Team or Agent at the customer site can override the global values of these Variables by specifying a custom-value that only applies to their site. When the Task is executed, the Task automatically gets the correct values that applies to the individual customer site. Depending on the hierarchy of these Variables, these can be the global values, Team-specific values or Agent-specific values.

Video tutorials

As of RES Automation Manager 2012, video tutorials are available that will help you quickly start using RES Automation Manager. These tutorials cover a broad range of subjects, from planning, installing and setting up an environment to using the functionality of RES Automation Manager.

Video tutorials can be accessed from the Help:page8image18472page8image18840

Custom Properties from previous versions of RES Automation Manager will automatically be migrated to Variables in RES Automation Manager 2012. Because names of categories in Variables must be unique, any categories in Custom Properties with the same name will be merged into one category in Variables and any existing Custom Properties objects in these categories will be categorized in this category.page8image25128

A complete list of all available video tutorials by category can be found in the Help, by clicking Help > Video Tutorials from the menu bar of the Console.

Depending on availability, individual tutorials can be accessed from the matching Help topic, by clicking “View tutorial”.

New Tasks in RES Automation Manager 2012

Task “Linux Command (Execute)”

At Repository > Modules, a new Task has been added to the library folder Linux: Execute Linux Commands. With this Task, you can run commands on Agents running on Linux Operating Systems.

Scripts that you run on the RES Automation Manager Agent for Linux using the Task Execute Linux Command cannot include reboot and shutdown commands. Use the Tasks Reboot Linux Computer or Shutdown Linux Computer instead. See Tasks “Linux Computer (Reboot, Shutdown)” (on page 6).

The library Linux and its Tasks will only be available in the Console if your RES Automation Manager environment contains at least one RES Automation Manager Agent for Linux.

Tasks “Linux Computer (Reboot, Shutdown)”

At Repository > Modules, the following Tasks have been added to the library folder Linux: Reboot Linux Computer and Shutdown Linux Computer. With these Tasks, you can reboot or shut down Agents running on Linux Operating Systems automatically. A restart is often required after the installation of new software. These Tasks can also be useful after the execution of a Task Execute Linux Command. See Task “Linux Command (Execute)” (on page 6).

The library Linux and its Tasks will only be available in the Console if your RES Automation Manager environment contains at least one RES Automation Manager Agent for Linux.

Task “Linux Resource (Download)”

At Repository > Modules, a new Task has been added to the library folder Linux: Execute Linux Commands. With this Task, you can download Resources to Agents running on Linux Operating Systems.

The library Linux and its Tasks will only be available in the Console if your RES Automation Manager environment contains at least one RES Automation Manager Agent for Linux.

Tasks “Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (Distribute Software, Query Client)”

At Repository > Modules, the following Tasks have been added to the library folder Provisioning: Distribute Software with Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager and Query Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager Client. You can find these Tasks in the Task library Provisioning.

Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager allows you to distribute, configure and manage software across virtual, distributed and mobile environments. RES Automation Manager supports Configuration Manager 2007 and 2012.

  • With the Task Distribute Software with Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager, you can deploy software distribution packages on Agents on which a Configuration Manager Client is running.
  • With the Task Query Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager Client, you can:
    • Create status reports of Configuration Manager clients, including client version, cacheoptions, service states, etc.
    • Obtain an overview of all software distribution packages that were advertised to Configuration Manager clients, including local status of the advertisement, last run date and exit code.

Tasks “RES Automation Manager Job Results (Delete, Export)”

At Repository > Modules, the following Tasks have been added to the library folder RES Automation Manager: Delete RES Automation Manager Job Results and Export RES Automation Manager Job Results.

    • With Delete RES Automation Manager Job Results, you can clean up the Datastore from Job results that are no longer relevant, for example because they have become obsolete through Snapshot Intelligence or because they are the results of recurring Jobs.
    • With Export RES Automation Manager Job Results, you can export Job results to XML files. This allows you to back up Job results for review purposes. This Task is especially useful in combination with the Task Delete RES Automation Manager Job Results, in which you first back up certain Job results by exporting them to zipped XML files, and then clean up the Datastore by deleting them.In these Tasks, you can delete or export Job results from the Datastore, based on a combination of criteria:
    • The type of Job that was performed (recurring/non-recurring)
    • The relevance of the Job results (actual Job results/Job results that have become obsoletethrough Snapshot Intelligence)
    • The Agent(s)/Team(s) that executed the JobThe period in which the Jobs were executed

Task “RES Automation Manager Team Membership (Change)”

At Repository > Modules, a new Task has been added to the library folder RES Automation Manager: Change RES Automation Manager Team Membership. With this Task, you can add or remove Agents from a Team, and offers a more dynamic way of adding and removing Agents to and from Teams.

This Task is typically used in combination with a Task Query Installed Programs in which an evaluator determines whether the succeeding Task Change Team Membership should be executed.

For example, suppose you want to add an Agent to the Team Office if Microsoft Office is installed on the Agent. You can achieve this by setting up a Module that contains the following:

  • A Task Query Installed Programs with an evaluator for Microsoft Office that fails the Query if it does not return results.
  • A Task Change RES Automation Manager Team Membership with a condition that executes the Task if the status of the previous Task is Completed. This Task adds the Agent to the Team Office.When the Module is executed, the Agent(s) that execute the Module will be added to the Team Office if Microsoft Office is installed; if not, they will not be added to the Team.
page9image15768

Enhancements and Improvements

Agents: Agents no longer shown as offline when using IBM DB2

When using an IBM DB2 database, all Agents were shown as being offline in the Console. This did not have any consequences for the functioning of these Agents: in reality, they were online and all RES Automation Manager functionality was available. This has been fixed. All online Agents will now also be shown as being online.

Agents: Delete Job history of Agents

At Infrastructure > Agents, it is now possible to delete the entire Job history of individual Agents.

If many snapshots of an Agent are made, for example by using a provisioning server, the Job history of such Agents can become very large and may contain many obsolete entries. In such situations, it can be desirable to clean up the Job history of the Agent.

For this purpose, a button Delete Job History has been added to the History tab of the Agent Properties window, which is available when viewing the properties of an Agent.

It is also possible to delete the Job history of an Agent at Infrastructure > Agents (right-click the Agent, select Delete Job History).

Further informations about RES Automation Manager 2012

For the full release notes read the informations from RES Automation Manager 2012 release notes which can be downloaded from the client portal at www.ressoftware.compage9image16040
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Recent Comments

Thomas Poppelgaard

|

Hi Steve normal I install the GRID driver to device and when its workin, I disable the default VGA device.

Have you applied latest hotfix to the XS6.1 there are some crucial hotfixes to the GPU pass-through, that could crash the GRID’s, when you power on a VM with GPU pass-through.

Steve

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Just a quick question on your setup. We just got a system similar to yours (R720, 2xGrid K2 cards, XenServer 6.1, XenApp 6.5). The GRID K2 driver installs (320.00), but the device shows up as stopped in device manager. Did you use any special options when installing the nVidia driver? Or somehow remove the default VGA device?

Dan

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Hi Thomas,
Some features in your screenshots (eg create appointments and contacts) seem to be missing from the iOS version of @WorkMail that got released in April, do you know if these features are still coming in a future release? The Android client is far more functional by comparison.
Regards
Dan

Christian Eilskov

|

You can see the DHCP options here:

http://www.wyse.com/kb and search for 21501

You can transfer a image using Wyse Device Manager(WDM), the same goes for smaller updates like new ICA client and so.

Thomas Poppelgaard

|

Thank you Barry =)
The deep compression codec for Citrix XenDesktop HDX 3D Pro will be intergrated for Citrix XenApp in Excalibur so there is a big difference with bandwidth consumption. This means that XenApp in Excalibur will be the best platform for user density and works great over WAN with high latency as HDX 3D Pro have been known to deliver for several years. Yes i know of cases with WAN optimization, I will gather these and share them.

Best regards
Thomas

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