Citrix have released Hotfix Rollup Pack 1 for XenDesktop 5.5

Many customers will be happy about this hotfix package because it contains many new enhancements and hotfixes that people have been waiting for.

Companies that uses HDX 3D Pro will be excited about this release because, the hotfix package contains several hotfixes for HDX 3D Pro.

New Fixes and Enhancements in Hotfix Rollup Pack 1 for XenDesktop 5.5

This rollup introduces the following fixes that have not been previously released:

HDX 3D Pro

1. With HDX 3D Pro enabled, the Virtual Desktop Agent screen can become unresponsive at logon.
2. On Windows 7 Virtual Desktop Agents with the GPU codec and Auto quality mode enabled, user-requested changes to the image quality from Low to High take longer to take effect than on Windows XP Virtual Desktop Agents.
3. Switching a Virtual Desktop Agent to the CPU codec and then changing the screen resolution while in a dual-monitor session can cause temporary screen flickering before both monitors display the same quality. The issue is not present in single-monitor configurations. It is mostly observed on Windows XP Virtual Desktop Agents but can occur on Windows 7 Virtual Desktop Agents as well.
4. This enhancement allows switching between the codecs employed by HDX 3D Pro by creating keyboard shortcuts.The following keyboard shortcuts are allowed:
   • Alt+Shift+1 – switch to CPU codec
   • Alt+Shift+2 – switch to GPU codec
   • Alt+Shift+3 – switch to Lossless codec
   • Alt+Shift+4 – toggle between Fixed/Auto quality mode
5. This enhancement allows you to control the default image quality of HDX 3D Pro enabled virtual desktop sessions in the registry by setting the following key:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Citrix\HDX3D
   Name: HKLM_DefaultImageQuality
   Type: REG_DWORD
   Data: range of 0 -100** The range represents the image quality you see while using an HDX 3D Pro enabled Virtual Desktop Agent. This setting is typically a tradeoff between the responsiveness of the 3D application and the image quality it outputs. A lower value yields a lesser quality image display but a more responsive application. A higher value yields better image quality but the application is less responsive to user input.
6. Monitor blanking of the physical display of a Windows 7 Virtual Desktop Agent using an NVIDIA card with HDX 3D Pro enabled can fail on occasion.
7. When establishing an RDP connection to an HDX 3D Pro enabled Virtual Desktop Agent running on Windows XP, the local console display changes to 4-bit. The behavior remains the same even after disconnecting the RDP session and connecting locally.
8. On a multi-monitor host computer with the Virtual Desktop Agent for HDX 3D Pro installed and where the primary monitor is attached with a DisplayPort connector, switching the primary monitor off and then on again while a user is connected causes monitor blanking to fail on the host computer.
9. With HDX 3D Pro enabled, custom cursors in Adobe Photoshop CS5 and other graphics applications can render as black rectangles.

HDX MediaStream

1. Server-Side Content Fetching can exhibit poor performance in restrictive WAN conditions due to the lack of flow control in the Flash Virtual Channel. This fix corrects the flow control for the Flash Virtual Channel and provides smooth playback of Flash objects. For information about configuring server-side content fetching, see http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xendesktop-als/hd-flash-configure-server-ad.html.Note : To address this issue in its entirety, you must install hotfixes that contain Fix #LA0686 for each of the following:
   • Citrix Receiver
   • Virtual Desktop Agent
   • HDX MediaStream for Flash
2. When reconnecting from a different client device to a disconnected session in which an audio file is playing, the player and the file resume as expected but the audio is not audible.
3. With server-side content fetching enabled, Flash content can take unexpectedly long (up to six minutes) to start rendering in the session.

HDX Plug and Play

1. When redirecting a Philips SpeechMike using a dongle, and then a DVD player in a virtual desktop session, Windows Explorer fails to recognize the latter USB device.
2. This fix provides webcam support for Adobe Connect and Skype 5.5 in virtual desktop sessions.

Installing, Uninstalling, Upgrading

1. After upgrading to Version 5.5 of the Virtual Desktop Agent, the HDX RealTime Webcam Video Compression and Windows Media Redirection features no longer work.
2. When upgrading to Version 5.5 of the Virtual Desktop Agent, existing firewall exceptions are not honored. As a result, connection attempts to the Virtual Desktop Agent will time out before a connection is established.

Logon/Authentication

1. When using a Web Interface site with pass-through authentication, the connection fails if the endpoint does not have a pass-through policy setting.
2. Attempts to connect to a Virtual Desktop Agent can fail and the following error message appears: “Error: You are not permitted to restart any more sessions for this resource.” The issue can occur when a user logs on to the agent console just after the agent restarts. In that case, a race condition can prevent attempts to connect to the agent remotely.
3. Attempts to unlock a Windows 7 Virtual Desktop Agent from a Windows XP endpoint with Citrix Receiver for Windows 3.0 by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del fail. The issue occurs because pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del fails to invoke the Agent’s Windows logon screen; instead, it invokes the local option to lock, log off, shut down, or change the password for the Windows XP endpoint.
4. When starting a Virtual Desktop Agent from a virtual disk (vDisk), the XenCenter Console displays a black screen instead of the Windows logon screen.

Printing

1. Third-party USB to COM port printer driver redirector software does not function in virtual desktop sessions: The printer driver fails to install correctly and the device is not successfully redirected.
2. With a printing policy configured to disable client printer mapping or if there a no client printers, session printers fail to be created.
3. If you change the default client printer while disconnected from a session and then reconnect to that session, the new printer is not added and the previous printer is not deleted as the default printer.
4. The policy to Create Universal Printer fails to create the universal printer upon session reconnection if the policy to Autocreate Client Printeris enabled and set to Do not autocreate client printers.
5. A race condition when launching or reconnecting to a session can prevent some session printers from being created.
6. A change of the default printer on the endpoint, made while a session is disconnected, is not reflected in the session after reconnecting.
7. The Citrix Print Service (CPSVC.exe) can exit unexpectedly while connecting to a virtual desktop session.

Site Administration

1. Virtual Desktop Agent registration fails for agents located in Active Directory sites that contain only read-only domain controllers and no writable domain controllers.
2. SmartAccess policies do not get enforced for sessions originating from Access Gateway in basic mode.

Session/Connection

1. When connecting from a Xenith Wyse client, users randomly get an “ICA connection refused” error when attempting to connect to a pooled and managed Virtual Desktop Agent. The issue occurs when using a Streamed Desktop Group where “ShutdownDesktopAfterUse=True.”
2. A race condition can lead to both the Establishing connection and Log off processes running at the same time, causing attempts to connect to the Virtual Desktop Agent to fail.
3. Users cannot restore the local monitors of a physical Virtual Desktop Agent from their power saving state. This happens when the virtual desktop session is disconnected while the monitors are in Sleep mode.
4. Setting the client system time can cause the Idle Timer to terminate the virtual desktop session unexpectedly, that is, before the actual session idle time has been reached.
5. Shutting down or restarting a Virtual Desktop Agent while applications are running with unsaved data can cause the Virtual Desktop Agent to become unresponsive until it is restarted.
6. When reconnecting to a disconnected session where the wallpaper is set using a group policy, the group policy is no longer honored and the wallpaper reverts to the default image.
7. When playing back WMV content over a WAN connection – where the available bandwidth is not adequate for the bit rate of the video – intermittent stuttering in the video playback can occur. As a result, the playback can freeze at a given frame and then jump ahead.
8. After clicking Log Off in a virtual desktop session but then clicking Cancel in a running application’s Save Changes dialog box, the session is logged off nonetheless. This can result in unsaved changes.This fix introduces support for the following registry that, when set, prevents a forced session logoff:On 32-bit Windows:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Citrix\Logon
   Name: DisableForcedLogOff
   Type: REG_DWORD
   Data: 1On 64-bit Windows:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Citrix\Logon
   Name: DisableForcedLogOff
   Type: REG_DWORD
   Data: 1

9. In deployments with numerous group policies configured, locking and unlocking a Virtual Desktop Agent can experience long delays. As a workaround, this enhancement allows you to configure the following registry key to disable group policy checking for session reconnects:To enable this fix, you must set the following registry key:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Citrix\Logon
   Name: NoGPCheckForExistingSession
   Type: REG_DWORD
   Data: 1 (to disable group policy checking; any other value results in the original behavior)
10. This fix introduces additional filters to reduce the degradation of VoIP quality in sessions.
11. The physical display of a Virtual Desktop Agent might intermittently fail to blank out while a user is logged on to a session.
12. With HDX 3D Pro enabled, the mouse pointer in Adobe Photoshop and other 3D graphics rendering applications might appear as a black rectangle.To enable this fix, you must set the following registry key:
    • On 32-bit Windows:
      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Citrix\HDX3D
      Name: EnableUnknownCursorHandling
      Type: REG_DWORD
      Data: 1
    • On 64-bit Windows:
      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Citrix\HDX3D
      Name: EnableUnknownCursorHandling
      Type: REG_DWORD
      Data: 1
13. While using the command prompt, scrolling a large text file, or executing CLI commands, session performance can deteriorate.To enable this fix when Off Screen Surface (OSS) is enabled, set the following registry key:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Citrix\ICA Client\Engine\Lockdown Profiles\All Regions\Lockdown\Virtual Channels\Thinwire Graphics
    Name: DefaultOssOnScrollPixelsPerMs
    Type: REG_SZ
    Data: 0 (to disable) (The default maximum pixels per millisecond to scroll when OSS is enabled. Otherwise, a value in pixels per millisecond can be used as maximum allowed bandwidth while scrolling the command prompt window.)To enable this fix when Off Screen Surface (OSS) is disabled, set the following registry key:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Citrix\ICA Client\Engine\Lockdown Profiles\All Regions\Lockdown\Virtual Channels\Thinwire Graphics
    Name: DefaultOssOffScrollPixelsPerMs
    Type: REG_SZ
    Data: 0 (to disable) (The default maximum pixels per millisecond to scroll when OSS is disabled. Otherwise, a value in pixels per millisecond can be used as maximum allowed bandwidth while scrolling the command prompt window.)

    To set a scrolling limit on a per process basis, set the following registry key (this key can be used whether or not OSS is enabled):

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Citrix\ICA Client\Engine\Lockdown Profiles\All Regions\Lockdown\Virtual Channels\Thinwire Graphics
    Name: ProcessOssOffScrollPixelsPerMs
    Type: REG_SZ
    Data: < semi-colon separated list of maximum scroll speed per process> (For example, excel.exe:2000 defines a maximum scroll speed of 2000 pixels per millisecond for the Excel application.)

14. Launching a process with WinDbg.exe might fail on Virtual Desktop Agents. The issue occurs because mfaphook hooks the setting for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\<processname> and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\<processname>.To enable the fix, create the following registry key:
    • On 32-bit Windows:
      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Citrix\CtxHook
      Name: EnableReadImageFileExecOptionsExclusionList
      Type: Reg_SZ
      Value: < List of executables to be excluded from hooking with respect to the Image File Execution Options setting, separated by commas without spaces. For example, windbg.exe,application_1.exe.>
    • On 64-bit Windows:
      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Citrix\CtxHook
      Name: EnableReadImageFileExecOptionsExclusionList
      Type: Reg_SZ
      Value: < List of executables to be excluded from hooking with respect to the Image File Execution Options setting, separated by commas without spaces. For example, windbg.exe,application_1.exe.>
15. Session Reliability timeouts set by way of a machine policy do not take effect for Virtual Desktop Agents.

Smart Cards

1. Any smart card not used to log on to a session running on a Windows XP Virtual Desktop Agent is not available within the session.
2. This fix addresses the following issues:
   • In double-hop scenarios, some applications are not able to access the smart card certificate.To enable this fix, you must set the following registry key:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Citrix\SmartCard
     Name: EnableCtxCleanup
     Type: REG_DWORD
     Data: 1
     [#LA0502]
   • Some applications within an ICA session can become unresponsive while attempting to access a smart card reader attached to the endpoint. [#LA0361]

System Exceptions

1. At times of heavy logon/logoff activity, one or more of the following can be observed:
   • Applications can exit unexpectedly.
   • During logon attempts, an Error 1030 appears on the endpoint.
   • During logoff attempts, the Virtual Desktop Agent returns to the Logon screen and the endpoint continues to display the Desktop Viewer.
2. The Citrix PortICA Display Manager (DisplayManager.exe) can intermittently fail on VM hosted apps (VMHA).
3. A Virtual Desktop Agent with certain antivirus software installed might exit unexpectedly with bugcheck code 0x7F while or soon after a user logs in.
4. A Windows XP Virtual Desktop Agent with HDX 3D Pro enabled might exit unexpectedly with stop code 0x0000009F while the user attempts to shut down the system.
5. Firefox 9.0.1 running in a virtual desktop session can exit unexpectedly.

Source

Download Rollup 1 hotfix package for XenDesktop 5.5 here (x86 systems)

Download Rollup 1 hotfix package for XenDesktop 5.5 here (x64 systems)

W2K12 bug in Citrix VDI-in-a-box 4.1.5

Let me start to say Happy New Year and hope that you have come good into 2012. Well some of you have and some of you don’t and i know a lot of customers around the world haven’t started 2012 with a fresh start. Customers that are using Citrix VDI-in-a-box (kaviza) 4.1.5 has a major bug so users have no access to their VDI when they connect with HDX from their devices. Many companies was down the first january 2012 and some customers found a quick turnaround that they where able to connect to their VDI by switching from HDX to RDP. But for many other customers this was a “no go” solution  if they had users with devices like Wyse Xenith that only works with HDX.

Citrix created a private hot fix for the issue 3rd January 2012 and for many customers people where not able to work for 3 days.  Citrix is working on a public release of the fix that will come out to the community as quickly as possible.

I really love Citrix VDI-in-a-box because its so simplified but this behavior is a big flaw and Citrix really have to persuade why customers still should keep using Citrix VDI-in-a-box because many companies can’t live with having their environments down for 1-3 days.

Workarounds

Workarounds have been found by some, the first is to revert back to RDP and stop using HDX which is a valid workaround but some of you may not have this luxury if you are running in kiosk mode.

Another workaround is to set back the date on the servers to 2011 which seems again to work, but if you have software running dependent on the server dates, then again this may not work.

Temporary Quick fix

Citrix has just now released a quick fix and some administrator have succesfuld tested the solution.

Check the Citrix forum message from http://forums.citrix.com/thread.jspa?threadID=299469&start=30&tstart=0

We are in the process of building private fix for this issue and we have an early build available.
Please be aware that this is a build straight from our engineering team and did not undergo full test cycle so please test it in your test environment first.
This requires editing the image of the VDA at the moment but we are working on automating patching process.

The package contains the fix for version 4.x (ctxlicense.dll) and 5 (VdaEnvironment.dll) of VDI-in-a-box.
You will need to replace the file on your image:

For ctxlicense.dll replace C:Program FilesCitrixICAServiceCtxLicense.dll

RDP into current desktop and replace the file
You might need to path an existing image (please refer to Patching an existing image, Administrator Guide)
You might need to build new image (please refer to Creating new image versions, Administrator Guide)
You might need to restart Citrix ICA Services or the machine

For VdaEnvironment.dll replace C:Program FilesCitrixVirtual Dekstop AgentVdaEnviroment.dll

RDP into current desktop and replace the file
You might need to patch an existing image (please refer to Patching an existing image, Administrator Guide)
You might need to build new image (please refer to Creating new image versions, Administrator Guide)
You might need to restart the Citrix Desktop Service or the machine

Download private fix to Citrix VDI-in-a-box
ftp://usr_EscCustomer:support3@ftpprivates.citrix.com/privates/pawelb/LA1146/LA1146.zip

Citrix have created this great knowledge article about customizing the keyboard shortcuts for Receiver for Mac #COOL
If you are a Mac user, you can have great benefit of this article. Enjoy /Poppelgaard

Summary

This article describes how to customize keyboard shortcuts for menu items of the Receiver for Mac.

Background

The Citrix Receiver for Macintosh requires substitution of special keys for certain commands from a Macintosh keyboard to be used properly within a remote Windows session. Refer to the Citrix eDocs for more information. However, the new versions of Macintosh keyboards might not contain certain keys that are used by default for substitution. For example, sending the INSERT key to a session requires the HELP key on the keyboard, which no longer exists on newer keyboards such as MacBook Air laptops.

In such scenarios, you can use function and other special keys to a session using the Keyboard menu of the Receiver. However, this can become a cumbersome task if certain keys are used very frequently during daily tasks. Therefore, another option is to use the System Preferences of Mac OS X to create your own shortcut keys for specific functions available in the application menu of the Receiver.

Procedure

To customize keyboard shortcuts for menu items of the Receiver for Mac, complete the following procedure:

More Information

This functionality does not work with Receiver for Mac software release earlier than 11.4. Certain keys and key combinations are reserved by Macintosh or by the Citrix Receiver. For example;

For more information on special keys and keystrokes used by the Receiver, refer to the following sections of the Citrix eDocs:

Summary

This article describes how to determine USB drivers are configured correctly on the Online Plug-in.

Background

After installing the Online plug-in, the USB drivers should be loaded in the operating system so that a local USB device appears when connecting to a Virtual Desktop session.

Procedure

a. The setupapi logs will determine if any errors occur during the installation of the driver. The logs are located in the directory under %windir%\inf:

c:\windows\inf\setupapi.app.log
c:\windows\inf\setupapi.dev.log
c:\windows\int\setuperr.log (possibly)

In setupapi.app.log I have:
>>>  [SetupQueueCopy]
>>>  Section start 2009/10/16 12:43:45.054
cmd: “C:\Program Files\Citrix\ICA Client\Drivers\usbinst.exe” InstallHinfSection   “DefaultInstall 128 C:\Program Files\Citrix\ICA Client\Drivers\ctxusbm\ctxusbm.inf”
<<<  Section end 2009/10/16 12:43:45.054
<<<  [Exit status: SUCCESS]

flq: CopyFile: ‘C:\Program Files\Citrix\ICA Client\Drivers\ctxusbm\ctxusbm.sys’
flq:       to: ‘C:\Windows\system32\DRIVERS\SET2F28.tmp’
flq: MoveFile: ‘C:\Windows\system32\DRIVERS\SET2F28.tmp’
flq:       to: ‘C:\Windows\system32\DRIVERS\ctxusbm.sys’

>>>  [SetupInstallFromInfSection - DefaultInstall.NT]
>>>  Section start 2009/10/16 12:43:45.234
cmd: “C:\Program Files\Citrix\ICA Client\Drivers\usbinst.exe” InstallHinfSection   “DefaultInstall 128 C:\Program Files\Citrix\ICA Client\Drivers\ctxusbm\ctxusbm.inf”
<<<  Section end 2009/10/16 12:43:45.234
<<<  [Exit status: SUCCESS]

>>>  [SetupInstallFromInfSection - FilterService]
>>>  Section start 2009/10/16 12:43:45.404
cmd: “C:\Program Files\Citrix\ICA Client\Drivers\usbinst.exe” InstallHinfSection   “DefaultInstall 128 C:\Program Files\Citrix\ICA Client\Drivers\ctxusbm\ctxusbm.inf”
<<<  Section end 2009/10/16 12:43:45.404
<<<  [Exit status: SUCCESS]

b. Verify any errors in the event viewer.

c. If no errors appear, you must uninstall then reinstall the online plug-in with setupapi logging set to the maximum verbosity:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup\LogLevel
To 0×00007070

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff550845%28v=VS.85%29.aspx

Citrix have released an important hotfix for Citrix XenApp 6.5 that enhance the user experience dramatical that previously was available in XenDesktop 5.5 is now available in XenApp 6.5 with Hotfix XA650W2K8R2X64002.

I highly recommend that you implement this hotfix if you are running Citrix XenApp 6.5

!! Please be aware that some of the policies can “ONLY” be configured using Microsoft Group Policy and “NOT” AppCenter policy

This release provides the following features and enhancements to servers running XenApp 6.5:

Support for Additional Communications Software:

In addition to Microsoft Office Communicator and Lync, XenApp now supports the use of Web cams in conjunction with the following communication software published on XenApp 6.5 servers:

• Citrix GoToMeeting with HD Faces
• Skype
• Adobe Connect

Enhanced Audio Virtual Channels:

Enhancements have been made to the audio virtual channels to help reduce latency. This results in improved performance of softphones and the voice chat feature of Unified Communications applications.

Adaptive Display Settings for Smooth-running Videos and Slide Shows:

Previously available in XenDesktop 5.5, Adaptive Display is now enabled by default in XenApp 6.5. Adaptive Display dynamically adjusts image quality and frame rates to deliver the best possible user experience when viewing graphics or server-rendered video content over a limited bandwidth network connection. Adaptive Display is the successor to Citrix’s highly successful Progressive Display technology. Adaptive Display is self-tuning and generally does not require configuration. However, Adaptive Display policies are available should you wish to adjust the behavior of this feature. To configure Adaptive Display on XenApp 6.5, use Windows Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc)* and follow the procedures outlined in eDocs, the Citrix Documentation Library.

* Note: At this time, Adaptive Display policies cannot be configured using AppCenter. Use Windows Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) instead.

Windows Media Redirection Enhanced Flow Control:

Enhancements to Windows Media Enhanced Flow Control provide improved results for streamed HD videos delivered over WAN connections.

Overview

Flow control is an integral part of multimedia redirection that is responsible for choosing and adjusting the rate at which multimedia data is transmitted to the client and defining a strategy to reduce the bit rate when network conditions are unfavorable. The effectiveness of the flow control implementation has a fairly large impact on the overall end user experience.

The enhancements

• End-to-End Flow Control. Video samples are no longer queued in the host-side virtual channel and instead force data to back up in the DirectShow/MediaFoundation interception filters. The major benefit here is reliability; video controls remain responsive even when network conditions are unfavorable.

• Frame Dropping. Sometimes the available bandwidth is less than the bit rate of the video being played. Frame dropping enables flow control to preserve the audio and playback synchronization at the expense of the video. It is important to note that key frames will never be dropped because these frames are often used as reference frames from which other frames will be constructed. In addition to key frames, decoders also use the last decompressed non-key frame as a reference frame. For this reason, once a non-key frame is dropped, all subsequent non-key frames are dropped (until the next key frame is found). Otherwise, the video becomes progressively noisier.

Limitations

Frame dropping has some limitations. It is not always known ahead of time how many frames will be dropped for a given media type. Frame dropping does not typically occur until the effective network bandwidth approaches or drops below the bit rate of the media file. Users should have reasonable expectations for the user experience. In most cases, frame dropping will provide a benefit but the amount of video that is dropped can vary from media file to media file.

Note: Adaptive Display generally provides a better user experience than frame dropping when the available bandwidth is less than the bit rate of the video. For this reason, customers who need to deliver HD videos with bit rates of 6 or 7 Mbps are advised to set the SmartRendering Bandwidth Threshold to 8 Mbps to ensure that Windows Media Redirection is used only when there is sufficient bandwidth. For more information about setting the SmartRendering Bandwidth Threshold, see Knowledge Center article CTX124777.

Supported media formats

WMA, WMV, ASF, MP3, Divx, Xvid, and MPEG-4. Other formats, such as MPEG-1 and MPEG-2, continue to use the old flow control.

 Download Citrix hotfix  XA650W2K8R2X64002 for XenApp 6.5 here