Antivirus Software Configuration for the EdgeSight Agent Database Server
Symptoms
If you do not configure the antivirus software correctly on your computer, the performance of the Agent Database Server might decrease or not function correctly.
Following are the symptoms, which indicate that the antivirus software is interfering with the normal operation of the EdgeSight Agent Database Server:
- You might observe that the Agent for VDA devices is unable to start up due to Database Shutdown. These devices depend on successful connection to the remote EdgeSight database, Firebird database, supplied by the EdgeSight Database Agent.
- You might observe a prolonged high CPU usage or a significant increase in the Thread Queue Length associated with the following EdgeSight Agent Database process:
FBServer.exe
- You might observe prolonged high CPU usage or a significant increase in the Thread Queue Length associated with the antivirus software processes.
- You might observe a significant change in the Disk I/O performance. For example, if the percent of Disk Write time or Disk Write Queue Length increases significantly.
- A real-time troubleshooting utility from any Internet Explorer Web console to the device slows down and Internet Explorer might not respond.
Cause
The EdgeSight Database Agent Server provides database hosting and log file mirroring for EdgeSight Agent for VDA devices. Each EdgeSight agent for VDA device connects directly to the EdgeSight Agent Database Server for persistent storage. The FB Monitor synchronizes the Agent’s data folder to the shared network. It maintains a copy of the Agent’s data folder.
Most antivirus products are configured to scan all the files on the disk. If an antivirus program scans the continuously active EdgeSight database, it impedes the normal functioning of EdgeSight.
The EdgeSight Agent for VDA or EdgeSight Agent Database Server might become very slow and consume more resources.
The EdgeSight Agent for VDA can also be prevented from initializing due to the Agent’s remote database being scanned or locked by the antivirus software.
This might have a negative impact on the overall performance of the device, which is being monitored.
Resolution
Configure the required antivirus software such as, TrendMicro, Symantec, Norton, or McAfee with specific settings to ensure that the antivirus software does not scan the EdgeSight data folder or processes. Ensure that this configuration is specified for all the devices that are running the EdgeSight agent. You might have to contact the security administration team of your organization to ensure that these exceptions are enforced enterprise-wide.
Use the following procedure to prevent the antivirus software from scanning EdgeSight data folder or processes:
Note: Regardless of whether you are currently experiencing any of the preceding symptoms, Citrix recommends you to complete the following procedure before deploying any EdgeSight Agents.
- Exclude Agent File Share location.
The Agent Database Server specifies the Agent File Share location as the disk location to store copies of data of the Agent devices. Data stored in this location includes log files and INI files. If the Agent File Share is on another computer and not on the Agent Database Server then the antivirus exclusion details should be specified on the computer, which owns the actual storage disk.
| Computer Details | Location |
| Computers with Window Server 2008 operating system | %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Citrix\System Monitoring\Data\ |
| All other computers | %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\Citrix\System Monitoring\Data\ |
- Exclude the following agent folders from being scanned.
Note: Check a few agent devices to confirm the exact folder locations. These folders contain the EdgeSight agent database file and many log files.
Following are the default locations of the data folder on the EdgeSight Agent Database Server :
- Exclude the following EdgeSight agent executable files or processes from being scanned:
- <Program Files>\Citrix\System Monitoring\Agent\Core\Firebird\bin\fbserver.exe
- <Program Files>\Citrix\System Monitoring\FBMonitor\FBMonitor.exe
More Information
Refer to the EdgeSight Installation Guide and the following Knowledge Center articles for more information about antivirus configuration settings:
CTX111062 – Required Antivirus Software Configuration for the EdgeSight Agent
CTX114906 – Required Antivirus Software Configuration for the EdgeSight Server
