ArcGIS For Desktop Best Practices In A Citrix XenApp .

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ArcGIS for Desktop Best Practicesin a Citrix XenApp EnvironmentJeff DeWeeseSr. Technical Architect – EsriJanuary 4, 2013

Primer - How Compute Intensive is GIS? Processing Intensive (CPU)- Memory Intensive (RAM)- Data query and analysisDisk I/O Intensive- Complex applications and MXDsNetwork I/O Intensive- Analysis and geoprocessingData loading and conversionGraphics Intensive (GPU)-Fly-through and 3D

Desktop Key Deployment Considerations Before a desktop deployment option can beconsidered, several factors must be considered.-Desktop processing requirements-User type and application pattern-User location relative to the data-Available network bandwidth-IT standards / constraints

Two Traditional Desktop Deployment OptionsApplicationProcessingThick-ClientClassic client/serverData ConnectionData ServerThin-ClientSession Virtualizationvia Remote DesktopApplicationProcessingICA ConnectionKeyboard & MouseServices / CitrixData ConnectionXenAppBitmaps &Draw CommandsCitrix XenAppServer FarmData Server

What is XenApp? “Citrix XenApp is the on-demand application deliverysolution that enables any Windows application to bevirtualized, centralized and managed in the datacenter andinstantly delivered as a service to users anywhere on anydevice.“ XenApp provides three primary benefits -Reduces Application Management Costs-Ensures Secure Access-Improves PerformanceVideo – 2.5 min.: HowXenApp Works:http://www.citrix.com/tv/#videos/632It provides two methods for delivering application to users-Session Virtualization (i.e., thin-client computing)-Application Virtualization (i.e., streamed to client computing)

Citrix & Esri History Esri has been working with Citrix and Esri customersdeploying Citrix since at least 1998. Esri has a large deployment base for ArcGIS for Desktopon Citrix. Original performance testing with Data General in 1998established thin-client capacity metrics. Various jointtesting projects over the years including:-Scalability testing with 8-core systems-NetScaler performance testing-WanScaler (now called Branch Repeater) performance testing-Graphics enhancement performance testing (which led toSpeedScreen Progressive Display)-EdgeSight for Load Testing

Citrix XenApp Release HistoryXenApp was previously WinFrame, MetaFrame, and Presentation ServerXenApp 6.5 is the current release

Top 10 Benefits of a GIS Citrix Farm1.Supports any device anywhere deployment-2.Provides Self-Service Applications-3.Enables remote GIS users to access GIS desktop across slower /latent WAN connectionsLeverages the power of enterprise class servers-5.Access applications from portal interfaces based on usercredentialsConsumes less traffic and provides greater stability acrossWAN connections (i.e., latency tolerant)-4.Deploy XenApp based applications on a variety of devices andclient operating systemsFast cores, large memory, 64-bit, Gbit connectivity, cache diskcontrollers, etc.Extends the useful life of user workstations-No need for costly high-end workstations upgrades for each GISuser

Top 10 Benefits of a GIS Citrix Farm6.Easy to scale over time-7.Results in decreased system administration-8.Centralized management / configuration of Client GIS software /Upgrades & PatchesProvides easier detection and resolution of software bugs andperformance issues-9.Add additional servers to the farm as user demand growsMultiple user environment can be monitored more frequentlyFaster turn-a-round for development & QA integration testing-GIS users can access multiple environments concurrently fromtheir local workstation10. Is secure by design-User sessions and data are kept in data center

Citrix XenApp Essential Components XenApp Servers Data Store Data Collector License Server Web Interface

XenApp Farm Design XenApp components can be installedall on one server or multiple serversdepending upon the size of the farm Video – 18 min: Understanding andDesigning Presentation Server Farmshttp://www.citrix.com/tv/#videos/1364 Video – 28 min: Fundamentals of thePresentation Server Architecture:http://www.citrix.com/tv/#videos/1369

Citrix XenApp Support Which XenApp Version is “Supported” by Esri?-All versions are known to “work”-XenApp 4.5 or higher is recommended primarily due to HDX3D technology (discussed later)-Esri has certified ArcGIS 10 SP2 as a hosted application withCitrix XenApp 6 and Windows 2008 R2 using the Citrix ICAOnline Plug-in for Windows 12.1.-Esri has certified ArcGIS 10.1 as a hosted application withCitrix XenApp 6 and XenApp 6.5 with Windows 2008 R2 usingthe Citrix ICA Online Plug-in for Windows 13.1.-ArcGlobe, ArcScene, and any other 3D application generallywill not work well over Remote Desktop or other WindowsTerminal Services clients, because these clients do notsupport 3D graphics acceleration.

ArcGIS for Desktop Installation on Citrix Installation process is identical as a local workstation Follow best practices for application installation in a RDSenvironment (i.e., use “install mode”) -Install applications on Terminal Server via Add/Remove Programs withWindows 2003-Install applications on Terminal Server via Control Panel with Windows2008Install the 32-bit DBMS client on the XenApp servers for DirectConnect support-SQL Server native client needed at 9.3.1 only if using new Spatial DataTypes which requires SQL Native Client-SQL Server native client is included with 10 install and is required forDirect Connect at 10

Application Publishing and Access GIS applications are publishedlike any other application Different icons can be publishedrepresenting ArcMap, ArcCatalog,etc. Applications can be accessedusing web client via Citrix WebInterface or directly via plug-inclient Application access is managedby the publishing tools andapplication icons are only visibleto those users that require access

GIS Application “Look and Feel” “Seamless” applicationpublishing providessimilar experience ascompared to typical thickclient access

Managing Esri Licenses Default Terminal Server behavior is utilize existing session foradditional application launches which results in single Esrilicense checked Environment Variables for Supporting Multiple ArcGIS LicenseSessions on Same Citrix Terminal Server: -ArcInfo:ESRI SOFTWARE CLASS Professional-ArcEditor:ESRI SOFTWARE CLASS Editor-ArcView:ESRI SOFTWARE CLASS Viewer-Note: The environment variables are case sensitiveExample Two-Line Batch File for Launching Specific ArcMapPublished Applications (.MXD) with a Viewer License-Set ESRI SOFTWARE CLASS Viewer-ArcMap.exe local machine :\ PublishedApp.mxd

Managing Central File Server Access Minimize use of “remapped”client drives Server RoomGeodatabaseServerUtilize central file server forproject files, data, profiles,etc. (critical for WAN) Optional similar mappingdirectly from client (LANenvironments only)T:CitrixXenAppFarmRemapped C:Central FileServerICAT:

Managing Central Profiles Utilize roaming profiles vs. local server profiles to ensure sameexperience regardless of which server a user lands on Hybrid approach (copy in/out portions of profile that are updatedincluding normal.mxt, etc.) and use folder redirection Investigate use of Citrix Profile Management Profile options: http://support.citrix.com/article/ctx120285

Printing with Citrix XenApp When printing jobs cross aData Centernetwork with limited bandwidthCitrixXenAppFarm(i.e., WAN), Citrix recommendsrouting jobs through the clientdevice so that the ICA protocolICA CompressedPrinter Trafficcompresses the jobs and enablesthe administrator to limit theWANmaximum consumable bandwidth.Remote SiteThinClientPrintServerPrinter

Printing with Citrix XenApp For LAN environments, it is notData Centernecessary to print through theCitrixXenAppFarmICA channel and print jobs can besent directly from the XenAppserver, across the network, andICAPrintServerdirectly to the print server.LANLocal SiteThinClientPrinter

Printing with Citrix XenApp Avoid traversing network threeData Centertimes when the Print Server is inCitrixXenAppFarmthe Data Center (via the “Directconnections to print servers”policy).ICAPrintServerLAN / WANUser SiteThinClientPrinter

Printing with Citrix XenApp In environments with a large number of printers per user, Citrixrecommends to auto-create only one default printer. The automatic installation of print drivers should be disabled toensure consistency across the XenApp servers to simplifysupport and troubleshooting. It is Citrix Pest Practice is to keep the number of print driversinstalled on a XenApp server to a minimum to help reducemanagement and potential stability issues. Therefore the CitrixUniversal Printer Driver should be used whenever possible toreduce the number of print drivers required. Consider optimized workflows or third-party printing solutions tohelp with printer administration and bandwidth management-Export to PDF then download to client for local printing-3rd-Party Solutions (ThinPrint / UniPrint / Screwdrivers)

HDX Technologies

HDX 3D Progressive Display Up to 15X faster performance for2D and lightweight 3D graphics-Medical Picture Archiving &Communication Systems (PACS)-Geographic Information Systems(GIS)-Business Intelligence (BI)-2D image editingReduces cost of deliveringgraphics-intensive apps-Lowers bandwidth consumptionby up to 93%-Supports any ICA client deviceAdvancedEnterpriseIntroduced in XenApp PS 4.5 and XenDesktop 2Platinum

HDX 3D Progressive Display Ensure the HDX Progressive Display policy (graphics policy in XA6.5) has been configured and applied to reduce network traffic forraster data displays. Best performance will be provided by using maximumcompression while in process (i.e., while display is in motion) andhigh compression while at rest. -Default ICA compression is set to medium without the policy-Progressive compression is not used without policy in place-Need to balance quality and performance needs to determine settingsfor your organizationThe heavyweight compression is optional. It will provideadditional compression while panning, etc., but at the cost ofslightly additional CPU consumption on the client and server.

Citrix HDX 3D Recommendations

HDX Progressive Display ArcMap 10 Demos Pan Test – No Compression- Pan Test – Ultra High Compression / Heavyweight- 261 KB downloadedStart Up with MXD Test – No Compression- 336 KB downloaded2.2 MB downloadedStart Up with MXD Test – Ultra High Compression /Heavyweight-500 KB downloaded

Known ArcMap on Citrix Issues / Fixes Memory Allocation Patch Hot Fix for 9.3 and 9.3 SP1- Available by request from 93 931memory allocation@Esri.comFixed in ArcGIS 9.3.1 SP1Printing large images (Fragmented memory issue)-Workaround available for articles/detail/20294 Default to “default” printer under certain conditions with sessionremapped printing when loading ArcMap Help in ArcMap on 64-bit servers does not launch-Workaround: Publish Help as a separate Citrix applicationC:\WINDOWS\SysWOW64\hh.exe "C:\Program Files(x86)\ArcGIS\Help\ArcInfoMain.chm“Fixed in ArcGIS 10

Known ArcMap on Citrix Issues / Fixes File-based Data Performance / Attribute Table Opening andFeature Selection is Slow-http://resources.arcgis.com/content/kbase?fa articleShow&d 34906-Introduced by XenApp 4.5 RP2Fixed in XenApp 4.5 RP3-- Unable to Hide Server C: Drive from User Sessions- Citrix Windows 2003 32-bit PS 4.5 Citrix Windows 2003 64-bit PS 4.5 Operating system permissions are used to “lock down” the C: drivefrom user sessions but the C: drive still appears in ArcCatalog, etc.Known issue for many years (NIM000206 recently created)Fixed in ArcGIS 10A single MXD and normal.mxt file can only be openedapproximately 20 times (concurrently)-Primarily impacts load test environments

Troubleshooting and Problem Isolation Fact vs. Fiction: Most of the time, issues classified as “Citrixissues” turn out to be application or environment related. Veryfew issues have turned out to be Citrix specific. Logical Tests to Isolate Source of Problem-Does the issue occur via Terminal Services?--Does the issue occur on a stand-alone workstation?--Helps to isolate if general application issue or in fact specific to server basedcomputing environmentDoes the issue occur outside of a seamless window?--Isolates if strictly related to XenApp .which is rarely the caseCertain display issues, typically with custom applications, have been shown tobe sometimes sensitive to seamless window environmentsDoes the issue occur using an Administrator account?-Often the issue is permissions related and testing with an admin account canhelp determine if the issue is permissions related

RDS / Citrix Server Capacity Planning The number of users a XenApp server can support depends onseveral factors, including:-The server hardware technology-The applications deployed (CPU and memory requirements)-The user application workflows-The maximum target resource usage on the server (for example, 80%CPU peak utilization)Recommendations-Leverage modern CPU technology to optimize scalability andperformance-Use RAID technology for internal drives (typically RAID-1 for OS/Apps)-Utilize separate disks for applications and OS with separate diskcontrollers-Use SAS or SCSI drives (i.e., SATA may become a bottleneck)-Deploy 64-bit operating systems to avoid 32-bit memory bottlenecks

RDS / Citrix Server Capacity Planning System Design Strategies Wiki – RDS latform Performance#Windows Terminal Server Platform Sizing

RDS / Citrix Workstation Capacity Planning System Design Strategies Wiki – Workstation latform Performance#ArcGIS Desktop Platform Sizing

RDS / Citrix Network Planning Factors System Design Strategies Wiki – Network php/Network Communications#Network Design Guidelines

ArcGIS General Best Practices Avoid use of application streaming (i.e., application isolation) technologyfor ArcGIS for Desktop due to software complexity which results in poorperformance. Avoid deploying XenApp servers with server virtualization in productionenvironments due to performance degradation. This is subjective thoughand there are several variables to consider. Deploy GIS applications to dedicated servers within the Citrix farm. Utilize HDX 3D (Progressive Display) policy with Imagery. However,publishing 3D or graphic intensive applications via XenApp (ArcScene,ArcGlobe, ArcGIS Explorer) is not recommended.-Note: ArcGIS Explorer 1200 will not launch via remote interface, 1700 will launch-Note: ArcGlobe 10 will not launch via remote interface

Changes at ArcGIS for Desktop 10 ArcGIS 10 will leverage the LARGEADDRESSAWARE compile option for 64bit environments which will allow a process (ArcMap.exe, ArcSOC.exe, etc.)to utilize up to 4 GB of memory on a 64-bit server. ArcGlobe 10 now utilizes the same switch/check that ArcGIS Explorer usesand does not launch via remote connections (RDS and Citrix). Windows that utilize WPF technology can result in “flickering” with theremote displays on Windows 2003. This is already fixed in Windows 2008.Fix is to install a patch from Microsoft and looks like it is scheduled to bepart of Windows 2003, SP3: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/955692. Thereis also information on our beta resource center for the WPF trix-Patch.aspx

Changes at ArcGIS for Desktop 10 ArcMap is starting to utilize WPF windows (attribute table window, view itemdescription window, etc.). WPF windows are treated as bitmaps by RDP/ICAas opposed to rendering via draw commands and may result in increasednetwork traffic. At ArcGIS 10 user templates are stored separately based on version (e.g.,C:\Documents and Settings\ user \Application Data\Esri\Desktop10.0). Thisshould help situations where a Citrix farm is supporting multiple ArcGISversions with the same user profiles (i.e., template files, etc., are notcompatible between ArcGIS releases). The SQL Server Native Client is installed as part of the core ArcGISinstallation (required for Direct Connect with SQL Server using ArcGIS 10).

Changes at ArcGIS for Desktop 10 Background geoprocessing is the default configuration and launches anArcSOCP.exe process on the server. This new functionally will allow parallelgeoprocessing and interactive user processing. Need to consider this whendoing capacity planning, etc. ArcGIS for Desktop 10, Service Pack 1 added a registry switch to disableWPF based dockable windows. Moving these windows within a thin-clientenvironment can result in large amounts of network traffic (due to constantdisplay se?fa articleShow&d 38474

Citrix Reference Sites

Reference Sites What are the best practices for running ArcGIS for Desktopin a Citrix XenApp environment?- les/detail/39490Top 10 items found by Citrix 20v2.pdf Enterprise GIS Resource Center- http://resources.Esri.comEsri Terminal Server Printing tepapers?fa viewPaper&PID 43&MetaID 1190

Reference Sites Change the ArcGIS for Desktop License Type in aRDS/Citrix environment- Citrix SpeedScreen Progressive Display Demo- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v RMTM7vaMnIEsri Citrix Alliance Site- http://resources.arcgis.com/content/kbase?fa articleShow&d /Citrix Farm Hardware l

Reference Sites XenDesktop and XenApp Best Practices- XenApp Planning Guide - Virtualization Best Practices- http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX129761Best Practices for Citrix XenApp Hotfix Rollup PackInstallation and Deployment- support.citrix.com/article/CTX120842Best Practices for XenApp TX127574

Reference Sites XenDesktop and XenApp Printing - Planning Guide-http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX134943

Bonus – “Why Do I Still Need Citrix XenApp inAddition to Windows Terminal Server?”

Bonus – “Why Do I Still Need Citrix XenApp inAddition to Windows Terminal Server?”

-Fly-through and 3D . . MetaFrame, and Presentation Server XenApp 6.5 is the current release . Top 10 Benefits of a GIS Citrix Farm 1. Supports any device anywhere deployment . Provides easier detection and resolution of software bugs and performance issues

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