So you have the Citrix solution.
You’ve been dreaming about it. It’s finally ready to go!
But, now that you have your plan in place to deploy XenApp or XenDesktop:
1. How do you intend to monitor it?
2. How do you maintain it?
3. How do you know the staff is ready to support it?
Those can be big questions. Having guidance, the right guidance, to run your Citrix environment is critical to the success of your investment.
A series of new content in the Virtual Desktop Handbook is here to answer many of these questions.
The NEW Monitor chapter
Provides Citrix Consulting leading practices guidance on the support, operations, and monitoring information needed to jumpstart your team and ensure long-term success!
Support
While onsite with a health care company, we analysed their current support structure and processes to determine the foundation that is currently in place. They explained their support teams specialized by area (hardware, SQL, desktops, etc.). Using this information we identified the responsibilities and required skill set of each support level. When problems arise, technical support is the first point of contact, so it is important they know what questions to ask and which team to engage when they needed to escalate.
This section addresses the staffing, organization, training, delegated administration, and tools that should be used to maintain a Citrix deployment
Key highlights include:
- Support Staff Roles and Responsibilities
- Support Job Aids and a sample call script
- Staffing Recommendations
Operations
After a large financial company had deployed their Citrix environment, we discussed with them how this would impact their daily operation. It is important to consider this integration as well as update teams when performing tasks that effect the Citrix environment. For example, the desktop team would now need to deploy updates and applications to physical and virtual workstations. Well defined tasks are needed to ensure a stable, scalable Citrix platform.
This section defines routine operations for the Citrix environment that help to improve stability and performance.
Key highlights include:
- Daily, weekly, quarterly, and yearly operational tasks mapped to support roles.
- Testing and change control processes
- Sample availability testing plans
Monitoring
A large manufacturing company had just upgraded their Citrix system and they had a series of monitors and alerts set, but they weren’t sure how to adjust them based on the updated technology. By having an in-depth understanding of current and expected behavior of the Citrix environment, administrators are better equipped to discover an issue before it impacts the user community.
This section defines how a Citrix environment should be monitored, as well as some common tools that can be used.
Key topics include:
- MS performance metrics for XD and XA environments with recommended threshold settings
- Important Services to monitor for XA, XD, SF, and PVS
- Using Citrix Director trending reports for capacity management
All of these topics and more are discussed in depth within the Virtual Desktop Handbook and based on Citrix Consulting experience with a wide variety of customers. We welcome your feedback and ideas on additional content.
Kevin Nardone – Senior Consultant
Worldwide Consulting
Desktop & Apps Team
Virtual Desktop Handbook
Project Accelerator
