CITRIXEN: 2015

Christopher Keim - 1 Bit at a Time: Citrix Summit 2015: Day 1: One flight delayed, and the airline pilot announcing "what happens in Vegas will live with you forever".... Not really the exc...

Monday, January 12, 2015

Citrix Acquires Sanbolic

Citrix announced today that is had completed its acquisition of Sanbolic.

www.citrix.com/news/announcements/jan-2015/citrix-acquires-sanbolic.html

Friday, January 9, 2015

Exchange Server and Update Rollups Build Numbers

Detailed listing of Exchange Server build numbers and links to Microsoft articles and downloads

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/240.exchange-server-and-update-rollups-build-numbers.aspx

Detailed instructions for updating Exchange 2013

I just finished going through an Exchange 2013 update with my colleague Brandon Nolan. We just followed his step by step instructions that we wrote up.

Excellent write up and very detail.

http://technicalmeander.com/2014/11/06/how-i-update-exchange-2013/

Post a tweet every time a new blog entry is created on Blogger using IFTTT #IFTTT

IFTTT is a automation tool that performs tasks based on rules you setup in a recipe. IFTTT is an acronym for If This Then That. IFTTT has connections to many services such as Blogger, Gmail, Evernote, etc. You build recipes that perform tasks in the same services or different services when an event occurs.

These events can trigger at specific times of day, or using the iPhone/Android client they can trigger when you arrive home or at the office, or when you receive a SMS message from your spouse. The options are literally endless.

I use this service all the time and need to check back often as new services are being connected all the time.

If your not using IFTTT you should be, if you are then here is a simple automation recipe that takes your Blogger posts and sends a Tweet for each one. This can easily be adapted to other blogging sites as long as IFTTT has the connections.

Click the recipe link below.

Citrix- Mac client printer mapping to Windows Server 2012/2012 R2 - CTX139020

Client printer mapping was failing for users connecting to Windows Server 2012 R2 through a Citrix session.

Found that the Microsoft version of the “HP Color LaserJet 2800 Series PS” driver needed to be installed on the server.

The users were not printing to a 2800 series printer, but Citrix uses this driver as part of the Universal Printer setup.

This is a quick process, and has worked every time I encounter Mac OSX auto-creation issues

http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX139020

Thursday, January 8, 2015

CTX133904 - StoreFront Error: "Cannot complete your request"

Very helpful Citrix support article when troubleshooting this common often cryptic error message.

I find issue #5 when troubleshooting existing installs all the time. With the assistance of this article you will make short work of any related issues.

Christopher Keim - 1 Bit at a Time: How to Reset Redirected Folder NTFS Permissions wi...

An Excellent posting from my colleague Chris Keim. Check out this script for automating NTFS permissions.

Christopher Keim - 1 Bit at a Time: How to Reset Redirected Folder NTFS Permissions

Impressive use of Google Earth to facilitate species conservation

Great collaborative demonstration of the power of the Internet and the Google Earth engine

Map of Life

http://googleresearch.blogspot.com/2015/01/map-of-life-preview-of-how-to-evaluate.html

Changing Windows Server 2012 R2 from Standard to DataCenter Edition

First set is to verify the edition of Window Server 2012 R2.

You can check this with the GUI at Control Panel\System and Security\System

or via the following command line:

dism.exe /online /Get-CurrentEdition

Next lets verify that the install of Windows can be migrated to a different version

dism.exe /online /Get-TargetEditions

We’ve confirmed that this installation can be migrated to DataCenter Edition, now we need to set the installation edition. This change requires acceptance of the End User Agreement and the Windows DataCenter Edition KMS setup key.

dism.exe /online /Set-Edition:ServerDatacenter /AcceptEula /ProductKey:W3GGN-FT8W3-Y4M27-J84CP-Q3VJ9

The server will require a reboot for this change to take effect.

To verify the Edition has been changed:

dism.exe /online /Get-CurrentEdition

Now the Server can be activated as a Windows Server 2012 R2 DataCenter server.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Reconfigure XenApp to a new SQL Server or database

Long ago I wrote up this process to facilitate rapid reconfiguration of the SQL datastore on MetaFrame / Presentation Server. A colleague came to me today asking about a way to automate this process on an older Citrix deployment. Ah, sometimes being the old dog comes in handy, happened to know exactly what he needed and BAM! I already had this process written up.

1. Backup of the SQL database

2. Copy the database to the new server

3. Offline or detach the SQL datastore from the existing server

4. Create a SQL account - I usually use ctxuser for the account and ctxpass for the password, but anything you remember works or even SA

5. Attach the SQL datastore on the new server, make sure the SQL account is the db-owner

6. On the Data Collector - Copy the C:\Program Files\Citrix\Independent Management Architecture\mf20.dsn and then edit the original with notepad to change the SQL Server name

7. Stop the IMA service on the Data Collector

8. Run the command dsmaint config /user:ctxuser /pwd:ctxpass /dsn:” C:\Program Files\Citrix\Independent Management Architecture\mf20.dsn” – the quotes are important

9. Restart the IMA service

10. Verify that the server has connected to the new SQL Server

11. Run dsmaint recreatelhc on the server

12. Repeat 6-11 for each server

NTP Vulnerability–Citrix Security Advisory - CTX200355

Citrix has posted a Security Advisory today regarding NTP exploits - CTX200355

By default NTP is disabled on NetScaler appliances, however if NTP has been configured Citrix recommends taking the following steps.

Open the NetScaler’s ntp.conf file in /etc and add the following lines:

restrict -4 default notrap nopeer nomodify noquery

restrict -6 default notrap nopeer nomodify noquery

All other restrict statements should also be reviewed and verified to contain both 'nomodify' and 'noquery'.

Save the file after editing and restart the NTP service.

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Remote Desktop license issue with Grace Period timeout

Issue was discovered with Windows Server 2012 RDS license service remaining in Grace Period after license service is applied.

"The remote session was disconnected because there are no Remote Desktop License Servers available to provide a license"

This is due to a bug in Server 2012 RDS licensing system. The RDS licening mechanism continues counting the Grace Period time.

There is a Microsoft hotfix available or follow the workaround.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2916846

To manually resolve:

HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\RCM

Grant permissions of the following registry key

If the key Grace Period is present the license service has not removed the entry and will continue in an unlicensed mode.

The fix is the delete the Grace Period key

You will need to take ownership and grant permissions to the registry key

Reboot the the server

If the Grace Period key returns after the reboot, the listed hotfix must be applied

Open File - Security Warning when access content from file server

After moving APPDATA to a shared location to allow for users to roam between Citrix / Terminal Server systems, users were getting a warning notification when attempting to launch application shortcuts or access resources from this file server. Open File - Security Warning. This file is in a location outside your local network. Files from locations you don't recognize can harm your PC. Only open this file if you trust the location.

This is a per user setting in the registry and the easiest method I've found for setting this value is via a Group Policy registry setting.

I've launched Group Policy Management from the domain controller and selected the policy that applies to the users when logging into Citrix.

From the tree on the left expand User Configuration | Preferences | Windows Settings

Right click on Registry and select New | Registry Item

Action: Update
Hive: HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Key Path: Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\Domains\[server name and/or FQDN]
Value Name: file
Value type: REG_DWORD
Value data: 1

Now I've added two entries, one for the server name, and one for the server fqdn. That way if a user accesses a resource as servername or servername.domain.xxx they are both covered by this policy.

After updating the GPO, and logging off then back on the system the policy is in effect and no more warnings.

The fix is to add the file server to the Internet Settings sites list in a less restrictive zone.

Here are the value data definitions if you prefer to not add the server as a local Intranet Zone site.

Value definitions:

1 = Local Intranet Zone

2 = Trusted sites zone

3 = Internet zone

4 = Restricted zone

Search Citrix support and faqs with Google custom search tool

Citrix has published a custom search page that searches most of their content.

https://www.google.com/cse/publicurl?cx=000126746349632945653:tmtl_gfry-8

Monday, January 5, 2015

Troubleshooting Citrix Receiver from Android - General Problem Try connecting again

I recently had an issue with Citrix Receiver on Android crashing when attempting to connect to published resources.

Apparently the Receiver has a diagnostic facility that allows for gathering logs from the device. These can then be uploaded to taas.citrix.com for analysis.

1. From the menu select Send feedback
2. Request help from support
3. Send email with log files

Citrix has a CTX support article - http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX137973

Onkyo Receiver - Loss of Sound and Networking NR717

Yesterday morning I went to turn on a movie for my six year old daughter and found I had no sound on my AV system. After going through all the obvious things: mute off - check, correct audio input - check, correct audio output - check. Then checking all connections. I then attempted to connect to the receiver over the network, as I have a static IP configured and use network control a lot. I could not connect to the the web page.

Well, now I went into setup and did a reset of the receiver and found that during setup it would not connect to the network.

Google to the rescue, a quick search revealed that Onkyo has a known issue with certain receivers, and my serial number was included in the warranty extension for repair. You actually can get a rebate for trade-in, or elect for Onkyo to send you a box for repair return. I've elected for repair, so I will post an update as this repair progresses.

Onkyo USA Support Information
08/19/2014 Loss of Audio/Network Connection Customer Care Program
As part of our commitment to quality and customer service we have determined that a limited number of Onkyo Brand receivers manufactured between 2009 and 2012 may experience loss of audio or loss of network connection. This malfunction has been traced back to a defective network chip. We deeply regret any frustration or inconvenience this situation may have caused. To address the problem and help people who may have an impacted receiver, Onkyo is launching a special Customer Care Program to remedy this issue for those receivers that may be affected by this loss of audio/network connection issue.
This program has three steps:
1. Verify if your Onkyo receiver is impacted
2. Decide how you prefer to address the issue
3. Send us your receiver in a prepaid box and label that we will provide at no cost to you.

As part of this program we are also extending our standard limited warranty period to cover this issue for affected receivers through December 31, 2018
All other terms, conditions and limitations of the original limited warranty shall continue to apply for the duration of the original standard limited warranty. Importantly, please note that the loss of audio/network connection issue will not result in harm to any connected components or speakers since the issue is contained to a single element within the affected receivers.

To determine if your receiver is eligible under this Customer Care Program please click here
Loss of Audio/Network Connection Customer Care Program for US and Canada customers
We thank you for your loyalty! Onkyo again apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause and will provide this repair as expeditiously as possible.

http://www.onkyousa.com/Support/service_info.php