Critical Tool Matrix for Citrix XenApp Environments
The following is a list of tools that are most commonly used by Citrix Support to troubleshoot critical issues in XenApp environments. These tools are prioritized into high and medium categories as described below:
High (without these tools proactively in place we can miss opportunities for collecting critical data):
• Downloaded, installed, and / or configured proactively
• Used for proactive monitoring and alerting
• Commonly used during critical issues
Med (These tools do not typically need to be proactively configured or running in order to capture critical data):
• Easily accessible
• Required in specific circumstances
• Commonly used during or after critical issues
Tool | Priority | Issue | Preparation | Method | Resources |
Userdump | High | Hung process | Download Userdump package from Microsoft, run self-extractor software and copy userdump.exe file to all servers (Do NOT run installation) | Run userdump.exe from command prompt to capture a user mode dump of the hung process | |
Default Debugger | High | Crashing applications | Enable a default debugger such as Dr. Waston, WinDbg or NTSD | Refer to instructions for the specific debugger used | |
Monitoring & Alerting (Counters) | High | Performance-related issues | Become familiar with the article CTX118742 which details important performance counters and event viewer messages | Configure counters in Performance Monitor (these can also be used with 3rd party monitoring tools such as Microsoft System Center Operations Manager) | |
Health Monitoring and Recovery | High | Server health | Configure pre-defined tests | Configure and run health tests and recovery actions (these can also be used with 3rd party monitoring tools such as Microsoft System Center Operations Manager) | |
MedEvac | Medium | Application enumeration and launch | Download and run application on any workstation or server (no installation required) | Configure and run health tests to identify a failing infrastructure component (can also be scripted for automatic testing and SMTP alerting) | |
CDFControl | Medium | All XenApp farm issues, including performance and application launch | Download and run on any workstation or server (no installation required) | Select preconfigured trace modules based on problem area (can also be used to trace remote servers) | |
CTXReports | Medium | Used to collect environmental configuration data for general farm issues | Download and run on any server (no installation required) | Configure servers, information to be collected and output log file | |
SQL Profiler template | Medium | Database-related issues (ex. Data Store, configuration Logging, Resource Manager) | Download appropriate template, open with SQL Profiler and configure log file settings | Run trace in SQL Profiler while issue is being reproduced, collect log file | |
Citrix symbol server | Medium | Used for live debugging or analyzing crash dump files | Configure the appropriate debugger (such as WinDbg) to use the Citrix symbol server | Perform common debugging commands | |
UMDH | Medium | Applications that consume excessive memory over time | Download, configure product symbols and enable user mode stack tracing | Collect a baseline UMDH log whenever the process is started and capture another log after memory growth | How to Collect the UMDH Logs and User Dump Files for Memory Leaking Processes |
Network trace | Medium | Network-related issues | Download a network monitor or protocol analyzer | Start end to end network capture | |
Hardware controllers | Medium | Servers randomly rebooting after blue screen crash events before dump data can be written | Please become familiar with server hardware controllers (example HP- ILO, Dell-DRAC) | Disable or configure auto-recovery options to allow servers to capture memory dumps | Refer to the specific hardware vendor resources |
Sysinternals suite | Medium | General troubleshooting of Operating System and 3rd party application issues | Download the Sysinternals tool Suite | Refer to Sysinternals site for instructions on specific tools | |
Data upload / download access | Medium | Issues requiring exchange of data to and from Citrix | Ensure HTTP or FTP access from at least one machine | Any Internet browser or FTP client | Download / Upload sites will be provided by Citrix Support |
