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 |