This document focuses on the configurations and settings that can make Director perform at its optimal stability and performance. The document has been made with Director v 7.5 in mind.

Minimum system requirements

Before we get started on the installation and configuration we have to keep in mind the minimum system configuration.

A machine with a CPU of 4 cores and a RAM of 4 GB will be able to support a hundred Director help desk users.

Installing with the Meta Installer

Installation using the meta installer is the perfect way to install and configure Citrix Director.

Installing with the MSI

In general Director installation should always be done using the Meta Installer. But if for some reason, installation has to be done using the MSI, please follow the below steps for a smooth and precise installation.

Before you get going consider the following prerequisites:-

  • A XenDesktop or XenApp Farm
  • An available server to install Director.
  • Director MSI
  • IIS 7 installed on the server that hosts Director
  • .NET Framework 4.0 and above
  • Adobe Flash 10.x or above (For the browser)
  • Firewall exceptions for port 80, 2513 and 5985

Now, please follow step by step process to complete the installation and configuration through MSI.

  • Install .NET 4.0 (or above) and Adobe Flash 10.x or above, if it is not already installed on the operating system.
  • Launch InstallDesktopDirector MSI . Agree to the Licensing Agreement on the next page.
  • Click Next at the install prompt, click the Install tab. When the installation completes, click Close.

Note: At this point run the Director Config tool. Details on the parameters that can be configured using the Director Config tool are given in the next sections.

Open IIS Manager on the Desktop Director Server to log on to the  Director Console. Select the  Director site under Default website.

  • Locate Service.AutoDiscoveryAddresses in Application Settings. Double-click this option and rename it to Service.AutoDiscoveryAddressesXA and ensure the controller FQDN is present.
  • Note: If you have installed this on a XenApp 6.5 server and you are not able to enter the FQDN of the controller at installation, you can change it from Localhost to Your 6.5 Controller FQDN here, refer to the following screen shot:

  • Run an IIS reset in the command prompt after the above options are updated.
  • Note: You will be able to log in now. However, you will not be able to view user-session specific details yet. You must follow the subsequent steps to be able to log in and view user-session specific details.
  • Setup the WinRM permissions using a tool in the XenDesktop 5.6 FP 1 ISO (previously called ConfigRemoteMgmt.exe which was used to access information about session).
  • Open the command prompt window, browse to the following directory and run the application <Drive Letter>:\x64\Virtual Desktop Agent\ConfigRemoteMgmt.exe. Use the switch – ConfigRemoteMgmt.exe /configwinrm Domain\User.

The user-session specific information can be viewed if the XenApp or XenDesktop Controller has its permissions set for remote management.

Note: If you are not setting up certificates on the server for SSL, you can disable the SSL verification by changing the UI.EnableSslCheck to false.

Configuring IIS

In the IIS, the following configurations have to be in place. Forms authentication and Anonyms authentication should be enabled to prevent login issues.

Enabling Forms Authentication (IIS7)

  1. Open IIS Manager and navigate to the level you want to manage.
  2. In Features View, double-click Authentication.
  3. On the Authentication page, select Forms Authentication.
  4. In the Actions pane, click Enable to use Forms authentication with the default settings.

Enabling Anonyms Authentication (IIS7)

  1. Open IIS Manager and navigate to the level you want to manage.
  2. In Features View, double-click Authentication.
  3. On the Authentication page, select Anonymous Authentication.
  4. In the Actions pane, click Enable to use Anonymous authentication with the default settings.

Configuring AD correctly for superfast search

Sometimes you might notice slow performance in displaying search results. In such cases, you should ensure that the ADs are configured correctly while configuring in Director Settings and the configured AD servers and their sub-domains are up.

Configuring Director to support users across multiple Active Directory domains and forests

Citrix Director uses the Active Directory to gather its user details and for configuring new users. By default, it gathers these information from the domain in which the administrators account is a member and the web server is a member if it’s different from the administrators.

For configuring users from other AD’s you have to set the domain or forest to be searched by setting:

Connector.ActiveDirectory.Domains = (user),(server)

To enable searches from an additional domain or forest, add the name of the domain to the list, as shown in this example:

Connector.ActiveDirectory.Domains = (user),(server),ENDUSERDOMAIN

Configuring Director for adding sites

If Director is already installed, configure it to work with multiple sites. To do this, use the IIS Manager Console on each Director server to update the list of server addresses in the application settings.

Add an address of a controller from each site to the following setting:

Service.AutoDiscoveryAddresses = SiteAController,SiteBController

where SiteAController and SiteBController are the addresses of Delivery Controllers from two different sites.

Note: Invalid data will cause a delay in the log on time and response of Director.

Configuring Edgesight for network analysis (HDX Insight)

Using EdgeSight network analysis, Director communicates and gathers the information that is related to your XenDesktop deployment.

  1. On the server where Director is installed, locate the DirectorConfig command line tool in C:\inetpub\wwwroot\Director\tools, and run it with parameter /confignetscaler in command line prompt.
  2. When prompted, configure the NetScaler Insight Center machine name (FQDN or IP address), username, password, and HTTP or HTTPS connection type.
  3. To verify the changes, log off and log back on.

Command: /confignetscaler

Description: This command is used to Configure EdgeSight network analysis with Director. This command  prompts for the following details:

  • Machine name on which the NetScaler HDX Insight service is running
  • User name
  • Password
  • Secure connection through http or https

This information is saved on an encrypted file on the Director server.

Parameters: No parameter is required for this command.

Syntax: .\DirectorConfig/confignetscale

Configuring WinRm (Legacy)

For Director 2.1 and earlier.

If you choose not to configure WinRM automatically using the XenDesktop installer, or install WinRM after running the XenDesktop installer, then these changes can be made manually by running the following commands from an elevated command prompt:
winrm quickconfig
and additionally for WinRM 2.0, run the following command:
winrm set winrm/config/Service @{EnableCompatibilityHttpListener=”true”}
Alternatively, you can configure WinRM using Microsoft Group Policy.If WinRM 2.0 is installed for XP and Vista desktop machines, change the WinRM port configuration on Desktop Director in Application Settings to port 5985 only, by completing the following procedure:

1. Open IIS Manager on the server.

2. Browse to Sites > Default Web Site > DesktopDirector.

3. Double-click the Application Settings icon.

4. Edit the Connector.WinRM.Ports value to only 5985. Remove port 80.

Note: These steps are equivalent to editing the web.config file directly in c:\inetpub\wwwroot\DesktopDirector.

Configure and Register ASP.net if not done

In case for any reason the ASP.net is unregistered with IIS follow the below steps.

Open the DirectorConfig tool from C:\inetpub\wwwroot\Director\tools

Command: /registerdotnet

Description: This command is used to register asp.net with IIS if not registered already.

Parameters: No parameter is required for this command.

Syntax: DirectorConfig /registerdotnet

 

Configurations for granting permissions to Citrix Desktop users.

To grant the permissions to an Active Directory security group, user, or computer account, run the ConfigRemoteMgmt.exe tool,  with administrative privileges from a command prompt using the following arguments:

ConfigRemoteMgmt.exe /configwinrmuser domain\name

where name is a security group, user, or computer account.

For example, to grant the required permissions to a user security group:

ConfigRemoteMgmt.exe /configwinrmuser MyDomain\HelpDeskUsers

Or to grant the permissions to a specific computer account:

ConfigRemoteMgmt.exe /configwinrmuser MyDomain\DirectorServer$

Configuring Remote Assistance for Citrix Director

When troubleshooting the user or the virtual desktop issue, the Director user can shadow the end user by starting a Remote Assistance connection to the virtual desktop machine. To enable this feature the following steps should be followed:

The XenDesktop VDA installer can configure Remote Assistance for use by Director.

On the Virtual Desktop Configuration screen, select User Desktop Shadowing to automatically configure Remote Assistance.

The following screen shot is displayed when the Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) Service is set to Disable:

The following screen shot is displayed when the Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) Service is set to Enable:

The installer makes the following configuration changes:

  • Enable the Windows Firewall exceptions for Remote Assistance.
  • For Vista and later, enable Remote Assistance exception.
  • For Windows XP, complete the following procedure:
  1. Enable Remote Assistance exception.
  2. Add and enable TCP 135 exception.
  3. Add and enable “%systemroot%\PCHEALTH\HELPCTR\Binaries\helpsvc.exe” exception.