Session and Application States - Cloud Test

In the event of a session overload on the Citrix Cloud, administrators may want to know the type of sessions that may have contributed to the overload – HDX sessions? or RDP sessions? This can be determined using the Session and Application States test. For every type of session (HDX and RDP) on the controller, this test reports the total session count and the status of the sessions.

Target of the test : A Citrix Cloud Site

Agent deploying the test : A remote agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for each session type; an All descriptor also appears, which reports aggregated metrics across all session types.

Configurable parameters for the test
Parameter	Description
Test Period	How often should the test be executed.
Host	The IP address of the host for which this test is to be configured.
Port	Refers to the port at which the specified host listens to.
Customer ID	When configuring the Citrix Cloud service, you should have created an API client on the cloud, so that any external program can communicate with the cloud. This API client is tied to a customer ID. The Citrix Cloud API requires this customer ID, when calling REST APIs. To determine the customer ID that is mapped to the API client you created, refer to Determining the Customer ID Mapped to an API Client.
Secure Client File Path	When creating the API client on the cloud, you will be provided with an ID and a Secret for your client. Downloading this information saves a file named secureclient.csv. The eG agent uses the ID and Secret stored in this file to connect to the Citrix Cloud API. This is why, you will have to configure the Citrix Cloud Connectivity test with the full path to the secureclient.csv. Note: Before specifying the path of the secureclient.csv file, make sure that the API client is created and this file downloaded by a valid Citrix cloud user with Read-only administrator rights to virtual apps/desktops. To know how to create this user on the cloud, refer to theCreating a New Citrix Cloud User for Monitoring PurposestopicTo know how this user can create an API client on the cloud, refer to Creating API Client on the Citrix Cloud.
Proxy Host and Proxy Port	If the Citrix Cloud Connector communicates with the Citrix Cloud via a proxy, then, you also need to configure the eG agent on the connector with the proxy server details. This will enable the eG agent to connect to the Citrix cloud without a glitch, and pull metrics. To facilitate this communication. do the following: Specify the IP address/fully-qualified host name of the proxy server, against PROXY HOST. Specify the port at which the Proxy server listens for requests from the eG agent, against PROXY PORT. By default, both these parameters are set to none, indicating that the eG agent does not communicate with the Citrix Cloud via a proxy. Note: Before configuring these test parameters, make sure that the proxy server settings are imported to the eG agent side from the connector. To know how to achieve this, refer to Configuring the eG Agent with Proxy Server Settings. To know what values you should configure these parameters with, do the following: Login to the system hosting the Citrix Cloud Connector being monitored. Open the Internet Explorer browser on that system, and click on the icon provided at the right corner of that browser. Clicking the icon will invoke a menu. Choose Internet Optionsfrom the menu. Then, select the Connections tab in the Internet Options window that appears. Now, click the LAN Settings button. This will open the Local Area Network (LAN) Settings window. In the Proxy Server section of this window, you will find that the Use a proxy server for your LAN check box is enabled. Configure the PROXY HOST and PROXY PORT parameters with the IP address and port numbers displayed in the Address and Port text boxes (respectively) under that check box. If the Use a proxy server for your LAN check box is not enabled, then it means that the connector is not communicating with the cloud via a proxy. In this case, you need not change the default configuration for these parameters.
Report by Machine Type	By default, this flag is set to Yes indicating that the individual descriptors of this test - i.e., the catalogs - are classified based on their machine type; in other words, the catalogs will be listed either under Server OS Machines or Desktop OS Machines based on their machine type. If you do not want to group the catalogs based on their machine types, set this flag to No.
Show Desktop Session DD	By default, this flag is set to No. This means that, by default, this test does not report detailed metrics for its Desktop sessions measure. If you want to know more details about the desktop sessions on the controller, enable detailed diagnostics collection for the Desktop sessions measure by setting this flag to Yes.
Show Mobile Session DD	By default, this flag is set to No. This means that, by default, this test does not report detailed metrics for its Mobile sessions measure. If you want to know more details about the mobile sessions on the controller, enable detailed diagnostics collection for the Mobile sessions measure by setting this flag to Yes.
Region Endpoint	By default, US is chosen from this list indicating that this test will report metrics for those organizations whose users and resources are located in the United States region. Sometimes, the eG agent may collect the required metrics with a minor time delay due to the users and resources being monitored are in a different region. To avoid such time delays and to ensure end-user proximity and offer the best user experience, administrators are allowed to change the region based on where most of the users and resources are located. For instance, if the users and resources are located in the Asia-Pacific South region or approximately nearer to the Asia-Pacific South region, then, administrators need to choose 'AP-S' from this list. However, from this list, administrators are required to choose only the region that they had chosen when they signed in for the first time after onboarding their organization to the target Citrix Cloud.
DD Frequency	Refers to the frequency with which detailed diagnosis measures are to be generated for this test. The default is 1:1. This indicates that, by default, detailed measures will be generated every time this test runs, and also every time the test detects a problem. You can modify this frequency, if you so desire. Also, if you intend to disable the detailed diagnosis capability for this test, you can do so by specifying none against DD frequency.
Detailed Diagnosis	To make diagnosis more efficient and accurate, the eG Enterprise embeds an optional detailed diagnostic capability. With this capability, the eG agents can be configured to run detailed, more elaborate tests as and when specific problems are detected. To enable the detailed diagnosis capability of this test for a particular server, choose the On option. To disable the capability, click on the Off option. The option to selectively enable/disable the detailed diagnosis capability will be available only if the following conditions are fulfilled: The eG manager license should allow the detailed diagnosis capability Both the normal and abnormal frequencies configured for the detailed diagnosis measures should not be 0.

Measurements made by the test
Measurement	Description	Measurement Unit	Interpretation
Total sessions	Indicates the total number of user sessions.	Number	This is a good indicator of the session load on the controller. If a consistent increase is observed in the value of this measure for the All descriptor, it could hint at a potential overload condition. In such situations, you can compare the value of this measure across session types to figure out which type of session is high on the controller – HDX or RDP?
Active sessions	Indicates the number of user sessions of this type that are currently active on the controller.	Number	A consistent zero value could indicate a connection issue. For details of the currently active sessions, use the detailed diagnosis of this measure.
Connected sessions	Indicates the number of sessions of this type that are currently connected.	Number	The detailed diagnosis of this measure if enabled, lists the Session ID, the name of the machine, the name of the catalog and delivery group to which the machine belongs, the zone to which the catalog belongs, the server on which the machine is hosted, the hypervisor name, the user who is active on the session, the protocol used for connecting to the session, the Client IP and version, the state of the session, the time for which the session is connected, the time at which the state of the session changed, the start time of the session, the controllering time, the number of session supported – whether single session or multiple session, the applications that are currently in use if the machine in operation is a XenApp etc.
Disconnected sessions	Indicates the number of sessions of this type that are currently disconnected.	Number	If all the current sessions suddenly log out, it indicates a problem condition that requires investigation. The detailed diagnosis of this measure lists the sessions that were logged out.
Reconnecting sessions	Indicates the number of sessions of this type that are reconnecting soon after a disconnect.	Number	The detailed diagnosis of this measure lists the sessions that reconnected soon after a disconnect.
Preparing sessions	Indicates the number of sessions of this type that are currently in the Preparing state.	Number	The detailed diagnosis of this measure lists the sessions that are currently in the Preparing state.
Non-brokered sessions	Indicates the number of user sessions of this type that were not brokered by the machines managed by this controller.	Number	The detailed diagnosis of this measure lists the sessions that were not brokered by the machines managed by this controller.
Unknown sessions	Indicates the number of sessions of this type that are currently in Unknown state.	Number	The detailed diagnosis of this measure lists the sessions that are currently in Unknown state.
Other sessions	Indicates the number of sessions of this type that are currently in Other state.	Number	The detailed diagnosis of this measure lists the sessions that reconnected soon after a disconnect.
Hidden sessions	Indicates the number of sessions of this type that are currently hidden.	Number	The detailed diagnosis of this measure lists the sessions that are currently hidden.
Autonomously brokered sessions	Indicates the number of sessions of this type that are brokered without the use of this controller.	Number	The detailed diagnosis of this measure lists the sessions that are autonomously brokered.
Pre-logon	Indicates the number of applications that are in pre-logon state for the sessions of this type.	Number	This measure is only applicable for Server OS Machines descriptor. Use the detailed diagnosis of this measure to know which applications are in the pre-logon state.
Pre-launched	Indicates the number of applications for which sessions of this type are prelaunched.	Number	This measure is only applicable for Server OS Machines descriptor. The session prelaunch enables all or specified users access applications quickly, by starting sessions before they are requested. The session will wait for a user, and when the user starts an application prelaunched session is replaced with a regular session. Use the detailed diagnosis of this measure to know which applications are in the pre-launched state.
Active applications	Indicates the number of applications that are currently running in the sessions of this type.	Number	This measure is only applicable for Server OS Machines descriptor. Use the detailed diagnosis of this measure to know which are the active applications.
Lingering	Indicates the number of sessions of this type that are in active state even after the applications are closed.	Number	This measure is only applicable for Server OS Machines descriptor. Use the detailed diagnosis of this measure to know which sessions are active even after the applications are closed.
No applications	Indicates the number of sessions of this type that are active without any application launch.	Number	This measure is only applicable for Server OS Machines descriptor. Use the detailed diagnosis of this measure to know which sessions are active without any application launch.
Desktop sessions	Indicates the number of active desktop sessions of this type.	Number	Use the detailed diagnosis of this measure, if enabled, to view the active desktop sessions.
Mobile sessions	Indicates the number of active mobile sessions of this type.	Number	Use the detailed diagnosis of this measure, if enabled, to view the active mobile sessions.
Anonymous users	Indicates the number of sessions established anonymously (without user credentials); in this case a temporary local user account on the machine is used.	Number

For details of the currently active sessions, use the detailed diagnosis of the Active sessions measure. This provides the complete details of every active session on the controller. The details include: the session ID, the machine from which the session was launched and the endpoint of the session, the delivery group to which the machine belongs, the hypervisor used, the IP address of the NetScaler and StoreFront used for the session, and the time taken to broker and to establish the session. This way, administrators can quickly isolate that session that took the longest to broker or establish.

Figure 1 : The detailed diagnosis of the Active sessions measure