Citrix Machine Creation Service Test

The Citrix Machine Creation Service creates new virtual machines.

Once a valid user logs into the XenDesktop Controller via the Web Interface, the XenDesktop Controller manages the desktop groups by building, starting, and shutting down the desktops as required. At this juncture, the XenDesktop Controller relies on Machine Creation Services (MCS) to deliver the appropriate desktop image to the Pooled and Dedicated desktop groups.

MCS does not require additional servers; it utilizes integrated functionality built into Citrix XenServer, Microsoft Hyper-V and VMware vSphere. As MCS utilizes hypervisor functionality, it is only a viable option for desktops virtualized on a hypervisor. A master desktop image is created and maintained within the hypervisor pool. The XenDesktop Controller, via MCS, instructs the hypervisor to create a snapshot of the base image and thin provision new virtual machines through the built-in hypervisor functions. MCS utilizes special functionality within the XenDesktop Controller and XenDesktop Agent (installed within the virtual desktop image) to build unique identities for each virtual machine, which is stored within the virtual desktops identity disk. This functionality allows each virtual desktop to be unique even though it is using the same base image.

Using this test, you can monitor the health of transactions performed by the MCS on the broker’s SQL database.

Target of the test : A Citrix Delivery Controller 5.x

Agent deploying the test : An internal agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for the Delivery Controller being monitored.

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 DDC listens to.

Measurements made by the test

Measurement	Description	Measurement Unit	Interpretation
Database average transaction time	Indicates the average time taken by the broker to execute a database transaction from the Citrix MCS.	Secs	Ideally, the value of this measure should be low. A high value indicates that the Citrix MCS is taking too much time to execute transactions on the database; this can cause significant delays for users in accessing their desktops.
Is database connected?	Indicates whether the Citrix MCS is able to connect to the database or not.		This measure reports the value Yes if the database is connected and No if it is not. The numeric values that correspond to these measure values are as follows: Measure Value Numeric Value Yes 1 No 0 Note: By default, this measure reports the above-mentioned Measure Values to indicate whether/not the Citrix Machine Creation service is connected to the database. However, in the graph of this measure, the same will be represented using the numeric equivalents – 1 and 0 only. If the database is unavailable, the Citrix MCS may not be able to perform one/more critical operations; this can cause a significant dip in the service-levels desired from the broker.
Database transaction errors	Indicates the rate at which the database transactions are failing while the Citrix MCS is executing the transactions.	Errors/Sec	A low value is typically desired for this measure.
Database transactions	Indicates the rate at which the database transactions are executed by the Citrix MCS.	Trans/Sec