Session Details Test

By tracking sessions to each delivery group configured on a site, administrators can not only assess the load on the delivery groups, but can also quickly identify problematic sessions – these could be sessions that are disconnected, sessions that are in an Unknown state, sessions that are reconnecting for some reason. This is what the Session Details test does! This test monitors the user sessions to each delivery group in a site, points administrators to overloaded groups, and also reports the status of sessions to each group, so that problem sessions can be isolated and their problems can be investigated.

Target of the test : A controller in a Citrix Virtual Apps/Desktops Site 7.x

Agent deploying the test : An internal agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for each delivery group configured in the Citrix Virtual Apps/Desktops Site 7.x.

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 the test is being configured.

Port

The port number at which the specified Host listens to. By default, this is 80.

Controller IP Address

To monitor a site and pull metrics on its performance, the eG agent communicates with a delivery controller in that site. If the target site contains only one controller, then, you need to configure the Controller IP Address parameter with the IP address of that controller, so that the eG agent can use that controller for monitoring the site. Note that in this case, if the controller stops functioning for any reason, the eG agent will not be able to monitor the site any longer. Some sites may be configured with multiple delivery controllers to ensure high-availability, and to optimize and load-balance user connections. When monitoring such a site, you have the option of configuring the Controller IP Address parameter with a comma-separated list of controllers. For instance, the list should be in the following format: 192.160.1.10,198.160.1.11,198.160.1.12. In this case, the eG agent checks the availability of each configured controller at run time, picks the controller that is up and running at that time, and communicates with that controller for collecting metrics on site performance. This way, you can ensure that the non-availability of a single controller, does not impact site monitoring.

Controller Port

Specify the port number of the delivery controller in the site with which the eG agent should communicate for collecting performance metrics.

Username
and Password

To connect to a delivery controller and pull out metrics from it, the eG agent requires Farm Administrator rights. In order to configure the eG agent with Farm Administrator privileges, specify the credentials of the Farm Administrator in the Username and Password text boxes. This user should also be assigned the Allow log on locally privilege on the Citrix Virtual Apps/Desktops Site 7.x host. The steps for assigning the Allow log on locally privilege are explained in the Pre-requisites for monitoring the Citrix Virtual Apps/Desktops Site 7.x topic.

Confirm Password

Confirm the Password by retyping it here.

Fully Qualified Domain Name

Here, specify the fully-qualified name of the domain to which the specified controller belongs.

SSL

Indicate whether/not the controller used for metrics collection  is SSL-enabled. By default, this flag is set to Yes.

Report by Machine Type

If you want the results of this test to be grouped by machine type then set this flag to Yes. In this case therefore, the machine types (desktop or server OS machines) will be the primary descriptors of this test; expanding them will reveal the secondary descriptors – i.e., the delivery groups containing machines of each type. If you want the results of this test to be indexed only by the names of delivery groups, then set this flag to No.

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

Active sessions

Indicates the number of user sessions that are currently active on this delivery group.

Number

This is a good indicator of the current session load on a delivery group. A consistent zero value however could indicate a connection issue.

You can compare the value of this measure across delivery groups to kow which delivery group is handling the maximum number of sessions currently.

To determine the details of the currently active sessions, use the detailed diagnosis of this measure.

Connected sessions

Indicates the number of sessions that are currently connected to this delivery group.

Number

Use the detailed diagnosis of this measure to view the details of connected sessions.

Disconnected sessions

Indicates the number of sessions that are currently disconnected from this delivery group.

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 that are reconnecting with this delivery group soon after a disconnect.

Number

 

Preparing sessions

Indicates the number of sessions to this delivery group that are currently in the Preparing state.

Number

 

Non-brokered sessions

Indicates the number of user sessions that are not brokered by the machines managed by this delivery group.

Number

 

Unknown sessions

Indicates the number of sessions to this delivery group that  are currently in Unknown state.

Number

 

Other sessions

Indicates the number of sessions to this delivery group that are currently in Other state.

Number

 

Pending sessions

Indicates the number of sessions to this delivery group that are currently pending.

Number