User Logon Performance Test

The Logon Performance test monitors the user logon process from a delivery group perspective; in other words, it monitors user logins to the desktops/applications in a delivery group, measures the ‘aggregate’ duration of the login across all users to that group, and thus points to bottlenecks in the user logon process to that group.

The User Logon Performance test on the other hand, takes the user-perspective to logon monitoring. In other words, this test tracks each user who logs into a desktop or accesses an application via the XenDesktop broker, reports in real-time the logon experience of that user, and pinpoints where exactly that user’s logon slowed down. When a user complaints of delays in accessing his/her virtual desktop, this test will lead administrators straight to what is causing the delay. Detailed diagnostics provided by this test reveal which machines/applications a user is accessing and which delivery group these machines/applications belong to. 

Target of the test : A Citrix Director 7.x

Agent deploying the test : An internal agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for each user to the XenDesktop broker in the site

Configurable parameters for the test
  1. Test period - How often should the test be executed
  2. Host - The host for which the test is to be configured.
  3. port– The port number at which the specified HOST listens to. By default, this is 80.
  4. controller ip address – Specify the IP address of the delivery controller (i.e., broker) in the site with which the eG agent should communicate for collecting performance metrics.
  5. controller port – Specify the port number of the delivery controller (i.e., broker) in the site with which the eG agent should communicate for collecting performance metrics.
  6. USERNAMEand 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.
  7. CONFIRM PASSWORD – Confirm the PASSWORD by retyping it here.
  8. fully qualified DOMAIN name – Here, specify the fully-qualified name of the domain to which the specified controller belongs.
  9. ssl – Indicate whether/not the controller used for metrics collection  is SSL-enabled. By default, this flag is set to Yes.
  10. Report by Client Name - By default, this flag is set to No. If set to Yes, this test will report metrics for each client machine from which users logged into the desktop - i.e., the host name of the client machines will be the descriptors of this test. In this case therefore, the User name column of the detailed diagnosis of this test will indicate the names of the users who logged into the desktop.
  11. 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.

  12. 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

Average logon duration:

Indicates the average time taken for this user to login to desktops/access applications.

Seconds

If this measure reports a high value consistently, it could indicate a slowdown in the logon process.

Compare the value of this measure across users to know which user’s logon is taking the longest.

Logons:

Indicates the number of times this user has logged in since the last measurement period

Number

 

Brokering duration:

Indicates time taken by this user to complete the process of brokering sessions.

Seconds

A high value indicates that brokering is taking a long time.

If the Average logon duration is very high, you may want to compare the value of this measure with that of the Time taken for starting VM, HDX connection duration, Authentication time, GPOs duration, Logon scripts duration, Profile load time, and Interactive session duration measures to know where exactly the user logon process slowed down – is it during authentication? Is it during brokering? Is it when establishing the HDX connection? Is it when applying GPOs? Is it during logon scripts execution? Is it while loading user profiles? Is it when starting the VM? Or is it when handing over control to the user?

Time taken for starting VM:

Indicates the time taken by the broker to start the machines accessed by this user.

Seconds

A high value indicates that machines are taking too long to startup.

If the Average logon duration is very high, you may want to compare the value of this measure with that of the Brokering duration, HDX connection duration, Authentication time, GPOs duration, Logon scripts duration, Profile load time, and Interactive session duration measures to know where exactly the user logon process slowed down – is it during authentication? Is it during brokering? Is it when establishing the HDX connection? Is it when applying GPOs? Is it during logon scripts execution? Is it while loading user profiles? Is it when starting the VM? Or is it when handing over control to the user?

HDX connection duration:

Indicates the time taken by the broker to complete the steps required for setting up the HDX connection from this user to the machines accessed by the user.

Seconds

A high value indicates that HDX connections are taking time to be established.

If the Average logon duration is very high, you may want to compare the value of this measure with that of the Brokering duration, Time taken for starting VM, Authentication time, GPOs duration, Logon scripts duration, Profile load time, and Interactive session duration measures to know where exactly the user logon process slowed down – is it during authentication? Is it during brokering? Is it when establishing the HDX connection? Is it when applying GPOs? Is it during logon scripts execution? Is it while loading user profiles? Is it when starting the VM? Or is it when handing over control to the user?

Authentication time:

Indicates the time taken by the broker to authenticate this user’s sessions.

Seconds

A high value indicates authentication delays.

If the Average logon duration is very high, you may want to compare the value of this measure with that of the Brokering duration, Time taken for starting VM, HDX connection duration, GPOs duration, Logon scripts duration, Profile load time, and Interactive session duration measures to know where exactly the user logon process slowed down – is it during authentication? Is it during brokering? Is it when establishing the HDX connection? Is it when applying GPOs? Is it during logon scripts execution? Is it while loading user profiles? Is it when starting the VM? Or is it when handing over control to the user?

GPOs duration:

Indicates the time taken to apply group policy settings on the machines accessed by this user.

Seconds

A high value indicates that GPO application is taking time.

If the Average logon duration is very high, you may want to compare the value of this measure with that of the Brokering duration, Time taken for starting VM, HDX connection duration, Authentication time, Logon scripts duration, Profile load time, and Interactive session duration measures to know where exactly the user logon process slowed down – is it during authentication? Is it during brokering? Is it when establishing the HDX connection? Is it when applying GPOs? Is it during logon scripts execution? Is it while loading user profiles? Is it when starting the VM? Or is it when handing over control to the user?

Logon scripts duration:

Indicates the time taken for logon scripts to be executed on the machines accessed by this user.

Seconds

A high value indicates that logon script execution is taking time.

If the Average logon duration is very high, you may want to compare the value of this measure with that of the Brokering duration, Time taken for starting VM, HDX connection duration, Authentication time, GPOs duration, Profile load time, and Interactive session duration measures to know where exactly the user logon process slowed down – is it during authentication? Is it during brokering? Is it when establishing the HDX connection? Is it when applying GPOs? Is it during logon scripts execution? Is it while loading user profiles? Is it when starting the VM? Or is it when handing over control to the user?

Profile load time:

Indicates the time taken by the logon process to load the profile of this user.

Seconds

A high value indicates that profiles are taking too long to load.

If the Average logon duration is very high, you may want to compare the value of this measure with that of the Brokering duration, Time taken for starting VM, HDX connection duration, Authentication time, GPOs duration, Logon scripts duration, and Interactive session duration measures to know where exactly the user logon process slowed down - is it during authentication? Is it during brokering? Is it when establishing the HDX connection? Is it when applying GPOs? Is it during logon scripts execution? Is it while loading user profiles? Is it when starting the VM? Or is it when handing over control to the user?

Interactive session duration:

Indicates the time taken by the logon process to handoff keyboard and mouse control to this user.

Secs

A high value indicates delays in handing off keyboard and mouse control to users.

If the Average logon duration is very high, you may want to compare the value of this measure with that of the Brokering duration, Time taken for starting VM, HDX connection duration, Authentication time, GPOs duration, Logon scripts duration, and Profile load time measures to know where exactly the user logon process slowed down – is it during authentication? Is it during brokering? Is it when establishing the HDX connection? Is it when applying GPOs? Is it during logon scripts execution? Is it while loading user profiles? Is it when starting the VM? Or is it when handing over control to the user?

Other processing duration

Indicates the time taken by this user to perform processes other than logon related processes.

Seconds