ipsec service fails to start and no network

apparently a known issue.  had no network after some windows updates on a windows 2003 VM

in the eventvwr:

The IPSec driver has entered Block mode. IPSec will discard all inbound and outbound TCP/IP network traffic that is not permitted by boot-time IPSec Policy exemptions.

The IPSEC Services service terminated with the following error:
The system cannot find the file specified.

• check if there are any entries in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\IPSec\Policy\Local
• if so, delete that subkey
• then run regsvr32 polstore.dll
• restart the ipsec service

Citrix Provisioning Server Links

Some must read links about Citrix Provisioning Server before you start playing with it.

 

• Provisioning Services 6.0 release notes : http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX129992
• Provisioning Services 6.0 Installation and configuration guide : http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX129994
• Provisioning Services 6.0 Virtual Disk Image in Standard Mode Crashes on Boot with the Error 0x4e PFN_LIST_CORRUPT : http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX131112
• Upgrade PVS path : http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/provisioning-60/pvs-upgrade-wrapper-nashoba.html
• Provisioning services 5.6 Best practices : http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX127549
• Best practices for configuring provisioning services on the network : http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX117374
• error : PXE-E55 Proxy DHCP Service did not reply to request on port 4011 when PXE is running on another computer and DHCP option 60 is set : http://support.microsoft.com/kb/259670
• how to image a target device : http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX125740
• provisioning services & esx interoperability : http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX119739
• !!! BSOD on provisioning services vs VMXNET3 http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX128160
• Blog on PVS vs AD : http://blogs.citrix.com/2008/08/26/citrix-provisioning-server-and-active-directory-machine-account-password-synchronization/ & http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc785826(WS.10).aspx
• Provisioning Services for XenApp best practices : http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX120464
• Registry settings to improve failover times for provisioning Services http://support.citrix.com/article/ctx119223
• Protection from antivirus : http://virtualfeller.com/2010/06/17/protection-from-anti-virus/
• KMS Configuration using provisioning services for Windows and Office 2010 http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX128276
• Advanced Memory and storage considerations for Provisioning Services http://support.citrix.com/article/ctx125126
• Provisioning Services & CIFS stores
  http://blogs.citrix.com/2010/11/05/provisioning-services-and-cifs-stores-tuning-for-performance/
• Citrix Provisioning Services & how to enable logging :
  http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX128285
• Citrix PVS & SEP :
  http://www.symantec.com/business/support/index?page=content&id=TECH123419
• Citrix PVS : make TFTP HA
  http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX116337

citrix session doesn’t close after the user closes the application.

Sometimes a seamless user session doesn’t get closed properly after the seamless applications got closed.

Investigate which executables are keeping the session open, and add the executable to the following registry key.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Citrix\wfshell\TWI
Value Name: LogoffCheckSysModules
Type: REG_SZ
String: executabletoclose.exe

xenapp 6 issues and tips

black screen during logon (= no logon feedback to user)

this one is annoying.  While the user is logging on to the desktop, the ICA client only displays a Black Window, untill the user is logged on.
Citrix forum thread here :
best workaround until citrix delivers a server side fix : disable citrix enhanced logon feedback. Citrix KB here , regkey is HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Citrix\Logon\DisableStatus (64 bit os)

server hanging during shutdown

known, fixed issue.  Servers hang during a shutdown, which is risky with sheduled reboots at night.
more info, citrix kb & citrix forum

Progressive Compression causes flickering in a published internet explorer

from the citrix forums :

1. Obtain an experimental private fix from Citrix Technical Support that will disable Off Screen Surfaces from an ICA level. This can be obtained by contacting Citrix Technical Support (if you have a support agreement) and referencing Citrix Problem Report #236384. At this time, we have a fix for XenDesktop 4.0 available and other products would require development of the fix as required.

Or

2. Disable the Off Screen Surfaces feature from the client side by changing the EnableOSS registry entry located under:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Citrix\ICA Client\Engine\Lockdown Profiles\All Regions\Lockdown\Virtual Channels\Thinwire Graphics\

citrix list of recommended hotfixes :

citrix came up with a list of recommended hotfixes for XenApp 6 & Windows 2008R2 (SP1)  here : http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX129229

qfarm /load gives 20000 and no license server found

check http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX125363 & request limited release hotfix if applicable.

Client Drives Cannot be Accessed in XenApp 6.0 Running on VMWare ESX

issue between vmware tools & citrix client drive mapping.  only happens when a full vmware tools install (including vmware shared folders) has happened.
more info, here at citrix KB

hide and disable windows libraries

not exactly an issue, currently the only way i’ve found to hide & disable windows libraries is :

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}]

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}]

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}]

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FolderDescriptions\{2112AB0A-C86A-4ffe-A368-0DE96E47012E}]

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FolderDescriptions\{491E922F-5643-4af4-A7EB-4E7A138D8174}]

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FolderDescriptions\{7b0db17d-9cd2-4a93-9733-46cc89022e7c}]

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FolderDescriptions\{A302545D-DEFF-464b-ABE8-61C8648D939B}]

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FolderDescriptions\{A990AE9F-A03B-4e80-94BC-9912D7504104}]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel]
“{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}”=-

get rid of power shell & server manager icons for all users

only found an old skool solution for this.  Remove user access to the shortcuts before the profiles get created.  Done via GPO.  More here @ technet

default printer & devices reveals too much information

create a folder called printers.{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D} on a desires place in the start menu.

or publish / creaste shortcut with as command : C:\Windows\explorer.exe” ::{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}

or publish / create shortcut with as command : RUNDLL32 SHELL32.DLL,SHHelpShortcuts_RunDLL PrintersFolder

install telnet client & dsa.msc

Like to have these two on all my servers for troubleshooting :

PS C:\Windows\system32> Import-Module ServerManager
PS C:\Windows\system32> Add-WindowsFeature RSAT-ADDS-Tools
PS C:\Windows\system32> Add-WindowsFeature Telnet-Client

novell vs ad vs wireless nic vs slow logon time

If you would have a mixed Novell / AD combo, you might experience slow logon times on your laptop (2-3 minutes delay or more after pressing CTRL ALT DEL).  Just check if the windows wireless zero configuration service is disabled.  If you have, enable it.  Even if you’re not using the wireless nic.  Other option : disable the wireless nic.

more info can be found here @ novell
or at this forum post, or this one

howto configure proxy info in Virtual Center Update Manager 2.5

1) user proxy auhtentication can be set via the command line util VUM-proxyauthcfg,exe

2) proxy settings can be set in vci-integrity.xml

both can be found in the update manager install dir

provisioning services vs w2k8r2 system reserved partition

2 nice posts on http://www.vmwareinfo.com about provisioning Windows 2008 / Windows 7 with Citrix Provisioning services.

one post explains howto create a Windows 2008R2 server without a 100MB system reserved partition

and one post that explains how to get rid of that 100MB partition if it’s already there

xenclient tips and tricks

this applies to Xenclient RC2.

fire up console : ctrl + Shift + t
xenclient performance data : xentop
change / check vhd : vhd-util
control VM: xec

convert existing os, server, etc : just do xenconvert of an existing machine to a vhd.  create new VM, replace .vhd in /storage/disks , fire up vm and install xentools.

Citrix created an blog post about this : how to P2V your existing OS.

mount iso to vm. => copy (scp) to /storage/iso , hit ctrl + q to refresh xenclient, and you ‘ll be able to mount the .iso in the virtual drive that normally mounts the xentools.

• update : found that filename should be lower case only

sleep portable (stable on dell E6510) : ctrl + 0 to xenclient, put power / sleep ,  ignore message, ctrl + (nr of vm) back to vm, sleep vm, and the portable sleeps.  (other ways are never stable).

• update R 1.0 => hitting sleep just works now.

dsa.msc : Windows can not find “dsa.msc” in Windows 2008

Old habits die hard.  Used to be able to launch dsa.msc from any (terminal) server you’re currently logged on to ?

You’ll need to install the W2K8 feature AD Snap ins and command line tools.

with powershell :

PS C:\Windows\system32> Import-Module ServerManager
PS C:\Windows\system32> Add-WindowsFeature RSAT-ADDS-Tools

howto force windows update client to check for updates now

• stop automatic update service (wuaserv)
• delete LastWaitTimeout / DetectionStartTime & NextDetectionTime reg keys
• start automatic update service
• run wuaclt /detectnow

script available at msmvps.com blogs

Citrix Quick Launch

The citrix online plugin v11 was the last version to include the Citrix Program Neighbourhood, forcing citrix admins to migrate to configure a program neighbourhood agent site, or a web interface.   While this was a good move, this might make simple troubleshooting a bit harder.

Therefore citrix created the Citrix Quick launch.  Citrix Quick Launch can connect to a server over ICA, or to a published application.  You can even create a .ICA file with it.  download here

Edit : Citrix has updated Citrix Quick launch to version 2.1 .  Please note that you do need to have the citrix online plugin installed AND if you’re using Windows 7, you might need to copy and register TabCtl32.ocx from a Windows XP/2003 box.

software restriction policies on a SBC environment

As a best practice, you should always consider Software restriction policies to harden our SBC environment (pre Windows 2008 R2), with hash rules.

Microsoft Technet article can be found here

XenDesktop on hyper-v articles and info

• very nice design guide from Citrix: XenDesktop with Microsoft Hyper-V Design Guide
• XenDesktop with Microsoft Technologies blog by Paul Wilson
• including Seven things I learned testing Hyper-V with XenDekstop
• and three steps for a PXE free XenDekstop on Hyper-V
• and a Microsoft Virtual Lab (free!)

exchange 2010 calender sync issue with HTC Desire

=> workaround can be fond here :

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=670830

howto hardreset (format) a HTC Desire

Warning : the following will erase everything on your phone, your settings, your data, etc!

The most convenient way to do a factory reset is via the phone settings.

1. From the Home screen, press MENU and then tap Settings.
2. Scroll down the screen and then tap Privacy > Factory data reset.
3. On the Factory data reset screen, tap Reset phone, and then tap Erase everything.

Performing a factory reset using phone buttons

If you cannot turn on your phone or access the phone settings, you can still perform a factory reset by using the buttons on the phone.

1. With the phone turned off, press and hold the VOLUME DOWN button, and then briefly press the POWER button.
2. Wait for the screen with the three Android images to appear, and then release the VOLUME DOWN button..
3. Press VOLUME DOWN to select CLEAR STORAGE, and then press POWER.
4. Press VOLUME UP to start the factory reset.

more help can always be asked on the XDA desire forums

HOWTO hardreset (format) Touch Pro 2 / Rhodium / Tilt 2

warning : the following will ERASE all data on your phone, you will lose all your settings!  The device will be in the state like you unpacked it from the box.  Use it as a last option only. (or after flashing a new rom).

1. With the device turned off, press and hold the TALK/SEND, END and POWER buttons until you see this message on the screen:
2. “This operation will delete all your personal data, and reset all settings to manufacturer default. Press VolUp to restore manufacturer default, or press other keys to cancel.”
3. Release the TALK/SEND, END and POWER buttons.
4. Press the VOLUME UP button to perform the hard reset, or press any other button to cancel the reset.

After ROM flashing I like to HardReset  the phone, just to make sure everything is nice and clean. So you end up at the UPDATE SUCCESSFUL! screen, and now want to ?HardReset  your Rhodium. You can’t turn it off and on again, because it is boot loader. The solution is easy, and basically the same as above:

1. With two fingers, press down TALK/SEND and END/HANG UP
2. With your other hand hold down POWER
3. Ask someone/use your mouth to press the Reset hole
4. Hold on to all 3 buttons until you get to the HR screen
5. Press Volume Up to HR your Rhodium.

If you have a Telus or Verizon TP2 (Sprint not tested but likely the same), the combination is different.

1. Power off the phone using the ‘end’ key.
2. Hold ‘volume down’ and ‘send’, the press ‘end’ till you see blue text. Follow hard reset prompts.

more info can be found on the xda wiki or you can ask for help in the xda rhodium forums

Howto Citrix License Server 11.6.1 on Windows 2008 R2

update => this information is completely outdated!

Required roles :

• Web Server (IIS) role
• application development => ASP.NET
• Security => windows authentication
• IIS 6 management compatibility

JAVA : install 32 bit version (latest version update 18 works)

run : msiexec /i CTX_Licensing.msi INSTALLDIR=”C:\Program Files (x86)\Citrix\”

Use the latest 11.6.1 build 9020!!!

There is no Citrix SSL server configured on the specified address

common causes for “There is no Citrix SSL server configured on the specified address.”.

If you’re supporting a secure gateway / access gateway solution for external clients / home working, you’ll already know about this error.

These are some general troubleshooting steps.

This error is always the client that can not resolve / connect to the SSLPROXYHOST value in the launch.ica.

• have a look at launch.ica for the value SSLProxyHost.  Is it the FQDN of your Secure gateway / Access gateway?  if not => look at your WI settings.  On newer WI/clients you might have to disable the citrix browser plugin to be able to rightclick on the published app and save the launch.ica
• check your clients proxy settings.  He might have a proxy enabled (because he visited a customer), that is not there.  Or he might be at a place where a proxy is needed.
• Firewall restrictions on 443.  Even had a customer where there were VLANS with 443 enabled or disabled.
• Check the launch.ica again.  If the value proxytype=none => you might experience problems with proxies, pac & dat automatic configuration scripts.  Set the Web Interface to auto, use browser settings or automatically detect settings dependent on the WI version.
• Verify if your customer can resolve the FQDN of your CSG/AGW correctly.  check your customers hosts file.  Maybe the FQDN & ip was set hardcoded in the hosts file.  Maybe there is a fixed record in your DNS or the customers DNS.
• There is a known bug in citrix clients < 10.2, where the citrix ica client fails to process .PAC scripts.
• … finally check citrix forums and http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX115468

Required IIS role services in Windows 2008 for APP-V

make sure you install the following role services before installing APP-V 4.5 on Windows 2008

• IIS6 Management compatibility
• IIS management scripts and tools
• IIS 7 Windows authentication

For the first 2 you might end up with an error installing app-V and rolling back : “The Installation program was unable to create the required IIS virtual directory”  (error 25120) If you don’t add Windows authentication, it’s possible that you can’t login to App-V (Error 0000C801)

install SQL2008 failover cluster on Windows 2008 R2 might fail

with error message : There was an error setting private property ‘RequireKerberos’ to value ‘1’ for resource ‘SQL Network Name ‘.  Error: Value does not fall within the expected range.

=> solution, slipstream SP1 into the sql 2008 installer.