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Profile Management and Citrix Virtual Desktops

September 28, 2020
Contributed by: 
B C

Important: We recommend using the Profile Management capabilities integrated into Citrix Virtual Desktops. For more information, see the Citrix Virtual Desktops documentation. The information in this topic applies to a different deployment - the use of Citrix Virtual Desktops with the Profile Management component that has been separately installed and configured.

Install and upgrade Profile Management in Citrix Virtual Desktops deployments

Use of this version of Profile Management with Citrix Virtual Desktops is subject to the Profile Management EULA. Subject to the terms in the EULA, you can also use Profile Management with Citrix Virtual Apps in a Citrix Virtual Desktops environment.

If you upgrade Profile Management in a Citrix Virtual Desktops deployment, consider the effect on the log file locations as described in Upgrade Profile Management.

For Citrix Virtual Desktops in Quick Deploy setups, see the recommendations in Decide on a configuration.

Configure Profile Management in Citrix Virtual Desktops deployments

If Profile Management has not been configured correctly on the images before they are rolled out, the Profile Management Service starts before Group Policy is applied. To avoid this, perform the configuration using the documented procedures before you put the images into a production environment.

Important: Including and excluding folders that are shared by multiple users (for example, folders containing data that can be shared by multiple virtual desktops) is not supported.

Configure Profile Management in Personal vDisk deployments

If you use the Personal vDisk feature of Citrix Virtual Desktops, Citrix user profiles are stored on virtual desktops’ personal vDisks by default, typically the P: drives. The profiles are not stored on users’ C: drives. However, this is where Profile Management expects to find the profiles. So you must modify the Registry on the master image while installing or upgrading the VDA. In addition, because you have freed up space on the Personal vDisk, it is also good practice to increase the default allocation of disk space for applications on the master image. For instructions on these modifications, see Managing Citrix Virtual Desktops documentation.

Do not delete the copy of a profile in the user store while a copy remains on the Personal vDisk. Doing so creates a Profile Management error, and causes a temporary profile to be used for logons to the virtual desktop. For more information, see Users Receive New or Temporary Profiles in Troubleshooting common issues.

Windows Apps - Microsoft Store

In Citrix Virtual Desktops environments, applications on the Microsoft Store (also known as UWP apps) are supported. To use Microsoft Store applications on a pooled machine (pooled-random, static, or RDS), open the Group Policy Management Editor and then configure the following settings at Policies > Administrative Templates > Classic Administrative Templates (ADM) > Citrix > Profile Management > File System > Synchronization:

  • Enable Folders to mirror and then add appdata\local\packages to the list of folders to mirror

  • Enable Files to synchronize and then add !ctx_localappdata!\Microsoft\Windows\UsrClass.dat* to the list of files to synchronize

Microsoft Store applications might not work if users access a dedicated desktop with a Personal vDisk (the recommended solution) when their profile was already created on another desktop.

Example Settings for Citrix Virtual Desktops

This topic lists Profile Management policy settings used in a typical Citrix Virtual Desktops deployment. Windows 7 virtual desktops are created with Citrix Provisioning Services and are shared by multiple users. In this example, the desktops, which are created from a pooled-random catalog and are deleted at logoff, are intended for use on static workstations (not mobile laptops) and personal vDisks are not used.

Where no policy is listed, no selection or entry was made in Group Policy, and the default setting applies.

Note the following:

  • Path to user store - You can incorporate Profile Management variables into the path to the user store. This example uses !CTX_OSNAME! and !CTX_OSBITNESS!, which expand to Win7 and x86 respectively when the path is interpreted. The AD attribute #sAMAccountName# is also used to specify user names.
  • Delete locally cached profiles on logoff - Disabling this policy is safe because the desktops do not include personal vDisks and get deleted when users log off. Preserving locally cached profiles is therefore unnecessary. (If the desktops were not discarded at logoff, enable this policy.)
  • Profile streaming - Enabling this setting improves logon times in this deployment.
  • Active write back - This policy is enabled because the pooled desktops in this deployment are only temporarily allocated to users. The users might therefore change their profile but might forget (or not bother) to close their desktop session. With this setting enabled, local file changes in the profile are mirrored in the user store before logoff.

Note: If you enable the Active write back policy, performing a significant number of file operations in a session - such as file creation, file copy, and file deletion – can cause high system I/O activity and result in temporary performance issues while Profile Management synchronizes the file changes to the user store.

  • Process logons of local administrators - Enabling this setting is recommended for Citrix Virtual Desktops deployments, in which most users are local administrators.
  • Processed groups - All domain users’ profiles are managed by Profile Management.
  • Exclusion list - directories (file system) and Exclusion list (registry) - These settings prevent the listed temporary or cached files, and the listed registry entries, from being processed. These files and entries are commonly stored in user profiles.
  • Directories to synchronize and Files to synchronize - Knowledge of where users’ application data is stored helped define these settings.

Important: Citrix Virtual Desktops deployments vary, so the Profile Management policy settings you decide on are probably different to those in this example. To plan your settings, follow the advice in Decide on a configuration.

Citrix/Profile Management

  • Enable Profile Management

    Enabled

  • Processed groups

    MyDomainName\Domain Users

  • Path to user store

    \\MyServer.MyDomain\MyUserStore\#sAMAccountName#\!CTX_OSNAME!_!CTX_OSBITNESS!

  • Active write back

    Enabled

  • Process logons of local administrators

    Enabled

Citrix/Profile Management/Profile handling

  • Delete locally cached profiles on logoff

    Disabled

Citrix/Profile Management/Advanced settings

  • Process Internet cookie files on logoff

    Enabled

Citrix/Profile Management/File system

  • Exclusion list - directories

    $Recycle.Bin

    AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files

    AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook

    AppData\Local\Temp

    AppData\LocalLow

    AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu

    AppData\Roaming\Sun\Java\Deployment\cache

    AppData\Roaming\Sun\Java\Deployment\log

    AppData\Roaming\Sun\Java\Deployment\tmp

Citrix/Profile Management/File system/Synchronization

  • Directories to synchronize

    AppData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Dazzle Apps

  • Folders to mirror

    AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Cookies

Citrix/Profile Management/Streamed user profiles

  • Profile streaming

    Enabled

Profile Management and Citrix Virtual Desktops
September 28, 2020
Contributed by: 
B C
September 28, 2020
Contributed by: 
B C

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