Execute the plan
Phase 1: Configure the new file servers
You set up file servers in NewDomain for managing cross-platform settings (\\FileServ3) and for storing profiles for 2k12_Farm (\\FileServ2).
In this case, we choose to set up separate file servers for the profiles and for the cross-platform settings. This way is not strictly necessary, but it is an easy way of making the cross-platform settings server available. The profile server might be designed differently, using DFS namespaces for example, and so take longer to implement.
In both cases, set up the server shares according to the security recommendations for roaming user profiles on shared folders. For more information, see https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/folder-redirection/deploy-roaming-user-profiles.
Phase 2: Upgrade the machines in 2k8_Farm to Profile Management 5.0
For instructions, see Upgrade Profile Management.
Phase 3: Choose which definition files to deploy
Some configuration files (called definition files) are supplied for Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, and Windows wallpaper.
Important: Do not update these files unless instructed to by Citrix personnel.
Choose the configuration files that are relevant to your deployment, and copy only these files to \\FileServ3\CrossPlatform\Definitions. In this example, copy just Office 2007.xml.
Phase 4: Configure the machines in 2k8_Farm for Profile Management 5.0
Once the upgrade is complete, make the following configuration changes to (partially) enable the cross-platform settings feature. At this stage, only \\FileServ3\CrossPlatform needs to be available.
| Policy | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Path to user store | \FileServ1\Profiles#sAMAccountName#\%ProfVer% | No change. This path is only used by OldDomain users, so there is no need to change it to support NewDomain users. |
| Enable cross-platform settings | Enabled | |
| Cross-platform settings user groups | Disabled | All user groups are processed. |
| Path to cross-platform definitions | \FileServ3\CrossPlatform\Definitions | This path is where the definition files are located. |
| Path to cross-platform settings store | \FileServ3\CrossPlatform\Store\%USERNAME%.%USERDOMAIN% | The cross-platform settings store is shared by users of both domains, so both %USERNAME% and %USERDOMAIN% must be specified in the path. |
| Source for creating cross-platform settings | Enabled | Ensures that cross-platform settings from OldDomain are used to initialize the cross-platform settings store, before giving users access to NewDomain resources. |
No changes are required to the machine logon script.
No changes are required to the folder redirection policy.
The OU 2k8_Farm can now be left to run. As users log on, Profile Management copies the settings identified in the definition file Office 2007.xml to the cross-platform settings store.
Phase 5: Prepare the machines in 2k12_Farm
Now that the file servers are set up in 2k8_Farm, it is time to build the Citrix virtual desktops site. Install Profile Management 5.0 when the Windows 7 virtual desktops are running. Here is a suitable configuration.
| Policy | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Path to user store | \FileServ2\Profiles\%USERNAME%.%USERDOMAIN%\%ProfVer% | As this file share is used by users from both domains, it is important also to include domain information. |
| Active write back | Disabled | |
| Enable cross-platform settings | Enabled | |
| Cross-platform settings user groups | Disabled | All user groups are processed. |
| Path to cross-platform definitions | \FileServ3\CrossPlatform\Definitions | This path is where the definition files are located. This setting must match the setting in 2k8_Farm. |
| Path to cross-platform settings store | \FileServ3\CrossPlatform\Store\%USERNAME%.%USERDOMAIN% | Users of both domains share the cross-platform settings store, so both %USERNAME% and %USERDOMAIN% must be specified in the path. This setting must match the setting in 2k8_Farm. |
| Source for creating cross-platform settings | Disabled | Prevents settings from NewDomain being used for the initial setup of the profile data in the cross-platform settings store. It ensures that settings from OldDomain take precedence. |
A machine logon script, which sets the system environment variable %ProfVer%, runs on all machines in the OU.
| Machine Type | %ProfVer% | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| XenApp server on Windows 2012 | Win2012x64 | It is required when your planned 64-bit servers become available. See Other considerations for more information. |
| Windows 7 desktops | Win7 | If both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7 are deployed, it is recommended that they have separate profiles. So %ProfVer% must be configured differently on each platform. |
So the OldDomain user john.smith has a profile at \\FileServ2\Profiles\ john.smith.OldDomain\Win7 for the Windows 7 desktop and at \\FileServ2\Profiles\ john.smith.OldDomain\Win2012x64 for the Citrix virtual apps servers.
And a NewDomain user william.brown has a profile at \\FileServ2\Profiles\ william.brown .NewDomain\Win7 for the Windows 7 desktop and at \\FileServ2\Profiles\william.brown.NewDomain\Win2012x64 for the XenApp servers.
Again, you set up folder redirection using Group Policy. Because the domain is based on Windows Server 2012, set folder redirection from <Group Policy Object Name> > User Configuration > Policies > Windows Settings > Folder Redirection.
| Policy | Value |
|---|---|
| Favorites | \FileServ2\Redirected\%USERNAME%.%USERDOMAIN%\Favorites |
| My Documents | \FileServ2\Redirected\%USERNAME%.%USERDOMAIN%\Documents |
%USERDOMAIN% has been added to the folder redirection path. This setup is not necessary because this policy only applies to NewDomain users. But it might be useful if in the future, you decide to migrate OldDomain users to the same server. For now, OldDomain users continue to use the Folder Redirection policy from OldDomain which redirects their folders to \\FileServ1.
Phase 6: Live testing
You perform testing in two stages:
- You test that the profile data for users from NewDomain operates correctly. These users have no data set up in the cross-platform settings store. As the policy Source for creating cross-platform settings is set to disabled, their profile changes do not propagate to OldDomain.
- You test with a few users from OldDomain. When they first log on, the cross-platform settings data is copied to their profile. For later logons, changes from either domain are copied to the other. If a user from OldDomain logs on to NewDomain and no profile data is present (because the user has not used their profile in OldDomain since OldDomain was upgraded to Profile Management 5.0), the cross-platform settings store is not updated. With the configuration described in this topic, a user must log on to OldDomain before their settings roam between the domains. This way ensures that user settings (possibly created over many years) are not overwritten by default settings from NewDomain.