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WINDOWS 2008 R2 REMOTE DESKTOP AND XENAPP 6 TUNING TIPS UPDATE (Repost)

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Following the great article Terminal Server & XenApp Tuning Tips published on this website by Pierre Marmignon, this article defined all tips that I’ve found, test and validate for tuning Windows 2008 R2 and XenApp6.

Source: CitrixTools.Net

Please note that :
–       These informations are provided “as is” and that using these tips is at your own risks.
–       All this tuning tips have been tested and validated only on VMs running on Vmware Vsphere 4, let us know your feeback related to any other platform (either Hypervisor or physical server).
Windows 2008 R2 OS Tuning Tips for Remote Desktop Service and XenApp 6
 
Registry Hive
Value
Type
Data
Purpose(s)
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesTcpipparameters
 KeepAliveTime
 REG_DWORD
180000
Determines how often TCP sends keep-alive transmissions
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesTcpipparameters
 KeepAliveInterval
 REG_DWORD
 100
Determines how often TCP repeats keep-alive transmissions when no response is received
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesTcpipparameters
 TcpMaxDataRetransmissions
 REG_DWORD
 10
Determines how many times TCP retransmits an unacknowledged data segment on an existing connection
HKLMSystemCurrentControlSetServicesLanmanServerParameters
 MaxWorkItems
 REG_DWORD
 512
Server Service Optimization
HKLMSystemCurrentControlSetServicesLanmanServerParameters
 MaxMpxCt
 REG_DWORD
 2048
Server Service Optimization
HKLMSystemCurrentControlSetServicesLanmanServerParameters
 MaxFreeConnections
 REG_DWORD
 100
Server Service Optimization
HKLMSystemCurrentControlSetServicesLanmanServerParameters
 MinFreeConnections
 REG_DWORD
 32
Server Service Optimization
HKLMSystemCurrentControlSetServicesLanmanWorkstationParameters
 UtilizeNTCaching
 REG_DWORD
 0
Disable Caching
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesMRXSmbParameters
 OplocksDisabled
 REG_DWORD
 1
Disables Opportunistic Locking
HLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesLanmanworkstationParameters
 UseOpportunisticLocking
 REG_DWORD
 0
Disables Opportunistic Locking
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesLanmanserverParameters
 EnableOplocks
 REG_DWORD
 0
Disables Opportunistic Locking
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesTcpipparameters
EnableRSS
 REG_DWORD
0
Disable Receive Side Scaling
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesTcpipparameters
EnableTCPA
 REG_DWORD
0
Disable TCP-acceleration
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesTcpipparameters
EnableTCPChimney
 REG_DWORD
0
Disable TCP Chimney Offload
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesLanmanWorkstationParameters
DisableBandwidthThrottling
 REG_DWORD
1
The default is 0. By default, the SMB redirector throttles throughput across high-latency network connections in some cases to avoid network-related timeouts. Setting this registry value to 1 disables this throttling, enabling higher file transfer throughput over high-latency network connections
HKLMSystemCurrentControlSetServicesLanmanWorkstationParameters
 MaxThreads
 REG_DWORD
 17
Maximum Concurrent Threads
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesLanmanWorkstationParameters
DisableLargeMtu
 REG_DWORD
0
The default is 1. By default, the SMB redirector does not transfer payloads larger than approximately 64 KB per request. Setting this registry value to 0 enables larger request sizes, which can improve file transfer speed.
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesTcpipparameters
 EnableWsd
 REG_DWORD
 0
The default is 1 for client operating systems. By default, Windows Scaling Diagnostics (WSD) automatically disables TCP receive window auto tuning when heuristics suspect a network switch component might not support the required TCP option (scaling). Setting this registry setting to 0 disables this heuristic and allows auto tuning to stay enabled. When no faulty networking devices are involved, applying the setting can enable more reliable high-throughput networking via TCP receive window auto tuning. For more information about disabling this setting
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesLanmanWorkstationParameters
FileInfoCacheEntriesMax
 REG_DWORD
32768
The default is 64 with a valid range of 1 to 65536. This value is used to determine the amount of file metadata that can be cached by the client. Increasing the value can reduce network traffic and increase performance when a large number of files are accessed
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesLanmanWorkstationParameters
DirectoryCacheEntriesMax
 REG_DWORD
4096
The default is 16 with a valid range of 1 to 4096. This value is used to determine the amount of directory information that can be cached by the client. Increasing the value can reduce network traffic and increase performance when large directories are accessed
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesLanmanWorkstationParameters
FileNotFoundCacheEntriesMax
 REG_DWORD
32768
The default is 128 with a valid range of 1 to 65536. This value is used to determine the amount of file name information that can be cached by the client. Increasing the value can reduce network traffic and increase performance when a large number of file names are accessed.
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesLanmanWorkstationParameters
MaxCmds
 REG_DWORD
32768
The default is 15. This parameter limits the number of outstanding requests on a session. Increasing the value can use more memory, but can improve performance by enabling deeper request pipelining. Increasing the value in conjunction with MaxMpxCt can also eliminate errors encountered due to large numbers of outstanding long-term file requests, such as FindFirstChangeNotification calls. This parameter does not affect connections with SMB 2 servers.
Windows 2008 CPU Tuning (for VM only)
 
Because I’m working with VMware VSphere Server 4, I Supposed that the Hypervisor manage my processor and I don’t want to have any CPU management in the VM, I force all my VM to the “min  Power Scheme“  (High Performance) with the following command “owercfg -setactive scheme_min“
And force my Processor Performance Boost Policy, Minimum and Maximum Processor Performance State and Processor Performance Core Parking Maximum and Minimum Cores to the maximum. (http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/sysperf/Perf_tun_srv-R2.mspx)
The following commands set Processor Performance Boost Policy to 100 percent on the current power plan:
Powercfg -setacvalueindex scheme_current sub_processor 45bcc044-d885-43e2-8605-ee0ec6e96b59 100
Powercfg -setactive scheme_current
The following commands set Processor Performance State parameters to 100 %
Powercfg -setacvalueindex scheme_current sub_processor 893dee8e-2bef-41e0-89c6-b55d0929964c 100
Powercfg -setactive scheme_current
Core parking is a new feature in Windows Server 2008 R2. The processor power management (PPM) engine and the scheduler work together to dynamically adjust the number of cores available to execute threads, to turn off core parking, set the Minimum Cores parameter to 100 percent by using the following commands:
Powercfg -setacvalueindex scheme_current sub_processor bc5038f7-23e0-4960-96da-33abaf5935ec 100
Powercfg -setactive scheme_current
Additional Windows Explorer Tuning
 
Registry Hive
Value
Type
Data
Purpose(s)
HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesExplorer
 UseDesktopIniCache
 REG_DWORD
 1
HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesExplorer
 NoRemoteRecursiveEvents
 REG_DWORD
 1
HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesExplorer
 NoRemoteChangeNotify
 REG_DWORD
 1
HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesExplorer
 StartRunNoHOMEPATH
 REG_DWORD
 1
HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesExplorer
 NoRecentDocsNetHood
 REG_DWORD
 1
HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesExplorer
 NoDetailsThumbnailOnNetwork
 REG_DWORD
 1
HKLMSystemCurrentControlSetServicesMRXSmbParameters
 InfoCacheLevel
 REG_DWORD
 16
HKCR*shellexPropertySheetHandlersCryptoSignMenu
 SuppressionPolicy
 REG_DWORD
 1048576
HKCR*shellexPropertySheetHandlers{3EA48300-8CF6-101B-84FB-666CCB9BCD32}
 SuppressionPolicy
 REG_DWORD
 1048576
HKCR*shellexPropertySheetHandlers{883373C3-BF89-11D1-BE35-080036B11A03}
 SuppressionPolicy
 REG_DWORD
 1048576
HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionexplorerSCAPI
 Flags
 REG_DWORD
 1051650
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSession Manager
 SafeDllSearchMode
 REG_DWORD
 1
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSession Manager
 SafeProcessSearchMode
 REG_DWORD
 1
Windows 2008 R2 – RDP Tuning  
Registry Hive
Value
Type
Data
Purpose(s)
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlTerminal ServerWinStationsRDP-TcpUserOverrideControl PanelDesktop
 AutoEndTasks
 REG_SZ
 1
Determines whether user processes end automatically when the user either logs off.
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlTerminal ServerWinStationsRDP-TcpUserOverrideControl PanelDesktop
 WaitToKillAppTimeout
 REG_SZ
 20000
Determines how long the system waits for user processes to end after the user attempts to log off
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlTerminal ServerWinStationsRDP-TcpUserOverrideControl PanelDesktop
 MenuShowDelay
 REG_SZ
 10
Changes the Start menu display interval
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlTerminal ServerWinStationsRDP-TcpUserOverrideControl PanelDesktop
 CursorBlinkRate
 REG_SZ
 -1
Specifies how much time elapses between each blink of the selection cursor
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlTerminal ServerWinStationsRDP-TcpUserOverrideControl PanelDesktop
 DisableCursorBlink
 REG_DWORD
 1
Enables / Disables Cursor Blink
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlTerminal ServerWinStationsRDP-TcpUserOverrideControl PanelDesktop
 DragFullWindows
 REG_SZ
 0
Specifies what appears on the screen while a user drags a window / Only the outline of the window moves
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlTerminal ServerWinStationsRDP-TcpUserOverrideControl PanelDesktop
 SmoothScroll
 REG_DWORD
 0
Scrolls using smooth scrolling
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlTerminal ServerWinStationsRDP-TcpUserOverrideControl PanelDesktop
 Wallpaper
 REG_SZ
 (none)
Sets Wallpaper to “None”
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlTerminal ServerWinStationsRDP-TcpUserOverrideControl PanelDesktopWindowsMetrics
 MinAnimate
 REG_SZ
 0
Disabled. Window does not animate while being resized
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlTerminal ServerWinStationsRDP-TcpUserOverrideControl PanelDesktop
 InteractiveDelay
 REG_DWORD
 40
Optimizes Explorer and Start Menu responses Times
XenApp 6.0 – ICA tuning
  
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlTerminal ServerWinStationsICA-TcpUserOverrideControl PanelDesktop
 AutoEndTasks
 REG_SZ
 1
 Determines whether user processes end automatically when the user either logs off.
Registry Hive
Value
Type
Data
Purpose(s)
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlTerminal ServerWinStationsICA-TcpUserOverrideControl PanelDesktop
 WaitToKillAppTimeout
 REG_SZ
 20000
Determines how long the system waits for user processes to end after the user attempts to log off
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlTerminal ServerWinStationsICA-TcpUserOverrideControl PanelDesktop
 MenuShowDelay
 REG_SZ
 10
Changes the Start menu display interval
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlTerminal ServerWinStationsICA-TcpUserOverrideControl PanelDesktop
 CursorBlinkRate
 REG_SZ
 -1
Specifies how much time elapses between each blink of the selection cursor
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlTerminal ServerWinStationsICA-TcpUserOverrideControl PanelDesktop
DisableCursorBlink
REG_DWORD
 1
Enables / Disables Cursor Blink
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlTerminal ServerWinStationsICA-TcpUserOverrideControl PanelDesktop
 DragFullWindows
 REG_SZ
 0
Specifies what appears on the screen while a user drags a window / Only the outline of the window moves
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlTerminal ServerWinStationsICA-TcpUserOverrideControl PanelDesktop
 SmoothScroll
 REG_DWORD
 0
Scrolls using smooth scrolling
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlTerminal ServerWinStationsICA-TcpUserOverrideControl PanelDesktop
 Wallpaper
 REG_SZ
 (none)
Sets Wallpaper to “None”
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlTerminal ServerWinStationsICA-TcpUserOverrideControl PanelDesktopWindowsMetrics
 MinAnimate
 REG_SZ
 0
Disabled. Window does not animate while being resized
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlTerminal ServerWinStationsICA-TcpUserOverrideControl PanelDesktop
 InteractiveDelay
 REG_DWORD
 40
Optimizes Explorer and Start Menu responses Times
Please note that using these tips is at your own risks.
All these tips have been test with XenApp6 server running on VMware Vsphere 4 and should be test on your own environment.
Sources :
Author : Julien Sybille
CCEA & CCA XenDesktop
14 comments
By: Jonathan Pitre (JakeLD)
10 December, 2010

Very nice article Julien!

According to Thomas Koetzing paper on “Optimizing Logon and Logoff 1.4” available at http://www.thomaskoetzing.de/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=135

the registry key HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlTerminal ServerWinStationsRDP-TcpUserOverride dosen’t work anymore with Windows 2003 and 2008/2008 R2 I assume.

Here what he had to say on page 22: “With Windows 2003 those global keys don’t work anymore and has to be set on a per user basis.”

I tested it my self with existing profiles and it didn’t work…but I just read this morning that the profile must be NEW. So who’s right, you or Thomas ? 🙂

Also I suggest the following registry keys:

HKLMSSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlProcessor
Key: “Capabilities” (dword)
Value: 0007e666
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2000977

HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesTCPIPParameters
Key: “DisableTaskOffload” (dword)
Value: “1”

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/904946
http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX117491

Regards,

Jonathan Pitre

By: Helmut Hauser (Houzer)
16 December, 2010

Other tuning options are:

1st) Turn off TCP Offloading (at the NIC AND the OS)

OS:
%SYSTEMROOT%SYSTEM32
etsh.exe int tcp set global chimney=disabled
%SYSTEMROOT%SYSTEM32
etsh.exe int tcp set global rss=disabled

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesTcpipParameters]
“EnableRSS”=dword:00000000
“EnableTCPChimney”=dword:00000000
“EnableTCPA”=dword:00000000
“DisableTaskOffload”=dword:00000001

2nd) If dealing with APP-V 4.6 64 Bit RDS Client on W2K8R2 this one could be for you [SCCM related]:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftSoftGrid4.5ClientConfiguration]
“RequireAuthorizationIfCached”=dword:00000000
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftSoftGrid4.5ClientNetwork]
“AllowDisconnectedOperation”=dword:00000001
“Online”=dword:00000000
“DOTimeoutMinutes”=dword:ffffff
“LimitDisconnectedOperation”=dword:00000000
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftSoftGrid4.5ClientPermissions]
“ToggleOfflineMode”=dword:00000000

3rd)

other optimizations:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesTcpipParameters]
“EnablePMTUBHDetect”=dword:00000001
“KeepAliveTime”=dword:00007530
“KeepAliveInterval”=dword:00001388
“TcpMaxDataRetransmissions”=dword:00000005
“EnableBcastArpReply”=dword:00000001
“DisableTaskOffload”=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesLanmanServerParameters]
“TreatHostAsStableStorage”=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlFileSystem]
“NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate”=dword:00000001
“DontVerifyRandomDrivers”=dword:00000001
“NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation”=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlLsaKerberosParameters]
“MaxTokenSize”=dword:0000FFFF

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesSystem]
“DelayedDesktopSwitchTimeout”=dword:00000005

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControl]
ServicesPipeTimeout”=dword:0001d4c0

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesBrowserParameters]
“IsDomainMaster”=”FALSE”
“MaintainServerList”=”No”

—

As always – do NOT use this in a production environment.
Test it in a lab.
Be very careful when touching the autotuning TCP/IP stack. This can backfire.
Talk with the networking gents.

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