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

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	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/840309/EN-US
HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesExplorer	NoRemoteRecursiveEvents	REG_DWORD	1	http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb%3Ben-us%3B330929&x=9&y=10
HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesExplorer	NoRemoteChangeNotify	REG_DWORD	1	http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb%3Ben-us%3B812669&x=14&y=12
HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesExplorer	StartRunNoHOMEPATH	REG_DWORD	1	http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb%3Ben-us%3B264061&x=18&y=9
HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesExplorer	NoRecentDocsNetHood	REG_DWORD	1	http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb%3Ben-us%3B264061&x=18&y=9
HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesExplorer	NoDetailsThumbnailOnNetwork	REG_DWORD	1	http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb%3Ben-us%3B830903&x=17&y=18
HKLMSystemCurrentControlSetServicesMRXSmbParameters	InfoCacheLevel	REG_DWORD	16	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/834350/EN-US
HKCR*shellexPropertySheetHandlersCryptoSignMenu	SuppressionPolicy	REG_DWORD	1048576	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/829700/EN-US
HKCR*shellexPropertySheetHandlers{3EA48300-8CF6-101B-84FB-666CCB9BCD32}	SuppressionPolicy	REG_DWORD	1048576	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/829700/EN-US
HKCR*shellexPropertySheetHandlers{883373C3-BF89-11D1-BE35-080036B11A03}	SuppressionPolicy	REG_DWORD	1048576	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/829700/EN-US
HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionexplorerSCAPI	Flags	REG_DWORD	1051650	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/829700/EN-US
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSession Manager	SafeDllSearchMode	REG_DWORD	1	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306850/EN-US
HKLMSYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSession Manager	SafeProcessSearchMode	REG_DWORD	1	http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb%3Ben-us%3B905890&x=13&y=9

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 :

http://www.citrixtools.net/en/Articles/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/36/Terminal-Server-XenApp-Tuning-Tips.aspx

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/sysperf/Perf_tun_srv-R2.mspx

http://www.ervik.as/index.php/thegidwimguide-mainmenu/2979-citrix-xenapp-6-tuning-group-policy-admx-for-windows-2008-r2

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.