[THIN] KB: CTX101709 - How to Troubleshoot Application Integration Issues
- From: "Jim Kenzig http://thin.net" <jimkenz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: thin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 28 Sep 2004 11:06:29 -0400
CTX101709 - How to Troubleshoot Application Integration Issues
This document was published at:
http://support.citrix.com/kb/entry.jspa?externalID=CTX101709
Document ID: CTX101709, Created on: Mar 31, 2003, Updated: Nov 10, 2003
Products: Citrix MetaFrame XP 1.0 for Microsoft Windows 2000, Citrix
MetaFrame XP 1.0 for Microsoft NT 4.0 Server Terminal Server Edition, Citrix
MetaFrame 1.8 for Microsoft Windows 2000, Citrix MetaFrame 1.8 for Microsoft
NT 4.0 Server Terminal Server Edition
This document provides a series of questions that need to be answered when
an application fails to function properly within a Terminal Services
environment. These questions are in no particular order. Not every question
will apply to every application integration problem.
Does the application run when a user is logged on to the server console?
Test with user-class and administrative accounts at the server console. If
the application fails for both users, it is quite possible that the
application will not run on the respective operating system. If the
application will be running on MetaFrame 1.8/XP, the application must be
able to work properly on a Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server or Windows 2000
Server running Terminal Services. If the application works at the console
for administrative users and fails for user-class users, it is most likely a
rights issue. See Citrix Knowledge base article How to Resolve Application
Errors Caused by Insufficient Rights . Other useful utilities, REGMON and
FILEMON, for troubleshooting application issues are available from
www.sysinternals.com.
Does the application run when a user is logged on to an RDP desktop session?
Does the application write information to the C drive?
Performance issues, over the WAN, may occur if the application attempts to
query and/or write to the client?s C drive on a routine basis. Other issue
may arise if a decision has been made to enable/disable client drive
mapping.
Does the application run in a server or published desktop session but fail
as a published application? If yes:
1. Does the application work if run as an initial program with ICA and RDP?
You can configure this by opening Citrix Connection configuration,
double-clicking the protocol listener, selecting the Advanced tab, and
configuring the initial application settings. From the client device,
connect to a server desktop; only the application will attempt to run. The
explorer shell, explorer.exe, is absent in an initial program/published
application session. The application may execute code that requires the
presence of the explorer shell.
2. Can the application be executed from the command line or through a batch
file?
Some applications may function properly when run from the Start menu, a
shortcut, or a GUI interface such as Windows Explorer and fail if executed
from a command line inside the directory where the actual application
executable resides. Issues of this type are often referred to the maker of
the application.
3. Can the application be run in a fixed window size or seamless window?
Some applications may function properly in a fixed window size and fail in a
seamless window. Issues of this nature need to be investigated by Citrix
Technical Support and may require a sample application or the application
itself to determine why the particular application is failing with the
Citrix seamless technology. Possible resolutions to seamless issues are in
separate articles within the Citrix knowledgebase.
Did the application run prior to the installation of a service pack or
feature release?
If removing the service pack or feature release resolves the issue, new or
enhanced Citrix technology may be causing the application to fail. Issues of
this nature need to be investigated by Citrix Technical Support and may
require a sample application or the application itself to determine why the
particular application is failing with the Citrix technology. See Citrix
Knowledge base articles Troubleshooting Client Time Zone Issues In MetaFrame
XP and Applications may Fail after MetaFrame XP Feature Release 2,
ServerFTA.exe, is Enabled , Internet Explorer Compatibility Error Messages
when Installing Applications on MetaFrame XP Feature Release 3 and Error:
WinSock driver not ready 10091 loading WinSock driver OR Error number 42-1
unable to initialize window socket.
How was this application installed? Does the application run for anyone
other than the user who installed the application?
Citrix needs to know if the application was installed for one specific user
or for all users. If the application fails for everyone except the user who
installed the application, try installing the application on a per-user
basis. Test this for one user. For MetaFrame 1.8/XP, use Add/Remove Programs
under Control Panel. For Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server, you will be
prompted to select global or single user. For Windows 2000 with Terminal
Services enabled, you will not see this prompt. Instead, invoking Add/Remove
Programs in Windows 2000 automatically executes a system global
installation. For more information, see the Windows 2000 Help topic
?Starting the installation.? Other useful utilities, REGMON and FILEMON, for
troubleshooting application issues are available from www.sysinternals.com.
Does the application run if the server is in Change User/Install mode for
all users?
Log on as the problem user at the console and/or connect to a server desktop
as the failing user. At a command prompt, type Change User /Install and then
run the application executable. If the application runs, the issue could be
one of two things:
? Home directories are not configured
? The application was not installed globally
See ?How was this application installed?? above for more information.
Where do the user home directories reside?
All users require a defined home directory to properly run applications in a
Terminal Services environment. This directory can reside on the Terminal
Server, Windows NT servers, or Novell servers. You can verify if a home
directory is present by starting a command prompt. The directory should be
the home directory. If this shows anything else or the user name is DEFAULT,
check to see that the user has a properly defined home directory. If using
Terminal Server, check for a possible conflict in home directories between
the Terminal Server home directory and home directory paths. If you are
logged on to Terminal Server and a path is specified in the Terminal Server
home directory, this overrides settings listed in the home directory path.
For additional information see Q195950, Q230165, and Q216976.
Is this application multi-user compatible? Can the application recognize
user IDs or session IDs?
Both questions can assist in determining if the application will work on a
Terminal Server. The application must be able to work in a multiuser
environment, it must run over a virtual session, and it must be able to
recognize individual user IDs or session IDs.
For additional information see Q186498, Clientnames Should Always Be Unique
and Error: "Duplicate NetBIOS Name In Use" Launching Application .
Does the application have any application compatibility scripts? If so, were
the scripts run?
Many commonly used applications have been tested for compatibility with
Terminal Services. For maximum performance on a Terminal Server in
application server mode, some applications require minor changes after
installation. Scripts are available for these applications and must be run
after the application installation is complete. The scripts are in
%systemroot%\Application Compatibility Scripts\Install.
Note: Not all applications have application compatibility scripts. Because
of this, Microsoft provides several template scripts for installation and
logon of users. These templates are in a TEMPLATE subdirectory underneath
the INSTALL and LOGON directories.
For additional information see Q263458 and an article titled ?Developing
Application Compatibility Scripts with Windows NT Server 4.0? that is on the
MicroSoft TechNet CD.
Where does the application reside? If the application doesn?t reside on a
Terminal Server, can it be moved there to test it?
Find out where the application is installed. This becomes especially
important if the application is not stored directly on the MetaFrame server.
This could narrow down the issue by defining whether or not the application
runs while installed on the MetaFrame server. If the application resides
elsewhere, relocate it to the MetaFrame server and test. If it works on the
Terminal Server and NOT where it is normally stored, check for possible
network issues or named pipes issues.
Does the application reside on a network server and require the mapping of a
network drive?
Applications may function within a desktop session but fail as a published
application because of a timing issue. Typically, all profile and logon
script drive mappings are completed by the time the explorer shell,
Explorer.exe loads. Therefore, when the shortcut or executable is run, the
drive mapping is present. If a drive mapping is disconnected inside a
desktop session and the application executable is run, the same error
message as the error message that appears when running the application as a
published application will appear.
With WinFrame, Citrix has the ability to adjust this timing mechanism by
installing Hotfix SE17B115 (Item #25).
From the Hotfix SE17B115 readme:
Some published applications failed because the client drive mapping would
not complete before the application started. This fix adds the following
entry to the registry:
\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
VALUE: ClientMappingTimeOut = REG_DWORD: 0x5000
The value specifies how long (in milliseconds) Userinit.exe should wait
before it continues. If this value is not found by USERINIT.EXE, it will not
wait.
This hotfix includes the CDMTIMER utility that is used to update the value
of the ClientMappingTimeOut.
CDMTIMER USAGE:
CDMTIMER - Set Client Drive Mapping Wait Time.
[/Q] - Query current registry value for the length of time (in milliseconds)
that the system will wait for client drive mapping.
[/TIMER:milliseconds] - Set the length of time (in milliseconds) that the
system will wait for client drive mapping to finish. Valid range: 1-60000
milliseconds.
[/?] - Display this help message.
After installing this hotfix, CDMTIMER is run with the following value:
/TIMER:5000. This forces Userinit.exe to wait five seconds before launching
a published application.
However, MetaFrame 1.8/XP on both TSE 4.0 and Windows 2000 platforms do not
contain this timing mechanism. A possible workaround is to write a batch
file that includes pause statements or preferably the use of Sleep.exe from
the Windows NT Resource Kit along with a start command to run the
application executable.
C:\Documents and Settings\TechLead>sleep /?
sleep 1.0
Usage: sleep [#h#m]#[s]
Examples: sleep 1h15m
sleep 30
Batch File Example:
sleep 10
start c:\windows\notepad.exe
Note: Calling ?sleep? in a batch file with the ?start? parameter will leave
a CMD window open. Ensure the resulting batch file works on the console of
the server.
Subsequently, publish the actual batch file name you just created. Other
tips such as mapping the drive through the profile instead of a logon script
and moving the drive mapping to the beginning of the logon script may help.
Intermittent issues of this nature can often be attributed to possible
network issues with respect to domain logon authentication. Troubleshooting
Various Client Drive Mapping Issues
Is this a DOS, 16-bit, or 32-bit application?
It is important to know the name of the application and the version of the
application. If the application in question is a home-grown (applications
written by a developer that are based on other applications or written in a
special application language) application, find out the following:
1. What application is this based on? What language was the application
written in? If the application was written using a developer?s kit (C++,
Visual Basic, and so on), what was it written with?
2. What is the version and language of the application?
3. Was the application was tested on a native build of Windows NT? If
tested, and found not to work, it will not work on a Terminal Server.
Additional information about application tuning is in the following tech
note: Comprehensive Application Tuning Document .
Are mandatory profiles or policies in use?
If the answer to this question is yes, the profile and/or policy MAY be
preventing the application from updating registry keys. Therefore, the
profile/policy MUST be updated to allow for the installation of this
application. If this is not done, the application may fail.
Does the application send prompt to the console and not the individual
sessions?
Q308403
Additional Resources
1. This section contains general product information on Microsoft® Windows
NT® Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition
http://microsoft.com/ntserver/ProductInfo/terminal/default.asp
2. Microsoft Windows NT Server, Terminal Server Edition, Version 4.0: ?An
Architectural Overview.?
http://microsoft.com/ntserver/techresources/WpGlobal.asp
3. ---- Graceful Logoff from a Published Application Keeps Sessions in
Active State .
When a non-seamless application is closed by clicking the X at the top right
of the window, the session is disconnected, not reset. The application
should have a file/exit option. The X at the top right of the window should
exit a seamless application and reset the session
4. ---- How to Open Specific Control Panel Icons(.cpl) and Application
Files, ( .doc, .xls, .msc, .mdb, .hlp) as Published Applications .
5. ----When Users Connect to a Published Application, they get the Entire
Desktop, not the Published Application. .
6. -----Terminal Server Desktop, Explorer.exe, Launches from a Published
Application
Terminal Services Programming Guidelines
7. INI Files From the User's Windows Directory Get Copied to CTX Files
840342 -Applications may not run correctly in a Terminal Services
environment
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