Yes. This is why with 2003 MS put in the ability to override the user's default home dir on a per server basis (GPO). You can setup those TS boxes to use a different (closer) home directory. Ron Oglesby Senior Technical Architect Microsoft MVP, Windows Server=20 =20 RapidApp, Chicago Office 312.372.7188 Mobile 815.325.7618 email roglesby@xxxxxxxxxxxx =20 -----Original Message----- From: Jay Moock [mailto:jpmoock@xxxxxxxxx]=20 Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2004 7:29 AM To: thin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [THIN] Windows 2003 Performance Issue Hello Everyone, I am experiencing a performance issue with Windows 2003 that I haven't be able to resolve. =20 The problem is with applications that want to access .ini files that are located in a user's home directory on a remote server (say across a T1). When the application launches, there is a noticeable delay (5-10 seconds on average) before the application appears on the screen. If I run FileMon on the TS when I launch the program I see that the executable for the program is accessing the program's .ini file over and over again. This is not limited to one program - I have seen it with applications such as Citrix Program Neighborhood (we redirect the AppData folder), Peregrine Software's ServiceCenter help desk application, and i2's Factory Planner application.=20 These applications launch fine for me on NT4 and W2k TS's. Obviously, the larger the .ini file the more evident the problem becomes. Someone who has a large number of custom ICA connections defined may wait a minute or so before Program Neighborhood opens. Some of our i2 users have .ini files over 1MB - they would wait 10-15 minutes before the application is ready. The real kicker is what I see when I run FileMon on the file server where the user's home directory is located. When I launch the program from a Win2k3 TS as a user whose home directory is on a remote file server (NT, 2k3 - the file server's OS makes no difference) I see the .ini file being accessed over and over and over - just like what FileMon shows on the TS. However, when I launch the application from a NT4 or W2k TS, FileMon on the file server shows that the file is accessed just once (FileMon on the NT4 or W2k TS still shows the file being accessed by the program's executable multiple times). I see the same performance whether I'm logged in via RDP, ICA, or at the console. =20 I suspect a caching problem (or inherent inefficiency) in W2k3 because the Cache Read Hit % count goes way down on the W2k3 TS's (to 30%) while the application is loading, whereas it doesn't drop below 80% on the NT4 or W2k TS's. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find any documents that say how the cache can be tuned. If the user's home directory is on a local file server then the performance is fine, but the way that the program accesses the .ini file is the same - the higher bandwidth of the LAN segment simply masks the problem. I've tried disabling Opportunistic locking, setting the MaxWorkItem & MaxCmd values, setting the PagedPoolSize value, and changing the Memory Usage setting to optimize performance for the System Cache on the W2k3 TS. Out of desperation I've also tried disabling the bells & whistles in the W2k3 shell, uninstalling our antivirus software on the W2k3 TS and the file server, disabling the open file backup agent on the file server, and installing hotfixes 811492, 815230, and 831129. Nothing has helped. I called Microsoft and they said that had a similar incident that involved win.ini, but they had no resolution for it (other than not using distributed copies of .ini files, which isn't an option for me).=20 They had me install 832408 and 835421, but those didn't make any difference. I rebuilt our W2k3 test box yesterday with a bare bones configuration (no Citrix, reghacks, or hotfixes) and installed one of the problem applications and it performed the same, so I am thinking that this is definitely a MS issue. I see this problem on anything from a PII 400Mhz with 384MB of RAM (our test system) up to a Dual 2.4GHz PIV Xeon w/4GB of RAM, so I don't believe a lack of system resources is to blame. If anyone has any insight on this one, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Jay Moock =09 =09 __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger. http://messenger.yahoo.com/=20 ******************************************************** This Week's Sponsor - Tarantella Secure Global Desktop Tarantella Secure Global Desktop Terminal Server Edition Free Terminal Service Edition software with 2 years maintenance. http://www.tarantella.com/ttba ********************************************************** Useful Thin Client Computing Links are available at: http://thin.net/links.cfm *********************************************************** For Archives, to Unsubscribe, Subscribe or=20 set Digest or Vacation mode use the below link: http://thin.net/citrixlist.cfm ******************************************************** This Week's Sponsor - Tarantella Secure Global Desktop Tarantella Secure Global Desktop Terminal Server Edition Free Terminal Service Edition software with 2 years maintenance. http://www.tarantella.com/ttba ********************************************************** Useful Thin Client Computing Links are available at: http://thin.net/links.cfm *********************************************************** For Archives, to Unsubscribe, Subscribe or set Digest or Vacation mode use the below link: http://thin.net/citrixlist.cfm