Application Monitoring

NimBUS for Citrix Response Monitoring

Increasingly Citrix solutions are being utilized to enable cost-effective and centrally-controlled distribution of applications throughout a business environment. In this centralized model broad user populations are heavily dependent upon optimized service delivery to achieve business productivity goals. Given this business-critical reliance Citrix application performance must be proactively monitored from the end-user's perspective.

The NimBUS for Citrix Response Monitoring solution acts as a virtual user exercising published applications with preemptive service level monitoring.

Primary Features:

• End-to-end response time monitoring for Citrix published applications
• Solution includes published application record/playback wizard
• Supports raw *.ica files for data encryption/compression and more
• Monitors multiple published applications from a single probe
• Distributed probe deployment enables multi-point user perspectives
• Numerous Citrix response reporting and notification options

NimBUS for Citrix Response Monitoring Macro Recorder - a wizard-based macro recorder captures application transactions commonly performed by end-users. A Citrix desktop or published application is launched within the recorder and exercised just the way an end user would. Completed application recordings are saved and imported into the NimBUS for Citrix Response Monitoring Probe in preparation for remote distribution and interval-based execution.

Figure below: The NimBUS Macro Recorder Wizard for Citrix initiates the recording process by launching the Citrix user's desktop or a specified published application.

NimBUS for Citrix Response Monitoring Probe - the NimBUS for Citrix Response Probe is the vehicle for distributing application macro recordings to multiple remote locations. Once distributed the probe executes the recorded application and performs transaction response monitoring according to defined monitoring profiles. The NimBUS for Citrix Response Monitoring Probe alerts upon the following response times:

• ICA connect time
• ICA session login time
• Published application launch time
• Recorded application run time
• ICA session logoff time
• ICA session total time
• ICA ping time

Figure below:  Multiple alarm severity levels can be set for varying Citrix response times

Multi-point end-user experience monitoring - the light-weight NimBUS for Citrix Response Monitoring Probe and distributed NimBUS architecture makes it possible to proactively view end-user service levels from strategic locations across a widespread Citrix deployment.

Multi-application monitoring from a single Citrix Response Probe - to maximize your probe investment a single NimBUS for Citrix Response Monitoring Probe will support multiple monitoring profiles. Each profile within the probe is unique in the Citrix server it connects to, its published application and recorded transaction sequence, alarm thresholding, poll frequency, and more.

Concurrent profile definition enables probe scalability - probe scalability is enabled by running monitoring profiles concurrently - alarm notification is triggered when a user-defined profile limit is exceeded. Additionally, alarm notification occurs when a monitoring profile is still running when the next poll interval is scheduled to start.

Support for *.ica files enhances probe’s functionality - the NimBUS for Citrix Response Monitoring Probe provides support for raw *.ica files as an out-of-the-box feature. Supporting *.ica files introduces configuration options that enhance the probe’s own inherent functionality, for example it allows for the implementation of encryption and compression to secure and optimize data transport. Additional *.ica file configuration options include; Citrix server IP address, timeout values, authentication information, published application to use, and more.

NimBUS for Citrix Response Monitoring Prerequisites - the system hosting the NimBUS for Citrix Response Monitoring Probe and NimBUS Manager requires the following configuration;

• Microsoft .NET 2.0
• Citrix Access Client
• Access to a remote Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server

NimBUS for Citrix Response Reporting - For early awareness of degrading Citrix application service levels NimBUS offers business service dashboards, performance trend reports, SLA monitoring and reporting and remote notification options such as email, GMS/SMS, PDA, SNMP, and more.

NimBUS for End-to-end Citrix Infrastructure Monitoring - NimBUS monitoring for Citrix goes well beyond response monitoring for published applications. NimBUS can also monitor end-to-end Citrix infrastructure components as unified services; components monitored include presentation servers, network devices and bandwidth utilization, terminal sessions, and more.

Figure below: The NimBUS for Citrix Monitoring solution offers end-to-end Citrix infrastructure monitoring.  

NimBUS for Citrix Response Monitoring is a rapidly deployed solution that requires minimal customization and administration.