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What you will need to install Metaframe / Terminal Server AND How to Upgrade from Winframe to Terminal Server/Metaframe

What you will need for a basic Metaframe / Microsoft Terminal Server Installation

CITRIX Metaframe 1.8 Hotfixes (English)

TheThin.Net Fixes

  • /files/soon.zip - The soon executable from the resource kit with a sample batch file to reset the print spooler every two hours

Other fixes

Microsoft`s REGFIX Utility

Synopsis:

This information is on the Terminal Server CD.

Details:

This utility repair a Windows NT 3.51 or a Citrix WinFrame 1.x registry file so that you can upgrade that installation to Windows NT Terminal Server.

regfix - Utility to repair inconsistencies found in a registry (hive) file
usage: regfix inputfilename outputfilename
inputfilename - the name of the registry file to process
ouputfilename - the name for the updated registry file

Detailed Informaton:

When installing Windows Terminal Server, if you are unable to upgrade an existing Windows NT 3.51 Server or Citrix WinFrame 1.x server, use this utility to allow the installation to be upgraded. In order to run this utility, you have to run it from another Windows NT installation so that you can safely modify the registry file. Here is the procedure to follow:

  1. Boot the system to an alternate Windows NT partition.
  2. Change to the \WinFrame\System32\Config directory of the WinFrame (or Windows NT) partition to be updated; for example, cd \winframe\system32\config.
  3. Rename the software hive to Software.sav: ren software software.sav
  4. Fix the registry file (assuming that d is your CD-ROM drive): d:\support\regfix\regfix software.sav software
  5. Restart the Windows Terminal Server installation.

From: http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/terminalserver/deployment/moreinfo/UpgradeInstructions.asp

Citrix WinFrame versions 1.6 and 1.7 can be upgraded to Windows NT Server, Terminal Server Edition 4.0, preserving both user settings and installed applications, if you follow these guidelines*:

If upgrading from WinFrame 1.6 to Terminal Server you must first run the CNVRTUC utility from Citrix (http://www.citrix.com) to transfer certain user-specific information from the registry to the Security Account Manager (SAM). This first step is unnecessary if upgrading from WinFrame 1.7. Backup your WinFrame system completely. Having a complete and verified backup before you begin the migration is essential. This will allow for server recovery should anything go wrong during the installation of Terminal Server. Update and re-create a new Emergency Repair Disk. Launch the Repair Disk Utility from the command line by running rdisk. Remember to update your repair information before you create the Repair Disk, otherwise you may lose user and application information. Plan for installation of Terminal Server. Terminal Server installation is almost identical to NT Server installation. For complete step by step instructions for installing Terminal Server, please refer to the Start Here document that comes with Terminal Server. (An electronic copy of this document is available on the Terminal Server installation CD at \support\books.) Memory configuration requirements, networking protocols, upgrade limitations, server installation and file partition conversion all have specific roles and requirements in the Terminal Server environment. (For more information on deployment planning, download the Service Guide for Terminal Server). When migrating from WinFrame to Terminal Server it is important to note that there are some differences between the ICA display protocol used by Citrix WinFrame and the RDP protocol that is native to Terminal Server, including certain feature differences. If you wish to preserve ICA support and certain ICA features, it is necessary to install the Citrix' MetaFrame add-on software once Terminal Server has been fully installed. Consider which of these protocol features you will need to make a smooth transition from WinFrame to Terminal Server when deciding whether or not to deploy the MetaFrame add-on for Terminal Server. To find out more information about WinFrame and MetaFrame, visit Citrix' Web site at http://www.citrix.com or contact your Citrix reseller for more information. For certain types of client devices ICA is also required as detailed in 8 below. Prepare the partition for upgrade. Verify that 160MB of free space exists to copy the Terminal Server files (for installation files and pagefile). (Additional free space will be required for MetaFrame.) Be sure to choose the correct partition when you upgrade. The Terminal Server install will detect WinFrame installations and will automatically offer to upgrade them. This will complete the upgrade to Terminal Server. If MetaFrame is required, this can be installed immediately following or at any time subsequent to the Terminal Server installation. Carefully follow Citrix' instructions on MetaFrame installation. If your WinFrame system was using a FAT file system, upgrade the file system to NTFS (using the NT command: CONVERT drive: /FS:NTFS). This conversion to NTFS is highly recommended because NTFS provides much greater security in a multi-user environment where users must have simultaneous access to the same resources. If you do not use NTFS on your migrated system, there will be additional multi-user issues that did not occur under WinFrame (For example, everyone having access to all the files in the Recycle Bin.) Migrating from WinFrame to Terminal Server will enable only client connectivity via the RDP protocol which ships with Terminal Server. RDP can only be used on Windows-based client devices (Windows 9x, Windows NT 3.5x and Windows for Workgroups 3.11) as well as RDP-based Windows-based Terminals. In order to utilize the RDP protocol, all client devices will require installation of the appropriate 16 or 32-bit Windows-based Terminal Server client software which is included on the Terminal Server CD in the directory \clients\tsclient\win16 (for the 16-bit client) and \clients\tsclient\win32 (for the 32-bit client). For customers migrating their Windows for Workgroups, Windows Workstation and Windows 9x clients from ICA to RDP, be aware that devices running DOS, Windows 3.1, UNIX, Macintosh and ICA-based Windows-based Terminals will only be supported running ICA and will consequently require the MetaFrame add-on which can be added immediately following the Terminal Server upgrade or at any time subsequent to the Terminal Server installation. In addition, the RDP display protocol is only supported on TCP/IP networks. Where upgrading to Terminal Server over non-TCP/IP-based networks (i.e. the segment over which the display protocol will be transmitted) MetaFrame is also required *Please note: OEM versions of WinFrame, such as Insignia NTRIGUE, NCD WinCenter, and Tektronix WinDD, may not upgrade correctly to Terminal Server, and Microsoft does not support such upgrades. Please contact your reseller or the appropriate vendor for more details on upgrading to Terminal Server.

This is stuff I have gleaned from the Citrix Forums

There are several issues to be considered when doing the "migration":

  1. Make sure you have all your NT 4.0 Hardware Drivers ready.
  2. Get the technet note "Guide to Windows NT 4.0 Profiles and Policies" (6 parts). TechNet IDs: Q161334,Q185587,Q185588,Q185589,Q185590, Q185591. This doc discusses converting your NT 3.51 Mandatory profiles to NT 4.0 profiles and how to survive the transition.
  3. Printer drivers for NT 4.0 will need to be installed.
  4. After migrating to Terminal Server, instantly load MetaFrame.

A clean install is recommended but you can migrate from Winframe 1.7. You first migrate to Windows Terminal Server. Keep in mind the following:

Any mandatory profiles will have to be converted to an NT4 format after the migration is complete Async and SPX Winstations will have to be recreated ( called listeners in Metaframe) at that time. SecureICA settings will not migrate properly. You will need SecureICA version 1.21.

Terminal Server migrates the following settings like user profiles (.usr), printers, server drive assignments, Winframe licenses, published applications, ICA gateways, and load balancing settings. Use the winnt32 /u to start the install of the Terminal Server. ( Note: if there are problems with the driver recognition, use the three install disks instead) Choose the Winframe installation to upgrade. The Terminal Server upgrade will remove all the Winframe specific program groups and items.

After the Terminal Server is installed, begin the Metaframe installation. Insert the Metaframe CD and use the Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs utility to start this. Add the Metaframe migration license and any additional licenses when prompted Make sure to activate these licenses.

If applicable, convert the mandatory profiles according to the Microsoft Technet article titled "Guide to MS Windows NT Profiles and Policies", page 25. Reconfigure the Async and SPX listeners and install the SecureICA1.21 version. Install any applications after you install Metaframe and run the application compatibility scripts in \wtsrv\application compatibility scripts.

For information on terminal server from the Citrix KB: http://206.103.132.14/texpert.nsf/Terminal+Server+By+Date

For current information on Metaframe from the CITRIX KB: http://206.103.132.14/texpert.nsf/MetaFrame+By+Date

Upgrading Windows NT 3.5x Server Based Profiles to Windows NT 4.0 Based Profiles

Synopsis:

This document describes how to upgrade Windows NT 3.5x server based profiles to Windows NT 4.0 based roaming profiles.

Details:

When upgrading Windows NT 3.51 .USR profiles, nothing needs to be changed in the profile path for the configured user. As a user logs in, the Windows NT 4.0 system notices the Windows NT 3.51-based profile. It will check to see if an NT 4.0 profile is already configured for that user. If none is found, it will automatically begin a conversion process. This process converts the settings in the NT 3.51-based profile to an NT 4.0-based profile. A directory is created in the same location as the NT 3.51-based profile.

NOTE: Make sure the user has WRITE permissions for the directory in addition to the USR profile. Without this the conversion process fails.

The directory created will have a .pds extension, which stands for Profile Directory Structure. This is the new NT 4.0-based profile. These two profiles, the .USR and .PDS, operate independently from this point on. MetaFrame servers will always use the .PDS profile and WinFrame will use the .USR profiles. Changes to one will not affect the other.

Upgrading Windows NT 3.5x Mandatory Profiles to Windows NT 4.0 Mandatory Profiles

Mandatory profiles cannot be converted automatically. The same set of rules that restrict this are those that restrict users from saving changes to their existing .MAN profiles. There are two ways to accomplish thistask.

Rename the mandatory profile to a .USR profile and let the automatic conversion process take place. Then, rename it back to a .MAN profile. Create a new mandatory profile template and assign users to it.

Both methods are briefly covered below.

To manually convert an old profile:

  1. Rename the profile with a .USR extension and update the user profile path to reflect the change.
  2. Allow the user to log on. This triggers the conversion. Then log the user off.
  3. Rename the .PDS folder extension to .PDM and change the user's profile path back to .MAN.
  4. Rename the Ntuser.dat file in the newly created directory to Ntuser.man.

To create the profile from a new template profile:

  1. Log on as the template user and modify the desktop, icons, colors, etc. to your preference.
  2. Create a directory that will be used for the new mandatory profile. Use the .PDM extension. This can be on a network share.
  3. From the Control Panel, click System.
  4. From the User Profiles tab, select the template user's profile that you created. Choose the Copy To option to select the directory created in Step 2. Modify the permissions to grant use of the profile to the correct users. Click OK.
  5. In the directory to which you copied the profile, rename the Ntuser.dat to Ntuser.man. Be sure READ permissions exist on the directory tree and included files.

    CAUTION: If users have CHANGE rights, they can easily rename the Ntuser.man back to Ntuser.dat.

  6. Rename the user's profile path back to the NT 3.51 .MAN profile. This allows proper integration with both WinFrame and MetaFrame.

Wyse Winterms Unable to Connect after Upgrading From MetaFrame Version 1.0 to 1.8

Synopsis:

Wyse Winterms are unable to connect to a MetaFrame 1.8 server after it is upgraded from Version 1.0.

Details:

Ensure that the customer is using Firmware Version 1.64J or higher.

How to Set a Default Autocreated Printer withTSE and MetaFrame

Synopsis:

This document was obtained from the Microsoft support site. Please follow this link for the original document, Article ID: Q221509.

Details:

Symptoms

Some workstation local print drivers pose problems for Windows NT Server, Terminal Server Edition. If the drivers have not been properly tested on Terminal Server, they can cause lockup problems on the server or even blue screen error messages.

Cause

The user usually has the ability to install local printers on his or her workstation. When the user connects to a Terminal Server session, the local printer is autocreated in the Terminal Server session. In very large companies, it is hard to control what printers and print drivers the user is loading on his or her local workstation.

As an example, the HP4000 print driver has caused problems on some Terminal Server installations. The print queue can stop responding (hang) and the jobs not print. The HP LaserJet 4 print driver has been shown to be very stable in this environment, and can be used as a substitute for the HP4000 print driver. To ensure that the HP LaserJet 4 driver is used ,if your user tries to load the HP4000 print driver or any other incompatible driver on his or her local workstation, there is a workaround to set the default printer driver used on the Terminal Server.

Resolution

There is a file on Terminal Server that can be modified to make the disparate printer driver names appear to be equal. This will set a default print driver that works properly on Terminal Server.

To make this modification, follow these steps:

NOTE: You need to know ahead of time the exact name of the print driver that can potentially be loaded on the client workstation. You can find this out by loading the print driver on a test workstation in local mode, not a Terminal Server session.

  1. Click Start, Settings, and then Printers.
  2. Right click the printer that is causing the problem.
  3. Select Properties and then click the Details tab.

    Write down the name of the printer driver. On computers running Windows 95 and Windows 98, the driver is listed in the Print using the following driver dialog box. On computers running Windows NT, the Driver box is on the General tab. The print driver name can vary on the workstation, depending on the operating system. Make sure you have the right driver name for the client workstation that is being used.

    For example, if you see "HP LaserJet 4000 Series PCL 5e", write this name down, paying attention to all punctuation and case sensitivity.

  4. On the Terminal Server computer, click Start, Settings, and then Printers.
  5. Double-click the Add Printer icon, select My Computer, and then click Next.
  6. In the Available Ports list box, select LPT1 and then click Next.
  7. In the left pane, select the manufacturer of the printer you have installed on your workstation. In the right pane, scroll to the model of the printer you want the Terminal Server to load as the default driver; for example, "HP LaserJet 4". This is the server printer driver name that you want to use as the default printer. Write this name down.
  8. Open the Wtsuprn.txt file. This file is located in the %SystemRoot%\System32 folder. The file is as follows:

    ==========================================================================
    ; WTSUPRN.TXT ; ; this is a template for wtsuprn.inf -- rename this file
    to wtsuprn.inf ; ; this file provides a mapping for client printers that
    have a name ; different from the server printer. this file is necessary
    because many ; printers for Win95 are different from their WinNT equivalent.
    ; ; Note: the driver for the server printer must be installed. See the
    ; WinFrame Concepts and Planning Guide. ; [Identification] OptionType =
    PRINTER [ClientPrinters] ; ;Client Name Server Name ; | | ; | | ; \|/ \|/
    ;"HP LaserJet 4/4M" = "HP LaserJet 4" ;"HP LaserJet
    4P/4MP" = "HP LaserJet 4P" ;"HP LaserJet 4 Plus/4M
    Plus" = "HP LaserJet 4 Plus" ;"HP LaserJet 4Si/4Si
    MX" = "HP LaserJet 4Si" ;"HP LaserJet 4V/4MV"
    = "HP LaserJet 4V" ;"HP LaserJet 5/5M - Enhanced" =
    "HP LaserJet 5" ;"HP LaserJet 5/5M - Standard" = "HP
    LaserJet 5" ;"HP LaserJet 5/5M PostScript" = "HP LaserJet
    5" ;"HP LaserJet 5L (PCL)" = "HP LaserJet 5L"
    ;"HP LaserJet 5P/5MP (HP)" = "HP LaserJet 5P"
    ==========================================================================
    		

    Use this exact format to enter the previous information that you gathered from the workstation and the server. Leave out the semicolon (;), this is to remark the line out.

    Make sure you type the right driver under the proper column. Client name would be the workstation; server name is the Terminal Server; for example:

    "HP LaserJet 4000 Series PCL 5e" = "HP LaserJet 4"
    		

    Save this file with a .inf extension and then close the Wtsuprn.txt file. From now on, if you have to add any other printers, add them to the Wtsuprn.inf file.

  9. Log off the Terminal Server computer and log back on. Log on to your client workstation to a Terminal Server session; your printer is autocreated in the Terminal Server session printer's folder and you can print to your local printer.

Installing a New, Non-Native Print Driver

When you need to install a new print driver to your workstation, you will also have to install a print driver to the Terminal Server computer. Install the printer on the server as a local printer. Upon completion of the printer installation, delete the printer icon from the printer folder. The printer driver will be installed on the server and when you connect the workstation to the Terminal Server, the new printer is autocreated. If the printer driver names are different for the workstation (client) and the server, follow the same procedure as above to make them equal.

More Information

This will work for your printing needs. The only drawback is that some of the functionallity of the replaced printer driver on the server may not work on the newer printer. If you have concerns about this, contact the printer manufactuer.

Shortcut to Installing Printer Drivers on Multiple MetaFrame Servers

Synopsis:

This document describes how to replicate printers on multiple MetaFrame servers in a server farm.

Details:

Follow these steps carefully to install printers on one MetaFrame server and then replicate the printers to other MetaFrame servers:

  1. On a clean TSE/MetaFrame server, install the printers you want to appear on all your servers. Follow these steps for each printer you add:

    1. In the Printers control panel, double-click Add Printer.
    2. Select My Computer and click Next.
    3. Click the Add Port button.
    4. Select Local Port and then click the New Port button.
    5. For the port name, enter the UNC path to the printer share; that is, \\PrintServer\PrinterSharename.
    6. Select an appropriate driver.
    7. Name the printer.
    8. Do not share the printer.
    9. You will be prompted for the TSE CD to install the printer driver.

    NOTES: Printer driver registry entries are stored in subkeys beneath HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environments\Windows NT x86\Drivers\Version-2.

    Printer driver fields are stored in %SystemRoot%\system32\spool\drivers\w32x86\2.

    "My computer" printer definitions are stored in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Printers.

  2. After having installed and tested all printers on one machine:

    1. Run regedt32.exe on that machine. Select the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print.
    2. With the Print subkey hilighted, select the menu "Registry > Save key..." (Do not select "Save subtree as...").
    3. Save this file to disk as PRINT.KEY and copy it to a file server.
  3. From the same server, copy this directory with all its contents to a file server: %SystemRoot%\system32\spool\drivers\w32x86\2.
  4. On each new MetaFrame server to which you would like to replicate these printer entries, perform the following steps:

    1. Connect to the file server where you saved print.key and the \2 directory.
    2. Stop the Spooler service.
    3. Run regedt32.exe and highlight the HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print subkey.
    4. With the Print key highlighted, select the menu "Registry > Restore..."
    5. Select the PRINT.KEY file and click OK. You will get a warning stating that you are about to overwrite everything beneath the currently selected key. Make extra sure that you have the Print key highlighted and click OK. Close the Registry Editor.
    6. Copy the contents of the \2 directory from the file server to the target server's %SystemRoot%\system32\spool.
    7. Start the spooler service and test your replicated printers.

Steps to Improve Connectivity over Inconsistent WAN Links

Synopsis:

This document describes how to decrease the number of disconnected TCP/IP sessions when clients connect over the Internet or any other WAN link whose bandwidth is inconsistent.

Details:

If the quality of a WAN link dramatically decreases after a user connects to a Citrix server, the connection can be dropped. Users experiencing this problem receive the following error message:

"Error in Connection: the Citrix server is no longer available.

To improve the quality of service of your Citrix server, modify the default behavior of the TCP/IP protocol so that your server is more accepting of inconsistent WAN links.

The reason for this disconnection is that the TCP/IP protocol uses the initial packet round-trip time at the moment when the session is initiated to determine what is "normal" for that connection. Because of this, it is better to have a consistently slow WAN connection and worse to have a connection that starts out fast and then becomes slow. Such an erosion of connection speed is common when connecting through an Internet Service Provider (ISP), particularly when the connection is opened in the morning and maintained into the work day.

To accommodate for this erosion of bandwidth, add a value to the TcpMaxDataRetransmissions subkey under the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\TcpMaxDataRetransmissions = 10.

If the value does not exist, highlight PARAMETERS, go to Edit and select add value. Choose REG_ DWORD format.

Retransmission Behavior

TCP starts a retransmission timer when each outbound segment is handed down to IP. If no acknowledgment is received for the data in a given segment before the timer expires, the segment is retransmitted, up to the TcpMaxDataRetransmissions times. The default value for this parameter is 5.

The retransmission timer is initialized to 3 seconds when a TCP connection is established; however, it is adjusted "on the fly" to match the characteristics of the connection using Smoothed Round Trip Time (SRTT) calculations as described in RFC793. The timer for a given segment is doubled after each retransmission of that segment.

Using this algorithm, TCP tunes itself to the "normal" delay of a connection. Because the default number of retries is five, the round-trip time can double four times (or in other words become 16X slower than its initial value) before the session is dropped. By increasing this number to 10, you are allowing the round-trip time to double nine times instead of four, thereby allowing the connection quality to erode up to 512X its original value before being dropped. For example, a connection that begins with a roundtrip time of 20 milliseconds would have to erode to a round-trip time of 10,240 milliseconds before being dropped by the server.

If possible, make this registry change on the client machine as well. More information is available in Microsoft Technet Articles Q120642, Q170359.

How to Enable Supecache on Winframe and Metaframe

Supercache is the new caching technique introduced by Citrix in hotfix # 16 for MF1.8 ME180016.EXE and for MF 1.0 in #44 ME100044.exe and in hotfix #99 for Winframe 1.7 at SE17B099.EXE

SuperCache is a new caching technique that can result in a large improvement in usability and performance over a slow connection, or for applications that tend to redisplay a large area of the screen in response to small localized changes. Example applications that will show a large caching improvement over a slow connection are Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) and Visual FoxPro.

SUPERCACHE IS DISABLED BY DEFAULT EVEN AFTER YOU INSTALL THE HOTFIX AND REQUIRES A REBOOT ONCE IT IS ENABLED!

TO ENABLE IT TYPE AT A COMMAND PROMPT:

Keysync ICAThinwireFlags /Enable:2

When SuperCache is enabled, large bitmaps are displayed in a number of columns in left to right order, instead of top to bottom order. This is readily apparent when running a client over a slow line. If this characteristic behavior is not observed, the SuperCache functionality has not been activated.

If you want to disable SuperCache functionality, run the following command at a command prompt at each server on which you want to disable the SuperCache functionality:

Keysync ICAThinwireFlags /Disable:2

NOTE: The server must be rebooted in order for either change to take effect.


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