EdgeSight 5.0 Pilot Quick Start - Citrix

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EdgeSight 5.0 Pilot Quick Start
Document Summary
This document details the process of configuring and installing EdgeSight 5.0 on a single server for a Proof of
Concept. It covers the Windows Server 2003 configuration, SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server Reporting Services
installation, Citrix license server installation, and the installation and configuration of both the EdgeSight Server and
EdgeSight Agents. It is intended to assist with getting EdgeSight up and running as quickly and smoothly as possible
for a Proof of Concept, but does not replace the product documentation or any project concepts guides.
Evaluation Virtual Appliance
After execution of the steps in this Quick Start Guide, you will have a fully functional EdgeSight 5.0 environment. If a
ready-to-run option is desired, Citrix offers for download the EdgeSight Evaluation Virtual Appliance. This virtual
appliance contains a fully installed EdgeSight environment ready for configuration. With the virtual appliance there is
no need to perform any Windows configuration, and SQL Server with Reporting Services is already installed. The
EdgeSight server is also installed and is ready for first use, and will start at the post-installation setup wizard.
While the evaluation virtual appliance does shorten the time required to install, configure and deploy and EdgeSight
Proof of Concept, it is also limited to run for a maximum of 30 days. Additionally, if one of the objectives of the Proof
of Concept is to create an environment which can be quickly converted from a pilot to production, use of the steps in
this guide may be preferable to the virtual appliance.
Preparation
Assuming that the base Windows Server 2003 is installed and all Microsoft patches have been applied, the first step
is to configure Internet Information Services (IIS) and certain Windows components. This can be done in various
ways. For simplicity, it will be done through the wizards that come with Windows. The Windows prerequisites are as
follows:
• IIS with ASP.Net enabled
• Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ)
• .NET Framework 2.0 with ASP.Net allowed in IIS
• SQL Client Add-On Tools, including SQL-DMO objects
• Network Component Object Model (COM+) access enabled
• Network DTC access enabled
• Default Web site is running

IIS Preparation
1 – Start the Configure Your Server wizard. Go to Start
> All Programs > Administrative Tools > Configure
Your Server Wizard.
2 – The wizard checks the current network settings and
displays the Server Role menu. Choose Application
Server and click Next.
3 – Select the Enable ASP.NET and click Next. 4 – The wizard will then display a summary screen.
Confirm with Next to start the configuration process.
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5 – The configuration process will then run through to
completion.
6 – Once completed you should see the following
completion Screen. IIS is now installed and ready for
the next step.
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Preparation – Windows Components
1 – Open the Control Panel, select Add or Remove
Programs and then Add/Remove Windows
Components. Select Application Server and click
Details.
3 – Click OK and let the installation run through to
completion.
2 – Ensure that Enable network COM+ access,
Enable network DTC access and Message Queuing
are selected. Note that Message Queuing defaults to
include AD integration, and AD integration of MSMQ is
not required for EdgeSight. You can disable AD
integration under the details option.
4 – Open IIS Manager and check that the Default Web
Site is Running and that the Web Service Extension
ASP.NET is set to Allowed.
If .NET 2.0 is not registered, navigate to
C:\windows\microsoft.net\framework\v2.0.50727 and
issue the aspnet_regiis –i command.
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SQL Server and SQL Server Reporting Services Setup
1 – Start the SQL Server installation in the
normal manner by accepting the License
Agreement and clicking Next.
3 – The prerequisite installation configures the
components and runs to completion. Click Next.
2 – Accept the prerequisites popup by clicking
Install.
4 – Click Next to proceed with the SQL
installation.
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5 – The wizard will perform a system
configuration check. Click Next.
7 – Select SQL Server Databases Services,
Reporting Services and Workstation
components. EdgeSight DOES NOT require
Analysis, Notification, or Integration Services to
be installed on the SQL server. Click Advanced
to proceed.
6 – Type the registration information and click
Next to proceed.
8 – Select the Database Services option and
remove Replication and Full-text search.
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9 – Select the Client Components option and
remove the Business Intelligence, Software
Development Kit and SQLXML client options.
11 – Select the Default Instance for the
database instance.
10 – Select the Documentation option and
remove the SQL Server Books Online option.
Press Next to proceed.
12 – Select Network Service for the system
account, and ensure that the SQL Server
Agent and Reporting Services options are
selected to automatically start. Press Next to
proceed.
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13 – Select the Windows Authentication
option. Press Next to proceed.
15 – Click Next at the Confirm Summary screen
and the installation will start.
14 – Select the option to have the installer
install the default configuration for Reporting
Services. Click Next to proceed.
Note: If the installer does not perform the
default installation, you will have many
additional steps to perform later. Those steps
are not covered by this guide.
16 – Once the installation is done you’ll see a
completion screen.
SQL Server and SQL Server Reporting Services are now installed.
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Configuring Windows Security Accounts
EdgeSight can operate with a single NT authentication account, but for flexibility, two dedicated accounts will be
created.
1. Configure the EdgeSight user account. This
user account is used by the EdgeSight web
console and background processing
application. This is a normal user account.
Open the Computer Management console,
expand Local Users and Groups, rightclick
Users, and choose New User from the
pop-up menu. Type a user name, full user
name, and description.
Note: For this document we will be naming
this user ‘edgesight_svc’. The user account
name does not matter.
Note: The password set on this account
should be noted as it will be used later. It
should also be set to not expire. In the
event that the user account password
expires, or the account becomes disabled,
the EdgeSight server will stop functioning.
2. Configure the Reporting Services user.
Type a user name, full user name, and
description. This account must be able to
access the report server database. This is a
normal user account.
Note: For this document we will be naming
this user ‘RSuser’. The user account name
does not matter.
Note: The password set on this account
should be noted as it will be used later. It
should also be set to not expire. In the
event that the user account password
expires, or the account becomes disabled,
historical EdgeSight reports will no longer be
accessible.
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Configuring SQL Server Reporting Services
1. Launch the Reporting Services home page from
http://localhost/reports.
2. Select Site Settings, scroll down to Security,
and click Configure site-wide security.
3. Click New Role Assignment
4. Type the RSuser account in the Group or user
name field, select the System Administrator
check box, and click OK.
5. The account should now be added.
6. Click Home and select Properties then click
New Role Assignment.
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7. Type the RSuser account in the Group or user
name field, select all roles, and click OK.
8. Once completed the RSuser account should
have all roles available.
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Setting Up Citrix Licensing Server – Optional
This is only needed because you want everything on a single server. EdgeSight can point to an existing Citrix License
Server if you have one.
1. Double-click the installation package. 2. Select the Typical option button.
3. Let the installer run through to completion and
restart. Start the License Server installation.
6. Accept the agreement.
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7. Select the destination folder. 8. Select License Management Console and
License Server.
9. Type the location of the license files. 10. Select IIS.
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11. Allow IIS to be restarted. 12. And start the installation.
13. The installation will start... 14. …and run through to completion.
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Adding the EdgeSight Licenses to the License Server
If the EdgeSight agent is included as part of the XenApp Platinum edition, or as Resource Manager in a XenApp 5.0
Enterprise or higher environment, the agent will consume licenses from those products. For all other licensing
scenarios, you will need to load EdgeSight licenses into the License Server which correspond to the type of agent
being used.
1. Start the License Management Console to add
licenses.
2. Select Configure License Server.
3. Select Copy license file to this server. 4. Browse for the license file(s).
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5. Click Open and then upload the file.
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Installing the EdgeSight Server
1. Start the EdgeSight Server installer through the
Autorun in the installation package.
3. Select the features to install. Since we are building a
single server installation, both the web server and
database server will be required. Click Next to proceed.
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2. The welcome screen is then displayed. Click Next to
proceed.
4. The pre-requisite check is then displayed. Click Next
to proceed.

5. Select the Custom installation option. 6. Select the database server name
7. Select to install a new EdgeSight database, and give it
a name.
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8. Specify the database user account. This account is
the EdgeSight service account created earlier.

9. Define database properties. Please verify that there is
sufficient disk space to create all files in the database.
By default, the space required is 4.5 GB. If there is
insufficient space, select an alternate location, or reduce
the file sizes.
10. Define file locations.
11. Installation is now ready to occur 12. Performing installation
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Configuring EdgeSight – Post-Installation Configuration
1. Once EdgeSight is installed you
will be redirected to the postinstallation
setup Web page. The
post-installation setup performs the
initial configuration of the EdgeSight
server.
2. Type the Company Name and
select the appropriate Time Zone.
Note: The company name specified
here will be required during
EdgeSight agent installation.
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3. EdgeSight needs at least one user
account to create a company. This
initial account is granted “Superuser”
rights and can not be deleted. On
this screen, the credentials for this
account are defined. This account
will be used later in this process, but
for many pilot scenarios, a single
user account may be sufficient.
Note: EdgeSight fully supports the
use of AD for normal operations, but
needs this “superuser” account for
initial setup.
4. Type the email settings, such as
the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
(SMTP) server, email addresses, and
display names.
Note: While there is no requirement
that valid SMTP parameters be
entered here, failure to do so will
make diagnosis of installation
problems, and operation of the
EdgeSight server more difficult later.
5. Select the required licensing
model and enter both the license
server name and port number. The
connection to the license server can
also be tested at this stage.
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6. A summary screen will be
displayed. Accept the settings.
7. Once the initial company
configuration is complete you can
now log on to the EdgeSight Server
Console. Use the “superuser”
credentials defined above.
8. At this point, you will need to
configure the EdgeSight server for
the SQL Server Reporting Services
location. Enter the Report Server
URL in the format of
http://servername/reportserver. The
Report Server Credentials are those
of the “RSuser” NT account created
earlier. Click Save to save the
settings.
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9. If the Report Server can be
contacted, and the credentials are
valid, then the settings will be saved.
10. Select the Operations tab and
you will be requested to upload the
historical EdgeSight reports. If you
wish to create report subscriptions,
the default subscription schedules
can be loaded at this time. Click
Execute to load the reports.
11. A popup window will contain a
progress status for the report upload
process. Once completed, press the
Close button.
Note: Depending upon the security
settings in your browser, you may
need to permit the popup window to
execute. Since EdgeSight uses
popup windows for many
configuration tasks, you should
consider always permitting pop ups
from the EdgeSight server.
Congratulations – The EdgeSight Server is now ready for use.
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EdgeSight Server Post-Installation Configuration Suggestions
Now that the EdgeSight Server is up and running, Citrix recommends performing some initial post-installation
configuration before deploying the agents.
Anti-Virus and Anti-Malware Configuration
If any anti-virus or anti-malware software installed on the EdgeSight server is mis-configured, significant performance
problems could result. Two important areas to be aware of are the web server and database server components.
• Since the EdgeSight server performance is highly dependent on database performance, failure to exclude
database files will be a significant performance issue.
• The EdgeSight Server uses ASP.Net pages to present the user interface, and SQL Server Reporting
Services uses ASP.Net to render reports. If any of the configuration files or pages contained in these
applications are subject to scanning, the respective web sites may become inaccessible.
• During installation, a data folder was created which stores temporary files used in the data upload process.
That data folder should be excluded from all scanning. Failure to do so will result in a slowdown in data
payload processing, and an overall reduction in EdgeSight scalability.
• Payload and alert processing uses scripts contained in EdgeSight processes. If a script blocker is installed
on the EdgeSight server, these tasks may not complete correctly. Please reference the EdgeSight Server
Installation Guide for more details.
Creating Active Directory Logins
During installation a “super-user” account was created. That account uses the email based authentication model
within EdgeSight, but EdgeSight also supports an Active Directory/LDAP based authentication model. It is generally
recommended that the email based authentication model not be used when EdgeSight is deployed in an Active
Directory environment. For more information on defining the Active Directory authentication source, and creating
EdgeSight users, please reference the EdgeSight Server Administration Guide.
Defining Alert Rules
While the EdgeSight agent does not need to be configured to collect most data, it is often valuable to create alerts for
strategic items, such as excessive resource utilization, application errors, and network issues. Depending upon the
type and edition of the EdgeSight agent, different alerts are available. Please refer to the EdgeSight Server
Administration Guide for more information.
Note: Alert rule configurations are not immediately applied to EdgeSight agents. In the EdgeSight
architecture, it is the agent which periodically queries the EdgeSight server for any configuration changes.
Configuring alert rules prior to agent installation will ensure that those alert rules are available from agent
installation; otherwise the alert rule will not be available until the next configuration check cycle.
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EdgeSight Agent Pre-Installation Configuration Suggestion
Independent of the type or edition of EdgeSight agent, Citrix recommends that the following anti-virus or anti-malware
configuration changes be made prior to agent installation.
• Ensure that the most recent patched version of the anti-virus or anti-malware client software is installed.
Certain versions of popular anti-virus client software contain issues which result in system instability when
used in conjunction with EdgeSight agents. Please reference the EdgeSight Agent Installation Guide for
more information.
• Ensure that the anti-virus configuration does not scan files in the agent data folders during read or write
access. The EdgeSight agent uses a local agent database for all data collected. This local agent database
permits the agent to operate in very hostile computing environments without loss of functionality, but since it
is a database, its IO activity will be large. Failure to exclude the EdgeSight agent database from file access
scans will result in significant performance issues on the monitored machine. Typically the database is
installed at %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\Citrix\System Monitoring\Data.
• Ensure that the anti-virus and anti-malware configuration does not scan accesses to resources by
EdgeSight executable processes. Failure to exclude these processes from the configuration could result in
performance and operability issues. Typically these processes are installed at
%ProgramFiles%\Citrix\System Monitoring\Agent\Core\rscorsvc.exe and %ProgramFiles%\Citrix\System
Monitoring\Agent\Core\Firebird\bin\fbserver.exe.
Symptoms of configuration problems will include the following items.
• The device seems slower than normal after installing the EdgeSight Agent
• Increase in CPU utilization/thread queue length for the agent processes
• Increase in CPU utilization/thread queue length for the antivirus software processes
• Increase in the disk I/O (% disk write time or disk queue length)
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Deploy EdgeSight Agents
The EdgeSight agent installation does not vary significantly between agent types. For this installation flow, the
EdgeSight for XenApp installation is shown.
1. Execute the Autorun.exe file, and select the
EdgeSight Agent Installers.
3. Click Next on the welcome screen, and then
accept the user agreement.
2. Select the agent installation type. In this
case we will be installing the 64 bit version of
the EdgeSight for XenApp agent.
4. Enter the Company name.
For XenApp agents, specify the Functionality
mode.
For Endpoint agents, specify the agent
department. A blank department will result in
the agent creating a department structure
based on the computer’s AD membership.
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5. Specify the installation location. 6. Specify the FQDN or IP address for the
EdgeSight server.
7. Click Install to begin the installation. 8. Click Finish at the end of the install.
9. Press Yes to reboot. The agent installation
has not completed until the computer has
rebooted.
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Troubleshooting Common Issues
Agent Data Doesn’t Appear on the EdgeSight Server
After the EdgeSight agent is installed, and the requisite reboot has occurred, it can take up to 15 minutes for the
agent to perform its’ initial connection to the EdgeSight server. During this period of time, the agent is performing a
variety of initial configuration and data queries. The length of time will vary based on the type of agent, and the
speed of the computer. While it is possible for this initial set of operations to occur much faster, the agent is aware of
the activity on the system, and is designed to minimize its’ performance impact. If after the 15 minute period has
elapsed, and the agent has not appeared on the EdgeSight server, verify the following items.
• Confirm that the agent is in fact absent from the by going to Configure->Company Configuration->Device
Management->Devices and searching for the device.
• Confirm that the agent is not in the list of unmanaged devices. If an agent is configured to communicate
with an EdgeSight server, but the agent and server company structures do not agree, that agent will be
deemed unmanaged. Unmanaged devices are listed under Configure->Server Configuration-
>Unmanaged. If a device is listed as unmanaged, you can move it into the correct company, but you are
recommended to correct the mismatch by adjusting the agent configuration to have the correct company
name.
• Confirm that there are no errors loading payloads. Normally, if an error occurs loading an agent payload, an
email alerting the EdgeSight administrator to that occurrence is sent. If the SMTP settings entered in the
post-installation setup phase are not valid, that email may not have been sent.
1. To validate that no errors have occurred, go to Configure->Server Status->Server Script Host
and look at the error count beneath the core_zpd_loader1 and core_zpd_loader2 entries. A nonzero
value for the errors indicates that errors have occurred during loading, and the loaded value
indicates the number of successful processed payloads since the script task was last started.
2. If errors have occurred, you can see details on the error by looking at the message log. The
message log can be viewed at Configure->Server Status->Messages and will list all payload
errors; in addition to other information. The most common type of problem is a lack of EdgeSight
license for the type of agent attempting to load its data.
• Confirm that the agent is correctly configured to communicate with the correct EdgeSight server. This
operation is performed at the agent computer. Note that any changes made to the agent communication
settings are immediately applied and will result in an attempt to contact the EdgeSight server within one
minute.
1. Open the Citrix System Monitoring Agent Settings control panel applet
2. Select the EdgeSight Server tab
3. Verify that the value for Address and Port are correct for the EdgeSight server, and that if SSL is
selected that the correct port value is specified for the EdgeSight server. It is important to note that
EdgeSight agent to server communication can occur over non-standard ports, and as a result the
value supplied for the port is not adjusted when the SSL option is selected.
4. Validate that from the agent machine that the EdgeSight server can be contacted using the
supplied Address and Port. It is possible that from that agent machine a FQDN or even IP
address may need to be used for the communication.
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5. Confirm that if a proxy server is required that all information entered is correct.
• Confirm that the agent is in fact running. Open Task Manager and look for the rscorsvc.exe process. If that
process is not listed, then the agent is not running and will not be able to communicate with the EdgeSight
server. Note that until the required reboot occurs, the agent will not start.
• Confirm that the agent has attempted to communicate with the EdgeSight server. This is done by opening
the agent log file located in%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\Citrix\System
Monitoring\Data\SYS_EVENT_TXT.TXT.
1. If the log file is missing, then the agent has never started. The most common causes of this are the
required post-installation reboot having not occurred, or a software restriction policy preventing the
agent from starting.
2. If the log file is present, look for the text ‘Init Worker’ and note if any errors were logged. Generally,
error text will be present for most errors, and if errors were logged, you may need to search for
solutions on the Citrix support web site, or contact Citrix support.
Cannot Access Real-Time Information
EdgeSight supports real-time access to agent information. That real-time access occurs from the EdgeSight server
users’ browser to the agent containing the data. This communication occurs using an EdgeSight ActiveX control over
TCP port 9035 and all authentication is done using NT accounts. A failure in the real-time communication can
generally be broken into two distinct areas; failure to launch the control and failure in communication. It is possible
that while diagnosing and resolving real-time communication problems that an iterative process will be required.
• If the error message returned indicates simply that there was an error communicating with the agent; verify
that the agent is running.
• If the error message returned indicates that there was an error connecting to the device, and that the
connection has been closed; verify that any application or hardware firewalls between the browser and the
agent are configured to allow TCP traffic over port 9035. If any firewall is preventing communication over
port 9035, that firewall will need to be reconfigured to allow such traffic before real-time communication will
occur. The agent port can not be changed from port 9035.
• If the error message returned indicates that a timeout has occurred, but there was no other error; verify that
the agent computer is not overloaded (i.e. the agent has sufficient resources to support remote queries), and
that the network has a sufficiently low latency as to support a maximum connection time of three seconds.
• If the error message returned indicates that access has been denied, verify that the user account specified
during the remote connection has sufficient rights to the remote agent machine. The agent validates all
attempts to access it remotely against a remote security group. By default that group includes members of
the machine local administrators group, but the agent can be configured to include other groups. Please
reference the EdgeSight Agent Installation Guide for more information on the remote agent security.
Note: The EdgeSight agent installation guide will reference an option whereby all remote security can be
disabled. Citrix strongly recommends that this option not be used for any new installations, and advises that
anyone using the setting in existing installations be aware that the option has been deprecated and will be
removed in a future version. This feature had been implemented to permit remote access to non-domain
member computers. In its place, the EdgeSight 5.0 remote ActiveX control now prompts users for their
credentials, and if those credentials are valid access is granted.
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Additional Resources
The EdgeSight Installation and Administration Guides are valuable resources for managing your EdgeSight
installation effectively. In addition to those resources, additional information can be found on the Citrix web site.
Knowledge Base: http://support.citrix.com/product/es/
Citrix Education: http://www.citrixtraining.com/
White Papers
Key Performance Metrics Exposed in EdgeSight 5.0
Real-time Data Analysis Using EdgeSight for XenApp 5.0
Using EdgeSight for XenApp Active Application Monitoring to Determine Service Level Performance
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