Slow Citrix connection related to mapped network drives

citrixfile-serverwindows-server-2003

I have this weird issue with Citrix being slow and maybe users just being a little dramatic, but I am curious as to why that happens. Let me give you a little bit of a background. Citrix is running off of Windows 2003 server, TSprofiles and file server were located on the same server, until recently. We have moved our file server over to a new server with tons of space. We have Citrix on one server, TSprofiles on another and file server on third. We are using logon scripts to map home drives, shared drive and etc. Now, up until we made the file server move, the logon process took several seconds and most users couldn't even notice logon script being executed as they logon. Now, it takes upwards of several minutes and users can see logon script being executed at a slow pace, one line at a time. The only new variable in this whole scenario is the new file server. All the servers are physically located in the same location and on the same subnet.

So, I guess my question is, if anyone can explain why a sudden sluggishness? And any tools I can use to troubleshoot the issue?

Thanks!

Best Answer

You need to change the config for a test user and rule out various potential causes. There is no "magic tool" that will tell you what is causing the slowness.

  1. What does the performance look like on these three servers?
  2. What does the performance look like during a user logon?
  3. Ensure all three of these servers are on 1GB NIC's and preferably on the same switch if you want to prevent any "upstream switch" bottlenecks.
  4. Test file transfers between the three boxes to ensure you're getting near 1GB throughput. I've seen everything from bad NIC's to old drivers to misconfigured switches cause a server to sit at 100MB rather then the 1GB.
  5. In general, and especially on old win2003, I find it better to leave the profiles alone and use folder redirection via GPO's. It requires much less work on login, but sometimes people do need things like users registry to be shared between servers. Just know that folder redirection should be what's used UNLESS you have a requirement for the full profile sync.
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