• What's up?
• KB Articles of the Month
• Ask our MVPs!
• Learning Zone
• On the Spot
• Rumors on the SBC Space

1. What's up?

Hi there!

Many things happening/happened this month!

As you could see on one of my posts on our Blog, Citrix finally got out of the shadows and decided to come out with their MVP type program. Great step for the community for sure. As I was mentioning to my buddy Ron Oglesby, I hope they will extend the invitations not only to the Citrix fanboys out there as they did on this initial round.

And as you probably know, the deadline for submitting papers for the BriForum Europe 2006 in July, 31st, 2006! I will submit a couple things but I am not sure if Brian will like my ideas. Probably not. :-)

And before I start getting crazy emails, I know we did NOT release RecordTS yet (still working on the final details - should be out by the end of this month hopefully) and the TSFactory website is down. We are actually working on the new website (the previous one you have seen was just a template/mockup) and it will be up and running soon.

That is all folks!

Cheers!

2. KB Articles of the Month

Here are some interesting and useful Terminal Services related articles posted by Microsoft in the last month:

• You cannot establish new Terminal Services connections to a Windows Server 2003-based terminal server.

(886675) - On a Microsoft Windows Server 2003-based terminal server that has Terminal Server enabled, you occasionally experience the following symptoms:

• Windows Task Manager indicates very high CPU and memory usage for the Svchost.exe process.
• You cannot establish new Terminal Services connections to the Windows Server 2003-based terminal server.
Note. When these symptoms are present, the existing Terminal Services connections to the Windows Server 2003-based terminal server continue to run without any problems.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/886675/en-us

• Roaming profiles are not unloaded on a Windows Server 2003-based computer that is running Terminal Services

(840378) - When a user logs off a Windows Server 2003-based computer that is running Terminal Services, Index.dat files may not be deleted on the server. This problem occurs even though the "Delete cached roaming profiles" Group Policy setting is enabled.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/840378/en-us

• Users experience an 11-second delay in folder redirection when a Windows Server 2003 SP1-based computer that is running Terminal Services uses mandatory profiles

(919614) - After a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1)-based computer that is running Terminal Services is configured to use mandatory user profiles and folder redirection, folder redirection works as expected for the first user who logs on to the remote computer. However, later users experience an 11-second delay in folder redirection for each folder.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919614/en-us

• User cannot create a Terminal Server roaming profile path if a user with the same name has logged on from another domain

(821929) - When you configure the Set path for TS Roaming Profiles Group Policy setting, this setting does not work as expected. Specifically, if two users with the same user name in different domains log on to a Microsoft Windows Server 2003-based terminal server, they cannot access their Terminal Server roaming profiles.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/821929/en-us

• Terminal Services Home Folder path does not inherit the parent folder permissions in Windows Server 2003

(875535) - When you use the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Active Directory Users and Computers Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in to change the Terminal Services Home Folder path on the Terminal Services Profile tab of the user properties dialog box, the Terminal Services Home Folder path will have the following permissions…

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/875535/en-us

• How to redirect the default printer of a Terminal Services client to a Windows Server 2003 Terminal Server session

(911913) - This article discusses a registry entry and a hotfix that you can use to redirect the default printer of a Terminal Services client to a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Terminal Server session. When you redirect the client's default printer, the load on the server may be significantly reduced, especially when lots of printers are used by many users.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/911913/en-us

3. Ask our MVPs a question

QUESTION: 'Dear TS Gods. I have been having this dream (or should I call it a nightmare) about Microsoft walking in my office and after auditing my beautiful TS solution with freaking awesome Softricity delivered applications, sending me to jail because they told me I had to have one single SQL CAL for EACH user that connects to my TSs to run the apps from the Softgrid servers and I had only one SQL Server license!! Is that true??? And if it is, does this mean all Citrix users out there need one SQL CAL for EACH user they have??? Please help me!'
Freddy Kruger, Elm Street

ANSWER: Dear Freddy

To be honest I had this same bad dream some years ago.

Ok, going straight to the point, the answer is simple. I know in a SoftGrid environment, the only machine that talks to the SQL backend (assuming you are using the full blown SQL) is the Softgrid Server. One machine, maybe more if you have redundancy somewhere on your network (and I hope you do). And before I get to the answer, Citrix or Provision Networks is the same. On these solutions the servers are the ones connecting to the SQL backend and NOT the users. Therefore if you have 'X' servers connecting to the SQL, you need 'X' licenses. WRONG! If you read the Microsoft website here you will clearly see that Microsoft considers Citrix, Softricity, Provision or ANY other solution that uses an SQL backend as a 'MIDDLEWARE' solution. This means if you have 10,000 users getting applications delivered by Softricity, it does NOT matter if you have only one Softgrid Server. You MUST have 10,000 SQL CALs! Of course in such cases it will be much cheaper to get your SQL licensed per processor (which costs some good money depending on the number of processors AND the SQL version you are licensing). I am still amazed by the amount of companies out there that have NO CLUE whatsoever about this! So Dear Freddy, you can now wake up and relax. It was just a dream. Yes, a bad one. But a dream.

Run to the office and get your licenses sorted out!

Cheers!

4. Learning Zone

We have a great group of articles in the Learning Zone that will help you get a handle on your most difficult configuration issues. Here are just a few of the newer and more interesting articles:

• The benefits of Application Streaming in a TS/Citrix environment

Date - July 04, 2006; Author - Cláudio Rodrigues; Section - Articles :: General

In this article Cláudio tries to explain what application streaming is all about and how it can help you a LOT in a TS/Citrix world.

• Customizing the Microsoft RDP Client (Part 1)

Date - July 12, 2006; Author - Cláudio Rodrigues; Section - Articles :: General

In this two part article series we will check some useful options available for customizing the Microsoft Remote Desktop client, showing you all the tools to get the job done, in a step-by-step guide!

5. On The Spot

This month we talked to THE man. Yes, him. Mr. Blue/Red/Yellow hair Brian Madden. :-)

If you do not know Brian, stop reading this newsletter now please. :-) Brian is the man behind (actually in front of as Nicole/Emily are the ones running the show behind him) http://www.brianmadden.com, one of the top Citrix/TS related websites, not affiliated to any company, which means no BS opinions over there. Pretty cool. So here we go with Crazy Madden.

Claudio: First of all many thanks for taking the time to do our interview this month. To begin, how did you get involved with TS and Citrix?

Brian: Like most people, it was accidental. I was working with a desktop support group in a large company, and we had this fat helpdesk ticket management app called "QSupport" that we needed to deliver to help desk staff in multiple locations.

Citrix fit the bill, and I thought it was cool stuff. (And secretly I was amazed that it actually worked!)

At the time I was really focused on Microsoft SMS, and to me Citrix was just another way to deliver apps to users, so it wasn't that big of a change. For years I was doing both SMS and Citrix work.

My pure Citrix focus came about when I decided to write a book. There were a lot of great SMS books on the market, but no good Citrix architecture books, so I decided to write one. If it had been the other way around then I'd probably be "Brian the SMS guy" today instead of "Brian the Citrix guy."

Claudio: Why did you decide to start something on your own? Did you feel like filling a niche for something you couldn't find?

Brian: I've always been entrepreneurial—even as a little kid. I had a company in sixth grade where we built and sold little toy robots. In high school we made videos and sold them. I've also always been very outspoken, and I was always getting into trouble working at big companies because my opinion didn't always jive with the party line. So for me to start something on my own, I think that was "when," not "if." Once I realized I could quit my job and still pay my bills, I went for it! That was over three years ago now, and it was the best business decision I've ever made.

Claudio: I've known you for years and I remember when your website was just starting. Looking back at that time and looking at The Brian Madden Company, what would you say were the biggest changes (even your own personal changes) and what still remains the same as the old good times?

Brian: The biggest break-through change for me (in terms of the evolution of our company) has been growing from a self-employed guy to a four-person company. My colleagues Nicole, Emily, and Katie are phenomenal, and they're the reason that we've been able to do so many different things.

Having their help is how we're able to do cool new stuff like the podcasts, BriForum, training videos, etc.

Claudio: Talking a little bit about the TS community… Since you were invited to the Microsoft MVP program, you can see how Microsoft deals with MVPs. Now, years later and after so much promising, Citrix finally came up with their MVP-type program. How do you feel about it? Is it a step in the right direction or something just to make the community quiet for a while? Do you feel Citrix is really changing?

Brian: I'm really excited about the Citrix Technology Professional (CTP) program. I think it is a step in the right direction, and here's why. The CTP program is owned at the "right" level within Citrix. It's owned by the product group. This means that we get to interact with the people at Citrix who can actually make a difference in their products, and that's great. Other MVP-like attempts were more marketing promises. In the case of the CTP, we all already spent great time talking honestly to smart people at Citrix. So the program is not something that "will happen," it's something that "is happening."

After Ron Oglesby and I attended our first Microsoft MVP conference years ago, we wrote an article about the things that we would hope to see in a Citrix MVP program. We're super excited about the fact that Citrix has included each and every item we asked for in their CTP program.

Claudio: BriForum. I had the pleasure, again many thanks for the opportunity to be part of it for the past two years, to see it since inception. I still remember discussing with you and Ron by email after a Citrix iForum the idea of getting all SBC techies together. From dream to reality, how do you see BriForum today compared to the initial idea from some years ago? Are there still some tweaks or do you think you've got the right formula?

Brian: Everything is an evolution, and I think that BriForum is right on track with where we hoped it would be. We're really excited about the community focus of the event and the technology we're able to use to record the sessions. As for future tweaks, absolutely! We all take the time to read each and every feedback item, and many of the improvements in this year's event were based on suggestions we got on the feedback forms from last year's event. BriForum will always evolve based on the interests and ideas of the community.

Claudio: Do you think BriForum Europe will need to be 'localized' in a certain way? I mean many things in Europe work in a different way. (They cannot even agree on a standard power outlet plug!) I've worked throughout Europe, and things are indeed different from a business perspective. Do you think there is something to be done to make it more 'European'?

Brian: Well yes, doing business in Europe is very different. Even the little things like what type of food is expected or how the registration process works is different. This is why we are partnering with visionapp to deliver the European BriForum. Visionapp is a German SBC company who has held their own conference in Europe for several years. Their chief architect is Dr. Bernhard Tritsch, a fellow book author, Microsoft MVP, Citrix CTP, and close friend of mine. Ever since we started BriForum in the US, people from Europe have been asking us to host a European BriForum. Since we're a small US company, we couldn't handle all the work to do a European event, so visionapp is taking care of the logistical details (locations, food, hotels, etc.) and we're handling the content (sessions, speakers, agenda, etc.)

Our BriForum event director Emily Monaco is working very closely with visionapp's event team, so BriForum Europe will "feel" like the tech-focused US BriForum while being appropriate for a European audience.

Claudio: Of course I need to ask you this: With all this virtualization, streaming, isolation, etc., going on, many people out there feel Server-Based Computing is on the verge of something that may change the industry BIG time. Add to that things like WiMAX that one day will give us all the bandwidth we want, anywhere. How do you see all these variables affecting the TS industry as we know it? Is it a matter of simply adapting to these changes? Or MASSIVE changes will be required to survive?

Brian: I think server-based computing has always been about delivering applications to users. Period. Virtualization of hardware is nothing special. Yeah it lets you consolidate servers and enables some cool failovers, but really it's a hardware thing. Virtualization at the OS or application level (streaming, etc.) is more interesting, but again at the end of the day it's still about delivering apps to users.

I like to think of myself as an "application delivery" guy. If that's SBC today, great. If it's streaming tomorrow, fine. Of course nothing changes overnight. I've always said that the technologies I focus on change about 10% per year. So year-over-year there aren't that many changes, but after 7 or 8 years, what we're doing might be completely different!

The bottom line is I don't think there will be one major change that changes SBC or application delivery all at once, but I do think it will have changed massively if we look back in 5 or 10 years.

Claudio: And talking about the future, where is Brian in the future? What do you see for yourself in the next five, ten years? Basically where you want to be or see you in this not so distant feature?

Brian: From a professional standpoint, I'm exactly where I want to be. If I have this job for the next 5,10, or 40 years, great! Same goes for the company. Like I said, there are four of us now, and I think that's the perfect size. I can't foresee ever getting bigger, people-wise.

We're going to continue to focus on how IT departments deliver applications to end users, and we're going to continue writing and sharing our thoughts. Most importantly, we're going to continue facilitating an open technical community that helps to educate and share ideas between everyone.

Claudio: Brian, that was a great interview. MANY, many thanks again for having the time and I promise the next time we chat will be on some fancy podcasting thing. PROMISE!

Brian: Sure thing Claudio!

6. Rumors on the SBC Space

More rumors or surprises? I do not think I can handle that!
Microsoft gave us all the goosebumps we needed for the whole year already after buying everything they could put their hands on. The last acquisition was WinTernals! Some Microsoft MVP must be very happy by now. :-)

I hope Microsoft reads this newsletter and decides to buy my company so I can retire in style. :-)

Honestly I have not heard anything new these days other than Citrix and their MVP type program and believe me, Citrix employees posting on the wild! I hope they are still employees this week.

See you next month!