SecureFX within a Citrix Environment

[rwilsonsc]

We have 2 citrix boxes with approximately 30 users. We are in need of allowing each user to start with certain default sessions. Then, each user needs to be able to create their own sessions and configurations which are saved only within their user environment/profile.

Has anyone done this with SecureFX?

Thanks for any help,
Rodney

[gan]

When you start sfx for the first time you will see a dialogbox where you are asked for a path to store the configuration data. When you click Ok the directory will be created and the sfx configuration/sessions will be created in that directory. I believe the default configuration path is: "%APPDATA%\VanDyke\Config". Then you can create the sessions and make other settings that should be default. When done close sfx and then copy the contents from the configuration directory for that user to the same directory in the default user profile for new users. I would recommend to not store any personal info like saving username and password unless you want that to be default for the other users. You could manually edit the .ini files to remove certain information afterward if needed.

For example if you logon with the username "test" the configuration path will be "C:\Users\test\AppData\Roaming\Vandyke\Config" by default (This is Windows 2008, might differ with other windows versions). The default userprofile is located under "C:\Users\Default" so the contents should be copied to "C:\Users\Default\AppData\Roaming\Vandyke\Config" on the Citrix server. I believe using Windows 2003 and older it's "C:\Documents and Settings" instead of "C:\Users" and it's "Application Data" instead of "AppData" by default. So it would be like this: "C:\Documents and Settings\test\Application Data\Vandyke\Config".

At this point the users will still be asked for the configuration path when they logon for the first time and could just click Ok without changing the path and they should get the default sessions/settings you created earlier. If you do not want to show this dialogbox where the user are asked to create the configuration directory you have to create a registry key that contains the path for the configuration data. This key is stored under "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\VanDyke\SecureFX" and is a string value named "Config Path". It should contain the path to the configuration data for sfx (for example: "C:\Users\test\AppData\Roaming\VanDyke\Config").

There are different ways to create the registry key. You could use a logon script to make this change during logon or you could use GPO. Just remember it's not static since the value contains the logonname so it's unique for each user. So you need to use the environment variable "%APPDATA%" when you create the value to be created in registry for each user. That way everyone get the same sessions by default, but still have separate configuration directory so all the changes they make (like adding new sessions) are only available to that user.

Regarding using GPO to make the change in registry which i would prefer then you could either create you own administrative template like i did for a similar scenario or maybe Vandyke already got a administrative template you could use. I could also provide you with the one i created as well if you prefer. It's just a text file so you could open in notepad and use that one as an example to create your own or make small adjustments for SecureFX. You could also wait for an answer from Vandyke as well since they maybe have another solution for Citrix/Terminal server that might be a bit more automated. If you are familiar with windows usersprofiles and GPO it's pretty simple to do this manually though.

Also if using GPO and want this to be set only when the users logon to the Citrix servers make sure you setup the GPO correctly or it might be set even if the users logon locally on their workstation/laptop as well. That goes for logonscript as well. Setting the registry key might affect existing users as well if they already have a configuration directory stored somewhere else then the path you choose to set.

Gan

[rtb]

Hi Gan,

Thanks for taking the time to post this information.

[rtb]

Hi Rodney,

Please be aware that there are licensing implications as per section 4 of the license agreement with regards to running SecureFX on a Citrix server.

Unless you have a terminal server license agreement signed by VanDyke Software, Inc., use of this Software is not allowed in environments in which the Software is located on a central server and is accessed by multiple computers.

Please contact sales@vandyke.com to ensure that your installation is within the terms of the license agreement