Scalability of 64-bit Terminal Server Platforms

Posted by Benny Tritsch on April 24, 2007 – updated on July 17, 2007

[Introduction] [Test Environment] [Tools and Scripts] [Methodology] [Results] [Conclusions]
[Appendix 1: Performance Counters Used] [Appendix 2: Step-by-Step Description]

Appendix 2: Step-by-Step Description of a Test Run

Setting up the Controller

1. Install visionapp Remote Desktop (vRD).
2. Add required user credentials for each load creator client and test server in vRD: Name, username, password and domain (= IP address of the test server).
3. Add load creator clients to Connections folder in vRD: Name, server name (IP address) and client-specific credential. Leave all other settings as they are.
4. Add test servers to Connections folder in vRD: Name, server name (IP address) and client-specific credential. Leave all other settings as they are.

Setting up the Clients (Load Generators)

1. Install vRD Load Edition (vRDLoad) by running vRDLoadSetup.msi.
2. Modify settings of .vrd XML files to be compliant to your test environment: Domain (IP address of test server), username and password.
3. Copy the required .vrd files to the clients.
4. Run vRD on the Controller and log in to all clients.
5. Run vRD Load Edition on the clients and import the appropriate .vrd file.
6. Change settings in vRD Load Edition, such as the interval between automated user log ins.

Setting up the Server

1. Install Windows Server 2003 Standard or Enterprise Edition English.
2. Install Windows Server 2003 SP1 or R2.
3. Change terminal services to application server mode and allow remote connections.
4. Run “cscript nuser.vbs” from the command line. Creating 400 user accounts and adding them to the local Users and Remote Desktop Users groups may take up to one hour.
5. Install Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0.5.
6. Run Adobe_wisptis__Service_Uninstall.reg to deactivate Wisptis.exe process.
7. Run AcrobatDisableEulaSplashScreen.reg to deactivate splash screen.
8. Delete link to Adobe Acrobat Speed Launch from the All Users’ Startup folder.
9. Install Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003 including Service Pack 2.
10. Removing the Word dialog for requesting the user’s initials: Log in as administrator and change to install mode. Start Microsoft Word and answer the questions in the dialog box. Terminate Word and change back to execution mode.
11. Removing Ctfmon.exe – step 1: Open Add or Remove Programs from the Control Panel. Select Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003 from Change or Remove Programs. Click Change. In the Maintenance Mode Options dialog box, select Add or Remove Features, and then click Next. Select advanced customization of applications in the Custom Setup dialog and click Next. This displays the Choose installation options for all Office applications and tools dialog box. Click the plus sign (+) next to Office Shared Features to expand it. Click the icon next to Alternative User Input, and then select Not Available. Click Update.
12. Removing Ctfmon.exe – step 2: Open Regional and Language Options from the Control Panel. In the Languages tab click the Details… button. This displays the Text Services and Input Languages dialog. Open the Advanced tab and select Turn off advanced text services.
13. Removing Ctfmon.exe – step 3: Run “Regsvr32 /u msimtf.dll” and “Regsvr32 /u Msctf.dll” from the command line.
14. Removing Ctfmon.exe – step 4: Start Regedit and load NTUSER.dat from the Default User profile into the HKEY_USERS hive. Remove the entry HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows \CurrentVersion\Run\ctfmon.exe.
15. Copy Documents folder to local drive C.
16. Copy bigiron.cmd from the local Documents folder to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup. NOTE: There are different versions of bigiron.cmd for either 32-bit or 64-bit platforms.
17. Copy sleep.exe from the local Documents folder to the Windows folder.

Testing

1. Run MSinfo32.exe and save data into a file. IMPORTANT: This is a required test result!
2. Run “pslist –m > C:\before.txt” on the server. IMPORTANT: This is a required test result!
3. Set up the performance log. First adapt the server name in LogSettings.htm in the Documents folder. The select Performance in the Administrative Tools menu. In the Performance Monitor right-click Performance Logs and Alerts | Counter Logs and select New Log Settings From. In the Open dialog select LogSettings.htm. Now start the log.
4. Start the test sequence in vRD Load Edition on one client after the other (this is done from vRD on the Controller).
5. Now the test sequence is running. On the server, you should do nothing interactively except watching Task Manager. You can interrupt the test sequence manually by clicking the Stop button in all instances of vRD Load Edition. When the test is over all Start buttons in vRD Load Edition switch back to active.
6. Stop the performance log and copy the log file to a save place. IMPORTANT: This is a required test result!
7. Run “pslist –m > C:\after.txt” on the server. IMPORTANT: This is a required test result!
8. Save the log files of all instances of vRD Load Edition from the Program Files\visionapp\.

Cleaning up

1. Use Terminal Services Manager to remove all user sessions from the test server.
2. If Terminal Services Manager is not able to start due to memory limitations, use Task Manager to force one user log off after the other.
3. If you want to use the server for another test, you have to remove all user profiles. This can be done by running System from the Control Panel. In the Advanced tab select Settings of the User Profiles. Delete all user profiles beginning with “v” and followed by a number. NOTE: Use shortcuts (Alt+D and Alt+Y) instead of mouse clicks.