Monitoring VMWare Products Citrix Branch Repeater

User Manual: Monitoring Citrix Branch Repeater

Open the PDF directly: View PDF .
Page Count: 51

Download
Open PDF In Browser	View PDF

Monitoring the Citrix Branch
Repeater
eG Enterprise v6

Restricted Rights Legend
The information contained in this document is confidential and subject to change without notice. No part of this
document may be reproduced or disclosed to others without the prior permission of eG Innovations, Inc. eG
Innovations, Inc. makes no warranty of any kind with regard to the software and documentation, including, but not
limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.
Trademarks
Microsoft Windows, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows 2003 and Windows 2008 are either registered trademarks
or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Copyright
© 2014 eG Innovations, Inc. All rights reserved.
The copyright in this document belongs to eG Innovations, Inc. Complying with all applicable copyright laws is the
responsibility of the user.

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1

How does eG Enterprise Monitor the Citrix Branch Repeater? ........................................................................................ 3

MONITORING THE CITRIX BRANCH REPEATER 6.1 (AND BELOW) ............................................................................ 7
2.1

The Operating System Layer............................................................................................................................................. 7

2.1.1

BR CPU Utilization Test ........................................................................................................................................... 7

2.1.2

BR Uptime Test ........................................................................................................................................................ 9

2.2

The Network Layer ......................................................................................................................................................... 11

2.3

The Branch Repeater App Layer ..................................................................................................................................... 12

2.3.1
2.4

BR Application Traffic Test .................................................................................................................................... 12

The Branch Repeater Service Layer ................................................................................................................................ 17

2.4.1

BR Scaler Statistics Test ......................................................................................................................................... 18

2.4.2

BR Connection Status Test ..................................................................................................................................... 22

2.4.3

BR ICA Statistics Test ............................................................................................................................................ 24

2.4.4

BR Level Service Class Test ................................................................................................................................... 27

2.4.5

BR Links Test ......................................................................................................................................................... 31

2.4.6

BR Service Classes Test .......................................................................................................................................... 35

2.4.7

BR Quality of Service Test ..................................................................................................................................... 39

MONITORING CITRIX CLOUDBRIDGE 6.2 (AND ABOVE) .............................................................................................. 44
3.1

The Operating System Layer........................................................................................................................................... 44

3.1.1

HA Status Test ........................................................................................................................................................ 45

CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................................................................. 48

Introduction

Introduction
Citrix® Branch Repeater™, available as a physical, virtual and a software (Repeater plug-in) appliance, is a servicecentric WAN optimization solution that accelerates, controls and optimizes all services—desktops, applications, multimedia and more—for branch and mobile users while reducing IT costs.
How the branch repeater works depends upon how it has been deployed. In an inline deployment (see Figure 1.1),
the Branch Repeater appliance uses an accelerated bridge (two Ethernet ports). Packets enter one Ethernet port and
exit through the other. As far as the rest of the network is concerned, it is as if the Branch Repeater is not present,
its operation is completely transparent.

Figure 1.1: Inline deployment of the Citrix Branch Repeater
If inline deployment is not possible, the branch repeaters can be deployed through a virtual inline model. This is
achieved via policy-based routing or WCCP redirection, such that traffic of particular types is sent to the branch
repeaters of the organization.

Figure 1.2: Virtual inline deployment of the Citrix Branch Repeater

Figure 1.3 shows the typical ICA deployment option. Typically, connectivity to different branch offices varies and
WAN optimization may not be required for every site. This “mixed approach” is possible with the branch repeater as

Introduction

the appliances detect each other automatically and apply optimization as necessary. However, in all cases there is
end-to-end encryption traffic.

Figure 1.3: ICA deployment option
If deployed in the SSL deployment mode, the branch repeater can accelerate SSL traffic. It does this by splitting the
connection into three encrypted segments: client to client appliance, appliance to appliance, and data center
appliance to server. In general, the data center appliance masquerades as the server by hosting its security
credentials, allowing it to act on the server’s behalf.

Figure 1.4: The SSL deployment mode
This way, the branch repeater enables server and desktop application virtualization services to be delivered quickly
and efficiently to branch offices and mobile users over wide area networks (WAN). If these application users
complain of slowness in access, administrators must be able to promptly and precisely pinpoint the root-cause of the
slowness – is it the non-availability of the branch repeater? is it because of poorly configured QoS thresholds on the
branch repeater? Or is it because of inefficient service class policies defined for the branch repeater? With businesses
relying heavily on branch offices to serve customers, to be near partners and suppliers and to expand into new
markets, any delay in isolating the source of performance problems with the branch repeater will automatically
translate into business losses. If this is to be avoided, the overall performance of the branch repeater has to be
continuously monitored and deviations from norms should be brought to the attention of administrators.
eG Enterprise provides a specialized Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model that periodically checks application
links, ICA traffic, QoS thresholds, and service class policies managed by the branch repeater, accurately points
administrators to the problem areas – be it slow application links or latencies in processing ICA traffic – and helps
them initiate and implement corrective action.

Introduction

Figure 1.5: The layer model of Citrix Branch Repeater
Each layer of Figure 1.5 above is mapped to a variety of tests, each of which report a wealth of performance
information related to the branch repeater. Using these metrics, administrators can find quick and accurate answers
to the following performance queries:
Is the branch repeater available over the network?
Was the branch repeater rebooted recently?
How much CPU is the branch repeater consuming?
Is the accelerated application traffic using the link bandwidth optimally? If not, the traffic for which
application is consuming bandwidth excessively?
Have too many data packets been dropped due to QoS threshold violations? If so, which application has lost
the maximum packets? Do the QoS thresholds for that application require fine-tuning?
How is the load on the branch repeater?
Is the branch repeater able to deliver a high compression ratio?
Have too many connections been left unaccelerated by the branch repeater?
Which ICA application is bandwidth-intensive? How well does the branch repeater accelerate traffic for this
ICA application?
Are the service classes configured in the branch repeater regulating traffic well or are WAN links governed
by the service classes still consuming too much bandwidth? If so, which service class is an ineffective
accelerator? Should that service class's configuration be reset?
Are any WAN/LAN links handling more traffic than the bandwidth limit set for them? If so, which are those
links?
Which traffic shaping policies configured in the branch repeater are poor accelerators and require tweaking?

1.1 How does eG Enterprise Monitor the Citrix Branch
Repeater?
To monitor the Citrix Branch Repeater, you need to make sure that the branch repeater is SNMP-enabled. Then, you
need to deploy a single eG external agent on any remote host in the environment and configure that agent to
periodically poll the SNMP MIB of the device to pull out metrics of interest.
To enable the SNMP service on the branch repeater, do the following:
1.

Connect to the web console of the
http:///.

branch

When the login screen depicted by Figure 1.6 appears, provide the credentials of the administrator to login.

repeater

virtual

appliance

using

the

URL:

Introduction

Figure 1.6: Logging in as admin
3.

Figure 1.7 will then appear.

Figure 1.7: The web console of the Branch Repeater virtual appliance
4.

Next, click on the Features option under the Command Menu section in the left panel of Figure 1.7. This will
invoke Figure 1.8, using which you can enable/disable any feature you choose.

Introduction

Figure 1.8: Enabling features
5.

Keep scrolling down the Features page of Figure 1.8 until you find the SNMP feature. Pick the Enable option
against SNMP to enable SNMP.

Figure 1.9: Enabling SNMP
6.

Then, expand the Configuration tree in the left panel of Figure 1.8 and select the Logging/Monitoring node
within. This will open Figure 1.10.

Introduction

Figure 1.10: Configuring SNMP
7.

Ensure that the SNMP Status is NORMAL. Provide the Location and Contact details and click the Update button.
Then, in the Access Configuration section, add SNMP monitoring access to the Branch Repeater appliance by
setting the following parameters:
Set the Community String to public.
Set the IP address of the host on which the Branch Repeater virtual appliance has been installed against
Management Station IP.
Then, click the Add button.

Once SNMP is enabled, the eG agent will poll the SNMB MIB of the branch repeater at configured intervals, report a
plethora of useful metrics revealing the health of the branch repeater, and present these performance statistics in the
eG monitoring model using the hierarchical layer model representation of Figure 1.2.
The chapter that follows will discuss each layer of Figure 1.5 in great detail.

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

Monitoring the Citrix Branch
Repeater 6.1 (and below)
This chapter deep dives into every layer of the Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model, the tests mapped to each
layer, and the measures every test reports.

2.1 The Operating System Layer
The tests mapped to this layer measure the CPU usage and uptime of the Citrix Branch Repeater.

Figure 2.1: The tests mapped to the Operating System layer

2.1.1

BR CPU Utilization Test

One of the probable reasons for the poor performance of the branch repeater is excessive CPU usage.
Administrators should hence continuously track how well the branch repeater utilizes CPU resources, so that
abnormal usage patterns can be proactively detected and corrected to ensure peak performance of the branch
repeater. This CPU usage check can be performed using the BR CPU Utilization test. At configured frequencies, this
test monitors the CPU usage levels of the branch repeater and reports excessive usage (if any).

Purpose

Monitors the CPU usage levels of the branch repeater and reports excessive usage

Target of the
test

A Citrix Branch Repeater

Agent
deploying the
test

An external agent

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

Configurable
parameters for
the test

TEST PERIOD - How often should the test be executed

HOST – The host for which the test is being configured

PORT - The port at which the device listens. By default, this will be NULL.

SNMPPORT - The port number through which the branch repeater exposes its SNMP MIB.
The default port is 161.

SNMPVERSION – By default, the eG agent supports SNMP version 1. Accordingly, the
default selection in the SNMPVERSION list is v1. However, if a different SNMP framework
is in use in your environment, say SNMP v2 or v3, then select the corresponding option from
this list.

SNMPCOMMUNITY – The SNMP community name that the test uses to communicate with
the target device. This parameter is specific to SNMP v1 and v2 only. Therefore, if the
SNMPVERSION chosen is v3, then this parameter will not appear.

USERNAME – This parameter appears only when v3 is selected as the SNMPVERSION.
SNMP version 3 (SNMPv3) is an extensible SNMP Framework which supplements the
SNMPv2 Framework, by additionally supporting message security, access control, and
remote SNMP configuration capabilities. To extract performance statistics from the MIB
using the highly secure SNMP v3 protocol, the eG agent has to be configured with the
required access privileges – in other words, the eG agent should connect to the MIB using
the credentials of a user with access permissions to be MIB. Therefore, specify the name of
such a user against the USERNAME parameter.

AUTHPASS – Specify the password that corresponds to the above-mentioned
USERNAME. This parameter once again appears only if the SNMPVERSION selected is
v3.

CONFIRM PASSWORD – Confirm the AUTHPASS by retyping it here.

10. AUTHTYPE – This parameter too appears only if v3 is selected as the SNMPVERSION.
From the AUTHTYPE list box, choose the authentication algorithm using which SNMP v3
converts the specified USERNAME and PASSWORD into a 32-bit format to ensure
security of SNMP transactions. You can choose between the following options:




MD5 – Message Digest Algorithm
SHA – Secure Hash Algorithm

11. ENCRYPTFLAG – This flag appears only when v3 is selected as the SNMPVERSION. By
default, the eG agent does not encrypt SNMP requests. Accordingly, the ENCRYPTFLAG is
set to NO by default. To ensure that SNMP requests sent by the eG agent are encrypted,
select the YES option.
12. ENCRYPTTYPE – If the ENCRYPTFLAG is set to YES, then you will have to mention the
encryption type by selecting an option from the ENCRYPTTYPE list. SNMP v3 supports the
following encryption types:




DES – Data Encryption Standard
AES – Advanced Encryption Standard

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

16. DATA OVER TCP – By default, in an IT environment, all data transmission occurs over
UDP. Some environments however, may be specifically configured to offload a fraction of
the data traffic – for instance, certain types of data traffic or traffic pertaining to specific
components – to other protocols like TCP, so as to prevent UDP overloads. In such
environments, you can instruct the eG agent to conduct the SNMP data traffic related to the
Citrix branch repeater over TCP (and not UDP). For this, set the DATA OVER TCP flag to
Yes. By default, this flag is set to No.
17.

Outputs of the
test
Measurements
made by the
test

One set of results for the branch repeater being monitored

Measurement
Cpu usage:

Measurement
Unit
Percent

A value over 80% is a cause for concern as it
indicates excessive CPU usage by the branch
repeater.

Indicates the percentage of
CPU used by the branch
repeater.

2.1.2

Interpretation

BR Uptime Test

In most production environments, it is essential to monitor the uptime of critical components such as the branch
repeater in the infrastructure. By tracking the uptime of the branch repeater, administrators can determine what
percentage of time the device has been up. Comparing this value with service level targets, administrators can
determine the most trouble-prone areas of the infrastructure.
In some environments, administrators may schedule periodic reboots of the repeater. By knowing that the repeater
has been up for an unusually long time, an administrator may come to know that the scheduled reboot task is not
working.
The Uptime test included in the eG agent monitors the uptime of the branch repeater.

Purpose

Monitors the uptime of the branch repeater

Target of the
test

A Citrix Branch Repeater

Agent
deploying the
test

An external agent

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

Configurable
parameters for
the test

1. TEST PERIOD - How often should the test be executed
1.

HOST – The host for which the test is being configured

PORT - The port at which the device listens. By default, this will be NULL.

SNMPPORT - The port number through which the branch repeater exposes its SNMP MIB.
The default port is 161.

AUTHPASS – Specify the password that corresponds to the above-mentioned
USERNAME. This parameter once again appears only if the SNMPVERSION selected is
v3.

CONFIRM PASSWORD – Confirm the AUTHPASS by retyping it here.

AUTHTYPE – This parameter too appears only if v3 is selected as the SNMPVERSION.
From the AUTHTYPE list box, choose the authentication algorithm using which SNMP v3
converts the specified USERNAME and PASSWORD into a 32-bit format to ensure
security of SNMP transactions. You can choose between the following options:




MD5 – Message Digest Algorithm
SHA – Secure Hash Algorithm

10. ENCRYPTFLAG – This flag appears only when v3 is selected as the SNMPVERSION. By
default, the eG agent does not encrypt SNMP requests. Accordingly, the ENCRYPTFLAG is
set to NO by default. To ensure that SNMP requests sent by the eG agent are encrypted,
select the YES option.
11. ENCRYPTTYPE – If the ENCRYPTFLAG is set to YES, then you will have to mention the
encryption type by selecting an option from the ENCRYPTTYPE list. SNMP v3 supports the
following encryption types:




DES – Data Encryption Standard
AES – Advanced Encryption Standard

12. ENCRYPTPASSWORD – Specify the encryption password here.
13. CONFIRM PASSWORD – Confirm the encryption password by retyping it here.
14. TIMEOUT - Specify the duration (in seconds) within which the SNMP query executed by this
test should time out in the TIMEOUT text box. The default is 10 seconds.

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

15. DATA OVER TCP – By default, in an IT environment, all data transmission occurs over
UDP. Some environments however, may be specifically configured to offload a fraction of
the data traffic – for instance, certain types of data traffic or traffic pertaining to specific
components – to other protocols like TCP, so as to prevent UDP overloads. In such
environments, you can instruct the eG agent to conduct the SNMP data traffic related to the
Citrix branch repeater over TCP (and not UDP). For this, set the DATA OVER TCP flag to
Yes. By default, this flag is set to No.
16.

Outputs of the
test
Measurements
made by the
test

One set of results for the branch repeater being monitored

Measurement

Measurement
Unit

Has the branch repeater
been restarted?:

If this measure shows 1, it means that the
branch repeater was rebooted during the last
measurement period. By checking the time
periods when this metric changes from 0 to
1, an administrator can determine the times
when this branch repeater was rebooted.

Indicates whether the
device has been rebooted
or not.
Uptime during the last
measure period:

Secs

If the branch repeater has not been rebooted
during the last measurement period and the
agent has been running continuously, this
value will be equal to the measurement
period. If the branch repeater was rebooted
during the last measurement period, this
value will be less than the measurement
period of the test. For example, if the
measurement period is 300 secs, and if the
branch repeater was rebooted 120 secs back,
this metric will report a value of 120 seconds.
The accuracy of this metric is dependent on
the measurement period – the smaller the
measurement period, greater the accuracy.

Mins

Administrators may wish to be alerted if a
branch repeater has been running without a
reboot for a very long period. Setting a
threshold for this metric allows administrators
to determine such conditions.

Indicates the time period
that the branch repeater
has been up since the last
time this test ran.

Total uptime of the
system:

Interpretation

Indicates the total time
that the branch repeater
has been up since its last
reboot.

2.2 The Network Layer
The tests mapped to this layer periodically check the availability of the VNX system over the network, monitor the
network connections for latencies, and measure the traffic on each network interface supported by VNX to identify
the busy and bandwidth-intensive interfaces. Since these tests have already been discussed in the Monitoring
Network Elements document, let us proceed to the next layer.

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

Figure 2.2: The tests mapped to the Network layer

2.3 The Branch Repeater App Layer
Using the BR Application Traffic test mapped to it, this layer monitors and reports how well the branch repeater
accelerates traffic to and from each of the application links it manages.

Figure 2.3: The tests mapped to the Physical Storage layer

2.3.1

BR Application Traffic Test

The real test of the efficiency and overall health of the branch repeater lies in its ability to accelerate application
accesses over the wide area network. If the Citrix Branch Repeater is not configured with the right service class
policies, QoS thresholds, or compression rules, slowdowns during application accesses will become inevitable! If this
is to be avoided, then administrators must keep an eye on every application link managed by the branch repeater,
quickly identify links that are handling more or less data than their capacity, and proceed to fine-tune traffic rules
over that link via the branch repeater to ensure optimum performance. This is where the BR Application Traffic test
helps. For every application link, this test reports the speed at which the link receives and transmits data and
packets, thus measuring how well the branch repeater is managing the traffic over the link and pointing to those

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

links that may require traffic optimizations.

Purpose

For every application link, this test reports the speed at which the link receives and transmits
data and packets, thus shedding light on slow links. In addition, the test also reports packet
drops owing to QoS threshold violations, and indicates whether/not the thresholds require finetuning

Target of the
test

A Citrix Branch Repeater

Agent
deploying the
test

An external agent

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

Configurable
parameters for
the test

1. TEST PERIOD - How often should the test be executed
1.

HOST – The host for which the test is being configured

PORT - The port at which the device listens. By default, this will be NULL.

SNMPPORT - The port number through which the branch repeater exposes its SNMP MIB.
The default port is 161.

AUTHPASS – Specify the password that corresponds to the above-mentioned
USERNAME. This parameter once again appears only if the SNMPVERSION selected is
v3.

CONFIRM PASSWORD – Confirm the AUTHPASS by retyping it here.




MD5 – Message Digest Algorithm
SHA – Secure Hash Algorithm




DES – Data Encryption Standard
AES – Advanced Encryption Standard

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

Outputs of the
test
Measurements
made by the
test

One set of results for application link handled by the Citrix Branch Repeater being monitored

Measurement
Data transmitted:

Measurement
Unit
KB/Sec

Indicates the rate at which
data was sent over this
application link.

Data received:

KB/Sec

Indicates the rate at which
data was received over this
application link.

Packets transmitted:

If the values of these measures exceed or are
dangerously close to the bandwidth limit of
the link, it signals a potential congestion or
slowdown of traffic over the link. It also
indicates that you may have to reconfigure
the branch repeater with more robust QoS
and compression rules to prevent such
unpleasant eventualities.
Number

Indicates the number of
packets transmitted over
this application link.
Packets received:

Interpretation

Number

Indicates the number of
packets received over this
application link.

WAN links have low bandwidth when
compared to LAN links. Moreover, any
attempt made to send or receive traffic faster
than the link throughput can result in
congestion. Therefore, the branch repeater
should make sure that just about enough
data packets are sent and received over
application links to prevent congestion and
maximize throughput.
If the values of these measures exceed or are
dangerously close to the maximum number
of data packets that the link can handle, it
signals a potential congestion or slowdown of
traffic over the link. It also indicates that you
may have to reconfigure the branch repeater
with more robust QoS and compression rules
to prevent such unpleasant eventualities.

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

Data dropped during
transmission:

KB/Sec

QoS (quality-of-service) is a set of policies
and priorities assigned to the application
traffic prioritized under traffic shaping policies
in BR devices. A QoS threshold allows a
sender to deliver only as much data as the
branch repeater allows it to send, and this
data is placed on the link at exactly the right
rate to keep the link full but not overflowing.
By eliminating excess data, the branch
repeater is not forced to discard it.
Without the branch repeater, the dropped
data would have to be sent again, causing
delay.

Indicates the rate of traffic
not
sent
over
this
application link due to QoS
threshold settings.
Data dropped during
reception:

KB/Sec

Indicates the rate of traffic
not received over this
application link due to QoS
threshold settings.

A high value for these measures could
therefore indicate one of the following:
The link bandwidth is low and hence
the branch repeater has been rightly
configured with a QoS threshold that
allows only limited data to be
sent/received over that link; this
excludes a lot of data from
transmissions/receptions
and
maximizes the responsiveness of the
link;
The branch repeater has been
misconfigured with a QoS threshold
that forces the link to send/receive
much less data than what it can
handle; this causes a lot of data to
be unnecessarily dropped from
transmissions/receptions, affecting
the quality-of-experience in the
process. In this case, you may have
to fine-tune the QoS policy.
Packets dropped during
transmission:

Number

Indicates the number of
packets not sent over this
application link due to QoS
threshold settings.

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

Packets dropped during
reception:

Number

Indicates the number of
packets not received over
this application link due to
QoS threshold settings.

data is placed on the link at exactly the right
rate to keep the link full but not overflowing.
By eliminating excess data, the branch
repeater is not forced to discard it.
Without the branch repeater, the dropped
data would have to be sent again, causing
delay.
A high value of this measure could therefore
indicate one of the following:
The link bandwidth is low and hence
the branch repeater has been rightly
configured with a QoS threshold that
allows only limited number of
packets to be sent/received over
that link; this excludes a lot of
packets
from
transmissions/receptions
and
maximizes the responsiveness of the
link;
The branch repeater has been
misconfigured with a QoS threshold
that forces the link to send/receive
much less data than what it can
handle; this causes a lot of packets
to be unnecessarily dropped from
transmissions/receptions, affecting
the quality-of-experience in the
process. In this case, you may have
to fine-tune the QoS policy.

2.4 The Branch Repeater Service Layer
The tests mapped to this layer reveal how efficient the branch repeater is by monitoring and reporting the following:
Load on the branch repeater and how well it processes its load;
How well the branch repeater accelerates ICA traffic;
Service classes defined in the reporter and whether/not the branch repeater optimizes the throughput of
incoming and outgoing traffic for each service class;
WAN and LAN links managed by the branch repeater and the level of traffic acceleration performed by the
branch repeater for each link;
How each traffic-shaping policy influences the bandwidth consumption of links and whether/not any policy
requires fine-tuning

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

Figure 2.4: The tests mapped to the Branch Repeater Service layer

2.4.1

BR Scaler Statistics Test

The performance of a Citrix Branch Repeater is often judged based on how well it handles its workload – i.e., how
well it accelerates traffic over LAN and WAN links and how many connections it has accelerated over a period of
time. A sudden increase in workload coupled with improper configuration can be disastrous – not just in terms of
branch repeater performance but also in terms of branch user experience with local and wide area networks. It is
therefore best to keep track of the variations in the workload of the branch repeater, so that potential overload
conditions can be detected, and also monitor key configuration settings such as compression algorithms employed by
the branch repeater, so that ineffective configurations can be isolated and reset. The BR Scaler Statistics test enables
these checks. This test continuously tracks the load on the branch repeater, measures the effectiveness of the
repeater by reporting the amount of data and connections it has accelerated, and also brings poor compression
algorithms to light by revealing changes in compression ratios over time.

Purpose

Continuously tracks the load on the branch repeater, measures the effectiveness of the repeater
by reporting the amount of data and connections it has accelerated, and also brings poor
compression algorithms to light by revealing changes in compression ratios over time

Target of the
test

A Citrix Branch Repeater

Agent
deploying the
test

An external agent

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

Configurable
parameters for
the test

TEST PERIOD - How often should the test be executed

HOST – The host for which the test is being configured

PORT - The port at which the device listens. By default, this will be NULL.

SNMPPORT - The port number through which the branch repeater exposes its SNMP MIB.
The default port is 161.

AUTHPASS – Specify the password that corresponds to the above-mentioned
USERNAME. This parameter once again appears only if the SNMPVERSION selected is
v3.

CONFIRM PASSWORD – Confirm the AUTHPASS by retyping it here.




MD5 – Message Digest Algorithm
SHA – Secure Hash Algorithm




DES – Data Encryption Standard
AES – Advanced Encryption Standard

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

Outputs of the
test
Measurements
made by the
test

One set of results for the Citrix Branch Repeater being monitored

Measurement
Load in 1 min:

Measurement
Unit
Percent

Interpretation
This measure represents the percentage of
processes that are ready to be run. This
value is computed by taking the 1-minute
load average, multiplying it by 100, and then
converting that value to an integer.

Indicates the average load
of the branch repeater
during the last minute.

You may want to observe changes in the
value of this measure over time to
understand whether/not there is a consistent
increase in workload – if so, it could be
indicative of a probable overload.
Load in 5 min:

Percent

This value is computed by taking the 51minute load average, multiplying it by 100,
and then converting that value to an integer.

Indicates the average load
of the branch repeater
during the last 5 minutes.

Data transmitted in
WAN:

A high value is desired for these measures,
as it denotes high acceleration activity over
WAN, which could significantly improve the
responsiveness of the WAN links.

Indicates the total amount
of
accelerated
data
transmitted over WAN links
during
the
last
measurement period.
Data received in WAN:

A consistent drop in these values could
indicate a processing bottleneck with the
branch repeater or a misconfiguration that is
stalling the repeater’s traffic acceleration
efforts.

Indicates the total amount
of
accelerated
data
received over WAN links
during
the
last
measurement period.

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

Data transmitted in
LAN:

A high value is desired for these measures,
as it denotes high acceleration activity over
LAN, which could significantly improve the
responsiveness of the LAN links.

Indicates the total amount
of
accelerated
data
transmitted over LAN links
during
the
last
measurement period.
Data received in LAN:

A consistent drop in these values could
indicate a processing bottleneck with the
branch repeater or a misconfiguration that is
stalling the repeater’s traffic acceleration
efforts.

Indicates the total amount
of
accelerated
data
received over LAN links
during
the
last
measurement period.
Send compression ratio:

Percent

One of the techniques that the Citrix Branch
repeater
uses
to
accelerate
data
transmissions
and
receptions
is
compression. A compression algorithm
scans the data to be compressed, searching
for strings of data that match strings that
have been sent before. If no such matches
are found, the actual data is sent. If a match
is found, the matching data is replaced with a
pointer to the previous instance. In a very
large matching string, megabytes or
gigabytes of data can be represented by a
pointer containing only a few bytes, and only
those few bytes need be sent over the link.

Indicates the compression
rate of the accelerated data
transmitted during the last
measurement period.
Receive compression
ratio:

Percent

Indicates the compression
rate of the accelerated data
received during the last
measurement period.

Ideally, the compression algorithm should be
able to deliver high compression ratios. So, if
the value of these measures drop
consistently, it could indicate the usage of a
poor compression algorithm. You may then
want to consider fine-tuning the compression
algorithm to ensure a high compression ratio.
Accelerated
connections:

Number

Indicates the number of
connections that were
currently accelerated.
Non-accelerated
connections:

Number

Indicates the number of
connections that were not
accelerated currently.

If the number of Accelerated connections is
more than the number of Non-accelerated
connections, it is a sign of the good health of
the branch repeater.

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

Operational state:

The values that this measure can report and
their corresponding numeric values have
been detailed in the table below:

Indicates the current
operational state of the
branch repeater.

Measure Value

Numeric Value

Busy

100

Down

101

License Expired

102

Note:
By default, this measure reports the abovementioned Measure Values while indicating
the operational state of the branch repeater.
However, in the graph of this measure, the
same will be represented using the
corresponding numeric equivalents only.

2.4.2

BR Connection Status Test

This test reports the number of connections accelerated by the branch repeater that are currently active.

Purpose

Reports the number of active acceleration connections on the branch repeater

Target of the
test

A Citrix Branch Repeater

Agent
deploying the
test

An external agent

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

Configurable
parameters for
the test

1. TEST PERIOD - How often should the test be executed
1.

HOST – The host for which the test is being configured

PORT - The port at which the device listens. By default, this will be NULL.

SNMPPORT - The port number through which the branch repeater exposes its SNMP MIB.
The default port is 161.

AUTHPASS – Specify the password that corresponds to the above-mentioned
USERNAME. This parameter once again appears only if the SNMPVERSION selected is
v3.

CONFIRM PASSWORD – Confirm the AUTHPASS by retyping it here.




MD5 – Message Digest Algorithm
SHA – Secure Hash Algorithm




DES – Data Encryption Standard
AES – Advanced Encryption Standard

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

Outputs of the
test
Measurements
made by the
test

One set of results for the Citrix Branch Repeater being monitored

Measurement
Active connections:

Measurement
Unit

Interpretation

Number

Indicates the number of
active
accelerated
connections.

2.4.3

BR ICA Statistics Test

Branch Repeater includes ICA acceleration powered by HDX IntelliCache and HDX Broadcast technologies to optimize
virtual application delivery. HDX IntelliCache optimizes delivery across multiple Citrix® XenApp™ and Citrix®
XenDesktop™ sessions by locally caching and de-duplicating transmission of common graphics and data within the
ICA protocol. HDX Broadcast, on the other hand:
Optimizes the flow of XenDesktop and XenApp ICA® traffic across multiple connections in a branch by
sensing and responding to network and traffic conditions;
Reduces XenDesktop and XenApp ICA bandwidth consumption by applying optimal compression techniques
based on traffic characteristics, infrastructure capabilities and network conditions;
Orchestrates with XenDesktop and XenApp to participate in the ICA session and provides intelligent
acceleration of the ICA protocol by sensing and responding to the network and traffic conditions;
Allows administrators to define rules that set which types of application traffic or ICA workflows receive the
highest priority.
But, how can administrators determine the adequacy of these instrumentations? What if, even after having
configured the branch repeater with acceleration rules, administrators continue to receive user complaints related to
slowness in ICA connections to virtual desktops? To handle such situations, administrators should keep an eye on the
accelerated traffic for each ICA application, measure the throughput of the traffic, and accurately identify those
applications for which ICA traffic may have to be regulated further to reduce bandwidth consumption and optimize
throughput. To achieve this, administrators can use the BR ICA Statistics test. This test monitors the accelerated
traffic to and from each ICA application, reports how effectively the branch repeater performs ICA acceleration, and
in the process, accurately pinpoints areas for improvement – i.e., points to those applications for which the ICA
traffic can be accelerated further by fine-tuning compression and QoS rules in the branch repeater.

Purpose

Monitors the accelerated traffic to and from each ICA application, reports how effectively the
branch repeater performs ICA acceleration, and in the process, accurately pinpoints areas for
improvement – i.e., points to those applications for which the ICA traffic can be accelerated
further by fine-tuning compression and QoS rules in the branch repeater

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

Target of the
test

A Citrix Branch Repeater

Agent
deploying the
test

An external agent

Configurable
parameters for
the test

TEST PERIOD - How often should the test be executed

HOST – The host for which the test is being configured

PORT - The port at which the device listens. By default, this will be NULL.

SNMPPORT - The port number through which the branch repeater exposes its SNMP MIB.
The default port is 161.

AUTHPASS – Specify the password that corresponds to the above-mentioned
USERNAME. This parameter once again appears only if the SNMPVERSION selected is
v3.

CONFIRM PASSWORD – Confirm the AUTHPASS by retyping it here.




MD5 – Message Digest Algorithm
SHA – Secure Hash Algorithm




DES – Data Encryption Standard
AES – Advanced Encryption Standard

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

13. ENCRYPTPASSWORD – Specify the encryption password here.
14. CONFIRM PASSWORD – Confirm the encryption password by retyping it here.
15. TIMEOUT - Specify the duration (in seconds) within which the SNMP query executed by this
test should time out in the TIMEOUT text box. The default is 10 seconds.
16. DATA OVER TCP – By default, in an IT environment, all data transmission occurs over
UDP. Some environments however, may be specifically configured to offload a fraction of
the data traffic – for instance, certain types of data traffic or traffic pertaining to specific
components – to other protocols like TCP, so as to prevent UDP overloads. In such
environments, you can instruct the eG agent to conduct the SNMP data traffic related to the
Citrix branch repeater over TCP (and not UDP). For this, set the DATA OVER TCP flag to
Yes. By default, this flag is set to No.

Outputs of the
test
Measurements
made by the
test

One set of results for each ICA application managed by the Citrix Branch Repeater being
monitored

Measurement
Data transmitted:

Measurement
Unit
KB/Sec

If the value of these measures is well-within
the bandwidth limit set for your WAN links, it
indicates the efficiency of the branch repeater
in maximizing throughput and minimizing
bandwidth consumption.

Indicates the rate at which
data was transmitted by
this ICA application.
Data received:

KB/Sec

If the value of these measures indicates
excessive bandwidth usage, then you may
have to compare the value of these measures
across ICA applications to know which
application is consuming the maximum
bandwidth. You should then alter the priority
of the traffic and ICA workflows related to
this application to reduce bandwidth usage.

Indicates the rate at which
data was received by this
ICA application.

Data transmitted ratio:

Percent

Compare the value of this measure across
applications to identify bandwidth-intensive
applications, and to understand how ICA
traffic priorities should be set in the branch
repeater.

Percent

Compare the value of this measure across
applications to identify bandwidth-intensive
applications, and to understand how ICA
traffic priorities should be set in the branch
repeater.

Represents the sent
volume of this ICA
application as a percent
share of the total volume of
traffic sent by all ICA
applications.
Data received ratio:

Interpretation

Represents the received
volume of this ICA
application as a percent
share of the total volume of
traffic received by all ICA
applications.

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

2.4.4

BR Level Service Class Test

Service classes are user-defined groups of IP addresses and port numbers that allow the Branch Repeater to
accelerate or not accelerate a particular group of connections or a single connection.
Once a service class is created, acceleration (also known as flow control) and compression can be enabled or
disabled for that particular service class.
Post service class configuration, it is good practice to observe the accelerated traffic to and from each service class,
so that you can check the effectiveness of the acceleration/compression rules that you have set per service class.
This is where the BR Level Service Class test helps. This test auto-discovers the service classes configured in the
branch repeater, monitors the volume of traffic sent and received by each service class, captures packet drops that
occur when QoS thresholds are violated by a service class, and enables administrators to determine the following:
How well the branch repeater accelerates/compresses traffic to/from service classes;
Service classes for which acceleration/compression rules may have to be fine-tuned

Purpose

Auto-discovers the service classes configured in the branch repeater, monitors the volume of
traffic sent and received by each service class, captures packet drops that occur when QoS
thresholds are violated by a service class, and enables administrators to determine the
following:
How well the branch repeater accelerates/compresses traffic to/from service classes;
Service classes for which acceleration/compression rules may have to be fine-tuned

Target of the
test

A Citrix Branch Repeater

Agent
deploying the
test

An external agent

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

Configurable
parameters for
the test

TEST PERIOD - How often should the test be executed

HOST – The host for which the test is being configured

PORT - The port at which the device listens. By default, this will be NULL.

SNMPPORT - The port number through which the branch repeater exposes its SNMP MIB.
The default port is 161.

AUTHPASS – Specify the password that corresponds to the above-mentioned
USERNAME. This parameter once again appears only if the SNMPVERSION selected is
v3.

CONFIRM PASSWORD – Confirm the AUTHPASS by retyping it here.




MD5 – Message Digest Algorithm
SHA – Secure Hash Algorithm




DES – Data Encryption Standard
AES – Advanced Encryption Standard

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

Outputs of the
test
Measurements
made by the
test

One set of results for each service class configured in the Citrix Branch Repeater being
monitored

Measurement
Data transmitted:

Measurement
Unit
KB/Sec

Indicates the rate at which
data was sent by this
service class.

Data received:

KB/Sec

Indicates the rate at which
data was received by this
service class.

Packets transmitted:

If the values of these measures exceed or are
dangerously close to the bandwidth limit of
the WAN links used by a service class, it
signals a potential congestion or slowdown of
traffic over one/more of those WAN links. It
also indicates that you may have to
reconfigure the branch repeater with more
robust traffic shaping policies to prevent such
unpleasant eventualities.
Number

Indicates the number of
packets transmitted by this
service class.
Packets received:

Interpretation

Number

Indicates the number of
packets received by this
service class.

WAN links have low bandwidth when
compared to LAN links. Moreover, any
attempt made to send or receive traffic faster
than the link throughput can result in
congestion. Therefore, the branch repeater
should make sure that just about enough
data packets are sent and received by the IP
addresses and ports grouped under a service
class to prevent congestion and optimize
throughput.
If the values of these measures exceed or are
dangerously close to the bandwidth limit of
the WAN links used by a service class, it
signals a potential congestion or slowdown of
traffic over one/more of those WAN links. It
also indicates that you may have to
reconfigure the branch repeater with more
robust traffic shaping policies, acceleration
rules, and compression algorithms to prevent
such unpleasant eventualities.

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

Data dropped during
transmission:

KB/Sec

Indicates the rate of traffic
not sent by this service
class over all its WAN links
due to QoS threshold
settings.
Data dropped during
reception:

KB/Sec

Indicates the rate of traffic
not received by this service
class due to QoS threshold
settings.

You can compare the value of these
measures across service classes to identify
that service class, the WAN links of which
have dropped the maximum data. This could
be owing to any of the following reasons:
The bandwidth of the WAN links
used by the service class is low.
Hence, very rightly, a high QoS
threshold has been set that allows
only limited data to be sent/received
over those WAN links; as a result, a
large
amount
of
data
gets
automatically
excluded
from
transmissions/receptions over those
WAN links, thus maximizing the
speed of the links;
The branch repeater has been
misconfigured with a high QoS
threshold that forces the WAN links
used by this service class to
send/receive much less data than
what it can handle; this causes a lot
of data to be unnecessarily dropped
from
transmissions/receptions,
affecting the quality-of-experience in
the process. In this case, you may
have to fine-tune the QoS policy.

Packets dropped during
transmission:

Number

Indicates the number of
packets not sent over all
the WAN links used by this
service class due to QoS
threshold settings.

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

Packets dropped during
reception:

Number

Indicates the number of
packets not received by
this service class due to
QoS threshold settings.

rate to keep the link full but not overflowing.
By eliminating excess data, the branch
repeater is not forced to discard it.
Without the branch repeater, the dropped
data would have to be sent again, causing
delay.
You can compare the value of these
measures across service classes to identify
that service class, the WAN links of which
have dropped the maximum packets. This
could be owing to any of the following
reasons:
The bandwidth of the WAN links
used by the service class is low.
Hence, very rightly, a high QoS
threshold has been set that allows
only limited number of packets to be
sent/received over those WAN links;
as a result, many data packets gets
automatically
excluded
from
transmissions/receptions over those
WAN links, thus maximizing the
speed of the links;
The branch repeater has been
misconfigured with a high QoS
threshold that forces the WAN links
used by this service class to
send/receive fewer data packets
than what it can handle; this causes
a many data packets to be
unnecessarily
dropped
from
transmissions/receptions, affecting
the quality-of-experience in the
process. In this case, you may have
to fine-tune the QoS policy.

2.4.5

BR Links Test

In order to optimize bandwidth usage, minimize congestions, and maximize the speed of WAN and LAN links,
administrators need to define the WAN and LAN links requiring traffic acceleration in the Citrix Branch Repeater, set
the bandwidth limit for each of the links for receiving/sending data, and associate each link with traffic shaping
policies. But, once the configuration is complete, how can administrators test the correctness of the configuration?
For this, administrators can use the BR Links test. For each WAN and LAN link configured in the branch repeater, this
test reports real-time metrics of the volume of traffic handled by the link and packet drops over the link. This way,
the test reveals those links that are candidates for fine-tuning, owing to their low throughput despite the traffic
shaping and acceleration rules that apply to them.

Purpose
Target of the

For each WAN and LAN link configured in the branch repeater, this test reports real-time metrics
of the volume of traffic handled by the link and packet drops over the link
A Citrix Branch Repeater

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

test
Agent
deploying the
test

An external agent

Configurable
parameters for
the test

TEST PERIOD - How often should the test be executed

HOST – The host for which the test is being configured

PORT - The port at which the device listens. By default, this will be NULL.

SNMPPORT - The port number through which the branch repeater exposes its SNMP MIB.
The default port is 161.

AUTHPASS – Specify the password that corresponds to the above-mentioned
USERNAME. This parameter once again appears only if the SNMPVERSION selected is
v3.

CONFIRM PASSWORD – Confirm the AUTHPASS by retyping it here.




MD5 – Message Digest Algorithm
SHA – Secure Hash Algorithm




DES – Data Encryption Standard
AES – Advanced Encryption Standard

13. ENCRYPTPASSWORD – Specify the encryption password here.

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

14. CONFIRM PASSWORD – Confirm the encryption password by retyping it here.
15. TIMEOUT - Specify the duration (in seconds) within which the SNMP query executed by this
test should time out in the TIMEOUT text box. The default is 10 seconds.
16. DATA OVER TCP – By default, in an IT environment, all data transmission occurs over
UDP. Some environments however, may be specifically configured to offload a fraction of
the data traffic – for instance, certain types of data traffic or traffic pertaining to specific
components – to other protocols like TCP, so as to prevent UDP overloads. In such
environments, you can instruct the eG agent to conduct the SNMP data traffic related to the
Citrix branch repeater over TCP (and not UDP). For this, set the DATA OVER TCP flag to
Yes. By default, this flag is set to No.

Outputs of the
test
Measurements
made by the
test

One set of results for WAN/LAN link managed by the Citrix Branch Repeater being monitored

Measurement
Data transmitted:

Measurement
Unit
KB/Sec

Any attempt made to send or receive traffic
faster than the link throughput can result in
congestion. Therefore, the branch repeater
should make sure that just about enough
data is sent and received over application
links to prevent congestion and optimize
throughput.

Indicates the rate at which
data was sent over this
link.

Data received:

KB/Sec

Indicates the rate at which
data was received over this
application link.

Packets transmitted:

Number

Indicates the number of
packets transmitted over
this link.
Packets received:

Interpretation

Number

Indicates the number of
packets received over this
link.

Any attempt made to send or receive traffic
faster than the link throughput can result in
congestion. Therefore, the branch repeater
should make sure that just about enough
data packets are sent and received over
application links to prevent congestion and
maximize throughput.
If the values of these measures exceed or are
dangerously close to the maximum number
of data packets that the link can handle, it
signals a potential congestion or slowdown of
traffic over the link. It also indicates that you
may have to reconfigure the branch repeater
with more robust QoS and compression rules
to prevent such unpleasant eventualities.

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

Data dropped during
transmission:

KB/Sec

Indicates the rate of traffic
not sent over this link due
to QoS threshold settings.
Data dropped during
reception:

KB/Sec

Indicates the rate of traffic
not received over this due
to QoS threshold settings.

Number

Indicates the number of
packets not sent over this
link due to QoS threshold
settings.

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

Packets dropped during
reception:

Number

Indicates the number of
packets not received over
this link due to QoS
threshold settings.

data is placed on the link at exactly the right
rate to keep the link full but not overflowing.
By eliminating excess data, the branch
repeater is not forced to discard it.
Without the branch repeater, the dropped
data would have to be sent again, causing
delay.
A high value for these measures could
therefore indicate one of the following:
The link bandwidth is low and hence
the branch repeater has been rightly
configured with a QoS threshold that
allows only limited number of
packets to be sent/received over
that link; this excludes a lot of
packets
from
transmissions/receptions
and
maximizes the responsiveness of the
link;
The branch repeater has been
misconfigured with a QoS threshold
that forces the link to send/receive
much less data than what it can
handle; this causes a lot of packets
to be unnecessarily dropped from
transmissions/receptions, affecting
the quality-of-experience in the
process. In this case, you may have
to fine-tune the QoS policy.

2.4.6

BR Service Classes Test

Service classes are user-defined groups of IP addresses and port numbers that allow the Branch Repeater to
accelerate or not accelerate a particular group of connections or a single connection.
Once a service class is created, acceleration (also known as flow control) and compression can be enabled or
disabled for that particular service class.
After service class configuration, administrators may want to check how well the branch repeater accelerates the
traffic to and from each service class, how effective the compression algorithm mapped to each service class is, and
whether any data or connection is left unaccelerated. This analysis will enable administrators to identify those service
classes for which many connections are still unaccelerated and those that use poor compression algorithms. To
perform this analysis periodically, the BR Service Classes test can be used. For each service class configured in the
branch repeater, this test monitors the accelerated traffic on the service class and reports the following:
For which service class has the branch repeater not accelerated the maximum data and connections?
For which service class has the branch repeater being unable to compress data traffic significantly?
Such service classes are candidates for configuration tuning.

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

Purpose

Target of the
test

A Citrix Branch Repeater

Agent
deploying the
test

An external agent

Configurable
parameters for
the test

TEST PERIOD - How often should the test be executed

HOST – The host for which the test is being configured

PORT - The port at which the device listens. By default, this will be NULL.

SNMPPORT - The port number through which the branch repeater exposes its SNMP MIB.
The default port is 161.

AUTHPASS – Specify the password that corresponds to the above-mentioned
USERNAME. This parameter once again appears only if the SNMPVERSION selected is
v3.

CONFIRM PASSWORD – Confirm the AUTHPASS by retyping it here.




MD5 – Message Digest Algorithm
SHA – Secure Hash Algorithm

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model




DES – Data Encryption Standard
AES – Advanced Encryption Standard

13. ENCRYPTPASSWORD – Specify the encryption password here.
14. CONFIRM PASSWORD – Confirm the encryption password by retyping it here.
15. TIMEOUT - Specify the duration (in seconds) within which the SNMP query executed by this
test should time out in the TIMEOUT text box. The default is 10 seconds.
16. DATA OVER TCP – By default, in an IT environment, all data transmission occurs over
UDP. Some environments however, may be specifically configured to offload a fraction of
the data traffic – for instance, certain types of data traffic or traffic pertaining to specific
components – to other protocols like TCP, so as to prevent UDP overloads. In such
environments, you can instruct the eG agent to conduct the SNMP data traffic related to the
Juniper EX Switch over TCP (and not UDP). For this, set the DATA OVER TCP flag to Yes.
By default, this flag is set to No.

Outputs of the
test
Measurements
made by the
test

One set of results for each service class configured in the Citrix Branch Repeater being
monitored

Measurement
Current accelerated
connection:

Measurement
Unit

Interpretation

Number

Indicates
the
current
number
of
accelerated
connections for this service
class.
Total accelerated
connection:

Number

A high value is desired for this measure.

Indicates the total number
of accelerated connections
for this service class since
system startup.
Total accelerated data:
Indicates the total amount
of
data
that
was
accelerated for this service
class during the last
measurement period.

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

Total non-accelerated
connections:

Number

Compare the value of this measure across
service classes to know for which service
class the maximum number of connections
has not been accelerated. The reasons for
this will have to be investigated. If ineffective
traffic shaping policies or compression rules
are responsible for the gradual deterioration
in the acceleration rate of the service class,
then such policies will have to be revamped
to improve performance.

Indicates the total number
of
non-accelerated
connections for this service
class since system startup.

Total non-accelerated
data:

Compare the value of this measure across
service classes to know for which service
class the maximum amount of data has not
been accelerated. The reasons for this will
have to be investigated. If ineffective traffic
shaping policies or compression rules are
responsible for the gradual deterioration in
the acceleration rate of the service class,
then such policies will have to be revamped
to improve performance.

Indicates the total amount
of data that was not
accelerated for this service
class during the last
measurement period.

Accelerated data before
compression:

A low value is desired for this measure.

Indicates the amount of
data that was accelerated
for this service class before
compression during the last
measurement period.
Data transmitted after
compression:

Compare the value of the Data transmitted
after compression and the Data transmitted
before compression measures for a service
class to figure out how effective compression
was. If compression did not reduce the data
transmitted for any service class, it is an
indication that a poor compression algorithm
has been employed by that service class. You
will then have to reconfigure the compression
ratio that applies to that service class.

Indicates the amount of
data that was transmitted
for this service class after
compression, during the
last measurement period.
Data transmitted before
compression:

Indicates the amount of
data that was transmitted
for this service class before
compression, during the
last measurement period.
Data received after
compression:

Compare the value of the Data received after
compression and the Data received before
compression measures for a service class to
figure out how effective compression was. If
compression only mildly reduced the data
received for any service class, it is an
indication that a poor compression algorithm

Indicates the amount of
data that was received for
this service class after
compression, during the
last measurement period.

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

Data received before
compression:

has been employed by that service class. You
will then have to reconfigure the compression
ratio that applies to that service class.

Indicates the amount of
data that was received for
this service class before
compression, during the
last measurement period.

2.4.7

BR Quality of Service Test

The Citrix Branch Repeater includes integral quality-of-service (QoS) functionality that classifies traffic by flow and
application. This works with various other optimization and compression technologies to control the bandwidth used
and improve the user experience.
In Citrix Repeater, a traffic-shaping engine is included to manage all the TCP or User Datagram Protocol (UDP) traffic
on WAN links in the incoming as well as outgoing directions. The traffic shaper is based on bandwidth-limited fair
queuing, where every connection is assigned a weighted priority based on the assigned policies. Weighted priorities
are applied to the actual WAN data transferred, after compression is applied. The weighted priority is based on the
Application Classifiers defined in the Service Class, and you can also apply the weighted priorities on a per-link basis.
You can use the following mechanisms to apply Quality of Service:

Link Definition: Informs the traffic shaper which WAN link the packet is using. In a site with multiple links,
each link has its own bandwidth limits and is managed independently.

Application Classifiers: Identifies and determines the protocol or application class to which traffic belongs.
Service Classes: Maps applications to acceleration decisions, traffic filters, and traffic-shaping policies.
Traffic Shaping Policies: Informs the traffic shaper about weighted priority and bandwidth limits to assign to
which traffic type, the application classifier.
Figure 2.5 depicts the architecture for the QoS capabilities

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

Figure 2.5: The QoS architecture

If branch users complain of link slowdowns, then administrators should be able to identify which traffic-shaping
policy governs traffic acceleration on that link and should figure out how to fine-tune that policy to increase link
throughput. The BR Quality of Service test helps with this! This test auto-discovers the default and user-configured
traffic-shaping policies and closely observes the traffic accelerated by each policy to identify those policies that may
have to be tweaked in order to improve the rate of traffic acceleration, optimize bandwidth usage, and reduce packet
loss.

Purpose

Auto-discovers the default and user-configured traffic-shaping policies and closely observes the
traffic accelerated by each policy to identify those policies that may have to be tweaked in order
to improve the rate of traffic acceleration, optimize bandwidth usage, and reduce packet loss

Target of the
test

A Citrix Branch Repeater

Agent
deploying the
test

An external agent

Configurable
parameters for
the test

TEST PERIOD - How often should the test be executed

HOST – The host for which the test is being configured

PORT - The port at which the device listens. By default, this will be NULL.

SNMPPORT - The port number through which the branch repeater exposes its SNMP MIB.
The default port is 161.

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

AUTHPASS – Specify the password that corresponds to the above-mentioned
USERNAME. This parameter once again appears only if the SNMPVERSION selected is
v3.

CONFIRM PASSWORD – Confirm the AUTHPASS by retyping it here.




MD5 – Message Digest Algorithm
SHA – Secure Hash Algorithm




DES – Data Encryption Standard
AES – Advanced Encryption Standard

13. ENCRYPTPASSWORD – Specify the encryption password here.
14. CONFIRM PASSWORD – Confirm the encryption password by retyping it here.
15. TIMEOUT - Specify the duration (in seconds) within which the SNMP query executed by this
test should time out in the TIMEOUT text box. The default is 10 seconds.
16. DATA OVER TCP – By default, in an IT environment, all data transmission occurs over
UDP. Some environments however, may be specifically configured to offload a fraction of
the data traffic – for instance, certain types of data traffic or traffic pertaining to specific
components – to other protocols like TCP, so as to prevent UDP overloads. In such
environments, you can instruct the eG agent to conduct the SNMP data traffic related to the
Juniper EX Switch over TCP (and not UDP). For this, set the DATA OVER TCP flag to Yes.
By default, this flag is set to No.

Outputs of the
test

One set of results for each default and user-configured traffic-shaping policy in the Citrix Branch
Repeater being monitored

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

Measurements
made by the
test

Measurement
Data transmitted:

Measurement
Unit
KB/Sec

At any given point in time, the value of these
measures should be well-within the incoming
and outgoing bandwidth usage limits set for
the corresponding traffic-changing policy. If
these values consistently grow towards the
bandwidth usage limit, it is an indication that
the traffic-shaping policy is not very effective.
You may then have to fine-tune that policy to
optimize bandwidth consumption.

Indicates the rate at which
data was transmitted for
this traffic-shaping policy.
Data received:

KB/Sec

Indicates the rate at which
data was received for this
traffic-shaping policy.
Packets transmitted:

Number

Indicates the number of
packets transmitted for this
traffic-shaping policy during
the
last
measurement
period.
Packets received:

Number

Indicates the number of
packets received for this
traffic-shaping policy during
the
last
measurement
period.
Data received before
compression:

Interpretation

Indicates the amount of
data that was received for
this service class before
compression, during the
last measurement period.
Data dropped during
transmission:

KB/Sec

A high value for these measures could
indicate one of the following:

Indicates the rate of traffic
dropped because of this
traffic-shaping policy.
Data dropped during
reception:

The traffic-shaping policy is such
that it allows only very limited data
to be sent/received over a link; this
excludes a lot of data from
transmissions/receptions
and
maximizes the responsiveness of the
link;

KB/Sec

Indicates the rate of traffic
not received due to this
traffic-shaping policy.

The traffic-shaping policy has been
misconfigured, causing a link to
send/receive much less data than
what it can handle; this causes a lot
of data to be unnecessarily dropped
from
transmissions/receptions,
affecting the quality-of-experience in
the process. In this case, you may
have to fine-tune the policy.

The Citrix Branch Repeater monitoring model

Packets dropped during
transmission:

Number

Indicates the number of
packets dropped during
transmissions due to this
traffic-shaping policy.
Packets dropped during
reception:

Number

Indicates the number of
packets not received due to
this traffic-shaping policy.

A high value for these measures could
indicate one of the following:
The traffic-shaping policy is such
that it allows only a few data
packets to be sent/received over a
link; this excludes a lot of packets
from transmissions/receptions and
maximizes the responsiveness of the
link;
The traffic-shaping policy has been
misconfigured, causing a link to
send/receive fewer data packets
than what it can handle; this causes
many packets to be unnecessarily
dropped
from
transmissions/receptions, affecting
the quality-of-experience in the
process. In this case, you may have
to fine-tune the policy.

Monitoring Citrix CloudBridge

Monitoring Citrix CloudBridge 6.2
(and above)
Branch Repeater has merged with CloudBridge to support accelerated application delivery in the cloud era. Therefore
the Citrix Branch Repeater is called as Citrix CloudBridge from version 6.2.
Citrix CloudBridge provides a unified platform that connects and accelerates applications, optimizes bandwidth
utilization across third-party public cloud and private networks, and offers a platform for third-party applications. As
the only WAN optimization solution with integrated, secure, transparent cloud connectivity, CloudBridge allows
enterprises to augment their datacenter with the infinite capacity and elastic efficiency provided by public cloud
providers, while also providing the option to simplify branch office networks without sacrificing service delivery.

Figure 3.1: Layer model of the Citrix CloudBridge
This chapter helps you in understanding the Citrix CloudBridge monitoring model, the tests mapped to each layer,
and the measures every test reports. Since the tests mapped to all the layers of this server model are already
discussed in Chapter 2, let us now discuss the tests that are relevant only to the Citrix CloudBridge monitoring model.
Section 3.1 promptly helps you in discussing those tests that are not discussed previously.

3.1 The Operating System Layer
The tests mapped to this layer measure the CPU usage, uptime and the high availability status of the Citrix
CloudBridge.

Figure 3.2: The Operating System layer

Monitoring Citrix CloudBridge

3.1.1

HA Status Test

A high availability (HA) deployment of two Citrix® CloudBridge servers can provide uninterrupted operation in any
transaction. With one server configured as the primary and the other as the secondary, the primary accepts
connections and manages servers while the secondary monitors the primary. If, for any reason, the primary is unable
to accept connections, the secondary takes over.
The secondary monitors the primary by sending periodic messages (often called heartbeat messages or health
checks) to determine whether the primary is accepting connections. If a health check fails, the secondary retries the
connection for a specified period, after which it determines that the primary is not functioning normally. The
secondary then takes over for the primary (a process called failover).
When monitoring a high availability setup of Citrix CloudBridge servers, you may want to know the current state of
the Citrix CloudBridge that is monitored. The HA Status test exactly does the same! This test monitors the current
state of the Citrix CloudBridge in a high availability setup.

Purpose

Monitors the current state of the Citrix CloudBridge in a high availability setup.

Target of the
test

A Citrix CloudBridge

Agent
deploying the
test

An external agent

Configurable
parameters for
the test

TEST PERIOD - How often should the test be executed

HOST – The host for which the test is being configured

PORT - The port at which the device listens. By default, this will be NULL.

SNMPPORT - The port number through which the branch repeater exposes its SNMP MIB.
The default port is 161.

AUTHPASS – Specify the password that corresponds to the above-mentioned
USERNAME. This parameter once again appears only if the SNMPVERSION selected is v3.

CONFIRM PASSWORD – Confirm the AUTHPASS by retyping it here.

Monitoring Citrix CloudBridge

10. AUTHTYPE – This parameter too appears only if v3 is selected as the SNMPVERSION.
From the AUTHTYPE list box, choose the authentication algorithm using which SNMP v3
converts the specified USERNAME and PASSWORD into a 32-bit format to ensure security
of SNMP transactions. You can choose between the following options:


MD5 – Message Digest Algorithm



SHA – Secure Hash Algorithm

DES – Data Encryption Standard



AES – Advanced Encryption Standard

13. ENCRYPTPASSWORD – Specify the encryption password here.
14. CONFIRM PASSWORD – Confirm the encryption password by retyping it here.
15. TIMEOUT - Specify the duration (in seconds) within which the SNMP query executed by this
test should time out in the TIMEOUT text box. The default is 10 seconds.
16. DATA OVER TCP – By default, in an IT environment, all data transmission occurs over
UDP. Some environments however, may be specifically configured to offload a fraction of
the data traffic – for instance, certain types of data traffic or traffic pertaining to specific
components – to other protocols like TCP, so as to prevent UDP overloads. In such
environments, you can instruct the eG agent to conduct the SNMP data traffic related to the
Citrix CloudBridge over TCP (and not UDP). For this, set the DATA OVER TCP flag to Yes.
By default, this flag is set to No.

Outputs of the
test
Measurements
made by the

One set of results for the Citrix CloudBridge being monitored

Measurement

Measurement
Unit

Interpretation

Monitoring Citrix CloudBridge

test

Status:

The values that this measure can report and
their corresponding numeric equivalents are
shown in the table below:

Indicates the current state
of this Citrix CloudBridge in
a high availability cluster
unit.

Numeric
Value

Measure Value

Invalid

Starting

Restarting

Secondary

Primary

Standalone

Note:
By default, this measure reports the abovementioned Measure Values while indicating
the current state of this Citrix CloudBridge in
a high availability cluster unit. However, in
the graph of this measure, the states will be
represented using the corresponding numeric
equivalents only.

Conclusion

Conclusion
This document has clearly explained how eG Enterprise monitors the Citrix Branch Repeater. We can thus conclude
that eG Enterprise, with its ability to provide in-depth insight into the performance of the branch repeater, is the ideal
solution for monitoring such environments. For more information on eG Enterprise, please visit our web site at
www.eginnovations.com or write to us at sales@eginnovations.com.

Source Exif Data:

File Type                       : PDF
File Type Extension             : pdf
MIME Type                       : application/pdf
PDF Version                     : 1.5
Linearized                      : No
Page Count                      : 51
Language                        : en-US
Tagged PDF                      : Yes
Title                           : Monitoring VMWare Products
Author                          : priya
Creator                         : Microsoft® Word 2010
Create Date                     : 2014:10:10 16:38:38+05:30
Modify Date                     : 2014:10:10 16:38:38+05:30
Producer                        : Microsoft® Word 2010

EXIF Metadata provided by EXIF.tools

Monitoring VMWare Products Citrix Branch Repeater

Navigation menu

Versions of this User Manual:

Views

Navigation