Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops

Introduction

Always On Tracing (AOT) is a modern diagnostic framework from Citrix designed to continuously capture relevant log data across the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops (CVAD) environment. Always on Tracing (AOT) is a subset of CDF traces that can be helpful when troubleshooting common failures (for example, VDA registrations and application/desktop launches). Unlike traditional tools that require manual intervention, AOT runs in the background by default, ensuring that critical information is available when issues occur, even if the problem cannot be reproduced.

AOT is built to simplify troubleshooting for IT administrators and Citrix support teams to improve the mean-time-to-resolution by:

  • Automatically capturing log data for user sessions and system events.
  • Eliminating the need to reproduce issues.
  • Making logs easily accessible and readable without engineering-level expertise.
  • Enabling self-service diagnostics to reduce dependency on Citrix Support.

Key Benefits

  • Faster MTTR (Mean Time to Resolution)
  • Always-on, no manual trace initiation needed
  • Self-diagnosis for common issues
  • Streamlined escalation to Citrix Support with full context
  • Secure, compliant log handling with sensitive data redaction
Introduction