Profile Management 2103

Test Profile Management with a local GPO

Before deploying Profile Management in a production environment, Citrix recommends using a test environment. You can create this setup on a local machine with the supplied .ini file. A fully supported and easier means of transferring settings to the domain GPO is based on a local installation and configuration of the ADM file on a device. Test logon and logoff behaviors and adjust the local GPO until satisfactory results are obtained. You can perform tests safely this way if the device is a member of a production OU. The reason is that local policies are invoked where OU and domain policies do not exist or are not configured. When using local policies, ensure no Profile Management GPOs are used anywhere else (for example, in the domain or sites).

In addition, where an administrator does not have access to or control of domain GPOs for the configuration of the Profile Management ADM file, local GPOs can be used as a long-term solution. However, this way introduces complexities into the environment. For example, you must ensure that the Profile Management ADM file is installed and configured on each device. And there might be inability of domain users to maintain settings when accessing multiple devices.

Important: For these reasons Citrix does not recommend the use of local GPOs as a long-term, enterprise solution.

If you are testing on Windows 2008 domain controllers, consider using a Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) filter to restrict your configuration to just one machine in an OU temporarily.

Test the user experience

Minimizing differences in the end user experience when accessing resources from various devices is the goal when implementing a profile solution. Before Profile Management, the contents of users’ registry and files might vary depending on the physical device, profile configuration, and operating system. For this reason, Profile Management must be configured to address the differences between system installations on computers the users roam between.

You must therefore check user access to resources in ways that mimic your production environment. These resources might include:

  • A client device with locally installed applications
  • A virtual desktop created with Citrix Virtual Desktops and including streamed or locally installed applications
  • A Citrix Virtual Apps application, either published on or streamed from a Citrix Virtual Apps server
  • A Terminal Services client

Test operating system variations

Users might access applications from different operating systems. The variation between them might create conflicting settings within a single user profile. You must understand the differences between Version 1 and Version 2 profiles and how they affect your deployment. The variations are key to any profile solution. For more information on Version 1 and Version 2 profiles, see About profiles.

Test Profile Management with a local GPO