Citrix Provisioning

Using UNC names

A Universal Naming Convention (UNC) format name defines the location of files and other resources that exist on a network. UNC provides a format so that each shared resource can be identified with a unique address. UNC is supported by Windows and many network operating systems (NOSs).

With Provisioning Services, UNC format names can be used to specify the location of the OS Streaming database for all Provisioning Servers, and to specify the location of a particular vDisk.

Syntax

UNC names must conform to the \\SERVERNAME\SHARENAME syntax, where SERVERNAME is the name of the Provisioning Server and SHARENAME is the name of the shared resource.

UNC names of directories or files can also include the directory path under the share name, with the following syntax:

\\SERVERNAME\SHARENAME\DIRECTORY\FILENAME

For example, to define the folder that contains your configuration database file in the following directory:

C:\Program Files\Citrix\Provisioning Services

On the shared Provisioning Server (server1), enter:

\\server1\Provisioning Services

Note: UNC names do not require that a resource be a network share. UNC can also be used to specify a local storage for use by only a local machine.

Accessing a Remote Network Share

To access a remote network share using a UNC format name, the Stream Service must have a user account name and password on the remote system.

To use a UNC name to access a remote network share:

  1. On the Provisioning Server, create a user account under which the Stream Service will run. This account must have a password assigned, otherwise the Stream Service will not be able to log in correctly. Your Stream Service can share the same user account and password, or separate user accounts and passwords can be set up for each service.
  2. Share the vDisk and configuration database folders. In Windows Explorer, right-click on the folder, then select Properties. Click the Sharing tab, then select the Share this folder radio button. Enter or select a Share name.
  3. Make sure permissions are set to allow full control of all files in the vDisk folder and database folder. Click the Permissions button on the Sharing tab, or click the Security tab, then set the correct permissions.
  4. For the Stream Service:
    • Go to Control Panel>Computer Management>Component Services, right click on the Stream Service, and select Properties.
    • Click the Log On tab. Change the Log on as: setting to This Account, and set up the service to login to the user and password configured in Step 1.
  5. Verify that all Stream Services are restarted. The Configuration Wizard does this automatically. Stream Services can also be started from the Console or from the Control Panel.

Note: Do not use a mapped drive letter to represent the vDisk or database location directories when configuring Stream Services. The Stream Service cannot access folders using a mapped drive letter for the directory, because the mapped drives do not exist when the services start at boot time.

Using UNC names