Citrix recording tips

This topic provides guidelines for successfully recording a Citrix Vuser script.

Before starting to record, make sure your environment is set up as described in Set up your Citrix environment

Guidelines:

Plan before recording

Make sure you have a well-defined business process planned, and run through it before recording.

Avoid production environments if possible

Try to load test Citrix applications which are restricted (contained) to a few Citrix servers in a Citrix development/test “farm” rather than to load test in a live Citrix production environment.

Record into appropriate sections

 Record the connection process into the vuser_init section, and the closing process into the vuser_end section. This prevents you from performing iterations on the connecting and disconnecting. For more information about recording into sections, see Vuser script sections.

Ensure a clean session

When recording a session, make sure to perform the complete business process, starting with the connection and ending with the cleanup. End your session at a point from where you could start the entire process from the beginning. Do not leave any client or application windows open.

Use explicit clicks

 When opening expanded menu options, click explicitly on each option—do not depend on the expanding menu. For example, when choosing Start > All Programs > Microsoft Word, be sure to click on the line All Programs.

Do not resize windows

 To ensure exact reproduction of recorded actions, avoid moving or resizing windows while recording. If it is absolutely necessary to change the size or position of a window, double-click on the relevant Sync on Window step in the Step Navigator and modify the window's coordinates. This often, but not always, gives the required replay results.

Make sure resolution settings are consistent

To ensure successful bitmap synchronization, make sure that the resolution settings match. On the recording machine, check the settings of the Citrix client, the Recording Options, and the runtime settings. On the load generators, check the settings of the Citrix client, and make sure that they are consistent between all load generators and recording machines. If there is an inconsistency between the resolutions, the server traffic increases in order to make the necessary adjustments.

Add manual synchronization points

If it is necessary to wait for an event during recording, such as the opening of an application, add manual synchronization points, such as Sync on Text OCR or Sync on Bitmap. For details, see Citrix manual synchronization.

Disable client updates

 Disable client updates when prompted by the Citrix client. This prevents forward compatibility issues between VuGen and newer Citrix clients that are not currently supported. (For details on supported versions, see theSupport Matrix.)
Citrix server CNAME/alias

If the machine that hosts the Citrix server (Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktop) is associated with a CNAME/alias, make sure that the ctrx_nfuse_connect function receives the hostname that is used by the Citrix server. For details, see ctrx_nfuse_connect in the Function Reference.

For Sync on Bitmap steps, record windows in the "classic" Windows style—not the XP style. To do this: 

  1. Click in the desktop area.

  2. Select Properties from the right-click menu.

  3. Click the Theme tab.

  4. From the Theme list, select Windows Classic.

  5. Click OK.

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DEP (Data Execution Prevention) is a security feature included in Windows. It can interfere with some of the Citrix Agent's functionality during record and replay, and may cause Internet Explorer to hang on the VuGen machine. If you experience unusual behavior during recording, modify the DEP settings.

  1. Open Start > Control Panel > System and Security > System > Advanced system settings. The System Properties dialog box opens.

  2. Select the Advanced tab, click the Settings button in the Performance section.

  3. In the Performance Options dialog box, click the Data Execution Prevention tab. Select the first option, Turn on DEP for essential Windows programs and services only.

    If you cannot change this option, click Add. Browse to the client program, for example IEXPLORE.EXE and click Open to add the application to the exception list.

  4. If neither of the above options are possible, try to disable DEP completely.

    1. Open a command prompt.

    2. Run the following command: bcdedit.exe /set {current} nx AlwaysOff

    3. Reboot the machine.

    4. Verify that the settings took effect by running the following at the command line: BCDEdit /enum

    5. Verify that the last line shows nx     AlwaysOff.

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If the application containing the Citrix session is a native Citrix binary file, disable ActiveX controls in order to prevent execution of the Citrix Online plugin. To disable ActiveX, in Internet Explorer go to Tools > Internet Options >Security tab. Click Custom level and under Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins select Disable. Make sure that ActiveX is disabled for the Internet Zone to which the Citrix WebInterface site belongs.

If you cannot change above settings, try to suppress the loading of the Citrix ActiveX object into the browser's process by setting the SuppressCitrixOcxEnabled flag to true in LR\config\bbhook.ini.

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See also: