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www.citrix.com | Technical Note | Windows 10 Optimizations 2
This technical note a collection of Windows 10 optimizations best practices used by Citrix architects in the field. It is not official recommendation from either Citrix or Microsoft, and is only intended as a starting point for administrators to evaluate in their own staging environment.
If deployed correctly, these optimizations can
significantly improve the scalability and user-response of Windows 10 virtual desktops delivered using Citrix XenDesktop.
Disclaimer
This White paper is intended for administrators deploying
Windows 10 in a XenDesktop 7.x environment. Many of the examples reference non-persistent environments, but the modifications also apply to persistent desktops. The materials in this document are provided “as is” and Citrix hereby disclaims all express or implied representations.
Removing Unnecessary Windows 10 Applications Windows 10 contains many applications after a fresh installation. After installation, Windows 10 Enterprise contains over 50 applications already in my start menu, many of these are the system apps that we want to keep like PowerShell and Command Prompt, but there are many others that are unneeded, and will consume unneeded resources.
Look at the Windows 10 list of default apps by running
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Before creating a master image, the following PowerShell command can be run to cleanup all unnecessary applications.
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | Remove-AppxPackage
Scheduled Task Considerations
Many of the scheduled tasks listed below were designed to enhance a persistent Operating System. Many Windows 10 instances in XenDesktop are provisioned on-the-fly and discarded upon log-off, using MCS or PVS. The scheduled tasks below may be removed. Below is a sample PowerShell script that removes all task not named Outlook or GoToMeeting.
#Remove all scheduled tasks except task to pin outlook to
taskbar
#if -notmatch -or does not work here
$schedule = New-Object -com Schedule.Service
$schedule.connect()
$tasks = $schedule.getfolder("\").gettasks(0)
foreach ($task in ($tasks | select Name)) {
if ($task -notmatch "G2MUpdateTask"){
$task2 = $task
if ($task2 -notmatch "outlook"){
SchTasks /Delete /TN $($task2.name) /f
}} }
Microsoft Customer Experience Program
Tasks Description
Aggregates and uploads Application
Application Telemetry information if opted-in to the Experience \ Appraiser Microsoft Customer Experience
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Improvement Program.
Application Collects program telemetry information if
Experience \ opted-in to the Microsoft Customer ProgramDataUpdater Experience Improvement Program
This task collects and uploads autochk SQM
data if opted-in to the Microsoft Customer AutoCHK \ Proxy Experience Improvement Program.
If the user has consented to participate in
Customer Experience the Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program Improvement Program, this job collects and \Consolidator sends usage data to Microsoft.
The Kernel CEIP (Customer Experience
Improvement Program) task collects additional information about the system and Customer Experience sends this data to Microsoft. If the user has Improvement Program not consented to participate in Windows \KernelCeipTask CEIP, this task does nothing.
Customer Experience This job sends data about windows based on
Improvement Program user participation in the Windows Customer \Uploader Experience Improvement Program
The USB CEIP (Customer Experience
Improvement Program) task collects Universal Serial Bus related statistics and information about your machine and sends to the Windows Device Connectivity engineering group at Microsoft. The information received is used to help improve the reliability, stability, and overall Customer Experience functionality of USB in Windows. If the user Improvement Program has not consented to participate in Windows \UsbCeip CEIP, this task does not do anything.
Safety Tasks Description
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Initializes Family Safety monitoring and Shell \ FamilySafetyMonitor enforcement.
Synchronizes the latest settings with
Shell \ FamilySafetyRefresh the Family Safety website.
Can be disabled in case an alternative
Windows Defender \ Windows virus and malware protection has been Defender CacheMaintenance implemented.
Can be disabled in case an alternative
Windows Defender \ Windows virus and malware protection has been Defender CacheMaintenance implemented.
Can be disabled in case an alternative
Windows Defender \ Windows virus and malware protection has been Defender Cleanup implemented.
Can be disabled in case an alternative
Windows Defender \ Windows virus and malware protection has been DefenderScheduled Scan implemented.
Can be disabled in case an alternative
Windows Defender \ Windows virus and malware protection has been DefenderVerification implemented.
This task adjusts the start type for
firewall-triggered services when the Windows Filtering Platform start type of the Base Filtering Engine \BfeOnServiceStartTypeChange (BFE) is disabled.
Maintenance \ Optimization \ Protection
Tasks Description
Scans startup entries and raises
Application Experience \ notification to the user if there are too StartupAppTask many startup entries.
CHKDSK \ Proactive Scan NTFS Volume Health Scan
The Windows Scheduled Maintenance
Diagnosis \ Scheduled Task performs periodic maintenance of
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the computer system by fixing problems automatically or reporting them through the Action Center.
The Windows Disk Diagnostic reports
DiskDiagnostic \ Microsoft- general disk and system information to Windows- Microsoft for users participating in the DiskDiagnosticDataCollector Customer Experience Program.
DiskDiagnostic \ Microsoft- This task warns users about faults that
Windows- occur on disks that support Self- DiskDiagnosticResolver Monitoring and Reporting Technology
Defrag \ ScheduledDefrag This task optimizes local storage drives
Protects user files from accidental loss
by copying them to a backup location FileHistory \ File History when the system is unattended
Measures a system’s performance and
Maintenance \ WinSAT capabilities
MemoryDiagnostic \ Schedules a memory diagnostic in
ProcessMemoryDiagnosticEvents response to system events.
MemoryDiagnostic \ Detects and mitigates problems in
RunFullMemoryDiagnostic physical memory (RAM).
This task analyzes the system looking
Power Efficiency Diagnostics \ for conditions that may cause high AnalyzeSystem energy use.
RecoveryEnvironment \ Validates the Windows Recovery
Resolution host enables interactive resolutions for system problems detected by the Diagnostic Policy WDI \ ResolutionHost Service. It is triggered when necessary
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by the Diagnostic Policy Service in the appropriate user session. If the Diagnostic Policy Service is not running, the task will not run
In Windows 10, these services are running, by default,
and can be stopped and disabled (Caution: Disabling these services can result in applications not working appropriately and will increase troubleshooting time).
Service Name Default State Default Status Notes
Set default state
to “Manual” as 3rd party Background software might Intelligent Automatic require the Transfer Service (Delayed Start) Running service.
Device Association Manual (Trigger Service Start) Running
Diagnostic Policy Services Automatic Running
Diagnostic Service Host Manual Running
Diagnostic System Host Manual Running
Diagnostics Tracking Service Automatic Running
Function Discovery Provider Host Manual Running
Function Discovery Manual Running Resource
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Publication
Home Group Manual (Trigger Not used in VDI
Provider Start) Running environment
Automatic Security Center (Delayed Start) Running
Supports Shell Hardware AutoPlay, which Detection is not typically Service Automatic Running used in VDI.
Not typically used in corporate SSDP Discovery Manual Running environments.
Can enable for
dedicated SuperFetch Automatic Running desktops
This will impact
the user Themes Automatic Running experience
Windows Connect Now – Config Registrar Not required in Service Manual Running VDI
Consider disabling. Will have a high Automatic impact on server Windows Search (Delayed Start) Running density.
These services are not running, but they are set to
Manual or Manual (Trigger Start). Although they are not running, disabling them will prevent their accidental execution in a VDI environment. (Caution: Disabling these services can result in applications not working appropriately and will increase
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troubleshooting time).
Service Name Default State Default Status Notes
Manual (Trigger AllJoyn Router Start) Stopped
Application Not needed for
Layer Gateway VDI Service Manual Stopped environments.
Drive encryption BitLocker Drive not typically Encryption Manual (Trigger used in VDI Service Start) Stopped environments.
Block Level Windows backup
Backup Engine not typically Service Manual Stopped used in VDI.
Bluetooth Hands Manual (Trigger Not typically
free Service Start) Stopped used in VDI.
Bluetooth Manual (Trigger
Support Service Start) Stopped
Used for network savings to a WAN and BranchCache not typically Service Manual Stopped needed in VDI
Computer Manual (Trigger
Browser Service Start) Stopped
Encrypting File Manual (Trigger
System Service Start) Stopped
Fax Service Manual Stopped
Not used within
Home Group corporate Listener Manual Stopped environments.
Manual Stopped Internet Not used within
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Connection VDI Sharing (ICS) environments.
Manual (Trigger Offline Files Start) Stopped
Should only optimize in the Optimize Drives Manual Stopped master image
Retail Demo Manual Stopped
Sensor Monitoring Manual (Trigger Service Start) Stopped
UPnP Device Host Service Manual Stopped
Disable if logs Windows Error are not being Reporting Manual (Trigger gathered and Service Start) Stopped analyzed
Windows Media Not typically
Player Network used in VDI Sharing Manual Stopped environments.
Manual (Trigger Only update the
Windows Update Start) Stopped master image.
Not typically WLAN used in VDI AutoConfig Manual Stopped environments.
Not typically WWAN used in VDI AutoConfig Manual Stopped environments.
Not typically Xbox Live Auth used in VDI Manager Manual Stopped environments.
Not typically Manual Stopped Xbox Live Game used in VDI
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Save environments.
Xbox Live Not typically
Networking used in VDI Service Manual Stopped environments.
IMPORTANT
If these services are disabled in the master image, it
will be more difficult to effectively manage the master image. For example, if Windows Update is disabled in the master image, an administrator will be required to re-enable the Windows Update Service BEFORE trying to run Windows Update. The administrator will then have to remember to disable Windows Update when the update process is complete.
The following Powershell commands set the Windows
Update Service to manual, and also starts the service.
Disable Internet [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Micros
Explorer First Run oft\InternetExplorer\Main] Wizard “DisableFirstRunCustomize”=dword:00000001
Reduce menu show [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ControlPanel\Desktop]
delay MenuShowDelay”, “0”
User Experience Optimizations
The policies below can be implemented to optimize the Windows 10 user experience. The following policies apply to all users on the machine:
Computer Policy Setting
Audio Over UDP Allowed
Dynamic windows preview Enabled
Image caching Enabled
Session reliability connections Allowed
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WebSockets connections Allowed
Windows Media redirection Allowed
Windows Media redirection
buffer size 5 seconds
Windows Media redirection
buffer size use Enabled
The following policies apply per user session:
User Policy Setting
Automatic keyboard display Allowed
Client USB device redirection Allowed
Default printer Do not adjust the user's default printer
Desktop Composition Redirection Disabled
Disconnected session timer Enabled
Disconnected session timer
interval 2880 Minutes
Extra color compression Enabled
Remote the combo box Allowed
Optimized for WAN
This template is intended for task workers in branch offices using a shared WAN connection or remote locations with low bandwidth connections accessing applications with graphically simple user interfaces with little multimedia content. This template trades off video playback experience and some server scalability for optimized bandwidth efficiency. The Optimized for WAN template was first introduced with
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XenDesktop 7.6 Feature Pack 3, and it serves as a guideline for users traversing WAN traffic. The example below applies the policy only to users coming through a NetScaler:
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Printing from non-Windows end points (Mac and Linux) When non-Windows Receivers connect to a Windows 2012 Server with Universal Print Driver (UPD) options configured for client printers, the Post-script (PS) and PCL drivers might not be available, therefore the printers will not get auto-created.
Manual Workaround
As a workaround, to use the Citrix UPD for non-
Windows clients, such as Mac and Linux, install appropriate drivers on the server manually:
PS driver = HP Color LaserJet 2800 Series PS
PCL4 driver = HP LaserJet Series II PCL5c driver = HP Color LaserJet 4500 PCL 5
From the Windows Server 2012, choose Add a
printer from Devices and Printers.
Continue through the wizard as if you are adding
a local printer though it is not attached.
Click Add a local printer > select LPT1: (Printer
Port) > click Windows Update.
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From the new list, browse to HP and select the appropriate driver as listed in the preceding screen shot.
Add the printer.
Automated Process
To automate this process, navigate to
C:\windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository
The HP drivers from the Windows Update process
(Step 3) are located at the below location, but if a different driver is needed, one may need to sort by date created and find the .inf file needed.
