User Profiles in Citrix XenApp 6.5

A quick reminder for most test-takers, but it can be confusing during an exam to remember the benefits and cons of each profile type.

User profiles generally hold:

  • Desktop settings such as wallpaper and screen saver
  • Shortcuts and Start menu setting
  • Internet Explorer Favorites and Home Page
  • Microsoft Outlook signature
  • Printers

Types of profiles:

  • Mandatory
  • Local
  • Roaming
  • Profile Management
  • Temporary (not covered here.)

Mandatory profiles:

  • To be configured when an administrator does not desire user changes to be saved.
    • Stored on the network.
    • All user changes are lost when the user logs off.

Local profiles:

  • Configure local profiles when an administrator desires to allow user changes to be saved, but not on the network.
    • Stored on the user device's hard drive.
    • Can take up a lot of space as the profile grows.
      • Slower logon time.
    • Obviously, the user's device must have a hard drive.

Roaming profiles:

  • Configured in environments where an administrator desires the users to have access to their profile on any device which they log on.
    • Saved on the network.
    • Can be accessed from any device.
    • If multiple sessions are open on separate XenApp servers, the last closed session overrides changes of sessions closed earlier which can result in lost changes.

Profile management:

  • Best to configure in environments where users have multiple sessions open on different XenApp servers.
    • Does not allow the “last write” to win.
    • Specific data can be excluded from the user profile.
    • Profile can be kept to a minimal size.
      • Speeds up user logon

More info: Citrix eDocs > Technologies > Profile Management > Profile Management 4.0

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