vege - Fotolia

Answer

What root cause analysis software exists for virtual desktops?

When trying to get to the bottom of virtual desktop problems, IT should turn to root cause analysis tools from vendors such as ControlUp and Lakeside Software.

Brien Posey
By
Published: 12 Feb 2018

VDI problems that hurt performance and availability can pop up in all sorts of places at all sorts of times. IT can manually fix the problems if necessary, but that can be time-consuming.

To save time, IT should turn to root cause analysis software instead. The right root cause analysis software testing can help IT quickly identify why a problem is occurring and put a stop to it.

Root cause analysis software options

A primary root cause analysis option for VDI deployments is ControlUp. ControlUp, which is designed for use in Citrix deployments, markets itself as a user experience monitoring tool. ControlUp uses real-time analytics of performance metrics to detect issues that affect the end-user experience. The effects can be seen everywhere, from the amount of time it takes the user to login to how long it takes a user's profile to load.

IT predefines certain performance thresholds, and if the values exceed those levels, ControlUp alerts administrators, who can then use the ControlUp dashboard to see where in the VDI stack the issue is occurring. ControlUp also includes a baseline configuration comparison tool and can monitor multiple VDI farms, even if the farms are running different software versions.

Another good root cause analysis software option for VDI deployments is SysTrack from Lakeside Software Inc. Like ControlUp, SysTrack performs real-time health and availability monitoring to ensure a good end-user experience.

SysTrack also provides historical data that enables IT pros to examine how a problem developed over time.

If the end-user experience falls below a certain level, then SysTrack generates an alert, which IT can use to diagnose and correct the issue. In doing so, SysTrack uses a variety of metrics related to application and infrastructure performance, as well as resource utilization. SysTrack also provides historical data that enables IT pros to examine how a problem developed over time.

One more root cause analysis software option for VDI issues is Workspot Inc. Rather than relying on real-time performance analytics, Workspot uses historical data to spot trends and perform predictive analytics, which enables IT to find out about a problem before it happens.

Workspot also uses a client-level agent that tracks the end-user experience on thin clients. This means that the analytics are based on the actual end-user experience, not solely on server-side metrics.

Dig Deeper on Virtual desktop delivery tools