Most Important Citrix Performance Counters

1.-  System Performance Counters (Citrix ) 

\Processor(*)\% Processor Time -> This counter is the main indicator of processor activity and shows the average percentage of time observed during the sampling interval. It is calculated by monitoring the time the service is idle and subtracting that value from 100%. The manufacturer indicates that between 80% and 90% over a 15-minute period should be set to Warning status and over 90% to Critical status.

\System\Processor Queue Length -> This is the current size in bytes of the virtual address space the process is using. The use of virtual address space does not necessarily imply corresponding use of either disk or main memory pages. Virtual space is finite, and the process can limit its ability to load libraries.

\Memory\Available Bytes -> Available memory indicates the amount of memory remaining after non-paged block allocation, paged block allocations, working sets, and all file system cache memory have taken their share. <30% RAM in warning state, <15% RAM in critical state.

\Memory\Pages /sec -> This is the speed at which pages are read or written to disk to resolve serious page faults. Warning status between 10 and 20, Critical > 20.

\Paging File\% Usage -> This is the percentage of the page file instance in use. Warning 40-70%, Critical > 70%.

\PhysicalDisk(_Total)\% Free Space -> This is the percentage of total usable space on the selected physical disk that is free. Critical <5%, Warning 5-10%.

\LogicalDisk(_Total)\% Free Space -> This is the percentage of total usable space on the selected logical disk that is free. Critical <5%, Warning 5-10%.

\LogicalDisk(_Total)\% Disk Time -> This indicates how busy the disk is. Warning > 70% consistently and Critical > 90%.

\PhysicalDisk(_Total)\Current Disk Queue Length -> This indicates the number of I/O operations waiting for the hard disk to become available. If the value here is greater than twice the number of spindles, it means that the disk itself may be the bottleneck. >=1 Warning, >=2 Critical.

\LogicalDisk(_Total)\Current Disk Queue Length -> Provides a primary measure of disk congestion. It is an indication of the number of transactions waiting to be processed. >=1 Warning, >=2 Consistently Critical, possibility of creating it with FF Threshold 2.

\LogicalDisk(_Total)\ Avg. Disk Sec/Read -> Shows the average time in seconds for a read from or to a disk. >= 15 ms Warning, >=20 ms Critical.

\LogicalDisk(_Total)\ Avg. Disk Sec/Write -> Shows the average time in seconds for a write from or to a disk. >= 15 ms Warning, >=20 ms Critical.

\LogicalDisk(_Total)\ Avg. Disk Sec/Transfer -> Shows the average time in seconds for a transfer from or to a disk. >= 15 ms Warning, >=20 ms Critical.

\PhysicalDisk(_Total)\ Avg. Disk Sec/Read -> Shows the average time in seconds for a read from or to a disk. >= 15 ms Warning, >=20 ms Critical.

\PhysicalDisk(_Total)\ Avg. Disk Sec/Write -> Shows the average time in seconds for a write from or to a disk. >= 15 ms Warning, >=20 ms Critical.

\PhysicalDisk(_Total)\ Avg. Disk Sec/Transfer -> Shows the average time in seconds for a transfer from or to a disk. >= 15 ms Warning, >=20 ms Critical.

\Network Interface (*)\ Bytes Total/sec -> Shows the speed at which the network adapter processes data bytes. This counter includes all data files and applications, as well as protocol information such as packet headers. 

Note: The names of all these counters may vary depending on the version and language of the OS used.

2.- XenApp Performance Counters

\Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server\Application Resolution Time (ms) -> The time in milliseconds that resolution was completed. This is also the time required to determine the “least loaded” server during application launch. A baseline would need to be established in the environment in order to accurately set threshold values.

\Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server\DataStore Connection Failure -> The number of minutes that the XenApp server has been disconnected from the data store. Thresholds should take into account events such as reboots and scheduled maintenance.

\Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server\Number of busy XML threads -> The number of XML threads currently being processed. There are 16 worker threads in the Citrix XML Service. A count of 16 or more shows that XML requests are not being processed in a timely manner.

\Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server\Resolution WorkItem Queue Ready Count -> The number of resolution work items (related to application launches) that are ready to be executed. A value greater than 0 indicates that requests are queued while IMA handles other requests.

\Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server\WorkItem Queue Ready Count -> The number of work items that are ready to be executed. A value greater than 0 indicates that requests are queued while IMA handles other requests. This counter should not be greater than 1 for an extended period of time.

\Citrix Licensing\Citrix Licensing - License Server Connection Failure -> Shows the number of minutes that XenApp has been disconnected from the license server. Warning > 1 minute. > 1440 minutes Critical.

\Citrix Licensing\Citrix Licensing – Last Recorded License Check – Out Response Time  -> Shows the last recorded license check - out response time in milliseconds. A value greater than 5,000 milliseconds indicates a performance issue on the license server.

\Process(ImaSrv)\Private Bytes -> The current size in bytes of memory that this process (IMA) has allocated and cannot be shared with other processes.

If we want to monitor the % usage of the different processes that are running:
\Process(Process_Name)\% Processor Time -> % CPU in use by the process in question.

3.- Web Interface Performance Counters 

\ASP.NET\Request Queued -> The number of requests waiting to be processed by ASP. A baseline must be established in the environment in order to accurately set threshold values.

\ASP.NET\Request rejected -> The number of requests rejected because the request queue was full.

\ASP.NET\Request Current -> The current number of requests, both running and queued.

\ASP.NET\Request Execution Time -> The amount of time (in milliseconds) it took to execute the most recent request.

\Web Service\Concurrent Connections -> Current connections is the current number of connections established with the web service.

4.- Xen Desktop Performance Counters 

\Citrix Broker Service\Database Avg. Transaction Time -> Average time, in seconds, to execute a database transaction. A baseline must be established in the environment in order to accurately set threshold values.

\Citrix Broker Service\Database Connected -> Indicates whether this service is in contact with its database. (1 is connected, 0 is not connected).

\Citrix Broker Service\Database Transaction Errors/sec -> The rate at which database transactions are failing.

\Citrix Broker Service\Brokered Sessions -> The number of virtual desktop sessions brokered by the Citrix Service Broker.

\Citrix XML Service\Avg. Transaction Time -> The number of virtual desktop sessions brokered by the Citrix Service Broker.

5.- Other Citrix Performance Counters 

Get-Counter –listSet * | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Paths > counters.txt