RG005 RES PowerFuse, Tips & Tricks

April 25th 2009 with new registry settings from SR5

Feb 21st 2009 with new registry settings from SR4 8.0.4.5

This document is a collection of obscure things, of what is possible to do with PowerFuse behind the scenes. There is no particular order to the items. All information below has been collected from the releasenotes, helpfiles and other publicly available sources. Otherwise the information has been derived simply by playing around with PowerFuse. Okay here we go:

Inside the PowerFuse Management Console

Mapping to WebDAV folders in PowerLauch

PowerLaunch driveletter mappings allow mapping driveletters to virtual directories on IIS. This is refered to as WebDAV (Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning) folders, which start with “http://” or “https://” instead of servershare. For additional information on how to configure WebDAV folders on IIS, go here and here.

This trick will enable you to map a network drive, say T: -> http://yoursharepointserver/somefolder

Using PowerLaunch to unmap existing network drives

You can unmap a mapping on a given level by using the dummy share name “unmap“ (without quotes) in the Share name field when editing the mapping. This is usefull if you are in a transition phase where you’re still mapping some drives from a loginscript and you want PowerFuse to take over as you get everything implemented.

Seat licensing versus file extensions:

If you chose per seat licensing for an application, PowerFuse will automatically set the option “Only RES PowerFuse is allowed to launch this application”. The effect of this is that file associations registered in the OS will no longer take effect. If you for an example set per seat licensing on Notepad.exe, you will no longer be able to edit .ini and .txt files just by doubleclicking or rightclicking on them. If you do, appguard will intercept you and notepad will be blocked.

The reason why this is happening is that PowerFuse needs to be in control of when the target  application is launched. If we simply let explorer.exe start notepad, we would be unable to record the license usage.

In order to avoid this issue. you will need to configure instant file associations for the filetypes normally associated with notepad, such as .txt, .ini, .log etc.

Registry settings of RES PowerFuse

How to force logoff after idle-timeout on a PowerFuse enabled computer (from 8.0.4.5)

Forcing a log off is typically used for computers that run in kiosk mode or for service stations. You can configure this by configuring these registry settings in either HKEY_CURRENT_USER or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE:

Software\RES\PowerFuse\ForceLogOffEnabled (REG_SZ) “Yes” or “No”

Software\RES\PowerFuse\ForceLogOffTimeout (REG_SZ) in minutes

Software\RES\PowerFuse\ForceLogOffOnIdle (REG_SZ) “Yes” or “No”

If ForceLogOffOnIdle has been configured as “Yes”, the timeout will start when the idle timer starts. If ForceLogOffOnIdle has not been configured or has been configured as “No”, the timeout will start when the screensaver starts or when the session is locked. When the timeout expires, the user session will be forced to log off (any unsaved data will be lost).

How to override the alteration of the Citrix Explorer Hook

Since PowerFuse 2008 SR3 RES has introduced a change which will disable the Citrix Explorer  Hook. The explorer hook  is what prevents a user running a published app from getting access to an explorer desktop. However since PowerFuse is wrangeling the explorer.exe desktop, we want to get rid of the explorer hook. Security is not comprimised as PowerFuse’s AppGuard takes over from there.

In short, disabeling the Citrix Explorer Hook - and keeping it that way, is a good thing. Even so, there might be special situations where you do not want this to happen. Therefore RES has put in registry setting to cater for this:

HKLM\Software\RES\PowerFuse\ResetCitrixExplorerHook (REG_SZ) = “No”

How to avoid privacy issues with display of concurrent license usage:

If an application has concurrent user licensing, and the number of licenses is exceeded, a new attempt to start the application will show a warning form, with a list of users currrently using this application. Showing this list may conflict with security or privavcy policies. As of PowerFuse 2008 SR3, the official word is that this problem will be fixed in a future release of RES PowerFuse. However, as a workaround the following registry value may be set which inhibits that the list shows the users. In either HKLM or HKCU set this value

Software\RES\PowerFuse\NoListConcurrentUsers (REG_SZ) = “Yes”

Perhaps it would be a good thing to configure this registry value as global PowerLaunch registry setting when needed. This setting is especially usefull for shared environments such as MSP’s or perhaps financial institutions.

How to manage global powerfuse settings on an individual computer:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\RES\PowerFuse\Settings

This registry tree holds the remainder of the RES PowerFuse configuration data. This concerns configuration settings that can only have a Yes/No value (Boolean) or a numeric value (Integer) and are stored in the Registry.  An example of a Boolean setting is “CPU Shield Enabled”: the value of the setting can only be “Yes” or “No”. An example of an Integer is the maximum number of simultaneous logons: the value of the setting can only be a number.

The advantage of this method is that you can use policies to customize these settings per user or per server. These policies can be applied using RES Wisdom. This data is forwarded from the RES PowerFuse Datastore to the agent cache by the RES PowerFuse Agent Service.

There is a policy template available in this article

Warning! The decision should be weighed carefully whether to roll out policies using Active Directory or using RES PowerFuse. It is advisable to choose one method or the other, and it is advisable to avoid combining them. RES PowerFuse is particularly suited to the centralized and flexible management of policies.

How to modify the database connectivity through the registry:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\RES\PowerFuse

Database connectivity settings can be found here. Do not modify these directly unless you have a very specific reason to do so. You can however copy this registry key from another computer to ensure the two computers connect with the same username, password and other database connectivity options. The database password is ofcourse encrypted properly.

How to configure cache timer interval. It is possible in SR4 8.0.4.5 to configure the cache timer interval. This interval determines how often the cache checks for changes in the database or for new transactions. The default for this interval is 5 seconds. This interval can be changed by setting the following registry key:

Key   : HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\RESPowerFuse

Value : CacheTimerInterval (REG_SZ)
  Data: A value between 5 and 60 (seconds)

Warning: Changing the default of 5 seconds should only be done in special cases, such as a heavy load on the database server.

How to disable screensaver when RES PowerFuse Workspace Extender is active: When a RES PowerFuse session is started from a workstation with the RES PowerFuse Workspace Extender or the RES Subscriber Agent, the RES PowerFuse session will enable a Screensaver by default. It is now possible to change this behavior, by setting the following registry string value in either HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE or HKEY_CURRENT_USER

Key   : SOFTWARE\RES\PowerFuse

Value : NoAgentScreensaver (REG_SZ)
  Data: Yes

How to force LogOff of disconnected sessions after timeout: It is possible in SR4 8.0.4.5 to force a logoff of disconnected sessions after a specified timeout expires. This can be enabled by setting the following registry keys in either HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE or HKEY_CURRENT_USER

Key   : SOFTWARE\RES\PowerFuse

Value : ForceLogoffEnabled (REG_SZ)
  Data: Yes or No (to enable/disable the mechanism)

Value : ForceLogoffTimeout or ForceLogoffTimeoutOnDisconnect (REG_SZ)
  Data: value in minutes

Value : ForceLogoffOnDisconnect
  Data: Yes or No

If you are already using the ForceLogoffOnIdle mechanism, the timeout in ForceLogoffTimeout can be used to use the same timeout for both mechanisms, or you can use a different timeout to disconnect by setting a value in ForceLogoffTimeoutOnDisconnect.

How to silently refresh RES PowerFuse sessions: A silent refresh of RES PowerFuse will not show a splash screen during a refresh of the Workspace Manager, which in some cases is less intrusive for the user. A silent refresh will only be used when the refresh is a result of a display change, a USB device change or a reconnect of a disconnected session. “Silent refresh” can be enabled by setting the following registry key in either HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE or HKEY_CURRENT_USER:

   Key   : SOFTWARE\RES\PowerFuse

   Value : SilentRefresh (REG_SZ)
     Data: Yes or No

How to tweak the way Memoryshield counts application instances (SR5):  With MemoryShield, you can limit the number of running applications per session. This limits the number of tasks on the taskbar, which is not always equal to the number of running applications. For example, 3 open e-mails in Microsoft Office Outlook count for 3 tasks, whereas there is only one running application. You can now set one of the following registry settings to ensure that tasks belonging to the same running application are counted only once by MemoryShield. Set the following registry key in either HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE or HKEY_CURRENT_USER:

   Key   : SOFTWARE\RES\PowerFuse

   Value : MSLimitOnProcIDs (REG_SZ)
     Data: Yes or No (Yes = Enable the above)

How to make PowerFuse use AD property “displayname” instead of fullname” (SR5). It is possible to use and show the Active Directory property “displayname” instead of “fullname”. When using the “displayname” property, it will be shown in the Full name column in the Workspace Sessions and Workspace Analysis nodes. It will also influence the full name that is shown to the user in a RES PowerFuse session (for example in the PowerPanel’s User tab). This can be enabled by setting the following registry key in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

   Key   : SOFTWARE\RES\PowerFuse

   Value : UseDisplaynameasFullname (REG_SZ)
     Data: Yes

Note: This feature only works in an Active Directory environment

How to tweak the way Partially Managed Workstation mode authorizes non-managed applications (SR5) . In order to allow more complex apps with multiple executables and other unknowns to be installed by a PMWS user in an environment where both AppGuard and Read-Only Blanketing is ActiveSet the following registry key in either HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE or HKEY_CURRENT_USER:

   Key   : SOFTWARE\RES\PowerFuse

   Value : PMWAutoAllowFolders (REG_SZ)
     Data: Yes

Note: This setting is undocumented at the moment, but we’re told it will be in SR6

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Other Links to this Post

1. RES Software User Group | SR5 PowerFuse update — 2009/05/20 @ 17:47

2. » Powerfuse 2008 issues encountered — 2009/05/27 @ 18:22

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