Terminal Server Group Configuration Wizard

The Terminal Server Group List Wizard is launched by selecting ThinManagerServer> Server List Management>Terminal Server Group List. This allows terminal servers groups to be defined and configured.

See Terminal Server Groups for more details.

Terminal Server Group List Wizard

The Terminal Server Group List Wizard has several buttons:

• Add Group - This launches the wizard to add Terminal Server Groups.
• Edit Group - This will launch the wizard to configure a highlighted Terminal Server Group.
• Delete Group - This will delete a highlighted group.
• Cancel - This will close the window without changes.
• OK - This will close the window with changes.

Select the Add Group button to begin.

Terminal Server Group Name Page

Group Name Page

Enter the name of the group in the Group Name field.

Each group can contain members of one type of Client Communication Protocol. Select the desired Client Communication Protocol and select Next.

Terminal Server Group Options Page

Group Options

The Group Options allow the configuration of the Terminal Server Group parameters.

Group Type Options include:

• SmartSession Group - This option provides load balancing by using CPU availability, memory, and the number of sessions on the member terminal servers to determine the availability of resources on member terminal servers. ThinManager Ready thin clients connect to the terminal server in the terminal server group with the lightest load.
• Make group available for MultiSession Configurations -This allows the terminal server group to be available to ThinManager Ready thin clients that use MultiSession to connect to two or more terminal server groups.
• Application Link Group -This option, AppLink, provides the Initial Program function to Terminal Server Groups. The Initial Program function launches a program instead of the desktop. Closing the program will end the connection and force a reconnection to a session running the application.

Group Options include:

• Enforce Primary - This allows a ThinManager Ready thin client to connect to its original terminal server if that terminal server has failed and recovered. Enforce Primary is not available with SmartSession.
• Instant Failover - Allows a terminal to connect to two terminal servers in the Terminal Server Group. The terminal will have an active session on two terminal servers but will only display one session. If the first terminal server fails, the session of the second terminal server is immediately displayed, eliminating any downtown due to terminal server failure. This requires an Instant Failover license for each terminal using this group.
• Always maintain a session for this group - If checked, if the user closes his session, another session will be started automatically. If unchecked, the user can close a session and another session won't start automatically.
• Start a session at boot-up for this group - If checked, the terminal will start a session for this terminal server group at boot up. If unchecked, a user action is required to start the session.
• Allow Auto-Login - If checked, the terminal will use the login information supplied in the terminal configuration to automatically logon to the terminal server. If unchecked, the user will be required to manually login to the terminal server.

Once the Terminal Server Group parameters are configured, select Next to select the terminal servers for the group.

Terminal Server Group Members Page

Terminal Server Group Members

Terminal Servers need to be added to the Terminal Server Group. Double click on the desired terminal server in the Available Terminal Server list or highlight the desired terminal serverand use the arrow to move it into the right-hand column. Use the Up arrow and Down arrow to prioritize the order of connection if SmartSession is not being used. The Terminal Server Group will contain all the terminal servers in the Selected Terminal Servers list.

Note: The Edit Server List button will launch the Terminal Server Configuration Wizard to add define terminal servers if needed. See Terminal Server Configuration for details.

Note: Only terminals servers configured for SmartSession will be displayed in the Available Terminal Servers list when creating a SmartSession group and only terminals servers configured for MultiSession will be displayed in the Available Terminal Servers list when creating a MultiSession group. See the Terminal Capabilities page of the Terminal Server ConfigurationTerminal Capabilities page of the Terminal Server Configuration for details.

If the Terminal Server Group is using the SmartSession option, the Next button will launch the SmartSession Settings page.

If the Terminal Server Group is not SmartSession Group the Finish button will complete the Terminal Server Group configuration.

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Terminal Server Group SmartSession Page

Smart Session Settings

The SmartSession Settings page allows the importance of the parameter weights to be set and allows SmartSession Queuing to be configured.

ThinManager multiplies the CPU utilization, Memory utilization, and number of sessions on the terminal server by the Weight shown to define the SmartSession terminal server's available resources. Changing the weight of one of the three SmartSession parameters will change its importance. The higher the Weight, relative to the others, the greater the importance of that parameter has in determining the load for SmartSession.

Note: The Weighs are relative. Increasing all three Weights from "1" to "10" doesn't change the relative values.

Smart Session Queuing improves the load adjustment when a terminal server fails by staggering the reconnection of the terminals that were connected to the failed terminal server. Queuing allows the terminals to connect a few at a time to let the CPU of the terminal servers stabilize and let the server load get re-sampled to spread the terminals out over the remaining SmartSession members, instead of immediately switching all the terminals to the terminal server with the lowest load and overloading the CPU.

The Smart Session Queuing parameters are:

• Min Queuing Time -This is the time delay between allowing sessions to be started on a terminal server. Once a session is started on a terminal server, the Min Queuing Time will have to expire before another session is allowed to be started. Setting this value to 0 disables the Minimum Queuing functionality.
• Max Queuing Time - If a terminal server is above its Maximum Smart Session CPU load limit, this is the maximum amount of time a terminal can be delayed before starting a session. If during this time, the CPU load level of the terminal server is below the CPU load limit, the terminal will be allowed to start a session immediately. If other terminals are waiting to start a session on the same terminal server, they will be allowed to start sessions in accordance with the Minimum Queuing Time. The Max Queuing Time can be set to infinite by checking the Infinite checkbox.
• Infinite - The Infinite checkbox will set the maximum queuing time to infinite to keep the terminal from reconnecting until the CPU usage has dropped to an acceptable level

The Finish button will close the configuration of that terminal server and return to the beginning of the Terminal Server List Wizard for the configuration of other terminal servers.

If the Terminal Server Group uses the AppLink option, a Link Application page will be displayed by selecting the Next button.

Terminal Server Group Linked Application Page

Linked Application Path

The Linked Application page allows a single application to be defined for the AppLink session. Enter the path to the desired application in the Enter the path to the Linked Application field as shown in the example.

Note: The path used must be valid for each and every terminal server in the AppLink group. Quotation marks may be needed when there is a space in the path.

Selecting the Finish button will close the Terminal Server Group List wizard and display the created terminal server groups.

Available Groups

Selecting the New Group button can configure additional groups.

The Terminal Server Group List wizard can be closed by selecting OK.

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