managementxendesktop

1MicrosoftOffice365ProPlusisabundledsoftwareplussubscription-basedofferingfocusedonuserproductivity-basedapplications.
Office365ProPlusincludesacombinationofonline-basedapplicationsthatareaccessedfromanywhereviaawebbrowser,inadditiontothelatesttraditional,locallyinstalledversionofMicrosoftOffice.
IncludedwithOffice365ProPlusisanonlineemailaccountthathas50GBofmailstorageand1TBoffilestorageperuserlicensedforOneDriveforBusiness.
Office365isagreatsolutionforanyorganization,butduetouser,applicationandbusinessrequirements,thereisoftenarequirementforalocallyinstalledversionoftheOfficeapplicationsinadditiontotheonlineversions.
Typically,organizationsrequirethelocallyinstalledversionsforthefollowingreasons:RequirefullapplicationfunctionalitythatmaynotbeavailablewiththeonlineversionLine-of-businessapplicationsinstalledlocallyhaveadependencyonlocallyinstalledversionsofanOfficeapplicationThesechallengesarerelevantformostorganizations.
Historically,MicrosoftOfficeisoneofthemostcommonapplicationsdeliveredviaCitrixXenApp,duetoitsabilitytoprovidetheuserwiththelatestversionofOfficewiththebestuserexperienceforawiderangeofusecases.
WithOffice365ProPlus,thevalueofCitrixXenApphasnotchanged.
TodeliverOffice365tousersproperly,weprovidethefollowingrecommendationstoenableanoptimizeduserexperiencewhileminimizingthepotentialimpacttotheunderlyinginfrastructure.
OutlookAspartofanOffice365implementationwithCitrixXenApporXenDesktop,organizationscanuseExchangeOnlineinsteadofmanagingandmaintainingExchangeserversinstalledon-premises.
AspartofanExchangeOnlineimplementation,thedeploymentoftheOutlookclientrequiresachoicebetweentwooptions:CachedExchangeModeorOnlineMode.
Thedecisionimpactstheuserexperienceandinfrastructure.
(Table1)MicrosoftOffice365forCitrixXenAppandXenDesktop7.
xTable1OnlineModevs.
CachedExchangeModeOnlineModeCachedExchangeModeDescriptionRequiresaconstantnetworkconnectiontotheback-endExchangeserver.
Continuouslysynchronizestheusermailboxandaddressbooktoalocalfile,eliminatingservicedisruptionscausedbysporadicorlatentnetworkconnectivity.
CachedmailboxcontentisstoredlocallyformailreceivedwithinaconfiguredwindowoftimeandrevertstoOnlineModeforoldercontent.
WhentouseConstant,always-on,verylowlatencynetworkconnectiontoExchangeOnline.
Usersrequiremoreresponsiveemailforrecentitems,especiallyifnetworkconditionsbetweentheOutlookclientandMicrosoftExchangeOnlineareconsideredtobesuboptimal.
UserExperienceConsiderationsInitialstartupisfasterfortheuserbecausenosynchronizationisrequired.
Ongoinguserexperienceisdirectlyrelatedtothequalityofthenetworklink(bandwidth/latency)toExchangeOnline.
Ingeneral,abetteruserexperienceisaffordedtotheuserwithinanestablishedsession.
InfrastructureConsiderationsEachuserisallocateda50GBofmailboxstorageStoragecapacityandthroughputmustbeadequatetoservicetherequeststothecachedfile.
2Recommendation:BasedonCitrixin-housetestdata,asavailableinAppendixAofthisdocument,withoptimaluserexperienceasthegoal,CitrixrecommendsusingOutlookCachedExchangeMode.
ForXenAppornon-persistentVDImodelstheCachedExchangeMode.
OSTfileisbestlocatedonanSMBfilesharewithintheXenApplocalnetwork.
ThefollowingsectionoutlinestherecommendedMicrosoftconfigurationsettingsrequiredtoenableOutlookCachedModeforatypicalon-premisesXenAppenvironment.
ActiveDirectoryGroupPolicyConfiguration(showninFigure1)File|CachedExchangeMode:IncludedintheOutlook2016ActiveDirectorygrouppolicytemplate.
ThispolicyspecifiesthedefaultCachedExchangeModefornewprofiles.
TheoptionsareDownloadHeaders,DownloadFullItems,andDownloadHeadersandthenFullItems.
Forourtests,weusedDownloadFullItems.
SyncSettings:IncludedintheOutlook2016ActiveDirectorygrouppolicytemplate.
Thispolicyallowsanadministratortoconfiguretheamount(bydate)ofuseremailOutlooksynchronizeslocallyusingCachedExchangeMode.
Initially,thesepoliciescanbesettoonemonth,althoughdependingonyourspecificimplementationalongeramountoftimemayberequiredforyourusecase.
DisableFastAccess:IncludedintheOutlook2016ActiveDirectorygrouppolicytemplate.
WhenExchangeFastAccessisenabled,Outlook2016connectstoExchangeinOnlineModewhilesimultaneouslybuildinganofflinecachefileaspartoftheCachedExchangeMode.
AsthelatencyincreasesbetweenOutlookandExchange,Outlookseamlesslyutilizesthelocalcachefile.
Note:Bydefault,theDisableExchangeFastAccesspolicyisdisabled,whichmeansExchangeFastAccessisenabledbydefault.
Ourguidanceistoensurethatthispolicyisdisabled.
UseCachedExchangeMode:IncludedintheOutlook2016ActiveDirectorygrouppolicytemplate.
ThispolicyenablesCachedExchangeModefornewandexistingOutlookprofiles.
Withoutthispolicyenabled,OutlookwillbeconfiguredinOnlineMode.
ThispolicyshouldbesettoEnabled.
CacheFile:AccordingtothisMicrosoftknowledgebasearticle,thecachefilecanbelocatedonanetworkdriveifthefollowingthreecriteriaaremet:Ahighbandwidth/lowlatencynetworkconnectionisused.
Thereissingleclientaccessperfile(oneOutlookclientper.
pstor.
ost).
EitherWindowsServer2008R2orlaterRemoteDesktopSessionHost(e.
g.
XenApp),orWindows7orlatervirtualdesktopinfrastructure(e.
g.
XenDesktopVDI)isusedtorunOutlookremotely.
AlthoughMicrosoftsupportsanetworkmappedcachefile,Microsoftmaynotagreetotroubleshootperformance-relatedissuesinthisconfiguration.
Regardlessofthiscaveat,anetworkattachedcachefileistherecommendedapproachforaXenAppandXenDesktopimplementationtoprovideabetteruserexperience.
Tocreateanetworkcachefilemapping,useOutlook2016ActiveDirectorygrouppolicytemplate.
CitrixPolicyConfigurationLogonPerformance:TheuserprofilemightbecomelargeduetotheOutlookcachefile,itisimportanttomitigatethisriskbyimplementingtheCitrixProfileManagementfunctionality.
Thefollowingsettingsarerecommended:EnableProfilemanagement:PolicyshouldbeenabledsoCitrixprofilesareused.
Pathtouserstore:Policyshouldspecifytheuniquepathfortheuserprofilelocation.
Basedonthisconfiguration,theuserprofileshareincludes:Figure2Figure13UPM_Profile:ContainstheCitrixuniversalprofilefilesandfolders(Documents,Favorites,ntuser.
dat,andsoon).
Outlook:ContainstheOutlookcachedfile.
BecausetheOutlookfolderisoutsideoftheuniversalprofilefolder,itisnotcopiedtoandfromtheRDSandVDIinstances.
Outlookconnectstothecachefiledirectly,acrossthenetwork.
(Figure3)Together,theseconfigurationsettingshelptoensureabetteruserexperienceforOutlook2016onXenAppwithOffice365ExchangeOnline.
SkypeforBusinessAspartofanOffice365implementationwithinaXenApporXenDesktopsolution,organizationsthatdonotdependonthedirectvoiceandthird-partyunifiedcommunicationsapplicationintegration,ormulti-regionalcontrolsforenterprisevoicecanuseSkypeforBusinessOnlineinsteadofmanagingandmaintainingtheirownprivate(on-premisesorotherwise)installationofSkypeforBusinessServer2016orLyncServer2013.
FormoreMicrosoftguidanceregardingLyncfeaturedifferencesbetweenLyncServerandLyncOnline,see"DecidinghowtodeployLyncServer2013".
FormoreMicrosoftguidanceregardingdifferencesinSkypeforBusinessServerandOnlinecapabilities,thetablesinthe"DesktopclientcomparisontablesforSkypeforBusiness"areagreatresource.
FororganizationsthatchoosetouseSkypeforBusinessOnline,therearemoreconsiderationstoensureyouachievethebestbalanceofuserexperienceandinfrastructureimpacttrade-offs.
MostSkypeforBusinesspresenceandIMfeaturesworkseamlesslywithinaCitrixXenApporXenDesktopsolutionwithnosignificantimpacttouserdensityperserver.
ForSkypeforBusinesssolutionsrequiringVideoandAudioVoIPcapabilities,Citrixsupportsmultipleoptionsfordeliveringthebestuserexperiencewithindifferentnetworkconditionsandend-pointdevicescenarios.
AcomprehensivelistofCitrixoptionsforSkypeforBusinessServerfeaturescanbefoundinthedocument"FeatureMatrixforAlternativeMethodsofDeliveringtheSkype-for-Business/LyncClientfromXenApp/XenDesktop".
AcondensedoverviewoftheCitrixsupportedoptionsvalidinaSkypeforBusinessOnlinesolutionareoutlinedinTable2.
Recommendations:ForthemostseamlessSkypeforBusinessOnlineexperienceforadministratorsandendusers,acrossmultipleFlexcastmodelsandCitrixReceiverenabledend-points,Citrixrecommendsthatthefollowingoptionsbeemployed.
Table2CitrixSupportedOptionsFeatureCitrixGenericHDXRealTimeCitrixHDXRealTimeOptimizationPack2.
2CitrixHDXRealTimeOptimizationPack1.
8MicrosoftLync2013VDIplug-inCitrixLocalAppAccessServeroffloadforhighscalabilityZeroaddedlatencyWindowsReceiversupport*WindowsversionsaredetailedintheHDXRealTimeOptimizationPack–SystemRequirementsdocumentation.
LinuxReceiversupportMacReceiversupportVDI-compatibleRDS-compatible(publisheddesktop)RDS-compatible(publishedapp)N/ALync2010clientsupportLync2013clientsupportFigure34TheCitrixHDXRealTimeOptimizationPackenablesthebroadestsetofcapabilitiesacrossWindowsandnon-Windows-basedend-points,inadditiontointegrationwithSkypeforBusinessOnlineActiveDirectoryFederationcapabilities.
DetailsfortheinstallationandconfigurationoftheOptimizationPackareavailableinCitrixproductdocumentationunderHDXRealTimeOptimizationPack2.
2.
LyncOnlineActiveDirectoryFederationshouldbeenabledwhenaseamlesslogonexperienceisdesiredforcorporateusers,orwhenaSkypeforBusinesson-premisesandSkypeforBusinessOnlineHybridenvironmentistobeconsidered.
DetailsforintegratingSkypeforBusinessOnlinewithyourcorporateActiveDirectorycanbefoundontheMicrosoftOffice365siteunderOffice365integrationwithon-premisesenvironments.
OneDriveforBusinessIncludedwiththeOffice365subscriptionisaccesstoOneDriveforBusiness,allowingausertostore,sync,andsharetheirworkfiles.
OneDriveforBusinessletsusersupdateandsharefilesfromanywhereandworkonOfficedocumentswithothersatthesametime.
InenvironmentsthatuseRDS/VDItypeimplementationslikeXenAppandXenDesktop,simplyinstallingtheOneDriveforBusinessagentcancausesomeunexpectedchallenges.
Supportability:BasedontheMicrosoftknowledgebasearticle,theOneDriveforBusinesssyncagentisnotsupportedonaTerminalServicesbasedimplementation.
TogainaccesstoOneDriveforBusinessfiles,usershavetouseawebbrowser.
ConsumervsBusiness:TherearetwoflavorsofOneDrive:OneDriveandOneDriveforBusiness.
Bothsolutionsaredifferent.
OneDriveusesapersonalaccountforuserfilestorageinthecloud.
OneDriveforBusinessusesabusinessaccountwithaSharePointback-endinfrastructure,FeatureCitrixGenericHDXRealTimeCitrixHDXRealTimeOptimizationPack2.
2CitrixHDXRealTimeOptimizationPack1.
8MicrosoftLync2013VDIplug-inCitrixLocalAppAccessSkypeforBusiness2015clientsupportLyncUISkypeforBusinessOnline(Office365)authenticationSkypeforBusinessOnline(Office365)ADFederationWebcamsupportSupportforselectedwebcamswithbuilt-inH.
264encoderFallbacktoserverifnolocalmediaengineN/AN/AInstantMessagingPresenceScreenSharing(fulldesktop)Appsharing(forexample,hostedPowerPoint)ifLyncclientispartoffullvirtualdesktopAppsharing(hostedapps)EnterpriseVoiceSupportCalltransfer(bind/unannounced)MeetNowjoinviaIPvoice-videoLocationServices(foremergencies)USBphonesupportforWindevicesLANOnlyUSBphonesupportforLinuxLANOnlyUSBphonesupportforMacIPsetsw/BetterTogetheroverUSBLANOnlyWindowsthemesetbyvirtualdesktopMicrosoftEdgeServerforremoteaccessN/ANetScalerGatewaymediatransportSupportfor32-bitSkype/LyncclientSupportfor64-bitSkype/LyncclientSupportfor64-bitOffice5allowingforjointcollaborationandgreateradministrationcapabilities.
OneDriveforBusinesscanbehostedinthecloudoron-premises,whileOneDriveisentirelyhostedinthecloud.
TheOneDriveandOneDriveforBusinesssyncagentsaredifferent.
Sync:Thesynchronizationtool,includedwithOneDriveforBusiness,syncstheuser'sentirelibrarytoalocal,non-networkfolder.
PerformingthisactiononaXenAppornon-persistentVDImachineresultsinsignificantamountofdatabeingcopiedduringeachlogon.
Thelargeamountofdatacopiedisoneofthereasonswhythesyncagentisnotsupportedonamulti-usersolutionlikeTerminalServices.
StorageSpace:EachOneDriveforBusinessuserisgranted1TBofstoragespacefortheirpersonallibrary.
Synchronizingtheuser'sentirelibraryacrossmultipledevicesconsumesasignificantamountofstorage.
NetworkSync:OneDriveforBusinessdoesnotsupportsyncingtoanetworkdrive.
Recommendation:Option1:ContinuetouseOneDriveforBusinessbutrequireuserstoaccesstheirfilesviathewebbrowser.
Option2:UseCitrixShareFileforfilestoragebecauseitincludesselectivesynccapabilities,whichonlysynchronizesthefilesaccessedbytheuser.
Withselectivesync,usersseetheirentireShareFiledirectorystructureinWindowsExplorer,butnoneofthosefilesarephysicalpresentonthesystemuntiltheyarerequested.
Option3:ContinuetouseOneDriveforBusinessforuserfilestorageandutilizetheShareFileDesktopApp,astand-aloneWindowsapp,toaccesstheuser'sfilesandfolders.
LicensingInitially,Office365ProPluslicensingwassetuponaperuserbasis,whereeachuserrequiredasinglelicense,allowingthemtouseOffice365ProPlusonupto5differentmachines.
However,thislicensingsolutiondoesnotworkinanRDS/VDItypedeploymentwhereasinglemachinehostsmultipleuniqueusers.
Inthesecondhalfof2014,MicrosoftaddedaSharedComputerActivationmethodtotheOffice365ProPluslicensing,meanttosolvetheRDS/VDIchallenge.
TheSharedComputerActivationapproachoccursasfollows:1.
UserlogsontoamachineandstartsanOffice365ProPlusapplication(MicrosoftWord)2.
Office365ProPluscontactstheOfficeLicensingServiceviatheinternettoobtainalicensetokenfortheuser-machinecombination.
Iftheenvironmentisconfiguredcorrectly,theuserdoesnotseeanactivationwizard.
3.
Whenproperlylicensed,thelicensetokenisstoredintheuserprofile.
4.
Thestepsarerepeatedforeachuser-machinecombination.
Ifthesameuserlogsontoanothermachine,theymustactivateOffice365ProPlusonthatmachine,too.
5.
Iftheuserlogsontoasharedmachinewheretheyhavealreadygonethroughtheactivationprocess,thetoken,storedintheuserprofile,isreused.
ToinstallOffice365withSharedComputerActivation,usetheOfficeDeploymentToolkit,asexplainedinfollowingTechNetarticle.
However,theSharedComputerActivationmethodhasafewcaveats:Licensingrenewal:Eachuserlicensetokenforaparticularmachineonlylastafewdaysbeforetheymustrelicense.
Connectivity:Duringlicenserenewal,theremustbeaninternetconnectiontotheMicrosoftOfficeLicensingService,hostedbyMicrosoft.
Reducefunctionality:Iftheuserskipsactivation,theygointoreducedfunctionalitymode,whichallowsthemtoonlyviewandprintdocuments.
InaCitrixServiceProvidermodel,licensingOffice365includesafewothercaveats:CitrixServiceProviderswhoarealsoTier-1MicrosoftCloudSolutionProviderscanuseMicrosoftSharedComputerActivationtohostOffice365ProPlusformultipletenantswithintheserviceprovider'sdatacentersonsharedcomputeinfrastructure.
RefertotheMicrosoftPartnerCenterorcontactyourMicrosoftrepresentativeformoreinformation.
ServiceProviderscanalsouseMicrosoftAzurehostedXenAppandXenDesktopserverVDIinstancesforhostingOffice365ProPlustodeliverOffice365Servicestotheirtenants.
Note:TheSharedComputerActivationdoesnotimpacttheuser'sabilitytoinstallOffice365ProPluson5differentmachines.
Note:MicrosoftallowsasingleusertoactivateOffice365ProPlusona"reasonable"numberofcomputersinagiventimeperiod(1day)beforeactivationfails.
Unfortunately,thereisnodocumentedvaluefor"reasonable"numberofactivations.
Note:TouseSharedComputerActivation,theOfficeDeploymentToolkitmustbeusedasexplainedinthefollowingMicrosoftTechNetarticle.
AminimumofOffice365EnterpriseE3orhigherishighlyrecommended-notonlytoenabletheMicrosoftSharedActivationrequirementsontheRDS-basedXenAppservers,butalsoforthebroaderanalyticsandothercapabilitiesfoundintheE3andhighersubscriptions.
AppendixA:CachedExchangeModeConsiderationsandTestResultsTestingOutlook2016viaXenAppwithExchangeOnlineThedecisiontomovetoOffice365(withExchangeOnlinemailboxes)impactsOutlookperformancefornon-persistent,andhostedshareddesktopsinadditiontoOutlookservedasaseamlessapplicationviaXenApp.
TheobjectiveofourtestsistocompareperformanceofthedifferentdeploymentoptionsavailableforOffice365ExchangeOnline,andtomakearecommendationforthebestobservedapproach.
Inourtests,weusedmultipleuniqueusers,goingthroughaprescribedsetofproceduresonanidenticalsetofemailmessagesofvarioussizes.
WemeasuredthetimetostartOutlook,toload,displayandsendmessages.
Toassessthepotentialimpacttoon-premisesinfrastructurewemeasuredtheCPU,disk,network,andmemoryusagewhileinteractingwithOutlook.
Thetimesandperformancenumbersovermultipletestiterationswereaveragedtogetherforeachuniqueuser.
6Testplatform:WindowsServer2016XenApp7.
12CitrixProfileManagementenabledOffice365(click-to-run)Usermailboxsizeapproximately5GBTestedDeployments:AnonpremisesdeploymentofMicrosoftExchangeServer2016integratedwithMicrosoftOutlook2016runningwithinaCitrixXenApp7.
12executionenvironment.
(Figure4)MicrosoftOffice365ExchangeOnlinewithMicrosoftOutlook2016runninginOnlineExchangeMode.
(Figure5)MicrosoftOffice365ExchangeOnlinewithMicrosoftOutlook2016runninginOutlookCachedExchangeMode.
(Figure6)MicrosoftOffice365ExchangeOnlinewithMicrosoftOutlook2016runninginOnlineExchangeModewithinaXenAppServerhostedonMicrosoftAzureCloud.
(Figure7)ResultsoftestingEnduserexperience(Performance)Ourtestsfocusedontwoaspectsofuserexperience.
ReceivingMail:Thetimeittakestodisplayanarrayofdifferent-sizedemailswithgraphicsattachments(inMB),SendingMail:Thetimeittakestosendemailsofdifferentsizes(inMB).
Figure4Figure5Figure6Figure77AspresentedinthechartinFigure8,ourtestsacrossallfourimplementationsconcludethatuserexperienceissignificantlyenhancedbyconfiguringOutlook2016touseCachedExchangeMode.
WhenconfiguringOutlooktouseOnlineMode,thebestend-userexperienceisachievablewhenanExchangeServerisavailablewithintheonpremisesnetworkclosesttotheXenAppservers.
MoredetailsregardingOnlineModeversuscachedExchangeModeareavailableinthegraphsthatfollow.
InFigure9,wecanseethatthereisasignificantimpacttotheloadtimeofnewemailswhenExchangeOnline,OnlineModeisimplementedincomparisontoourOnPremisesExchangebaseline.
Incontrast,implementingOutlookCachedExchangeModecanactuallyreducethedisplaytimeincomparisontothebaseline,sometimesbyasmuchas49%.
InFigure10,wecanseethatanequallysignificantimpactisdemonstratedwhilesendingemailfromeitherOnlineMode,orOutlookCachedExchangeModeincomparisontothebaseline.
Thesetestsindicate,theadvantagesofimplementingOutlookCachedExchangeModearecompellingfromauserperspective.
Therearehowever,infrastructureimpactstoconsider,todeterminetheproperbalanceofperformanceandcosttrade-offsthataremadewithinyourparticularimplementation.
Wediscusstheseimpactsinthenextsection.
ImpactstoonpremisesinfrastructureThesetestsmeasuredfourinfrastructurecomponentsin3areaswhileOutlookwasrunningwithinaXenAppsession.
Thesethreeareaswere:startingOutlook,readingmail,andsendingmail.
LaunchingOutlook:WhenstartingOutlook,wemeasuredthefollowing:AverageCPUtimeconsumedperuser.
(Figure11)PercentageofLogicalDiskTime.
(Figure11)Figure8Figure9Figure108Theamountofcommittedmemory.
(Figure11)ThetotalnumberofBytes/Secondtransmittedoverthenetwork.
(Figure12)InFigure11,wecanmakethefollowingobservations.
AverageCPUtimeisdecreasedmostsignificantlywhenconfiguredforExchangeOnline,OnlineMode.
Thedecreasemakessense,becausefewercyclesareusedtofetchanddisplayemailwithinthelocalsystem.
Theback-endcloudservicehandlesthesecycles.
ApointofinterestisthatExchangeOnline/CachedExchangeMode(OSTinNetworkShare)consumeslessCPUthanOn-Premises,OnlineMode.
XenAppserverLogicalDiskTime(%)impactisgreatestforExchangeOnline,OnlineMode,andleastforExchangeOnline(OSTinNetworkshare).
Thelatterbeingabout67%lesstimethantheformer,andapproximately50%lesstimethantheExchangeOnline,OnlineModeimplementation.
MemoryCommittedisrelativelythesameacrossallthreeimplementations,withExchangeOnline/OnlineModebeingtheslightlycostlieroftheset.
InFigure12,whenstartingOutlook,thenetworkimpactduringourtestswasmostsignificantwhenusingExchangeOnline/CachedExchangeMode(OSTinNetworkShare).
ReadingMail:LookingatFigure13,wecanmakethefollowingobservations.
AverageCPUtimeisdecreasedmostsignificantlywhenconfiguredforExchangeOnline/OnlineMode.
Thedecreasemakessensebecausefewercyclesareusedtofetchanddisplayemailwithinthelocalsystem,andbecausetheback-endcloudservicehandlesthesecycles.
XenAppserverLogicalDiskTime(%)impactisgreatestforOn-Premises,OnlineMode,andleastforExchangeOnline(OSTinNetworkshare).
Thelatterbeingabout70%lesstimethantheFigure11Figure12Figure139former,andapproximately33%lesstimethantheExchangeOnline/OnlineModeimplementation.
MemoryCommittedisrelativelythesameacrossallthreeimplementations,withExchangeOnline,OnlineModebeingtheslightlycostlieroftheset.
InFigure14,whenreadingmailinOutlookthenetworkimpactduringourtestswasmostsignificantwhenusingExchangeOnline/CachedExchangeMode(OSTinNetworkShare).
SendingMail:ThefollowingsendmailcharacteristicsareobservedinFigure15.
AverageCPUtimeisdecreasedmostsignificantlywhenconfiguredforExchangeOn-Premises/OnlineMode.
XenAppserverLogicalDiskTime(%)impactisgreatestforOn-Premises/OnlineMode,andleastforExchangeOnline/OnlineMode.
Thelatterbeingapproximately40%lesstimethantheformer,andslightlylesstimethantheExchangeOnline,CachedExchangeMode(OSTinNetworkShare).
MemoryCommittedisrelativelythesameacrossallthreeimplementations,withExchangeOnline/OnlineModebeingtheslightlycostlieroftheset.
InFigure16,whensendingmailinOutlookthenetworkimpactduringourtestswasmostsignificantwhenusingExchangeOnline/CachedExchangeMode(OSTinNetworkShare).
PlanningforCachedExchangeModeAsdiscussedearlier,CachedExchangeModeappearstobethebettersolutiontoovercomingthelatencychallengeswhenmigratingtoExchangeOnline.
However,transitioningthemailboxcachetoanetworksharecanimpactyourstorageandnetworkinfrastructure.
Note:Theamountofdatathatiscachedcanbecontrolledbygrouppolicy.
Inplanningourtests,CitrixusedtheMicrosoftWhitepapertitled"CachedExchangeModeinaRemoteDesktopSessionHostenvironment:planningconsiderations"asareference.
Figure14Figure15Figure1610TheCitrixgeneratedchartinFigure17showsthe(peruser)diskI/Oofthefileserverwhenhostingthecachefile.
TheseresultsweregeneratedwhenOutlookisatrest.
AlthoughCitrixtestsusedmorerecentversionsofOutlookandtheunderlyingWindowsoperatingsystem,theresultsappeartoparallelthosedocumentedbyMicrosoftinthewhitepaperreferencedonpage9.
MethodologyandtestdetailsOutlook2016withExchangeon-premises(asabaselinemeasure)Outlook2016inOnlineMode,usinganon-premisesExchangeServerwasusedtoestablishabaseline.
(Table3)OutlookwithExchangeOnline,OutlookinOnlineMode(NoCacheFile)AsecondsetoftestswereexecutedusingOnlineModeconnectingtotheOffice365ExchangeOnlinecloudservice.
Thetestresultsdemonstratethataddedlatencyinthepublicnetworkconnectionbetweentheon-premisesXenAppserversessionandtheExchangeOnlineserviceresultedinalargeincreaseinOutlookstarttimesinadditiontomailreadandsendtimes.
Ingeneral,theseincreasedtimesarenotwithinarangewheremostuserswouldexperienceacceptableperformance.
(Table4)Figure17Table3Outlook2016withExchangeOn-Premises(BaselineMeasure)FunctionOnlineModeOn-PremisesExchange(inseconds)Outlook2016starttime(previewpanefullyloaded)5.
36secMaildisplaytime,1MBinlineimage1.
76secMaildisplaytime,3MBinlineimage2.
68secMaildisplaytime,6MBinlineimage3.
26secMailsendtime,local1MBattachment0.
82secMailsendtime,local3MBattachment0.
90secMailsendtime,local5MBattachment1.
74secFunctionOutlookStartReadMailSendMailAvgCPU27.
0%23.
4%5.
7%LogicalDisk1.
8%3.
4%1.
3%NetworkBps33,400.
1%223,164.
2%12,213.
2%Memory11.
9%12.
2%12.
3%Table4OutlookwithExchangeOnline,OutlookinOnlineMode(NoCacheFile)FunctionOnlineModeOn-PremisesExchange(Baseline)OnlineModeExchangeOnlinePercentIncrease/DecreasefrombaselineOutlook2016starttime(previewpanefullyloaded)5.
36sec16.
08sec+200%Maildisplaytime,1MBinlineimage1.
76sec2.
76sec+57%Maildisplaytime,3MBinlineimage2.
68sec4.
24sec+58%Maildisplaytime,6MBinlineimage3.
26sec5.
02sec+54%Mailsendtime,local1MBattachment0.
82sec1.
70sec+107%Mailsendtime,local3MBattachment0.
90sec3.
38sec+276%Mailsendtime,local5MBattachment1.
74sec6.
40sec+268%FunctionOutlookStartOutlookStartBaselineReadMailReadMailBaselineSendMailSendMailBaselineAvgCPU19.
3%-28%19.
1%-18%6.
8%+19%LogicalDisk3.
1%+73%1.
5%-55%0.
9%-33%NetworkBps36,337.
7%+9%234,086.
3%+5%13,735.
4%+12%Memory12.
5%+5%13.
6%+11%13.
0%+5%11OutlookwithExchangeOnline,OutlookinCachedExchangeModeForthethirdsetoftests,CachedExchangeModewasenabledandconfigured.
UsingGroupPolicy,weconfiguredtheOST(Cachefile)locationtobeonanetworkshareintheXenAppserver'slocalnetwork.
Inourtests,weranOutlookoncetobuildthe.
OSTfilecompletely,thenwetestedthetimesforsubsequentstarts.
ThetestsdemonstratedadecreaseinsubsequentOutlookmailboxloadtimes,mailreadtimesandmailsendtimes.
Thisdecreasewasevidentoverallscenariosincludingthebaseline.
Table5showsOutlooklaunchtimesareabout25%lessthanthosewithoutacachefile.
However,thereisnowgreaterneedfornetworkstorageanditsabilitytohandletheaddedburdenofOutlookcachefiles.
SeeFigure17.
Table5OutlookwithExchangeOnline,OutlookinCachedExchangeModeFunctionOnlineModeOn-PremisesExchange(Baseline)CachedExchangeModeExchangeOnlinePercentIncrease/DecreasefrombaselineOutlook2016starttime(previewpanefullyloaded)5.
36sec4.
38sec-18%Maildisplaytime,1MBinlineimage1.
76sec1.
00sec-43%Maildisplaytime,3MBinlineimage2.
68sec1.
36sec-49%Maildisplaytime,6MBinlineimage3.
26sec1.
68sec-48%Mailsendtime,local1MBattachment0.
82sec0.
50sec-39%Mailsendtime,local3MBattachment0.
90sec0.
50sec-44%Mailsendtime,local5MBattachment1.
74sec0.
50sec-71%FunctionOutlookStartOutlookStartBaselineReadMailReadMailBaselineSendMailSendMailBaselineAvgCPU22.
6%-16%23.
9%+2%6.
2%+9%LogicalDisk0.
9%-47%1.
0%-69%1.
0%-28%NetworkBps128,151.
9%+284%260,855.
8%+17%21,043.
6%+72%Memory11.
8%-1%12.
3%+1%12.
3%+0%12TestingOutlookwithExchangeOnline,XenApphostedinMicrosoftAzureInourfourthsetoftests,weconfiguredtwoXenAppenvironmentsinAzure.
OneintheU.
S.
Eastregion(Table6),andoneintheU.
S.
Westregion(Table7).
WedidnotuseCachedExchangeModeinthisconfiguration.
OurresultsshowthatthereisanimprovementforExchangeOnline/OnlineModewhenXenAppishostedinAzureascomparedtothesamescenarioinanon-premisesdatacenter.
(Table6)Asexpected,theresultsshowanimprovementwhentheXenAppserverishostedinAzure.
Buttheresultswerestillslightlybehindbaselineresults.
SummarySummarizingthemetricsfrombesttoworst,thefollowingisconfirmed:Baseline:On-PremisesXenApphostedOutlookusingOnlineModewithOn-PremisesExchangeOn-PremisesXenApphostedOutlookusingCachedExchangeModewithExchangeOnlineAzure-basedXenApphostedOutlookusingOnlineModewithExchangeOnlineOn-PremisesXenApphostedOutlookusingOnlineModewithExchangeOnlineprovidesanunsatisfactoryuserexperienceandshouldbeavoided.
Table6OutlookwithExchangeOnline,XenApphostedinMicrosoftAzure(U.
S.
EastRegion)FunctionXenAppinOn-PremisesDatacenterOnlineModeExchangeOnlineXenAppinAzure(East)OnlineModeExchangeOnlinePercentIncrease/DecreasefromOn-PremXenAppExchangeOnlineMaildisplaytime,1MBinlineimage2.
76sec1.
74sec-37%Maildisplaytime,3MBinlineimage4.
24sec3.
20sec-25%Maildisplaytime,6MBinlineimage5.
02sec3.
64sec-27%Mailsendtime,local1MBattachment1.
7sec1.
54sec-9%Mailsendtime,local3MBattachment3.
38sec2.
74sec-19%Mailsendtime,local5MBattachment6.
40sec3.
78sec-41%Table7OutlookwithExchangeOnline,XenApphostedinMicrosoftAzure(U.
S.
WestRegion)FunctionXenAppinOn-PremisesDatacenterOnlineModeExchangeOnlineXenAppinAzure(West)OnlineModeExchangeOnlinePercentIncrease/DecreasefromOn-PremXenAppExchangeOnlineMaildisplaytime,1MBinlineimage2.
76sec1.
78sec-36%Maildisplaytime,3MBinlineimage4.
24sec2.
90sec-32%Maildisplaytime,6MBinlineimage5.
02sec3.
54sec-29%Mailsendtime.
local1MBattachment1.
7sec1.
38sec-19%Mailsendtime.
local3MBattachment3.
38sec2.
02sec-40%Mailsendtime.
local5MBattachment6.
40sec2.
54sec-60%