This article describes how to capture a target-side network trace from a Provisioned Services (PVS) machine.

Requirements

Hypervisors:

• XenServer 5.x

• XenServer 6.x

• VMware ESX 4.x

• VMware ESXi 5.x

• Hyper-V 2012

Or

Physical Environment (including but not limited to HP/IBM/Dell/Cisco target devices)

Background

For efficient troubleshooting and in-depth analysis of a variety of issues in the PVS environment, Citrix Technical Support requires network tracing from the target devices to capture ongoing network traffic during the different stages of the boot process.

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Instructions

XenServer Virtual Machines

1. Choose a PVS target device Virtual Machine that exhibits the behavior you want to capture (boot, performance, etc.).

2. Follow the instructions for capturing a trace using the TCPDump utility described in the following Knowledge Center article:
   CTX120869 - How to Capture a Network Trace from a XenServer Physical Interface, Virtual Bridge, and VM Virtual Interface

VMware ESX/ESXi

1. Choose a PVS target device virtual machine that exhibits the behavior you want to capture (boot, performance, etc.).

2. Enable Promiscuous Mode on the VMware vSwitch where the target Virtual Machine is located as described in the following link: http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1004099

3. Create a new Windows Virtual Machine or use an existing one that is located on the same vSwitch and the same VMWare host as the provisioned device to install the latest version of WireShark www.wireshark.org.

   Note: This second Virtual Machine is not required to be provisioned through Provisioning Services.

Start a WireShark trace on the second Virtual Machine and start the provisioned one so that the network packets are captured while your issue is taking place.

1. After reproducing the issue, stop the trace and save it in its native format (pcap, ncap, etc.).

Hyper-V 2012

1. Choose a PVS target device Virtual Machine that exhibits the behavior you want to capture (boot, performance, etc.).

2. Follow the instructions for capturing a trace using Port Mirroring described in: https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/mspfe/2012/11/28/virtual-machine-network-monitoring-the-easy-way-with-hyper-v-in-windows-server-2012/
    

Physical Environment (no hypervisors)

1. Choose a PVS target device that exhibits the behavior you want to capture (boot, performance, etc.).

2. Enable Port Mirroring on your physical switch to mirror packets between switch ports. Each third party vendor has specific instructions on how to configure this feature. Contact your vendor to get more information on the procedure applying to your networking deployment.

3. In an example scenario, Port Mirroring will be enabled to mirror packets from Port A to Port B where PVS target device is plugged into Port A and a laptop with WireShark installed is plugged into Port B.

4. Start a WireShark trace on the laptop (or another device with a packet sniffer installed) from Port B and start the PVS target device occupying Port A.

5. After reproducing the issue, stop the trace and save it in its native format (pcap, ncap, etc.).

This article describes how to capture a target-side network trace from a Provisioned Services (PVS) machine.

If you have a support case open with Citrix Technical Support, upload your traces to http://taas.citrix.com.