Kirx' Blog

Citrix Provisioning Services – Today’s Hotfixes | September 6, 2011

Citrix’ policy for the release of Provisioning Services is – let’s say it
that way – not quite clear. mal. Some Hotfixes simply disappear from the public
site, some hotfixes that appear there are replaced by others. Also, the
individual CTX articles for the hotfixes don’t always tell clearly, if a hotfix
has replaced others or if it was superseded itself.

Forced to by some projects I tried to collect all the Citrix Hotfixes that
are:

• Designed for Citrix Provisioning Services 5.6 SP1
• Are public available
• Have been released until Sep. 6^th, 2011

Please refer to the PDF for more details on the hotfixes: Citrix-PVS-Hotfixes_2011-09-06

[Update 2011-09-12] Hotfix clarification by Citrix Support about E028 and E006 applied: E006 replaces E028. The updated PDF is Citrix-PVS-Hotfixes_2011-09-12.

Recommended Microsoft Hotfixes for Provisioned Systems

Citrix maintains a list of recommended MS Updates that should be applied to
provisioned systems: http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX128058.

Also, there is a list of recommended Hotfixes for XenApp 6, regardless of
their deployment method: http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX129229.

So far, I didn’t come across a similar list for XenDesktop.

Installation Method

Did you ever “install” PVS hotfixes? Then you perfectly know how file copy
operations are used within your Software Deployment Solution or Scripting
Language: PVS Hotfix “installations” mostly are readme files that explain where
the few files should be copied to. No MSI, MSU, MSP, EXE or other nice method.

From time to time it even happens that two “current” Hotfixes ask to
replace the same file. Can’t believe it? Check the readme for “E028” and
“E006”!

Due to the short life time of some of the hotfixes it’s almost useless to
publish installation scripts – they would expire to quick.

Citrix Provisioning Services 5.6 SP1 Hotfix List

Note: the Citrix-PVS-Hotfixes_2011-09-06 PDF contains more Details, like fixed issues or the bug IDs

Hotfix Name	PVS Server	PVS Target	CTX Article
			CTX125361
CPVS56SP1E014			CTX129104 superseded by E022
CPV56SP1E003_CPVS56E019			CTX127528 included in E036
CPVS56SP1E001			CTX127189 superseded by E002
CPVS56SP1E002			CTX127502 superseded by E008
CPVS56SP1E004			CTX127565
CPVS56SP1E005			CTX127558
CPVS56SP1E007			CTX127813 superseded by E026
CPVS56SP1E008			CTX127937 included in E040
CPVS56SP1E009			CTX128602 superseded by E020
CPVS56SP1E011			CTX128160
CPVS56SP1E013			CTX128245
CPVS56SP1E014			CTX129104
CPVS56SP1E015			CTX128591
CPVS56SP1E016			CTX128726 superseded by E029
CPVS56SP1E017Filename E036			CTX128770 included in E036
CPVS56SP1E018			CTX128603
CPVS56SP1E019 Filename E036			CTX127528 included in E036
CPVS56SP1E020			CTX129474
CPVS56SP1E022			CTX129123
CPVS56SP1E023			CTX128727 superseded by E028
CPVS56SP1E024			CTX129471
CPVS56SP1E026			CTX128987
CPVS56SP1E027			CTX128989 superseded by E041
CPVS56SP1E028			CTX129021 superseded by E006
CPVS56SP1E029			CTX129381
CPVS56SP1E036			CTX130273
CPVS56SP1E040			CTX130275
CPVS56SP1J003			CTX127375 Japanese
CPVS56SP1E038			CTX130117
CPVS56SP1E006			CTX130664
CPVS56SP1E033			CTX130661
CPVS56SP1E041			CTX130662

Summary and Recommendation

Well, I won’t summarize my thoughts about Citrix’ Patch “Management” for
PVS that I had several times during the last few weeks. If I would, this
article would be marked as “verbal abuse”.

However, there are some recommendations:

• Do check for PVS Updates on a regular basis. Usually, new patches
  fix really important issues. I tend to check once per month or at least once
  every three months.
• Do automate the PVS Hotfix installation – at least by using CMD
  scripts. The effort of the initial creation pays off with the second server/device
  that you install.
• Read the Readme: Check for requirements, HF installation order and
  replaced files. Some HFs require other HFs, some replace the same files like
  others and some should be installed even before the actual PVS Software.
• Reboot the Server / (Master)Target after you applied Hotfixes. Some
  replace drivers and I doubt they are replaced on the fly.
• Verify file replacements. If have seen scripts that replaced/added
  files only after the second time they run. Do not rely on the “.md5” checksum
  files. They are not usable as an indicator whether a HF has been installed or
  not. Compare file dates!

Actually, the recommendation is: Please, Citrix, redesign the Hotfix Management and Release process for Provisioning Services. Build out-of-the-box installers. Urgently!

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