Want to optimize your virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) and DaaS? The all-new ControlUp v8.6.5 includes updates to our logon duration analysis, trigger and script enhancements, improved Citrix Provisioning Services (PVS) metrics, PowerShell CMDLETs, new integrations for vROps, and a wide array of updates to our third-party integrations. 

At ControlUp, we love our customers, and our customers love us! That’s why we strive to go the extra mile and continuously develop new features and functionality, ensuring our customers have the best possible experience. Today is just one more testament to placing our customers at the forefront, as we announce the general availability of ControlUp Real-Time DX v8.6.5.
 

Real-Time DX 8.6.5 includes improvements in a few key areas, including logon duration, trigger and script updates, new Citrix Provisioning Services (PVS) metrics, improved Microsoft Azure integration, more PowerShell commands, and enriched third-party integrations. We thank our customers for pushing us to improve and for requesting these feature updates that continue to make ControlUp the industry-leading SaaS solution for monitoring and remediation of issues in remote work environments. 

Here’s a deeper look into what’s included in this release. 

New Citrix Provisioning Services (PVS) Metrics 

ControlUp now offers a host of new Citrix PVS target device metrics, including PVS Device Disk Type, Write Cache Type, Free Space on Write Cache Drive, UDP Retry Count, and a new “PVS Target Device Health” column to show aggregated health data to the target device. These are beneficial in many ways, including monitoring, alerting, reporting, and automation. The new health column also includes the new Citrix Daas (formerly Citrix Virtual Apps & Desktops or CVAD) PVS preset and metrics from CVAD.

New Triggers and Scripts 

Our new trigger enhancements allow IT teams to get notified and automatically act on any errors, performance issues, or other irregularities. The trigger improvements in this release include the ability to export and import triggers between environments and setting up a webhook or REST API as a follow-up action. These allow IT admins to readily scale automation across virtual environments. 

We’ve also included several security and usability updates, such as in-memory execution of PowerShell script actions. This reduces the likelihood of sensitive data ending up in the wrong hands. Additionally, we’ve added a new named parameters feature with an Input Validation options (see screenshot below). This makes scripting safer and more robust, allowing IT admins to perform accuracy tests and receive confirmation that the information they’re getting is correct.

New PowerShell CMDLETs 

We know that you have been waiting for new PowerShell CDMLETs, and we’re happy to say that they are now here! This new functionality allows IT admins to programmatically get real-time information about the current configuration (e.g., folders, machines, processes, performance counters) from ControlUp through the monitor cluster. What’s more, admins can obtain information about several virtual machines, which allows admins to proactively detect issues at scale before users experience downtime. Check out our documentation on Monitor Cluster PowerShell API CDMLETs to learn more. 

Logon Duration Measurement Enhancements 

Analyzing slow logons is tricky, even in the best of times. At ControlUp, our goal is to help our customers return superior performance results. We’ve noticed that while customers are doing the right things to optimize their logon durations, the reported logon duration was still higher than they expected. This was due to the Legal Notice in the Windows operating system popping up, sitting on the screen while users expected the logon process to continue, and extending the total logon duration. To accurately calculate the logon times, the Legal Notice duration is now tracked and subtracted from logon times, giving a more accurate depiction of logon performance in the Real-Time DX console.

Microsoft Azure Integration Improvements 

Improving on the Microsoft Azure integration delivered as part of the Real-Time DX v8.6 release, these enhancements allow IT admins to stop and deallocate virtual machines directly from the console using native cloud integration. They can also take advantage of new triggers and automate power functions to save time and support costs. See below for the new cost metrics included in the console, including monthly total and broken-down cost values that allow admins to plan and forecast costs accordingly.

New VMware vRealize Operations (vROps) Integrations 

vROps supplies operations management across physical, virtual, and hybrid cloud environments. It collects and displays data about sessions, desktop pools, virtual desktops, and the processes and applications that run on them and can monitor, troubleshoot, and manage many VMware technologies and products.  

ControlUp’s vROps Management Pack complements vROps by exposing ControlUp’s key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics for VMware Horizon to the vROps platform. This gives administrators and helpdesk employees that use vROps for their day-to-day monitoring new insights into the health of their Horizon environment. Once an issue is found, the user can dive in deeper, investigate, and solve it using ControlUp’s robust, real-time solutions. 

Get started with ControlUp Real-Time DX v8.6.5! 

We’re excited to offer this release—the best version yet of ControlUp Real-Time DX—to our customers. Real-Time DX allows companies to proactively find issues and fix them quickly, so they can deliver a best-in-class digital employee experience for teams working from anywhere. 

Want to learn more about what’s included in ControlUp’s Real-Time DX v8.6.5? Sit tight for a series of blogs coming your way that cover what’s included in v8.6.5 in more detail. You can also register and tune in for our webinar on June 8, 2022, to see a deep dive into our new features and enhancements, and to see live demos given by our product experts.

Get started with ControlUp Real-Time DX v8.6.5 and see for yourself why ControlUp is the perfect SaaS tool for your network and resource optimization goals! 

• Release notes 

• Upgrade to ControlUp Real-Time DX v8.6.5