Keeping A Citrix Session Alive?

#1

I've got a production app that runs under Citrix.

Due to various problems, a two-hour batch job that the app runs
has tb initiated manually in the wee hours of the morning instead
of being run by a simple .CMD file that starts the Access app in
a "Overnight Batch" mode.

Problem is that the Citrix admins enforce a 40-or-so-minute
timeout on inactive sessions - and the session performing the
batch job in question looks inactive to Citrix.

So if I VPN/RemoteDesktop in, open up the Citrix-deployed app,
kick off the process and then just go back to sleep; the Citrix
timeout kicks in, the whole session gets flushed, and the batch
job never finishes what it has to do.

Consequently I have to wake up and hit "Enter" every 30 minutes
or so.

I was thinking that maybe I could write a little MS Access app tb
run on the same PC than I'm VPN/RemoteDesktopping into that would
just keep looping and send a MouseOver or a KeyDown or something
to the Citrix window in time to avoid the inactivity timeout and
I could go back to getting a decent night's sleep.

I know from SendKeys(), but don't have a clue on how to find that
Citrix sesh's window and push the keystroke or whatever into it.

Can anybody offer up a clue?
--
PeteCresswell

#2

Per David W. Fenton:

Quote:

Why not ask the Citrix admins to fix this setting for you, instead
of coming up with a dailywtf-style solution?

That was my first move. No hope there, hence the desire for a
workaround.
--
PeteCresswell

#3

"(PeteCresswell)" <x@y.Invalid> wrote:

Quote:

Consequently I have to wake up and hit "Enter" every 30 minutes
or so.

There was a hilarious DailyTWF.com posting on this topic. The manager brought in a
electrically operated baby's rocking chair and put the optical mouse in it. And they
let it run 24x7.

Tony
--
Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP
Tony's Main MS Access pages - http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm
Tony's Microsoft Access Blog - http://msmvps.com/blogs/access/
Granite Fleet Manager http://www.granitefleet.com/

#4

On Sun, 10 May 2009 17:49:51 -0400, "(PeteCresswell)" <x@y.Invalid> wrote:

Quote:

I've got a production app that runs under Citrix.

Due to various problems, a two-hour batch job that the app runs
has tb initiated manually in the wee hours of the morning instead
of being run by a simple .CMD file that starts the Access app in
a "Overnight Batch" mode.

Problem is that the Citrix admins enforce a 40-or-so-minute
timeout on inactive sessions - and the session performing the
batch job in question looks inactive to Citrix.

So if I VPN/RemoteDesktop in, open up the Citrix-deployed app,
kick off the process and then just go back to sleep; the Citrix
timeout kicks in, the whole session gets flushed, and the batch
job never finishes what it has to do.

Consequently I have to wake up and hit "Enter" every 30 minutes
or so.

I was thinking that maybe I could write a little MS Access app tb
run on the same PC than I'm VPN/RemoteDesktopping into that would
just keep looping and send a MouseOver or a KeyDown or something
to the Citrix window in time to avoid the inactivity timeout and
I could go back to getting a decent night's sleep.

I know from SendKeys(), but don't have a clue on how to find that
Citrix sesh's window and push the keystroke or whatever into it.

Can anybody offer up a clue?

Perhaps you could periodically halt the routine temporarily and do something
which would defer the timeout (write and delete a record to a temp table to
update the ldb?).

If [RecordNumber] Mod 100 = 0 Then
Do something to update ldb
DoEvents
Else
Continue with batch job
End if

Wayne Gillespie
Gosford NSW Australia

#5

(PeteCresswell) wrote:

Quote:

I've got a production app that runs under Citrix.

Due to various problems, a two-hour batch job that the app runs
has tb initiated manually in the wee hours of the morning instead
of being run by a simple .CMD file that starts the Access app in
a "Overnight Batch" mode.

Problem is that the Citrix admins enforce a 40-or-so-minute
timeout on inactive sessions - and the session performing the
batch job in question looks inactive to Citrix.

So if I VPN/RemoteDesktop in, open up the Citrix-deployed app,
kick off the process and then just go back to sleep; the Citrix
timeout kicks in, the whole session gets flushed, and the batch
job never finishes what it has to do.

Why does your batch job appear inactive to Citrix?

Can you edit it to write/update a file to the filesystem every N minutes?
Or open and close another Access app along with the batch job? The Access
app would open a form with a Timer and fire off a tiny routine every N
minutes - such as selecting data from an .mdb.

Quote:

Consequently I have to wake up and hit "Enter" every 30 minutes
or so.

I was thinking that maybe I could write a little MS Access app tb
run on the same PC than I'm VPN/RemoteDesktopping into that would
just keep looping and send a MouseOver or a KeyDown or something
to the Citrix window in time to avoid the inactivity timeout and
I could go back to getting a decent night's sleep.

I know from SendKeys(), but don't have a clue on how to find that
Citrix sesh's window and push the keystroke or whatever into it.

Can anybody offer up a clue?

#6

"David W. Fenton" <XXXusenet (AT) dfenton (DOT) com.invalid> wrote:

Quote:

Consequently I have to wake up and hit "Enter" every 30 minutes
or so.

There was a hilarious DailyTWF.com posting on this topic. The
manager brought in a electrically operated baby's rocking chair
and put the optical mouse in it. And they let it run 24x7.

The frightening thing to me is the idea that if you presented
management with the choice of doing this right or buying a baby's
rocking chair for Pete to put his mouse on, I know *exactly* which
one management would choose.

Depends on management. If it's local or IT management then it'd be the rocking chair.
If it was the CEO then the right thing might happen.

Stories of Gestapo IT departments abound.

Tony
--
Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP
Tony's Main MS Access pages - http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm
Tony's Microsoft Access Blog - http://msmvps.com/blogs/access/
Granite Fleet Manager http://www.granitefleet.com/

#7

Wayne Gillespie <bestfit (AT) NObestfitSPAMsoftwarePLEASE (DOT) com.au> wrote:

Quote:

Perhaps you could periodically halt the routine temporarily and do something
which would defer the timeout (write and delete a record to a temp table to
update the ldb?).

Trouble is this kind of Citrix/TS keep alive reuires a mouse movement or keyboard
movement. Updating a table isn't sufficient.

Tony
--
Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP
Tony's Main MS Access pages - http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm
Tony's Microsoft Access Blog - http://msmvps.com/blogs/access/
Granite Fleet Manager http://www.granitefleet.com/

#8

I'm having a similar problem. Because of compliance rules developed
outside my company, we have implemented a 15 minute time out on the
citrix connections. In reality, the rule states that the user is
required to retype their password in order to regain access to the
application(s) they are running. That's really what I would like to
implement, but our IT staff hasn't found a way to do this yet so we have
the timeout which ends all applications to which they are connected.

What I would really like is.... If a user is connected to a database via
MS Access and Crystal Reports and a 3rd application and they walk away
to get coffee, when they come back to their desk 20 minutes later, I'd
like for them to just be able to type their password and have their
everything where it was when they walked away (similar to the Lock
Computer option on windows). If anyone knows of how to do this, I'd be
very grateful!

Thanks!

*** Sent via Developersdex http://www.developersdex.com ***

#9

"Samantha Turner" <sturner (AT) accessint (DOT) com> wrote

Quote:

I'm having a similar problem. Because of compliance rules developed
outside my company, we have implemented a 15 minute time out on the
citrix connections. In reality, the rule states that the user is
required to retype their password in order to regain access to the
application(s) they are running. That's really what I would like to
implement, but our IT staff hasn't found a way to do this yet so we have
the timeout which ends all applications to which they are connected.

What I would really like is.... If a user is connected to a database via
MS Access and Crystal Reports and a 3rd application and they walk away
to get coffee, when they come back to their desk 20 minutes later, I'd
like for them to just be able to type their password and have their
everything where it was when they walked away (similar to the Lock
Computer option on windows). If anyone knows of how to do this, I'd be
very grateful!

Thanks!

*** Sent via Developersdex http://www.developersdex.com ***

Can you have your IT group change it to Disconnect after 15 min and not
Reset. If they are doing a Reset on time-out, are you having any issues with
corruption?

#10

Samantha Turner <sturner (AT) accessint (DOT) com> wrote:

Quote:

I'm having a similar problem. Because of compliance rules developed
outside my company, we have implemented a 15 minute time out on the
citrix connections. In reality, the rule states that the user is
required to retype their password in order to regain access to the
application(s) they are running. That's really what I would like to
implement, but our IT staff hasn't found a way to do this yet so we have
the timeout which ends all applications to which they are connected.

Your IT staff can't figure out how the users get back to their apps by rekeying their
password? Umm, that's default behavior unless Citrix changed things there. And
that's a very basic setting so if they can't figure it out either

1) they're lying
2) they're remarkably incompetent.

I administer my Terminal Server remotely. Indeed I've only seen it "in the flesh" so
to speak a few times in the past five or six years. I TS/RDP in, work away and close
the session. Days later I can open up the session and everthing is right where I
left it.

Quote:

What I would really like is.... If a user is connected to a database via
MS Access and Crystal Reports and a 3rd application and they walk away
to get coffee, when they come back to their desk 20 minutes later, I'd
like for them to just be able to type their password and have their
everything where it was when they walked away (similar to the Lock
Computer option on windows). If anyone knows of how to do this, I'd be
very grateful!

You can't do this from Access. This is a Citrix/Terminal server setting.

Tony
--
Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP
Tony's Main MS Access pages - http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm
Tony's Microsoft Access Blog - http://msmvps.com/blogs/access/
For a free, convenient utility to keep your users FEs and other files
updated see http://www.autofeupdater.com/
Granite Fleet Manager http://www.granitefleet.com/