Analyze, Manage, and Troubleshoot Microsoft FSLogix Profile Container with ControlUp

Microsoft FSLogix Profile Container is the de facto standard for user profiles in Windows remote computing environments. ControlUp provides multiple Script Actions specifically designed to analyze, manage and troubleshoot FSLogix Profile Container. This article gives you an overview of ControlUp’s FSLogix Script Action capabilities and shows examples of real use cases.

Over the last few years, Microsoft FSLogix Profile Container became the most common solution to enhance and enable user profiles in Windows remote computing environments. The intention is to optimize the digital employee experience (DEX) by reducing logon and application launch times, both in single-user and multi-user scenarios. The underlying FSLogix technology is based on a sophisticated combination of a kernel-mode file system filter driver and Windows services that can be configured by registry settings and rule files. The benefit to the user is that the filter driver “hides” from the Windows operating system in such a way that it is secure on one side and completely transparent on the other. The latter means that Windows cannot “see” the preconfigured FSLogix masking and redirection of
selected file system elements, allowing for a truly seamless integration. While redirecting user profiles on mounted Profile Container VHDs is one of multiple use cases for this filter driver, it’s used most often by ControlUp customers.

A Windows component that is invisible to all standard management tools poses challenges for IT administrators and support. Therefore, ControlUp provides Script Actions specifically for FSLogix Profile Container. As of today, the two most popular FSLogix Script Actions are the “FSLogix Log Parser” and the “Show FSLogix Mounted Container Details” scripts.

The FSLogix Log Parser script is executed in the session context of a Windows host with interactive users and FSLogix Profile Container enabled. It parses the FSLogix Profile log for all events that belong to the user of the selected session and displays the results. This simplifies the user-specific analysis of the FSLogix Profile log which includes the events of all users.

The FSLogix Log Parser script simplifies troubleshooting by showing you all the events recorded for a specific logon by the FSLogix service. Without this script action, you will need to manually parse the FSLogix log file which can be fairly large and with overlapping events from concurrent logons. FSLogix Log Parser simplifies this down and makes it easy to identify what occurred during a logon with FSLogix. In this example, the root cause is easily identifiable – the VHDX file was locked and caused a 60-second delay when trying to attach the in-use VHDX. From here you can evaluate whether you want to change policies (enable differencing disks in FSLogix policy) or troubleshoot your EUC environment if it should be using Session Sharing as opposed to new sessions.

The Show FSLogix Mounted Container Details script is executed in the machine context of a Windows host with interactive users and FSLogix Profile Container enabled. It shows FSLogix mounted disk details, such as size and mount time, and cross references to FSLogix session information in the registry.

But there is more! The latest version of FSLogix adds the long-awaited feature of VHD disk compaction on user logoff. Enabled by default, it is designed to automatically decrease the amount of storage a user’s Profile Container uses, depending on a predefined threshold. For details, check out VHD Disk Compaction (preview) – FSLogix | Microsoft Learn. A new version of the Show FSLogix Mounted Container Details script shows details of VHD disk compaction, bloat, white space and free space.

Additionally, ControlUp has a brand new script called, “Find FSLogix Mounts from Share”. On a machine with FSLogix installed, it looks at the Profile Container shares and reads the .metadata files to show where and when the disk was mounted along with other useful data about the disk.

Back in May of 2020, ControlUp added the ability of the Analyze Logon Duration (ALD) script to track the FSLogix phases of the logon. Combined with FSLogix Log Parser, you can deeply understand what FSLogix was doing during the logon. Simply combine the timestamps from the output of ALD on the LoadProfile and ShellStart phases of the FSLogix part with the timestamps in the FSLogix Log Parser output and you get a deep understanding of what FSLogix was doing during the time it was operating. Understanding what your FSLogix environment is doing during logons and their impact has never been easier!

ControlUp provides incredible tools to troubleshoot issues in your environment surrounding FSLogix. From helping you understand the impact of your FSLogix implementation, to displaying the minutiae of what is happening during operation, ControlUp provides the capabilities and features to improve your troubleshooting ability. No other product provides such value that can be accessed in just a couple of clicks.

Try ControlUp at no cost today and see how it can help you!