Using BarTender with Remote Desktop Services and Citrix XenApp
Overview
This article explains how to use BarTender with Windows Remote Desktop Services and Citrix XenApp. It discusses printing and licensing challenges in these two environments for each of the BarTender editions.
For more information on using BarTender with remote desktop services and Citrix Xenapp, refer to the Citrix and Remote Desktop section of this white paper.
Differences Between Editions
Basic, Starter, and Professional Editions
If you own BarTender 2016 or previous, have in mind that the Basic and Professional editions of BarTender can be run by only one user at a time. If BarTender is already running in one user’s session, a second user logged into the server will not be able to run the application.
Since BarTender 2019 this limit no longer exists for Starter, and Professional Editions. You will be able to launch several BarTender sessions over Citrix and Remote Desktop Services.
Automation and Enterprise Editions
These 2 editions of BarTender allow unlimited users to run the BarTender application. Therefore, it can be run simultaneously in any number of user sessions. Instead of user-based licensing, the Automation editions are licensed by the number of printers that are actively used.
Remote Services/Citrix Xenapp
Remote Desktop Services
Remote Desktop Services (formerly known as Terminal Services) is a Windows Server feature that enables a client computer to connect to the server in such a way that the client’s keyboard, mouse, and monitor become, in effect, directly connected to the server machine. For more information on Remote Desktop Services, search “Remote Desktop Services” or “Terminal Services” at the Microsoft website: www.microsoft.com.
Citrix XenApp
Citrix XenApp (formerly known as Citrix MetaFrame Server) is a thin client product that is built on top of Remote Desktop Services, allowing users to connect to corporate applications. For more information, refer to the Citrix website: www.citrix.com.
Printer Redirection
Remote Desktop Services provides printer redirection, which sends print jobs from a server to printers installed locally on a client computer. There is a brief discussion of this in the "Client Print Queues" section of this document, below.
For more information on printer redirection, search for “Remote Desktop Services” or “Terminal Services” with “Printer Redirection” at www.microsoft.com to find knowledge base articles, FAQs, and other types of documentation on this feature.
Printing
When a user logs into a Remote Desktop Services session, the list of printers available to them comes from two sources: the printer drivers installed on the server, and the printer drivers installed on the client. The drivers that are installed on the server are referred to as server print queues, while the drivers that are installed on the client are called client print queues.
Server Print Queues
If a printer is attached directly to the server, or is connected to the server via TCP/IP, the printer driver can be installed on the server. This creates a server print queue, which effectively makes the printer available in all remote desktop sessions.
Client Print Queues
Client print queues are created by printer redirection, a feature available with both Remote Desktop Services and Citrix XenApp. Printer redirection routes printed output from a remote desktop session to a printer available on the client computer, creating an automatic client print queue. A matching printer driver is installed on the server, all print code is generated on the server, and the resulting print code is redirected to the printer available on the client computer.
When a client logs into a remote desktop session, the server will attempt to create print queues for each of the printers that are installed on the client. A client print queue can also be used for printers that are on the server’s local network, in order to make the printer available only to a particular user’s sessions.
Note On Bi-Directional Communication
Printer redirection does not support bi- directional communication, which is used to establish a two- way connection between the client and the server. If your printing procedure depends on receiving data from the printer, such as printer status information, printer redirection cannot be used.
Universal Printer Drivers
Universal printer drivers allow you to print to almost any printer, regardless of make or model. By installing a single universal driver, you eliminate the hassle of installing multiple printer- specific drivers on the server.
In Citrix XenApp, client print queues can be automatically created using the Citrix Universal Printer or Citrix Universal Printer Drivers. The Citrix Universal printer is an auto-generated printer object that replaces all printers appearing in the user’s session. This installed printer can be used to print to almost any printer that you want to use.
The Citrix Universal Printer Drivers are generic printer drivers that can be used to print to most printers. Rather than adding a single printer object as with the Citrix Universal Printer, a single driver is installed. You can then create multiple automatic print queues using the universal printer driver.
The universal printer driver for Remote Desktop Services is called Remote Desktop Easy Print. The Easy Print driver provides support for multiple models of printers, without needing to install multiple drivers on the terminal server.
Installing Printer Drivers on the Server
If the server has local access to the driver that is installed on the client, the client’s driver is automatically used. If the server does not have access to the driver, then you will need to install a printer driver on the server that has the same name as the driver on the client machine. Once this is done, the print queue will be created automatically each time the client logs in.
In Windows Server 2008:
- From the Administrative Tools menu, select Print Management.
- Expand the Print Servers node
- Right-click on Drivers and select Add Driver from the context menu.
- Follow the instructions to install the printer driver.
In Windows Server 2003:
- Open the Printers Folder in Windows.
- From the File menu, select Server Properties.
- Select the Drivers tab.
- Click the Add button.
- Follow the instructions to install the printer driver.
Printer Licensing with Client Print Queues
When using an Automation edition of BarTender, Seagull License Server (SLS) identifies unique printers by processing information received from the printer itself. For locally installed printers, this information includes the printer model and port; for network printers, this includes the printer’s IP address and TCP port. However, in Citrix and Remote Desktop Services environments, SLS is unable to retrieve some of this information from the server, including the port or IP address. If the printer is using a universal driver, it is not even possible to obtain the printer model of the printer in use. Without this information, when a printer is used from multiple clients, SLS may not recognize it as a single printer. This will cause the printer to be listed in SLS multiple times, effectively reducing the number of printers available in your license.
Seagull License Server Remote Assistant
Seagull License Server Remote Assistant is a software utility that should be installed on remote clients to prevent Seagull License Server from over-counting printers when using Citrix or Remote Desktop Services environments. When installed, Seagull License Server Remote Assistant obtains detailed information directly from the printers installed on the client computer. Each time a print request is initiated from a client, SLS will request this information from the Remote Assistant. Using the additional print information, SLS can accurately differentiate between printers based on printer model, port, and IP address.
Installing the Seagull License Server Remote Assistant
To install Seagull License Server Remote Assistant on client computers, download and run the installer package from our website or the BarTender Suite installation CD.
Note On Seagull License Server Remote Assistant
To use the Seagull License Server Remote Assistant with Citrix, you must have Citrix Independent Computer Architecture (ICA) virtual channel v12.0 or higher installed and running.
In addition to running the installer package, users can install Seagull License Server Remote Assistant on computers in their network with minimal to no user interface using the Silent Install command line. The Silent Install command line can be used to install Seagull License Server Remote Assistant on multiple computers across the network.
Command Line Installation
To install Seagull License Server Remote Assistant from the command line:
- Open the Run text box:
- In Windows 10, type "Run" into the Windows menu Search field and select the desktop app Run from the results.
- In earlier editions of Windows, select the windows Start button and select the Run option.
- In the Run text box, type "cmd".
- Click OK to open the command prompt.
- Enter the desired command parameters using the syntax below:
Example Installation Scripts
To install Seagull License Server Remote Assistant while monitoring the installation process:
To install Seagull License Server Remote Assistant only for a Remote Desktop Services environment, even if Citrix is installed:
To install Seagull License Server Remote Assistant only for a Citrix environment:
