This blog post will walk you through deploying the configuration logging database in XenApp 6. I’ll be deploying the database on SQL 2008 SP1 running on Windows 2008 SP2 32 bit.

The first thing to do is create a standard domain account to own and connect to the SQL server database. I’ll call my account svcConfigLogging. The account should be set so that its password never expires.

 

Next, we create a blank database in SQL. I have called mine XAConfigLogging. You should follow best practice by pre-setting the database and log file sizes, holding them on separate disks, setting up backup plans etc.

 

We now add the service account created above (svcConfigLogging) to SQL as a logon. The default database for the logon is set to the database created above (XAConfigLogging).

 

Grant the user “db_owner” role access privileges.

 

As the database and security are created we can now use the Delivery Services Console to create the tables and objects in the database and the connection. To do this, right click the farm name and choose “Farm Properties”.

 

 

Select Configuration Logging and then click on the “Configure Database” button.

 

Enter the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) or IP address of the SQL server hosting the database created above (XAConfigLogging) and the credentials of the account created earlier which has db_owner rights to that database (svcConfigLogging).

 

Select the database created above (XAConfigLogging)

Change use Encryption to “No” (use of encryption requires the use of SSL certificates. As these are not in place a connection error will be generated).

 

Click on the “Test Database Connection” button

The connection should be successful (if it isn’t you will need to go back and check the settings entered).

Clicking on “Finish” will return you to the configuration screen.

The balance of the settings can now be configured. If you do not tick the “Log administrative tasks to Configuration Logging Database” then configuration logging does not take place.

Click on OK to complete configuration.

You can now make changes to the configuration of XenApp and they will be recorded to the database.

To view changes made to the configuration select the “History” node in the Delivery Services Console.

 

 

Clicking on the “Set Filter” link allows the SELECT statement to retrieve from the database to be constructed using the GUI.

Clicking on the “Get Log” link will retrieve the changes made within the constraints of the filter applied.

 

“Standard” administrators will have their changes logged to the database but will not be able to read from the database by default (i.e. will not be able to retrieve the log in history). To do this they need to be granted EXECUTE permissions against the stored procedures for the XAConfigLogging database.

 

The permissions required for administrators to the database are detailed at http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xenapp6-w2k8-admin/ps-maintain-define-db-perms.html. If security is not a concern then administrators can be granted db_owner rights to the database. Granting of rights is most easily achieved using domain groups.