Question : Problem: Is it safe to update my server to sp2 while running Citrix on it?

Hello,

I'm not into Citrix and all but recently I've became an administrator and while leaving the other administrator said to me: don't update server "servername"  to SP2 (w2k3) because Citrix is running on it.
I hardly believe that's true. Where do I have to beware off when updating this server.

It's important that it's stay as stable as it is right now.

Hopefullly you can give me some guidance here.

Kind regards,

LenTheMan

Answer : Problem: Is it safe to update my server to sp2 while running Citrix on it?

From the Citrix site:

Known Issues with Service Pack 2 for Windows Server 2003 Document ID: CTX113035   /   Created On: 10-Apr-2007   /   Updated On: 12-Jun-2008 Average Rating: View products this document applies to  
Summary
Citrix Systems supports Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2. This article outlines some known issues and their workarounds that users of Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 must be aware of in conjunction with the following Citrix products:
" Citrix Presentation Server 4.5
" Citrix Presentation Server 4.0
" Citrix Presentation Server 3.0
Citrix has tested Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 to determine how Citrix products and their components perform on Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (English) and the results are listed below. This article will be updated accordingly should changes warrant it.
Issues
" Uninstalling Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 causes links to the Access Suite Console/Access Management Console to break. Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 upgrades the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) to version 3.0. MMC 2.0 console files (.msc) with user preferences that are opened by MMC 3.0 are updated to the MMC 3.0 format. If MMC 3.0 is uninstalled, MMC 2.0 cannot open the console files that have these updated user preferences.

Workaround
See Microsoft Knowledge Base article 907265.
" Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 Integrated build (slipstreamed) version issues: Web Interface, Program Neighborhood Agent: You might not be able to connect to the Web Interface or launch Program Neighborhood Agent shortcuts. [#148065] Access Gateway 4.5: You cannot view logon points created in the server configuration tool after upgrading using a Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 Integrated build. [#148019]

Workaround
See Microsoft Knowledge Base article 933638.
" Citrix recommends that you install Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 on a server running Presentation Server 4.5 64-bit Edition to resolve the following potential issues: The following error messages might appear in the Event Log or while running discovery using the Access Management Console on servers running Presentation Server 4.5 64-bit Edition for Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1:

In the Event Log: "The COM+ System Application service failed to start due to the following error: The service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion."

In the Access Management Console: "Errors occurred when using in the discovery process. Citrix MFCOM Service did not respond as expected. Make sure that your user account is a member of this computers Distributed COM Users group if you are connecting to a remote server. Check the version of Citrix Presentation Server on the computer and ensure that a compatible version of Citrix MFCOM Service is installed and running."

This issue might be caused by an intermittent flaw in Microsofts COM+ subsystems that prevents the proper installation of Presentation Server components. For more information, see CTX113117  The Access Management Console Fails During the Discovery Process After Installing Presentation Server 4.5.
" You cannot connect to Presentation Server 4.5 after installing for Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2.

Workaround
See Knowledge Base article CTX117441  After Installing Service Pack 2 for Windows Server 2003, You Cannot Connect to Presentation Server for more information about this issue.
" Application Isolation Environment might stop working after periods of heavy utilization on Citrix Presentation Server 4.5 and 4.0. Workaround
See Microsoft Knowledge Base article 935926.
" After installing Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2, you experience slow network performance when copying files across the network or communicating with other computer. You also experience intermittent RPC communications failures or cannot join to the domain. Workaround
See Microsoft Knowledge Base article 948496 .
More Information
CTX109680  Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Known Issues
CTX113115  Access Management Console Errors in Citrix Presentation Server 4.5 64-bit Edition
CTX117441  After Installing Service Pack 2 for Windows Server 2003, You Cannot Connect to Presentation Server
For information on the relationship between Service Pack 2 for Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2003 R2, refer to the Microsoft discussion at Windows Server 2003 Code Name "R2".

Random Solutions  
 
programming4us programming4us