by Greg Shields

I mentioned back in Part 26 that user profile sizes are arguably one of the biggest problems with the administration of Terminal Services. Profile sizes can grow large for any number of reasons, though in practice, one of the biggest causes of profile size growth can be related to users who store data on their desktops. Documents on a user’s desktop are automatically part of the user’s profile, and as such, need to be copied back and forth between the roaming profile storage location and Terminal Server at each logon and logoff.

Desktop data isn’t the only source of roaming profile size growth. Internet Explorer (IE) temporary data, IE bookmarks, and application data that gets stored in the user’s profile location are all also components of profile size growth. If you find that any of these locations are growing large for your users, consider implementing Group Policies to restrict their use or redirect their data locations to elsewhere. The Folder Redirection Group Policy can be found under User Configuration | Policies | Windows Settings | Folder Redirection. Be exceptionally careful with the creation of redirected folders, and test their addition prior to rolling them out. Their creation dramatically changes the ways and locations in which users access key profile data. They can also, when not properly architected, create areas of sluggish performance with Terminal Services as users attempt to access data that is redirected off the system. Use these with caution.

Another solution that helps with understanding the impact of user profiles is the creation of quotas. Quotas provide a way to identify the usage information for different types of folders on a file server and can be particularly handy for giving you information about users’ profile consumption. Quotas are configured by navigating to My Computer and right-clicking the volume to enable quotas. From the Quota tab, select the Enable Quota Management check box, and choose the options you want.

Quotas can be configured as an advisory solution or one that prevents users from logging in or out when users’ profiles go beyond a stated size. In practice, enforcing quotas (rather than using them for data gathering) tends to cause more difficulty with users than assistance. This is the case because the notification messages received by users who have exceeded their quotas have traditionally not been informative enough to assist them with understanding what to do. If you plan to use quotas, consider not configuring settings that deny users space when they’ve exceeded their quota.

About the Author

Greg Shields is an independent author, speaker, and IT consultant, as well as a Partner and Principal Technologist with Concentrated Technology. With 15 years in information technology, Greg has developed extensive experience in systems administration, engineering, and architecture specializing in Microsoft OS, remote application, systems management, and virtualization technologies. He is a Contributing Editor and columnist for TechNet Magazine and Redmond Magazine, and serves as the Series Editor for Realtime Publishers, the world’s leading provider of high-quality content for the IT market. Greg is a highly sought-after and top-ranked speaker for both live and recorded events, and is seen regularly at conferences like TechMentor Events, Microsoft Tech Ed, VMworld, and more. He is a multiple recipient of Microsoft “Most Valuable Professional” award.