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PCoIP Session Configuration

This section lists Anyware agent configuration parameters that directly affect PCoIP session characteristics; there are additional settings that govern other session behaviors.

For configuration instructions specific to your host agent type and operating system, including settings not described here, consult the following product documentation.

Configuration Guides:

Session Settings

The following parameters directly affect PCoIP session characteristics and performance. Specific instructions for setting each of these are provided in the documentation listed above.

Build-to-Lossless

This setting specifies whether the protocol will use its build-to-lossless feature. This feature is disabled by default in order to conserve bandwidth. When disabled, images may never reach a truly lossless state.

Enable this feature in environments that require images and desktop content to be built to a lossless state, at the expense of increased bandwidth usage.

Session Maximum Bandwidth

This setting specifies the maximum bandwidth for a PCoIP session, in kilobits per second (kbps). The bandwidth includes all imaging, audio, virtual channel, USB, and control PCoIP traffic.

The default setting is 900000 kbps.

Set this value based on the overall capacity of the link to which your endpoint is connected, taking into consideration the number of expected concurrent PCoIP sessions. For example, for a single-user VDI configuration (a single PCoIP session) that connects through a 4Mbit/s internet connection, set this value to 4Mbit (or 10% less than this value to leave some allowance for other network traffic).

The maximum PCoIP session bandwidth should not be set to a value lower than 300 kbps, for example Profile E in the Sample Policies by User Profile table.

The Sample Policies by User Profile table shows maximum PCoIP session bandwidth settings for different user profiles.

Session Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU)

This setting specifies the maximum transmission unit (MTU) size for UDP packets in a PCoIP session.

The default setting is 1200 bytes.

The MTU size includes IP and UDP packet headers. TCP uses the standard MTU discovery mechanism to set MTU, and is not affected by this setting. The MTU can be specified in a range between 500 and 1500 bytes.

The MTU size does not normally need to be changed; you may consider changing it if you have an unusual network setup that causes PCoIP packet fragmentation. This setting applies to the agent and client. If the two endpoints have different MTU size settings, the lowest size is used.

If this setting is disabled or not configured, the client uses the default value in the negotiation with the agent.

Session Bandwidth Floor

This setting specifies a lower limit, in kbps, for the bandwidth that is reserved by the PCoIP session.

The default value is 0, so there is no bandwidth floor reserved unless you set one.

This setting configures the minimum expected bandwidth transmission rate for the endpoint. Note that the session will use less bandwidth than the floor if there is less data that needs to be sent. This setting is useful for two primary scenarios:

  • In networks with persistent low-level packet loss, like wireless networks, this setting can be set to a level above the background loss; this will cause the Anyware agent to ignore it, and maintain the bandwidth level indicated in this setting.

  • The initial responsiveness of a session can be improved by this setting since the session does not have to discover how much bandwidth is available.

Make sure that you do not over-subscribe the total reserved bandwidth for all endpoints. Make sure that the sum of bandwidth floors for all connections in your configuration does not exceed the network capability:

(n users) *(minimum bandwidth) <= 90% of available link bandwidth

This setting applies to the agent and client, but the setting only affects the endpoint on which it is configured.

Bandwidth Floor Configuration Examples

User Type Link Capacity [Mbps] # Users Packet Loss Example Bandwidth Floor Configuration Corresponding Bandwidth Floor Policy [kbps]
CAD or Creative 100 1 0.1% 10% of Link Bandwidth 10000
100 5 0.1% 20% of Link Bandwidth* 20000
100 1 1%+ 50% of Link Bandwidth 50000
Knowledge Worker 10 1 0.1% 10% of Link Bandwidth 1000
10 5 0.1% 20% of Link Bandwidth* 2000
10 1 1%+ 50% of Link Bandwidth 5000
Task Worker 1 1 0.1% 50% of Link Bandwidth 500
1 5 0.1% 20% of Link Bandwidth* 200
1 1 1%+ 90% of Link Bandwidth 900

*The sum total of bandwidth floor values across should not exceed the available Link Bandwidth or the number of users.

UDP Listening Port

This setting specifies the UDP agent port bound to by software PCoIP hosts.

The UDP port value specifies the base UDP port that the agent attempts to bind to. The UDP port range value determines how many additional ports to try if the base port is not available. The port range must be between 0 and 10.

This setting applies to the agent only.

Session Audio Bandwidth Limit

This setting specifies the maximum bandwidth that can be used for audio (sound playback) in a PCoIP session.

The default setting is 512 kilobits per second (kbps).

The audio processing monitors the bandwidth used for audio. The processing selects the audio compression algorithm that provides the best audio possible, given the current bandwidth utilization. If a bandwidth limit is set, the processing reduces quality by changing the compression algorithm selection until the bandwidth limit is reached. If minimum quality audio cannot be provided within the bandwidth limit specified, audio is disabled.

This setting applies to the agent only. You must enable audio on both endpoints before this setting has any effect. In addition, this setting has no effect on USB audio.

When this setting is modified during an active PCoIP session, it will take effect immediately.

PCoIP Image Quality Levels

There are a number of settings within this category, which control PCoIP image compression levels during periods of network congestion. The Minimum Image Quality, Maximum Initial Image Quality, and Maximum Frame Rate values interoperate to provide fine control in network-bandwidth constrained environments. When dynamic content such as video is displayed, consecutive frames are presented between the configurable Minimum and Maximum Initial Quality values, and the quality of each frame is determined by bandwidth availability. If there is insufficient network bandwidth, a frame is discarded. Static content is initially presented at a value no higher than the Maximum Initial Quality value, then increased to perceptually lossless or numerically lossless quality according to the Build-to-Lossless configuration.

  • Minimum Image Quality Use the Minimum Image Quality value to balance image quality and frame rate for limited-bandwidth scenarios. You can specify a value between 30 and 100. A lower value allows higher frame-rates, but with a potentially lower quality display of dynamic image content. A higher value provides higher image quality, but with potentially lower frame rates when network bandwidth is constrained. When network bandwidth is not constrained, PCoIP maintains maximum quality regardless of this value. The default value is 40 for HP Anyware and 50 for Remote Workstation Cards.

  • Maximum Initial Image Quality Use the Maximum Initial Image Quality value to reduce the network bandwidth peaks generated by PCoIP by limiting the initial quality of the changed regions of the display image. You can specify a value between 30 and 100. The default value is 80 for Cloud Access and 90 for Remote Workstation Card. A lower value reduces the image quality of content changes and decreases peak bandwidth demand. A higher value increases the image quality of content changes and increases peak bandwidth requirements. Unchanged regions of the image progressively build to a lossless (perfect) quality regardless of this value. A value of 80 or lower best utilizes the available bandwidth. The default value is 80 for HP Anyware and 90 for Remote Workstation Cards.

  • Maximum Frame Rate Use the Maximum Frame Rate value to manage the average bandwidth consumed per user by limiting the number of screen updates per second. You can specify a value between 1 and 60 frames per second. A higher value proves smoother frame transitions important for some graphics applications but may use more bandwidth. A lower value uses less bandwidth but may increase the jitter rate of applications with a high source frame rate. The default value is 60 for both HP Anyware and Remote Workstation Cards.