[KB8062] Recommended settings for ESET Server Security for Windows Server installed on a terminal or Citrix server (7.3–10.x)
Issue
- We recommend you configure Citrix and other terminal servers using these parameters when running ESET Server Security for Microsoft Windows Server
Details
Click to expand
ESET server products can run in virtualized environments (such as Citrix) when using default settings. Make a few small changes to minimize the impact ESET products have on your virtual machine’s performance.
The ESET Server Security main program window normally starts every time a remote user logs in to the server and creates a terminal session. This is usually undesirable on terminal servers.
Solution
Complete the steps below in sequence to achieve the best performance on a server with ESET Server Security for Microsoft Windows Server installed.
- Verify that Network protection module is installed (2008/2008R2 users only)
- Disable the ESET Server Security graphic user interface (GUI) to prevent it from starting up every time a user logs in
- Scan file execution events and local drives only (Citrix servers only)
- Add needed exclusions (Citrix servers only)
I. Verify that Network protection module is installed (2008/2008R2 users only)
Verify that Network protection module is installed (Microsoft Windows Server 2008/2008R2)
There are two ways to verify that the Network protection module in ESET Server Security for Microsoft Windows Server is installed:
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If you have already installed ESET Server Security, enable the Network protection module:
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Double-click the installer you used to install ESET Server Security (for example,
efsw_nt64_full.msi) and click Next.
Figure 1-1 -
Click Modify.
Figure 1-2 -
From the product component drop-down menu next to Network Protection, select Entire feature will be installed on local hard drive and click Modify.
Figure 1-3 -
Wait for the installation to finish. In the Setup → Web and email section of ESET Server Security, you will now see the Web access protection and Email client protection modules.
Figure 1-4 -
If you are installing ESET Server Security for the first time, follow the instructions below to enable the Network Protection module. You can modify installed components anytime by running the installer. This can be done without a server restart. The GUI will restart and you will see only the components you chose to install.
-
Double-click the ESET Server Security installer you downloaded (for example,
efsw_nt64_full.msi) and click Next.
Figure 1-5 -
Select Custom and click Next.
Figure 1-6 -
Click the product component drop-down menu option next to Network protection, click Entire feature will be installed on local hard drive and click Next.
Figure 1-7 -
Click Install and wait for the installation to finish.
Figure 1-8
II. Disable the graphical user interface (GUI)
Follow the steps in this section in sequence to disable the GUI from launching automatically at startup. You can still access the GUI anytime from the Start Menu.
A. Enable silent mode on the server
Assign the Visibility - Silent mode policy on ESET Server Security in ESET PROTECT to enable silent mode on a server.
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Open the ESET PROTECT Web Console in your web browser and log in.
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Click Policies, expand Built-in Policies, select ESET File Security for Windows Server and select the check box next to Visibility - Silent mode. Click Assign → Assign computers.
Figure 2-1
Click the image to view larger in new window -
Select the check box next to the computer to which you want to assign the policy and click OK.
Figure 2-2
Click the image to view larger in new window
B. Manually update individual client workstations using ESET Shell
To see what policies are assigned to a specific group, select that group and click the Policies tab to view a list of policies assigned to the group. See more information about the Policies.
Perform these steps on individual client workstations:
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Click the Start
icon, type ESET Shell and click ESET Shell.If prompted, type in the username and password for the administrative account. If you are opening ESET Shell for the first time, press the X key to skip the help section.
Figure 2-3 -
Type the following command:
set ui ui gui-start-mode none
Figure 2-4 -
Press the Enter key and wait for the command to complete. Close the ESET Shell window.
III. Scan file execution events and local drives only (Citrix servers only)
-
Open the main program window of ESET Server Security for Microsoft Windows Server.
Alternatively, click the Start
icon, type ESET and click ESET Server Security. -
Press the F5 key to open Advanced setup.
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Click Detection Engine → Real-time file system protection. Click the toggles next to the following four features to disable them. When you are finished, click OK.
- Network drives
- File open
- File creation
- Removable media access
Figure 3-1
Continue to Section IV to add exclusions for a Citrix server.
IV. Add needed exclusions (Citrix servers only)
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To open ESET Server Security, click the Start
icon, navigate to ESET and click ESET Server Security. -
Press the F5 key to open Advanced setup.
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Click Detection Engine from the main menu on the left, expand Exclusions, and click Edit next to Performance exclusions.
Figure 4-1 -
Click Add, type C:\Program Files\Citrix\ into the Path field and click OK → OK → OK.
To add additional file paths to exclude, type \ at the end of the path. ESET will treat \ as a wildcard, and all children of the original path will be excluded.
View the Citrix Consolidated list of Antivirus exclusions.
Figure 4-2
