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Tracing Network Traffic on Amazon WorkSpaces Personal During Windows Startup

Tracing Network Traffic on Amazon WorkSpaces Personal During Windows Startup

This article presents a simple, scalable and, non-intrusive technique to trace networks traffic at system startup for Windows WorkSpaces Personal. A handy asset for diagnostic and troubleshooting.

amazon-workspacesnetworkingtroubleshoot
Nahuel Benavidez
Amazon Employee
Published Jan 24, 2025
Amazon WorkSpaces Personal is a fully managed, highly configurable virtual desktop service designed to provide knowledge workers with seamless access to the applications and resources they need to do their jobs. With WorkSpaces Personal, users can install applications, save files and data, and configure settings as they would on a local desktop.
Amazon WorkSpaces custom images help organizations standardize their customized virtual desktop environments while reducing operational overhead. WorkSpaces custom images bring significant benefits to the organization: Standardization and Control, Operational Efficiency, Cost Optimization, Enhanced Security and, Improved User Experience.

Background

When working with Amazon WorkSpaces Personal or when creating custom WorkSpaces images, you may need to diagnose network connectivity issues during startup or launch. This is particularly important when WorkSpaces created from custom images fail to launch. Diagnose and troubleshooting need to remain automated, non-intrusive and, time efficient. Manual intervention from the end user or IT staff as well as installation of support tools should be avoided as much as possible.

Solution Overview

This article describes how to trace network traffic during system startup using Windows Task Scheduler and PowerShell. The solution requires minimal setup and provides automatic capture capabilities (figure1).
A high level diagram of the solution
Figure 1
Figure 1: A high level diagram of the solution

Prerequisites

  • An AWS Account.
  • An existing WorkSpaces Personal environment.
  • Administrative access to your WorkSpace.
  • Basic understanding of Windows Task Scheduler.
  • PowerShell execution permissions.

Implementation Steps

  1. Open Windows Task Scheduler.
  2. Create a new task with these settings:
    • General tab (figure 2):
      • Run with SYSTEM (NT Authority\SYSTEM) privileges.
      • Enable "Run whether user is logged on or not"
    • Triggers tab (figure 3):
      • Set trigger to "At startup"
    • Actions tab (figure 4):
      • Program/Script: powershell.exe
      • Arguments: -command netsh trace start persistent=yes capture=yes maxSize=50 filemode=circular overwrite=yes tracefile=%windir%\temp\FILE_NAME.etl; timeout /T 300; netsh trace stop
An image of the Scheduled Task’s General Tab.
Figure 2
Figure 2: An image of the Scheduled Task’s General Tab.
An image of the Scheduled Task’s Triggers Tab.
Figure 3
Figure 3: An image of the Scheduled Task’s Triggers Tab.
An image of the Scheduled Task’s Actions Tab.
Figure 4
Figure 4: An image of the Scheduled Task’s Actions Tab.

Configuration Parameters

  • Default capture duration: 5 minutes (300 seconds).
  • Maximum file size: 50 MB.
  • File location: %windir%\temp\FILE_NAME.etl.
  • Mode: Circular; overwrites older data when size limit is reached.
Note: the values suggested in this example are better fir for troubleshooting startup issues on existing WorkSpaces. For image creation troubleshooting, increase capture duration to 15-20 minutes and file size to 250 MB by adjusting the timeout and maxSize parameters accordingly.

Cleanup resources

In this blog post you crated a schedule task that can utilize system resources and local storage space to save data. Use the Windows Task Scheduler management console to Disable or Delete the scheduled task.

Conclusion

Network traffic capture during WorkSpace startup or launch is a valuable troubleshooting tool, especially when working with custom images. The automated solution presented here offers a non-intrusive way to diagnose connectivity issues while maintaining the benefits of custom images. By combining this diagnostic capability with well-planned custom images, organizations can achieve both operational efficiency and effective troubleshooting capabilities.
For optimal results, regularly review and update your custom images while maintaining proper diagnostic tools and procedures. This ensures your WorkSpaces environment remains secure, efficient, and easily manageable.
Visit the Amazon WorkSpces Personal Administrators Guide to learn more about custom WorkSpaces images and bundles.
 

Any opinions in this post are those of the individual author and may not reflect the opinions of AWS.

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