The core issue is two specific applications consistently consuming high CPU resources (25% each, likely maxing out one core on a 4-vCPU server). While CPU Spikes Protection is enabled, it primarily lowers the process priority after a spike is detected. For applications with sustained high usage, a more direct limitation is required. CPU Clamping is the specific Workspace Environment Management (WEM) feature designed to set a hard limit on the percentage of total CPU processing power a process can consume. By setting a clamp at 10% for each application, the engineer directly prevents them from exceeding this threshold, thereby freeing up CPU resources and resolving the performance issues.

A. Exclude Specified Processes and add the two problem applications: This would prevent WEM's CPU management features, including Spikes Protection, from applying to these applications, making the problem worse.

B. Process Affinity and add the two problem applications: Process affinity binds an application to specific CPU cores but does not limit its consumption. The application could still fully consume the core(s) it is assigned to.

D. Limit Sample Time and set it to 10% for the two problem applications: "Limit Sample Time" is a setting within CPU Spikes Protection that defines a time duration, not a percentage. This option misinterprets the feature and does not offer a new solution.

1. Citrix Workspace Environment Management Documentation - CPU Management: This official document details the CPU management features.

Section: CPU Clamping: "Prevents processes from using more than a specified percentage of the CPU’s processing power. The WEM agent dynamically throttles (or 'clamps') the CPU consumption of a process when it reaches the specified percentage. CPU clamping is a brute-force approach that is computationally expensive." This directly supports option C as the method to enforce a hard limit.

Section: CPU Spikes Protection: "When enabled, this feature reduces the CPU priority of processes that monopolize the CPU for a certain period of time." This confirms it manages priority, which is different from the hard limit offered by clamping.

Section: Process Affinity: "Lets you define which processor cores a process runs on." This confirms that affinity only assigns cores and does not limit usage.

Section: Exclude Specified Processes: The documentation confirms that adding processes here excludes them from CPU Spikes Protection.