XenDesktop 5 Quick Start Guide

Table of Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 2 Check Lists ........................................................................................................................................... 3 Quick Deploy Installation XenDesktop VDA ..................................................................................... 4 Quick Deploy Installation XenDesktop Controller ........................................................................... 6 Configuring XenDesktop via Quick Deploy ......................................................................................... 8 Testing the Deployment.................................................................................................................... 12 Initial configuration tasks with Desktop Studio ................................................................................ 13 Desktop Group Management ....................................................................................................... 13 Basic Machine Management......................................................................................................... 15 Initial Daily Management with Desktop Director ............................................................................. 16 Desktop Director - Usage example ............................................................................................... 17 Advanced Deployment with SQL ...................................................................................................... 19 Updating Machines ........................................................................................................................... 27

Introduction
This brief document will take you through the simple process of deploying XenDesktop 5 in a controlled manner for a Proof of Concept. It will also show some of the initial steps to administer the XenDesktop 5 site. A few assumptions have been made for this document. These assumptions DO NOT suggest any limitations of the deployment topologies. There are many different ways of setting up Windows networks; hence, I need to ensure some level of consistency Future updates to this document will add additional deployment scenarios. XenDesktop will be deployed on Citrix XenServer. Note: We support ESX and Hyper-V. You have thin provisioning capable storage repository available, such as NFS. The XenDesktop ISO has been copied to an ISO Library on the XenServer. You will be using the XenDesktop 5 Quick Deploy. The XenDesktop Controller will be installed on Windows Server 2008 R2 that has been imported and is operational on the XenServer The Hosted Virtual Desktop will be a Windows 7 Desktop that has been imported and is operational on the XenServer The Controller and Virtual Desktops will be members of the same domain. Access to the XenDesktop environment will be from the same domain and within the LAN. Ensure WinRM is enabled. See http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX125243

Definitions used in this document. XenDesktop Controller The Windows Server where XenDesktop will be installed Windows 7 Golden Image Your reference Windows 7 Desktop image.

Id also like to say thanks to all the Developers, Engineers, Architects and Product Managers that I have pestered over the last few weeks and months. Without them, XenDesktop 5 would never have been possible.

You know who you are. THANKS GUYS

Check Lists

XenDesktop Controller
Windows Server 2008 R2 plus latest patches Domain Joined DNS resolution verified IP address Backup / Export of Virtual Machine available System Time Synchronization to AD

Domain Name ________________

____ . ____ . ____ . ____

Domain Name ________________

XenDesktop Golden Image

Windows 7 plus latest patches Domain Joined DNS resolution verified IP address Backup / Export of Virtual Machine available System Time Synchronization to AD

____ . ____ . ____ . ____

Infrastructure
Domain Time Synchronization verified DNS Forward Lookup DNS Reverse Lookup (reverse lookup zone configured) Disable Authenticode http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX120115

Quick Deploy Installation XenDesktop VDA

On the Windows 7 Golden Image, mount the XenDesktop ISO from the XenServer storage menu tab in XenCenter and select AutoSelect from the dialogue box that appears.

Select Install Virtual Desktop Agent from the XenDesktop dialogue box.

The assumption here is to run Quick Deploy. In this case you will not be prompted for XenDesktop controller FQDNs etc. The Hosted Desktop obtains the information it needs to register with the controller via the Machine Creation Services.

Accept the summary screen by clicking install.

The installation will run through to completion within about five to ten minutes. Acknowledge any Windows Security dialogue boxes asking about Device Software.

Congratulations. Once the Windows 7 Desktop is rebooted its ready to be used in a XenDesktop 5 environment.

Quick Deploy Installation XenDesktop Controller

On the server designated to be the XenDesktop Controller, mount the XenDesktop ISO and select AutoSelect from the dialogue box that appears.

Select Install XenDesktop from the XenDesktop dialogue box.

Accept the license agreement.

Leave ALL defaults ticked. This is a proof of concept and we are deploying via the Quick Deploy. Installation will take about 20 minutes depending upon hardware configuration etc.

Allow the installer to configure the Firewall ports for the license server.

Acknowledge the summary screen and allow the installation to start.

At completion the installer will prompt you to configure XenDesktop. This will be covered in the next section.

Configuring XenDesktop via Quick Deploy

From Desktop Studio select Quick deploy

In the Quick Deploy dialogue, enter your site name. This is a descriptive term for what will become the XenDesktop 5 management realm.

Next enter details for the hosting infrastructure. This consists of the: o o o o The host type Its address Admin account Associated password

Note: XenServer expects the address as http://ip-address

We now need to configure the connection to the Storage and Network resources where the Virtual Machines will be created. NFS is the preferred storage for Machine Creation Services due to the Thin Provisioning abilities.

Select the Master image for your Virtual Machines. This is the image that will be used as the Base VM for your Virtual Desktops.

Now specify the number of Virtual Machines and their configuration. This is fundamentally the Provisioning template for the Virtual Desktops.

The last piece of information needed is to specify which users, user groups are allowed to access the Virtual Desktops. Select Add and from the dialogue box and choose the AD users you wish to grant access to.

Verify the supplied information and click Finish to start the deployment process. Note: A random naming scheme is generated and a snapshot of the Master image will be taken.

Quick deploy will now perform a full copy of the specified Golden Master. This will become the read disk for the Virtual Machines. Quick Deploy will also create a Difference Disk and an Identity Disk for each Virtual Machine. These can be seen in the XenCenter console.

When Quick Deploy completes, click close. We will check the Virtual Desktops later.

Before checking the newly created Virtual Desktops, lets take a look at whats happened on the XenServer and the Storage subsystem. From XenCenter you will be able to see the Virtual Machines just created.

On the Storage backend youll see something similar to this. NOTE: Each Virtual Machine DOES NOT consume 24GB of Storage space. Remember, this is THIN PROVISIONED storage.

In the Desktop Studio dashboard youll see something similar to the screen on the right.

Pay particular attention to the Usage window.

Testing the Deployment

From your local device, point your browser at the controller ip address or its FQDN and authenticate using one of the users supplied above. Note: If the endpoint does not have a suitable client installed, you will be prompted to install one.

Congratulations Youve just deployed XenDesktop 5

Initial configuration tasks with Desktop Studio

Desktop Group Management

The next few screens will show some of the basic management that can be done via Desktop Studio.

Launch Desktop Studio, select Assignments and highlight the Desktop Group you wish to edit. From here you can Add Desktops, Edit the Desktop Group, Enable maintenance mode and view the machines. Lets take a look at two examples.

Highlight the Desktop Group you want to modify and select Edit Desktop Group from the right hand pane. The first tab (on the left) allows you to add users to the Desktop Group and to specify how many desktops each user can use.

The second tab allows you to select Delegated Admins. These are the admins that can use the Desktop Director console and are defined in Desktop Studio under Configuration Administrators.

The third tab is used to configure any User Settings such as Display name, Desktops per user, Colour Depth, time zones.

The fourth tab is Power Management. New in XD5 is the ability to have multiple peaks during the day. There are also two default Schedules: Weekdays and Weekends. Additional Schedules can be added via PowerShell

The last tab is used to configure any Access Policies

Basic Machine Management

Machine Restarts, Shutdowns etc are accomplished through the Machine Management part of the Desktop Studio console.

Select machines, highlight the catalog and click View machines from the right hand panel. From here you can Disconnect the user, Suspend, Restart, Reboot the machine etc. In the lower part youll see basic Machines and Session details.

Initial Daily Management with Desktop Director

Daily Management of the XenDesktop 5 site is performed via Desktop Director, a web based console. Point your browser at http://servername/desktopdirector to start Desktop Director. The next few pages will give you a high level overview of Desktop Director. After logging onto Desktop Director youll be presented with the following screen. The console is split in to three major parts. Reading from top to bottom, they are Machines. A basic overview of the machines deployed, which server they are running on, which Catalog the machines are associated with and which Desktop Group they belong to. Usage shows the machines and the current levels of usage per desktop group. It also has an overview of the last 24 hours. Infrastructure details the Hosting environment with associated controller(s)

The Numbers, Status Bars, Desktop Group names etc are active links and will drill down to the various associated item.

Desktop Director - Usage example

From the Machines area, hover the mouse pointer over the Servers box and click to select.

The resulting Web Page will look similar to the following.

From here it would be possible to drill down to an individual machine by clicking the machine name that is highlighted in blue. This would result in the following being shown in the web browser.

In the above example you will see some very detailed information that is of extreme importance to the Help Desk administrator. One example is the HDX Section. From here it is obvious that any complaints from the user about poor flash performance are due to the Flash Redirection not being enabled. The Help Desk admin also has the ability to Power Control the machines (reboot, shutdown), to control the users session (log off, disconnect) and Shadow the users session if needed. Other important pieces include the Saved Searches such as Unregistered Machines, High CPU, High Profile Load Time, Last Connection Failed.

Advanced Deployment with SQL

If you need to use an existing database server XenDesktop 5 can use The following screen shots will help deploy XenDesktop with SQL and provide a few ideas to get you started.

Start the installer, acknowledge to the license agreement and select the components required for your deployment. The screenshot is an example and may be different in your scenario. All components can be installed on separate servers if needed.

Ensure you remove the tick in the Install SQL Server Express box.

Accept the summary screen and start the installation by clicking Install. Once the installation is complete youll be able to configure the deployment as detailed in the next steps.

Close the installer to launch the configuration and from Desktop Studio, select Desktop deployment.

Specify the Site Name, the license server address and the database information. This is where you can specify a different name for the database. Selecting Test Connection will check the connection and check for the presence of the DB If the DB doesnt exist youll see the warning. Clicking OK will test the connectivity to the DB server and will ensure that XD5 creates the database automatically. Alternatively you can use the Generate button to create a DB creation Script.

Next enter details for the hosting infrastructure. This consists of the: o o o o The host type Its address Admin account Associated password

Note: XenServer expects the address as http://ip-address

Configure and select the resources needed for the deployment by; 1) selecting Add to configure the storage repository. 2) Adding the configured SR to the host connection

Acknowledge the summary screen and click finish to complete the Deployment. Desktop Studio will now start the deployment and the DB will be created.

Once the initial configuration is completed youll be presented with a screen similar to the one depicted here. The next step is to create the Machines.

Select machine creation.

Select the type of machines you wish to deploy. For a small test its probably better to use Pooled/Random desktops.

As with the quick deploy, you need to specify the Provisioning Template. This is done in the next few steps. Select the Master Image.

Define the number of virtual machines to create, the number of vCPUs, their memory etc.

the active directory location for the computers

any admins that are allowed to access this catalog

and finally the summary screen. This is also where you define the Catalog name and how it will appear in the Desktop Studio console.

Clicking next will start the deployment. The first step is to create a snapshot.

and then a full copy of the selected image

The last step is to create the user assignments for the Desktop Groups.

Assign the machines from the Catalog to the Desktop Group by selecting the catalog you defined earlier and adding the number of machines required to the catalog.

Define which users are allowed to access the desktops. Click Add and choose the AD User Groups. If needed you can specify multiple desktops per user via the Desktops per user chooser.

Add the delegated admins as needed.

And finally supply the Display Name and the Desktop Group Name. The user sees the Display Name in Web Interface and the Admin sees Desktop Group Name in Desktop Studio.

Once complete youll be presented with the Desktop Studio Dashboard and your XenDesktop 5 site has been successfully deployed.

Updating Machines

Updating a XenDesktop 5 MCS Single Image is achieved by updating the original Master VM and using the Update Machine feature. In this example we will install the Firefox browser and add its icon to the start bar. The original image is depicted on the right.

Once the new software has been added to the Master image, select the machines you would like to update. This will start the Update Machine wizard.

In the wizard you will see which Desktop Groups are affected and the amount of machines.

Select the Master Image (or snapshot)

specify the rollout policy

and acknowledge the summary to start the process

and the copy process will start.

In XenCenter youll see the following snapshots Before the Upgrade

After the Upgrade

When the process completes the machines will reboot. Log back on and, Hey Presto, Firefox has been deployed to all desktops.