Pvs slide

Editor's Notes

1. Timings: Module: 60 minutes Exercises: 90 minutes Total Time: 150 minutes
2. Physical Devices for 3D Pro Graphics (Blade Servers, Windows Server OS machines, and Windows Desktop OS machines with XenDesktop Virtual Desktop Agent installed) Hypervisor requirements XenServer 6.0 Note: XenServer 5.6 SP2 is not supported in this release. Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Management (SCVMM): SCVMM 2012 with Hyper-V 2.0 (Hyper-V included with Windows Server 2008 R2 and Sp1) SCVMM 2012 SP1 with Hyper-V 3.0 (hyper-V included with Windows Server 2012) ESX 5, ESX 5 Update 1 Hyper-V 2008 R2 SP1 Enterprise Edition SP1 (Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 is supported for Windows Server 2008 but has not been tested for scalability) vSphere 5.0 (vSphere 4.1 Update 1 is supported but has not tested for scalability)
3. Provisioning Services English on English, Japanese, German, French, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, and Russian versions of operating systems are supported: Windows Server 2008 (32 or 64-bit); all editions Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1; Standard, Enterprise, and DataCenter editions Windows Server 2012: Standard, Essential, and Datacenter editions Caution: Provisioning Services is not compatible with Windows when the System cryptography: Use FIPS compliant algorithms for encryption, hashing, and signing security setting is enabled.
4. Only one database is associated with a farm. You can choose to install the Provisioning Services database software on: Existing SQL database, if that machine can communicate with all Provisioning Servers within the farm New SQL Express database machine, created using the SQL Express software which is free from Microsoft In a production environment, best practice is to not install the database and Provisioning Server software on the same server. Also, in some production environments, the database administrator may prefer to create the Provisioning Services database. In this case, provide the MS SQL database administrator with the file that is created using the DbScript.exe utility. This utility is installed with the Provisioning Services software. Caution: Installing SQL Server and Provisioning Services on the same server can cause poor distribution during load balancing. It is highly recommended that they do not co-exist on the same server. If using the Database Mirroring feature, SQL native client is required on the server. If this does not already exist, the option to install SQLncx64 or SQLncx32 is presented when product software is installed. Database clustering Provisioning Services supports database clustering. To implement database clustering, follow Microsoft's instructions then run the Provisioning Services Configuration wizard. No additional steps are required because the wizard considers the cluster as a single SQL Server. The following MS SQL 2008, MS SQL 2008 R2, and MS SQL 2012 Server (32 or 64-bit editions) databases can be used for the Provisioning Services database: SQL Server Express Edition SQL Server Workgroup Edition SQL Server Standard Edition SQL Server Enterprise Edition
5. Network requirements UDP and TCP port requirements Provisioning Server to Provisioning Server Communication: Each Provisioning Server must be configured to use the same ports (UDP) in order to communicate with each other (uses the Messaging Manager). At least five ports must exist in the port range selected. Note: If configuring for a high availability (HA), all Provisioning Servers selected as failover servers must reside within the same site. HA is not intended to cross between sites. The first port in the default range is UDP 6890 and the last port is 6909. Provisioning Servers to target device communication Each Provisioning Server must be configured to use the same ports (UDP) in order to communicate with target devices (uses the StreamProcess) The port range is configured using the Console’s Network tab on the Server Properties dialog The default ports include: UDP 6910-6930 Target device to Provisioning Services communication Target devices communicate with Provisioning Services using UDP 6901, 6902, 6905 ports Note: Unlike Provisioning Servers to target device ports numbers, target device to Provisioning Services cannot be configured. Login server communication Each Provisioning Server used as a login server must be configured on the Stream Servers Boot List dialog The default port for login servers to use is UDP 6910 Console communication The SOAP service is used when accessing the PVS Console. The ports (TCP) are configured on the “Stream Services” dialog when the Configuration wizard is run. TFTP communication The TFTP port value is stored in the registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\BNTFTP\Parameters Port The TFTP port defaults to UDP 69 TSB communication: The TSB port value is stored in the registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\PVSTSB\Parameters Port The TSB port defaults to UDP 6969
6. Processors: Intel or AMD x86 or x64 compatible; 2 GHz minimum; 3 GHz preferred; 3.5 GHz Dual Core/HT or similar for loads greater than 250 target devices. Memory: Minimum of 2 GB RAM; 4 GB preferred; 4 GB is required for a larger number of vDisks (greater than 250). Hard Disk and Storage Your streaming performance can be improved using a RAID array, SAN, or NAS. There must be enough space on the hard disk to store the vDisks. Additional requirements depend on several factors such as: Hard disk capacity – requirement of the OS and applications running on a target device. It is recommended to add 20% on the base size of the final installed image. Private Image Mode – number of target devices using a vDisk in Private Image mode. Standard Image Mode – number of target devices using a vDisk in Standard Image mode. Minimum Common Storage Sizes 250 MB for the database 5 GB on a clean Windows system 15 GB per vDisk for Vista Class images (estimated) Additional space per vDisk based on additional significant applications loaded. Network Adapter (Static IP) Minimum 100 MB Ethernet, 1 GB Ethernet preferred; Dual 1 GB Ethernet for more than 250 target devices Note: Two NICs often perform better than a single dual-ported NIC. Required Provisioning Server software The Provisioning Server install program requires Microsoft NET 4.0 and Windows PowerShell 2.0 If using Provisioning Services with XenDesktop, NET 3.5 SP1 If using Provisioning Services with SCVMM 2012 SP1, PowerShell 3.0
7. Console requirements Processor – Minimum 1 GHz, 2 GHz preferred / Memory – Minimum 1 GB, 2 GB preferred / Hard Disk – Minimum 500 MB Supported Operating Systems: Windows Server 2008 (32 or 64-bit); all editions Windows Server 2008 R2; Standard, DataCenter and Enterprise editions Windows Server 2012: Standard, Essential, and Datacenter editions Windows 7 (32 or 64-bit), Windows XP Professional (32 or 64-bit),Windows Vista (32 or 64-bit): Business, Enterprise, Ultimate (retail licensing) Software: MMC 3.0, Microsoft .NET 4.0, Windows PowerShell 2.0 If using Provisioning Services with XenDesktop, NET 3.5 SP1 If using Provisioning Services with SCVMM 2012 SP1, PowerShell 3.0 Note: When installing Provisioning Services target device software on NT6.x systems within a multi-NIC environment, all available NICs can be used. Therefore bindcfg.exe is no longer required and no longer installed with target device software (Windows Vista, Windows 2008, Windows 7, Windows 2008 R2, Windows 8, and Windows Server 2012). However, if Provisioning Services detects NT5.x systems (Windows XP or Windows 2003), bindcfg.exe continues to install with the target device product software and appears during the target device installation process. With NT5.x Windows XP or Windows 2003 systems, if the inactive NIC fails to bind to Provisioning Services, start bindcfg.exe from the Provisioning Services installation directory (default is: C:\Program Files\Citrix\Provisioning Services).
8. Target device requirements In order to have a single vDisk, all target devices must have certain similarities to ensure that the OS has all of the drivers it requires to run properly. The three key components that should be consistent are the motherboard, network card, or video card. Target devices are identified by the operating system that runs on the device. Note: Dual boot vDisk images are not supported. Supported Operating systems Provisioning Services target devices without the Virtual Desktop Agent (VDA) installed: Windows XP Professional SP3 32-bit and Windows XP Professional SP2 64-bit Windows 7 SP1 (32 or 64-bit): Enterprise, Professional, Ultimate. Note: The Ultimate edition of Windows 7 is only supported in Private Image mode. Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1: Standard, DataCenter, Enterprise editions Windows 8 (32 or 64-bit) Windows Server 2012: Standard, Essential, and Datacenter editions
9. For more information about Provisioning Services 6.0, read the Citrix blog: http://blogs.citrix.com/2011/09/28/provisioning-services-6-0-from-single-image-delivery-to-single-image-management/
10. You can have only one TFTP per subnet. Explain the PXE and DHCP option requirements. For more information about load balancing TFTP servers, see Citrix article CTX116337 on http://support.citrix.com.
11. Whiteboard or highlight the steps of the communication process from the target device starting from network, retrieving the boot file (default name: ARDBP32.BIN or ARDBP64.BIN) from the TFTP server to contacting the Provisioning Services host and streaming the vDisk. For more detailed information about the communication process and the flow of traffic, visit eDocs at http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/provisioning-7/pvs-technology-overview-boot-file-get.html.
12. To provide IP addresses to target devices, select from the following network service options: If the DHCP service is on this server, select the radio button next to one of the following network services to use, then click Next: Microsoft DHCP Provisioning Services BOOTP service Other BOOTP or DHCP service If the DHCP service is not on this server, select the radio button next to The service that runs on another computer, then click Next.
13. Select the network service to provide PXE boot information. Each target device needs to download a boot file from a TFTP server. Select the network service to provide target devices with PXE boot information: If you choose to use this Provisioning Server to deliver PXE boot information, select The service that runs on this computer, then select from either of the following options, then click Next: Microsoft DHCP (options 66 and 67) Provisioning Services PXE Service If Provisioning Services will not deliver PXE boot information, select The information is provided by a service on another device option, then click Next.
14. Note: When configuring the farm, the combination of the database name and farm name cannot exceed 54 characters. Exceeding this limitation may cause the farm name to display truncated in the Existing Farms screen. Select from the following farm options: Farm is already configured Select this option to reconfigure an existing farm, then continue on to the “Configure user account settings” procedure. This option only appears if a farm already exists. Create farm On the Farm Configuration dialog, select the Create Farm radio button to create a new farm, then click Next.
15. Only one database exists within a farm. To identify the database, complete the steps that follow. Select the database location: If the database server location and instance have not yet been selected, complete the following procedure. On the Database Server dialog, click Browse to open the SQL Servers dialog. Optionally, enter a TCP port number to use to communicate with this database server. From the list of SQL Servers, select the name of the server where this database exists and the instance to use (to use the default instance, SQLEXPRESS, leave the instance name blank). In a test environment, this may be a staged database. Click Next. If this is a new farm, continue on to the “Defining a Farm” procedure. To enable database mirroring, enable the Specify database mirror failover partner option, then type or use the Browse button to identify the failover Database server and instance names. Optionally, enter a TCP port number to use to communicate with this server. Note: When re-running the Configuration Wizard to add additional Provisioning Servers database entries, the Server Name and Instance Name text boxes are already populated. By default, SQL Server Express installs as an instance named ‘SQLEXPRESS’.
16. Select the security group to use: • Use Active Directory groups for security Note: When selecting the Active Directory group to act as the Farm Administrator from the drop-down list, choices include any group the current user belongs to. This list includes Builtin groups, which are local to the current machine. Avoid using these groups as administrators, except for test environments. Also, be aware that some group names may be misleading and appear to be Domain groups, which are actually Local Domain groups. For example: ForestA.local/Builtin/Administrators.
17. A new store can be created and assigned to the Provisioning Server being configured: Note: The Configuration Wizard only allows a server to create or join an existing store if it is new to the database. If a server already exists in the database and it rejoins a farm, the Configuration Wizard may prompt the user to join a store or create a new store, but the selection is ignored. Browse or enter the default path (for example: C:\PVSStore) to use to access this store, then click Next. If an invalid path is selected, an error message appears. Re-enter a valid path, then continue. The default write cache location for the store is located under the store path for example: C:\PVSStore\WriteCache.
18. Enter the name (or IP address) and port number of the license server (default is 27000). The Provisioning Server must be able to communicate with the license server to get the appropriate product licenses. Optionally, select the checkbox Validate license server version and communicationto verify that the license server is able to communicate with this server and that the appropriate version of the license server is being used. If the server is not able to communicate with the license server, or the wrong version of the license server is being used, an error message displays and does not allow you to proceed. Note: When selecting the license server, ensure that all Provisioning Server’s in the farm are able to communicate with that server in order to get the appropriate product licenses.
19. The Stream and Soap services run under a user account. To provide database access privileges to this user account, Datareader and Datawriter database roles are configured automatically using the Configuration wizard. On the User Account dialog, select the user account that the Stream and Soap services will run under: • Specified user account (required when using a Windows Share; workgroup or domain user account). Type the user name, domain, and password information in the appropriate text boxes. • Local system account (for use with SAN)
20. Automate computer account password updates If target devices are domain members, and require renegotiation of machine passwords between Windows Active Directory and the target devices, select the Automate computer account password updates, and use the slider to set the number of days between renegotiation.
21. Select Network Cards for the Stream Service Note: If multiple network adapters are selected, they must be configured with the same IP subnet address. For example: IP subnet: 100.100.10.x; IP subnet mask 255.255.255.0 1. Select the checkbox next to each of the network cards that the Stream Service can use. 2. Enter the base port number that will be used for network communications in the First communications port: text box. Note: A minimum of 20 ports are required within the range. All Provisioning Servers within a farm must use the same port assignments. 3. Select the Soap Server port (default is 54321) to use for Console access, then click Next.
22. Complete the steps that follow to identify the bootstrap server and configure the bootstrap file location. Note: Bootstrap configurations can be reconfigured by selecting the Configure Bootstrap option from the Provisioning Services Action menu in the Console. Select the bootstrap server. To use the TFTP service on this Provisioning Server: Select the Use the TFTP Service option, then enter or browse for the boot file. The default location is: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\ProgramData\Citrix\Provisioning Services\Tftpboot If a previous version of Provisioning Services was installed on this server, and the default location is: C:\Program Files\Citrix\Provisioning Services\TftpBoot You must run the Configuration Wizard to change the default location to: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\ProgramData or ApplicationData\Citrix\Provisioning Services\Tftpboot If the default is not changed, the bootstrap file can not be configured from the Console and target devices will fail to boot; receiving a ‘Missing TFTP’ error message.
23. Select Provisioning Servers to use for the boot process: a. Use the Add button to add additional Provisioning Servers to the list, the Edit button to edit existing information, or Remove to remove the Provisioning Server from the list. Use the Move up or Move down buttons to change the Provisioning Server boot preference order. The maximum length for the server name is 15 characters. Do not enter FQDN for the server name. In an HA implementation, at least two Provisioning Servers must be selected as boot servers. b. Optionally, highlight the IP address of the Provisioning Server that target devices will boot from, then click Advanced. The Advanced Stream Servers Boot List appears. The following table describes advanced settings that you can choose from. After making your selections, click OK to exit the dialog, then click Next to continue.
24. Verify that all configuration settings are correct, then click Finish.