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		<title>Jarian Gibson &#187; XenServer</title>
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		<title>Upgrading to XenServer 5.6 Service Pack 2</title>
		<link>http://jariangibson.com/2011/05/18/upgrading-to-xenserver-5-6-service-pack-2/</link>
		<comments>http://jariangibson.com/2011/05/18/upgrading-to-xenserver-5-6-service-pack-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 19 May 2011 01:58:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jarian Gibson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[XenServer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[XenServer 5.6 SP2]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[With the recent release of XenServer 5.6 Service Pack 2, you have two ways to upgrade depending on which version of XenServer you are upgrading from.  In this blog post I am going to go over upgrading from XenServer 5.6 Feature Pack 1 and XenServer 5.5/5.6. <span class="more-link"><a href="http://jariangibson.com/2011/05/18/upgrading-to-xenserver-5-6-service-pack-2/">Continue reading &#187;</a></span><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=jariangibson.com&#038;blog=9096580&#038;post=1180&#038;subd=jariangibson&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>With the recent release of XenServer 5.6 Service Pack 2, you have two ways to upgrade depending on which version of XenServer you are upgrading from.  In this blog post I am going to go over upgrading from XenServer 5.6 Feature Pack 1 and XenServer 5.5/5.6.</p>
<p>What&#8217;s new XenServer 5.6 Service Pack 2?  To see the new features in XenServer 5.6 Service Pack 2 see<a href="http://community.citrix.com/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=173115374"> The Citrix Blogs &#8211; XenServer 5.6 Service Pack 2 Now Available!</a> and the Citrix Knowledge Center article <a href="http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX129390">CTX129390 &#8211; XenServer 5.6 Service Pack 2 Release Notes</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Note: </strong>Before upgrading please make sure to eject any ISOs mounted by the virtual machines, shutdown or migrate the virtual machines on the host being upgraded, disable high availability, and make sure to have a good backup and recovery plan just in case any issues happen during the upgrade process.</p>
<p>If you are upgrading from XenServer 5.6 Feature Pack 1 the upgrade is done from XenCenter using the Install New Update wizard from the Tools menu in XenCenter.  If you don&#8217;t read the fine print before trying to upgrade you may make the same mistake I did and try to boot to the XenServer 5.6 SP2 media.  When you boot the XenServer 5.6 SP2 media on and XenServer 5.6 FP1 installation you see the following warning:</p>
<p><a href="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/00.png"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1183" title="XenServer 5.6 SP2 Upgrade Error" src="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/00.png?w=300&h=167" alt="" width="300" height="167" /></a></p>
<p>Once I saw this warning I scratched my head and thought XenServer upgrades are usually pretty straight forward.   You boot to the media, select upgrade, backup the existing installation, go through the upgrade process, and reboot.  So after reading the fine print (like we all always do), I found out when upgrading from XenServer 5.6 FP1 to XenServer 5.6 SP2 you use a software upgrade package instead of booting to the XenServer 5.6 SP2 ISO/media for the upgrade.</p>
<p>To upgrade from XenServer 5.6 FP1 to XenServer 5.6 SP2 perform the following steps:</p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;">1. Logon to MyCitrix, go to the XenServer downloads in the download section, expand Citrix XenServer, and select the XenServer 5.6 Service Pack 2 Software Update Package and XenCenter Windows Management Console to download.</p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;"><a href="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/01.png"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1184" title="XenServer 5.6 SP2 Software Update Package" src="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/01.png?w=300&h=245" alt="" width="300" height="245" /></a></p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;">2. Close XenCenter if open and update your XenCenter installation by running the XenServer Windows Management Console download.  Update XenCenter on any other machines that has XenCenter installed.</p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;">3. Open XenCenter, connect to your host(s) or resource pool(s) and then select Install New Update&#8230; from the Tools menu.</p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;"><a href="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/02.png"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1189" title="XenServer 5.6 Install New Update" src="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/02.png?w=300&h=131" alt="" width="300" height="131" /></a></p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;">4. Click Next on the Install Update Before you start screen.</p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;"> <a href="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/03.png"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1190" title="XenServer 5.6 SP2 Install Update" src="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/03.png?w=300&h=200" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a></p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;">5. Click Add, Browse the XenServer 5.6 SP2 update package, and Click Next.</p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;"><a href="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/04.png"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1192" title="XenServer 5.6 SP2 Upgrade File" src="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/04.png?w=300&h=200" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a></p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;"><a href="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/05.png"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1193" title="XenServer 5.6 SP2 Upgrade File Browse" src="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/05.png?w=300&h=188" alt="" width="300" height="188" /></a></p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;"><a href="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/06.png"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1194" title="XenServer 5.6 SP2 Upgrade Next" src="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/06.png?w=300&h=200" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a></p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;">6. Select your host(s) or resource pool(s) you want to upgrade and Click  Next.  The  XenServer 5.6 SP2 update package will be uploaded to the XenServer host(s).</p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;"><a href="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/07.png"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1197" title="XenServer 5.6 SP2 Upgrade Hosts" src="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/07.png?w=300&h=200" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a></p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;"><a href="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/08.png"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1198" title="XenServer 5.6 SP2 Upgrade Upload" src="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/08.png?w=300&h=200" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a></p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;">7. The Update Prechecks will check to see if the SP2 update can be applied to the server(s).   If all checks have a green check, Click Next.</p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;"> <a href="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/09.png"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1199" title="XenServer 5.6 SP2 Upgrade Prechecks" src="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/09.png?w=300&h=200" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a></p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;">8. Select Automatic or Manual Post Update Option and Click Install Update.</p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;"><a href="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/10.png"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1200" title="XenServer 5.6 SP2 Upgrade Mode" src="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/10.png?w=300&h=200" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a></p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;">9. Once the update is successfully installed Click Finish.</p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;"><a href="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/12.png"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1201" title="XenServer 5.6 SP2 Upgrade Finish" src="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/12.png?w=300&h=201" alt="" width="300" height="201" /></a></p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;">10.You can now go into XenCenter and verify the XenServer version by going to your XenServer host(s), clicking the General tab, and expanding the Version Details.</p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;"><a href="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/13.png"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1202" title="XenServer 5.6 SP2 Upgrade Version Details" src="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/13.png?w=300&h=23" alt="" width="300" height="23" /></a></p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;">11.Now you can upgrade the XenServer Tools on your virtual machines.</p>
<p>To upgrade from XenServer 5.5/5.6 to XenServer 5.6 SP2 perform the following steps:</p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;">1. Logon to MyCitrix, go to the XenServer downloads in the download section, expand Citrix XenServer, and select the XenServer 5.6 Service Pack 2 Base Installation ISO and XenCenter Windows Management Console to download.</p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;">2. Close XenCenter if open and update your XenCenter installation by running the XenServer Windows Management Console download. Update XenCenter on any other machines that has XenCenter installed.</p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;">3. Mount the XenServer 5.6 Service Pack 2 Base Installation ISO using remote server tools such as HP ILO or Dell iDRAC, burn into a disk, or create a USB boot stick and boot to the XenServer media.  <strong>Make sure to start with the pool master that is not in maintenance mode if upgrading a resource pool.</strong></p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;">4. Once your booted to the XenServer 5.6 SP2 media follow the prompts  for the starting the  installation, EULA, etc.  <strong>Make sure to select Upgrade XenServer when prompted</strong>.  Install any supplemental packs needed and review/address any third-party drivers, supplemental packs, etc that you get prompted for that may have issues with the upgrade.   The installation will also detect the previous installation and perform a backup of it.  Confirm the installation and proceed with the upgrade.</p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;"><a href="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/00-1.png"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1207" title="XenServer 5.6 SP2 Upgrade Action" src="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/00-1.png?w=300&h=225" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;"><a href="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/00-2.png"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1208" title="XenServer 5.6 SP2 Upgrade Detection" src="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/00-2.png?w=300&h=224" alt="" width="300" height="224" /></a></p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;"><a href="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/00-3.png"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1209" title="XenServer 5.6 SP2 Upgrade Confirm" src="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/00-3.png?w=300&h=225" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;">5. When the XenServer 5.6 SP2 installation/upgrade is completed remove the media and reboot the XenServer host when prompted.</p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;">6. Repeat steps 3, 4, and 5 on remaining XenServer hosts.  If you are upgrading XenServer hosts in multiple resources pools <strong>make sure to start with  the pool master that is not in maintenance mode in each resource pool</strong>.</p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;">7. You can now go into XenCenter and verify the XenServer version by going to your XenServer host(s), clicking the General tab, and expanding the Version Details.</p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;"><a href="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/13.png"><img title="XenServer 5.6 SP2 Upgrade Version Details" src="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/13.png?w=300&h=23" alt="" width="300" height="23" /></a></p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;">8. Now you can upgrade the XenServer Tools on your virtual machines.</p>
<p>Now your XenServer host(s) and/or resource pool(s) should be on XenServer 5.6 SP2 and you can take advantage of the new features.</p>
<p>If you have found this article interesting or if you have any other insights, please feel free to leave comments on this article.</p>
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	</item>
		<item>
		<title>XenDesktop Deployments&#8230;Single or Multiple Hypervisor Infrastructure?</title>
		<link>http://jariangibson.com/2010/06/28/xendesktop-deployments-single-or-multiple-hypervisor-infrastructure/</link>
		<comments>http://jariangibson.com/2010/06/28/xendesktop-deployments-single-or-multiple-hypervisor-infrastructure/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Jun 2010 04:39:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jarian Gibson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Hyper-V]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[VMware]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[XenDesktop]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[XenServer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ESX]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vSphere]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://jariangibson.com/?p=689</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[While working on a XenDesktop project in a huge VMware shop, I started thinking if a single hypervisor should be used or if multiple hypervisors should be used in XenDesktop deployments. Then I was on a conference call with Scott Lane, Senior Systems Engineer for Citrix in the Great Plains Area and also a co-author &#8230; <span class="more-link"><a href="http://jariangibson.com/2010/06/28/xendesktop-deployments-single-or-multiple-hypervisor-infrastructure/">Continue reading &#187;</a></span><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=jariangibson.com&#038;blog=9096580&#038;post=689&#038;subd=jariangibson&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>While working on a XenDesktop project in a huge VMware shop, I started thinking if a single hypervisor should be used or if multiple hypervisors should be used in XenDesktop deployments. Then I was on a conference call with Scott Lane, Senior Systems Engineer for Citrix in the Great Plains Area and also a co-author on this post, about the same XenDesktop project and we started discussing thoughts on this. A number of factors came to mind like cost of the hypervisor (VMware licenses for the XenDesktop project are adding a nice chunk of change to the cost of the deployment), hypervisor features, etc. In this blog post I am going to talk about things to consider about different hypervisors for XenDesktop deployments.<br />
<span id="more-689"></span><br />
I often go into shops that already have large VMware infrastructures deployed and talk about XenDesktop. When I&#8217;m talking to the customer or potential customer about XenDesktop I always mention that with XenDesktop VDI, Enterprise, or Platinum Editions they will also get XenServer Enterprise Edition. This always gets mixed results. Most think I&#8217;m trying to push VMware out the door when I talk about XenServer. This is not the case at all. When I talk about XenServer I am focused on the XenDesktop environment and nothing else in their environment. I tell the customer that you may want to look at XenServer for the provisioned XenDesktop virtual Windows desktops and XenApp servers and then use their existing VMware infrastructure for the XenDesktop infrastructure components. Use XenServer that is included with XenDesktop for your XenDesktop Windows desktop and XenApp server infrastructure and continue to use your VMware infrastructure for everything else.</p>
<p>I also talk about the open architecture of XenDesktop and that they can choose between Citrix XenServer, Microsoft Hyper-V, and VMware vSphere hypervisors for the XenDesktop virtual desktops.  I talk about Hyper-V as another option and the benefits of using Hyper-V for the hypervisor in XenDesktop deployments especially when the customer is talking about deploying Windows 7 and Windows 2008 virtual machines in their XenDesktop infrastructure.   Some think that having multiple hypervisors is too much to manage or there is a big learning curve.  Most customers I have worked with that are strong in virtualization find XenServer pretty easy to learn.  With tools like System Center Virtual Machine Manager that can manage ESX/vSphere and Hyper-V from a single console make management of multiple hypervisors easy for multiple hypervisor deployments. When System Center Virtual Machine Manager supports management of XenServer, all three hypervisors will be managed from a single console. </p>
<p><strong>XenDesktop deployments on Citrix XenServer considerations:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Included with XenDesktop, no extra cost for the hypervisor</li>
<li>XenServer redundancy built-in (no management server to deploy)
<ul>
<li><a href="http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX122458">CTX122458 &#8211; How to Integrate XenServer Redundantly into a XenDesktop Infrastructure</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.thegenerationv.com/2009/12/how-xendesktop-recovers-from-xenserver_07.html">The Generation V &#8211; How XenDesktop recovers from a XenServer failed pool master</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>XenCenter is easy to use for both server virtualization and desktop administrators</li>
<li>Single vendor to call for technical support</li>
<li>XenServer 5.6 features has made XenServer a more complete product
<ul>
<li>Dynamic Memory Control</li>
<li>Enhanced CPU compatibility for XenMotion</li>
<li>Enhanced snapshots, including full system state and one-click revert</li>
<li>Automation for Workload Balancing</li>
<li>Administrative Delegation, Logging and Audit Reports</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>XenServer virtual machine tools have to be installed and maintained</li>
<li>XenServer can direct boot VHD files to update XenServer tools and Provisioning Services tools
<ul>
<li><a href="http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX123395">Citrix Knowledge Center Article CTX123395 – How to Update Provisioning Server Target Device Software using a Network File Share with XenServer</a></li>
<li><a href="http://community.citrix.com/display/ocb/2009/08/15/PVS+5.1+Direct+VHD+Boot+using+XenServer">The Citrix Blogs &#8211; PVS 5.1 Direct VHD Boot using XenServer</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>New option in XenServer 5.6 to select network boot when building virtual machine template</li>
<li>XenServer has built-in optimizations for XenApp</li>
<li>Citrix Virtual Appliances are released on XenServer first</li>
<li>Having XenServer already in place makes you already prepared for Multi-GPU Passthrough for HDX 3D Pro Graphics and Distributed Virtual Switching (DVS) that are coming in tech preview/private beta soon.
<ul>
<li><a href="http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX125574">Citrix Knowledge Center Article CTX125574 - XenServer 5.6 Multi-GPU Passthrough for HDX 3D Pro Graphics</a></li>
<li><a href="http://community.citrix.com/display/ocb/2010/06/28/Private+beta+release+of+XenServer+distributed+virtual+switching+%28DVS%29+coming+soon%21">The Citrix Blogs &#8211; Private beta release of XenServer distributed virtual switching (DVS) coming soon!</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>XenDesktop deployments on Microsoft Hyper-V R2 considerations:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>System Center Virtual Machine Manager is needed to manage hosted virtual desktops</li>
<li>Server and Desktop administrators who already use System Center products will already be familiar with the look and feel of System Center Virtual Machine Manager console</li>
<li>System Center Essentials 2010 could be used for smaller XenDesktop deployments (for XenDesktop deployments under 500 seats when supported)</li>
<li>Management server (System Center Virtual Machine Manager or Essentials 2010) can be single point of failure for management of hosted virtual desktops</li>
<li>Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Edition is free with features like Live Migration, Host Clustering, etc but needs System Center Virtual Machine Manager or Essentials 2010 to manage hosted virtual desktops</li>
<li>System Center Virtual Machine Manager or Essentials 2010 console needs to be installed on XenDesktop Delivery Controllers and Provisioning Servers for management and for use with XenDesktop Setup Wizard</li>
<li>Windows 7 virtual desktops and XenApp servers running on Windows 2008 have integration components built-in to the operating system. No need for 3rd party virtual machine tools to install and maintain.</li>
<li>Hyper-V can direct boot VHD files to update Provisioning Services tools
<ul>
<li><a href="http://community.citrix.com/display/ocb/2009/07/28/New+Way+to+Upgrade+with+PVS+5.1+and+HyperV">The Citrix Blogs &#8211; New Way to Upgrade with PVS 5.1 and Hyper-V</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Legacy NIC needed for network boot/Provisioning Services and Synthetic NIC for all other traffic</li>
<li>Network boot enabled in virtual machine settings</li>
<li>Windows 7 and Windows 2008 on Hyper-V are better together</li>
<li>Citrix and Microsoft relationship
<ul>
<li><a href="http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX124687">Citrix Knowledge Center Article CTX124687 &#8211; XenDesktop with Microsoft Hyper-V Design Guide</a></li>
<li><a href="http://community.citrix.com/display/ocb/2010/03/01/Seven+Things+I+Learned+Testing+XenDesktop+with+Hyper-V">The Citrix Blogs &#8211; Seven Things I Learned Testing XenDesktop with Hyper-V</a></li>
<li>Citrix Essentials for Hyper-V for site recovery/disaster recovery</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>System Center Virtual Machine Manager for mixed vSphere and Hyper-V deployments with XenServer support coming in the future for a possibly mixed environment of all 3 hypervisors</li>
<li>Having Hyper-V already in place makes you already prepared for RemoteFX and Dynamic Memory that are coming in service pack 1</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>XenDesktop deployments on VMware vSphere considerations:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Added cost of VMware infrastructure</li>
<li>Has per processor/core licensing (systems that have processors with over 6 cores need Advanced or Enterprise Plus licenses)
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.vmware.com/download/eula/multicore.html">VMware Multi-Core Pricing &amp; Licensing Policy</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/vsphere_pricing.pdf">VMware vSphere 4 Pricing, Packaging, and Licensing Overview</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>vSphere/vCenter server is needed to manage virtual desktops</li>
<li>Management server (vSphere/vCenter) can be single point of failure for management of hosted virtual desktops</li>
<li>VMware ESXi is free but needs vSphere/vCenter server/agents to manage hosted virtual desktops
<ul>
<li><a href="http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX124952">Citrix Knowledge Center Article CTX124952 &#8211; Citrix Statement of Support for VMware ESXi and Citrix XenDesktop</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>vSphere/vCenter has to be setup to allow HTTP access, default SSL certificate imported (VI 3.5), or SSL certificate needed (vSphere 4) for XenDesktop Delivery Controller access/management and for use with the XenDesktop Setup Wizard
<ul>
<li><a href="http://jariangibson.com/2009/10/13/using-xendesktop-with-vmware/">Jarian Gibson &#8211; Using XenDesktop with VMware</a></li>
<li><a href="http://community.citrix.com/display/ocb/2010/08/09/Secret+to+getting+VirtualCenter+to+use+an+Enterprise+CA+SSL+certificate">The Citrix Blogs &#8211; Secret to getting Virtual Center to use an Enterprise CA SSL certificate</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>VMware integration issues with Provisioning Services Target Devices &#8211; VMXNet3 driver issues with Windows Vista, 7, and 2008
<ul>
<li><a href="http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX125361">Citrix Knowledge Center Article CTX125361 &#8211; ESX Target Device Fails to Boot</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>VMware integration issues with XenDesktop Virtual Desktop Agent &#8211; Video driver issues with Windows Vista and Windows 7
<ul>
<li><a href="http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX124877">Citrix Knowledge Center Article CTX124877 &#8211; Unable to Connect to XenDesktop Virtual Desktop Agent on Vista or Windows 7 with WDDM Driver</a></li>
<li><a href="http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX123952">Citrix Knowledge Center Article CTX123952 &#8211; Unable to Connect to XenDesktop Virtual Desktop Agent on Windows 7 with VMware Tools ESX 4.0 Update 1</a> &#8211; also had to do this when installing XenDesktop Virtual Desktop Agent on Windows 7 or install would fail</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>VMware virtual machine tools have to be installed and maintained</li>
<li>VMware virtual machine has to be reversed imaged to update virtual machine tools or Provisioning Services tools &#8211; Hyper-V or XenServer instance in VMware environment could also do this</li>
<li>Network boot enabled in virtual machine BIOS by editing virtual machine properties to enter BIOS on next boot</li>
<li>Need at least a 1MB disk attached or Target Device will BSOD
<ul>
<li><a href="http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX119739">Citrix Knowledge Center Article CTX119739 &#8211; Provisioning Server and VMware ESX Interoperability Guide</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Most matured hypervisor with largest data center footprint</li>
</ul>
<p>So as you can see a number of factors come into play when choosing a hypervisor for your XenDesktop infrastructure.  Some customers I have worked with have stayed with their current hypervisor and kept a single hypervisor infrastructure all on VMware vSphere. While other customers I have worked with have gone with multiple hypervisor infrastructures having the XenDesktop infrastructure components on VMware vSphere and the virtual desktops on Citrix XenServer. I have even had one customer put everything relating to Citrix on Citrix XenServer and kept the rest of their infrastructure on VMware vSphere. I will be doing an install next month in a pure XenServer environment (They have been running Xen since long before the Citrix acquisition). The demo lab at my office and what we use for workshops is a mix of Citrix XenServer for the virtual appliances and Microsoft Hyper-V R2 for everything else. Microsoft Hyper-V R2 is getting more consideration and interest lately and I expect to start doing more and more XenDesktop deployments on Hyper-V soon.</p>
<p>For XenDesktop deployments do you stick with a single or have multiple hypervisors? Every environment is different and everyone has their own take on this. With the way the economy has been customers are looking at other options instead of paying a premium for what they currently have. Especially since cost for and deployment of a XenDesktop infrastructure are a huge factors these days. Citrix XenServer and Microsoft Hyper-V R2 are getting more and more interest and gaining ground every day as the feature sets become more and more comparable with VMware vSphere.  With XenDesktop having an open architecture you have options when it comes to the hypervisor.  The hypervisor is becoming a commodity anyway, right?</p>
<p>If you have found this article interesting or if you have any other insights, please feel free to leave comments on this article.<br />
<strong><a href="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/20.png"></a></strong></p>
<br />Filed under: <a href='http://jariangibson.com/category/microsoft/hyper-v/'>Hyper-V</a>, <a href='http://jariangibson.com/category/vmware/'>VMware</a>, <a href='http://jariangibson.com/category/citrix/xendesktop/'>XenDesktop</a>, <a href='http://jariangibson.com/category/citrix/xenserver/'>XenServer</a> Tagged: <a href='http://jariangibson.com/tag/esx/'>ESX</a>, <a href='http://jariangibson.com/tag/hyper-v/'>Hyper-V</a>, <a href='http://jariangibson.com/tag/vsphere/'>vSphere</a>, <a href='http://jariangibson.com/tag/xendesktop/'>XenDesktop</a>, <a href='http://jariangibson.com/tag/xenserver/'>XenServer</a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/jariangibson.wordpress.com/689/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/jariangibson.wordpress.com/689/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/jariangibson.wordpress.com/689/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/jariangibson.wordpress.com/689/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/jariangibson.wordpress.com/689/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/jariangibson.wordpress.com/689/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/jariangibson.wordpress.com/689/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/jariangibson.wordpress.com/689/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/jariangibson.wordpress.com/689/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/jariangibson.wordpress.com/689/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/jariangibson.wordpress.com/689/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/jariangibson.wordpress.com/689/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/jariangibson.wordpress.com/689/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/jariangibson.wordpress.com/689/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=jariangibson.com&#038;blog=9096580&#038;post=689&#038;subd=jariangibson&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>XenServer &#8220;Midnight Ride&#8221; Features and Thoughts</title>
		<link>http://jariangibson.com/2010/02/13/xenserver-midnight-ride-features-and-thoughts/</link>
		<comments>http://jariangibson.com/2010/02/13/xenserver-midnight-ride-features-and-thoughts/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 13 Feb 2010 17:02:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jarian Gibson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[XenServer]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Citrix has announced some of the new features in XenServer &#8220;Midnight Ride&#8221;.  This will most be likely be XenServer 6.0.  The public beta of XenServer &#8220;Midnight Ride&#8221; is targeted for mid March.  In this blog post I am going to go over some of the new features in XenServer &#8220;Midnight Ride&#8221; and my thoughts on those &#8230; <span class="more-link"><a href="http://jariangibson.com/2010/02/13/xenserver-midnight-ride-features-and-thoughts/">Continue reading &#187;</a></span><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=jariangibson.com&#038;blog=9096580&#038;post=597&#038;subd=jariangibson&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Citrix has announced some of the new features in XenServer &#8220;Midnight Ride&#8221;.  This will most be likely be XenServer 6.0.  The public beta of XenServer &#8220;Midnight Ride&#8221; is targeted for mid March.  In this blog post I am going to go over some of the new features in XenServer &#8220;Midnight Ride&#8221; and my thoughts on those announced new features.<br />
<span id="more-597"></span></p>
<p><strong>XenServer &#8220;Midnight Ride&#8221; new features</strong></p>
<p>The following list of the announced new features in XenServer &#8220;Midnight Ride&#8221; are:</p>
<li>Granular Role-based access controls within XenCenter</li>
<li>Dynamic Memory Control &amp; Overcommit</li>
<li>Enhanced snapshots, including full system state and  one-click revert</li>
<li>Administrative logging and audit reports</li>
<li>Automation for Workload Balancing</li>
<li>Host Power Management</li>
<li>StorageLink Site Recovery for business continuity</li>
<li>Enhanced CPU compatibility for XenMotion</li>
<li>Streamlined XenCenter interface</li>
<li>Support for “Supplementary Packs” for hardware vendor-specific features (i.e. Dell, HP)</li>
<p>For the official Citrix announcement and to sign up for the webinar for XenServer &#8220;Midnight Ride&#8221; see <a href="http://www.citrix.com/English/ps2/products/subfeature.asp?contentID=1861678">http://www.citrix.com/English/ps2/products/subfeature.asp?contentID=1861678</a></p>
<p><strong>Thoughts on XenServer &#8220;Midnight Ride&#8221; new features</strong></p>
<p>Citrix has made XenServer a more complete product with &#8221;Midnight Ride&#8221; aka XenServer 6.0.  Citrix has addressed some of the biggest complaints I see on the web and in the Citrix support forums as well as what I hear from customers.  I think one of the biggest features in XenServer &#8220;Midnight Ride&#8221; besides dynamic memory control and overcommit is enhanced CPU compatibility for XenMotion.  That is huge.  Hopefully ordering for and adding new hardware to existing XenServer resource pools won&#8217;t cause us to have to force join the resource pool and/or have problems with XenMotion in resource pools where there are mixed Intel based XenServer hosts or mixed AMD based XenServer hosts.  Another issue I&#8217;m happy to see Citrix address is snapshots.  The new enhanced snapshots with full system state and one-click revert address XenServer snapshot issues.  Snapshots and XenServer are another thing I see and hear complained about a lot along with dealing with customers on support calls.  The new enhanced CPU compatibility for XenMotion and snapshots make XenServer more aligned with the already matured VMware ESX and maturing Microsoft Hyper-V products.  I am also happy to see Citrix added granular role based access controls within XenCenter.  Giving us Active Directory integration along with XenCenter web and then taken XenCenter web away was a tease.  Now adding this within XenCenter is a very nice and welcomed addition.</p>
<p>One of the new feature that interests me in XenServer &#8220;Midnight Ride&#8221; is automation for workload balancing.  Did Citrix expand upon the existing workload balancing in Essentials for XenServer or have they finally integrated XenServer and EdgeSight?  I hope Citrix finally integrated XenServer and EdgeSight.  Three out of the four flagship Citrix products (XenApp, XenDesktop, and NetScaler) already have EdgeSight integration.  I know you can use EdgeSight for Endpoints, Virtual Agents, or XenApp to monitor the virtual machines on XenServer hosts but what about monitoring, trend reporting, and capacity planning at the hypervisor level?  I know there is monitoring and reporting in Essentials for XenServer but integrating this with EdgeSight for reporting, trending, capacity planning, and alerting along with some automatic type of DRS functionality would be huge.  EdgeSight is a very nice product and XenServer is getting better with every new release so why not make them both even better by integrating the two?</p>
<p>XenServer has come along way since the Citrix acquisition.  I&#8217;m glad to see that with every new release that Citrix is making XenServer better and better.</p>
<p>If you have found this article interesting or if you have any other insights, please feel free to leave comments on this article.</p>
<br />Filed under: <a href='http://jariangibson.com/category/citrix/xenserver/'>XenServer</a> Tagged: <a href='http://jariangibson.com/tag/xenserver/'>XenServer</a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/jariangibson.wordpress.com/597/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/jariangibson.wordpress.com/597/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/jariangibson.wordpress.com/597/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/jariangibson.wordpress.com/597/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/jariangibson.wordpress.com/597/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/jariangibson.wordpress.com/597/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/jariangibson.wordpress.com/597/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/jariangibson.wordpress.com/597/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/jariangibson.wordpress.com/597/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/jariangibson.wordpress.com/597/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/jariangibson.wordpress.com/597/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/jariangibson.wordpress.com/597/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/jariangibson.wordpress.com/597/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/jariangibson.wordpress.com/597/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=jariangibson.com&#038;blog=9096580&#038;post=597&#038;subd=jariangibson&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Citrix Products 2010: A Wish List (continued) +1</title>
		<link>http://jariangibson.com/2009/11/12/citrix-products-2010-a-wish-list-continued-1/</link>
		<comments>http://jariangibson.com/2009/11/12/citrix-products-2010-a-wish-list-continued-1/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:57:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jarian Gibson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Access Gateway Enterprise]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Citrix Receiver]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Merchandising Server]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Provisioning Services]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[XenApp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[XenDesktop]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[XenServer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Application Streaming]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NetScaler]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NetScaler VPX]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Power and Capacity Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Provisioning Server]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[VM Hosted Apps]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://jariangibson.com/?p=440</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This week Helge Klein started a Citrix products 2010 wish list.  Tim Arenz expanded on Helge&#8217;s wish list on his blog earlier today.  I want to expand on both Helge&#8217;s and Tim&#8217;s additions with my own wishes as well.  I&#8217;m sure they both don&#8217;t mind since Tim encourages other bloggers to continue adding to this &#8230; <span class="more-link"><a href="http://jariangibson.com/2009/11/12/citrix-products-2010-a-wish-list-continued-1/">Continue reading &#187;</a></span><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=jariangibson.com&#038;blog=9096580&#038;post=440&#038;subd=jariangibson&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This week Helge Klein started a <a href="http://blogs.sepago.de/helge/2009/11/11/citrix-products-2010-a-wish-list/comment-page-1/#comment-9041">Citrix products 2010 wish list</a>.  <a href="http://www.timarenz.de/citrix-products-2010-a-wish-list-continued">Tim Arenz</a> expanded on Helge&#8217;s wish list on his blog earlier today.  I want to expand on both Helge&#8217;s and Tim&#8217;s additions with my own wishes as well.  I&#8217;m sure they both don&#8217;t mind since Tim encourages other bloggers to continue adding to this list.  Like Tim, I encourage other bloggers to keep this wish list going.  Helge&#8217;s are in black and Tim&#8217;s are in red.  So here on are my additions in orange.<br />
<span id="more-440"></span></p>
<p><strong>XenApp</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>A version of XenApp that runs on Windows Server 2008 R2</li>
<li>One console only, at least for XenApp</li>
<li>PowerShell SDK for managing XenApp</li>
<li>Realtime audio/video so that, for example, Microsoft Office Communication Server can be used well</li>
<li>Migration tool that exports an old farm’s settings and imports them after optional transformation into a new far</li>
<li><span style="color:#ff0000;">Consistent feature set among the XenApp versions (2003 / 2008 / 2008 R2) </span>
<ul>
<li><span style="color:#ff0000;">Special folder redirection, power management, HDX Flash, etc</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><span style="color:#ff9900;">A revamped Installation Manager on Windows 2008</span></li>
<li><span style="color:#ff9900;">Report Center in Access Management Console/Delivery Services Console that links to EdgeSight/pull reports from XenApp management console</span></li>
<li><span style="color:#ff9900;">XenApp Setup Wizard similar to XenDesktop Setup Wizard</span></li>
<li><span style="color:#ff9900;">Integration with hypervisors similar to XenDesktop power on, power off, reboot, etc</span></li>
<li><span style="color:#ff9900;">Folder inheritance of published applications in a folder- add a new server to a folder in the console and have applications automatically published on that server that are published to other servers in that folder</span></li>
<li><span style="color:#ff9900;">Content redirection/file type association between seamless hosted and seamless streamed applications </span></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Support for XenApp in SCCM (Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager)</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>XenApp collections</li>
<li>Add application hosting information to SCCM package</li>
<li>Autonomic server load management to allow SCCM software distribution</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>VM Hosted Apps</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Session sharing (multiple applications per session/VM)</li>
<li>Real application publishin</li>
<li><span style="color:#ff0000;">Integration in XenApp management console</span></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>XenClient</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Release a first version, if only for enterprise volume laptops initially</li>
<li>Make it run on any system that supports VT-D and TXT (trusted execution technology)</li>
<li>Provide a private image mode: copy a VM to a client initially and then sync back differentially by creating snapshots that are stored on a server. A user would “own” a VM in this scenario and could store data and install applications in it, but updates/application installs could not be easily centrally managed.</li>
<li>Provide a shared image mode: copy a VM to a client initially that is reset to its original state when powering off. Provide a second disk (VHD file) for persistent user data. In this scenario, users could not install applications, since the OS VHD gets reset constantly, but administrators could manage updates to the OS VHD centrally by distributing snapshots containing new applications or patches to the clients. All user data would have to be stored on a second partition.</li>
<li>Optionally encrypt VHD files on the client (we are talking about laptops)</li>
<li>Map the GPU to any VM. That way we could use a private VM (with GPU, for games, etc.) and a more secure business VM.</li>
<li>Run applications from one VM seamlessly in the other VM (over ICA)</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>XenDesktop</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Make HDX media stream for Flash optionally work in such a way that we do not need internet access in the client’s site. Stream Flash through ICA from the server to the client and only render it on the client.</li>
<li>PowerShell SDK for managing all aspects for XenDesktop</li>
<li><span style="color:#ff0000;">Merge the XenDesktop Setup Wizard into the “Create Desktop Group” Wizard</span></li>
<li><span style="color:#ff9900;">Windows Server 2008 support</span></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Provisioning Server</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Give us a tool for automating the management/patching of PVS images</li>
<li>Make it run in one of three modes:
<ul>
<li>Monitoring: Monitor external ESD server to determine if updates have been assigned to a machine</li>
<li>Scheduled: Periodically start the VM and allow the machine to update itself</li>
<li>Manual: Admin initiates VM start/stop for manually updating</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Give the tool a PowerShell SDK so we can program it</li>
<li><span style="color:#ff0000;">Easy way to upgrade virtualization tools (VMware Tools, XenTools, etc) and Provisioning Server Target Device of a vDisk</span></li>
<li><span style="color:#ff9900;">Provisioning Services Database Replication and or Mirroring</span></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>XenServer</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><span style="color:#ff0000;">VM-based snapshot and not disk-based snapshot</span></li>
<li><span style="color:#ff0000;">Easy way to revert to taken snapshots</span></li>
<li><span style="color:#ff0000;">Memory sharing / ballooning / over commitment (for VDI)</span></li>
<li><span style="color:#ff0000;">Thin provisioning for block-based storage repositories</span></li>
<li><span style="color:#ff0000;">Possibility to separate management and XenMotion network interface</span></li>
<li><span style="color:#ff0000;">Advanced template management </span>
<ul>
<li><span style="color:#ff0000;">Integration of Sysprep, possibility to change hostname, ip, etc</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><span style="color:#ff9900;">Administrative Delegation</span></li>
<li><span style="color:#ff9900;">Wake On LAN of XenServer VMs</span></li>
<li><span style="color:#ff9900;">Move VMs/VDIs to storage repository without having to turn off VM and copy &#8211; Storage XenMotion</span></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Workflow Studio</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><span style="color:#ff9900;">More development/example workflows</span></li>
<li><span style="color:#ff9900;">More integration with Citrix products &#8211; XenDesktop, etc</span></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Various</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Release Branch Repeater as a virtual appliance. Better make it available for all three important hypervisors.</li>
<li>Release a virtual appliance version of Access Gateway that can serve as a true replacement for CSG (Secure Gateway). For that, it needs to be free or very cheap at least. And better make it available for all three important hypervisors.</li>
<li><span style="color:#ff0000;">Consistent management console for all versions of Access Gateway</span></li>
<li><span style="color:#ff0000;">Citrix Receiver framework for the Mac and Linux platform</span></li>
<li><span style="color:#ff0000;">Integration of all Citrix agents/clients/plug-ins into Merchandising Server</span></li>
<li><span style="color:#ff9900;">NetScaler VPX virtual appliance for Hyper-V</span></li>
<li><span style="color:#ff9900;">Merchandising Server virtual appliance for ESX</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Please keep this wish list going.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">If you have found this article interesting or if you have any other insights, please feel free to leave comments on this article.</span></p>
<br />Posted in Access Gateway Enterprise, Citrix Receiver, Merchandising Server, Provisioning Services, XenApp, XenDesktop, XenServer Tagged: Application Streaming, Citrix Receiver, Merchandising Server, NetScaler, NetScaler VPX, Power and Capacity Management, Provisioning Server, Provisioning Services, VM Hosted Apps, XenApp, XenDesktop, XenServer <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/jariangibson.wordpress.com/440/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/jariangibson.wordpress.com/440/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/jariangibson.wordpress.com/440/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/jariangibson.wordpress.com/440/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/jariangibson.wordpress.com/440/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/jariangibson.wordpress.com/440/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/jariangibson.wordpress.com/440/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/jariangibson.wordpress.com/440/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/jariangibson.wordpress.com/440/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/jariangibson.wordpress.com/440/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/jariangibson.wordpress.com/440/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/jariangibson.wordpress.com/440/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/jariangibson.wordpress.com/440/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/jariangibson.wordpress.com/440/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=jariangibson.com&#038;blog=9096580&#038;post=440&#038;subd=jariangibson&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Merchandising Server 1.1 and XenServer Tools Update</title>
		<link>http://jariangibson.com/2009/11/01/merchandising-server-1-1-and-xenserver-tools-update/</link>
		<comments>http://jariangibson.com/2009/11/01/merchandising-server-1-1-and-xenserver-tools-update/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 01 Nov 2009 05:58:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jarian Gibson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Citrix Receiver]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Merchandising Server]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[XenServer]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Citrix has recently released Merchandising Server 1.1.  Merchandising Server is a XenServer virtual appliance that allows you to centrally manage the setup of the Citrix Receiver, enables Citrix plug-ins and updates, enables access to web-based user support services, and has management reporting features.  I recently downloaded and installed the Merchandising Server virtual appliance in my &#8230; <span class="more-link"><a href="http://jariangibson.com/2009/11/01/merchandising-server-1-1-and-xenserver-tools-update/">Continue reading &#187;</a></span><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=jariangibson.com&#038;blog=9096580&#038;post=395&#038;subd=jariangibson&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Citrix has recently released <a href="http://www.citrix.com/English/ps2/products/subfeature.asp?contentID=1690128">Merchandising Server 1.1</a>.  Merchandising Server is a XenServer virtual appliance that allows you to centrally manage the setup of the <a href="http://www.citrix.com/English/ps2/products/subfeature.asp?contentID=1690128">Citrix Receiver</a>, enables Citrix plug-ins and updates, enables access to web-based user support services, and has management reporting features.  I recently downloaded and installed the Merchandising Server virtual appliance in my XenServer lab.  The Merchandising Server virtual appliance comes packaged with XenServer tools 5.0.  In this blog post I am going to go over installing the Merchandising Server virtual appliance and updating the XenServer tools.<br />
<span id="more-395"></span></p>
<p><strong>Downloading and extracting the Merchandising Server virtual appliance</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>Logon to <a href="https://www.citrix.com/lang/English/publicindex.asp?destURL=%2FEnglish%2FmyCitrix%2Findex%2Easp%3F">MyCitrix</a></li>
<li>Choose downloads and select Citrix Receiver</li>
<li>Click Merchandising Server 1.1 &#8211; Virtual Appliance</li>
<li>Click download next to Merchandising Server 1.1 and accept the End-User License Agreement to download the compressed virtual appliance package</li>
<li>Extract the compressed virtual appliance package.  You can extract it with <a href="http://www.bzip.org/">Bzip2</a> from the command prompt: <strong>bzip2-105-x86-win32.exe -d citrix-merchandising-server-1.1.0.xva.bz2</strong></li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Importing the Merchandising Server virtual appliance</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>From XenCenter right-click on your resource pool or XenServer host and select <strong>Import VM</strong></li>
<li>On the Import Source screen click <strong>Browse </strong>to browse to the citrix-merchandising-server-1.1.0.xva file and click <strong>Open</strong>.</li>
<li>Make sure <strong>Exported VM</strong> is selected as the Import Type and click <strong>Next</strong>.</li>
<li>On the Home Server screen select the resource pool name to not designate and home server or select a server in the resource pool to designate a home server and click <strong>Next</strong>.</li>
<li>On the Storage screen select the storage repository for the virtual appliance and click <strong>Import</strong>.</li>
<li>On the Network screen select the interface and network for the virtual appliance and click <strong>Next</strong>.</li>
<li>On the Finish screen leave the check in the <strong>Start VM after Import</strong> and click <strong>Finish</strong>.</li>
<li>Wait for the import to finish and verify it completed successfully.</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Updating the Merchandising Server virtual appliance XenServer tools</strong></p>
<p>From the XenCenter console tab of the Merchandising Server virtual appliance virtual machine you can see Citrix Merchandising Server network configuration screen and menu.  There is an option to update the XenServer tools by typing 8 for Diagnostics and then 3 for XenTools upgrade.  After selecting those options for XenTools upgrade you will be presented with a warning screen about setting the DVD drive for the virtual machine to xs-tools.iso and that this will update XenTools and then reboot the system.  This actually does nothing.  See the screenshots below for the screens you will see. </p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-413" title="XST01" src="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/xst011.png?w=300&h=159" alt="XST01" width="300" height="159" /> <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-414" title="XST02" src="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/xst021.png?w=300&h=255" alt="XST02" width="300" height="255" /> </p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-415" title="XST03" src="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/xst031.png?w=300&h=217" alt="XST03" width="300" height="217" /> <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-416" title="XST04" src="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/xst041.png?w=300&h=201" alt="XST04" width="300" height="201" /> </p>
<p>Since using the XenTools upgrade menu option from the Diagnostics menu didn&#8217;t work I had to upgrade the XenServer tools manually.  Follow the steps bellow to upgrade the XenServer tools manually.  This is done from the console tab of the Merchandising Server virtual appliance virtual machine in XenCenter.</p>
<ol>
<li>Enter 1 to change the hostname of the Merchandising Server virtual appliance</li>
<li>Enter a new hostname</li>
<li>Enter 9 to save changes</li>
<li>Type yes to confirm updates and reboot the virtual appliance and make sure to change the password when it prompts you to</li>
<li>Make sure the xs-tools.iso is selected in the DVD drive for the Merchandising Server virtual appliance virtual machine</li>
<li>Enter 8 for the Diagnostics menu option</li>
<li>Enter 4 for Appliance Terminal menu option</li>
<li>Enter root for the username and then your password you changed in step 5</li>
<li>Use the commands below to update the XenServer tools from the appliance terminal, hit enter after each command, and restart the virtual machine after completion </li>
</ol>
<p style="padding-left:60px;"><em>cd /mnt</em></p>
<p style="padding-left:60px;"><em>mkdir xs-tools</em></p>
<p style="padding-left:60px;"><em>mount /dev/xvdd /mnt/xs-tools &#8211; the following message is ok &#8211; mount: block device /dev/xvdd is write-protected, mounting read-only</em></p>
<p style="padding-left:60px;"><em>cd /mnt/xs-tools/Linux</em></p>
<p style="padding-left:60px;"><em>bash install.sh</em></p>
<p style="padding-left:60px;"><em>y </em></p>
<p>See the screenshot below for an example of the commands above for updating the XenServer tools manually.</p>
<p> <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-425" title="XST05" src="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/xst051.png?w=600&h=332" alt="XST05" width="600" height="332" /></p>
<p>After rebooting you should be able to change the IP Address, Netmask, Gateway, and Domain Name System settings.  I had an issue after updating the XenServer tools where the IP Address, Netmask, and Gateway wouldn&#8217;t stay after rebooting the Merchandising Server virtual appliance virtual machine.  I had to change those network settings manually by editing ifcfg-eth0 in /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts using the Appliance Terminal option from the Diagnostics menu.  You can use the editor of your preference.  I used vi.</p>
<p>To edit ifcfg-eth0 do the following:</p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;"><em>vi /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0</em></p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;">change<em> BOOTPROTO=dhcp </em></p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;">to</p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;"><em>BOOTPROTO=static</em></p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;"><em>IPADDR=x.x.x.x</em></p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;"><em>NETMASK=x.x.x.x</em></p>
<p style="padding-left:30px;"><em>GATEWAY=x.x.x.x</em></p>
<p>Save the changes and reboot the Merchandising Server virtual appliance.  See the screenshots below for a before and after example of ifcfg-eth0.</p>
<p> <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-434" title="XST06" src="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/xst061.png?w=600" alt="XST06"   /> <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-432" title="XST07" src="http://jariangibson.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/xst07.png?w=600" alt="XST07"   /></p>
<p>You may also have to use the Citrix Merchandising Server Network Configuration menu to re-apply the Hostname and Domain Name System entries.  After doing so make sure save the changes and reboot the virtual appliance.  Now you should be able to setup and configure your Merchandising Server virtual appliance from the appliance web page.</p>
<p>There is also a Citrix blog post on converting the XenServer virtual appliance to use on Hyper-V.  See the Citrix blog post <a href="http://community.citrix.com/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=86966336">Merchandising Server on Hyper-V</a> for the conversion process.</p>
<p>If you have found this article interesting or if you have any other insights, please feel free to leave comments on this article.</p>
<br />Posted in Citrix Receiver, Merchandising Server, XenServer Tagged: Citrix Receiver, Merchandising Server, XenServer <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/jariangibson.wordpress.com/395/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/jariangibson.wordpress.com/395/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/jariangibson.wordpress.com/395/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/jariangibson.wordpress.com/395/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/jariangibson.wordpress.com/395/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/jariangibson.wordpress.com/395/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/jariangibson.wordpress.com/395/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/jariangibson.wordpress.com/395/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/jariangibson.wordpress.com/395/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/jariangibson.wordpress.com/395/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/jariangibson.wordpress.com/395/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/jariangibson.wordpress.com/395/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/jariangibson.wordpress.com/395/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/jariangibson.wordpress.com/395/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=jariangibson.com&#038;blog=9096580&#038;post=395&#038;subd=jariangibson&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
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			<media:title type="html">JarianGibson</media:title>
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		<title>Have you upgraded to Provisioning Services 5.1 yet? Why Not?</title>
		<link>http://jariangibson.com/2009/07/29/have-you-upgraded-to-provisioning-services-5-1-yet-why-not/</link>
		<comments>http://jariangibson.com/2009/07/29/have-you-upgraded-to-provisioning-services-5-1-yet-why-not/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 29 Jul 2009 23:53:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jarian Gibson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Hyper-V]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Provisioning Services]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[XenServer]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Provisioning Services 5.1 has been out for awhile now and it amazes me how many people are still running 4.5 or 5.0. Why haven&#8217;t they upgraded yet? Do they know about the new features?   New Features   User Assigned vDisks &#8211; You can now assign vDisks based on Active Directory or Windows groups.   &#8230; <span class="more-link"><a href="http://jariangibson.com/2009/07/29/have-you-upgraded-to-provisioning-services-5-1-yet-why-not/">Continue reading &#187;</a></span><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=jariangibson.com&#038;blog=9096580&#038;post=21&#038;subd=jariangibson&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Provisioning Services 5.1 has been out for awhile now and it amazes me how many people are still running 4.5 or 5.0. Why haven&#8217;t they upgraded yet? Do they know about the new features?<br />
<span id="more-21"></span></p>
<div><span class="fullpost"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></strong></span></div>
<div><span class="fullpost"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">New Features</span></strong></span></div>
<div><span class="fullpost"><strong> </strong></span></div>
<div><span class="fullpost"><strong>User Assigned vDisks</strong> &#8211; You can now assign vDisks based on Active Directory or Windows groups. </span></div>
<div><span class="fullpost"> </span></div>
<div><span class="fullpost"><strong>Auditing</strong> &#8211; You can now record and review administrative changes to the farm. Find out who did what and when to troubleshoot the Provisioning Services farm. It&#8217;s kind of like Configuration Logging in your XenApp farm. This isn&#8217;t enabled by default. You have to enable it on your farm.</span></div>
<div><span class="fullpost"> </span></div>
<div><span class="fullpost"><strong>Standard Mode NIC Teaming</strong> &#8211; Teaming Intel and Broadcom NICS are now supported.</span></div>
<p> <br />
<strong>Read-Only vDisk Storage</strong> &#8211; You can now have Provisioning Servers share the same LUN from a SAN without the need of shared file system.</p>
<p><strong>Multiple vDisk Partitions</strong> &#8211; Provisioning Services 5.1 has removed the image builder utility and replaced it with XenConvert. You can now create a multiple partition vDisk very easily using XenConvert.</p>
<p><strong>Offline Database Support</strong> &#8211; Target devices now have database cache. If the database server goes down, they will continue to run. This is kind of like local host cache in XenApp. This isn&#8217;t enabled by default. You have to enable it on your farm.</p>
<p><strong>Offline vDisk Maintenance</strong> &#8211; You no longer have to reverse image back to a regular disk to update your network drivers. You can now use XenServer, Hyper-V or Virtual server to update your vDisks offline. One thing to note about using Virtual Server to do an offline update is that it doesn&#8217;t support multi-core hals. Virtual Server only supports single core hals and can&#8217;t boot a multi-core hal VHD.  For XenServer offline process see the Citrix blog &#8211; <a href="http://community.citrix.com/blogs/citrite/trevorm/2009/08/15/PVS+5.1+Direct+VHD+Boot+using+XenServer">PVS 5.1 Direct VHD Boot using XenServer</a>.  For the Hyper-V offline process see the Citrix blog &#8211; <a href="http://community.citrix.com/blogs/citrite/trevorm/2009/07/28/New+Way+to+Upgrade+with+PVS+5.1+and+HyperV">New Way to Upgrade with PVS 5.1 and HyperV</a>. Another cool feature about using Hyper-V for offline maintenace is if you install Hyper-V&#8217;s Integration Services you can boot the VHD from both virtual and physical machines. How cool is that?</p>
<p>With all of these new features why haven&#8217;t you upgraded yet? It&#8217;s definitely worth a look!</p>
<p>If you have found this article interesting or if you have any other insights, please feel free to leave comments on this article.</p>
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