simplify lifecycle management of desktop images with...

Simplify lifecycle management of desktop

images with provisioning services

Self-paced exercise guide

Table of Contents

Table of Contents .............................................................................................................................................. 2

Overview............................................................................................................................................................. 3

Exercise 1: Integrated vDisk Versioning ....................................................................................................... 5

Exercise 2: Merging vDisks ........................................................................................................................... 17

Exercise 3: vDisk Replication ........................................................................................................................ 29

Overview

Provisioning Services Overview

The Provisioning Services infrastructure is based on software-streaming technology. This technology allows computers to be provisioned and re-provisioned in real-time from a single shared-disk image. In doing so, administrators can completely eliminate the need to manage and patch individual systems. Instead, all image management is done on the master image called a vDisk. The local hard-disk drive of each system may be used for runtime data caching or, in some scenarios, removed from the system entirely, which reduces power usage, system failure rates, and security risks.

In this lab, you will learn about the various image management features provided by Provisioning Services.

You will learn about vDisk versioning, merging vDisks, and vDisk replication.

Hands-on Training Module

This training module has the following details:

Objective Provide hands-on experience with image management features of Provisioning Services 6.x.

Provide hands-on experience with the capabilities for vDisks.

Audience Citrix Partners; Provisioning Services, XenDesktop and XenApp administrators, engineers and architects.

Lab Environment Details

This section is used to describe the lab environment and the virtual machines that are used.

VM Name IP Address Description

AD.training.lab 192.168.10.11 Windows Server 2008 R2. Domain controller for training.lab, DNS, and DHCP services

SQLServer 192.168.10.12 Windows Server 2008 R2. SQL Server 2008 R2 hosting the Provisioning Services database

PVS1 192.168.10.25 Windows Server 2008 R2. Provisioning Services 6.1

PVS2 192.168.10.26 Windows Server 2008 R2. Provisioning Services 6.1

Win7Target DHCP Windows 7 Target Device

Win7-P001 DHCP Windows 7 diskless virtual machine



NOTE: This is a shared lab environment image and not all virtual machines will be used.

NOTE: If prompted with a dialog to restart on any virtual machine, always select Restart Later.

Required Lab Credentials

Below you can find the login credentials required to connect to the workshop system and complete the lab

exercises.

Domain/Machine Username Password Description

Training.lab Administrator Citrix123 Domain Administrator

Training.lab User1 Citrix123 Domain User

Exercise 1: Integrated vDisk Versioning


Overview

In this exercise you will promote target devices to various types and verify the behavior using different

vDisk versions associated with them.

Step-by-step guidance

Estimated time to complete this lab: 25 minutes.

Step Action

1. From within XenCenter, shutdown the SQLServer2, VDA, Win7Client, XA1, XA2 and

XD virtual machines and power on PVS1 and PVS2.

2. Log on to PVS1 as training\administrator with password Citrix123

3. Launch the Provisioning Services Console (icon located on the Desktop).

4. Click Connect to connect to the farm

5. In the Console tree pane, expand Farm, then Sites then expand Site, and click on the

Servers node

6. Right-click PVS1 and select Properties

7. Under Options, tick Automate computer account password updates and click OK.

8. Click Yes to restart the Stream Service

9. Repeat steps 6-8 for PVS2

10. Wait a moment and then press F5 to refresh the view. Ensure that both servers show as

available (or keep refreshing until they do).

11. Click on vDisk Pool and then Select the Win7 vDisk on the right panel.

12. Expand Device Collections then drag and drop the Win7 vDisk from vDisk Pool to the Collection under Device Collections.

13. Select Yes to Replace vDisk assignments.

14. Click the Collection node to select it


Step Action

15. In the right-pane, click the Win7-P001 device to select it. Then hold the Shift key and click Win7-P003 to select all three devices

16. Right-click on one of these selected devices and go to Active Directory > Create Machine Account…

17. Select PVS for the Organization unit and then click the Create Account.

18. Wait a moment for the accounts to be created and show a status of Success. Then click Close.

19. From XenCenter right-click on Win7Target and select Start.

20. Login to Win7Target as training\administrator with password Citrix123. From the system tray, right-click on the flashing Virtual Disk icon and select Virtual Disk Status to verify the Virtual Disk Information: Virtual Disk: Win7.vhd Mode: vDisk: Read Only, Cache Type: server

21. Close the Virtual Disk Status dialog.

22. Switch back to PVS1. In the console tree select the vDisk Pool and then right-click on the Win7 vDisk and select Versions…


Step Action

23. Click on the New button on the top right and verify that a new version with Access type of Maintenance is created. Click Done.

24. In the console tree, expand the Device Collections folder then click on the Collection

node. The target devices display in the details pane. Right-click on the Win7-P001 target device then select Properties. Change the Type under the general tab to Maintenance. Click OK.


Step Action

25. In XenCenter, right-click on Win7-P001 and select Start. Verify a Boot Menu shows up

with a maintenance option. Choose option 1) Win7.1 [maint].

NOTE: A boot menu always shows up if the vDisk has a maintenance version. If the

menu is not shown and the virtual machine does not boot, try pressing Enter as the menu

portion of the window may not be immediately visible.

26. Login to Win7-P001 as training\administrator with password Citrix123. Double-click on the Virtual Disk Status in the system tray and verify Virtual Disk Information: Virtual Disk: Win7.1.avhd Mode: vDisk: Read/Write

27. Close the Virtual Disk Status dialog.

28. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to \\AD\software. Run the Firefox setup executable.

29. Click Next on the Welcome Screen.


Step Action

30. Leave Standard selected and click Next.

31. Uncheck “Use Firefox as my default web browser” and click Install.

32. Uncheck “Launch Firefox now” and click Finish.


Step Action

33. Verify a Firefox icon is placed on the Desktop.

34. From XenCenter, Shutdown target device Win7-P001.

35. Switch back to PVS1. In the console tree select the vDisk Pool and then right-click on the Win7 vDisk, select Versions… Select the Maintenance version and click on Promote… Set version access to Test and click OK.

36. Select the Test version you just promoted and click on Properties. Type Version with

Firefox for the description and click OK.

37. Still under vDisk Versions, select the Test version and click on New. Verify a Maintenance version was created. Click Done.


Step Action

38. Expand the Device Collections folder then click on the Collection node. The target devices displays in the details pane. Right-click on the Win7-P002 target device then select Properties. Change the Type under the general tab to Test. Click OK.

Note: The MAC address for your target device might be different.

39. From XenCenter, right-click on Win7-P002 and select Start. Choose option 1) Win7.1

[test] from the Boot Menu.

40. Login as training\administrator with password Citrix123 and verify under Virtual Disk

Status in the system tray the name for the Virtual Disk: Win7.1.avhd.

NOTE: The Firefox shortcut should be visible on the Desktop.


Step Action

41. In XenCenter, right-click on Win7-P001 and select Start. Verify that the following versions

show on the Boot Menu. Select version 1) Win 7.2 [maint].

42. Login to Win7-P001 as training\administrator with password Citrix123 and verify the

virtual disk changed to Win7.2.avhd.

43. Switch to PVS1 and verify the vDisks created under C:\store.

vDisk Version Target Device Type

Win7.1.avhd Win7-P002 Test

Win7.2.avhd Win7-P001 Maintenance

Win7.vhd Win7Target Base (Production)


Step Action

44. Verify the write cache under C:\store\WriteCache.

Win7-P002_Win7.1 – Read Only mode

Win7TargetPVS_Win7 – Read Only mode

Win7-P001 – no write cache – Read/Write mode

45. In the console tree select the vDisk Pool in the tree and right-click on the Win7 vDisk then

select Versions… Select the Test version and click on Promote… Leave Availability as Immediate then click OK.

46. An error message will show up since Win7-P002 is using the Test version. Click OK.

47. Shutdown the Win7-P002 target device from XenCenter.


Step Action

48. Click on Promote again. Leave Availability as Immediate, click OK and click Done.

49. Expand the Device Collections node then click on the Collection node. The target

devices displays in the details pane. Verify the Type for Win7-P003 target device is set to Production.

50. From XenCenter, right-click on Win7-P003 and select Start.

51. Login to Win7-P003 as training\administrator with password Citrix123 and verify on the

Virtual Disk Status that you are using Virtual Disk: Win7.1.avhd.

52. From XenCenter, right-click on Win7-P001 and select Shut Down.


Step Action

53. Switch back to PVS1. In the console tree select the vDisk Pool and then right-click on the Win7 vDisk, select Versions… Select the top version (Maintenance) and click on Promote. Set version access to: Test and click OK.

54. Select the newly created Test version and click on New. A vDisk with Access

Maintenance will show as Version 3. Click Done.


[test] from the Boot Menu.


[maint] from the Boot Menu.

57. Switch to PVS1 and in the console tree select the vDisk Pool and then right-click on the

Win7 vDisk, select Show Usage…


Step Action

58. Verify 2 target devices are running the vDisk in Access mode Production, 1 target device is

running in Test and 1 target device in Maintenance of Production or Test. Click Close.

NOTE: If 4 target devices are not displayed click Refresh.

59. Shutdown the Win7-P001 target device.

END OF EXERCISE

Summary

Key

Takeaways

The key takeaways for this exercise are:

vDisk Versioning :

o Image updating & rollback without ever having to copy a VHD.

o Image lifecycle management of create/update, test and production.

o Ability to stream a disk in multiple modes simultaneously.

If booting a Test or Maintenance device, a boot menu displays that allows

the user to select from which vDisk, or version of that vDisk, to boot from.

If Access displays as blank, this version is considered released to production

but is not the version currently selected from which devices should boot.

Maintenance is a new read/write difference disk version that is only available

to the first Maintenance device that selects to boot from it to make updates.

Each time the vDisk is to be updated, a new version of that vDisk is created

(VHD file) to capture the changes without changing the base vDisk image.

Exercise 2: Merging vDisks


Overview

In this exercise you will merge VHD differencing disk files to a partial merge combining a chain of VHD

differencing disks and also to a new base image.



Step Action

1. Switch back to PVS1.

2. In the console tree select the vDisk Pool and then right-click on the Win7 vDisk, select Versions… Verify the Merge option on the right is grayed out.

NOTE: A merge can only occur when no Maintenance version exists for this vDisk or when the vDisk is in Private Image mode.

3. Promote the Maintenance version to Production with Immediate availability. You will receive a warning about existing test versions. Click OK.


Step Action

4. Click on Merge. Select Merged Updates – All updates from last base. Set merge version access to: Test. Click OK.

5. A new version will show the Access as Merging. Click Refresh.


Step Action

6. Version 4 now will show Type Merged Updates and Access Test. Click Done.

7. From XenCenter, shutdown target devices: Win7-P002 and Win7Target.

8. In the PVS Console tree select the vDisk Pool and then right-click on the Win7 vDisk, select Versions… Select version 4 and click on Promote. Leave Availability as Immediate then Click OK.


Step Action

9. Verify only versions 3 and 2 became obsolete, since Win7-P003 is still using version 1.

10. Start the Win7Target target device.

11. Switch back to the PVS Console. Click on Refresh and for the Boot production devices from version: select 0.


Step Action

12. Verify you have Version 0 as the production listed with Access Override. Click Done.

13. Expand the Device Collections node then click on the Collection node. The target

devices displays in the details pane. Right-click on the Win7-P002 target device then select Properties. Change the Type from Test to Production. Click OK.

14. Start target device Win7-P002.

15. In the PVS Console tree select the vDisk Pool and then right-click on the Win7 vDisk, select Show Usage…


Step Action

16. Verify Win7-P002 is using version 0 (Access Override), since it was the version set to be the new production on the previous step 11. Click Close.

NOTE: You might need to click Refresh.

17. On the Win7 vDisk, right-click and select Versions… Select version 4 and click New. A new version 5 will show as Maintenance. Select Version 2 and click Delete… Click Yes.


Step Action

18. Verify both versions 2 and 3 were deleted.

19. Promote version 5 to Test and click OK.


Step Action

20. Click on Merge and select Merged Base - Last base + all updates from that base. Set merge version access to: Test. Click OK.

21. Verify target devices are still using Versions 0, 1 and 4 while the merge was performed.

22. From XenCenter, shutdown the Win7-P002 target device.


Step Action

23. Switch back to the PVS Console and click Refresh on the Win7 vDisk Versions screen. Verify you still can’t delete Version 0 since it’s the Production version.

NOTE: Full merge (merged base: last base + all updates from that base) can take a few minutes. Wait for the merging status to change to Test.

24. Change the Boot production devices from version to Newest released. Promote the top Version 6 and set Availability to Immediate. Click OK and OK to the Warning for pending versions.

25. From XenCenter, shutdown Win7Target and Win7-P003 (if not already shutdown) target

devices since they are using versions 4 and 1.


Step Action

26. Click Refresh. Now you will be able to delete all previous versions to 6. Delete versions 5, 4, 1 and 0. Click Done. Tip: If you delete version 0 first, it will delete all the obsolete ones above.

27. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to C:\store. Verify you only have version 6 for the

Win7 vDisk.

28. Switch to the PVS Console. Right-click on the Farm node and select Properties. Navigate

to the vDisk Version tab and change the Alert if number of versions from base image exceeds to 3. Click OK.


Step Action

29. Back to the Win7 vDisk, right-click and select Versions. Click on New and select the newly created version 7 and then click Promote… Select Production and leave the Availability to Immediate, then click OK.

30. Click on New again and then Promote the newly created version 8 to Production with

Availability as Immediate.

31. Click on New again and then Promote the newly created version 9 to Production with Availability as Immediate.

32. Click on New again and then Promote the newly created version 10 to Production with Availability as Immediate. Notice when you click OK a message will show up about the number of versions from last base exceeding the specified maximum (Step 28). Select No.


Step Action

33. Delete the new versions created: 10, 9, 8 and 7. You should only have version 6 to start the next exercise. Click Done.

END OF EXERCISE

Summary

Key

Takeaways


A full merge to a new base image combines a chain of differencing disks and

base image disks into a new single base disk. This new disk is the next

version in the chain, which is given the file extension of .VHD. This method

allows for the fastest disk access to the base image and is recommended

when performance is more important than disk space (a new base disk is

created for every merge performed).

A partial merge combines a chain of VHD differencing disks up to, but not

including, the base disk into a new differencing disk. The new differencing

disk has the same parent base disk image and is given the extension .aVHD.

NOTES A merge can only occur when no Maintenance version exists for this vDisk

or when the vDisk is in Private Image Mode. A merge starts from the top of

the chain down to a base disk. A starting disk cannot be specified for the

merge.

A consolidated differencing disk merge is recommended when disk storage is

limited or when the bandwidth between remote locations is limited, which

makes copying large images impractical.

Exercise 3: vDisk Replication


Overview

In this exercise you will verify the replication status for a particular version of a vDisk and for all versions

of a vDisk.



Step Action

1. Still on PVS1, expand the PVS Console tree. Select the vDisk Pool in the tree and then right-click on the Win7 vDisk, select Versions. Select the top version and click on New. A Maintenance version 7 will be created.

2. Promote the version 7 from maintenance to test.

3. Create a new version 8 and leave it as maintenance.


Step Action

4. Select Version 7 and click on Promote. Select Scheduled, take the default date, and click

OK.

5. Click on Version 8 and select Promote… Leave it as Test and click OK.


Step Action

6. Click on New and a Version 9 will show as Maintenance. Click Done.

7. Under the Collection node, change the Properties of the Win7-P002 target device to Type

Test and click OK.

8. From XenCenter, start Win7-P002 and choose option 1) Win7.8 [test].


Step Action

9. Start Win7-P001 and choose option 1) Win7.9 [maint.]

10. Start Win7-P003 and Win7Target.

11. Switch back to PVS1 and in the PVS Console tree select the vDisk Pool and then right-click on the Win7 vDisk, select Versions. Click on the Replication button to confirm that only PVS1 contains this vDisk at present. Click Done and leave the vDisk Versions window open.

12. Open Windows Explorer, navigate C:\store and verify the files for Win7 vDisk:

13. Connect to \\PVS2\store from Windows Explorer.


Step Action

14. Copy the current versions for Win7 vDisk from the local C:\store to \\PVS2\store. The .lok files do not need to be copied over.

15. Wait for the copy process to complete and then switch back to the PVS Console. Click on

the Refresh button and then on Replication and verify all the versions are up-to-date on both servers. Click Done and Done.

Note: The copy process might take several minutes to complete.


Step Action

16. Click on the Servers node, then on the right panel right-click on PVS1 and select Rebalance Devices…

17. Select PVS1 and click on the Rebalance Devices button. Status will change to Success.

Click Close.

18. Go to the Action menu and select Refresh (or press F5). The target devices should be

equally balanced across both servers.

19. IMPORTANT! This is the last exercise for this lab. Please go back to the Self-paced

Learning Lab site and do the following before you go:

Provide us feedback by selecting the “Take web survey…” link.

END OF EXERCISE

https://citrix.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_eJagVJz6MOVUzch


Summary

Key

Takeaways


The vDisk Version Replication Status dialog displays the replication status

availability for each server that can provide this version of the vDisk.

If a version is in Maintenance (hammer icon), Test (magnifying glass), or

Pending (hour glass) states, that state displays in the first row.

A green checkmark indicates that the server has access to this version.

Orange triangle next to the server name indicates that the version has not yet

been replicated or there is an issue. Placing the cursor over the triangle will

display the related error message.

NOTES Blue check next to the server name indicates that the version has been

replicated on the server.

Orange triangle next to the server name indicates that the version has not yet

been replicated or there is an issue. Placing the cursor over the triangle will

display the related error message.

To view the replication status of all versions of a vDisk on each server, right-

click on the vDisk in the Console, then select Replication Status from the

context menu.

Please complete the survey

We value your feedback! Please take a moment to let us know about your self-paced

lab experience by completing a brief survey on the web portal before you logout.



Revision History

Revision Change Description Updated By Date

1.0 Original Version WW Technical Readiness June 2013

About Citrix

Citrix Systems, Inc. designs, develops and markets technology solutions that enable information technology (IT)

services. The Enterprise division and the Online Services division constitute its two segments. Its revenues are

derived from sales of Enterprise division products, which include its Desktop Solutions, Datacenter and Cloud

Solutions, Cloud-based Data Solutions and related technical services and from its Online Services division's Web

collaboration, remote access and support services. It markets and licenses its products directly to enterprise

customers, over the Web, and through systems integrators (Sis) in addition to indirectly through value-added

resellers (VARs), value-added distributors (VADs) and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). In July 2012, the

Company acquired Bytemobile, provider of data and video optimization solutions for mobile network operators.

http://www.citrix.com

© 2013 Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

http://www.citrix.com/

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