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Citrix XenDesktop 7

At Citrix Synergy 2013, Anaheim, CA, May. Citrix announced the availability of Citrix XenDesktop 7, the software is now available for download.

In this article i will cover whats new and how “XenApp” & “XenDesktop” merges into 1 product, XenApp is now using the Architecture XenDesktop was build around, and now Applications/Desktop gets delivered either from a Client operating system (Windows 7 or 8) or a Server operating system (Windows Server 2008R2 or Windows Server 2012)
Read more  “components in XenDesktop 7”

I have been waiting for this release to be available. Now XenApp in XenDesktop have all the cool new features such as deep compression codec “HDX 3D Pro” and higher frame rates, so your virtualized 2D/3D applications can run over strict bandwidth with high latency, before this was possible with XenDesktop HDX 3D Pro now XenApp can deliver the same, and the cool thing is XenApp is included in the delivery mechanism of XenDesktop 7. Merchandising and Provisioning Services are still alive and strong and released in a new software version. AppDNA is now included in the XenDesktop Platinum edition with a limited edition Hosted App P2V Analysis.

Components in XenDesktop 7

If you already have experience with a XenDesktop or XenApp environment, it will be helpful to you to identify the components introduced in this release and learn how they work and communicate with each other. Under the new architecture, XenDesktop and XenApp are unified, including management and delivery components, to give administrators a unified management experience.

This figure shows the key components in a typical deployment.

The core components of this release are:

Director — Director is a web-based tool that enables IT support and help desk teams to monitor an environment, troubleshoot issues before they become system-critical, and perform support tasks for end users. You can also view and interact with a user’s sessions using Microsoft Remote Assistance.

Receiver — Installed on user devices, Citrix Receiver provides users with quick, secure, self-service access to documents, applications, and desktops from any of the user’s devices including smartphones, tablets, and PCs. Receiver provides on-demand access to Windows, Web, and Software as a Service (SaaS) applications.

StoreFront — StoreFront authenticates users to sites hosting resources and manages stores of desktops and applications that users access.

Studio — Studio is the management console that enables you to configure and manage your deployment, eliminating the need for separate management consoles for managing delivery of applications and desktops. Studio provides various wizards to guide you through the process of setting up your environment, creating your workloads to host applications and desktops, and assigning applications and desktops to users.

Delivery Controller — Installed on servers in the data center, the Delivery Controller consists of services that communicate with the hypervisor to distribute applications and desktops, authenticate and manage user access, and broker connections between users and their virtual desktops and applications. The Controller manages the state of the desktops, starting and stopping them based on demand and administrative configuration. In some editions, the Controller allows you to install Profile management to manage user personalization settings in virtualized or physical Windows environments. Each site has one or more Delivery Controllers.

XenServer — XenServer is an enterprise-class virtual machine infrastructure solution that creates the foundation for delivering virtual desktops and offers advanced management features. Multiple VMs can run on XenServer, which takes advantage of the advanced virtualization features of the latest virtualization-enabled processors from Intel and AMD. For more information about XenServer, see the XenServer documentation in eDocs.

Virtual Delivery Agent (VDA) — Installed on server or workstation operating systems, the VDA enables connections for desktops and apps. For Remote PC Access, install the VDA on the office PC.

Machine Creation Services (MCS) — A collection of services that work together to create virtual servers and desktops from a master image on demand, optimizing storage utilization and providing a pristine virtual machine to users every time they log on. Machine Creation Services is fully integrated and administrated in Citrix Studio.

Windows Server OS machines — VMs or physical machines based on Windows Server operating system used for delivering applications or hosted shared desktops to users.

Desktop OS machines — VMs or physical machines based on Windows Desktop operating system used for delivering personalized desktops to users, or applications from desktop operating systems.

Remote PC Access — User devices that are included on a whitelist, enabling users to access resources on their office PCs remotely, from any device running Citrix Receiver.

Additional components provide the following features:

Secure delivery — When users connect from outside the corporate firewall, this release can use Citrix NetScaler Gateway (formerly Access Gateway) technology to secure these connections with SSL. NetScaler Gateway or NetScaler VPX virtual appliance is an SSL VPN appliance that is deployed in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) to provide a single secure point of access through the corporate firewall.

WAN optimization — In deployments where virtual desktops are delivered to users at remote locations such as branch offices, Citrix CloudBridge (formerly Citrix Branch Repeater or WANScaler) technology can be employed to optimize performance. Repeaters accelerate performance across wide-area networks, so with Repeaters in the network, users in the branch office experience LAN-like performance over the WAN. CloudBridge can prioritize different parts of the user experience so that, for example, the user experience does not degrade in the branch location when a large file or print job is sent over the network. HDX WAN Optimization with CloudBridge provides tokenized compression and data deduplication, dramatically reducing bandwidth requirements and improving performance. For more information, see the Citrix CloudBridge documentation.

License versions available in XenDesktop 7

The version comes in Evaluation, VDI edition, App Edition, Enterprise Edition and Platinum Edition.

In this topic i will cover which software editions you can download, and which software components are included you can use for each XenDesktop edition.

XenDesktop 7 – Evaluation Edition

Citrix XenDesktop evaluation edition have 99 licenses included and works for 90 days.
This release includes the core components Citrix XenDesktop 7 Core and Components + Receiver + XenServer

XenDesktop 7 – VDI Edition

This release includes the core components Citrix XenDesktop 7 Core and Components + Receiver + Provisioning Services 7 + XenServer + Merchandising Server

XenDesktop 7 – App Edition

This release includes the core components Citrix XenDesktop 7 Core and Components + Receiver + Provisioning Services 7 + XenServer + Merchandising Server

XenDesktop 7 – Enterprise Edition

This release includes the core components Citrix XenDesktop 7 Core and Components + Receiver + XenClient Enterprise + Provisioning Services 7 + XenServer + Merchandising Server

XenDesktop 7 – Platinum Edition

This release includes the core components Citrix XenDesktop 7 Core and Components + Receiver + Hosted App P2V Analysis (AppDNA) + CloudBridge (Branch Repeater) VPX + XenClient Enterprise + Provisioning Services 7 + XenServer + Merchandising Server

What’s new in XenDesktop 7

  • Machine Catalog Desktops and Applications
    • Desktops — Deliver managed desktops to multiple, simultaneously connected remote users. Server OS machine and Desktop OS machine desktops provide features such as SmoothRoaming, session reliability, license consumption, Receiver and Delivery Services authentication, and Desktop Viewer. This release introduces Windows Server OS machine catalogs and desktops as a cost-effective virtualization delivery solution because they provide a significant number of remote users per server and storage resource. This release also provides Remote PC desktops that let users access resources on their office PCs remotely, from any device running Citrix Receiver.
    • Applications — Integrate XenApp publishing capabilities within a deployment. Use this feature to deliver shared hosted applications to multiple, simultaneously-connected remote users.
  • HDX enhancements
    • Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8 support — Deliver a high-definition user experience on Windows 8 virtual desktops and physical machines. HDX 3D Pro has also been upgraded to support Windows 8.
    • Desktop Composition Redirection — Extend the Aero Redirection feature introduced in XenDesktop 5.5 to provide users with a more fluid Windows 7 Aero or Windows 8 desktop experience by leveraging the graphics processing unit (GPU) or integrated graphics processor (IGP) on supported Windows user devices for local DirectX graphics rendering. This feature delivers rich multimedia applications to user devices, while maintaining high scalability on the server.
    • Windows Media client-side content fetching — Enable a user device to stream multimedia files directly from the source provider on the Internet or Intranet to improve network utilization and server scalability.
    • Multicast support — Reduce bandwidth consumption when streaming live video to branch offices. Multicast support enables a single Windows Media source transmission to support multiple users.
    • Real-time multimedia transcoding — Enable audio and video streaming to mobile devices, improving the way that Windows Media content is delivered. Host-based transcoding provides a seamless user experience, even in extreme network conditions. To improve server scalability, if the Virtual Delivery Agent (VDA) has a supported graphics processing unit (GPU) for hardware acceleration, transcoding is done in the GPU.
    • User Datagram Protocol (UDP) audio for Server OS machines — Extend support for audio delivery over UDP/RTP to Server OS machines. This feature delivers superior audio quality for real-time applications like video conferencing and streaming media, even in environments when there is packet loss or congestion.
    • Webcam video compression — Reduce bandwidth consumption to improve performance when using supported video conferencing applications.
    • HDX 3D Pro — Deliver applications with graphics processing units (GPUs) for hardware acceleration to the desktop. This includes 3D professional graphics applications based on OpenGL and DirectX.
    • Server-rendered Rich Graphics and Video — Deliver rich graphics (including Windows 8 or Windows Aero) to virtual desktop users on any client, platform, and bandwidth condition by rendering the content on the server. When users have the latest Citrix Receiver, they will also notice improved performance for server-rendered video.
    • Improved Flash Redirection — Determine when to redirect Adobe Flash content to the user device for local rendering based on the user’s network type and environment. Flash Redirection helps reduce server and network load, resulting in greater scalability while ensuring a high-definition user experience.
  • New installer — Use a single, streamlined installer to guide you through installing the core components (Delivery Controller, Studio, Director, StoreFront, and License Server) and VDAs.
  • Profile management — By default, Citrix Profile management 5.0 is installed silently on master images when you install the Virtual Delivery Agent, but you do not have to use Profile management as a profile solution.
  • Configuration Logging — Capture Site configuration changes and administrative activities to a Configuration Logging Database. You can view the log in Studio using a variety of filters and generate HTML and CSV reports.
  • Director — Monitor and troubleshoot deployments using Director’s redesigned user interface with integrated EdgeSight features:
    • A new help desk view offers an improved troubleshooting experience for help desk administrators, allowing user, machine, and application issues to be resolved quickly.
    • Full administrators have access to other views, including a newly designed Dashboard to provide a graphical summary of your deployment in a central location, and a Trends page to provide improved, in-depth, graphical monitoring and troubleshooting of the entire deployment with various time ranges.
    • EdgeSight performance management provides the historical retention and trend reporting. With historical retention of data versus the real-time assessment, administrators are able to create Trend reports, including capacity and health trending.
    • EdgeSight network analysis leverages HDX Insight to provide an application and desktop contextual view of the network. With this feature, Director provides advanced analytics of ICA traffic in their XenDesktop deployment.
  • Delegated Administration — Group objects into administrative scopes. This feature provides an enterprise-class administration model with role-based access control, custom roles with configurable permissions, and fine-grained, object-based control.
  • StoreFront replaces Web Interface — Create centralized enterprise stores to deliver desktops, applications, and other resources to users on any device. This feature provides authentication and resource delivery services for Citrix Receiver.
  • Delivery Controller auto-update — Automatically notify Virtual Delivery Agents (VDAs) when Controllers are added to and removed from the Site. This feature helps prevent VDA rejection of sessions that are launched by unknown Controllers, and VDA startup delays or errors caused by invalid Controller information. For information about how to preserve the CNAME functionality, see CTX137960.
  • Client Folder Redirection — Change the way client-side files are accessible on the host-side session. When you enable only client drive mapping on the server, client-side full volumes are automatically mapped to host drive letters. When you enable client folder redirection on the server and then the user configures it on the user device, only the portion of the local volume that is specified by the user is redirected.
  • Improved Virtual Desktop Access Control Settings – Control user access to both Server OS Machines and Desktop OS Machines in a simple and unified way with a new, streamlined group of security settings.
  • Improved and integrated error reporting — Studio error reporting links directly to the Citrix Support website. When users encounter an error situation, choosing the Get Advice option submits information about the error to the Citrix website. The information is analyzed and the user is redirected to a Website containing remedial advice.
  • StoreFront enhancements
    • Desktop Appliance sites — Access Desktop Appliance sites through a website on the StoreFront store. The site is created automatically when a store is created. If, for example, the store has a path of path/Citrix/Store, the Desktop Appliance site path ispath/Citrix/StoreDesktopAppliance. Users can restart their virtual machine-hosted desktops on Desktop Appliance sites.
    • Database as a service — Write user subscription data for each store to the local disk on the StoreFront server by using the new subscription store service. The data is then propagated across the server group.
  • IPv6 support — Connect to clients and core components on IPv4, IPv6, or dual-stack (IPv4/IPv6) environments.
  • Personal vDisk — Personalize your virtual desktops. In addition, a dedicated storage disk is created, before logon, so that users can store their data on the desktop, including any applications they install.
  • Machine Creation Services (MCS) support for Microsoft Key Management System (KMS) activation — Each virtual machine (VM) created with MCS provides a unique activation for the Windows operating system and Office 2010, which enables the KMS system to record each VM as a separate machine.
  • Support for group policies configured in Citrix Mobility Pack — These policies for Citrix Receiver for mobile devices include Start menu redirection and removing common programs from the Start menu. For details, see Configure policies for mobility features.
  • Multi-touch support — Touch functionality is supported on multi-touch computers, including Microsoft Windows 7 and Windows 8 workstations and Windows Server 2012 for VDAs.
  • Remote PC Access — Automated administration of Remote PC Access is fully integrated into the core functionality of the XenDesktop Delivery Controller and Studio. One Remote PC machine catalog and one Remote PC Delivery Group are created automatically when you set up a Remote PC deployment; you can add more machine catalogs or Delivery Groups later using Studio. This process replaces the XML configuration file and PowerShell scripts used by Remote PC Access in XenDesktop 5.6 FP1. The current release also adds the ability to remotely access office PCs running Windows 8.
  • Support for Fast User Switching using RDP connections — This Microsoft Windows feature makes it possible for multiple users to share a desktop without closing programs or logging off existing users. Administrators can take advantage of this feature to troubleshoot problems and install updates, without interrupting tasks or programs in use by the logged on user, by initiating an RDP connection to the VDA.
  • Compatibility with AhnLab keyboard encryption used in Korea — This release is compatible with keyboard encryption that is installed on Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) hosts.

Supported hypervisor

  • XenServer.
    • XenServer 6.2
    • XenServer 6.1
    • XenServer 6.0.2
  • VMware vSphere. No support is provided for vSphere vCenter Linked Mode operation.
    • VMware vSphere 5.1 Update 1
    • VMware vSphere 5.0 Update 2
  • System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012 and System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012 SP1, plus any version of Hyper-V that can register with those System Center Virtual Machine Manager versions.

Source

Download Citrix XenDesktop 7 here (require MyCitrix ID)

Admin Guide for Citrix XenDesktop 7

Install Guide for Citrix XenDesktop 7

Citrix Project Thor Tech Preview 2

Citrix have released a new version of Project Thor Technical Preview 2.

There is lots of new improvement, lets dig in.

 

Whats new in Project Thor Tech Preview 2

  • Support for the new App-V 5 DT.
  • Numerous Tech Preview 1 customer issues (and “customer experience” issues) addressed.
  • Numerous visual supportability improvements to “hand-hold” the administrator through the initial configuration steps to make the first-use experience simple and delightful.
  • Highly simplified XenApp publishing experience for MSI DT based apps.
  • Full Command Line/Silent install support of the Connector.
  • High-availability built in.
  • Fully supports SCCM 2012 SP1.
  • Fully supports Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8.

What is Project Thor

Project Thor Technical Preview (XenApp Connector) extends the deployment capabilities of Microsoft System Center 2012 Configuration Manager (Configuration Manager), delivering any application, to any user, on virtually any device.

XenApp Connector integration with Configuration Manager provides administrators with a single infrastructure and tool to manage all enterprise applications including on-demand XenApp applications. Use XenApp Connector with Configuration Manager to:

  • Deploy to XenApp servers, farms, and worker groups:
    • MSI-based applications
    • App-V sequences subsequently made available to users as XenApp published applications
    • XenApp published applications (using the XenApp deployment type that XenApp Connector adds to Configuration Manager, seamlessly extending the console)
  • Extend Configuration Manager’s rules-based delivery mechanism to choose the most appropriate deployment type based on the user’s environment.For example, an application might be best delivered as an MSI (installed locally) on a user’s primary device, but deployed virtually using the new XenApp deployment type to enable the same user to access the application from a non-Windows device such as an iPad.
  • Control how users access applications:
    • Configuration Manager Application Catalog
    • Citrix Receiver
    • Citrix Receiver for Web site or Citrix XenApp services site
  • Coordinate updates to XenApp vDisk imagesXenApp Connector fully integrates with Citrix Provisioning Services, allowing you to publish applications that are deployed to a base vDisk for a XenApp image.
  • Maintain high availabilityXenApp Connector uses the optional XenApp Power and Capacity Management Concentrator to manage the power states and load consolidation of XenApp servers when installing Configuration Manager applications or Windows Software Update Management (SUM) updates, with minimal disruption to user sessions.

Components

The XenApp Connector for Configuration Manager 2012 consists of the following components:

  • XenApp Connector service
  • Configuration Manager console extension
  • XenApp Agent service
  • XenApp deployment type handler

The XenApp Connector interacts with these related components:

  • XenApp Group Policies
  • Provisioning Services (PVS) Agent
  • Power and Capacity Management (PCM) Concentrator and Agent
  • Citrix Receiver, Receiver for Web sites, and XenApp services sites

XenApp Connector architectural diagram

XenApp Connector Service

XenApp Connector service is the bridge between a XenApp farm and Configuration Manager and performs the following tasks:

  • Application publishingThe XenApp Connector service manages the association between XenApp servers, applications, and users by creating a published application in XenApp that end users can then install from the Application Catalog and access with Citrix Receiver.The XenApp Connector publishing task processes publishing items that are linked to a XenApp deployment type. Items published to a XenApp device collection appear under the Applications\ConfigMgr12 folder in the XenApp AppCenter console.By default, the Publishing task runs every hour. Use the XenApp Connector Configuration wizard to change the publishing interval. Use the Start menu shortcut (Run Publishing Task) to manually run the task.
  • Synchronization of farm and worker group device collectionsThe XenApp Connector service processes all worker groups in a XenApp farm (and all farms, in multi-farm environments) and creates or updates the corresponding device collections in Configuration Manager. By default, this task runs every 24 hours. Use the XenApp Connector Configuration wizard to change the synchronization interval and the maintenance schedule. Use the Start menu shortcut (Run Synchronization Task) to manually run the task.
  • Software OrchestrationXenApp Connector determines which application deployments are pending for the XenApp workers in the deployment device collection, and then uses the Power and Capacity Management feature to start draining users off the targeted servers.

Configuration Manager Console Extension

The Configuration Manager console extension enables the Configuration Manager console to work seamlessly with XenApp. Installing the console extension adds these items to the Configuration Manager console:

  • A Citrix XenApp Farms node under Assets and Compliance > Device Collections. After synchronizing data from a XenApp farm, XenApp Connector updates the Citrix XenApp Farms node with all XenApp farms, servers, and worker groups.
    • Device Collections > Citrix XenApp Farms > farms
    • Device Collections > Citrix XenApp Farms > farms > Worker Groups > groups
  • A XenApp Publications folder under Software Library > Application Management. Items in this folder are published to XenApp.
  • A Citrix XenApp Client Settings item in Administration > Client Settings, with a Computer Agent setting, Agent extensions manage the deployment of applications and software updates, enabled. That setting enables the Configuration Manager idle policy feature.
  • A Citrix XenApp entry in the Type drop-down menu in all Configuration Manager console pages where deployment types are selected, such as in the Create Deployment Type wizard.

XenApp Agent Service

The XenApp Agent service runs on each server in a XenApp farm. It coordinates application and software installation and updates, through integration with the following components:

  • The XenApp Power and Capacity Management feature. See the PCM Agent and PCM Connector component descriptions in this section for more information.
  • Citrix Provisioning Services. See the PVS Agent component description for more information.
  • The XenApp Agent service can work with the Configuration Manager idle policy feature to defer software installs, allowing the XenApp Agent service to trigger the installation of applications and software updates.

The XenApp Agent service runs at the next known maintenance window or at other times when users need to be notified in advance, such as when a forced logoff is pending.

XenApp Deployment Type Handler

The XenApp deployment type handler detects and manages publications associated with an application configured with a XenApp deployment type. The handler communicates with Receiver and the Self-Service Plug-in, enabling managed devices to subscribe to published applications that are installed by the user through the Application Catalog or that are pushed as a mandatory deployment.

XenApp Group Policies

Computer group policies configure how the XenApp Agent service handles items such as advanced warning messages, forced logoff messages, XenApp Agent service maintenance frequency, and Provisioning Services integration. For more information, see Managing XenApp Connector for Configuration Manager 2012.

Provisioning Services (PVS) Agent

The XenApp Agent service running on a production XenApp vDisk image detects when a new vDisk image is available and delivers the new image after Power and Capacity Management drains the server of user sessions. The PVS agent is required only for shared images and must be installed on the master XenApp image.

Power and Capacity Management (PCM) Concentrator and Agent

For XenApp servers managed by the optional Power and Capacity Management feature:

  • XenApp Connector uses the PCM Concentrator to coordinate the power states and load consolidation of farm servers when installing applications. The PCM Concentrator monitors and manages the XenApp servers in the PCM farm and interacts with the PCM Agent running on each XenApp server to get and set the PCM tier and PCM control mode.
  • The PCM Agent registers host XenApp servers with the PCM Concentrator and acts on requests issued by the PCM Concentrator.

Citrix Receiver for Windows, Receiver for Web sites, and XenApp services sites

After a user subscribes to XenApp deployment type applications using the Configuration Manager Application Catalog, icons for those applications appear in the user’s Start menu, on the Receiver for Windows home page (if Receiver is configured with StoreFront), and on Receiver for Web and XenApp services sites. When the user clicks the icon for a subscribed application, Receiver launches the application.

Note: Receiver for Web and XenApp services sites provide browser-based application access to users accessing applications from managed or unmanaged devices (mobile devices and Macs).

Source

 

Download Citrix Project Thor Tech Preview 2 here (Require MyCitrix ID)

 

Citrix Provisioning Services 6.1

Citrix have released to web a new version of Citrix Provisioning Services 6.1. The new version supports Personal vDisk and Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2012 and Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012 and finally official support for VmWare vSphere 5.

Citrix Provisioning Services™ uses streaming technology to dynamically deliver server workloads and desktop images on demand to any physical or virtual machine, reducing IT capital and operational costs while increasing business agility.

Provisioning Services 6.1 is a companion release to XenDesktop 5.6 and adds the following new features:

  • Personal vDisk Support: In XenDesktop environments this capability allows user data and desktop configuration changes to be saved between sessions while still giving IT the storage optimization benefits of Provisioning Services Standard Image Mode provisioning.
  • Microsoft System Center 2012 Support: The XenDesktop Setup Wizard, Streamed VM Setup Wizard, and the Image Update feature have been updated to support Microsoft System Center 2012 Configuration Manager and Virtual Machine Manager.

What’s New in Citrix Provisioning Services 6.1:

  • Support for Personal vDisks — Citrix XenDesktop with personal vDisk technology is a high-performance enterprise desktop virtualization solution that makes VDI accessible to workers who require personalized desktops using pooled-static virtual machines. Target devices that use personal vDisks are created using the Citrix XenDesktop Setup Wizard. Within a Provisioning Services farm, the wizard creates and adds target devices with personal vDisks to an existing site’s collection and assigns an existing shared-mode vDisk to that device. The wizard also creates XenDesktop virtual machines to associate with each device. A new type of catalog exists in Citrix Desktop Studio that allows you to preserve the assignment of users to desktops; the same users are assigned the same desktop for later sessions. In addition, a dedicated storage disk is created (before logon) for each user so they can store all personalization’s to that desktop. Personalizations include any changes to the vDisk image or desktop that are not made as a result of an image update, such as application settings, adds, deletes, modifications, documents, etc.
  •  Support for Microsoft System Center 2012 Configuration Manager (SCCM) – The vDisk Update Management feature now supports SCCM 2012 environments.
  •  Support for Microsoft System Center 2012 Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) – The XenDesktop Setup Wizard and Streamed VM Setup Wizard now support SCVMM 2012 for Hyper-V environments.
  • Provisioning Services support for KMS licensing no longer requires local administrator privileges. Provisioning Services SoapServer KMS licensing now requires the same VHD mount privileges as Microsoft Windows (SE_MANAGE_VOLUME_PRIVILEGE, which is included in Administrators group by default).
    Note: If upgrading from a past release, be sure to reset the privileges accordingly.
  • Hypervisor support for ESX 5.0.

Source

Download Citrix Provisioning Services 6.1 here (Require MyCitrix ID)

XenDesktop 5.5 Hyper-V Proof of Concept Guide

Introduction

A successful XenDesktop 5.5 Proof-of-Concept (PoC) begins with simple preparation. Although XenDesktop supports many different technologies and provides support for desktop, server, and application virtualization, this document focuses on a deployment of XenDesktop 5.5 using Microsoft’s Windows 2008 R2 SP1 with Hyper-V code base for delivering hosted virtual desktops. Hosted VDI virtual desktops demonstrate the brokering technology and the benefit of the HDX protocol. This level can be used to quickly compare the end-user experience and allow basic desktop remoting. This approach is good to validate user requirements with the technology. The PoC environment is expected to be isolated from the production environment, although the production Active Directory domain could be used to contain the computer and user accounts for testing. Preparation for the PoC will include hardware, operating systems, Active Directory accounts, and software licensing.

Windows 7, Server 2008R2, and SCVMM Service Pack 1  Support

Citrix XenDestop5 SP1 and now 5.5 support the use of the Windows 7 client and Windows Server 2008R2 SP1. Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 provides major new features for VDI focusing around key areas such as Dynamic Memory for Hyper-V (see Microsoft Deployment Guide for Dynamic Memory), RemoteFX for assigning virtual GPU’s to XenDesktop Windows 7 virtual machines(see Microsoft Deployment Guide For RemoteFX), and System enter Virtual Machine Manager SP1 for managing VM’s with Dynamic Memory and RemoteFX GPU’s assigned to them (see Migrating to SCVMM 2008R2 SP1). More information about enabling RemoteFX for XenDesktop can be found here. XenDesktop 5 SP1 and 5.5 Quick Deploy support the use of Dynamic Memory configuration and RemoteFX adapters in the master Windows 7 SP1 image. This enables the administrator to create specific feature enabled desktops instantly from a VM template master image using the Quick Deploy Wizard. These new VM guest features should be enabled via the SCVMM 20008R2 SP1 administrative console on the master image prior to using Quick Deploy. Virtual machines currently running as a guest operating system already have the R2 integration services enabled by default. These existing virtual machines will run normally with the host upgraded to SP1. The newer features such as Dynamic Memory and RemoteFX, do require the SP1 version of integrations services applied to those existing virtual machines to take advantage of newer updates and enhancements. For more information on this see http://technet.microsoft.com/enus/library/cc732470(WS.10).aspx

Read the entire whitepaper, you can find it under Sources in this article. Enjoy /Poppelgaard.

Sources

Download Whitepaper – XenDesktop 5.5 Hyper-V Proof of Concept Guide here

Turning wow into how for Desktop virtualization

Tony Sanchez from Citrix and Michael Kleef (Microsoft) and Patrick Jaspers (Microsoft) have made this great presentation, where you get a technical deep dive into following technologies:

  • Microosft Windows Server 2008R2 SP1 Dynamic Memory
  • Citrix XenDesktop 5
  • Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager
  • Microsoft System Center 2007 R2
  • Lync 2010

You will see how easy it is to deploy VDI with XenDesktop 5 in a Hyper-V environment in this session. Great Video.

See the session here