Application delivery and virtualization news
Citrix
Transitioning to XenApp 6–Upgrade or Migrate?
18 mar
Citrix announced XenApp 6 this past week, and it will be publicly available in a few days. Once you’ve absorbed the new feature set, you may wonder, “How should I transition to this new XenApp version?”
XenApp 6 is based on Windows Server 2008 R2. As with past XenApp releases, Citrix doesn’t support upgrading the OS and then upgrading XenApp. Because Windows Server 2008 R2 is based on x64, this platform change means a bit more than just 32-bit vs. 64-bit applications.
Core XenApp 6 requires migration to a new farm. To be clear, this means a new data store and a new farm installation. I can already see the yellow flags . . . but hold on. Citrix will be releasing a Migration Tool to enable administrators to export setting from the old farm and import them into the new farm. More to come on that within a few weeks.
The peripheral components and features of XenApp 6 can either be upgraded or migrated. Some have new functionality that may affect how you will transition—for example, SmartAuditor now includes an agent for XenApp 6 on Windows Server 2008 R2 and support for SQL Server 2008—and others are simple upgrades—such as the new Citrix License Server 11.6.1 Build 10007.
XenApp 6 is here!
15 mar
Citrix has announced XenApp 6!
XenApp 6 has the following new features and enhancements:
Citrix Receiver
The new Citrix Receiver for Windows supports eight languages with expanded support for plug-ins including Single sign-on, WAN acceleration, App-V and EasyCall. There is a new Dazzle-enabled Receiver for Mac. And for mobile devices, users can use Receiver on iPhone, Android or Windows Mobile to access applications hosted on XenApp 6
Dazzle
End users now have the freedom to subscribe to XenApp applications (including App-V packages) using Dazzle on their PC or Mac
HDX
Collaboration via Microsoft OCS Video conferencing. This HDX RealTime feature enables customers to host Microsoft Office Communicator on XenApp servers to enable end users to use their web cams for video conferencing. The solution even works for WAN connections and we have seen good results for connections with 200ms latency!
Enhanced audio through new audio codec technology. With the new “Optimized for speech” codec, HDX RealTime delivers clear audio quality to softphone and voice chat users with very modest bandwidth consumption (less than 20 Kbps). Any server rendered video will also benefit from the new “High definition” codec which provides CD quality audio using 90% less bandwidth
Enhancements for delivery of VoIP soft phones. Customers can deploy softphones (Avaya, etc.) on XenApp servers where the voice traffic can leverage the new HDX audio codecs and new client-side features like echo cancellation
True Multi-monitor support. The new solution expands our current Multi-monitor support by improving application compatibility when using Multiple monitors with better performance and quality
Support for Windows Portable USB Devices. This feature enables end users to plug in their USB devices (cameras, scanners, point of sale devices etc.) and seamlessly access them from their hosted XenApp 6 desktops and apps
AppCenter (Management)
Single management console. Administrators can now use a single management console to administer their entire XenApp farm. The management console has been completely redesigned for simplicity and performance
Active Directory Group Policy integration. XenApp policies and server/farm settings have now been added to Active Directory group policies enabling administrators to manage XenApp policies using their AD infrastructure. This simplifies customer environments and enables administrators to leverage all the Group Policy features when administering Citrix policies. For more details check out Juliano’s blog series
Publish applications and load balance across worker groups. Administrators can now create “Worker groups” with one or more servers and publish applications and create load balancing policies across these worker groups. This simplifies application workload/silo management and ensures that all the servers in a worker group have the same applications and policies, thus eliminating ‘configuration drift’
Simplified install. We have completely redesigned the install from ground up to make it simple, fast and intuitive. You can now install XenApp Platinum with all its features in a few clicks. Also, by separating the install from configuration we simplified XenApp deployments using Provisioning services or other image management solutions
Enhanced scalability and performance. Compared to XenApp 5, you will see about 15-20% more users increasing single server scalability and hence reducing the TCO of XenApp delivered applications and desktops
PowerShell SDK. Administrators can now use the power of PowerShell to automate XenApp management tasks. We have completely rebuilt the XenApp SDK using PowerShell
Windows service isolation for streamed applications. Applications like Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office 2010 (which is in Beta) install a windows service and can now be profiled and streamed using the new service isolation technology
Microsoft App-V support. Customers can now distribute App-V plug-in to end point devices using Citrix Receiver, publish App-V packages using XenApp and let their end users subscribe to App-V packaged applications using Dazzle
New Citrix license usage and trending reports. Customers can now obtain rich reports on Citrix license usage and trends. We integrated our license reports into EdgeSight and are making these reports available to all XenApp edition customers
Multi-lingual User Interface. XenApp now supports MUI enabling customers to deploy one XenApp server to serve a diverse group of user population who need access to their applications in their local language
In addition to these major features and enhancements, XenApp 6 is packed with other features like 32-bit color support, Graphics acceleration for WPF applications, Windows 7 smart card support, Web Interface, Single sign-on and SmartAuditor enhancements, etc. And we will release XenApp 6 to web on March 24th.
Choosing a Thin Client OS for XenDesktop
2 mar
Choosing a thin client OS for your desktop virtualization deployment can be tricky. Windows embedded thin clients offer the latest features, but they cost more and have additional security implications and maintenance compared to Linux based thin clients. Wyse ThinOS clients are often easier to secure and manage than Linux clients, but often lag in features. This has changed with the use of the Wyse TCX software, but because of the “thin” nature of ThinOS a few key features are not possible. Let’s take a look at the latest features available when using the latest Citrix clients.
| Feature | Windows XPe |
Linux | Wyse ThinOS with TCX | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Redirection | Yes | No | No | Wyse ThinOS with TCX supports flash acceleration which is not as desirable as flash redirection. |
| Multimedia Redirection | Yes | Yes | Yes | All clients support multimedia redirection for video codecs such as wmv, mpeg and avi. |
| USB Remoting | Yes | Yes | Yes | All clients support isochronous USB remoting such as Webcams and offer USB PDA sycronization. Wyse ThinOS utilizes the TCX software. |
| VOIP – Optimized Speech codec | Yes | Yes | No | XPe and Linux client support the new Citrix speech codec. Wyse ThinOS uses TCX Rich Sound which is less desirable. |
| WAN - Branch Repeater Client | Yes | No | No | Only XPe clients support the Branch Repeater Client, but the Linux client supports HDX IntelliCache WAN Optimization. Wyse has a Virtual Desktop Accelerator for software WAN acceleration. |
| HDX 3D Graphics | Yes | Yes | No | The Linux client does not support decoding of GPU-compressed data streams. |
Common features across the thin client operating systems include support for multiple monitors, bi-directional audio, USB flash drives and web browser acceleration. Many of the Wyse TCX features work out of band which means they will not work with Citrix Secure Gateway or a Citrix Access Gateway running in Secure Gateway mode.
For more information you can read this white paper on selecting thin clients for XenDesktop 4.
You can also check out this Wyse software pdf file on Wyse TCX and other Wyse software.
XenDesktop Modular Reference Architecture
9 feb
Citrix published a new architecture blueprint for its VDI platform XenDesktop.
The 38-pages document provides guidance to design scalable virtual desktop infrastructures based on Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and SQL Server 2005, Citrix Provisioning Server 5.1 and of course XenDesktop 4.0 (which includes the hypervisor and XenApp 5).
For more information, go to http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX124087
Deciding Between Blades and Rack Servers for XenDesktop Environments
3 feb
There are several pros and cons when choosing between blade or rack servers related to power consumption, consolidated networking, manageability and cost. These comparisons are readily available over the Internet, but what makes one preferable to the other in a XenDesktop deployment? Let’s take a look at a few of the differences.
Higher Density XenServer Resource Pools
Rack servers offer more quad-socket models compared to blades and also offer greater memory capacity and the latest processors. This translates into higher VM density per server which is important because the size of a XenServer resource pool is limited by the number of XenServer hosts and not by the number of VMs. So by using quad-socket rack servers you can have a greater number of virtual desktop VMs per XenServer resource pool. In a large XenDesktop environment this means fewer resource pools to manage.
Advantage: Rack Servers
Isolated OS Streaming Traffic
Streaming the OS from the PVS host to the virtual desktop VMs can take significant network bandwidth especially when the virtual desktops are booting. This OS streaming traffic can be isolated per blade chassis. Each VM server would use the PVS host located in the same blade chassis but could failover to alternate PVS hosts in another chassis if needed. Setting up an isolated network with rack servers is possible but is much more complex.
Advantage: Blades
Lower Storage Costs
Each virtual desktop VM needs a cache to temporarily store the “writes” while streaming a PVS standard image. Depending on your environment this could require 1GB to 5GB or more of storage per virtual desktop VM but could also be used for storing EdgeSight user performance data or any persistent data such as anti-virus definition files. Fast RAID storage options with local hard disks are possible with rack servers which is important because local storage is much less expensive than SAN storage even when using thin provisioning on the SAN. Having this write back cache located on the same server will usually be easier to configure rather than putting all the write back caches on the SAN. One downside is that dynamic load balancing of the running virtual desktop VMs is not available since the storage for the virtual desktops are local to the VM server.
Advantage: Rack Servers
Summary
In conclusion both choices offer benefits in a XenDesktop environment. I personally prefer rack servers because of their ability to use several local hard disks. Keep in mind that your choices for network switches and network storage could significantly swing your decision one way or the other.
Gourami releases another innovative new free tool called Farm Commander
16 gen
Farm Commander enables system administrators to execute file manipulations on several servers at once. This will save system administrators a lot of time. Copy a file to or from 100 servers can be done with one click.
From a Citrix XenApp point of view, Farm Commander can be started using two options:
-list all XenApp servers
-list XenApp servers associated with specific Published Applications.
The last one is useful when updating files for a specific application.
Farm Commander also allows you to search the event viewer for several servers at once. Remotely execute commands, list the uptime for servers, and manage them (computer management). Farm Commander also has Active Directory support.
Farm Commander is free, you only need to register. http://gourami.eu/products/farm-commander
Shared Storage for small XenServer Pools
16 gen
Introduction
How to create a pool of 2 (or so) XenServers without having to spend thousands of pounds on shared storage?
The simplistic answer is that you don’t need any shared storage in order to create a XenServer Pool, but without it you have export and re-import VMs if you want to “load balance” your XenServers. Of course, the export/import approach is slow, and this is usually the problem that people are trying to solve.
Possible solutions
The “correct way”
Use an Equalogic, NetApp or similar appliance.
In my view this is an “enterprise class” solution is outside the scope of this document.
However, you should use something like this if a) you plan to run a production work load, b) any disk, data or VM loss would be expensive, c) you plan to do any performance measurement.
Advantages
- Optimum performance with resilience to disk failure.
- Supported by XenSource, and by hardware manufacturer.
- This is usually the best solution in the long run.
Disadvantage
- Initial cost.
OpenFiler “loopback” VM
The idea here is that you install a pre-built OpenFiler appliance VM on some local/un-shared storage on one of your XenServers. As well as a system disk, the OpenFiler VM has an large additional disk that will be used to provide the shared storage. The OpenFiler appliance then shares its large disk using NFS, and the XenServer uses this share to create an NFS based Storage Repository that can be shared.
This approach is fully described in “XenServer_Demo_and_Evaluation_Setup_Guide_v5.5.1″ (CTX118735).
Advantages
- Other than disk space this is almost a no-cost solution.
- It is well documented in CTX118735.
- XenSource make extensive use of OpenFiler servers when testing XenServer.
Disadvantages -
- This solution is probably the least resilient to failures.
- Not fast.
- XenSource do not believe that OpenFiler would handle any significant stress .
- The OpenFiler VM must be running before any other VMs can start, and in some cases it may be necessary to “repair” the shared SR before other VMs can start.
OpenFiler on a re-purposed PC
This is very similar to the OpenFiler “Loopback” VM (above), but in this case OpenFiler is installed on a physical device such as an old PC or server.
Download Openfiler from http://www.openfiler.com/ and install it on an old PC or server. OpenFiler can then be used to host an NFS server that is suitable use with XenServer.
The installation process is described at http://www.openfiler.com/learn/how-to/graphical-installation, is generally quite straightforward, and should not scare those who fear LINUX.
Configuration of OpenFiler for use with XenServers is probably best described in “XenServer_Demo_and_Evaluation_Setup_Guide_v5.5.1″ (CTX118735).
The cost of SATA disks often makes it worth installing a SATA disk controller card if new or additional disk space is required.
System 3 are currently testing a Dell 380 to host 300Gb of shared storage for a pool of 2 Dell 380 XenServers. No performance data has been taken but the solution has been seen to work.
Advantages
- It’s easy to set up.
- A repurposed server, or the inclusion of a RAID card could offer better speed and resilience when compared with an OpenFiler “loopback” VM.
- XenSource make extensive use of OpenFiler servers for testing XenServer.
- Less demanding on older hardware
Disadvantages
- XenSource do not believe that OpenFiler would handle any significant stress.
- Old hardware may not be reliable or supportable.
FreeNAS
In many ways FreeNAS is similar to OpenFiler in that it is a cut down version of UNIX that has been configured for maximum NAS (Network Attached Storage) performance, and minimum exposure to UNIX.
One respondent who has tried FreeNAS said “… its setup can be completed in 10-15 minutes …. OS footprint is just 64MB, and boot to OS is just a less than 20sec process. The maintenance is almost zero.”
Advantages
- It’s easy to set up.
- Less demanding on older hardware.
Disadvantages
- Old hardware may not be reliable or supportable.
LINUX on a re-purposed PC
Instead of installing OpenFiler on a re-purposed PC, most people who responded to my request for information used Linux to serve NFS; Ubuntu was the most popular distribution.
Installing Ubuntu is described https://help.ubuntu.com/9.04/installation-guide/i386/index.htmlandhttps://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation
Installation of NFS on Ubuntu is described herehttps://help.ubuntu.com/community/SettingUpNFSHowTo#Minimalistic%20NFS%20Set%20Up
The cost of SATA disks often makes it worth installing a SATA disk controller card if new or additional disk space is required.
Linux distributions that have been seen to work.
- Ubuntu with an EXT4 filesystem, serving NFS.
- Susie with a Razor filesystem, serving NFS.
- Fedora with an XFS filesystem, serving NFS.
- In System 3 we use an old Fedora 6 NFS server to provide shared storage to some of our XenServers, and iSCSI for VMware Virtual Infrastructure.
Advantages
- A repurposed server, or the inclusion of a RAID card could offer better speed and resilience when compared with an OpenFiler “loopback” VM.
- Of those who responded to my request for information, this was the most popular solution.
- Depending on your hardware, this maybe the fastest solution for providing shared storage for small XenServer Pools. One respondent has done some performance comparisons using an HP Prolient DL380 (2GB mem) with an HP Smart Array P600 SAS RAID Controller.
- Ubuntu with an EXT4 filesystem – 225MBps.
- Susie with a Razor filesystem – Very good.
- Fedora with an XFS filesystem – Good.
- Free BSD with a UFS filesystem – Average.
Disadvantages
- Old hardware may not be reliable or supportable.
- Some people aren’t comfortable with Linux
NFS service on a Windows 2008 R2 server.
Windows 2008 R2 now includes an NFS server. It should therefore be possible to host an NFS service on an existing Windows 2008 R2 Server.
In addition to the full graphical version of Windows 2008 R2 Server, there is also the lighter weight Core product which may offer increased performance for a given hardware platform.
NFS services have to be installed separately and the following documents describe how to install and configure NFS on Windows 2008 R2.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc753302%28WS.10%29.aspx
and on Windows 2008 R2 core
http://blogs.technet.com/jorke/archive/2008/09/10/configuring-nfs-on-windows-server-2008-core.aspx
Advantages
- Some people feel more comfortable with a Windows solution
- You may not need any additional hardware as you should be able to add NFS services to an existing Windows 2008 R2 server.
- Windows 2008 R2 Server may also be used to create shared storage for Hyper-V clusters.
Disadvantages
- If using old hardware, it may not be reliable or supportable.
StarWind Free iSCSI Target on a Windows.
Another solution that uses a Windows PC or Server is StarWind iSCSI Target. The free version, which supports up to 2 TB, can be downloaded from http://www.starwindsoftware.com/free
“StarWind Free software is provided only for personal use, demoing, training, or test and development and may not be used for commercial or production purposes”.
Advantages
- Some people feel more comfortable with a Windows solution
- You may not need any additional hardware as you should be able to add StarWind to an existing Windows PC or Server.
- StarWind may also be used to create shared storage for Hyper-V clusters.
- The inclusion of an iSCSI based Storage Repository allows you to enable XenServer’s High Availability option. While you are unlikely to need this in a small XenServer pool, it may be useful if you need to include HA in your testing.
Disadvantages
- If using old hardware, it may not be reliable or supportable.
- Some people feel more comfortable with a non-Windows solution
Windows Storage Server 2008
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/wss08.aspx
One respondent has just started using Windows Storage Server 2008 on a Dell T3500.
The primary purpose of this is to provide clustered storage for a Hyper-V / SCVMM development environment, but it may also be an option for XenServer.
Advantages
- Some people feel more comfortable with a Windows solution
- Developers and Testers may have a suitable MSDN licenses that would allow them use this solution in a development or test environment.
- Windows Storage Server may also be used to create shared storage for Hyper-V clusters.
- The inclusion of an iSCSI based Storage Repository allows you to enable XenServer’s High Availability option. While you are unlikely to need this in a small XenServer pool, it may be useful if you need to include HA in your testing.
Disadvantages
- Some people feel more comfortable with a non-Windows solution
- I have no feedback on performance to date.
Other Considerations / Recommendations
- Make sure that the network between the XenServers and the storage server is as fast as possible. Ideally they should be connected to the same Gigabit switch.
- Consider putting the storage traffic on a separate “private” network, if you have sufficient NICs in your servers.
How to publish an App-V-enabled application in Citrix XenApp
8 gen
App-V Team published an article about App-V integration in Citrix XenApp. This one describes how to publish an App-V-enabled application in Citrix XenApp:
To publish an App-V-enabled application in Citrix XenApp, follow these steps:
- Publish Sfttray.exe or publish Sftrun.exe.
- Publish the .OSD file.
- Publish the application name followed by a percent sign and then an asterisk (%*) or publish the application name and version followed by a percent sign and then an asterisk.
To continue reading and see all the details check out the Knowledge Base article below:
KB931576 – How to publish an App-V-enabled application in Citrix XenApp
Citrix released Workflow Studio 2.0.1
23 dic
Citrix has released new Workflow Studio version 2.0.1.
Download Workflow Studio 2.0.1 (MyCitrix login required)
This update only includes new activity libraries and does not contain any changes to the core Workflow Studio engine. Here are some of the key new features:
New Activity Libraries
- Citrix XenDesktop Activity Library
Activities that create, delete, and retrieve desktop definitions and manage desktop groups.
- Citrix Provisioning Server Activity Library
Activities that create, delete, and retrieve provisioning server target devices.
Additions to Activity Libraries
- Citrix NetScaler Activity Library
Now includes activities that enable you to:- Change the NetScaler configuration and tune load balancing.
- Collect custom statistics for NetScaler NSService and global LBVServers.
- Citrix XenServer Activity Library
Now includes activities that enable you to:- Automate the process of taking snapshots, backing up VMs, and backing up VM metadata for site migration and disaster recovery scenarios.
- Automate the installation and update of tools on guest VMs.
- Networking Activity Library
Now includes SNMP activities that enable you to write load-management workflows which can listen to SNMP agents for SNMP traps and then take appropriate actions.
- Citrix XenApp Activity Library
Now includes activities that support automated application streaming packaging and application management.
- Active Directory Activity Library
Now includes the Create Computer and Delete Computer activities.
More details on this release are available in the ReadMe.
Citrix Essentials 5.5 for Hyper-V (with StorageLink Site Recovery)
16 dic
After a couple of months in beta, Citrix releases Essentials 5.5 for Hyper-V just before the holidays.
This version of the management platform for the Microsoft hypervisor includes a new technology called StorageLink Site Recovery.
This feature allows the Hyper-V administrators to control the replication features that their SAN arrays without using multiple consoles. From the Essentials console they can test the recovery process with what-if analysis, and restore the protected VMs in isolated, test networks.
The notable thing is that StorageLink Site Recovery is available for every version of Essentials, including the Express one which is free of charge (but it won’t appear there before Dec. 23).
HP announced its support for this technology a long time ago and now confirms integration with StorageWorks SANs.