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IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE EMC VSPEX END-USER COMPUTING Citrix XenDesktop 7.6 and VMware vSphere with EMC XtremIO Enabled by EMC Isilon, EMC VNX, and EMC Data Protection EMC VSPEX Abstract This Implementation Guide describes the high-level steps required to deploy an EMC ® VSPEX ® End-User Computing solution for Citrix XenDesktop and VMware vSphere enabled by EMC XtremIO , EMC Isilon ® , EMC VNX ® , and EMC Data Protection. April 2015

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Page 1: EMC VSPEX End-User Computing Citrix XenDesktop  · PDF fileIMPLEMENTATION GUIDE EMC VSPEX END-USER COMPUTING Citrix XenDesktop 7.6 and VMware vSphere ... VLAN information

IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE

EMC VSPEX END-USER COMPUTING Citrix XenDesktop 7.6 and VMware vSphere with EMC XtremIO Enabled by EMC Isilon, EMC VNX, and EMC Data Protection

EMC VSPEX

Abstract

This Implementation Guide describes the high-level steps required to deploy an EMC® VSPEX® End-User Computing solution for Citrix XenDesktop and VMware vSphere enabled by EMC XtremIO™, EMC Isilon®, EMC VNX®, and EMC Data Protection.

April 2015

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2 EMC VSPEX End-User Computing: Citrix XenDesktop 7.6 and VMware vSphere with EMC XtremIO Implementation Guide

Copyright © 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Published in the USA.

Published April 2015

EMC believes the information in this publication is accurate as of its publication date. The information is subject to change without notice.

The information in this publication is provided as is. EMC Corporation makes no representations or warranties of any kind with respect to the information in this publication, and specifically disclaims implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Use, copying, and distribution of any EMC software described in this publication requires an applicable software license.

EMC2, EMC, and the EMC logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of EMC Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners.

For the most up-to-date listing of EMC product names, see EMC Corporation Trademarks on EMC.com.

EMC VSPEX End-User Computing Citrix XenDesktop 7.6 and VMware vSphere with EMC XtremIO Enabled by EMC Isilon, EMC VNX, and EMC Data Protection Implementation Guide

Part Number H14075

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Contents

3 EMC VSPEX End-User Computing: Citrix XenDesktop 7.6 and VMware vSphere with EMC XtremIO

Implementation Guide

Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction 8

Purpose of this guide .................................................................................................. 9

Business value ........................................................................................................... 9

Scope ....................................................................................................................... 10

Audience .................................................................................................................. 10

Terminology.............................................................................................................. 11

Chapter 2 Before You Start 12

Overview .................................................................................................................. 13

Pre-deployment tasks ............................................................................................... 13

Deployment workflow ............................................................................................... 14

Essential reading ...................................................................................................... 14

VSPEX Solution Overview ..................................................................................... 14

VSPEX Design Guide ............................................................................................ 14

VSPEX Proven Infrastructure Guide ...................................................................... 15

RSA SecurID for VSPEX end-user computing guide ............................................... 15

Deployment prerequisites ........................................................................................ 15

Chapter 3 Solution Overview 17

Overview .................................................................................................................. 18

VSPEX Proven Infrastructures ................................................................................... 18

Solution architecture ................................................................................................ 19

High-level architecture ......................................................................................... 19

Logical architecture ............................................................................................. 21

Summary of key components.................................................................................... 22

Chapter 4 Solution Implementation 24

Overview .................................................................................................................. 25

Network implementation .......................................................................................... 26

Configuring the infrastructure network ................................................................. 26

Configuring the VLANs ......................................................................................... 28

Configuring the storage network .......................................................................... 28

Completing the network cabling........................................................................... 29

Preparing and configuring the storage arrays ............................................................ 29

Preparing and installing XtremIO.......................................................................... 30

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Setting up the initial XtremIO configuration ......................................................... 30

Configuring XtremIO event handlers ..................................................................... 30

Provisioning storage for VMFS datastores ............................................................ 32

Prepare the Isilon cluster ..................................................................................... 33

Configure the initial Isilon cluster ........................................................................ 33

Preparing the VNX ................................................................................................ 33

Setting up the initial VNX configuration................................................................ 33

Configuring VNX Fast Cache ................................................................................. 33

Provisioning optional Isilon storage for user data ................................................ 35

Provisioning optional VNX storage for user data ................................................... 36

Configuring VNX FAST VP for user data (optional) ................................................. 37

VSPEX private cloud requirements ....................................................................... 38

Citrix ShareFile requirements ............................................................................... 38

Installing and configuring the vSphere hosts ............................................................ 39

Installing vSphere ................................................................................................ 40

Configuring vSphere networking .......................................................................... 40

Connecting vSphere datastores ........................................................................... 41

Optimizing vSphere for XtremIO ........................................................................... 41

Deploying EMC Virtual Storage Integrator (VSI) .................................................... 42

Installing and configuring the SQL Server database .................................................. 44

VMware vCenter Server deployment ......................................................................... 45

Installing and configuring XenDesktop Desktop Delivery Controllers......................... 46

Installing server-side components of XenDesktop ................................................ 47

Configuring a site ................................................................................................. 48

Adding a second controller .................................................................................. 48

Installing Citrix Studio.......................................................................................... 48

Preparing the master virtual machine ................................................................... 48

Provisioning the virtual desktops ......................................................................... 49

Provisioning virtual desktops with VSI ................................................................. 49

Installing and configuring Citrix Provisioning Services .............................................. 50

Configuring a PVS server farm .............................................................................. 51

Adding a second PVS server ................................................................................. 51

Creating a PVS store ............................................................................................ 51

Configuring inbound communication ................................................................... 51

Configuring a bootstrap file.................................................................................. 52

Configuring boot options 66 and 67 on DHCP server ............................................ 52

Preparing the master virtual machine ................................................................... 53

Provisioning the virtual desktops ......................................................................... 53

Setting up EMC Avamar ............................................................................................ 54

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Avamar configuration overview ............................................................................ 54

Configuring Group Policy Object (GPO) additions for Avamar ............................... 55

Windows security for Avamar client service .......................................................... 60

Defining Avamar datasets .................................................................................... 61

Defining Avamar backup schedules ..................................................................... 64

Adjusting the maintenance window schedule ...................................................... 64

Defining Avamar retention policies ...................................................................... 65

Creating an Avamar Group and Group Policy ........................................................ 65

Activating XenDesktop clients (desktops) ............................................................ 67

Chapter 5 Solution Verification 74

Overview .................................................................................................................. 75

Post-installation checklist ........................................................................................ 76

Deploy and test a single virtual desktop ................................................................... 76

Verify the redundancy of the solution components ................................................... 76

XtremIO ............................................................................................................... 76

Isilon ................................................................................................................... 76

VNX…… ................................................................................................................ 77

Chapter 6 Reference Documentation 78

EMC documentation ................................................................................................. 79

Other documentation ............................................................................................... 79

Appendix A Configuration Worksheet 81

Customer Configuration Worksheet .......................................................................... 82

Figures Figure 1. VSPEX Proven Infrastructures .............................................................. 19

Figure 2. Architecture of the validated solution .................................................. 20

Figure 3. Logical architecture for both block and file storage .............................. 21

Figure 4. Sample Ethernet network architecture ................................................. 27

Figure 5. Sample FC network architecture .......................................................... 28

Figure 6. XtremIO Display Event Handlers button ............................................... 31

Figure 7. XtremIO Edit Event Handler window ..................................................... 31

Figure 8. Storage System Properties dialog box.................................................. 34

Figure 9. Creating FAST Cache dialog box ........................................................... 34

Figure 10. Create SMB share for Home Directory in Isilon ..................................... 36

Figure 11. Storage Pool Properties dialog box ...................................................... 37

Figure 12. Manage Auto-Tiering Window .............................................................. 38

Figure 13. vSphere Web Client: EMC VSI integration ............................................. 43

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Figure 14. vSphere Web Client: EMC VSI Storage Systems .................................... 43

Figure 15. vSphere Web Client: EMC VSI XtremIO datastore actions ..................... 44

Figure 16. Configure Bootstrap dialog box ........................................................... 52

Figure 17. Configuring Windows Folder Redirection .............................................. 56

Figure 18. Opening the Mapped Drive Properties dialog box ................................ 57

Figure 19. Creating a Windows network drive mapping for user files .................... 58

Figure 20. Configuring drive mapping common settings ....................................... 59

Figure 21. Creating a Windows network drive mapping for user profile data ......... 60

Figure 22. Configuring Windows Folder Redirection .............................................. 61

Figure 23. Configuring Avamar dataset settings ................................................... 62

Figure 24. User profile dataset Exclusion settings ................................................ 62

Figure 25. Select Plug-in Type option ................................................................... 63

Figure 26. Volume Freezing Options ..................................................................... 63

Figure 27. Avamar default Backup/Maintenance Windows schedule ................... 64

Figure 28. Avamar modified Backup/Maintenance Windows schedule ................. 65

Figure 29. Creating a new Avamar backup group .................................................. 66

Figure 30. New Group window .............................................................................. 66

Figure 31. Select An Existing Schedule................................................................. 67

Figure 32. Avamar Enterprise Manager Dashboard ............................................... 68

Figure 33. Avamar Client Manager ........................................................................ 68

Figure 34. Client Information menu ...................................................................... 69

Figure 35. Directory Service dialog box ................................................................ 69

Figure 36. EMC Avamar Client Manager with Active Directory information ............ 70

Figure 37. VSPEX virtual desktops ........................................................................ 70

Figure 38. Selected virtual desktops .................................................................... 71

Figure 39. Select Groups window ......................................................................... 71

Figure 40. Activate domain .................................................................................. 72

Figure 41. Show Clients for Activation window ..................................................... 72

Figure 42. Avamar Client Manager with activated clients ...................................... 73

Figure 43. Opening attachments in a PDF file ....................................................... 82

Tables Table 1. Terminology......................................................................................... 11

Table 2. Tasks for pre-deployment .................................................................... 13

Table 3. Deployment workflow .......................................................................... 14

Table 4. Deployment prerequisites checklist ..................................................... 15

Table 5. VSPEX solution components ................................................................ 22

Table 6. Implementation process overview ....................................................... 25

Table 7. Tasks for switch and network configuration ......................................... 26

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Table 8. Tasks for storage configuration ............................................................ 29

Table 9. Volumes on XtremIO for storing virtual desktops ................................. 32

Table 10. Create block-based RAID 6 storage pool .............................................. 36

Table 11. Configure LUNs for NAS pool ............................................................... 37

Table 12. Infrastructure server minimum requirements ....................................... 38

Table 13. Minimum hardware resources for ShareFile StorageZones with Storage Center ................................................................................................. 39

Table 14. Recommended VNX storage for ShareFile StorageZones CIFS share ..... 39

Table 15. Tasks for server installation ................................................................. 39

Table 16. Tasks for SQL Server database setup ................................................... 44

Table 17. Tasks for vCenter configuration ........................................................... 45

Table 18. Tasks for XenDesktop controller setup ................................................. 47

Table 19. Tasks for XenDesktop controller setup ................................................. 50

Table 20. Tasks for Avamar integration ............................................................... 54

Table 21. Tasks for testing the installation .......................................................... 75

Table 22. Common server information ................................................................ 83

Table 23. vSphere Server information ................................................................. 83

Table 24. XtremIO array information.................................................................... 83

Table 25. VNX array information .......................................................................... 84

Table 26. Isilon information ............................................................................... 84

Table 27. Network infrastructure information ...................................................... 84

Table 28. VLAN information ................................................................................ 84

Table 29. Service accounts ................................................................................. 85

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Chapter 1: Introduction

8 EMC VSPEX End-User Computing: Citrix XenDesktop 7.6 and VMware vSphere with EMC XtremIO Implementation Guide

Chapter 1 Introduction

This chapter presents the following topics:

Purpose of this guide ................................................................................................. 9

Business value ........................................................................................................... 9

Scope ....................................................................................................................... 10

Audience .................................................................................................................. 10

Terminology ............................................................................................................. 11

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Chapter 1: Introduction

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Purpose of this guide

The EMC® VSPEX® End-User Computing Proven Infrastructure provides the customer with a modern system capable of hosting a large number of virtual desktops at a consistent performance level. This VSPEX End-User Computing solution for Citrix XenDesktop 7.6 runs on a VMware vSphere virtualization layer backed by the high availability EMC XtremIO family, which provides the storage. In this solution, the desktop virtualization infrastructure components are layered on a VSPEX Private Cloud for VMware vSphere Proven Infrastructure, while the desktops are hosted on dedicated resources.

The compute and network components, which are defined by the VSPEX partners, are designed to be redundant and sufficiently powerful to handle the processing and data needs of a large virtual desktop environment. EMC XtremIO™ solutions provide storage for virtual desktops, EMC Isilon® or VNX storage systems provide storage for user data, EMC Avamar® data protection solutions provide data protection for Citrix XenDesktop data, and RSA® SecurID® provides optional secure user authentication functionality.

This VSPEX End-User Computing solution is validated for up to 3,500 virtual desktops per X-Brick, up to 1,750 virtual desktops per Starter X-Brick. These validated configurations are based on a reference desktop workload and form the basis for creating cost-effective, custom solutions for individual customers.

XtremIO supports scale-out clusters of up to six X-Bricks. Each additional X-Brick increases performance and virtual desktop capacity linearly. XtremIO X-Bricks have been validated to support a higher number of desktops and the VSPEX validated numbers are particular to the communicated solution only.

An end-user computing or virtual desktop infrastructure is a complex system offering. This Implementation Guide describes how to implement, with best practices, the resources necessary to deploy an end-user computing solution using Citrix XenDesktop for VMware vSphere enabled by EMC XtremIO, EMC Isilon, EMC VNX, and EMC Data Protection.

Business value

Employees are more mobile than ever, and they expect access to business-critical data and applications whenever and wherever they are, and from any device. They want the flexibility to bring their own device to work, meaning IT departments are increasingly investigating and supporting Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiatives. This adds layers of complexity when it comes to safeguarding sensitive information. Deploying a virtual desktop project is one way to do this.

Implementing large-scale virtual desktop environments, however, presents many challenges. Administrators must rapidly roll out persistent or non-persistent desktops for all users (task workers, knowledge workers, and power users,) while offering an outstanding user experience that outperforms physical desktops.

In addition to performance, a virtual desktop solution must be simple to deploy, manage, and scale with substantial cost savings over physical desktops. Storage is also a critical component of an effective virtual desktop solution. EMC VSPEX Proven

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Chapter 1: Introduction

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Infrastructures are designed to help you address the most serious of IT challenges by creating solutions that are simple, efficient, flexible, and designed to take advantage of the many possibilities that the XtremIO flash technology delivers.

The business benefits of the VSPEX End-User Computing solution for Citrix XenDesktop include the following:

An end-to-end virtualization solution to utilize the capabilities of the unified infrastructure components.

Efficient virtualization for varied customer user cases of up to 3,500 virtual desktops for an X-Brick, and up to 1,750 virtual desktops for a Starter X-Brick.

Reliable, flexible, and scalable reference architectures.

Scope

This Implementation Guide describes the high-level steps required to deploy the VSPEX End-User Computing solution for Citrix XenDesktop 7.6. It provides a deployment example of a virtual desktop storage on EMC XtremIO and user data storage on a Isilon or VNX storage array. The infrastructure servers required for this solution are designed to be layered on a VSPEX Private Cloud for VMware vSphere Proven Infrastructure.

The optional RSA SecurID secure user authentication solution for XenDesktop is described in a separate document, Securing EMC VSPEX End-User Computing with RSA SecurID: Citrix XenDesktop 7 and VMware vSphere 5.1 for up to 2,000 Virtual Desktops Design Guide.

Audience

This guide is intended for internal EMC personnel and qualified EMC VSPEX Partners. The guide assumes that VSPEX partners who intend to deploy this VSPEX Proven Infrastructure for Citrix XenDesktop have the necessary training and background to install and configure an end-user computing solution based on Citrix XenDesktop with VMware vSphere as the hypervisor, XtremIO,Isilon, and VNX series storage systems, and associated infrastructure.

Readers should also be familiar with the infrastructure and database security policies of the customer installation.

This guide provides external references where applicable. EMC recommends that partners implementing this solution are familiar with these documents. For details, refer to Essential reading and Chapter 6.

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Chapter 1: Introduction

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Terminology

Table 1 lists the terminology used in this guide.

Table 1. Terminology

Term Definition

Data deduplication A feature of the XtremIO array that reduces physical storage utilization by eliminating redundant blocks of data.

Reference architecture

The validated architecture that supports this VSPEX end-user-computing solution at two particular points of scale—that is 1,750 virtual desktops, and 3,500 virtual desktops.

Reference workload For VSPEX end-user computing solutions, the reference workload is defined as a single virtual desktop (the reference virtual desktop) with the workload characteristics indicated in the Design Guide. By comparing the customer’s actual usage to this reference workload, you can extrapolate which reference architecture to choose as the basis for the customer’s VSPEX deployment.

Refer to the EMC VSPEX END-USER COMPUTING: Citrix XenDesktop 7.6 and VMware vSphere with EMC XtremIO Enabled by EMX VNX and EMC Data Protection Design Guide for details.

Storage Processor (SP)

The compute component of the storage array. SPs are used for all aspects of data moving into, out of, and between VNX arrays

Storage Controller (SC)

The computer component of the XtremIO storage array. SCs are used for all aspects of data moving into, out of, and between XtremIO arrays.

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

Decouples the desktop from the physical machine. In a VDI environment, the desktop operating system (OS) and applications reside inside a virtual machine running on a host computer, with data residing on shared storage. Users access their virtual desktop from any computer or mobile device over a private network or internet connection.

XtremIO Management Server (XMS)

Used to manage the XtremIO array, and is deployed as a virtual machine. The XMS is deployed using an Open Virtualization Alliance (OVA) package.

XtremIO Starter X-Brick

A specialized configuration of the EMC XtremIO All-Flash Array that includes 13 SSD drives for this solution

XtremIO X-Brick A specialized configuration of the EMC XtremIO All-Flash Array that includes 25 SSD drives for this solution

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Chapter 2: Before You Start

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Chapter 2 Before You Start

This chapter presents the following topics:

Overview .................................................................................................................. 13

Pre-deployment tasks .............................................................................................. 13

Deployment workflow .............................................................................................. 14

Essential reading ..................................................................................................... 14

Deployment prerequisites ........................................................................................ 15

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Chapter 2: Before You Start

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Overview

This chapter provides an overview of important information which you need to be aware of, documents with which you need to be familiar, and tasks you need to perform before you start implementing your VSPEX End-User Computing with Citrix XenDesktop solution.

The Design Guide for this solution, EMC VSPEX End-User Computing: Citrix XenDesktop 7.6 and VMware vSphere with EMC XtremIO Enabled by EMX VNX and EMC Data Protection, describes how to design and size your solution, allocate resources following best practices, and use all of the benefits that VSPEX offers. The deployment examples in this Implementation Guide are based on the recommendations and examples in the Design Guide.

Pre-deployment tasks

Pre-deployment tasks include procedures that do not directly relate to environment installation and configuration, but you will need the results from these tasks at the time of installation. Examples of pre-deployment tasks are the collection of host names, IP addresses, VLAN IDs, license keys, installation media, and so on. You should perform these tasks before the customer visit to reduce the amount of time required on site.

Table 2. Tasks for pre-deployment

Task Description Reference

Gather documents

Gather the related documents listed in Essential reading and Reference Documentation. These are used throughout this document to provide details on setup procedures, sizing, and deployment best practices for the various components of the solution.

Essential reading

Reference Documentation

Gather tools Gather the required and optional tools for the deployment. Use Table 4 to confirm that all equipment, software, and appropriate licenses are available before the deployment process.

Deployment prerequisites checklist

Gather data Collect the customer-specific configuration data for networking, arrays, accounts, and so on. Enter this information into the Customer Configuration Worksheet for reference during the deployment process.

In addition, for the most comprehensive array-specific information, complete the relevant XtremIO pre-installation checklist and VNX worksheet. These documents are available on EMC Online Support.

XtremIO Storage Array Pre-Installation Checklist

VNX Installation Assistant for File/Unified Worksheet

Customer Configuration Worksheet

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Chapter 2: Before You Start

14 EMC VSPEX End-User Computing: Citrix XenDesktop 7.6 and VMware vSphere with EMC XtremIO Implementation Guide

Deployment workflow

To design and implement your end-user computing solution, refer to the process flow in Table 3.

Table 3. Deployment workflow

Step Action

1 Use the Customer Sizing Worksheet in the Design Guide to collect customer requirements.

2 Use the EMC VSPEX Sizing Tool to determine the recommended VSPEX reference architecture for your end-user computing solution, based on the user requirements collected in Step 1.

For more information about the Sizing Tool, refer to the EMC VSPEX Sizing Tool portal.

Note: If the Sizing Tool is not available, you can manually size the application using the guidelines in the Design Guide.

3 Use the Design Guide to determine the final design for your VSPEX solution.

Note: Ensure that all resource requirements are considered, not just the requirements for end-user computing.

4 Select and order the correct VSPEX reference architecture and Proven Infrastructure. Refer to the VSPEX Proven Infrastructure Guide in Essential reading for guidance on selecting a Private Cloud Proven Infrastructure.

5 Follow this Implementation Guide to deploy and test your VSPEX solution.

Note: If you already have a VSPEX Proven Infrastructure environment, you can skip the implementation steps that are already completed.

Essential reading

EMC recommends that you read the following documents, available from the VSPEX space in the EMC Community Network, on EMC.com, or from the VSPEX Proven Infrastructure partner portal.

Refer to the EMC VSPEX End-User Computing Solution Overview.

Refer to the EMC VSPEX End-User Computing: Citrix XenDesktop 7.6 and VMware vSphere with XtremIO Design Guide.

VSPEX Solution Overview

VSPEX Design Guide

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Chapter 2: Before You Start

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Refer to the EMC VSPEX Private Cloud: VMware vSphere 5.5 for up to 1,000 Virtual Machines proven Infrastructure Guide.

Refer to the Securing EMC VSPEX End-User Computing with RSA SecurID: Citrix XenDesktop 7 and VMware vSphere 5.1 for up to 2,000 Virtual Desktops Design Guide.

Deployment prerequisites

Table 4 itemizes the hardware, software, and license requirements to configure the solution. Visit EMC Online Support for more information on these prerequisites.

Table 4. Deployment prerequisites checklist

Requirement Description

Hardware Physical servers with sufficient capacity to host the virtual desktops, as recommended in the Design Guide

VMware vSphere servers to host virtual infrastructure servers

Networking switch port capacity and capabilities as required for end-user computing

EMC XtremIO array with the required configuration

EMC Isilon array with the required configuration

EMC VNX multiprotocol storage array with the required disk layout

Note: These requirements might be covered by an existing infrastructure.

Software VMware vSphere 5.5 installation media

VMware vCenter Server 5.5 installation media

VMware vSphere PowerCLI installation file

Citrix XenDesktop 7.6 installation media

EMC XtremIO Management Server OVA file

EMC Virtual Storage Integrator (VSI) for VMware vSphere Web Client

EMC PowerPath® Viewer

EMC PowerPath Virtual Edition (PowerPath/VE)

Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 installation media (suggested OS for VMware vCenter, Citrix XenDesktop Desktop Delivery Controllers, and Citrix Provisioning Servers)

Microsoft Windows 7 installation media

Microsoft Windows 8.1 installation media

Microsoft SQL Server 2012 or later installation media

Note: This requirement might be covered in the existing infrastructure.

VSPEX Proven Infrastructure Guide

RSA SecurID for VSPEX end-user computing guide

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Chapter 2: Before You Start

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Requirement Description

Licenses VMware vSphere 5.5 license keys (for infrastructure server hosts)

VMware vCenter Server 5.5 license key

VMware vSphere Desktop license keys (for virtual desktop hosts)

Citrix XenDesktop license files

Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard Edition (or later) license keys

Note: This requirement might be covered by an existing Microsoft Key Management Server (KMS).

Microsoft Windows 7 license keys

Microsoft Windows 8.1 license keys

Note: This requirement might be covered by an existing Microsoft Key Management Server (KMS).

Microsoft SQL Server 2012 license key

Note: This requirement might be covered by an existing license.

Licenses EMC PowerPath Virtual Edition license files

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Chapter 3: Solution Overview

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Chapter 3 Solution Overview

This chapter presents the following topics:

Overview .................................................................................................................. 18

VSPEX Proven Infrastructures................................................................................... 18

Solution architecture ............................................................................................... 19

Summary of key components ................................................................................... 22

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Chapter 3: Solution Overview

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Overview

This chapter provides an overview of the VSPEX End-User Computing for Citrix XenDesktop on VMware vSphere solution and the key technologies used in the solution. The solution has been designed and proven by EMC to provide the desktop virtualization, server, network, storage, and data protection resources to support reference architectures of up to 3,500 virtual desktops for an X-Brick and up to 1,750 virtual desktops for a Starter X-Brick.

Although the desktop virtualization infrastructure components of the solution shown in Figure 3 are designed to be layered on a VSPEX Private Cloud solution, the reference architectures do not include configuration details for the underlying Proven Infrastructure.

Refer to the VSPEX Proven Infrastructure Guide listed in Essential reading for information on configuring the required infrastructure components.

VSPEX Proven Infrastructures

EMC has joined forces with the industry-leading providers of IT infrastructure to create a complete virtualization solution that accelerates the deployment of the private cloud and Citrix XenDesktop virtual desktops. VSPEX enables customers to accelerate their IT transformation with faster deployment, greater simplicity and choice, higher efficiency, and lower risk, instead of facing the challenges and complexity of building an IT infrastructure themselves.

VSPEX validation by EMC ensures predictable performance and enables customers to select technology that uses their existing or newly acquired IT infrastructure while eliminating planning, sizing, and configuration burdens. VSPEX provides a virtual infrastructure for customers who want the simplicity that is characteristic of truly converged infrastructures, with more choice in individual stack components.

VSPEX Proven Infrastructures, as shown in Figure 1, are modular, virtualized infrastructures validated by EMC and delivered by EMC VSPEX partners. They include virtualization, server, network, storage, and data protection layers. Partners can choose the virtualization, server, and network technologies that best fit a customer’s environment, while the highly available EMC XtremIO, Isilon, and VNX family of storage systems and EMC data protection technologies provide the storage and data protection layers.

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Figure 1. VSPEX Proven Infrastructures

Solution architecture

The EMC VSPEX End-User Computing for Citrix XenDesktop solution provides a complete system architecture capable of supporting up to 3,500 virtual desktops for an X-Brick, and up to 1,750 virtual desktops for a Starter X-Brick. The solution supports block storage on XtremIO for virtual desktops, and optional file storage on Isilon or VNX for user data.

Figure 2 shows the high-level architecture of the validated solution.

High-level architecture

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Figure 2. Architecture of the validated solution

The solution uses EMC XtremIO, Isilon, VNX and VMware vSphere to provide the storage and virtualization platforms for a Citrix XenDesktop environment of Microsoft Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 virtual desktops provisioned by either MCS or PVS.

For the solution, we1 deployed the XtremIO array in multiple X-Brick configurations to support up to 3,500 virtual desktops. Two different XtremIO X-Brick types were tested, a Starter X-Brick capable of hosting up to 1,750 virtual desktops, and an X-Brick capable of hosting up to 3,500 virtual desktops. We also deployed Isilon and VNX arrays for hosting user data.

The high-availability EMC XtremIO array provides the storage for the desktop virtualization components. The infrastructure services for the solution, as shown in Figure 3, can be provided by existing infrastructure at the customer site, by the VSPEX Private Cloud, or by deploying them as dedicated resources as part of the solution. The virtual desktops, as shown in Figure 3, require dedicated end-user computing resources and are not intended to be layered on a VSPEX Private Cloud.

Planning and designing the storage infrastructure for a Citrix XenDesktop environment is critical because the shared storage must be able to absorb large bursts of I/O that occur during a day. These bursts can lead to periods of erratic and unpredictable virtual desktop performance. Users can adapt to slow performance, but unpredictable performance frustrates users and reduces efficiency.

1 In this guide, "we" refers to the EMC Solutions engineering team that validated the solution.

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To provide predictable performance for end-user computing solutions, the storage system must be able to handle the peak I/O load from the clients while keeping response time to a minimum. This solution uses the EMC XtremIO array to provide the sub-millisecond response times that clients require, while the real-time, inline deduplication features of the platform reduce the amount of physical storage needed.

EMC Data Protection and recovery solutions enable user data protection and end-user recoverability. This Citrix XenDesktop solution uses EMC Avamar and its desktop client to achieve this.

The EMC VSPEX End-User Computing for Citrix XenDesktop solution supports block storage on XtremIO for the virtual desktops. Figure 3 shows the logical architecture of the solution.

Figure 3. Logical architecture for both block and file storage

This solution uses two networks: one 8 Gb network or 10 GbE iSCSI for carrying virtual desktop and virtual server OS data and one 10 Gb Ethernet network for carrying all other traffic.

Note: The solution also supports 1 Gb Ethernet if the bandwidth requirements are met.

EMC VNX

Virtual desktop # 1

Virtual desktop # n

VMware vSphere infrastructure cluster

Network

VSPEX vSphere virtual servers

vCenterServer

XenDesktop Controllers 2

and 3

XenDesktop Controller 1

Active Directory DNS / DHCP

SQLServer

VSPEX vSphere virtual desktops

10 GbE IP network

8 Gb FC network

EMC Avamar

EMC XtremIO

Desktop users(ICA Clients)

Virtual

Desktop #1

Virtual

Desktop #1

PVS Servers 1 and 2

PVS Servers 3 and 4

VMware vSphere desktop cluster(s)

EMC Isilon

Logical architecture

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Summary of key components

Table 5 summarizes the key layers used in this solution. The Design Guide provides overviews of the individual components.

Table 5. VSPEX solution components

VSPEX layer Components

Application layer Citrix XenDesktop 7.6 with:

Receiver

Storefront

Studio

Delivery Controller

Virtual Delivery Agent (VDA)

Server OS machines

Desktop OS machines

Remote PC Access

License Server

Citrix Machine Creation Services (MCS)

Citrix Provisioning Services (PVS)

Citrix Personal vDisk (PvDisk or PvD)

Citrix Profile Management

Virtualization layer VMware vSphere hypervisor with:

VMware vSphere

VMware vCenter Server

VMware vSphere High Availability

EMC Virtual Storage Integrator (VSI)

Compute layer VSPEX defines the minimum amount of compute layer resources required but allows the customer to implement the requirements using any server hardware that meets these requirements.

Network layer VSPEX defines the minimum number of network ports required for the solution and provides general guidance on network architecture, but allows the customer to implement the requirements using any network hardware that meets these requirements.

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VSPEX layer Components

Storage layer EMC XtremIO series with:

EMC XtremIO Management Server

EMC Virtual Storage Integrator (VSI) for VMware vSphere Web Client

VMware vSphere Storage APIs for Array Integration

EMC XtremIO Snapshots

EMC Isilon with:

OneFS

Isilon for vCenter

EMC VNX series with:

EMC Unisphere Management Suite

EMC Virtual Storage Integrator (VSI) for VMware vSphere Web Client

VMware vSphere Storage APIs for Array Integration

VMware vSphere Storage APIs for Storage Awareness

EMC VNX Snapshots

EMC SnapSure™

EMC VNX Virtual Provisioning

EMC FAST Suite—FAST Cache and Fully Automated Storage Tiering for Virtual Pools (FAST VP)

Data protection layer EMC Avamar

Security layer RSA SecurID

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Chapter 4 Solution Implementation

This chapter presents the following topics:

Overview .................................................................................................................. 25

Network implementation .......................................................................................... 26

Preparing and configuring the storage arrays .......................................................... 29

Installing and configuring the vSphere hosts ........................................................... 39

Installing and configuring the SQL Server database ................................................ 44

VMware vCenter Server deployment ......................................................................... 45

Installing and configuring XenDesktop Desktop Delivery Controllers ...................... 46

Installing and configuring Citrix Provisioning Services ............................................ 50

Setting up EMC Avamar ............................................................................................ 54

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Overview

This chapter describes how to implement the reference architecture of the end-user computing solution. If you already have a VSPEX Proven Infrastructure environment, you can skip the sections for the implementation steps already completed.

Otherwise, refer to the VSPEX Proven Infrastructure Guide listed in Essential reading for information on configuring the required infrastructure components.

Note: This solution requires certain infrastructure services, as shown in Figure 3. These can be provided by existing infrastructure at the customer site, by a VSPEX Private Cloud, or by deploying them as dedicated resources as part of this solution.

Table 6 lists the main stages in the solution implementation process, with links to the relevant sections in the chapter.

Table 6. Implementation process overview

Stage Description Reference

1 Configure the switches and networks and connect to the customer network.

Network implementation

2 Install and configure the XtremIO, Isilon, and VNX arrays.

Preparing and configuring the storage array

3 Configure the virtual machine datastores.

Preparing and configuring the storage array

4 Install and configure the servers. Installing and configuring the vSphere hosts

5 Set up SQL Server (used by vCenter, XenDesktop, and Citrix Provisioning Services).

Installing and configuring the SQL Server database

6 Install and configure vCenter and virtual machine networking.

Installing and configuring the vSphere hosts

7 Set up the XenDesktop Desktop Delivery Controllers.

Installing and configuring XenDesktop Desktop Delivery Controllers

8 Set up Citrix Provisioning Services (PVS).

Installing and configuring Citrix Provisioning Services

9 Set up EMC Avamar. Setting up EMC Avamar

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Network implementation

This section describes the requirements for preparing the network infrastructure required to support this solution. Table 7 summarizes the tasks to be completed, with references for further information.

Table 7. Tasks for switch and network configuration

Task Description Reference

Configure the infrastructure network

Configure the storage array and vSphere host infrastructure networking.

Configuring the infrastructure network

Configure the VLANs Configure private and public VLANs as required.

Vendor’s switch configuration guide

Configure the storage network

Configure FC/FCoE switch ports and zoning for vSphere hosts and the storage array.

Configuring the storage network

Vendor’s switch configuration guide

Complete the network cabling

Connect the switch interconnect ports, Isilon ports, VNX ports, and vSphere server ports.

Completing the network cabling

The infrastructure network requires redundant network links for each vSphere host, the storage array, switch interconnect ports, and switch uplink ports. This configuration provides both redundancy and additional network bandwidth.

This configuration is required regardless of whether the network infrastructure for the solution already exists or is being deployed with other components of the solution.

Figure 4 shows a sample redundant Ethernet infrastructure for the VNX used in this solution. This solution uses redundant switches and links to ensure that no single point of failure exists in network connectivity. The same principal applies to an Isilon configuration.

Configuring the infrastructure network

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Figure 4. Sample Ethernet network architecture

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Ensure that there are adequate switch ports for the storage array and vSphere hosts. EMC recommends that you configure the vSphere hosts with a minimum of two VLANs:

Client access network: Virtual machine networking and Common Internet File System (CIFS) traffic (these are customer-facing networks, which can be separated if needed)

Management network: vSphere management and VMware vMotion (private network)

This solution requires a dedicated storage network. If iSCSI is used to connect vSphere hosts to the XtremIO array, a dedicated VLAN for the storage network is required. If Fibre Channel (FC) or a combination of FC for the XtremIO array and FCoE for vSphere hosts will be used, no additional VLANs are required for the storage network.

For the solution tests, we used a FC network. The infrastructure FC network requires redundant FC switches and links for each vSphere host and the storage array. This configuration provides both redundancy and additional storage network bandwidth. We connected each vSphere host to both FC switches, and each switch to each storage processor on the storage array. We then placed each FC connection between the vSphere host and the storage array in a separate FC zone.

Figure 5 shows the network architecture used for testing this solution.

Figure 5. Sample FC network architecture

Configuring the VLANs

Configuring the storage network

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Ensure that all solution servers, storage arrays, switch interconnects, and switch uplinks have redundant connections and are plugged into separate switching infrastructures. Also ensure a complete connection is set up to the existing customer network.

Note: At this point, the new equipment is connected to the existing customer network. Ensure that unforeseen interactions do not cause service issues on the customer network.

Preparing and configuring the storage arrays

This section describes how to configure the XtremIO, Isilon and VNX storage arrays. In this solution, XtremIO provides VMware Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) data storage for VMware hosts running virtual desktops, while the optional VNX or Isilon provides CIFS storage for user data.

All storage configuration examples described in this chapter are for two X-Brick configurations validated in this solution. For larger configurations, refer sales representative for more information.

Table 8 shows the tasks for storage configuration.

Table 8. Tasks for storage configuration

Task Description Reference

Preparing and installing XtremIO

Install the XtremIO hardware according to the product documentation.

EMC XtremIO Storage Array Hardware Installation and Upgrade Guide

Setting up the initial XtremIO configuration

Configure the IP address information and other key parameters on the XtremIO array.

EMC XtremIO Storage Array Software Installation and Upgrade Guide

Configuring XtremIO event handlers

Configure XtremIO event handlers to send notifications concerning array physical space utilization.

Configuring XtremIO event handlers

Provisioning storage for VMFS datastores

Create XtremIO volumes that will be presented to the vSphere servers as VMFS datastores hosting the virtual desktops.

Provisioning storage for VMFS datastores

Prepare the Isilon cluster

Install the Isilon hardware according to the product documentation.

Isilon Site Preparation and Planning Guide

Configure the initial Isilon cluster

Configure the IP address information and other key parameters on the Isilon.

Isilon Site Preparation and Planning Guide

Preparing the VNX Install the VNX hardware according to the product documentation.

VSPEX Private Cloud Proven Infrastructure Guide

Setting up the initial VNX configuration

Configure the IP address information and other key parameters on the VNX.

VSPEX Private Cloud Proven Infrastructure Guide

Completing the network cabling

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Task Description Reference

Configuring VNX Fast Cache

Configure FAST Cache.

Optionally, configure FAST VP.

Configuring VNX Fast Cache

Configuring VNX FAST VP for user data (optional)

Provisioning optional Isilon storage for user data

Create CIFS file systems that will be used to store roaming user profiles and home directories. Configure FAST Cache.

Optionally, configure FAST VP.

Provisioning optional Isilon storage for user data

VSPEX private cloud Create additional VMFS datastores to host SQL Server, domain controller, vCenter Server, Citrix XenDesktop Desktop Delivery Controller, and Citrix Provisioning Services virtual machines.

Private cloud storage

There are no specific setup steps for this solution. For instructions on assembly, racking, cabling, and powering the XtremIO array, refer to the following documents:

EMC XtremIO Storage Array Site Preparation Guide

EMC XtremIO Storage Array Pre-Installation Checklist

EMC XtremIO Storage Array Software Installation and Upgrade Guide

EMC XtremIO Storage Array Hardware Installation and Upgrade Guide

After preparing the XtremIO, configure key information about the existing environment so that the storage array can communicate with it. Configure the following common items in accordance with your IT data center policies and existing infrastructure information:

Domain Name System (DNS)

Network Time Protocol (NTP)

XMS network interface

Storage network interfaces

Storage network IP addresses

You can configure XtremIO to send you email alerts when Software – Minor – Cluster events occur, a classification that includes events related to cluster-free capacity. A full list of XtremIO errors and alerts can be found in the EMC XtremIO Storage Array User Guide.

Preparing and installing XtremIO

Setting up the initial XtremIO configuration

Configuring XtremIO event handlers

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To create an event handler that emails you when these events occur, complete the following steps:

1. From the XtremIO Storage Management Application, select the Alerts & Events icon

2. In the Alerts & Events window, click Events.

3. Click the Display Event Handlers button in the upper right hand corner, as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6. XtremIO Display Event Handlers button

4. In the Event Handlers window, click Add.

5. In the Add Event Handler window, select the following, where cluster is the name of the XtremIO cluster as specified during installation, as shown in Figure 7:

Category: Software

Severity: Minor

Entity: Cluster

Entity Details: <cluster name>

6. In the same window, select the Send e-mail check box then click OK. The alert can also be configured to Send SNMP Trap or Send to Syslog.

Figure 7. XtremIO Edit Event Handler window

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7. From the XtremIO Storage Management Application, click the Administration icon.

8. On the Administration - Email Configuration tab, use the Add button to add any email addresses that should receive copies of XtremIO alerts. If you have configured the event handler to use either SNMP or Syslog for sending alerts, configure those options if they have not already been configured using the SNMP Configuration or Syslog Configuration tabs as required.

Complete the following steps in the EMC XtremIO Storage Management Application to configure volumes on the XtremIO array for storing virtual desktops:

Perform the following steps to configure the required volumes, as detailed in Table 9 to present to the vSphere servers as VMFS datastores. Two datastore configurations are listed for each desktop type, one that includes the space required to use the Citrix Personal vDisk (PvD) feature, and one that does not for solutions that will not use that component of Citrix XenDesktop. Note that when deploying Citrix, the following values are configured by default:

PVS write cache disk – 6 GB

Citrix Personal vDisk (PvD) – 10 GB

If either of these values are changed from the default, the datastore sizes must also be changed as a result.

Table 9. Volumes on XtremIO for storing virtual desktops

XtremIO configuration

Number of desktops

Type of desktop Number of volumes

Volume size

Starter X-Brick 1,750 PVS streamed 7 2,500 GB

PVS with PvD streamed

5,000 GB

MCS 14 750 GB

MCS with PvD 2,000 GB

X-Brick 3,500 PVS streamed 14 2,500 GB

PVS with PvD streamed

5,000 GB

MCS 28 750 GB

MCS with PvD 2,000 GB

1. Click Configuration.

2. In the Volume pane, click Add.

3. In the Add New Volumes window, click Add Multiple.

4. In the Number of Volumes field, type the required number of datastores based on the configuration and number of virtual desktops. In the Name field, provide a common LUN name, and in the Size field, type either 750 GB or 5000 GB as required and click Ok.

Provisioning storage for VMFS datastores

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There are no specific setup steps for this solution. For instructions on assembly, racking, cabling, and powering the Isilon cluster, refer to the following documentation:

X400 Installation Guide

Isilon Site Preparation and Planning Guide

After preparing the Isilon array, configure key information about the existing environment so that the storage array can communicate with it. Configure the following in accordance with your IT data center policies and existing infrastructure information:

External Network settings

SmartConnect Zones

Access Zones

The reference documents listed in Chapter 6 provide more information about how to configure the Isilon platform.

There are no specific setup steps for this solution. For instructions on assembly, racking, cabling, and powering the VNX array, refer to the EMC VNX Unified Installation Guide.

After preparing the VNX, configure key information about the existing environment so that the storage array can communicate with it. Configure the following common items in accordance with your IT data center policies and existing infrastructure information:

Domain Name System (DNS)

Network Time Protocol (NTP)

Storage network interfaces

Storage network IP address

CIFS services and Active Directory (AD) domain membership

The reference documents listed in Table 8 provide more information on how to configure the VNX platform. The Design Guide provides information about the disk layout.

To configure FAST Cache on the VNX storage pool for this solution, complete the following steps in Unisphere:

1. To view FAST Cache information for the VNX array:

a. In Unisphere, click Properties and select Manage Cache.

b. In the Storage System Properties dialog box, as shown in Figure 8, select FAST Cache to view FAST Cache information.

Prepare the Isilon cluster

Configure the initial Isilon cluster

Preparing the VNX

Setting up the initial VNX configuration

Configuring VNX Fast Cache

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Figure 8. Storage System Properties dialog box

2. To create FAST Cache:

a. Click Create to open the Create FAST Cache dialog box, as shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9. Creating FAST Cache dialog box

b. Select the required number of disks to be used for FAST Cache.

Note: To determine the number of flash drives to use, refer to the Design Guide.

c. With Automatic selected, flash drives that will be used for creating FAST Cache are listed in the dialog box.

To select the drives manually, select Manual.

d. Click OK to create FAST Cache using the selected disks.

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Note: If a sufficient number of flash drives are not available, an error message appears and FAST Cache cannot be created.

e. Enable FAST Cache for the storage pool created for the solution.

After FAST Cache is created, it is enabled by default for all new pools created.

To enable FAST Cache for an existing pool, select the FAST Cache Enabled option under Advanced in the Storage Pool Properties dialog box.

The FAST Cache feature on VNX does not cause an instant performance improvement. The system must collect data about access patterns and promote frequently used information into the cache. This process takes a few hours during which the performance of the array steadily improves.

To create a single, common SMB share on Isilon to be used by all users, which is the easiest way to set up a Microsoft Windows environment, follow these steps:

1. In the OneFS web administration interface, click Protocols > Windows Sharing (SMB).

2. On the SMB Shares tab, click Add a share.

3. In the Share Name field, type the user name for the user (for example, Home Directory).

4. In the Directory to Be Shared field, type the full path of the home directory location, beginning with /ifs, or click Browse to locate the directory (for example, /ifs/home/).

5. Click Create.

Provisioning optional Isilon storage for user data

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Figure 10. Create SMB share for Home Directory in Isilon

6. Repeat above steps for other CIFS shares, like profile folder.

By default, all users have access to the common SMB share, and can access other users' files that have a home directory in the common SMB share. If stricter access permissions are desired, enable Access-based enumeration to list only the files and folders to which each user has access when browsing content on the file server.

There are other ways of configuring Isilon as the home directory. Refer to Managing SMB Shares and User Home Directories in EMC Isilon OneFS 6.5 and Later for more details.

If the storage required for user data (that is, roaming user profiles or XenDesktop Profile Management repositories and home directories) does not exist in the production environment already and the optional user data disk pack has been purchased, complete the following steps in Unisphere to configure two CIFS file systems on VNX:

1. Create a block-based RAID 6 storage pool with the characteristics shown in Table 10.

Table 10. Create block-based RAID 6 storage pool

Configuration Number of drives Drive type

1,750 virtual desktops 24 2 TB NL-SAS

3,500 virtual desktops 48

Refer to the VSPEX Sizing Tool for more information on the number of drives required.

Provisioning optional VNX storage for user data

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2. Provision the required LUNs from the pool, as detailed in Table 11, to present to the Data Mover as dvols of a system-defined NAS pool.

Table 11. Configure LUNs for NAS pool

Configuration Number of LUNs LUN size (TB)

1,750 virtual desktops 10 2.25

3,500 virtual desktops 20 2.25

3. Provision four file systems from the NAS pool to be exported as CIFS shares on a CIFS server.

For 3,500 desktop configurations, the file systems should be distributed between two CIFS servers. Additionally, the CIFS servers should be distributed between the two active Data Movers on the VNX5400.

You can configure FAST VP to automate data movement between storage tiers in the user data storage pool, which is optional. You can configure FAST VP at the pool level or at the LUN level.

Configuring FAST VP at pool level

To view and manage FAST VP at the pool level, select the storage pool for the user data and click Properties to open the Storage Pool Properties dialog box.

Tier Status shows FAST VP relocation information specific to the pool selected. Tier Details shows the exact distribution of the data.

Figure 11 shows the tiering information for a specific FAST VP-enabled pool.

Figure 11. Storage Pool Properties dialog box

You can select scheduled relocation at the pool level from the Auto-Tiering menu. You can set this to either Automatic or Manual. Click Relocation Schedule to open the Manage Auto-Tiering window, as shown in Figure 12. From this window, you can control the Data Relocation Rate. The default rate is set to Medium to avoid significantly affecting host I/O.

Configuring VNX FAST VP for user data (optional)

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Note: FAST VP is a completely automated tool and you can schedule relocations to occur automatically. EMC recommends scheduling relocations during off-peak hours to minimize any potential performance impact.

Figure 12. Manage Auto-Tiering Window

This VSPEX End-User Computing Proven Infrastructure requires multiple application servers. Unless otherwise specified, all servers use Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 as the base OS. Table 12 lists the minimum requirements of each infrastructure server required.

Table 12. Infrastructure server minimum requirements

Server CPU RAM IOPS Storage capacity

Domain controllers (each) 2 vCPUs 4 GB 25 32 GB

SQL Server 2 vCPUs 6 GB 100 200 GB

vCenter Server 4 vCPUs 8 GB 100 80 GB

Citrix XenDesktop Controllers (each)

2 vCPUs 8 GB 50 32 GB

Citrix PVS Server s (each) 4 vCPUs 20 GB 75 150 GB

Private cloud storage layout

This solution requires a 1.5 TB volume to host the infrastructure virtual machines, which can include the VMware vCenter Server, Citrix XenDesktop Controllers, Citrix PVS servers, optional Citrix ShareFile servers, Microsoft Active Directory Server, and Microsoft SQL Server.

Table 13 details the minimum requirements for CPU and memory to implement Citrix ShareFile StorageZones with Storage Center.

VSPEX private cloud requirements

Citrix ShareFile requirements

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Table 13. Minimum hardware resources for ShareFile StorageZones with Storage Center

CPU (cores) Memory (GB) Reference

2 4 Storage Center system requirements on the Citrix eDocs website

Citrix ShareFile storage layout

ShareFile StorageZones requires a CIFS share to provide private data storage for Storage Center. The VNX, which provides the storage for VSPEX end-user computing solutions, provides both file and block access and an extensive feature set that makes it an ideal choice for ShareFile StorageZones deployments. Table 14 details the recommended VNX storage for the StorageZones CIFS share.

Table 14. Recommended VNX storage for ShareFile StorageZones CIFS share

CIFS share for (number of users)

Configuration Notes

1750 users Twenty-four 2 TB, 7,200 rpm 3.5-inch NL-SAS disks (6+2 RAID 6) The configuration assumes

that each user has 10 GB of private storage space. 3500 users Forty-eight 2 TB, 7,200

rpm 3.5-inch NL-SAS disks (6+2 RAID 6)

Installing and configuring the vSphere hosts

This section provides information about installing and configuring the vSphere hosts and infrastructure servers required to support the architecture. Table 15 describes the tasks to be completed.

Table 15. Tasks for server installation

Task Description Reference

Install vSphere Install the vSphere hypervisor on the physical servers deployed for the solution.

vSphere Installation and Setup Guide

Configure vSphere networking

Configure vSphere networking including network interface card (NIC) trunking, VMkernel ports, and virtual machine port groups.

Configuring vSphere networking

Add vSphere hosts to the XtremIO initiator groups

Add the vSphere hosts to the initiator groups created in Preparing and configuring the storage array.

EMC Online Support

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Task Description Reference

Connect VMware datastores

Connect the VMware datastores to the vSphere hosts deployed for the solution.

Connecting vSphere datastores

Optimize vSphere Perform the configuration changes needed to ensure optimal performance of the XtremIO array

Optimizing vSphere for XtremIO

On initial power up of the servers being used for vSphere, confirm or enable the hardware-assisted CPU virtualization setting and the hardware-assisted MMU virtualization setting in the server’s BIOS. If the servers are equipped with a RAID controller, EMC recommends that you configure mirroring on the local disks.

Start up the vSphere installation media and install the hypervisor on each of the servers. vSphere hostnames, IP addresses, and a root password are required for installation. The Customer Configuration Worksheet provides appropriate values.

The VMware vSphere Networking guide describes vSphere networking configuration, including load balancing, link aggregation, and failover options. Choose the appropriate load-balancing option based on what is supported by the network infrastructure. Refer to the list of documents in Reference Documentation for more information.

Network interface cards

During the installation of vSphere, a standard virtual switch (vSwitch) is created. By default, vSphere chooses only one physical NIC as a vSwitch uplink. To maintain redundancy and bandwidth requirements, configure an additional NIC, either by using the vSphere console or by connecting to the vSphere host from the vSphere Client.

Each vSphere server should have multiple interface cards for each virtual network to ensure redundancy and provide for the use of network load balancing, link aggregation, and network adapter failover.

VMkernel ports

Create the following VMkernel ports as required, based on the infrastructure configuration:

VMkernel port for vMotion

Virtual desktop port groups (used by the virtual desktops to communicate on the network)

The VMware vSphere Networking guide describes the procedure for configuring these settings. Refer to the list of documents in Reference Documentation for more information.

Installing vSphere

Configuring vSphere networking

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Connect the data stores configured in Preparing and configuring the storage array to the appropriate vSphere servers. These include the datastores configured for:

Virtual desktop storage

Infrastructure virtual machine storage (if required)

SQL Server storage (if required)

To enable vSphere servers to access the XtremIO volumes, configure XtremIO initiator groups and add the appropriate vSphere hosts to each using the following steps in the XtremIO Storage Management Application:

1. Click Configuration.

2. In the Initiator Group pane, click Add.

3. In the Add New Initiator Group window, type a name in the Initiator Group Name field, and then click Add.

4. In the Add Initiator window, type a name in the Initiator Name field, and then use the Initiator Port Address list to select the initiator port of a vSphere server that should be in the target initiator group. Click Ok to return to the Add Initiator window

5. In the Add Initiator window, repeat step 4 as needed to add all target initiator ports to the initiator group. Once all initiators have been added, click Finish.

6. In the Configuration menu, select the target volumes from the Volumes pane, the target initiator group from the Initiator Groups pane, click the Map All button, and then click Apply to complete the process and grant the vSphere servers access to the selected volumes. Repeat as needed to grant the remaining initiator groups access to the remaining volumes.

7. Perform a Rescan for Datastores operation on the vSphere hosts so that they will immediately see the XtremIO volumes they were granted access to.

8. Repeat this process as needed, creating an initiator group for each vSphere cluster.

The VMware vSphere Storage Guide provides instructions on how to format the vSphere datastores when XtremIO initiator groups have been configured. Refer to the list of documents in Reference Documentation for more information.

Multiple changes are required to ensure optimal performance of the XtremIO array when used with vSphere. These changes are outlined in the EMC XtremIO Storage Array User Guide, and include:

Change the vSphere storage device path selection setting to Round Robin (VMware) for each vSphere datastore. This can be done using the following vSphere PowerCLI command, replacing cluster with the name of the vSphere cluster where the target vSphere hosts reside. Repeat as needed for each cluster:

Connecting vSphere datastores

Optimizing vSphere for XtremIO

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Get-VMHost -location cluster | get-scsilun -luntype "disk" |

where {$_.MultipathPolicy -ne "RoundRobin"} | Set-ScsiLun -

MultipathPolicy "RoundRobin"

Change vSphere Disk.SchedQuantum setting to 64 and Disk.DiskMaxIOSize setting to 4096. This can be done using the following vSphere PowerCLI commands, replacing cluster with the name of the vSphere cluster where the target vSphere hosts reside. Repeat as needed for each cluster:

Get-VMhost -location cluster | Set-

VMhostAdvancedConfiguration Disk.SchedQuantum -Value 64

Get-VMhost -location cluster | Set-

VMhostAdvancedConfiguration Disk.DiskMaxIOSize -Value 4096

Change the vSphere Disk.SchedNumReqOutstanding setting to 256 for each vSphere datastore. This can be done using the following vSphere PowerCLI script. Repeat as needed for each vSphere cluster, updating the script with the target ClusterName:

$vmhosts = get-vmhost –location ClusterName foreach ($vmhost in $vmhosts) {

$esxcli = get-esxcli -vmhost $vmhost

$AllLUNs = get-scsilun -vmhost $vmhost | where {$_.vendor -eq

"XtremIO"}

foreach ($lun in $AllLUNs) {

$CN = $lun.canonicalname

$EsxCli.storage.core.device.set($null, $cn, $null, $null,

$null, $null, $null, 256, $on)

}

}

The settings described in this section apply only to vSphere hosts connected to EMC XtremIO arrays, and should not be applied to block datastores hosted on other arrays, including other EMC arrays. It is acceptable to use these settings on vSphere hosts that are connected to NFS datastores as well as an XtremIO, as the settings will have no effect on the communication with those NFS datastores.

The EMC VSI plug-in enables administrators to perform most common XtremIO administrative tasks from the vSphere Web Client, instead of having to use the XtremIO management console. Furthermore, administrators can use the plug-in to perform key vSphere host optimizations for XtremIO, instead of having to use vSphere PowerCLI. If a VNX array is deployed as part of this solution, administrators can use the VSI plug-in to manage this storage also.

If your solution uses the VSI plug-in, refer to the EMC VSI for VMware vSphere Web Client Product Guide for installation, configuration, and operation instructions.

Figure 13 shows an EMC VSI installation that has been successfully integrated with the vSphere Web Client, as displayed on the vCenter Home page.

Deploying EMC Virtual Storage Integrator (VSI)

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Figure 13. vSphere Web Client: EMC VSI integration

The vCenter Home > Storage Systems option lists all EMC storage systems after you have added them to the VSI plug-in. In the example in Figure 14, the XtremIO array has been successfully added and is available for management in the vSphere Web Client.

Figure 14. vSphere Web Client: EMC VSI Storage Systems

After you have added an array to the VSI plug-in, the vSphere Web Client lists all of the array’s datastores. Right-click a datastore and select All EMC VSI Plugin Actions to access all actions you can apply to that datastore, as shown in Figure 15.

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Figure 15. vSphere Web Client: EMC VSI XtremIO datastore actions

Installing and configuring the SQL Server database

Table 16 describes the tasks for setting up and configuring a Microsoft SQL Server database for the solution. When the tasks are complete, SQL Server is set up on a virtual machine, with all of the databases required by vCenter, Update Manager, XenDesktop, and Citrix Provisioning Services.

Note: EMC recommends that you put the OS volume for the SQL Server virtual machine into the VSPEX private cloud pool. The recommended values for CPU and memory are listed in Table 16.

Table 16. Tasks for SQL Server database setup

Task Description Reference

Create a virtual machine for SQL Server

Create a virtual machine to host SQL Server on one of the vSphere servers designated for infrastructure virtual machines, and use the datastore designated for the shared infrastructure.

Verify that the virtual server meets the hardware and software requirements.

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Install Microsoft Windows on the virtual machine

Install Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard Edition on the virtual machine.

Install and Deploy Windows Server 2012 R2

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Task Description Reference

Install SQL Server Install SQL Server 2012 on the virtual machine.

SQL Server Installation (SQL Server 2012)

Configure the database for VMware vCenter Server

Create the database required for vCenter Server on the appropriate datastore.

Preparing vCenter Server Databases

Configure the database for VMware Update Manager

Create the database required for Update Manager on the appropriate datastore.

Preparing the Update Manager Database

Configure VMware vCenter database permissions

Configure the database server with appropriate permissions for vCenter.

Preparing vCenter Server Databases

Configure VMware Update Manager database permissions

Configure the database server with appropriate permissions for Update Manager.

Preparing the Update Manager Database

VMware vCenter Server deployment

Table 17 describes the tasks to be completed to configure VMware vCenter Server for the solution.

Note: EMC recommends that you put the OS volume for the vCenter Server virtual machine into the VSPEX private cloud pool. The recommended values for CPU and memory are listed in Table 12.

Table 17. Tasks for vCenter configuration

Task Description Reference

Create the vCenter host virtual machine

Create a virtual machine for vCenter Server.

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Install the vCenter guest OS

Install Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard Edition on the vCenter host virtual machine.

VMware vSphere Documentation

Update the virtual machine

Install VMware Tools, enable hardware acceleration, and allow remote console access.

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Create vCenter ODBC connections

Create the 64-bit vCenter and 32-bit vCenter Update Manager ODBC connections.

vSphere Installation and Setup

Installing and Administering VMware vSphere Update Manager

Install vCenter Server

Install the vCenter Server software.

vSphere Installation and Setup

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Task Description Reference

Install vCenter Update Manager

Install the vCenter Update Manager software.

Installing and Administering VMware vSphere Update Manager

Create a virtual datacenter

Create a virtual datacenter. vCenter Server and Host Management

Apply vSphere license keys

Type the vSphere license keys in the vCenter licensing menu.

vSphere Installation and Setup

Add vSphere Hosts Connect the vCenter server to the vSphere hosts.

vCenter Server and Host Management

Configure vSphere clustering

Create a vSphere cluster and move the vSphere hosts into it.

vSphere Resource Management

Install the vCenter Update Manager plug-in

Install the vCenter Update Manager plug-in from the administration console.

Installing and Administering VMware vSphere Update Manager

Deploy EMC PowerPath/VE

Use Update Manager to deploy the PowerPath/VE plug-in to all vSphere hosts.

EMC PowerPath/VE for VMware vSphere Installation and Administration Guide

Install the EMC VSI for VMware vSphere plug-in

Install the VSI for VMware vSphere plug-in on the administration console.

EMC VSI for VMware vSphere: Unified Storage Management— Product Guide

Install EMC PowerPath Viewer

Install PowerPath Viewer on the administration console.

EMC PowerPath Viewer Installation and Administration Guide

Installing and configuring XenDesktop Desktop Delivery Controllers

This section provides information on how to set up and configure XenDesktop Delivery Controllers for the solution. For a new installation of XenDesktop, Citrix recommends that you complete the tasks in Table 18 in the order shown.

Note: EMC recommends that you put the OS volume for the XenDesktop Desktop Delivery Controller virtual machines into the VSPEX private cloud pool. The recommended values for CPU and memory are listed in Table 12.

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Table 18. Tasks for XenDesktop controller setup

Task Description Reference

Creating virtual machines for XenDesktop Delivery Controllers

Create two virtual machines in vSphere Client. These virtual machines are used as XenDesktop Delivery Controllers.

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Installing the guest operating system for the XenDesktop Delivery Controllers

Install the Windows Server 2012 R2 or Windows Server 2012 guest operating system on the virtual machines.

Installing the XenDesktop server-side components

Install the required XenDesktop server components on the first Delivery Controller.

Citrix website

Installing Citrix Studio

Install Citrix Studio to manage XenDesktop deployment remotely.

Configuring a site

Configure a site in Citrix Studio.

Adding a second XenDesktop Delivery Controller

Install an additional Delivery Controller for high availability.

Preparing a master virtual machine

Create a master virtual machine as the base image for the virtual desktops.

Provisioning the virtual desktops

Provision the virtual desktops using MCS.

Install the following XenDesktop server-side components on the first Delivery Controller:

Delivery Controller: Distributes applications and desktops, manages user access, and optimizes connections

Citrix Studio: Creates, configures and manages infrastructure components, applications, and desktops

Citrix Director: Monitors performance and troubleshoots problems

License server: Manages product licenses

Citrix StoreFront: Provides authentication and resource delivery services for Citrix Receiver

Installing server-side components of XenDesktop

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Note: Citrix supports installation of XenDesktop components only through the procedures described in Citrix documentation.

Start Citrix Studio and configure a site as follows:

1. License the site and specify which edition of XenDesktop to use.

2. Set up the site database using a designated login credential for SQL Server.

3. Provide information about your virtual infrastructure, including the vCenter SDK path that the controller will use to establish a connection to the VMware infrastructure.

After you have configured a site, you can add a second Delivery Controller to provide high availability. The XenDesktop server-side components required for the second controller are:

Delivery Controller

Citrix Studio

Citrix Director

Citrix StoreFront

Do not install the license-server component on the second controller because it is centrally managed on the first controller.

Install Citrix Studio on the appropriate administrator consoles to manage your XenDesktop deployment remotely.

Complete the following steps to prepare the master virtual machine:

1. Install the Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 guest OS.

2. Install the appropriate integration tools such as VMware Tools.

3. Optimize the OS settings to prevent unnecessary background services from generating non-essential I/O operations that adversely affect the overall performance of the storage array. Refer to the following White Papers for details: Citrix Windows 7 Optimization Guide or Citrix Windows 8 and 8.1 Virtual Desktop Optimization Guide.

4. Install the Virtual Delivery Agent.

5. Install the third-party tools or applications, such as Microsoft Office, relevant to your environment.

6. Install the Avamar Desktop/Laptop Client.

The same procedure applies to Windows Server 2012 R2 guest OS for HSD as well, except the optional optimization.

Configuring a site

Adding a second controller

Installing Citrix Studio

Preparing the master virtual machine

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Complete the following steps in Citrix Studio to deploy MCS-based virtual desktops:

1. Create a machine catalog using the master virtual machine as the base image.

MCS allows the creation of a machine catalog that contains various types of desktops. We tested the following desktop types for this solution:

Windows Desktop OS:

Random: Users connect to a new (random) desktop each time they log on.

PvD: Users connect to the same (static) desktop each time they log on. Changes are saved on a separate PvD.

Windows Server OS: Provides hosted shared desktops for deployment of standardized machines

2. Add the machines created in the catalog to a delivery group so that the virtual desktops are available to the end users.

Use EMC Virtual Storage Integrator (VSI) for VMware vSphere Web Client to deploy full clone virtual desktops and integrate them with XenDesktop, which leverages XtremIO snapshot technology.

1. Log on to the VMware vSphere Web Client.

2. Select the master image on the virtual machine, right-click, and then select All EMC VSI Plugin Actions>EMC Clone…

3. For Select base name and folder, type a name for the clone, select the destination folder, and then click Next.

4. For Select a compute resource, select a cluster, host, vApp, or resource pool to run the virtual machine clones, and then click Next.

5. For Select clone options, complete the following information:

a. Clone count—Type the number of clones you want to create.

b. Generated clone name:

i. Add leading zeros to index used to generate names—Select to add leading zeroes to the index numbers in the file names.

ii. Number of digits in index—Specify the total number of digits to append to the end of the clone name.

c. Customization specification—List of all customized definitions from the customization specifications manager.

d. Select destination datastore—The target to store the clones. Select an existing XtremIO datastore or select New to create a new datastore.

e. Power on virtual machines after creation—Select to automatically power on the virtual machine clone.

6. Under Connection Broker Information, select Integrate with XenDesktop, and click Next.

Provisioning the virtual desktops

Provisioning virtual desktops with VSI

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XenDesktop Controller—Select the appropriate IP address from the list.

Setting host parameters 95

Managing XtremIO Storage Systems Using VSI

New/Existing Machine Catalog:

Add VMs to a New Machine Catalog—Opens the Set up a New Machine Catalog dialog box. Type a name and description for the new machine catalog.

Add VMs to an Existing Machine Catalog—Select from the list.

New/Existing Desktop Group:

Add VMs to a New Desktop Group—Opens the Set up a New Desktop Group dialog box. Type a name, display name, and description for the new desktop group.

Add VMs to an Existing Desktop Group—Select from the list.

7. For Ready to Complete, review your selections, and then click Finish.

Refer to EMC VSI for VMware vSphere Web Client Product Guide for more information.

Installing and configuring Citrix Provisioning Services

This section provides information about how to set up and configure Citrix PVS for the solution. This information is not needed for Citrix MCS-only implementation.

For a new installation of PVS, Citrix recommends that you complete the tasks in Table 19 in the order shown.

Table 19. Tasks for XenDesktop controller setup

Task Description Reference

Creating virtual machines for PVS servers

Create two virtual machines in vSphere Client. These virtual machines are used as PVS servers.

vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

Installing the guest operating system for the PVS servers.

Install the Windows Server 2012 R2 or Windows Server 2012 guest operating system for the PVS servers.

Installing the PVS server-side components

Install the PVS server components and console on the PVS server.

Citrix website

Configuring a PVS server farm

Run the Provisioning Services Configuration Wizard to create a PVS server farm.

Adding a second PVS server

Install the PVS server components and console on the second server and join it to the existing server farm.

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Task Description Reference

Creating a PVS store

Specify the store path where the vDisks will reside.

Configuring inbound communication

Adjust the total number of threads to be used to communicate with each virtual desktop.

Configuring a bootstrap file

Update the bootstrap image to use both PVS servers to provide streaming services.

Configuring boot options 66 and 67 on the DHCP server

Specify the TFTP server IP and the name of the bootstrap image used for the Preboot eXecution Environment (PXE) boot.

Preparing a master virtual machine

Create a master virtual machine as the base image for the virtual desktops.

Provisioning the virtual desktops

Provision the virtual desktops using PVS.

After the PVS server components are installed on the PVS server, start the Provisioning Services Configuration Wizard and configure a new server farm using the following options:

1. Specify the DHCP service to be run on another computer.

2. Specify the PXE service to be run on this computer.

3. Select Create farm to create a new PVS server farm using a designated SQL Server database instance.

4. When creating a new server farm, you need to create a site. Provide an appropriate name for the new site and target device collection.

5. Select the license server that is running on the XenDesktop controller.

6. Select Use the Provisioning Services TFTP service.

After you have configured a PVS server farm, you can add a second PVS server to provide high availability. Install the PVS server components and console on the second PVS server and run the Provisioning Services Configuration Wizard to join the second server to the existing server farm.

A PVS store is a logical container for vDisks. When deploying PVS servers on datastores located on an XtremIO array, the PVS stores should be configured using virtual hard disks assigned to each PVS server.

Each PVS server maintains a range of User Datagram Protocol (UDP) ports to manage all inbound communications from virtual desktops. Ideally, there should be one thread dedicated to each desktop session. The total number of threads supported by a PVS server is calculated as:

Configuring a PVS server farm

Adding a second PVS server

Creating a PVS store

Configuring inbound communication

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Total threads = (Number of UDP ports * Threads per port * Number

of network adapters)

Adjust the thread count accordingly to match the number of deployed virtual desktops.

To update the bootstrap file required for the virtual desktops to PXE boot, complete the following steps:

1. In the Provisioning Services console, select Farm > Sites > Site-name > Servers.

2. Right-click a server and select Configure Bootstrap.

The Configure Bootstrap dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 16.

Figure 16. Configure Bootstrap dialog box

3. Update the bootstrap image to reflect the IP addresses used for all PVS servers that provide streaming services in a round-robin fashion. Select Read Servers from Database to obtain a list of PVS servers automatically or select Add to manually add the server information.

4. After modifying the configuration, click OK to update the ARDBP32.BIN bootstrap file, which is located at C:\ProgramData\Citrix\Provisioning Services\Tftpboot.

5. Navigate to the folder and examine the timestamp of the bootstrap file to ensure that it is updated on the intended PVS server.

To PXE boot the virtual desktops successfully from the bootstrap image supplied by the PVS servers, set the boot options 66 and 67 on the Microsoft DHCP server.

Configuring a bootstrap file

Configuring boot options 66 and 67 on DHCP server

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Complete the following steps to configure the boot options on the DHCP server:

1. From the DHCP management interface of the DHCP server, right-click Scope Options and select Configure Options.

2. Select 066 Boot Server Host Name. In String value, type the IP address of the PVS server configured as the TFTP server.

3. Select 067 Bootfile Name. In String value, type ARDBP32.BIN.

The ARDBP32.BIN bootstrap image is loaded on a virtual desktop before the vDisk image is streamed from the PVS servers.

Complete the following steps to prepare the master virtual machine:

1. Install the Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 guest OS.

2. Install appropriate integration tools such as VMware Tools.

3. Optimize the OS settings to prevent unnecessary background services from generating inessential I/O operations that adversely affect the overall performance of the storage array. Refer to the following White Paper for details: Citrix Windows 7 Optimization Guide or Citrix Windows 8 and 8.1 Virtual Desktop Optimization Guide.

4. Install the Virtual Delivery Agent.

5. Install the third-party tools or applications, such as Microsoft Office, relevant to your environment.

6. Install the PVS target device software on the master virtual machine.

7. Modify the BIOS of the master virtual machine so that the network adapter is at the top of the boot order to ensure PXE boot of the PVS bootstrap image.

Complete the following steps to deploy the PVS-based virtual desktops:

1. Run the PVS imaging wizard to clone the master image onto a vDisk.

2. When the cloning is complete, shut down the master virtual machine and modify the following vDisk properties:

Access mode: Standard Image

Cache type: Cache on device hard drive

3. Prepare a virtual machine template to be used by the XenDesktop Setup Wizard in the next step.

4. Run the XenDesktop Setup Wizard in the PVS console to create a machine catalog that contains the specified number of virtual desktops.

5. Add the virtual desktops created in the catalog to a delivery group so that the virtual desktops are available to the end users.

Preparing the master virtual machine

Provisioning the virtual desktops

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Setting up EMC Avamar

This section provides information about installing and configuring Avamar to support guest-based backups of user files. There are other Avamar-based methods for backing up user files; however, guest-based backups provide end-user restore capabilities using a common GUI. For this configuration, it is assumed that only a user’s files and profile are being backed up.

Table 20 describes the tasks that must be completed.

Note: In addition to the backups produced by the procedure described here, you should regularly back up the data center infrastructure components required by XenDesktop virtual desktops. Full disaster recovery requires the ability to restore XenDesktop end-user computing in combination with the ability to restore XenDesktop virtual desktop user data and files.

Table 20. Tasks for Avamar integration

Task Description Reference

Microsoft Active Directory preparation

Configuring Group Policy Object (GPO) additions for Avamar

Create and configure a GPO to enable Avamar backups of user files and profiles.

EMC Avamar 7 Administrator Guide

Citrix XenDesktop master (gold) image preparation

Preparing the master image for Avamar

Install and configure the Avamar Client to run in user mode.

Installing and configuring XenDesktop Desktop Delivery Controllers

Preparing the master virtual machine

Avamar preparation

Defining Avamar datasets

Create and configure Avamar datasets to support user files and profiles.

EMC Avamar 7 Administrator Guide

EMC Avamar 7 Operational Best Practices Defining Avamar

backup schedules

Create and configure an Avamar backup schedule to support virtual desktop backups.

Adjusting the maintenance window schedule

Modify the maintenance window schedule to support virtual desktop backups.

Defining Avamar retention policies

Create and configure Avamar retention policy.

Avamar configuration overview

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Task Description Reference

Creating an Avamar Group and Group Policy

Create and configure Avamar Group and Group Policy.

Post-desktop deployment

Activating XenDesktop clients (desktops)

Activate XenDesktop virtual desktops using Avamar Enterprise Manager.

EMC Avamar 7 Administrator Guide

Because of current Avamar limitations (no support for client-side variables, for example, %username%) and to reduce the management burden, you must use mapped drives for user data and user profiles.

To create the mapped drives and to configure Windows Folder Redirection to create the Universal Naming Convention (UNC) paths needed for the drives, create and edit a new GPO in the Group Policy Management Editor, as described in the following procedures.

Folder redirection

To configure Windows folder redirection:

1. Navigate to the User Configuration > Policies > Windows Settings > Folder Redirection policy setting.

2. Right-click Documents.

3. Select Properties.

4. From the Settings list box, select Basic – Redirect everyone’s folder to the same location.

5. Type \\CIFS_server\folder, as shown in Figure 17.

Configuring Group Policy Object (GPO) additions for Avamar

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Figure 17. Configuring Windows Folder Redirection

Mapped drives

Create two mapped drive configurations, one for user files and one for user profiles. Follow the same procedure for each mapped drive but use different values for Location, Label As, and Drive Letter Used.

To configure drive mappings:

1. Navigate to the User Configuration > Preferences > Windows Settings > Drive Maps policy setting.

2. Right-click the blank (white) area on the right side of the window.

3. Select New > Mapped Drive, as shown in Figure 18.

The Mapped Drive Properties window appears.

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Figure 18. Opening the Mapped Drive Properties dialog box

4. To create the user files mapped drive, follow these steps, as shown in Figure 19:

a. From the Action list, select Create.

b. In Location, type \\cifs_server\folder\%username%.

c. Select Reconnect.

d. In Label as, type User_Files.

e. In Drive Letter, select Use: and U.

f. In Hide/Show this drive, select Hide this drive.

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Figure 19. Creating a Windows network drive mapping for user files

5. In the New Drive Properties window, click Common and select Run in logged-on user’s security context (user policy option), as shown in Figure 20.

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Figure 20. Configuring drive mapping common settings

6. Click Apply.

7. To create the user profiles mapped drive:

a. Repeat the steps for creating the user files mapped drive, but change the following three variables as specified (Figure 21 shows a sample configuration):

In Location, type \\cifs_server\folder\%username%.domain.V2, where domain is the Active Directory domain name.

In Label as, type User_Profile.

In Drive Letter, select Use: and P.

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Figure 21. Creating a Windows network drive mapping for user profile data

8. Click OK.

9. Close the Group Policy Management Editor.

This section provides information about using the Avamar Client for Windows to provide data protection for XenDesktop virtual desktops that store user-generated files in VNX home directories.

The Avamar Client for Windows installs and runs a Windows service named Backup Agent. This service provides backup and restore functions.

Windows security limits the access of services logged on using the Local System account to local resources only. In its default configuration, the Backup Agent uses the Local System account to log on. It cannot access network resources, including the XenDesktop user profile or data file shares.

To access XenDesktop user profile and data file shares, the Backup Agent must run as the currently logged on user. A batch file starts Backup Agent and logs it on as a user when the user logs in.

Windows security for Avamar client service

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The next several sections assume that the Avamar Grid is up and functional and that you have logged into Avamar Administrator. For information on accessing Avamar Administrator, refer to EMC Avamar 7 Administration Guide.

An Avamar dataset consists of lists of directories and files to backup from a client. Assigning a dataset to a client or group enables you to save backup selections. For additional information about datasets, refer to EMC Avamar 7 Administration Guide.

This section provides dataset configuration information, specific to XenDesktop virtual desktops, which is required to ensure successful backups of user files and user profiles. Create two datasets, one for user files and one for user profiles. Follow the same procedure for each dataset but use different values for Name and Drive Letter Used. There are also additional steps for creating the user profiles dataset.

1. In the Avamar Administrator window, shown in Figure 22, click Tools and select Manage Datasets.

Figure 22. Configuring Windows Folder Redirection

2. In the Manage All Datasets window, click New.

3. In the New Dataset window, select the custom settings shown in Figure 23.

Defining Avamar datasets

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Figure 23. Configuring Avamar dataset settings

a. Remove all other plug-ins from the list by selecting each one and clicking Remove (–).

b. In Name, type View-User-Files.

c. Select Enter Explicitly.

d. From the Select Plug-in Type list box, select Windows File System.

e. In Select Files and/or Folders, type U:\, and then click Add (+).

4. Click OK to save the dataset.

5. Repeat steps 1 to 4 using the following values to create a new dataset for user profile data:

In Name, type View-User-Profile.

In Select Files and/or Folders, type P:\.

Additional configurations are required to back up User Profile data; Figure 24 shows a sample configuration.

6. Click Exclusions.

7. From the Select Plug-in Type list box, select Windows File System.

8. In Select Files and/or Folders, type P:\avs and click Add (+).

Figure 24. User profile dataset Exclusion settings

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9. Click Options, as shown in Figure 25.

Figure 25. Select Plug-in Type option

10. From the Select Plug-in Type list box, select Windows File System.

11. Select Show Advanced Options.

12. Scroll down the list of options and select Volume Freezing Options as shown in Figure 26.

Figure 26. Volume Freezing Options

13. From the Method to freeze volumes list box, select None.

14. Click OK to save the dataset.

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Avamar schedules are reusable objects that control when group backups and custom notifications occur. Define a reoccurring schedule that satisfies your recovery point objectives (RPO). For additional information about datasets, refer to the EMC Avamar7 Administration Guide.

Avamar server maintenance includes the following essential activities:

Checkpoint: A snapshot of the Avamar server specifically taken to facilitate server rollbacks.

Checkpoint validation: An internal operation that validates the integrity of a specific checkpoint. Once a checkpoint passes validation, it can be considered reliable enough to be used for a server rollback.

Garbage collection: An internal operation that recovers storage space from deleted or expired backups.

Each 24-hour day is divided into three operational windows, during which various system activities are performed:

Backup window: That portion of each day reserved to perform normal scheduled backups. No maintenance activities are performed during the backup window.

Blackout window: That portion of each day reserved to perform server maintenance activities, primarily garbage collection, that require unrestricted access to the server. No backup or administrative activities are allowed during the blackout window. However, you can perform restores.

Maintenance window: That portion of each day reserved to perform routine server maintenance activities, primarily checkpoint creation and validation.

Figure 27 shows the default Avamar backup, blackout, and maintenance windows.

Figure 27. Avamar default Backup/Maintenance Windows schedule

Defining Avamar backup schedules

Adjusting the maintenance window schedule

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User files and profile data should not be backed up during the day while the users are logged onto their virtual desktops. Adjust the backup window start time to prevent backups from occurring during that time.

Figure 28 shows a modified backup, blackout, and maintenance window for backing up Citrix XenDesktop virtual desktops.

Figure 28. Avamar modified Backup/Maintenance Windows schedule

To adjust the schedule to appear as shown above, change the Backup Window Start Time from 8:00 PM to 8:00 AM, and click OK to save the changes.

For additional information about Avamar server maintenance activities, refer to the EMC Avamar 7 Administration Guide.

Avamar backup retention policies enable you to specify how long to keep a backup in the system. A retention policy is assigned to each backup when the backup occurs. Specify a custom retention policy to perform an on-demand backup, or create a retention policy that is assigned automatically to a group of clients during a scheduled backup.

When the retention for a backup expires, the backup is automatically marked for deletion. The deletion occurs in batches during times of low system activity.

For additional information on defining retention policies, refer to the EMC Avamar 7 Administration Guide.

Avamar uses groups to implement various policies to automate backups and enforce consistent rules and system behavior across an entire segment, or group, of the user community. Group members are client machines that have been added to a particular group to perform scheduled backups.

Defining Avamar retention policies

Creating an Avamar Group and Group Policy

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In addition to specifying which clients belong to a group, groups also specify:

Datasets

Schedules

Retention polices

These objects make up the group policy, which controls backup behavior for all members of the group unless you override these settings at the client level. For additional information about groups and group policies, refer to the EMC Avamar 7 Administration Guide.

This section provides group configuration information that is required to ensure proper backups of user files and user profiles.

Create two groups and their respective group policy, one for user files and one for user profiles. Follow the same procedure for each group but use different values for Name and Dataset Used:

1. In Avamar Administrator, select Actions > New Group, as shown in Figure 29.

Figure 29. Creating a new Avamar backup group

The New Group window appears.

2. In Name, type View_User_Data as shown in Figure 30.

Figure 30. New Group window

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3. Ensure that Disabled is cleared.

4. Click Next.

5. From the Select An Existing Dataset list box, select Citrix Xendesktop-User-Data.

6. Click Next.

7. From the Select An Existing Schedule list box, select a schedule, and then click Next, as shown in Figure 31.

Figure 31. Select An Existing Schedule

8. From the Select An Existing Retention Policy list, select a retention policy.

9. Click Finish.

Note: If you select Next instead of Finish, you can select the clients to be added to the group. However, this step is unnecessary, because clients will be added to the group during activation.

Avamar Enterprise Manager is a web-based multisystem management console application that provides centralized Avamar system administration capabilities, including the ability to add and activate Avamar Clients all at once.

In this section, we assume that you know how to log into Avamar Enterprise Manager (EM) and that the XenDesktop desktops are created.

Activating XenDesktop clients (desktops)

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After you log in to Avamar EM, the Enterprise Manager Dashboard appears, as shown in Figure 32.

Figure 32. Avamar Enterprise Manager Dashboard

1. Click Client Manager.

2. In the Avamar Client Manager window, click Activate as shown in Figure 33 .

Figure 33. Avamar Client Manager

3. In the Activate window, click the Client Information list arrow and select Directory Service, as shown in Figure 34.

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Figure 34. Client Information menu

The Directory Service dialog box appears.

4. Type the required user credentials, as shown in Figure 35.

Figure 35. Directory Service dialog box

This assumes an Active Directory service has been configured in Avamar; refer to the EMC Avamar 7.0 Administration Guide for additional information about enabling LDAP Management.

a. In the User Domain list, select a directory service domain.

b. In User Name and Password, type the user name and password required for directory service authentication.

c. In Directory Domain, select a directory domain to query for client information, and then click OK.

The Active Directory information appears in the Client Information pane of the EMC Avamar Client Manager window, as shown in Figure 36.

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Figure 36. EMC Avamar Client Manager with Active Directory information

5. In the Client Information directory tree, locate the Citrix XenDesktop virtual desktops.

In this example, an OU was created named VSPEX, as shown in Figure 37.

Figure 37. VSPEX virtual desktops

6. Select the virtual machine desktops you want to add to the Avamar server, as shown in Figure 38.

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Figure 38. Selected virtual desktops

7. Drag and drop the selected list to the existing Avamar Domain in the Server Information pane.

The Select Groups window appears as shown in Figure 39.

Figure 39. Select Groups window

8. Under Group Name, select the groups to which you want to add these desktops, and then click Add.

The EMC Avamar Client Manager window reappears.

9. Select the Avamar domain to which you just added the virtual desktops, and then click Activate, as shown in Figure 40.

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Figure 40. Activate domain

The Show Clients for Activation window appears.

10. Click Commit, as shown in Figure 41.

Figure 41. Show Clients for Activation window

An Alert appears, indicating that the client activation will be performed as a background process.

11. Click OK.

A second Alert indicates that the activation process has been initiated and that you should check the logs for status.

12. Click OK.

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The Avamar Client Manager window reappears with the activated clients listed, as shown in Figure 42.

Figure 42. Avamar Client Manager with activated clients

13. Log out from Avamar Enterprise Manager.

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Chapter 5 Solution Verification

This chapter presents the following topics:

Overview .................................................................................................................. 75

Post-installation checklist ....................................................................................... 76

Deploy and test a single virtual desktop .................................................................. 76

Verify the redundancy of the solution components .................................................. 76

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Overview

After you configure the solution, complete the tasks in Table 21 to verify the configuration and functionality of specific aspects of the solution, and ensure that the configuration supports core availability requirements.

Table 21. Tasks for testing the installation

Task Description Reference

Verify installation with post installation checklist

Verify that adequate virtual ports exist on each vSphere host virtual switch.

vSphere Networking

Verify that each vSphere host has access to the required datastores and VLANs.

vSphere Storage Guide

vSphere Networking

Verify that the vMotion interfaces are configured correctly on all vSphere hosts.

vSphere Networking

Deploy and test a single virtual desktop

Deploy a single virtual machine from the vSphere interface by using the customization specification.

vCenter Server and Host Management

vSphere Virtual Machine Management

Verify redundancy of the solution components

Restart each storage processor in turn and ensure that connectivity to the VMware datastores is maintained.

Verify the redundancy of the solution components

Disable each of the redundant switches in turn and verify that the vSphere host, virtual machine, and storage array connectivity remains intact.

Vendor documentation

On a vSphere host that contains at least one virtual machine, enable maintenance mode and verify that the virtual machine can successfully migrate to an alternate host.

vCenter Server and Host Management

Provision remaining virtual desktops

Provision desktops using MCS or PVS. Installing and configuring XenDesktop Desktop Delivery Controllers

information.

Installing and configuring Citrix Provisioning Services

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Post-installation checklist

The following configuration tasks are critical to the functionality of the solution. Verify these before deploying the solution into production. On each vSphere server used as part of this solution, verify the following:

The vSwitches hosting the client VLANs are configured with sufficient ports to accommodate the maximum number of virtual machines a host can accommodate.

All the required virtual machine port groups are configured and each server has access to the required VMware datastores.

An interface is configured correctly for vMotion. Refer to the vSphere Networking guide for details.

Refer to the list of documents in Chapter 6 for more information.

Deploy and test a single virtual desktop

Deploy a single virtual machine to verify the operation of the solution. Ensure the virtual machine has been joined to the applicable domain, has access to the expected networks, and that it is possible to log in.

Verify the redundancy of the solution components

To ensure that the various components of the solution fulfill availability requirements, test the specific scenarios related to maintenance or hardware failure.

Restart each XtremIO storage controller in turn and verify that connections to the VMFS datastores are maintained:

1. Log into Storage Controller A using the xinstall account.

2. Restart the controller using option 6 under Install on the menu bar.

3. During the restart cycle, check for the presence of VMFS datastores on the vSphere hosts.

4. Using the XtremIO Storage Management Application interface, verify that Storage Controller A comes online by monitoring the Alerts window or Hardware.

5. Repeat the procedure for Storage Controller B.

If Isilon is deployed as part of the solution, perform the following verification tasks:

1. Connect to an available node in the cluster with a serial cable or network drop.

2. Determine the IP address of the node you are shutting down with the isi status –q command.

3. From the node that you connected to, open a secure shell (SSH) connection to the node that is to be shut down by typing the ssh command.

XtremIO

Isilon

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4. Shut down the node by typing the shutdown -p now command.

5. Verify that the node is shut down by typing the isi status -q command. Confirm that the node has a status of D--R (Down, Read Only). See node ID 3 in the following example:

ID |IP Address |DASR| In Out Total| Used / Size | Used / Size

---+---------------+----+-----+-----+-----+------------------+-

1|10.53.217.201 | OK | 48M| 0| 48M| 19G/ 6.2T(< 1%)|(No SSDs)

2|10.53.217.202 | OK | 46M| 0| 46M| 23G/ 6.2T(< 1%)|(No SSDs)

3|10.53.217.203 |D--R| n/a| n/a| n/a| n/a/ n/a( n/a)| n/a/n/a( n/a)

6. While the node is powered down, verify that access to the CIFS file systems are reestablished or maintained.

7. Power on the node that was powered off in step 4, and then perform step 5 again and verify that the node has returned to OK status.

8. Repeat steps 2 through 7 for the remaining Isilon nodes in the cluster.

If VNX is deployed as part of the solution, perform the following verification tasks.

1. Log into the control station with administrator privileges.

2. Navigate to /nas/sbin.

3. Restart SPA: ./navicli -h spa rebootsp.

4. During the restart cycle, check for the presence of datastores on vSphere hosts.

5. When the cycle completes, restart SPB: ./navicli -h spb rebootsp.

6. Restart each VNX storage processor in turn and verify that the connections to the CIFS file systems are maintained

Perform a failover of each VNX Data Mover in turn and verify that connections to the CIFS file systems are re-established:

1. From the control station $ prompt, execute the command server_cpu movername -reboot, where movername is the name of the Data Mover.

2. Verify that network redundancy features function as expected by disabling each of the redundant switching infrastructures in turn. While each of the switching infrastructures is disabled, verify that all the components of the solution maintain connectivity to each other and to any existing client infrastructure.

3. Use the Unisphere interface to restart the system.

VNX

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Chapter 6 Reference Documentation

This chapter presents the following topics:

EMC documentation ................................................................................................. 79

Other documentation ............................................................................................... 79

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EMC documentation

The following documents, located on EMC Online Support provide additional and relevant information. Access to these documents depends on your login credentials. If you do not have access to a document, contact your EMC representative.

EMC XtremIO Storage Array User Guide

EMC XtremIO Storage Array Operations Guide

EMC XtremIO Storage Array Software Installation and Upgrade Guide

EMC XtremIO Storage Array Hardware Installation and Upgrade Guide

EMC XtremIO Storage Array Security Configuration Guide

EMC XtremIO Storage Array Pre-Installation Checklist

EMC XtremIO Storage Array Site Preparation Guide

EMC VNX5400 Unified Installation Guide

EMC VSI for VMware vSphere: Storage Viewer Product Guide

EMC VSI for VMware vSphere: Unified Storage Management Product Guide

VNX Installation Assistant for File/Unified Worksheet

VNX FAST Cache: A Detailed Review White Paper

Deploying Microsoft Windows 8 Virtual Desktops—Applied Best Practices White Paper

EMC PowerPath/VE for VMware vSphere Installation and Administration Guide

EMC PowerPath Viewer Installation and Administration Guide

EMC VNX Unified Best Practices for Performance—Applied Best Practices White Paper

Other documentation

The following documents, available on the VMware website, provide additional and relevant information:

VMware vSphere Installation and Setup Guide

VMware vSphere Networking

VMware vSphere Resource Management

VMware vSphere Storage Guide

VMware vSphere Virtual Machine Administration

VMware vSphere Virtual Machine Management

VMware vCenter Server and Host Management

Installing and Administering VMware vSphere Update Manager

Preparing the Update Manager Database

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Preparing vCenter Server Databases

Understanding Memory Resource Management in VMware vSphere 5.0

The following documents, available on the Citrix website, provide additional and relevant information:

Definitive Guide to XenApp 7.6 and XenDesktop 7.6

Windows 7 Optimization Guide

Windows 8 and 8.1 Virtual Desktop Optimization Guide

The following documents, available on the Microsoft website, provide additional and relevant information:

Installing Windows Server 2012 R2

SQL Server Installation (SQL Server 2012)

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Appendix A Configuration Worksheet

This appendix presents the following topic:

Customer Configuration Worksheet ......................................................................... 82

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Customer Configuration Worksheet

Before configuring the solution, you need to gather some customer-specific configuration information such as IP addresses, hostnames, and so on. The tables in this section provide a worksheet that you can use to record the information. You can also print and use the worksheet as a customer “leave behind” document for future reference.

A standalone copy of the worksheet is attached to this document in Microsoft Office Word format. To view and print the worksheet:

1. In Adobe Reader, open the Attachments panel, as follows:

Select View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Attachments. or

Click the Attachments icon, as shown in Figure 43.

Figure 43. Opening attachments in a PDF file

2. Under Attachments, double-click the attached file to open and print the worksheet.

To confirm the customer information, cross-reference with the relevant array configuration worksheet: VNX Installation Assistant for File/Unified Worksheet.

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Table 22. Common server information

Server name Purpose Primary IP address

Domain Controller

DNS Primary

DNS Secondary

DHCP

NTP

SMTP

SNMP

VMware vCenter Console

Citrix XenDesktop Desktop Delivery Controller servers

Citrix Provisioning Services servers

Microsoft SQL Server

Table 23. vSphere Server information

Server Name

Purpose Primary IP address

Private Net (storage) addresses

VMkernel IP address

vMotion IP address

vSphere Host 1

vSphere Host 2

Table 24. XtremIO array information

Field Value

Array name

XMS IP

Storage Controller IPs

Initiator group names

Datastore names

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Table 25. VNX array information

Field Value

Array name

Admin account

Management IP

Storage pool name

CIFS share name

Table 26. Isilon information

Field Value

Array name

Admin account

Management IP

Subnet name

Subnet IP pool

SmartConnect zone name

Access zone name

CIFS share name

Table 27. Network infrastructure information

Name Purpose IP address Subnet mask Default gateway

Ethernet switch 1

Ethernet switch 2

Table 28. VLAN information

Name Network purpose VLAN ID Allowed subnets

Client access network

Storage network

Management network

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Table 29. Service accounts

Account Purpose Password (optional, secure appropriately)

Windows Server administrator

Root vSphere root

Root XtremIO array root account

xmsupload XtremIO array xmsupload account

tech XtremIO array XMCLI tech account

Root VNX array root

Array administrator

VMware vCenter administrator

Citrix XenDesktop administrator

Citrix Provisioning Services administrator

SQL Server administrator