Xen server poc template

Pre-requisites for XenServer
Proof of Concepts

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Version History
1.0 Steve Atkinson Document Creation 27/12/2007
1.1 Anthony Francis Updated for XenServer 5.0 andPVS 27/11/2008
1.2 Anthony Francis Formatted in new PoC Template 30/12/2008
1.3 Anthony Francis Updated for PVS 5.x deployment aspart of E4XS PoC 14/07/2009
1.4 Anthony Francis Update for Essentialsfor XenServer 5.5 03/08/2009
1.5 Anthony Francis Re-entered success criteria/businesscase sections, along with
expected completion date
10/08/2009

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Contents
Introduction........................................................................................................................................................................................5
Executive Summary.....................................................................................................................................................................5
Overview........................................................................................................................................................................................5
PoC Planning....................................................................................................................................................................................6
Customer Contact Details...........................................................................................................................................................6
Site Location and Contact Details .............................................................................................................................................6
Citrix Systems / Partner Contact Details ..................................................................................................................................7
Success Criteria for Pilot.............................................................................................................................................................7
Business Case..............................................................................................................................................................................8
Agreed / Actual PoC Time..........................................................................................................................................................8
Scope.............................................................................................................................................................................................8
Responsibilities.............................................................................................................................................................................9
Customer/Citrix Systems/Citrix Partner Responsibilities:..................................................................................................9
Pre-Installation Requirements......................................................................................................................................................11
Hardware.................................................................................................................................................................................11
XenCenter Workstation.........................................................................................................................................................11
Located on the same IP subnet as the XenServer Network Specification....................................................................11
Local Storage..........................................................................................................................................................................11
Shared Storage.......................................................................................................................................................................11
Provisioning Services 5.0 SP2.............................................................................................................................................12
Provisioning Server: Network Requirements.....................................................................................................................12
Operating System...................................................................................................................................................................12
Software...................................................................................................................................................................................12
Licensing..................................................................................................................................................................................12
Installation........................................................................................................................................................................................13
Environment Verification Questions....................................................................................................................................13

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Installation Order........................................................................................................................................................................15
Configuration Guidelines...........................................................................................................................................................16
Toolkits and Useful Links ..............................................................................................................................................................18

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Introduction
Executive Summary
It is the intention of Citrix to provide a Systems Engineer to install and configure Citrix XenServer for the purposes of
demonstrating keyfeatures of this technology.It is perceived that a successful POC will provide enough knowledge
to the customer for them to make informed decisions as to if / how they take the technologyforward into semi and
fully production environments.
To ensure that it is fully understood whatis needed from both parties itwill be necessaryto agree to the points listed
in this document. This will form the basis for the POC and will ensure that the mostis obtained from itboth while it is
running and moving forward into production and semi-production environments.
Overview
Citrix XenServer 5.5 is a server virtualization platform that makes data centre’s more agile and efficientthrough faster
application delivery, higher levels of availability and improved utilization of IT resources.XenServer delivers the
advanced features required by mission critical workloads (operating systems,applications and configurations) without
sacrificing the ease-of-use necessaryfor wide-scale deployments.
As a native 64-bitvirtualisation platform builton the open source Xen hypervisor, XenServer installs directlyon bare -
metal servers requiring no dedicated hostoperating system.The platform is ideal for rapid adoption of virtualization
for server consolidation,software development,and business continuityas well as comprehensive application
workload provisioning for virtual and physical infrastructure.
Key features include:
 High-performance,native 64-bitXen hypervisor
 Broad supportfor Windows and Linux guestoperating systems
 Simple deploymentand installation
 Easy single-server managementthrough XenCenter
 Active Directory Integration for XenCenter
 Disk based Snapshots for all Storage Repositorytypes
 XenConvert P2V Windows Physical to Virtual Conversion tool
 Enterprise-readyperformance and scalability
 VLAN supportfor virtual network isolation and aggregation
 Multi-server management
 XenMotion for live relocation of virtual machines
 Supportfor dynamic resource pools,shared storage,and qualityof service
Essentials for XenServer 5.5, Enterprise Edition – provides advanced virtualisation managementfeatures on top
of the free XenServer virtualisation platform and optimises business-critical server workloads,enabling data centre’s
to be flexible, efficient, and cost effective pools ofcomputing and storage resources with:
 All features included in XenServer 5.5 plus:
 High Availability that automaticallyrestartVMs upon hostserver failure
 Workload Balancing ofVMs

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 StorageLink for deep storage integration and storage managementfor virtualisation
 Automated Lab Managementfor virtual environments
 Dynamic Workload Provisioning ofvirtual machines only
 Workflow Studio orchestration
Essentials for XenServer 5.5, Platinum Edition – provides advanced virtualisation managementfeatures on top of
the free XenServer virtualisation platform and optimises business-critical server workloads,enabling data centre’s to
be flexible, efficient, and cost effective pools ofcomputing and storage resources with:
 All features included in Essentials for XenServer 5.5, Enterprise Edition plus:
 Dynamic Workload Provisioning ofvirtual and physical machines
 Stage Management
Additionally, Citrix offers OEM editions ofXenServer which are available as embedded software in x86 servers from
HP, Dell, and other vendors.
PoC Planning
Details ofwhat should be discussed with the customer regarding scope ofthe pilot, e.g. things like inclusion ofcertain
applications when testing XenApp.
Customer Contact Details
Primary Contact
Full Name
E-mail Address
Mobile Telephone
Office Telephone
Office Address
Technical Contact
Full Name
E-mail Address
Mobile Telephone
Office Telephone
Office Address
Site Location and Contact Details

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Site Name
Site Contact Name
Site Contact
Telephone
Site Contact E-mail
Site Full Address
Site Access Notes
Citrix Systems / Partner Contact Details
Citrix Systems / Partner Account Manager
Full Name
E-mail Address
Mobile Telephone
Office Telephone
Citrix Systems / Partner Technical Engineer
Full Name
E-mail Address
Mobile Telephone
Office Telephone
Success Criteria for Pilot
Criteria 1
Notes
Achievement Status
Criteria 2
Notes
Achievement Status
Criteria 3
Notes

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Achievement Status
Business Case
Enter any information thatmay be useful to help build a business case around the PoC.
Agreed / Actual PoC Time
PoC Start
Date
PoC End Date
(Expected)
<Date> <Date>
Week of Activity Effort Resource
<Date> <Activity> x hours <Customer>, Citrix
Scope
The POC will include
• Installation and configuration ofa maximum ofthree XenServer hosts
• Setup of local & shared storage repository(Does notinclude SAN / NAS configuration)
• Setup basic network connectivity using the hostnetwork (Maximum of six server network card)
• Installation ofXenCenter on an XP or Vista workstation
• Create a new Windows Server 2003/2008 and a XP/Vista VM
• Import/P2V a known good Windows 2003 Server VM onto the XenServer
• Test network connectivity to hostnetwork
• Ensure start-up,shutdown,suspend and rebootoperations ofthe VM
• High availability aspects ofXenServer
• This includes the XenMotion or VM automatic restartfunctions
• Setup of multipath and/or network card bonding
• Conference call or online GoToMeeting session prior to the site visit to discuss the POC to ensure that
prerequisites are metand to further discuss anyspecial arrangements Itis also critical to get an idea of the
success criteria ofthe POC from a customer perspective.
• Mutual agreementofsuccess criteria for the POC.
• An hour set aside (on site) for discussions regarding the completed POC and to look at how this can be
moved into a production environment This will also include a time where any questions regarding anyother
aspects ofthe POC system can be asked
The POC will not include
Setup of the following

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• Setup or configuration ofexternal storage systems such as SAN or NAS technologies,(see below for further
details)
• Setup or configuration ofthe following
• Networking hardware such as routers or switches
Any software applications (such as SQL,Exchange, and SAP) other than those stated as part of the XenServer
system.
Responsibilities
Customer/Citrix Systems/Citrix Partner Responsibilities:
 Staffing Requirements
 On-site Requirements
 Additional Requirements
 It is necessaryto be accompanied byauthorised personnel thatcan assistwith anything that is needed to
complete the POC. They should be fully familiar with the testing environmentand available throughoutthe
implementation ofthe POC
 For a POC, any integration with existing production services is discouraged.If any componentof the POC is
to be integrated with an existing production system (e.g.DHCP server changes,Active Directory integration,
XenApp farm inclusion etc.) a legal disclaimer will need to be signed by the customer prior to the POC
engagement.
 An elementofeducation will be provided during the building ofthe POC if desired which can be extremely
useful to continue the POC into production butthis is not to be confused with structured training that can be
obtained though Citrix authorised training partners which can be obtained atany time.
 Valid application software and operating system licenses will be provided by the customer for the duration of
the POC.
The following points should all have been agreed,completed or provided before the Engineer be dispatched to site
 All prerequisites listed in the following section are metin full
 A conference call or meeting has occurred that has allowed the success criteria to be agreed
 Make, model number and specification ofserver hardware and shared storage to be used
 What is the workload being virtualised i.e.Windows Server 2003,XenApp and MS Office 2007,SAP R/3 or
Linux, etc
 Virtual Machines,(VMs) will be built via whatprocess i.e.standard install,scripted installation,PXE
deploymentsolution,P2Vor CD Image,etc
 Please note that 30-day evaluation licenses will be provided along with all XenServer skills. However any
workload specific skills such MS Exchange, SQL Server, SAP and even Citrix XenApp may need to be
provided by the CSA partner or the end-user to ensure a successful POC
 Mutually agreed date set for the work to be carried out
 Remote facilities to the systems thatare being worked on as well as access to the consoles ofthese
systems
 Completion ofthe Citrix Systems demonstration agreement.
Failure to comply with any of these prerequisites will resultin the engineer leaving site and not returning until they are
metin full.
The POC is focused on proving the basic conceptof a XenServer system.Anything further may involve further
consultancyand is likely to be chargeable. A full working day starting is normallydeemed to be sufficienttime for the
POC, however if Platinum Edition is being evaluated as partof the POC a second daymay be required. Any
additional time required maybe chargeable.

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Supportof the POC will be on a bestendeavors basis bythe engineer that installed the system plus anyother
supportarrangements setup prior to the POC.
It is in the interestof both Citrix and the customer to have a successful POC but this relies on preparation and a
mutuallyagreed time scale and desire to work together If this is possible then the POC should occur in a timely and
costeffective manner and its objectives be metin full.

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Pre-Installation Requirements
Hardware
• One or ideallyat leasttwo 64-bit x86 CPU(s) servers,1.5 GHz minimum,2 GHz or faster multi-core CPU
recommended.
• To supportVMs running Windows,an Intel VT or AMD-V x86-based system with one or more (up
to 32) CPUs is required.
• To run Windows VMs, hardware supportfor virtualization mustbe enabled on the machine running
XenServer. This is usuallyan option in the BIOS. Consultyour BIOS documentation for more
details
• Note: To ensure compatibility,it is recommended thatbranded servers be used for the project.
Lower cost“white box” units may give unpredictable results.Servers listed on the XenServer
compatibilitylistat www.citrix.com/xenserver/hcl offer the greatestchance of success.
• 4 GB minimum or more recommended depending on how manyVMs will ultimatelybe hosted
• Locally attached storage (ATA, SATA, SCSI) with 16 GB of disk space minimum,60 GB of disk space
recommended
• Product installation creates two 4GB partitions for the XenServer Control Domain;remaining space
is available for VMs
• Note: Any existing OS or software installed on the server will be deleted as part of the XenServer
installation.
• 100 Mbit/s or faster network interface card (NIC). A gigabitNIC is recommended for faster P2V and
export/importdata transfers and for live relocation of VMs.
• Capabilityfor booting from CD / DVD
XenCenter Workstation
• Windows XP SP2 (Preferred) or Windows Vista SP1
• 1GB RAM
• Disk Storage;Sufficient for initial O/S
• Routed network connectivity to the same subnetas the XenServer withouta firewall
Located on the same IP subnet as the XenServer Network Specification
• As Fast as possible (Gigabitnetworking is recommended)
• All required IP addressed provided (Under normal circumstances onlya single static IP address for the
XenServer would be needed)
• Wherever possible,the POC should be installed on an isolated network segment
Local Storage
• Single locallyinstalled disk storage on the XenServer is sufficientfor the storage ofVMs and the XenServer
operating system as stated above.
Shared Storage
Shared virtual machine storage will be required iffeatures such as XenMotion and High Availability are to be tested.
Any shared storage will be configured by the customer prior to the engineer arriving.The storage mustbe:
 iSCSI, Fiber Channel or NFS-based
 The storage on the SAN should have been pre-configured with the appropriate LUNs, volumes or
aggregates.
 Physical connectivity between the XenServer and the storage should already be configured
 Supported HBAs or iSCSI hardware should have been pre installed in the server(s)

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Provisioning Services 5.0 SP2
• Service account – PVS service account in AD with appropriate rights to SQL Server database,full Admin
rights to PVS servers and vDisk CIFS share, http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX120080
• Operating Systems - Windows 2003 Server SP2 (32 or 64-bit) Windows 2008 Server (supported in
Provisioning Server 5.0.sp1a and greater
• Processor - Intel or AMD x86 or x64 compatible;2 GHz minimum;3 GHz preferred;3.5 GHz Dual Core/HT
or similar for loads greater than 250 target devices
• Memory - Minimum of2 GB RAM; 4 GB preferred
• Network Adapter - Static IP, 1 GB Ethernet preferred;but Dual 1 GB Ethernetwith no HP NIC Teaming
software can be used to testNIC Fail-over Note: Two NICs often perform better than a single dual-ported
NIC and should be connected to separate switches
• Hard Disk and Storage - 65GB CIFS share on a file-server or HA Cluster
Provisioning Server: Network Requirements
• Port Fast Port Fast mustbe enabled
• Network Card PXE 0.99j or greater
• Network Addressing DHCP
Operating System
All required MicrosoftOperating Systems and Applications such as MS office all be provided as ISO files on a
CIFS/NFS share local to the XenServer host(s).
Required ISO file are:
• Windows Server 2003 R2 SP2
• Windows Server 2008
Software
Detail any 3rd
party software that will be needed,e.g. database servers,web servers,etc.
Licensing
Citrix XenServer 5.0 will be used and a license will be activated on-site.All Microsoft and third-party licenses will be
provided by customer.

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Installation
Environment Verification Questions
1. Will this PoC run on new or existing hardware?
2. If new hardware is required, is there adequate power and cooling?
3. Does this hardware conform to the minimum requirements listed above?
4. Will the server hardware be located on an isolated test/lab or in a production environment?
5. Will the storage hardware (NAS/ iSCSI, SAN) be located on an isolated test/lab or in a
production environment?
6. What is the network type and speed?
7. Are there any VLANs? Yes
8. Is NIC bonding required as part of the PoC?
Please complete the tables listed below with the details ofthe server and storage hardware to be used:
XenServer Host 1
Make Model
CPU
Type/Speed
#Sockets #Cores
RAM
#NICs (PIFs) Speed
Mbps
SCSI
Controller/HBA
Disk Type Disk Size #Spindles
XenServer Host 1 FC HBA Details WWID Switch Location
QLogic FC HBA 1
QLogic FC HBA 2

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XenServer Host 2
Make Model
CPU
Type/Speed
#Sockets #Cores
RAM
#NICs (PIFs) Speed
Mbps
SCSI
Controller/HBA
Disk Type Disk Size #Spindles
XenServer Host 2 FC HBA Details WWID Switch Location
QLogic FC HBA 1
QLogic FC HBA 2
Storage
Array
Make Model
#NICs Speed
Mbps
Disk Type Disk Size #Spindles **

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Installation Order
1. Shared storage pre-configured
2. Install XenServer 5.0 on two XenServer hosts using NIC 2 for management
3. Install XenCenter on a Windows workstation
4. Activate free XenServer Licenses on two XenServer hosts
5. Create a Resource Pool from XenServer host 1
6. Create NIC bond for Production, (NIC 0/1)
7. Add XenServer host 2 to Resource Pool
8. Enable and configure multipathing, (enter and exit maintenance mode)
9. Reboot each XenServer host, starting with Pool Master
10. Create an Hardware HBA, (Fibre Channel) SR on shared storage device
11. Install HP Insight Agents of XenServer hosts
12. Install <Customer> XenApp 5.0 Windows Server 2003 32-bit build on a VM via RIS, (Reference
XenApp 5.0 build VM)
13. Install XenTools on reference XenApp 5.0 build VM
14. Copy reference XenApp 5.0 build VM
15. Create PVS device creation template with 4GB write-cache disk
16. Install Provisioning Services 5.0 SP2 on Two physical HP DL380 servers
17. Configure PVS 5.0 SP2 on one of the PVS server
18. Install PVS 50.SP2 hot-fix 8524
19. Create vDisk directory structure on both PVS servers and CIFS share
20. Create and format vDisk for XenApp 5.0 build
21. Create collection for XenApp 5.0 Build
22. Create device for reference XenApp 5.0 build VM
23. Configure vDisk assignment and boot order for PVS reference XenApp 5.0 build VM device
24. Install PVS target device client on XenApp 5.0 build VM device
25. Reboot reference XenApp 5.0 build VM verifying that it is connecting to PVS server
26. Run XenApp Prep Tool
27. Run Imagebuilder process on reference XenApp 5.0 build VM to populate new vDisk
28. Create additional VMs in XenCenter noting their MAC addresses
29. Create additional VM devices in PVS in the XenApp 5.0 Build collection using the MAC addresses
from step 24
30. Start newly created VMs and check that they are part of the XenApp farm
31. Configure PVS 5.0 SP2 on the second PVS server
32. Configure HA in PVS and test

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Configuration Guidelines
The shared storage device will need to be configured with at leastone 65GB LUN, however if two 65GB LUNs where
created.
Hostname HP
Blade
Type
CPU NIC Memory Disks IP Address Citrix
Function
Hostname HP
Blade
Type
CPU NIC Memory Disks IP Address Citrix
Function
Domain NTP Servers DNS Servers Default
Gateway
Subnet
Mask
VLAN

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Server
Hostname
NIC
Number
MAC Address Network

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Toolkits and Useful Links
The XenApp on XenServer Test toolkit
http://community.citrix.com/cdn/xs/XenServer+Resource+Kit
XenServer and Provisioning Server Port Usage Information
http://support.citrix.com/servlet/KbServlet/download/17370-102-190240/Port%20Usage%20Visio%20Diagram.zip
Best Practices for Configuring Provisioning Server on a Network
http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX117374
How to Configure DHCP on Cisco 6509
Service Account Configuration for Accessing SQL
Performance of HP ProLiant BL460c G6 in a HP SBC environment
http://h20195.www2.hp.com/V2/GetPDF.aspx/4AA2-5116ENW.pdf
Best Practices for Deploying XenApp on XenServer for HP ProLiant Servers
http://h20195.www2.hp.com/V2/GetPDF.aspx/4AA2-5115ENW.pdf
Antivirus Software Configuration Guidelines for Access Essentials/XenApp

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