Citrix is pleased to announce the release and immediate availability of XenDesktop 7.1 which adds support for Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows 8.1, and new Studio configuration of server-based graphical processing units (GPUs) considered an essential hardware component for supporting virtualized delivery of 3D professional graphics applications. Download XenDesktop 7.1.
Microsoft is releasing platform updates faster than ever and Citrix is in lockstep to take advantage of the latest capabilities in Windows Server, System Center, and HyperV to help you deliver Windows-as-a-Service.
With the release of XenDesktop 7, Citrix has introduced a lot of changes to the way we will be delivering our applications and desktop to users. There is always a lot of marketing information with any software release, and it can sometimes very very difficult to read between the lines and know exactly what what it all means.
As someone who helps people implement these systems in the field, I need to know exactly how it works.
With XD7 lots of new features and capabilities are announced including some major infrastructural changes as well, especially when it comes to the integration of Citrix XenApp (FMA replaces IMA) more than just one step forward. But what about the different editions available, what does one get with the XD7 App edition for example or Enterprise edition for that matter? What’s in it for Subscription Advantage customers? How about the Trade-up program?
In this how-to I’ll be listing all the best CTX articles I found while deploying Citrix XenApp. They range from best practices to troubleshooting guides I’ve found to resolve complex profile issues. I hope everyone finds it useful.
1.
Best Practices and Planning Guides Planning Guide - Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop Policies CTX134081 http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX134081
XenDesktop and XenApp Best Practices http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX132799
XenApp Planning Guide - Virtualization Best Practices http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX129761
Advanced Concepts - XenApp Farm Maintenance http://support.
XenDesktop 7 is the latest product release from Citrix for delivering virtual desktops and applications allowing users to work from anywhere on any device. XenDesktop 7 is supported on all the major hypervisors; however I will present the case for selecting Hyper-V 2012. Please note, that this will not be a Hyper-V versus VMware or XenServer hypervisor comparison. Each hypervisor offers unique features that organizations will have to decide which is most important to them.
Assigning published applications to users may be a very simple task, but if not managed well, it can end up creating more problems. I have seen customers assigning individual user accounts to the published apps in the Citrix admin console and this can get very problematic as there are danger of assignment inconsistency. Usually, we use Active Directory groups to manage the assignments. In Microsoft world, there are 3 types of AD groups – domain local, global and universal group.
With the recent release of XenDesktop 7, we put together a list of recommended optimizations for Windows 8 /8.1 and Server 2012 virtual desktops on XenDesktop 7.x. The purpose of this blog is to provide a list of commonly applied optimizations and provide assistance with their implementation through a script – yes, you read that correctly, a SCRIPT
Although not every setting may apply to every use case, most of these settings should apply to Windows 8/8.
Overview
There are best practices and then there’s reality…I have been saying that for years. Because I believe too many folks think some best practices are set in stone or should be implemented or followed no matter what the situation. To be honest, this could not be farther from the truth. It’s why many Professional Services organizations (CCS included) use the phrase “it depends”. There is also a reason why our Legal team at Citrix cringes when we use the phrase “best practice”…because for a certain situation at a certain customer with a certain set of business requirements, that practice we recommended might not actually turn out to be “best” or truly optimal, and it could result in say downtime, disaster, upset customers, lost revenue, etc.
We have an article from citrix which explains how to configure netscaler gateway to use with storefront and xendesktop. Below are the steps given in article CTX200287.
Network Diagram The NetScaler will use the following network addresses
NetScaler IP Subnet IP Virtual IP
192.168.18.20 192.168.18.21 192.168.18.22
NetScaler Configuration This section assumes that you will be creating a NetScaler VPX virtual appliance and hosting it on XenServer.
The processes for configuring a physical NetScaler appliance, or a NetScaler VPX virtual appliance hosted on another Hypervisor is similar.
Thin provisioning (TP) is a method of optimizing the efficiency with which the available space is utilized in storage area networks (SAN). TP operates by allocating disk storage space in a flexible manner among multiple users, based on the minimum space required by each user at any given time.
In the conventional storage provisioning model, also known as fat provisioning (FP), storage space is allocated beyond current needs, in anticipation of growing need and increased data complexity.
