Citrix Systems 6.1.0 manual

Citrix X enServer ® 6.1.0 Inst allation Guide Published Friday , 06 September 2013 1.0 Edition[...]

Citrix XenServer ® 6.1.0 Ins tallation Guide Copyright © 2012 Citrix S ystems. Inc. All Righ ts Reserved. V er sion: 6.1.0 Citrix, Inc. 851 W est Cypr ess Creek Road Fort Lauder dale, FL 33309 United Sta tes of America Disclaimers This document is furnished "AS IS." Citrix, Inc. disclaims all warran ties regarding the contents of this d[...]

iii Cont ents 1. W elc ome ....................................................................................................... 1 1. 1 . Ab ou t Thi s Do cu m en t .................................................................................................. 1 1. 2 . In t r od u ci n g Xe n Se r ve r .........................................[...]

iv 5. 1. 3. VM Bo ot Be ha vi or ........................................................................................... 19 5. 1. 3. 1. VM Ca ch ing Be ha vi or Se tt in gs ............................................................... 19 5. 1. 3. 1. 1. Sh ar ed De sk to p Mo de ................................................................ [...]

v A. T roubleshooting .......................................................................................... 39 B. Boot From SAN Envir onments .................................................................... 40 C. PXE Boot Inst allations ................................................................................. 41 C.1. Configuring yo[...]

1 Chapt er 1. W elcome 1.1. About This Document This document is an installation guide for Citrix XenServer ® , the complete server virtualization platform from Citrix ® . It cont ains procedures to guide you through the inst allation, configura tion, and initial operation of XenServer . This document also contains information about troubleshooti[...]

2 For a compr ehensive list of x e commands and descriptions, see the XenServer Administrat or's Guide . 1.2.3. XenServer E ditions The fea tures a vailable in X enServer depend on the edition. The four editions of X enServer are: • Citrix XenServer (Free) : Proven virtualization platf orm that delivers uncompr omised performance, scale, and[...]

3 management software. When these extensions are deployed, VMs cannot impersonate any other VM, or inter cept traf fic intended for any other VM, increasing security in environments where VMs cannot be fully trusted. F or a White P aper discussion, ref er to CTX134787 . • VLAN Scalability improvements: removes a previous limitation which caused V[...]

4 • XenServer Quick St art Guide provides an in troduction for new users to the X enServer en vironment and components. This guide steps through the inst allation and configur ation essentials to get XenServer and the XenCen ter management console up and running quickly . After installation, it demonstra tes how to create a Windows VM, VM templat[...]

5 Chapt er 2. Sy st em Requir ements 2.1. System Requirements XenServer requires at least two separa te physic al x86 computers: one to be the XenServer host and the other to run the XenCenter application. The XenServer host computer is dedicated entirely to the task of running XenServer — hos ting VMs — and is not used for other applica tions.[...]

6 Disk Space Locally attached stor age (P A T A, S A T A, SCSI) with 16 GB of disk space minimum, 60 GB of disk space recommended, or SAN via HBA (not via software) if installing with multipath boot from SAN (see h ttp://hcl. vmd.citrix.com for a det ailed list of compatible stor age solutions). Product ins tallation cr eates two 4 GB partitions f [...]

7 Chapt er 3. Inst alling X enSer ver and X enCent er This chapter steps through installing the XenServer host software on physical servers, installing XenCenter on Windows workst ations and connecting them t o form the in frastructur e f or creating and running virtual machines (VMs). After guiding you through installa tion, this chapter describes[...]

8 Upgrading requires careful planning and atten tion. F or detailed information about upgrading individual XenServer hos ts and pools, see Chapter 7, Upgrading X enServer . 3.2. Installing the XenServer Host W arning: Installing XenServer will overwrite data on any hard drives that you select to use for the installa tion. Back up data tha t you wis[...]

9 If you select Local media , the next screen asks if you want to install any supplemental packs from a CD. If you plan to ins tall an y supplemental packs pr ovided by your hardwar e supplier , choose Y es . If you select HTTP or FTP or NFS : a. Set up networking so tha t the installer can c onnect to the X enServer installation media files. If th[...]

10 Note: XenServer assumes that the time set ting in the BIOS of the server is the current time in UTC. 17. Select Install X enSer ver . If you elected to set the date and time manually , you will be pr ompted to do so during the inst allation. Once set, choose Ok to pr oceed. 18. If you are installing from a CD and elected to include supplemental [...]

11 3. Follow the Setup wizard, which allow s you to modify the default destination folder and then to install XenCen ter . 3.4. Connecting XenCenter to the XenServer Host T o connect XenCenter t o the XenServer hos t: 1. Launch XenCen ter . The program opens t o the Home tab. 2. Click the Add New Server icon. 3. Enter the IP address of the XenServe[...]

12 Chapt er 4. Inst allation and Deplo yment Scenarios This chapter s teps through the f ollowing common installation and deplo yment scenarios: • One or more X enServer host(s) with local s torag e • Pools of X enSer ver hosts with shar ed stor age: • Multiple XenServer hos ts with shared NFS s tor age • Multiple XenServer hos ts with shar[...]

13 4.2. Pools of XenServer Hosts with Shared Storage A pool is comprised of multiple XenServer host installations, bound together as a single managed entity . When combined with shared storage, a pool enables VMs to be started on any XenServer host in the pool that has sufficient memory , and then dynamically moved between hosts while running (XenM[...]

14 2. Under Virtual disk stor age , choose NFS VHD as the stor age type. Choose Next to con tinue. 3. Enter a name for the new SR and the name of the share where it is located. Click Scan to have the wizard scan f or existing NF S SRs in the specified location. Note: The NFS server must be configured t o export the specified path to all XenServer h[...]

15 Bef ore you creat e an SR, you need to configure the iSCSI stor age. T o be part of a pool, the iSCSI stor age mus t have a static IP address or be DNS addressable. Y ou will also need to provide an iSCSI targ et LUN on the SAN for the VM stor age, and then configure XenServer hosts to be able to see and access it. Both the iSCSI target and each[...]

16 argument is set to true , the shared stor age is automatically connected to every host in the pool and any hosts that subsequen tly join are also connect ed to the stor age. The command re turns the UUID of the created s tor age reposit ory . 2. Find the UUID of the pool by running the pool-list command. 3. Set the new SR as the pool-wide def au[...]

17 Chapt er 5. XenServ er and Int elliCache Note: This fea ture is only supported when using X enSer ver with XenDesk top. Using X enServer with Int elliCache mak es hosted Virtual Desktop Infr astructure deploymen ts more cost-ef fectiv e by enabling you to use a combination of shared stor age and local storage. It is of particular benefit when ma[...]

18 5.1.2. Conv erting an Existing Host t o Use Thin Provisioning T o destroy an existing L VM based local SR, and replace it with a thin provisioned EXT3 based SR, enter the following commands. W arning: These commands will destroy y our existing local SR, and VMs on the SR will be permanently deleted. localsr=`xe sr-list type=lvm host= < hostna[...]

19 5.1.3. VM Boot Behavior There ar e two options for the beha vior of a VM VDI when the VM is booted: 1. Shared Desktop Mode On VM boot, the VDI is reverted to the s tate it was in at the pr evious boot. All changes while the VM is running will be lost when the VM is ne xt booted. Select this option if you plan to deliver standar dized desktops to[...]

20 Q: How do I specify a particular SR for use as the c ache? A: The host object field local-cache-sr ref ers to a local SR. Y ou can view its value by running the following command: xe sr-list params=local-cache-sr,uuid,name-label This field is set either: • after hos t installation, if the "Enable thin pr ovisioning" option was select[...]

21 Chapt er 6. Using SCVMM and SCOM with X enSer ver XenServer's Integr ation Suite Supplemental Pack allows inter-oper ation with Microsoft's System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) 2012 and Sys tems Center Opera tions Manager (SCOM) 2007 R2. SVCMM allows you to centrally create and manage VMs across the entire datacenter . It enab[...]

22 • The Integr ation Suite Supplemental Pack must be installed on each XenServer host that you want to manage with SCVMM (either at inst allation or post-ins tallation). • Use SCVMM to connect t o and manage your X enServer hosts. 6.3. Integration Requirements for SCOM T o enable integr ation with SCOM the following c onfiguration is r equired[...]

23 Chapt er 7. Upgr ading X enSer ver This chapter documents how to upgrade your XenServer deployment using XenCen ter and the xe CLI. It guides you through upgrading your XenServer hosts — both pooled and standalone — automatically (using the XenCenter Rolling P ool Upgrade wizar d) and manually . XenServer hosts must be running at least versi[...]

24 process. This upgrade method k eeps critical VMs running by enabling you to live migra te them to other hosts in the pool and then to upgr ade one host at a time. This pr ocess tak es only one XenServer host offline a t a time. Y ou can perform a rolling pool upgrade using X enCenter or the xe CLI. If y ou ar e using XenCent er , Citrix recommen[...]

25 Bef ore Y ou Upgrade Bef ore you begin y our upgrade, be sur e to mak e the following pr eparations: • Download the lates t version of X enCenter . Earlier versions of X enCenter do not include the wizar d. • Citrix strongly recommends that you take a backup of the stat e of your existing pool using the pool-dump- database xe CLI command (se[...]

26 7. Once the upgrade begins, the R olling Pool Upgr ade wizard guides you thr ough an y actions y ou need t o tak e to upgr ade each host. Follow the ins tructions until you ha ve upgr aded all hosts in the pool(s). Once the upgrade c ompletes, the wizar d prints a summary . Click Finish to close the wizard. 7.1.2. Upgr ading XenServer Hos ts Usi[...]

27 Important: Y ou will be unable to cont act the pool master until the upgrade of the master is complete. Shutting down the pool master causes the other hosts in the pool t o enter emergency mode . In general, a XenServer host enter s emergency mode when it is a member of a pool whose master has disappeared from the network and cannot be contact e[...]

28 An empty VM CD/DVD drive means that the VM is attached to neither an ISO image nor a phy sical CD/DVD mounted via the XenServer host. Further , it requir es that the VM not be att ached to any phy sical CD/DVD drive on the XenServer hos t at all. T o empty the CD/DVD drive of a VM using the x e CLI: 1. Identify which VMs do not hav e empty CD/DV[...]

29 7.3. Upgrading XenServer to V ersion 5.6 or Earlier Using XenCenter If you are upgrading XenServer hosts to ver sion 5.6 or earlier , then you must do so manually . The Rolling Pool Upgrade wiz ard is not available in X enSer ver ver sions 5.6 and earlier . Important: Perf orming a rolling pool upgrade manually requires extremely careful plannin[...]

30 10. Once each host in the pool has been upgraded, it is important to upgrade the XenServer T ools on all VMs. Please ref er to the XenCent er Help or the XenServer Virtual Machine User's Guide f or details. Note: Running older ver sions of the XenServer T ools on newer XenServer installations is not supported, ex cept during the upgrade pr [...]

31 Chapt er 8. Applying Updat es and Hotfix es to X enSer ver Between releases of XenServer , Citrix occasionally releases updates and hotfixes. Hotfixes fix one or more specific issues; updates contain accumulat ed bug fix es and, occasionally , small fea ture impr ovements. This chapter describes the general procedur es for applying updates and h[...]

32 are run as part of the procedure that the Install Update wizard guides you through. Prechecks alert you if any prepar atory o ha ve been missed. 8.2. Updating Individual XenServer Hosts T o update individual hosts using X enCenter: 1. Download the update file ( .xsupdate file e xtension) to a known location on the computer running XenCen ter . N[...]

33 Here, -s r ef ers to the hos tname. X enServer assigns the update file a UUID, which this command prints. Not e the UUID. Tip: Once an update file has been uploaded to a XenServer host, you can use the patch-list and patch-par am-list commands to view inf ormation about the update file. 4. If XenServer detects any errors or prepar atory steps th[...]

34 actions required are listed in the text box below . If you wish to save the listed actions to a text file for your ref erence, click Save t o File . Select Install upda te to pr oceed with the installa tion. The Install Update wizard shows the progress of the update, printing the major operations that XenCenter performs while upda ting each host[...]

35 Chapt er 9. Licensing XenServ er Important: Utilizing the XenServer 6.1.0 advanced f eatures requir es a Citrix License Server Virtual Appliance (11.6.1 or higher) and a XenServer 6.1.0 license. A Citrix License Ser ver Virtual Appliance with a pre-installed XenServer 6.1.0 license is available for download from the Citrix XenServer 6.1.0 Downlo[...]

36 c. Brow se to and select the activation k ey file, and select Open . T o inst all an activa tion k ey using the x e CLI, open a console on the host (or connect to the host via SSH) and run the following c ommand: xe host-license-add [license-file= < <path/license_filename> > ] 9.2. Licensing XenServer Editions XenServer Adv anced, En[...]

37 T o configure licensing for X enServer hosts using X enCenter: 1. On the T ools menu, select License Manager . 2. Select one or more host(s) tha t you wish to assign a license. Click Assign License . The Apply License dialog box opens. 3. In the Apply License dialog box, choose the XenServer license edition and then enter the Citrix Licensing Se[...]

38 Gr ace Period After a license is checked out by a XenServer host, the host and the license server exchang e "heartbeat" messages every five minutes to indicat e t o each other that they are still up and running. If XenServer and the license server fail to send or receive heartbeats (f or ex ample, due t o pr oblems with the license ser[...]

39 Appendix A. T roubleshooting Citrix provides two forms of support: free, self-help support on the Citrix Support website and paid-for Support Services, which you can purchase from the Support site. With Citrix T echnical Support, you can open a Support Case online or cont act the support center by phone if y ou experience technic al difficulties[...]

40 Appendix B. Boot Fr om S AN En vironmen ts Boot from SAN en vironments offer a number of adv antag es, including high perf ormance, redundancy and space consolidation. In these environmen ts, the boot disk resides on a remote SAN, and not on the local host. The diskless host communicat es with the SAN through a host bus adapter (HBA), and the BI[...]

41 Appendix C. P XE Boot Inst allations This appendix describes how to configure your PXE environmen t for XenServer installation. It steps through setting up y our TFTP and NFS, FTP or HTTP servers t o enable PXE booting of X enSer ver host ins tallations. It then describes how to cr eate an XML answer file, which allow s you to perf orm unattende[...]

42 default xenserver label xenserver kernel mboot.c32 append /tftpboot/xenserver/xen.gz dom0_max_vcpus=1-2 dom0_mem=752M,max:752M com1=115200,8n1 console=com1,vga --- /tftpboot/xenserver/vmlinuz xencons=hvc console=hvc0 console=tty0 --- /tftpboot/xenserver/install.img A sample con figuration that perf orms an unat tended ins tallation using t[...]

43 <?xml version="1.0"?> <installation srtype="ext"> <primary-disk>sda</primary-disk> <guest-disk>sdb</guest-disk> <guest-disk>sdc</guest-disk> <keymap>us</keymap> <root-password>mypassword</root-password> <source type="url">http://pxehost.ex[...]

44 Element Description Required? <root-passw ord> The desired root password for the XenServer host. If a passwor d is not provided, a prompt will be display ed when the host is fir st booted. A ttributes: Y ou can also specify a type attribute for this element. For ex ample: <root-passw ord type="hash">hashedpasswor d</root[...]

45 Element Description Required? <script> Where the post-ins tall-script is. A ttributes: stag e: filesystem-populat ed , installation-st art , or installation- complete When filesystem-populat ed is used, the script is invok ed just bef ore root file sys tem is unmounted (for example, after installa tion/upgrade, initrds alr eady built, etc.[...]

46 Element Description Required? <admin-interf ace> The single network interf ace to be used as the host administr ation interf ace. A ttributes: prot o: dhcp or static name: eth0 for e xample. Children: • <ipaddr>: The IP address, if pr oto="st atic" • <subnet>: The subnet mask, if pr oto="sta tic" • <[...]