Installing Citrix Provisioning Server 5.1 sp2 [part 3]

In Part 1 I covered the Install of Provisioning Server. In Part 2, the ins and outs of capturing a XenApp server into a Provisioning Server vDISK. In this 3rd and final part we will cover streaming our newly captured image to PVS hosts as well as how to maintain our images though revisions for instant upgrades.

Assumptions for this to work

• You've followed part 1 and 2 of this guide
(and all of the assumptions for this to work in each respective article)
• A location to stream the PVS client, this can be XenServer, VMware, Hyper-V, or a physical server
For this article I will be using XenServer 5.5u2 - steps should be similar for the other platforms PVS supports, but you may need to adapt to your environment if you aren't using XenServer.

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Preparing the Host

1. For Physical Servers - simply set the server for network boot and get the NIC1 MAC Address (most servers only PXE boot to the first NIC - labeled 0 or 1) and move to the next section, for Xen Guests continue on (VMhosts/Hyper-V should be similar)
2. Add a new Xen Guest
To add a new XenServer Guest open the XenConsole Connect to the resource pool/server you’d like to use Click Server > New VM Template should be Citrix XenApp (or XenApp x64 depending on your captured host) Click Next >
3. Name the Host
Name should match the new server name Description should be a short description of the new host Click Next >
4. Set DVD
Sadly Empty is not an option, but to assure the server moves from server to server in a pool I would select ISO Image and xs-tools.iso as the image. You can clear this (set to empty) later after the new VM is created. Click Next >
5. Home Server
You can leave this default at Automatically select a home server with available resources Click Next >
6. CPU/Memory
Set this appropriate to your environment Click Next >
7. Storage
The default storage is fine (we will be deleting the disk shortly anyways) Click Next >
8. Network
Make sure your client side network is here. Click Next >
9. Final Screen
Uncheck Start VM automatically Click Finish
10. Set Network Boot
After new VM is created, select the VM and click VM > Properties On Startup Options Tab move Network to the top of the list Click OK
11. Delete the Xen Disk
With the new server selected in XenCenter click the Storage tab Highlight the disk (there should be only one), Click the Delete Button Click Yes on the delete warning
12. Note the Servers MAC
Select the Network tab Note the server’s MAC address to set it up as a PVS host in the next section

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Add the new Server as a PVS Host

1. Create the Device
Back on the Provisioning Server, Launch the Provisioning Services Console Drill down to your collection you created in Part 2 and select it Click Action > Create Device Name: [server name] Description: [short explanation of the device] MAC: This is your Server's NIC MAC (from above) Leave Apply the collection template to this device unchecked Click OK
2. Select the newly created device, click Action > Properties
On the General Tab: Class: this should match the Class set on the Master device and vDISK in part 2. Boot from: vDisk Click the vDisks tab under the vDisks for this Device section, click Add Add the new vDisk created above, click OK Make sure the vDisk captured in Part 2 appears in the list like shown below Click OK
3. Create the Machine's account in AD
To assure the clients are created in AD correctly select the new Host then Action > Active Directory > Create Machine Account Domain: [your domain] OU: [correct OU for this server type] Note: All PVS hosts require a special GPO (covered in Part 1) – PVS Hosts should only be deployed into OUs that have this GPO applied - this is very important. Click Create Account

4. Power up the server
You can now power up the new server and it should boot to the Provisioning server and load the streamed vDISK - test your install completely before moving on (or adding users).

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Maintaining a Server with versions and classes

Everything we have done so far as setup the PVS environment to support Automatic updating of images. This included Enabling automatic updates on the vDisk as well as setting Class identification on vDisks and target devices. In this secion we will cover how to make sure this works seamlessly with our target devices

1. Copy the Provisioning Server vDISK
Browse to your default location for images (setup in Part 1) Copy the vDisk you want to make a new revision - name the new copied file: XenApp [ver] - [Server Role] (Rev[next # up]) ex: XenApp 5 - Office 2007 (Rev2)
2. Add new vDisk Revision to PVS console
Back in the Provisioning Server Console, Select Sites > [Your Site Name] > vDisk Pool Select Action > Add Existing vDisks Assure Store to search is correct Assure Server to search is correct Click Search Select the correct vDisk (one you just renamed) Click Add Click Close
3. Select the new vDisk, select Action > Properties
In the Properties window click Edit file properties On the General Tab enter the class that matches the existing vDisk: XenApp [version] - [server role] ex: XenApp 5 - Office 2007 (This should match all the Rev vDisks - rev1 and rev2 should have the same class name) Click OK Click the Mode Tab Access Mode should be changed to Private Image (single device, R/W access) Check Enable automatic updates for this vDisk Apply vDISK updates as soon as they are detected by the server selected. Click OK
4. Replace the vDisk on the Master Server
Back under your device collection, select your master machine (as set in Part 2) this machine is the one you captured the image from - but any machine will do to update the image. Click Action > Properties On the General tab Change Boot from: vDisk On the vDisks tab remove the current revision vDisk and add the new revision vDisk Click OK
5. Update Server
Boot up the master server to the new vDISK Make all your changes (update Virus Scan Defs, install patches, add/remove programs, etc) when complete re-run the XenAppPrep /PVS command (see part 2 if you need a reminder) Shutdown the server
6. Increment the vDisk
Back on the Provisioning Server Highlight the updated vDisk click Action > Properties In the Properties window click Edit file properties On the Mode Tab Access Mode should be changed to Standard Image Check Enable automatic updates for this vDisk Apply vDISK updates as soon as they are detected by the server selected. Select the Identification tab Increment the Build number by 1 Click OK
7. Check for Updates
Select Sites > [Your Site Name] > Servers Right click your server and Select Check for Updates > Automatic A confirmation box will appear click Yes This will update all your devices with the new vDisk assuming you setup all the classes correctly - at next reboot the machines will be using your updated image.

That's it, you now have a fully functioning Citrix Provisioning Server installation and you know all the ins and outs of capturing images, deploying streamed images, and updating images, Enjoy!