VDI Best Practices with Citrix XenDesktop.

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Chad Bryant
8 years ago
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1 VDI Best Practices with Citrix XenDesktop

2 Mission Statement: No More IT Infrastructure Headaches Because we provide the: People Process Technology To Help our clients PLAN BUILD MANAGE The IT Infrastructure

3 We serve our customer with 7 Internal divisions Cloud Services Managed Services IT Staffing Professional Services Products Application Services Training

4 Why Desktop Virtualization

6 Project Methodology PLAN Assessment, Design, POC, Project Plan BUILD Build, Test, Rollout MANAGE Training, Support, Escalation

7 Plan Phase Best Practices Objectives of VDI solution Assess the current environment POC Design

8 Plan Phase Best Practices Server Hardware Hypervisor Datacenter Picture here Storage Network Internet Applications

9 Build Phase Best Practices Verify Power Savings Options are disabled on hosts

10 Build Host Best Practices Enable Hyper-Threading on the hosts

11 Build Storage Best Practices Verify that the LUN size created for the VDI environment is in accordance with the vendor specific best practices for desktop virtualization A storage appliance must be setup in a redundant manner.

the vendor specific best practices for desktop

12 Build Networking Virtual Desktop VLAN Create a DHCP scope Verify DNS Redundancy Verify DNS Dynamic Updates are enabled A separate Network VLAN for the virtual desktops and XenApp servers will be created. Create a DHCP scope for the XenApp and VDI subnets A redundant DHCP scope should be available for the subnet. XenDesktop and XenApp environments require DNS for intercomponent communication. Therefore, it is vital to configure a minimum of two DNS servers for each zone on every server and virtual desktop for reasons of redundancy. XenDesktop requires a fully functioning DNS solution for the XenDesktop Controllers as well as the Virtual Desktops. As Virtual Desktops typically obtain IP addresses by means of dynamic DHCP the ability to dynamic update DNS A-Records is required.

XenDesktop and XenApp environments require DNS for intercomponent communication.

13 Build Security Best Practices Keep computers up to date with security patches Protect all computers with antivirus software Reposition an existing perimeter

14 Build Best Practices: Citrix Antivirus VMware Storage Group Policies Windows OS Network Database Server

com/us/solutions/virtualization/desktop/desktop-citrix.aspx http://support.citrix.com/proddocs/topic/xendesktop-rho/cds-policies-wrapper-rho.html http://www.citrix.com/content/dam/citrix/en_us/documents/partnerdocuments/sizing_for_citrix_xendesktop_final.

15 Recent Challenges Healthcare Financial Retail XenServer Boot to USB The blade servers selected did not support USB boot We had to install hard drives AppData redirection speeds up logons, data sharing between sessions. App that used Excel was slow. Turned off AppData redirection Stream all apps using personal vdisk. All 50 plus applications were streamed. The disk size for the write cache was too small. We had to double the size of the write cache

App that used Excel was slow. Turned off AppData redirection Stream all apps using personal vdisk.

16 Manage Manage Best Practices The Manage phase is the ongoing operations and maintenance of the deployed technology. System administrators should be trained to perform the required tasks for daily operation and administration.

17 Manage Farm or Load Managed Groups #Servers #Users Help Desk Admins Architects 1 <100 < CCA 1-2 CCEE 1 CCIA 2-5 <200 < CCA 3-4 CCEE 1 CCIA >6 >200 > CCEE 5+ CCEE 2 CCIA

<3000 1 CCA 1-2 CCEE 1 CCIA 2-5 <200 <4000 3

Manage Skill Set of CCA Tier-1 support personnel should be provided with basic training on Citrix XenApp, Citrix XenDesktop and supporting technologies.

18 Manage Skill Set of CCA Tier-1 support personnel should be provided with basic training on Citrix XenApp, Citrix XenDesktop and supporting technologies. This can include internal training from subject matter experts or formal training. The training provided should focus on the following topics: High-Level overview of the XenApp and XenDesktop implementation Using Citrix Desktop Director to manage user sessions Troubleshooting Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop sessions Managing AD group policies user profiles Troubleshooting methodology In addition, regular training should be provided to the Tier-1 team members on the latest troubleshooting recommendations from the Tier-2 and Tier-3 teams as well as details on any relevant changes to the environment. This will help ensure a base knowledge level amongst the team and consistent customer service.

The training provided should focus on the following topics: High-Level overview of the XenApp and XenDesktop implementation Using Citrix Desktop Director to manage user sessions Troubleshooting

19 Manage Skill Set of CCIA A qualified Tier-4 resource should have a minimum of five to six years of experience implementing, supporting, and serving in a technology architect role for a XenApp and/or XenDesktop environment as well as additional administrative experience with integrated technologies such as application and profile management solutions. The ideal candidate will have served in such a capacity at two or more environments for purposes of product exposure and in at least one environment of over 1,200 concurrent users. The Tier-4 resource should have enterprise experience with industry recognized certifications. A Citrix Certified Integration Architect (CCIA) certification or comparable training and experience should be a prerequisite of the role. Training or practical knowledge on XenCenter, AD Group Policies and the utilized hypervisor should be considered essential.

The ideal candidate will have served in such a capacity at two or more environments for purposes of product exposure and in at least one environment of over 1,200 concurrent users.

20 Manage GTC Managed Services Offering $350 per server $125 per application $45 per user GTC uses its unique knowledge and experience in Citrix to provide a fixed-cost, remotely delivered managed service designed to dramatically reduce downtime.

and experience in Citrix to provide a fixed-cost, remotely

21 Manage We have a long history of success with Citrix projects We can help with Plan Build Manage GTC Cloud is built on best practices, we can share with you how we are building the GTC Cloud

22 GTC Cloud Offsite Data backup and recovery Extend Corporate IT to the GTC Cloud Complete Hosting in the GTC Cloud

23 Questions

CMB-207-1I Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop Fast Track

1800 ULEARN (853 276) www.ddls.com.au CMB-207-1I Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop Fast Track Length 5 days Price $5995.00 (inc GST) This fast-paced course covers select content from training courses CXA-206