New blog site...

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I have transferred all my original posts to a new site and improved blog powered by WordPress.  I was very happy with my Google Blogger site, but with some upcoming changes, I needed my own dedicated site… so welcome to PaulTechnologies.com!

If you were following my old site here on Blogger, please subscribe to my new blog.  Along with my random posts on virtualization, I will also have articles and whitepapers I have been publishing, some best practices, and a soon-to-be-released program for auditing Citrix XenApp (cleverly called XenAppAudit) that I have been developing.

I’m excited about these changes and I hope you find value there as well…  please check out my new site and drop me a note or a comment if there are any particular topics you would like to see covered!

This will be my last post here at sbcengine.blogspot.com, thanks for reading and I hope to have you follow me to http://paultechnologies.com...

Thanks!
-Andy

Technical Deep Dive: XenApp Load Evaluators

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One of the often overlooked features of XenApp is truly understanding the load evaluators. As a consultant, I commonly see environments using only the Default Load Evaluator. If I am lucky, they might be using the Advanced Load Evaluator. Rarely do I find organizations actively monitoring or customizing their load evaluators.

Load Evaluators have not changed much since Presentation Server days, but amazingly they are not commonly optimized. Every environment and every workload is different, so whichever load evaluator is implemented may vary, but they should be customized and monitored.

Are you ready for VDI?

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More companies are investigating the benefits of implementing a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI).  If you are one of those companies then you need to ask yourself, “Am I ready for VDI?”  The first step is identifying exactly what VDI means to your organization.  VDI actually encompasses several types of delivery, but is most commonly associated with what Gartner classifies as hosted virtual desktops (HVD).  VDI can also include implementations of server-based computing (SBC), hosted shared desktops (HSD) and client-side virtualization.  For the sake of simplicity, we will focus on the hosted virtual desktop model for VDI since that is the most common assumption of a VDI deployment.

Citrix Synergy 2011

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If you are thinking about going to Synergy this year, I will be assisting in moderating the XenClient learning labs (SYN409D) during Summit and speaking as part of the XenDesktop team during Synergy. This is an exciting opportunity for me! If you are planning on attending, check out the 5 part WOW TO HOW Series, I will be speaking on Part 3: Storage Infrastructure (SYN305)

For more information on Synergy, or to register, follow this link: Synergy 2011

To see more details on my session, follow this link: SYN305

XenDesktop 5 Deep Dive: Machine Creation Services (MCS) on vSphere 4.1

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As promised, I have published my Deep Dive around MCS over at The GenerationV Site: http://tinyurl.com/4tzpfts. Check it out!

The data is abstracted, but all the source came from a real-world pilot. The question posed was, "What is the impact of MCS on storage and how exactly does it work on vSphere?" So, I rolled up my sleeves, dug in, and figured I would share my findings.

In short, MCS works as design and can greatly save on storage space by using a linked snapshot as well as save on administration by rapidly deploying machines. The downside becomes when you need to move machines to different storage. Not always a common event, but one to consider.

Personally, I still prefer PVS for an enterprise-scale deployment, but MCS has it's place.


Other resources:

• XenDesktop Design Handbook Success Kit  - One stop shop for XD Resources
• Citrix XenDesktop Architecure Series  -  Citrix Community Blog for XD Architecture
• Dan Feller's Blog- Great Architectural Resource for XenDesktop

It's been awhile...

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WOW.  It's been awhile since posting, but I have a lot of topics in the pipeline.  Since joining GlassHouse, I figured I would have more time to write, but the inverse has turned out to be true.

However, thanks to some recent requests, I am back on the blog.  Here are some things to look for in coming weeks:

• VDI preparedness -- what you need before you jump into virtual desktops
• Deep Dive into MCS -- XenDesktop 5's new Machine Creation Services
• Deep Dive into WI on NetScaler -- the new Web Interface integrated directly onto NetScaler VPX
• Deep Dive into XenDesktop 5 -- notes from the field on what's new and improved plus evolving best practices
• 7 Rules of Consulting -- written as a series, my own personal take on being a consultant

Joining GlassHouse Technologies!

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I'm happy to announce that I have joined the team at GlassHouse Technologies as a Senior Virtualization Consultant. With this role, I will be tasked with helping manage virtualization projects, with a main focus on Citrix Technologies.

My main focus will be on expanding our XenDesktop / Virtual Desktop offerings, and will leverage all of our corporate expertise on Datacenter Management, Virtualization, Storage and Security.

Citrix closes the gap with VMWare -- XenServer 5.6 Beta, Part 1

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Most of the complaints I've heard in regards to XenServer vs. VMWare is the fact that XenServer does not allow an overcommitment of memory.  If you have a host server with 16 GB of RAM, you can only allocate up to 16 GB of RAM for the guests (yes, I know, technically less since Xen requires some resources... but you get the point).

Personally, I'm not a fan of over-allocating memory.  I actually like that with XenServer, I do not have to worry about it.  I've seen too many VMWare farms suffer because of assigning too much memory then having to constantly swap resources.  I think if you engineer the solution correctly, and size your servers properly, memory allocation should be kept in check.

However, seeing this as a fault when comparing virtualization host platforms, Citrix has released the latest Beta of XenServer 5.6.  One of the new features IS allowing your to over-allocate memory... they call it Dynamic Memory Control.  I have to admit, it is pretty cool and very easy to use.  The XenCenter display makes it VERY intuitive... all the better to see WHERE your resources are allocated, especially when squeezing memory.

 
To read more technical details, see my full article at: http://www.thegenerationv.com/2010/04/xenserver-56-preview-part-1-dynamic.html

Louisville Citrix Users Group -- Next Meeting 4-8-2010

The next meeting for LCUG has been announced...

PVS Discussion, networking, pizza and refreshments... what more could you want?

SEE YOU THERE!
What: Provisioning Server Discussion and Trilogy Case Study
When: Thursday, April 8, 2010 6:00 PM
Where: Peak 10, 752 Barrett Avenue, Louisville, KY 40204


Learn more at: http://www.meetup.com/citrixlouisville/

Direct Booting a VHD in XenServer

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I've run across several instances where I needed to direct boot a VHD in XenServer.  One example was migrating from Hyper-V to XenServer.  Another was updating the network stack, XenTools, and PVS Tools on existing vDisks.  Regardless, the following is the three-step process I took...

Recovering from XenServer Root Drive Full -- Oppsie!

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I was trying to import a VHD straight into XenServer the other day. I was moving a VM from HyperV to XenServer 5.5, so instead of starting from scratch, I thought I would simply copy the VHD from HyperV to XS using WinSCP. Following the directions from Trevor Mansell's Citrix Blog

All went well until my XenServer died on me...

The Future of Computing? BYOC!

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Check out my latest article, and in depth look at Bring Your Own Computer to Work Policies...

A growing trend in technology firms is Bring Your Own Computer (BYOC or BYOPC). Of course organizations such as Microsoft, Google, Citrix and Cisco are embracing this -- which is to be expected. However, as workforces become increasingly mobile, and virtualization methodologies are further adapted in enterprises, BYOC will inevitably grow.

Deploying Windows 7 with XenDesktop 3

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I've been running Windows 7 since May. I have to say, I've very impressed. Microsoft got it right. They took the best of XP and Vista (and MACs), plus some good common sense features to make a great product. I've run it on three systems, ranging from a brand new Quad-Core 4gb RAM laptop to an old single-core 1gb ram nc6120.

As a virtualization engineer, I'm seeing a lot of customers evaluating virtual desktop deployments as a way to distribute Windows 7 in their enterprise. It would be easy to argue Windows 7 is a reason they are embracing VDI; of course, it is just as easy to say they are using Windows 7 as the excuse for VDI. Either way, both are gathering steam.

Windows NLB on Hyper-V R2

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Today I had the luxury of setting up a Unicast NLB on a couple of Windows 2008 servers (for Citrix Web Interface 5.2). The servers themselves are guest VMs running on Hyper-V R2. I noticed that when trying to create the NLB, it would not converge. The NLB wizard was erroring out, plus the entire NIC would go offline, losing its static IP association. I would also see Error 12289.

Optimizing XenApp on VMWare ESX

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There are numerous benefits for running Citrix XenApp on XenServer; including single vendor support, built-in optimizations, and integration features. However, what if you are working in a VMWare ESX environment? As a consultant or an internal engineer, you cannot always dictate the virtualization environment. The following are some tried and true best practices for optimizing XenApp on VMWare ESX.

Read More, view the full article at GenV: http://www.thegenerationv.com/2009/10/optimizing-xenapp-on-vmware-esx.html

Louisville-Area Citrix Users Group Meeting Oct 21

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Hey guys, I hope all is well! I have not been very active lately due to numerous computer problems (and like most IT geeks, I tend not to want to work on my own PC issues...)

As I mentioned previously, There is a new Louisville-Area Citrix Users Group. Here is a link: http://www.meetup.com/citrixlouisville/

The first meeting is Wednesday, October 21st at the BBC Tap Room.

Chris Bacon is helping sponsor, so if nothing else, come down and get a few free brews on Citrix's tab! I'm planning on going, so I hope to see some of you there. Feel free to pass this on to anyone who may be interested.

TheGenerationV.com

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I'm happy to announce that I am joining the team over at TheGenerationV.com.

I will still be maintaining my personal blog here as time allows, of course, but will also be writing case studies and analysis articles for GenerationV.

TheGenerationV.com is dedicated to hosting discussions and technical articles about next generation technology. TheGenerationV.com was founded on July 10, 2009 by Rick Rohne, however, it is made up of some of the most talented Systems Integrators in the country.

I'm looking forward to sharing my thoughts on virtualization with this team of engineers. Please come check it out.

Louisville-Area Citrix Users Group

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Chris Morgan with University of Louisville School of Dentistry has started a Louisville-Area Citrix Users Group. He and I had been discussing this for months with our regional Citrix sales management team. I'm glad to say he has taken the initiative and created a MeetUp site to facilitate this new group.

If you are a Citrix user, administrator or engineer; using Presentation Server, XenApp, XenServer, XenDesktop, NetScaler, or any other Citrix Technologies; or if you are interested in learning more, please sign up at http://www.meetup.com/citrixlouisville/

Also, as new group, we are looking for topic suggestions and vendor sponsorships. Feel free to submit any ideas you may have.

Now With MTM!

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I'm ecstatic to announce I have joined the team at MTM Techonologies as a Systems Consultant. I had the pleasure of working with MTM as a customer for many years. During this time, I had the opportunity to get to know them top to bottom. When the time came for me to make a change, this is the team I knew I wanted to join.

HP NCU vs Symantec End Point Security

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I ran into an odd situation at a client site last week. We were implementing HP Blades, but were having problems with the teaming software. BL460 G1 blades with the NC737i network cards, Windows 2008 Enterprise SP1. Although both NICs were present, the HP Network Configuration Utility (NCU) was BLANK on 9 out of 12 servers. 2 servers were 2003 and were fine, the rest 2008 and all had the same symptoms, save 1.