Provisioning Services Archives

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Citrix Provisioning Services (PVS) is a great way for running your virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). In my recent blog here I showed you how to setup Citrix Provisioning Services 7.8.

Using Windows 2012 R2 as a VDI platform, you can easily give like 90% of your workers a full-functional desktop or Workspace. And because the concept is Server Based Computing (SBC or Shared Desktop), you can provision multiple full-functional desktops using just one Windows 2012 R2 server. Off course having just one Windows 2012 R2 Server is not ideal, but you get what I’m aiming at. In the end it is all about managing resources and being high-available.

In this blog I will show you how to create a Windows 2012 R2Â target device running from Citrix Provisioning Services. I will then use this target device disk (vDisk) as a template (golden image) to create multiple target devices running from the same vDisk in another post using Citrix XenDesktop 7.8. For now letâ€™s focus on creating the Windows 2012 R2Â Target Device vDisk.

In this post I will show you how to:

Create a Windows 2012 R2Â Target Device vDisk
Configure aÂ Target Device to use said vDisk and boot from PVS

My lab setup:

Windows 2012 R2 server withÂ Citrix Provisioning Services 7.8 installed (pvs01.vikash.nl)
Local domain (vikash.nl)
Domain controller (dc01.vikash.nl)
Hypervisor Hyper-V 2012 R2
Windows 2012 R2Â ServerÂ with latest updates
All servers and desktops are running as virtual machines
DHCP running on my router
Citrix Provisioning Services Boot Disk (blogÂ here)

Make sure that the virtual machine configured in Hyper-V for Windows 2012 R2Â PVS target is setup asÂ Gen 1Â (generation 1) virtual machine, and that the network card is aÂ Legacy network adapter. Otherwise the virtual machine will not be able to boot using PVS. Sources tell me that the next version of Citix Provisioning Services will be able to work withÂ Gen 2Â (generation 2) virtual machines in Hyper-V.

Target Device Installation

So let’s start by installing the Citrix Provisioning Services components in my Windows 2012 R2 virtual machine. Mount the Citrix Provisioning Services ISO using Hyper-V management console.

Start theÂ autorun.

ChooseÂ Target Device Installation.

Click again onÂ Target Device Installation.

Click onÂ Install to install the required components.

Click onÂ Next to start the installation.

Accept the License Agreement and click onÂ Next.

Enter your customer information and click onÂ Next.

Select theÂ Destination FolderÂ for installation and click onÂ Next.

Click onÂ Install to complete the installation.

Imaging Wizard

After the installation has completed, make sure to check theÂ Launch Imaging Wizard box (if it is not checked automatically). Click onÂ Finish.

You are now presented with a welcome window. Click onÂ Next.

Enter the name of the PVS server. Make sure you have the right port and use the correct credentials for the PVS server. This can be a domain admin account, provided that they have admin rights on the PVS server. Because I am on my homelab I used my Administrator account. In my case I am using the IP-adress from my PVS server. If you are using a hostname, make sure it always resolves to the PVS server.

SelectÂ Create a vDisk and click onÂ Next.

The Provisioning Services Imaging Wizard will create a new Target Device on the PVS server. Choose the correct Device Collection name. I my case I made a separate device collection for Windows 2012 R2 Target Devices. Click onÂ Next.

Specify the vDisk name and click onÂ Next.

Select the appropriate Windows Activation method for you. Click onÂ Next

Choose to image the entire boot disk, and click onÂ Next.

Select the option toÂ OptimizeÂ the hard diskÂ and then click onÂ Next. You can adjust the options according to your needs, I choose the defaults because I my experience that is fine.

You will be presented with a summary screen. Check that everything is entered correctly and then clickÂ Create.

The wizard will create the vDisk and the target device on the PVS server, after optimising the virtual machine. It needs to restart the virtual machine to start the imaging process. Click onÂ Continue.

Now you will be asked to reboot the device. If you chooseÂ YesÂ the Imaging Wizard will restart the virtual machine. At this point you have to make sure that the virtual machine will boot from network or theÂ PVS boot iso. If you chooseÂ NoÂ the virtual machine will be shut down. I chooseÂ No, so I could mount the PVS boot iso to the virtual machine. The Wizard will then shutdown the machine.

Click onÂ Yes to shutdown the virtual machine.

Change Boot Settings Target Machine

Go to theÂ Settings of the virtual machine. In my case that is the Hyper-V management console.

Make sure the virtual machineÂ boots from CD.

The make sure you mountÂ the PVS boot isoÂ to the virtual CD of the virtual machine. Click onÂ OK.

No start the virtual machine and logon to let the Imaging Wizard continue.

The Imaging Wizard will automatically continue.

Click onÂ Done when the Wizard finishes.

Now go to your PVS console, select the Target Device properties.

We can now boot the Target Device using our newly created vDisk. But before we do so we have to set it to boot from vDisk. Click then onÂ OK.

Restart the Windows 2012 R2 Target Device and you will see that it boots now using the PVS server and the vDisk.

Now let’s check the status of the vDisk after logging in.

We can see that we are now using the vDisk.

Note that the vDisk is inÂ Read/Write mode. This is because the Access Mode of theÂ vDisk is Private. This is default after creating a vDisk. Adjust this before starting to provisionÂ multiple target devices using the same vDisk.

This concludes this tutorial. Feel free to contact me of you have any questions or comments.

You can also follow me on twitter or add the rss feed from the blog and you will be notified when I add new posts.

Provisioning Services

Creating a Windows 10 Target Device with Citrix Provisioning Services 7.8

May 31, 2016February 10, 2017 - by Vikash Jhagroe - Leave a Comment

Reading Time: 7 minutes

Citrix Provisioning Services (PVS) is a great way for running your virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). In my recent blog here I showed you how to setup Citrix Provisioning Services 7.8.

In this blog I will show you how to create a Windows 10 target device running from Citrix Provisioning Services. I will then use this target device disk (vDisk) as a template (golden image) to create multiple target devices running from the same vDisk. I will cover this in another post using Citrix XenDesktop 7.8.Â For now let’s focus on creating the Windows 10 Target Device vDisk.

In this post I will show you how to:

Create a Windows 10 Target Device vDisk
Configure aÂ Target Device to use said vDisk and boot from PVS

My lab setup:

Windows 2012 R2 server withÂ Citrix Provisioning Services 7.8 installed (pvs01.vikash.nl)
Local domain (vikash.nl)
Domain controller (dc01.vikash.nl)
Hypervisor Hyper-V 2012 R2
Windows 10 desktop with latest updates
All servers and desktops are running as virtual machines
DHCP running on my router
Citrix Provisioning Services Boot Disk (blog here)

Make sure that the virtual machine configured in Hyper-V for Windows 10 PVS target is setup asÂ Gen 1 (generation 1) virtual machine, and that the network card is aÂ Legacy network adapter. Otherwise the virtual machine will not be able to boot using PVS. Sources tell me that the next version of Citix Provisioning Services will be able to work withÂ Gen 2 (generation 2) virtual machines in Hyper-V.

Target Device Installation

Now we have to install the Citrix Provisioning Services components in the Windows 10 desktop from which we will create the vDisk.

Mount the PVS ISO on the Windows 10 virtual machine.

Start the autorun and chooseÂ Target Device Installation.

Click onÂ Target Device Installation.

ClickÂ Install to install the requirements.

Click onÂ Next to start the installation.

Accept the license agreement and click onÂ Next.

Enter your customer information and click onÂ Next.

Select theÂ Destination Folder for installation and click onÂ Next.

We are now ready to install. Click onÂ Install.

After installation has finished, make sure to selectÂ Launch Imaging Wizard option and click onÂ Finish.

Now the Imaging Wizard will start. Click onÂ Next.

SelectÂ Create a vDisk. ClickÂ Next.

The wizard will create a new target device on the PVS server. Choose a device collection to put the newly created target device in. Click onÂ Next.

Enter a name for the vDisk. Select the the correct store and choose the vDisk type. Click onÂ Next.

Choose the activation type for Windows 10. This depends on the license model you have from Microsoft. Click onÂ Next.

Choose to image the entire boot disk. ClickÂ Next.

Select the option toÂ OptimizeÂ the hard disk and then click onÂ Next. You can adjust the options according to your needs, I choose the defaults because I my experience that is fine.

You will be presented with a summary screen. Check that everything is entered according to your needs and then clickÂ Create.

Now you will be asked to reboot the device. If you chooseÂ Yes the Imaging Wizard will restart the virtual machine. At this point you have to make sure that the virtual machine will boot from network or the PVS boot iso. If you chooseÂ No the virtual machine will be shut down.

In my case I have to chooseÂ No because I can’t change the boot order of a Gen 1 Hyper-V virtual machine while it is powered on. Check if your hypervisor is able to adjust while the virtual machine is powered on.

So I have to adjust the settings of my virtual machine.

First I have to mount the PVS boot iso. Go to the DVD Drive and select the iso.

Now we have to adjust the boot order. Go toÂ BIOS, select theÂ CD and move it to the top of the list. Then clickÂ OK.

We can now power on the virtual machine. Connect to the console and check that it is booting from the PVS boot isoÂ and connecting to the PVS server.

Now logon to the virtual machine so the Image Wizard can continue.

The Image Wizard will continue automatically and start with taking a snapshot.

Then the Image Wizard will start the copy process to the PVS server.

After the Image Wizard completed the copy process successfully click onÂ Done.

Time for testing

Now shutdown the virtual machine and disconnect the local “physical” disk, because now we want to start from the newly created vDisk fromÂ the PVS server. This has to be done using the hypervisor manager, in my case Hyper-V mmc. Go to settings to remove the locally attached “physical” disk.

Go toÂ IDE Controller 0 andÂ Remove the disk. This will only disconnect it and make it invisible to the virtual machine, the virtual disk file will not be deleted.

When the target device is created on the PVS server, it is set to boot from hard disk. This is done to complete the image proces but can also be used to make changes to the virtual disk. Now we have to tell the target device that is has to boot from the vDisk.

Go to your PVS console and select theÂ Properties from you target device.

In theÂ General tab chooseÂ vDisk in theÂ Boot from dropdown menu. Then click onÂ OK.

Also we want to set theÂ Access modeÂ for the vDisk toÂ Standard Image. This is necessary if we want to start multiple virtual machines using the same vDisk (in the future). Go to the vDisk Pool in your PVS console and select theÂ Properties for the vDisk we just made.

In theÂ General tab set theÂ Access mode toÂ Standard Image. Then clickÂ OK.

Now it is time to boot the virtual machine and see some PVS magic! Connect to the console of the virtual machine using your hypervisor tools, in my case Hyper-V mmc, so you can see what is happening during boot.

As you can see the virtual machine is booted from my PVS boot isoÂ and logged in to PVS. PVS is accepting the connection and providing the virtual machine with a vDisk.

Logon to the virtual machine to check if theÂ Virtual Disk Status.

In theÂ General tab you can see that the vDisk is nowÂ Read Only. This is exactly what we wanted.

In theÂ Statistics tab you can see some diagnostic information.

This concludes this tutorial. Feel free to contact me of you have any questions or comments.

You can also follow me on twitter or add the rss feed from the blog and you will be notified when I add new posts.

Provisioning Services

Citrix Provisioning Services create bootable ISO for target devices

May 15, 2016February 10, 2017 - by Vikash Jhagroe - 1 Comment

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The target devices booting from Citrix Provisioning Services (PVS) server can boot using PXE or using a bootable ISO. I choose to boot my devices using a bootable ISO. This method is very reliable, as it doesn’t rely on PXE services or network connections.

My lab setup:

Windows 2012 R2 server running Citrix Provisioning Services 7.8.

In this post I will show you how to:

Create a bootable ISO for PVS target devices

Create a bootable ISO for your PVS target devices

Go to the Start Menu and selectÂ Provisioning Services Boot Device Manager.

In my experience many boot related problems can be solved when you enter the IP address of the PVS server here instead of the hostname or fqdn. So I selectedÂ Use static ip for the server. Then click onÂ Add.

Enter the network settings and fill in the IPÂ address of your PVS server. Click onÂ OK.

Click onÂ Next.

In theÂ Set Options window enableÂ Verbose Mode. This is very useful in case you have to troubleshoot, and the added boot delay can be neglected. Then click onÂ Next.

SelectÂ Citrix ISO Image Recorder in the dropdown menu and click onÂ Burn.

Choose a location to save the ISO file and click onÂ Save.

When the ISO has been created successfully, click onÂ OK.

You can now close theÂ Boot Device Management window.

Check that you have the ISO file.

This concludes this tutorial. Feel free to contact me of you have any questions or comments.

You can also follow me on twitter or add the rss feed from the blog and you will be notified when I add new posts.

Provisioning Services

Setup and configuration of Citrix Provisioning Services 7.8

May 15, 2016February 10, 2017 - by Vikash Jhagroe - Leave a Comment

Reading Time: 6 minutes

Recently Citrix has releasedÂ Citrix Provisioning Services 7.8 (PVS). I wanted to see how this works, so I decided to set it up in my homelab and share the setup and configuration steps with you guys.

I will be needing this component to stream my desktops and servers. Citrix Provisioning Services (PVS) eliminates the need to manage, update and patch individual systems. Instead it allows us to use a master image to provision computers. This master image (vDisk) can be used simultaneously by multiple computers.

In this post I will show you how to:

Install PVS
Basic configuration using the PVS wizard
Create a PVS farm

My lab setup:

Windows 2012 R2 server with patches and updates which I will be using to installÂ PVS
Downloaded PVS ISO fromÂ www.citrix.com
Service Account in Active Directory
Local domain (vikash.nl)
Domain controller (dc01.vikash.nl)
Hypervisor Hyper-V 2012 R2
SQL server (sql01.vikash.nl)
Citrix License Server (dc01.vikash.nl)
All servers running as virtual machines

Install Citrix Provisioning Services 7.8

Mount the ISO to using Hyper-V manager on your virtual server and start the setup. Click onÂ Server Installation.

The setup wizard will automatically detect the required components and will prompt to install them. Click onÂ Install.

Click onÂ Yes to install the SQL components.

Click onÂ Next on the welcome screen.

Accept the license agreement and click onÂ Next.

Enter the username and organization name. Select theÂ all users option and click onÂ Next.

Choose the installation folder. In my case I left this default. Then click onÂ Next.

Click onÂ Install to start the installation.

Click onÂ Finish to finish the installation.

You will get a warning message about the PVS Console. We will install this later. Click onÂ OK.

Now the Provisioning Services Configuration Wizard will automatically start. Click onÂ Next.

You will now be prompted to choose a DHCP option. When the PVS server is running DHCP (local service), chooseÂ The service that runs on this computer. In my case my DHCP is running on my router, so I chooseÂ The service that runs on another computer. Click onÂ Next.

Choose the PXE options. If your virtual machines will boot using the PXE service, enable this. In my environment I will be using a bootable ISO for all the virtual machines running from PVS. You can see Â hereÂ how to create a bootable ISO. So I chooseÂ The service that runs on another computer and click onÂ Next.

Now we have to create a new farm since this is my first PVS server. ChooseÂ Create farm and click onÂ Next.

The wizard will create the database now. The active directory account running the configuration wizard should have rights to create the database on the SQL server. Otherwise make sure the database is created beforehand and that you have the correct account to login to the database. Enter the SQL fqdn and click onÂ Next.

Enter the database name. If this is an existing database, choose the name using the dropdown menu. Make sure to select the correct Active Directory group to manage the PVS server (Farm Administrator group). Enter the other information needed to create the farm and click onÂ Next.

Select the destination to store the virtual disks for the virtual machines running from PVS. Give it a name and click onÂ Next.

Enter the license server fqdn. Click onÂ Next.

Now we have to specify an account for running the PVS service. This will be used to run the Stream and Soap service. Enter the correct information and click onÂ Next.

The target devices running from PVS cannot update their own password in the Active Directory, so we must enable PVS to do this for us. Make sure this is enabled and click onÂ Next.

Check the network communication settings for management and streaming. Select the correct interface, check with your network admin in case this is not clear. In my case my PVS server has one NIC. Click onÂ Next.

Next you will be prompted to enter the TFTP options. Enable it and click onÂ Next.

Now everything is setup to finish the configuration wizard. Click onÂ Finish.

If you have Windows Firewall running on your server, you will get a message about that. Make sure you disable it later or open the necessary ports. Click onÂ OK.

Click onÂ Done after the configuration wizard has finished.

Install the Citrix Provisioning Services Console

In order to manage Citrix Provisioning Services you need to install the console. Run the setup from the Citrix Provisioning Services ISO and this time click onÂ Console Installation.

ClickÂ Next in the welcome screen.

Accept the License Agreement and click onÂ Next.

Enter the Customer Information and click onÂ Next.

Choose the installation path and click onÂ Next.

Click onÂ Install to begin the installation.

After the installation is finished, click onÂ Finish.

Now go to the Start Menu and start the Provisioning Services Console.

Right clickÂ Provisioning Services Console and click onÂ Connect to Farm….

Enter the correct fqdn, selectÂ Auto-login on application start or reconnect to automatically connect to the PVS server and then click onÂ Connect.

Now you should be able to manage the PVS server.

This concludes this tutorial. Feel free to contact me of you have any questions or comments.

You can also follow me on twitter or add the rss feed from the blog and you will be notified when I add new posts.

Provisioning Services

Basic setup Citrix Provisioning Services 7.6

July 4, 2015February 10, 2017 - by Vikash Jhagroe - 2 Comments.

Reading Time: 6 minutes

So I got some free time now to continue setting up my homelab. I decided to start with a basic setup and configuration of Citrix Provisioning Services 7.6 (PVS). I will be needing this component to stream my desktops and servers. Citrix Provisioning Services (PVS) eliminates the need to manage, update and patch individual systems. Instead it allows us to use a master image to provision computers. This master image (vDisk) can be used simultaneously by multiple computers.

In this post I will show you how to:

Install PVS
Basic configuration using the PVS wizard
Creating a farm

My lab setup:

Host running Citrix XenServer 6.5 SP1
Windows 2012 R2 server with patches and updates which I will be using to installÂ PVS
Downloaded PVS ISO fromÂ www.citrix.com
Service Account in Active Directory

Install Citrix Provisioning Services 7.6

Using XenCenter mount the ISO on the Windows 2012 Server VM and start the setup. The setup will start. Click on Server Installation.

If there are additional items to be installed, you will be prompted for them. Click on Install.

Click on YES.

Click on Next.

Accept the License Agreement and click on Next.

Enter your customer information in the User Name field and the Organization field. Select the option you need for “Install this application for”. Click Next.

Select the installation folder. In my case I left it default. Click Next.

Then click on Install to begin the installation.

Click on Finish the start the configuration wizard.

You will get a warning about the PVS console not detected on your system. Just click on OK, we will deal with this later.

The configuration wizards start, click on Next to begin configuration.

Configure the DHCP options according to your infrastructure. I have selected the option “The service that runs on another server”. Select this option is you have a separate DHCP server installed. Click on Next.

For the PXE services I have selected “The service that runs on another computer”. This is the scenario I see in most of the cases with customers running PVS. In many cases they have a seperate PXE server running for Thin-Clients. Select the option you see fit for your infrastructure. Click on Next.

Now we have to create the PVS farm. In another post I will cover the “Join existing farm” option. For now let’s create a new one. Click on Next.

Enter the information to setup the PVS database on the SQL server. Select the appropriate instance, otherwise leave blank. Click on Next.

In the New Farm windows enter the information according to your company/infrastructure. It will already suggest the database name. You can change it, or select the appropriate database. I also added the Active Directory Administrators group. Click on Next.

Enter the Store name and the path where you vDisks will be stored. Click on Next.

Enter the hostname or ipadress of you licensen server. I also checked the option “Validate license server version and communication”. Â Click on Next.

Enter the service account you created in Active Directory to setup the Stream and Soap services. This service account will also be used to setup the database. Note that this user must have db_writerÂ and db_reader access, so I made this account the owner of the PVS database. Click on Next.

I use the default to updateÂ the computer password in the Active Directory. Click on Next.

Select the network card for management and streaming, in my case there is only one. Check the communication ports. I left them default. Click on Next.

I choose not to install TFTP server, as I will be booting using an ISO. This ISO tells my client device (target) where my PVS server is. I will cover this in a later post. Click on Next.

Check the information on the overview screen. Click on Finish.

You will get a notification about the firewall. Click on OK.

Now wait for the wizard to complete the configuration. It should end with all the green checkmarks. Click on Done.

Install Provisioning Services Management Console

Now we need to install the PVS Console for management purpose. This console can be installed on a remote server (like a management server). I choose to install this on my local PVS server.

Start the setup from the Provisioning Services installation ISO. Click on Console Installation.

Click on Next in the Welcome screen.

Accept the license agreement. Click on Next.

Enter your customer information in the User Name field and the Organization field. Select the option you need for “Install this application for”. Click Next.

Choose the installation folder. I left mine default. Click on Next.

Select the setup type. Click on Next.

We are now ready to install. Click on Install.

Click on Finish.

Start the PVS console and enter the information of the PVS server. Click on Connect.

We now have a working Provisioning Services server. In another post I will show you how to create and configure master images using Provisioning Services.

You can also follow me on twitter or add the rss feed from the blog and you will be notified when I add new posts. If you have any questions feel free to contact me.