Citrix releases Hotfix 3 for Provisioning Services 6.1

May 19th, 2012 by Jack Cobben No comments »

Citrix has released yesterday the 3rd hotfix for version 6.1 of their Provisioning Services software.

Here’s what’s new and fixed in this release.

Citrix Provisioning Services 6.1 Hotfix XenDesktop SCVMM 2012 Compatibility Pack

This document describes the issue solved by this release and includes installation instructions. You can find more information about Citrix Provisioning Services 6.1 in the Citrix Provisioning Services 6.1 Installation and Configuration Guide. All product documentation is available from the Citrix Web site at http://www.citrix.com/support.

Issue(s) Resolved in this Hotfix

This release addresses performance issues identified with the XenDesktop Setup Wizard and Streamed VM Setup Wizard

• SCVMM virtual machine deployments have been parallelized to deploy multiple VMs on each selected host concurrently, for both SCVMM 2012 and 2008.

• Streamed VM Wizard also gains the SCVMM parallelization benefits, although to a lesser effect since it can only target a single host.

• WinRM is no longer a requirement for the XenDesktop setup wizard when using SCVMM 2008 or 2012

Fixes also included in this release:

• All fixes in CVPS61E001 and CVPS61E002 that are in console and server are included in this hotfix, the console and server install maybe used in place of CVPS61E001

• BUG0308003 XenDeskTop Wizard is slow in obtaining the list of ESX templates

• BUG0035424 A delay when attempting to add a group to farm administrators group is experienced in the PVS console

Upgrade / Installation:

An upgrade / installation guide will be made this weekend and posted on this blog. You can follow me on twitter to receive notification or visit this blog frequently.

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Citrix tool: VolatilePool Enabler

May 17th, 2012 by Jack Cobben No comments »

When the stack of a process is overrun by a second process, analysis of the dump is not possible because the crash occurs when the original process writes to kernel space occupied by a second process.

Special pool tagging causes the offending driver to crash as soon as it tries to write to the kernel space, before overwriting the space, and enables the debugger to analyze the crash.

VolatilePool is a debugging tool that enables the special pool flag for all drivers on the system without the need to restart the machine. This is useful, especially on provisioned machines that otherwise require the administrator to create a new image for the registry changes to persist.

Prerequisites

VolatilePool can run on any Microsoft Windows computer that is Windows Vista or later.

It must be run as a user with Administrative privileges for all features to be functional.

» Read more: Citrix tool: VolatilePool Enabler

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PVS – Keeping you data persistent

May 17th, 2012 by Jack Cobben No comments »

Martin Zugec wrote a great blog on the Citrix blogs about keeping your data persistent with PVS (Provisioning Services). Here’s the beginning of his blog and at the end is a link to the entire post.

When to use persistent store

In theory, this is perfect solution – one to many, you’ve to manage only single image, all issues can be easily solved just by rebooting the machine. But what if you run into some showstoppers – for example one of your mission critical applications requires persistent data and doesn’t work in read-only mode?

When do you want to make your data persistent?

  • Applications that requires persistent storage – typically applications that will automatically generate machine-specific ID somewhere in configuration files – SCCM, antivirus…
  • Historical data that you want to keep for auditing and\or troubleshooting – typically various log files
  • Improving overall performance – sometimes, keeping data persistent can improve your performance –for example redirection of page file and any frequently updates files (especially if they don’t use delta updates)
  • Special requirements – one of examples can be the license grace period or application streaming cache. Or applications with first run penalty
  • Security – there is a potential gap in security when you reset your computer to default state before it will download all updates\check all requirements – similar to boot time protection of Windows Firewall, you may want to keep such data persistent

How to enable it

When you select “Cache on Target Device Hard Drive” option, new drive is automatically mapped for each provisioned machine. On this drive, you can find two important parts – write cache file itself and the rest of the drive. On reboot, only write cache file (.vdiskcache) is reset to default state, while the rest of the drive is persistent.

Read more here.

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TechEdge 2012

May 17th, 2012 by Jack Cobben No comments »

Here’s an overview of a few TechEdge videos (and links to the powerpoint presentations). Each video takes between 38 and 45 minutes each so sit back and enjoy.

Successfully Deploying and Upgrading PVS

PPT » Read more: TechEdge 2012

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Beta Microsoft Assessment and Planning toolkit version 7 available

May 17th, 2012 by Jack Cobben No comments »

The latest release from the Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) team provides organizations with tools to assess readiness for Windows and Windows Server 2012 Beta.

Download the beta materials on Connect:

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=219165

Accelerate your move to the Private Cloud with MAP 7.0 Beta

Thanks for your ongoing interest and participation in the MAP beta review program. We hope you’ll take the time to preview and provide feedback on MAP 7.0.

The MAP Toolkit’s new capabilities help you to assess the readiness of your environment for deploying Windows as well as Windows Server 2012 Beta. This update adds new scenarios specifically, the ability to plan for virtualization assessment of Linux servers and readiness assessment for desktop virtualization. Along with the Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter and MAP 7.0, now you can easily migrate VMware VMs to Hyper-V for the best roadmap to the cloud. In addition to the above features, MAP 7.0 strengthens the SQL Server migration scenario with support for SQL Server 2012 discovery, and migration planning.

  • Key features and      benefits of MAP 7.0 Beta help you:
  • Understand your      readiness to deploy Windows in your environment with hardware and device      readiness assessments
  • Determine Windows Server      2012 Beta readiness
  • Investigate how Windows      Server and System Center can manage your heterogeneous environment through      VMware migration and Linux server virtualization assessments
  • Size your desktop      virtualization needs for both Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and      session-based virtualization using Remote Desktop Services
  • Ready your information      platform for the cloud with the SQL Server 2012 discovery and migration      assessment
  • Evaluate your licensing      needs with usage tracking for Lync 2010, active users and devices, SQL      Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 Beta

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Webinar on Citrix acquisition of Virtual Computer

May 17th, 2012 by Jack Cobben No comments »

Last week at Citrix Synergy 2012 in San Francisco, Citrix made the big announcement that it had acquired Virtual Computer, provider of enterprise-scale management solutions for client-side virtualization. Attend this webinar today to get insights and details—and a preview of the future of XenClient Enterprise!

Live Webinar with Q&A: Thursday, May 17, 2012 @ 2:00pm EDT

Citrix Acquires Virtual Computer: Learn What’s New!

Join the experts to learn about:

  • The      new XenClient Enterprise product, which will be released in the second      quarter of 2012
  • How      XenClient Enterprise can help you simplify and secure your corporate      laptops
  • How      you can preview the capabilities coming soon in Citrix XenClient      Enterprise

Register today! Space is limited!

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LSQuery – License Server Data Collection Tool

May 15th, 2012 by Jack Cobben No comments »

 

LSQuery is used to collect, from the Citrix License Server, data necessary to assist in troubleshooting at the time of an issue.

CTX133160-1

Prerequisites

LSQuery can be run on any Citrix License Server for Windows v11.6.1 Build 10007 or later on one of the following Microsoft Windows platforms:

» Read more: LSQuery – License Server Data Collection Tool

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Install-Upgrade PVS 6.1 target device software CPVS61E001 hotfix

May 14th, 2012 by Jack Cobben No comments »

This step-by-step guide shows you how to update-install your PVS 6.1 target device software to the latest version of Hotfix 1 (CPVS61E001).

1. From Provisioning Services Console, make sure no version of the virtual disk (vDisk) to be updated is currently in "Maintenance" access mode.

2. Right-click on the vDisk in the device collection or vDisk pool, then select "Versions…" from the context menu. The "vDisk Versions" dialog appears.

» Read more: Install-Upgrade PVS 6.1 target device software CPVS61E001 hotfix

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Citrix PVS 6.1 HF1 (CPVS61E001) upgrade path

May 14th, 2012 by Jack Cobben No comments »

If you haven’t installed the latest hotfix for Citrix Provisioning Services 6.1 yet (be ashamed ). But not to worry when you are working with version 5.6 (or lower, again be ashamed…) you can upgrade your PVS server directly to PVS 6.1 with HF1. You do not need to install PVS 6.1 and then install HF1 over this installation. As the HF1 is a complete installation of your PVS software you can directly upgrade to this version.

For the target side you can install the target device software and copy a few files manually (when having the vDisk in maintenance mode) and your done.

You can read more about the patch here or see the installation step-by-step guide here.

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Citrix Synergy 2012 San Francisco best vids

May 14th, 2012 by Jack Cobben No comments »

Here’s a list of the video’s of Citrix Synergy 2012 in San Francisco that I like the most. More videos will follow for sure this week. Watch this post closely the coming week .

What’s new in HDX (Syn121)

Citrix HDX technologies deliver the richest native desktop and application performance for virtual environments. Find out how new HDX capabilities strengthen a virtual infrastructure and address end-user capabilities. They also increase the ways in which an enterprise can use virtualization to meet user needs. » Read more: Citrix Synergy 2012 San Francisco best vids

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