As you could read in this post Citrix has released a patch/update for Provisioning Services version 6.1. This step-by-step guide helps you through the upgrade / installation process of this hotfix.
In contrast to the previous Hotfix (CPVS61E001) you don’t have to manually uninstall the Provisioning Services server and console before installing this fix. The Citrix developers have listened to the messages out of the field that this wasn’t a good update.
A footnote to this update is that if you don’t have HA / failover enabled or configured it’s best to patch the server within a maintenance window. Your PVS server will have to reboot.
Prerequisites:
These installation packages contains the complete Console and Server install and can be used in place of Hotfix CPVS61E003,
- The user must have administrative rights to the Provisioning Services server.
- The SCVMM Administrator Console must be installed alongside the Citrix Provisioning services Console when SCVMM virtual machine deployment is to be used.
- The SCVMM Console must be the same version as the SCVMM server. This is the same requirement as XenDesktop Desktop Studio.
- WinRM configurations are no longer required when using SCVMM.
Download
1. Download the hotfix package from the Hotfixes and Service Packs page of the Citrix Web site at http://www.citrix.com or directly from this KB Article.
2. Copy the hotfix package to an empty folder on the hard drive of the server you want to install the hotfix from and unzip the file.
INSTALLATION
The hotfix folder includes the following subfolders:
- Console
- Server
Each of these directories include the installation application for the Provisioning Services console, target device software and Provisioning Services server respectively for 32 and 64 bit operation systems, x64 in the file names signifies 64 bit operating system… Please check your Provisioning Services installation for system type and select the correct installation to apply the hotfix following the procedure described below.
Step by step installation guide
For this step-by-step guide I’ve used a server which has all components installed locally (DHCP/SQL Express/ PXE)
Server installation
- Make sure that the Provisioning Services Console and Provisioning Services Configuration Wizard are closed.
- Select the version which is correct for your system type. Select “Next” to start the installation of the PVS server.
This guide installs the software in the following sequence:
1.PVS Server
2.PVS Configuration Wizard
3.PVS Console
3. Accept the EULA and select “Next” to continue
4. Enter the user name and organization name and choose for which user the installation is visible and select “Next” to continue
5. Select the folder where the installation of the PVS server should be installed and select “Next” to continue
6. Choose whether you want to do a complete install or a custom install (I choose “Complete”) and click “Next” to continue
7. Click “Install” to start the installation
8. Click “OK” (twice) when the message about restarting the server appears
9. Click “Finish” after the installation is completed.
10. This warning shows when you don’t have the PVS console installed yet.
11. After the message about the PVS console the Configuration Wizard installation starts automatically. Select “Next” to start the installation
12. Select where your DHCP scope options are stored. For this guide I choose that the DHCP service runs on the same computer as PVS is installed. For POC or test environments this is a possibility. For production environments this is not recommended. Click “Next” to continue
13. Choose which PXE service you use. For this guide I choose DHCP running on the same server. Click “Next” to continue
14. Select the option that the farm is already configured (which is true as this is an update). Click “Next” to continue
15. Select the correct user account credentials for the network service account. Click “Next” to continue
16. Answer “Yes” at the question to check the account for the database
17. Enter the AD computer account reset days. Recommended is setting this value under the default value of the AD policy (30 days). Default in the Citrix PVS installation is 7 days. Click “Next” to continue
18. Choose which NIC is used for streaming the vDisk to the clients (if applicable) and which ports to be used for communication. For testing purposes I’ve chosen to stream the PVS traffic over a separate NIC, some best practices state that this isn’t really necessary until you notice a decrease in network performance. For my testing and troubleshooting I’ve created a separate LAN. Click “Next” to continue
19. Enter if you want to use the TFTP option and select the boot file. Click “Next” to continue
20. Check the network settings and alter if needed. Click “Next” to continue
21. Review the settings and click “Finish” to start the installation.
22. This screen is shown during the installation and starting of the services. Click “Done” when the installation is complete and the services have started.
Console installation
1. After the installation of the Configuration Wizard is complete go to the installation directory and select the correct version of the PVS console. Click “Next” to start the installation of the console
2. Accept the EULA and click “Next” to continue
3. Enter the user and organization name and click “Next” to continue
4. Select the installation path and click “Next” to continue
5. Choose whether you want to use the complete or custom install. Click “Next” to continue
6. Select “Install” to start the installation of the PVS console.
7. Click “Finish” to complete the installation of the PVS console.
This hotfix is only for the Provisioning Services server. The target device software doesn’t need an upgrade.
Tuning:
Caution!! Tuning requires you to edit registry. Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Citrix cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk!!! Back up the registry before you edit it.
• Default tuning is set to create 10 VMs at a time per host with the template’s write-cache disk copied as is.
• In this release tuning is not exposed via the UI or any public APIs. Tuning can be altered via string values in the registry:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareCitrixProvisioningServicesVdiWizard]
Set the number of simultaneous VM creates on each host, default of 10.
“MAX_VM_CREATE_THREADS_PER_HYPERVISOR”=”10
Set the maximum number of simultaneous threads that will be created, overriding the “MAX_VM_CREATE_THREADS_PER_HYPERVISOR” , default of -1 for no limit.
“MAX_VM_CREATE_THREADS”=”-1”