StorageLink - Citrix Essentials for Microsoft Hyper-V Barry Flanagan Peter Benoit Barry Flanagan Peter Benoit

Citrix Essentials for Hyper-V Product Overview

3 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved Citrix Essentials for Hyper-V Advanced automation and management for the virtual datacenter 3

4 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved Customer Benefits Get the most out of your storage Example: Configure storage in minutes, provision storage for VMs instantly Example: Snap, clone and deduplicate directly from a common virtualization interface Roll out new server workloads with ease Example: Roll out web servers in minutes during peak demand, then discard when not needed Example: Eliminate hundreds of needless server images; cut storage and maintenance costs Streamline test & dev environments Example: Centrally manage and share multi-server test images across any development group Example: Speed up testing with automated procedures, improve development Automate complex and script intensive operations Example: Automate otherwise manual operations (E.g. disaster recovery, server provisioning) Example: Eliminate manual, error prone tasks using familiar tools (Microsoft Powershell)

5 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved Citrix Essentials for Microsoft Hyper-V Advanced storage integration Automated lab management Dynamic provisioning services Citrix Essentials for Hyper-V Workflow orchestration Advanced virtualization management for the virtual datacenter

6 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved Essentials for Hyper-V Editions Key FeaturesEnterprise Edition Platinum Edition Advanced Storage Integration with StorageLink Dynamic Provisioning Services Workflow Orchestration Microsoft Management Support Automated Lab Management Price, Per Physical Server $ 1,500$ 3,000

7 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved Microsoft + Citrix Deliver Advanced Virtualization ComparisonMicrosoft + CitrixVMware High performance bare metal hypervisor64-bit32-bit Unlimited servers, VMs, memory  Advanced features (high availability, shared storage, etc.)  Centralized multi-server management  Highly available management architecture  $$$ Advanced storage integration  (with Citrix)  On-demand provisioning of server workloads  (with Citrix) Centralized workload images  (with Citrix) Workflow orchestration  (with Citrix) Lab management  (with Citrix)$1566 per Socket

8 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved StorageLink Contents Part 2 - Installation and Configuration Part 1 - Introduction and Overview Part 3 - Deep Dive

9 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved Part 1 - Introduction and Overview Benefits of StorageLink What is StorageLink? Components of StorageLinkHigh Level Architecture

10 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved What is StorageLink? StorageLink™ delivers deep integration with leading storage platforms to reduce the cost and complexity of managing storage in Hyper-V environments. StorageLink provides one-click access to native storage devices for simplified management through storage configuration wizards that leverage existing storage array- based services and technologies directly from within its Microsoft® Management Console

11 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved Benefits of StorageLink Extended Management of Storage Fabric and Arrays Tight Integration with native features of Storage Arrays Extended VM Lifecycle Management

12 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved Components of StorageLink StorageLink™ Gateway package StorageLink™ Client package

13 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved High Level Overview Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM)

14 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved Part 2 - Installation and Configuration Installing and Licensing Installation Requirements Array Hardware Compatibility ListBefore Using StorageLink service for the first timeConfiguring the service

15 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved Installation Requirements – StorageLink Gateway The StorageLink Gateway can be installed on a physical or virtual machine Operating SystemMicrosoft Windows 2008 (recommended) Microsoft Windows 2003 Microsoft Vista RAM1 GB Disk Space100 MB min NetworkPart of Windows domain (recommended) SoftwareSQL Lite or Microsoft SQL Server LicensingCitrix Licensing Server installed and configured

16 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved Installation Requirements – StorageLink Manager Operating SystemMicrosoft Windows 2008 (recommended) Microsoft Windows 2003 Microsoft Vista RAM1 GB Disk Space100 MB min NetworkPart of Windows domain (recommended) SoftwareMicrosoft Management Console 3.0 The StorageLink manager can be installed on a physical or virtual machine

17 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved Installation Process Install Citrix V6 license for StorageLink on Citrix Licensing Server Getting Started with Citrix Licensing Install StorageLink Gateway screenshots follow Install StorageLink Manager Screenshots follow

18 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved StorageLink Gateway Installation - 1

19 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved StorageLink Gateway Installation - 2

20 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved StorageLink Gateway Installation - 3

21 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved StorageLink Gateway Installation - 4

22 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved StorageLink Gateway Installation - 5

23 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved StorageLink Gateway Installation - 6

24 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved StorageLink Gateway Installation - 7

25 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved StorageLink Gateway Installation - 8

26 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved StorageLink Manager Installation - 1

27 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved StorageLink Manager Installation - 2

28 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved StorageLink Manager Installation - 3

29 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved StorageLink Manager Installation - 4

30 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved StorageLink Manager Installation - 5

31 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved StorageLink Manager Installation - 6

32 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved StorageLink Manager Installation - 7

33 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved StorageLink Manager Left-hand Navigation Panel Main Content Area Right Action Area

34 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved StorageLink Manager Interface Guide ActionDescription Connectallows connection to a StorageLink Gateway service Refreshrequests an update from the StorageLink Gateway service about the state of its objects Rescanrequests a rescan of storage and hypervisor hosts managed by the StorageLink Gateway service to update its cache Create VM from TemplateSCVMM can create VM from templates; StorageLink automates the storage configuration and provisioning of all the VM storage. Create Storage Repositoryallows you to create a storage repository on an available storage system Aboutan info box about the current version of the StorageLink Manager ViewView allows you to customize the view of the StorageLink Manager interface Helpopens the StorageLink Manager Help at the top level

35 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved Main Working Areas

36 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved Hypervisor Hosts Hypervisor Host represents the connection to a host (currently Hyper-V only) from the StorageLink Manager. Use StorageLink Manager to provide storage services Add/Remove hosts (connect with username/password) Obtain information (OS type, memory, CPUs) Scan host initiators List of VMs resident on that host

37 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved Virtual Machines Virtual Machine represents the currently available Virtual Machines on the systems being managed Use StorageLink Manager to identify VMs that can use StorageLink services : Create VM from template Start/Destroy VM (Cold) migrate VM from one host to the other Scan VMs running on hosts

38 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved Storage Infrastructure Infrastructure around virtual storage for VMs Categories Storage Systems - storage arrays like EMC, HP, NetApp Fabrics – Brocade SAN switches Use StorageLink Manager to manage storage infrastructure: Storage Systems Manage Storage Adapter credentials Scan storage systems View storage pools and storage nodes on a storage system Fabrics Set Zoning Options

39 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved Storage Repository A Storage Repository (SR) is a template with a defined set of capabilities for creating storage volumes (LUNs) from your storage system Use StorageLink Manager to manage an SR: Create/Delete/Destroy SR Identify the Storage pool for the StorageLink repository Set the Raid type, Provisioning Type (thick/thin), Options (dedup etc) Storage protocol SR can be populated with: Existing LUNs on array New LUNs dynamically created Allocate/Delete Storage Volume Add/Remove Storage Volumes Import storage to VM

40 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved Virtual Machine Templates Virtual machine template identifies the resources required by the VM. VM templates include a storage profile that represent a “Golden Image” from which VM’s can be snapshotted or cloned Storage profiles identify additional storage resources (LUNS) required by the VM Create/Delete Templates Create/Edit/Delete Storage Profiles Create/Edit/Delete Hardware Profiles

41 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved Jobs Tasks executing on the system Jobs can have sub-jobs. Eg Service initialization can have the following subjobs: Discovering Storage System Discovering Fabrics Discovering Hypervisor Hosts Actions on UI – Refresh/Clear Jobs

42 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved Administration General Admin tasks Shows list of Storage Adapter credentials

43 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved Initial Configuration Steps Connect StorageLink Manager to the StorageLink service Add Storage systems (Add Storage Adaptor Credentials) Configure the service to enable automatic fabric zoning (optional step) Add your hypervisor hosts

44 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved Troubleshooting using the Job log Most operations with StorageLink are done as asynchronously as ‘jobs’ If a job fails you will see a red X on it and selecting the failed job will show details as to what went wrong.

45 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved NetApp - Best Practices & Considerations NetApp hardware has a limit of 255 snapshots per flexvolume. When you first setup the NetApp hardware you must create one or “aggregates Creation of a StorageLink Storage Repository will create a new flex volume in the specified aggregate. Destroy Storage Repository will delete the NetApp flex volume associated with the SR. StorageLink does notsupport for quotas in this version. The 'size' of the Storage Pool (flexvolume) is the size of the flexvolume plus the available freespace in the parent aggregate.

46 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved StorageLink SCVMM interplay

47 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved StorageLink and XenDesktop interplay (Assigned desktop scenario) Use StorageLink to Create golden image template Clone golden image template multiple times to create pool of Assigned Desktops Use DDC to Add hypervisor-host and VMs as desktop groups Eventual goal is for DDC to be able to call into StorageLink directly to create templates and pool of assigned/pooled desktops

48 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved Storage vendor benefits StorageLink as basis for Citrix Essentials Storage vendor functionalities Quick provisioning Snapshots Quick cloning Thin-provisioning Deduplication Backup and Restore capabilities

49 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved Simplified Storage Integration Works with any storage (simple) Works with all storage architectures to provide seamless compatibility with a wide range of storage hardware platforms One-click access to native storage services Simplifies management and leverages existing storage array- based services and technologies Works with existing Windows storage management products Storage API Leverage the capabilities of enterprise storage systems Citrix Essentials SMI-S, iSCSI, SAN, NAS, DAS

50 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved Got Questions? Contact me ( )or Robin Brandl (

51 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved

52 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved StorageLink Array Hardware Compatibility List VendorModelsProtocol SupportFuntionality Support EMC CLARiiON CX3 series CX4 series Fibre Channel Fast provisioning Thin-provisioning Fast Cloning Snapshots HP EVA 4000 series 6000 series 8000 series Fibre Channel Fast provisioning Thin-provisioning Fast Cloning Snapshots HP MSA2000 seriesFibre Channel and iSCSI Fast provisioning Thin-provisioning Fast Cloning Snapshots NetApp FAS series S series V series Fibre Channel and iSCSI Fast provisioning Thin-provisioning Fast Cloning Snapshots Deduplication

53 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved Fabric Hardware Compatibility List VendorSMI-S Agent versionFabric OS version Brocade and abovev5.5.0 and above Fibre Channel HBA Hardware Compatibility List VendorI/O Data Rate Emulex2/4/8-Gbps Qlogic2/4/8-Gbps

54 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved StorageLink Command Line (CLI) Installed by default alongside StorageLink Manager Running the CLI Open a Windows Command Prompt Change directories to the directory where the file resides Typically C:\Program Files\Citrix\StorageLink\Client C:\Program Files (x86)\Citrix\StorageLink\Client (64-bit installations) csl.exe... csl.exe help=

55 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved CLI Command Options Interactive mode available Abbreviation available for all commands sr-create and storage-repository-create are the same Remote Execution csl.exe server=HOSTNAME[:PORT][,USERNAME,PASSWORD] XML mode csl.exe xml Verbose mode csl.exe verbose Verbose mode can be used along with XML mode

56 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved StorageLink and PvS interplay Use PvS to Create vDisks PXE boot VMs Manage vDisk updates Use StorageLink to Create VM templates Create and manage write back caches Eventual goal is for PvS to utilize StorageLink for vDisk and write back cache management

57 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved Workflow Studio

Troubleshooting

59 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved Increase the log level On Windows command line: REG ADD HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Citrix\StorageLink\1.0\Server \Trace /v TraceLevel /t REG_DWORD /d 5 net stop StorageLink net start StorageLink

60 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved Collecting Logs mkdir c:\forCitrix copy c:\Program Files (x86) \Citrix\StorageLink \Server \cslsa_smis_vendor_options.cfg c:\forCitrix copy c: \ProgramData\Citrix\StorageLink\Server\* c:\forCitrix * Note the value of debug level (0 – 6)

61 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved  Unable to add hypervisor host in StorageLink Manager/Command Line Make sure that you are connecting to a Windows 2008 server. Check to make sure that you have enabled the Hyper-V role on your server. (You will need to reboot the server after enabling the Hyper-V role). Check to ensure that if the server is part of the domain, you are connecting to it using the appropriate domain credentials.

62 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved  iSCSI initiators don’t show up in StorageLink Manager/Command Line This is because the iSCSI initiator is not enabled on the server. You will need to log into your server and explicitly enable the iSCSI initiator.

63 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved  Unable to add storage credentials for CIMOM  See a CIM/SMIS client exception Check all the cabling to your machines, switches and SAN. Check that there is at least one connection from the host to the switch and one from the switch to the storage array(s). Check that the IP address and port numbers of the CIMOM are correct.

64 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved  How do I know that my CIMOM is configured correctly for use with StorageLink After adding the storage credentials for the CIMOM, go into the “Storage Infrastructure” tab. Under “Fabrics”, you should see entries for the Switch/Fabric. Also go into “Jobs” and look at the job entries with the text “Discovering Fabrics”. These entries should have a green checkbox on them.

65 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved  Error creating a storage volume on StorageLink Manager/Command Line This is most likely a space issue on the storage array. Many arrays are set up with periodic snapshots for storage volumes on the array, and space fills up pretty quickly. The default setting for volume creation is “THICK” provisioning, which means the space for the volume is reserved on the array. Having many such volumes can quickly eat into the available space on the array

66 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved  When attaching a storage volume to virtual machine, get error “exceeded max retries…” Check the cabling between the host, switch and storage array. Also check the network connections and routes from the host to the array (if using iSCSI). Look at the storage volume on the storage array and ensure that the LUN maps and zones are set up correctly. In case of iSCSI you will need to ensure that the storage volume is mapped to the correct host initiator. In case of FC, you will need to look at the FC switch and ensure that the zone is set up correctly. Make sure that the setting for protocol for the Storage Repository (FC, iSCSI, Auto) matches the protocol setting for the storage volume. By default, Auto will map to FC if the host has a Fibre Channel port available.

67 © 2009 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved  Not able to use mouse to install Hyper-V in virtual machine This is a known problem with the Hyper-V virtual machine console. You’ll need to use the keyboard.  This is only a problem during the install process. After installing the Integration Services disk, the mouse will begin to function normally.