1. 1 © 2007 Citrix Systems, Inc. — All rights reserved XenDesktop 5 Master Class – Part 3 Agenda Database Scalability PowerShell Complete Slide Deck Available at - http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7694439/XD5-MC.rarhttp://dl.dropbox.com/u/7694439/XD5-MC.rar Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/XenDesktop/122274557845352http://www.facebook.com/pages/XenDesktop/122274557845352 Twitter - http://twitter.com/#!/XenDesktopEMEAhttp://twitter.com/#!/XenDesktopEMEA XenDesktop 5 Master Class – Part 3 Agenda Database Scalability PowerShell Complete Slide Deck Available at - http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7694439/XD5-MC.rarhttp://dl.dropbox.com/u/7694439/XD5-MC.rar Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/XenDesktop/122274557845352http://www.facebook.com/pages/XenDesktop/122274557845352 Twitter - http://twitter.com/#!/XenDesktopEMEAhttp://twitter.com/#!/XenDesktopEMEA

2. XenDesktop 5 paul.murray@eu.citrix.com Senior Systems Engineer, EMEA

3. A Quick Review

4. SQL Server Machine Creation Services Broker Services Infrastructure Services High-level Rhone Architecture XenDesktop Controller Broker Service Machine Creation Service Machine Creation Service AD Identity Service Machine Identity Service Host Service Configuration Service Configuration Service Desktop Studio Desktop Director PowerShell WCF Virtual Desktop WinRM (WMI) NOTE: Greatly Simplified Communication

5. Supported Databases: SQL Server 2008, R2, SP1, Express SQL Server 2005 SP3 (Not Tested / No Support / EOS April 2011) Database Schema Full Relational Schema Single Database (for core product) Multiple SQL ‘Schemas’ in Database Broker Config, Broker Session State, Desktop Provisioning, Infrastructure Description, etc ‘Schemas’ map to Windows services running on Broker XD5 Database Overview SQL Server Machine Creation Services Broker Services Infrastructure Services XenDesktop Controller Broker Service Machine Creation Service Machine Creation Service AD Identity Service Machine Identity Service Host Service Configuration Service Configuration Service Desktop Studio Desktop Director PowerShell WCF Virtual Desktop WinRM (WMI)

6. Broker Service instances are stateless as much as possible. i.e. State is not stored in the Service rather held centrally in the database. Broker service database content is split into two schemas The ‘config’ schema Contains configuration data Does not update frequently The ‘state’ schema. Contains information about the current state of broker elements Update frequently (and should be volatile) Both schemas contain tables and stored procedures. The Broker and it’s Database

7. Worker Endpoints Worker Registrations Worker Index Worker Names DiagWorker Workers Brokered Sessions Sessions WI Sessions Desktop Groups Desktops Catalogs Licenses Configuration Schema: chb_Config State Schema: chb_State SQL Database: Broker Service Schema Soft Registrations

8. Machine Creation Service DesktopUpdateManagerSchema AD Identity Service ADIdentitySchema Machine Identity Service MachinePersonalitySchema Configuration service ConfigurationSchema Host service HostingUnitServiceSchema Other Schemas…

9. Sizing depends on several factors Number of registered VDAs Number of connected sessions Connection rate Number of managed desktops Number of provisioned desktops with Machine Creation Services Database sizing depends on…

10. The following data is from the test teams Database sizing example Provisioned Desktops Using MCS5,00010,00020,000 Per Worker (KB)14,50029,00058,000 Per Session (KB)25,50051,000102,000 Per Connection (KB)8401,6803,360 Per AD Account (KB)9,00018,00036,000 Per MCS machine (KB)9,70019,40038,800 Approx. Total (MB)59117233

11. The transaction log is the recording of all changes performed against the database Recovery model options Simple – Reclaims log space but can only recover to the last backup (default option for XD5 database) Full – Can recover to any point in time but requires the most disk space SQL Mirroring requires Full Recovery to be enabled Managing the transaction log

12. A VDA with no activity generates approximately 62KB of transaction log data per hour Number of VDAs X 24 Hours X Approx. 62KB of data 100 VDAs X 24 Hours X 62KB = 145MB Place the log on a separate physical disk Set the log to a fixed size and backup often Transaction log examples

13. Broker is critically dependant on Database Existing connections not impacted Creating new connections and reconnecting to desktops impacted Database Failure = Broker Failure Supported Database H/A Options: (expected order) SQL Mirror Virtual Machine H/A SQL Cluster Database High-Availability

14. H/A Mirror SQL Mirroring Options Broker SQL Windows Broker SQL Windows Broker SQL Windows SQL Server On Brokers Operational Considerations: No outage window on single DB server failure SQL Database needs to be backed up One server can run SQL Express (witness) Additional brokers would not run SQL Reduced Server Count H/A Mirror SQL Windows SQL Server Tier Operational Considerations: No outage window on single DB server failure SQL Database needs to be backed up One server can run Express (SQL witness) Identical Brokers SQL Windows SQL Windows Broker Windows Broker Windows

15. Virtual Machine H/A (XenServer / VMware HA) Simpler to configure than Clustering On host failure, hypervisor platform automatically starts VM on replacement host Small outage window as new VM boots Can use SQL Express Operations Only requires a single SQL Express server VM Database needs to be backed up Outage window Virtual Machine H/A

16. Desktop Launch

17. A lot is used in the background Desktop Viewer Web Interface Broker Services Machine Creation Service VDA Agent Service PortICA Protocol Stack Workstation Agent Service Machine Identity Agent FullArmor Policy Engine How is a desktop launched?

18. User logs in to Web Interface. Web Interface validates login and requests the desktop via the broker XML service. Web Interface launches desktop via XML service. Broker selects the VM, requests a reset of the DIFF disk (via MCS) and starts the machine (via an HCL call to the hypervisor) How is a desktop launched (1) ?

19. VM boots, AD machine identity is applied via the machine identity agent (ID Disk attached to the VM) Boot continues, workstation agent service starts, and the VDA registers with the broker. Machine policies are applied. How is a desktop launched (2) ?

20. The VDA is now registered and can accept the ICA connection from the broker service to the workstation agent service. PortICA starts listening. Broker passes the desktop address to Web Interface, Web Interface in turn passes an ICA file to the user’s web browser. Browser launches the desktop viewer on the endpoint device How is a desktop launched (3) ?

21. The desktop viewer uses the ICA file to identify the VM and initiates an ICA connection via PortICA to the VDA. The desktop viewer and PortICA negotiate capabilities, PortICA calls the workstation agent to validate the connection and obtain user credentials. How is a desktop launched (4) ?

22. The workstation agent passes credentials to PortICA which creates a new Windows session. PortICA applies user-specific policies. Desktop interaction with the user via Desktop Viewer and the ICA connection is now possible. How is a desktop launched (5) ?

23. VDA 5.0

24. VDA can now use “Registry based” registration. Quick Install will pick up the FQDN from the ID Disk Advanced Install expects the Controller FQDN to be specified Port 80 is default registration port VDA command line options FORCEWDDMREMOVE (for physical or VMware) NOWINRM (for WinXP only) VDA Installation

25. Accessed through Desktop Director Uses MS Remote Assistance VDA install turns on Remote Assist by default Must be enabled via Group Policy Client side Flash rendering cannot be shadowed Uses DCOM – potential firewall issues, browser settings Shadowing Virtual Desktops

26. Overall High Availability

27. Database Classic HA (Rhone) Client Web Interface NLB DDC (XML Svc) Network-level HA Database HA SQL Server Mirrored VM HA Clustered Failure = DR Event (see DR slide) HA SQL Server Mirrored VM HA Clustered Failure = DR Event (see DR slide) DDCs are Peers

28. Autonomous Mode VDA Broker Switch Database Switch Customer Process Client.ICA File Registration Registration Failure: VDA opens port 1494 Port remains open for max 30 days When VDA re-registers, broker updated Emergency Access: Customer issues.ICA files (specific to user) VDA address encoded in file

29. Scalability – Preliminary Numbers

30. PVS scales very nicely Streamed 5000 desktops from 1 server XD4 DDC Satisfactory To support 5000 desktops we recommended 3 DDC instances and separated roles Console access – Could be slow XD 4 Results

31. One instance. No role separation. 10,000 XD 5 Controller

32. Desktop Director 60-100 console users with great response time Need more users? Just add more instances! Max scale per instance = 500 users Desktop Studio 20,000 desktops tested in one desktop group Consoles

33. XD 5 MCS produces about 1.5x more IOPS than PVS 1100 Desktops on XSMCSPVS Total IOPS 18,00011,000 Read:Write IOPS ratio50:5010:90 Average IOPS per desktop1610 MCS can be more demanding … on XenServer pool master (split into 2 pools vs 1) … on IOPS (1.5x more) … on DDC CPU and network (only ~8% more)

34. Successfully proven that XenDesktop 5 supports at least 2500 MCS desktops. The size of the deployment was only limited by the amount of hardware available. The two DDC used in this test were virtualized. Previous tests have proven that a single XD5 Controller can scale to beyond 10,000 dekstops XenDesktop 5 will scale well beyond 20,000 desktops. Default idle pool spin up of 2500 desktops took 4 hours 16 minutes and consumed ~35% of NetApp CPU. Initial Results and Conclusions

35. Creating 2500 desktops took 1h 21 minutes. Equates to 31 Desktops per minute. Deleting desktops took 10 minutes longer. The most resource intensive part of these tasks was on CPU load on the vSphere server. Updating a catalog provisioning scheme is a fast task took ~3 minutes to update a 20GB image. Initial Results and Conclusions

36. …and that’s about it…

37. A Few Helpful Resources

38. SQL Express or fully blown SQL? Quick Deploy assumes everything on a single server. Including SQL Express. Desktop Deployment allows you to specify the Database. Migrate SQL Express database to SQL Server Use PowerShell to “deconfigure” DB connection Backup / Restore XD5 database Use PowerShell to “reconfigure” DB connection VDA (re-) registration will be happen automatically Initial Installation and Deployment Choices

39. Can I Redeploy XenDesktop Without Reinstalling? Reconfigure the services to not use a database Drop the database Restart Desktop Studio Desktop Studio will start as if you have just installed XenDesktop. Should I offload Desktop Director from the active brokers? Reduces risk of impacting logon times due to high console usage. A single Desktop Director can handle 250 – 500 “admin” console sessions. Initial Installation and Deployment Choices

40. Add a second Controller to XD5 Site Allows you to test the “interchangeability” of the XD5 architecture. A single controller can handle in excess of 10,000 desktops. SQL Database - Configure Mirroring? Allows you to measure the impact of XD5 on the database servers. Mirroring requires Full Recovery model. Do not forget the Transaction Logs. Choices for HA Production Class PoC’s

41. XenDesktop Design Handbook https://community.citrix.com/kits/#/kit/1067009 Provisioning Services Anti Virus Best Practices http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX124185 Virtual Desktop Resource Allocation http://community.citrix.com/display/ocb/2010/11/12/Virtual+Desktop+Resource+Allocation XD5 POC Quick Start Guide Screen shot based, step by step guide to a PoC Covers Quick Deploy, Desktop Deploy Examples of Desktop Studio, Desktop Director http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX127594 Resources

42. Configure a XenDesktop 5 Site to Use an Existing SQL Database http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX128008 Move an Existing XenDesktop 5 Database to a New SQL Server http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX128365 Configure XenDesktop for SQL Database Mirroring http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX127359 Reconfigure a XenDesktop Site to Use a Mirrored Database http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX127538 XDDBDiag for XenDesktop http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX128075 Resources

43. Redeploy XenDesktop Without Re-Installing http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX127421 XenDesktop 5 FAQ http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX128328 Use a Specific SQL port with XenDesktop 5 http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX128253 XenDesktop 5 Database Transaction Log Growing Excessively http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX126916 Change the XML Port in XenDesktop 5 http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX127945 Resources

44. Planning Guide: XenDesktop 5 Migration http://knowledgecenter.citrix.com/article/CTX128330 XenDesktop 4 to XenDesktop 5 Virtual Desktop Agent Conversion Process with Provisioning Server http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX128174 XenDesktop Planning Guide: Desktop Image Delivery http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX128643 XenDesktop 5 – Master Classes http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7694439/XD5%20Master%20Class.rar Resources

45. HDX Demo Mode http://community.citrix.com/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=79463606 http://community.citrix.com/display/ocb/2011/02/18/HDX+Connect+Demo+Is+Now+Available+Tr y+it+Outhttp://community.citrix.com/display/ocb/2011/02/18/HDX+Connect+Demo+Is+Now+Available+Tr y+it+Out Resources

46. My Citrix Ask you Citrix contact Tracking of downloads URL alias available: www.citrix.com/xendesktop/poc www.citrix.com/xendesktop/quickpoc www.citrix.com/xendesktop/pockit XD5 Quick PoC Kit

47. Get-Command * -CommandType CmdLet | Where {$_.ModuleName -like "Citrix*"} Shows all PowerShell commands from Citrix Get-Command * -CommandType CmdLet | Where {$_.ModuleName -like "Citrix*"} | Measure-Object Show count of all Citrix cmdlets PowerShell CmdLets