Citrix XenDesktop® Cookbook


Book Description

Over 40 engaging recipes that will help you implement a full-featured XenDesktop® 7.6 architecture and its main satellite components About This Book Implement, configure, and optimize the migration from a physical to a VDI architecture using XenDesktop 7.6 Publish desktops and applications to the end user devices, optimizing their performance and increasing the security for the delivered resources A pragmatic guide that helps you to explore the XenDesktop 7.6 architecture and its related components to implement a service-oriented architecture based on the Citrix FlexCast approach Who This Book Is For If you are a system administrator or an experienced IT professional who wants to refer to a centralized container of procedures and advanced tasks in XenDesktop, this is the book for you. Experience of the virtualized environment and an understanding of the general concepts of desktop virtualization (VDI) are required. What You Will Learn Upgrade from XenDesktop 5.6 / 7.x to XenDesktop 7.6 Configure and deploy virtual machines for XenDesktop 7.6 Perform configuration and optimization operations for desktop and server OS images for future deployments Plan and configure XenDesktop user experience Execute desktop environment administration tasks, including catalog creation, power management, and resource allocation Understand how to publish the hosted applications, Local Access Apps (LAA), and applications using Microsoft App-V Work with XenDesktop PowerShell to reduce the time required to perform the management tasks by the creation of the PowerShell scripts Implement the two-factor hardware and software authentication for XenDesktop Install and configure Citrix Netscaler Gateway 10.5 and Citrix XenMobile 10 to improve the quality, the performance, and the manageability of your Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) architecture In Detail In the era of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and consecration of the mobile devices, Citrix has strengthened its position in this market, powering its desktop and application virtualization platforms, integrating the ability to publish virtual and physical desktops with the capability to assign applications and contents in a secure manner on any device, anywhere, more than previous versions. The XenDesktop 7.6 version is a more integrated platform, which permits the use and interaction with mobility and cloud platforms leaders in the market. This book will help you understand how to implement, configure, and optimize migration from a physical to a VDI architecture, moving from a standard application approach to a centralized and more secure way to assign and release resources to the end users. The book begins with the upgrade and installation procedures for the core infrastructural components, along with an explanation of how to deploy and optimize procedures for desktop virtual machines. Moving on, you will perform desktop and applications deployment through the XenDesktop core plus integrated publishing platforms, such as Microsoft App-V. Finally, the book explains how to install and configure important collateral platforms such as the Citrix Netscaler, Citrix CloudBridge and Citrix XenMobile platforms, along with execution of the most advanced activities and configurations. Style and approach This book is a step-by-step course that includes standard and high-level tasks oriented to deploy a full-functioning Citrix environment. This practical approach is based on both GUI and command-line operations, which gives IT professionals an alternative on the way to operate, where possible.




Troubleshooting Citrix XenDesktop®


Book Description

The ultimate troubleshooting guide for clear, concise, and real-world solutions to a wide range of common Citrix XenDesktop problems About This Book Explore the XenDesktop architecture and work with various troubleshooting tools that every Citrix admin should know about Discover how to troubleshoot performance, VDA registration, and NetScaler integration issues A fast-paced troubleshooting guide to help you identify and resolve any kind of problem you might face while working with Citrix XenDesktop Who This Book Is For Troubleshooting Citrix XenDesktop is targeted at Citrix Administrators or Citrix Engineers who are working on Xendesktop and want to learn tips and techniques required to deal with the issues they face in their day-to-day life. A working knowledge of core elements and concepts of Xendesktop would be an added advantage. What You Will Learn Solve VDA registration problems and Citrix session launch difficulties Identify and resolve XenDesktop service issues Troubleshoot performance issues related to the XenDesktop architecture Work around common printing issues Understand the Citrix XenDesktop HDX policies and deal with the HDX MediaStream challenges Resolve the common MCS and PVS configuration issues in your XenDesktop environment Find solutions to some general issues that have been identified and recorded by Citrix in their database that every administrator must be aware of In Detail In today's world, many organizations have decided to move to secure and stable VDI platforms to benefit their organization to meet their security needs. To meet an organization's requirements, Citrix XenDesktop serves as the best desktop virtualization solution available, providing the optimum user experience. Troubleshooting Citrix XenDesktop is a single resource guide that will help you dig deep into all the technical issues you encounter to resolve them using an autonomous and well-defined approach. The book starts by walking you through the XenDesktop architecture and the troubleshooting toolkit for Citrix XenDesktop. The subsequent chapters will help you identify possible causes of various types of Citrix XenDesktop problems that may arise while installing, configuring, or troubleshooting day-to-day problems. You will also be dealing with the most common and important VDA registration problems that you might often face while working with the XenDesktop product suite. Additionally, you will resolve issues that arise while launching Citrix sessions, troubleshoot performance issues, and learn how to integrate Citrix NetScaler with your XenDesktop environment. Style and approach This book is an easy-to-follow troubleshooting guide with real-world examples of resolving XenDesktop issues. Each chapter is focused on a specific troubleshooting area, giving you the time to learn about and apply relevant tools and practices to troubleshoot the problems using a systematic approach.




Mastering Citrix® XenDesktop®


Book Description

Nowadays, many organizations are moving toward desktop virtualization. Citrix® XenDesktop® is the most comprehensive solution to implement a scalable and high performance virtual desktop environment. This book will provide you with the technical skills you need to successfully design, set up, and maintain a XenDesktop® environment. This book will introduce you to the main components of a XenDesktop® infrastructure and covers how to design and install them. Through each chapter, you will quickly learn how to configure your virtual desktop environment in order to meet specific end user requirements, giving your users the freedom to work from anywhere and from any device while virtual desktops and apps are centrally maintained in your data center.




Getting Started with XenDesktop® 7.x


Book Description

This is a step-by-step, task-based, practical guide to learning and getting your basic XenDesktop 7.x site up and running. It is fast, easy, and makes learning desktop and application virtualization simple. If you are a system administrator, consultant, or beginner who wants to implement and administer Citrix XenDesktop sites, then this book is for you. Familiarity with virtualization of desktops and applications and datacenter concepts will be helpful. The ability to read network diagrams and understand servers, data flow, clients, devices, and the interworking of these pieces will be beneficial.




Microsoft Application Virtualization Cookbook


Book Description

Over 55 hands-on recipes covering the key aspects of a successful App-V deployment About This Book Deploy a resilient App-V infrastructure Combine App-V with Remote Desktop Services, Citrix XenDesktop, and System Center Configuration Manager Discover Shared Content Store Mode, Scripting, and Connection Groups to extend your deployment Who This Book Is For If you have some experience with App-V but are overwhelmed by the range of features on offer, then this book is for you. A basic understanding of App-V and common Windows Server technologies (Active Directory/Group Policy/PowerShell) is necessary. What You Will Learn Deploy a full App-V infrastructure Deploy App-V clients and prerequisites Leverage connection groups to combine App-V packages Reduce hardware requirements for your Remote Desktop Session Hosts Extend the use of your investments in Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager Discover which applications your users are running Resolve issues with your deployment quickly Customize App-V packages to your needs Scale out your App-V infrastructure to accommodate increasing requirements In Detail With an ever-increasing number of applications being deployed in the workplace, Microsoft App-V 5 enables administrators to abstract these applications from clients, in turn reducing the time taken to complete the software deployment lifecycle. Part of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, App-V 5 centralizes the management of applications with a variety of deployment methods to suit each environment. With this hands-on Cookbook, you will learn how best to utilize features of App-V that you may already be familiar with, as well as gain insights into features only recently introduced such as the enhanced Connection Groups and Shared Content Store Mode. The book starts with the deployment of a scalable App-V infrastructure and progresses to cover the sequencing of common applications, as well as how you can take advantage of the new Office 2013 and Office 365 deployment methods. In later chapters, you will discover integrations with Microsoft Remote Desktop Services, Citrix XenDesktop, and Microsoft System Centre Configuration Manager. Finally, you will learn to leverage the App-V reporting server, Microsoft Excel, and pivot tables to gain insights into which applications are being used, along with how to troubleshoot issues with your deployment. Style and approach A practical Cookbook full of task-based recipes, complete with screenshots and explanations to supplement.




Getting Started with Citrix XenApp® 7.6


Book Description

Install, configure, and support your XenApp systems with the power of Citrix XenApp About This Book Familiarize yourself with Citrix applications and desktop virtualization Maintain and troubleshoot your XenApp environment to minimize system downtime A hands-on, step-by-step guide with a practical approach and real-world examples to get you up and running with XenApp systems Who This Book Is For This book is intended for IT administrators and consultants who want to build application and desktop virtualization solutions for their employers and customers. No prior knowledge of Citrix technologies is required. What You Will Learn Make the use case for Citrix XenApp and design your first system Prepare your existing IT infrastructure for XenApp and learn what licenses you need Install and configure the XenApp infrastructure Enable access with StoreFront and NetScaler Gateway Enable load balancing with NetScaler Maintain servers and publish applications and desktops Manage printing in a Citrix environment Troubleshoot your environment using advanced tools and methodologies employed by Citrix Escalation Teams In Detail If you want to effectively deploy the various components of Citrix XenApp to create an enterprise environment for application and desktop delivery, this hands-on guide is perfect for you. You start off by understanding the need and benefits of Citrix XenApp with respect to Virtualization technology. After this, you will get to grips with the requirement analysis and designing aspect of building XenApp systems and all the necessary installation and configuration procedures for Citrix XenApp, StoreFront and NetScalar Gateway are explained one by one in detail. Step-by-step, you will learn to deploy your first XenApp with the Machine Creation Services method and Provisioning Services method. After this, you will explore the administering part of applications and systems, followed by printing in the XenApp environment. Next, you will learn all the trips and tricks required to troubleshoot and support the XenApp environment. By the end of this book, you will be ready to go live with your new XenApp environment. Style and approach This is a step-by-step guide to technical implementations in a conversational and easy-to-follow style. Each component is deployed sequentially until a full solution is built. Basic as well as advanced features of the product are explored to appeal to the widest possible audience interested in the topic.




Citrix XenDesktop Implementation


Book Description

Citrix XenDesktop Implementation explores the implementation of Citrix XenDesktop, a virtual desktop infrastructure solution. After introducing the desktop virtualization, the book discusses the installation of a desktop delivery controller through advanced XenDesktop Client Settings. This book briefly discusses the work of desktop delivery controller mechanisms followed by its installation process, integration process of XenDesktop with Microsoft Active Directory, and the configuration of the desktop delivery controller. It then examines the process of installing the virtual desktop onto the server infrastructure, and it follows the installation and integration onto Xen Server, Hyper-V, and VMware hypervisors. Furthermore, it discusses the advanced configuration settings. The book covers the installation of the Citrix Provisioning Server and its fundamental configuration. It also explores the configuration of Citrix XenApp for Application provisioning, the integration of virtual applications, and the implementation of virtual profiles into the virtual desktop. The book concludes by explaining the advanced XenDesktop client settings on audio, video, and peripherals. - Ideal one-stop handbook for implementing a Citrix XenDesktop virtual desktop solution - Includes all technical details required for you to evaluate how Citrix XenDesktop would integrate into your existing environment - Covers integration with VMware ESX/vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V including System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) and Citrix XenServer




Learning VMware App Volumes


Book Description

Deliver applications to virtual desktop environments in seconds and at scale with the click of a button About This Book Learn how can you deliver a great user experience and drive down storage and management costs Discover hidden gems to deliver applications to virtual desktop environments in seconds This book will help you fully utilize the true potential of VMware App Volumes and design and build a complete production environment Who This Book Is For This book is for administrators and IT teams who would like to take full advantage of App Volumes to deal with application workloads. It will also be useful for virtualization professionals and teams who are working on VDI deployments and VMware end user computing solutions. What You Will Learn Find out how the VMware App Volumes solution can enhance the management and delivery of applications in your desktop environment Design a real-life App Volumes solution using best practices and following the recommended sizing guides Install, configure, and deploy App Volumes so it is ready to start delivering applications Create and prepare applications ready to be delivered to end users Discover how App Volumes can enhance other desktop solutions by looking at how it integrates with VMware Horizon View, VMware ThinApp, RDSH, and Citrix XenDesktop/XenApp Understand how to configure the advanced options within App Volumes In Detail App Volumes provides a virtualized, real-time application delivery engine for virtual desktop infrastructure and is designed to enable VDI deployments to ensure greater flexibility, agility, and cost reduction. This book starts with an in-depth overview of the architecture and components used to design an optimized solution. We then show you how to install and configure App Volumes for different use cases such as VMware View integration, using VMware ThinApp, Citrix XenApp, and more. Throughout the chapters, we provide hints, tips, and tricks as well as best practices. By the end of the book, you will have built a working App Volumes environment and acquired the skills to build and run a production environment. Style and approach This book comprises of the theoretical explanations that will help you perform a complete App Volumes deployment through step-by-step instructions




Cisco UCS Cookbook


Book Description

Over 40 practical recipes to get your hands dirty with the powerful Cisco UCS and overcome various challenges About This Book Master the skills of minimizing cost, enabling your business to work faster by reducing cycle times for reporting and improving overall revenue Work through hands-on recipes for efficient deployment approaches, see computing techniques, and explore new operational models with UCS Render a better work-flow management, ensure effective monitoring, and learn new deployment paradigms for the operational infrastructure with the help of this book Who This Book Is For This book is for competent system/network or storage administrators who are working with Cisco UCS, but now want to learn new ways to compute UCS. What You Will Learn Familiarize yourself with information on the latest information on memory management practices, virtualization architectures, and the specific technical advantages of UCS Get a concrete understanding of integrating processes and techniques to ensure effective convergence of LAN/SAN Get to know the best practices of Cisco UCS, EMC Storage, and VMware vSphere Master migrating data from other band servers or Blade to Cisco UCS Comprehend how to replicate and back up UCS to remote sites UCS Assimilate innovative techniques to deploy UCS to leverage its full potential Gather information on installing and configuring automatic and manual Pinning Discover ways to integrate a system in Cisco UCS In Detail Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) is a data center server platform that is used for computing, deploying, and storing resources in data center environments. This cookbook aims to teach you about various tasks you can implement to improve your existing method of configuring and deploying UCS. You will start by learning how to upgrade your firmware on Brocade and Cisco Fibre Channel Switch and will move on to enhance your knowledge of LAN connectivity. We will then discuss how to configure Windows 2008 and 2012 local boot in Cisco UCS. Next, you will learn how to install the operating system on Cisco UCS and use Cisco UCS Power Calculator to calculate the UCS consumption. Finally, we'll take a look at backup solutions. By the end of the book, you will know several ways to build and compute in data center environment using Cisco UCS. Style and approach This guide explains every task in a conversational and easy-to-follow style. You can open this book up to the task you want to learn and will be able to perform that task by the end of the recipe.




Mastering NetScaler VPX™


Book Description

Learn how to deploy and configure all the available Citrix NetScaler features with the best practices and techniques you need to know About This Book Implement and configure all the available NetScaler Application Delivery features and monitor NetScaler VPX performance in your environment Packed with real-word NetScaler deployment scenarios to help you see the configuration principles in action Integrate NetScaler with other Citrix technologies, including CloudBridge, Application Delivery Controller, HDX Insight, and Command Center Who This Book Is For If you're an administrator with prior experience using NetScaler then you have everything you need to make the most of this book. What You Will Learn Configure the more commonly used NetScaler VPX features such as basic load balancing, authentication, NetScaler Gateway, and StoreFront Configure the AppExpert features such as Responder, Rewrite, AppExpert templates, parsing HTTP, TCP, and UDP data Integrate NetScaler with other Citrix technologies such as CloudBridge, Insight Center, and Command Center Optimize traffic using caching, front-end optimization, and compression Dive deep in the security, caching, and compression enhancements Protect your environment with AAA and Application Firewall, or from HTTP DDoS attacks Troubleshoot an environment using tools such as TaaS and WireShark In Detail Citrix NetScaler is one of the best Application Delivery Controller products in the world. The Application Delivery Controllers are commonly used for load balancing purposes, to optimize traffic, and to perform extra security settings. This book will give you an insight into all the available features that the Citrix NetScaler appliance has to offer. The book will start with the commonly used NetScaler VPX features, such as load balancing and NetScaler Gateway functionality. Next, we cover features such as Responder, Rewrite, and the AppExpert templates, and how to configure these features. After that, you will learn more about the other available Citrix technologies that can interact with Citrix NetScaler. We also cover troubleshooting, optimizing traffic, caching, performing protection using Application Firewall, and denying HTTP DDoS attacks for web services. Finally, we will demonstrate the different configuration principles real-world Citrix NetScaler deployment scenarios. Style and approach This easy-to-follow guide explains as much as possible about each feature and its configuration. Each topic is explained sequentially in the process of configuring and deploying the feature.