XenDesktop 5 Master Class – Part 3

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XenDesktop 5 Master Class – Part 3

Agenda Database Scalability PowerShell

Complete Slide Deck Available at - http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7694439/XD5-MC.rar Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/XenDesktop/122274557845352

Twitter - http://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.rar Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/XenDesktop/122274557845352

Twitter - http://twitter.com/#!/XenDesktopEMEA

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XenDesktop 5

[email protected]

Senior Systems Engineer, EMEA

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A Quick Review

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SQL Server SQL Server Machine Creation

Services

Broker Services

Infrastructure Services

High-level Rhone Architecture

XenDesktop Controller XenDesktop Controller

Broker Service

Broker Service Machine

Creation Service Machine Creation

Service

AD Identity Service AD Identity

Service

Machine Identity Service Machine

Identity Service

Host Service Host Service

Configuration Service Configuration

Service Desktop Studio

Desktop Studio Desktop DirectorDesktop Director

PowerShell WCF

Virtual Desktop

WinRM (WMI)

NOTE: Greatly Simplified Communication

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• 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 SQL Server Machine Creation

Services

Broker Services

Infrastructure Services

XenDesktop Controller XenDesktop Controller

Broker Service Broker Service Machine

Creation Service Machine Creation

Service

AD Identity Service AD Identity

Service

Machine Identity Service Machine

Identity Service

Host Service Host Service

Configuration Service Configuration

Service Desktop Studio

Desktop Studio Desktop DirectorDesktop Director

PowerShell WCF

Virtual Desktop Virtual Desktop WinRM

(WMI)

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• 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

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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

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• Machine Creation Service

• DesktopUpdateManagerSchema

• AD Identity Service

• ADIdentitySchema

• Machine Identity Service

• MachinePersonalitySchema

• Configuration service

• ConfigurationSchema

• Host service

• HostingUnitServiceSchema

Other Schemas…

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• 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…

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• The following data is from the test teams

Database sizing example

Provisioned Desktops Using MCS 5,000 10,000 20,000

Per Worker (KB) 14,500 29,000 58,000

Per Session (KB) 25,500 51,000 102,000

Per Connection (KB) 840 1,680 3,360

Per AD Account (KB) 9,000 18,000 36,000

Per MCS machine (KB) 9,700 19,400 38,800

Approx. Total (MB) 59 117 233

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• 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

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• 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

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• 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

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H/A Mirror H/A Mirror

SQL Mirroring Options

Broker Broker

SQLSQL Windows Windows

Broker Broker

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 H/A Mirror

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

SQLSQL Windows Windows Broker

Broker Windows Windows

Broker Broker Windows Windows

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• 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

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Desktop Launch

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• 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?

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• 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) ?

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• 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) ?

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• 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) ?

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• 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) ?

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• 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) ?

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VDA 5.0

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• 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

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• 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

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Overall High Availability

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Database Database Database Database

Classic HA (Rhone)

Client Client

Web Interface

NLBNLB

DDC (XML Svc)

• Network-level HA

Database 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

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Autonomous Mode

VDA Broker

Switch Database

Switch

Customer Process Customer

Process

Client .ICA File

.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

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Scalability

– Preliminary Numbers

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• 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

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One instance. No role separation.

10,000

XD 5 Controller

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• 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

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XD 5 MCS produces about 1.5x more IOPS than PVS

1100 Desktops on XS MCS PVS

Total IOPS 18,000 11,000

Read:Write IOPS ratio 50:50 10:90

Average IOPS per desktop 16 10

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)

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• 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

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• 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

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…and that’s about it…

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A Few Helpful Resources

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• 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

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• 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

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• 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

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• 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

Resources

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• Configure a XenDesktop 5 Site to Use an Existing SQL Database

• Move an Existing XenDesktop 5 Database to a New SQL Server

• Configure XenDesktop for SQL Database Mirroring

• Reconfigure a XenDesktop Site to Use a Mirrored Database

• XDDBDiag for XenDesktop

Resources

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• Redeploy XenDesktop Without Re-Installing

• XenDesktop 5 FAQ

• Use a Specific SQL port with XenDesktop 5

• XenDesktop 5 Database Transaction Log Growing Excessively

• Change the XML Port in XenDesktop 5

Resources

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• Planning Guide: XenDesktop 5 Migration

• http://knowledgecenter.citrix.com/article/CTX128330

• XenDesktop 4 to XenDesktop 5 Virtual Desktop Agent Conversion Process with Provisioning Server

• XenDesktop Planning Guide: Desktop Image Delivery

• XenDesktop 5 – Master Classes

• http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7694439/XD5%20Master%20Class.rar

Resources

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• 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+Try+it+

Out

Resources

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• 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

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• 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

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