Using the Streamed VM Setup Wizard
Using the Wizard
The Provisioning Services Streamed VM Setup Wizard assists in deploying a Provisioning Services streamed vDisk to a number of cloned virtual machines (VMs).
Use the wizard to:
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Create VMs on a supported hosted hypervisor from an existing template:
- XenServer
- Hyper-V via SCVMM
- ESX via V-Center
- Create Provisioning Services target devices within a Collection
- Assign a vDisk image that is in Standard Image mode to the VMs
Before running the wizard, be sure that the following prerequisites are met:
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One or more hypervisor hosts exist with a configured template.
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A Device Collection exists in the Provisioning Services Site .
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A vDisk in Standard Image mode exists, to be associated with selected VM template.
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Template VM Requirements:
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Boot order: Network/PXE first in list (as with physical machines).
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Hard disks: If using local write cache, an NTFS formatted disk large enough for the cache must exist. Otherwise, no hard disks are required.
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Network: Static MAC addresses. If using XenServer, address cannot be 00-00-00-00-00-00
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The Provisioning Services Console user account was added to a PVS SiteAdmin group or above.
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When creating new accounts in the Console, the user needs the Active Directory Create Accounts permission. To use existing accounts, Active Directory accounts have to already exist in a known OU for selection.
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If importing an Active Directory .CSV file, use the following format: <name>,<type>,<description>. The .CSV file must contain the column header. For example, the .CSV file contents is as follows:
Name,Type,Description,
PVSPC01,Computer,,
The trailing comma must be present to signify three values, even if there is no description. This is the same formatting used by Active Directory Users and Computers MMC when exporting the contents of an organizational unit.
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If running a vCenter server on alternate ports, the following registry modifications must be made in order to connect to it from Provisioning Services:
- Create a new key HKLM\Software\Citrix\ProvisioningServices\PlatformEsx
- Create a new string in the PlatformEsx key named ‘ServerConnectionString’ and set it to ‘http://{0}:PORT#/sdk’ Note: If using use port 300, ServerConnectionString= http://{0}:300/sdk
This wizard creates VMs, associates Provisioning Services target devices to those VMs, and assigns a shared vDisk to them.
The wizard is run directly from a Provisioning Services Console.
- Right-click on the Site icon in the Console tree panel, then select the Streamed VM Setup Wizard… menu option. The Welcome to the Streamed VM Setup Wizard appears.
- Click Next to begin the setup.
- Select the type of hypervisor to connect to, then enter the required connection credentials.
- Click Next to verify the connection. Note: For convenient reuse, the most recently used hypervisor and username will be cached in the registry of the local machine running this instance of the Console. Note: XenServer 5.5 Update 2 hypervisors are not supported in the 5.6.1 Streamed VM Setup Wizard. System Center Virtual Machine Management (SCVMM) servers require PowerShell 2.0 to be installed.
- Optional. On the Hypervisor cluster screen, select the hypervisor host or cluster to host the VMs, then click Next.
- Select one VM template from the specified host, then click Next.
- On the Collection and vDisk page, select the collection in which to add VMs.
- Select a single shared vDisk within to assign to VMs within that collection, then click Next.
- Set the number of VMs to create, the number of vCPUs, and the amount of Memory each new virtual machine will use.
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Enable the radio button next to one of the following methods used for adding Active Directory computer accounts, then click Next:
- Create new accounts
- Import existing accounts Note: An Active Directory administrator will need to delegate rights to the Provisioning Services Console user to allow Active Directory account creation. Note: The domain and OU default to those of the current user. Note: New computer names to be created are first validated that they do not already exist as computers in Active Directory, VMs, or target devices.
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If the
Create new accounts method is selected:
- Click Next. The Active Directory accounts and location screen appears.
- Select the appropriate domain from the Domain drop-down box, then select from the OUs listed for that Domain.
- In the Account naming scheme drop-down box, select a valid naming scheme consisting of at least one hash symbol (#) that is 15 characters or less. Additionally, select a number/character fill option that will dynamically replace the hash symbols in the specified naming scheme, incrementing by one for each VM as they are created. If the Import existing accounts is selected:
- Click Next. The Active Directory accounts and location page appears.
- Click Browse to browse for an Active Directory Organizational Unit to import Active Directory account names, or click Import to import account names from a CSV file. Note: The Required count displays the number of virtual machines previously specified to be created. The Added count displays the number of validated entries added to appear in the list.
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Review all configuration settings, and then click
Next to confirm and finish configurations.
Note: Clicking
Cancel cancels the configuration of any additional machines, and the quantity of successfully configured machines displays under the
Progress bar. If the wizard fails or is cancelled in the middle of an operation, any progress made is retained. If cleanup of existing progress is required, it must be done manually, which includes removing the following:
- Provisioning Services target devices created in the selected Collection.
- VMs created in any of the selected hosts hypervisors.
- Active Directory computer accounts that were created.
Important
When using the setup wizard to specify names associated with storage devices, do not use a comma (,). Names associated with storage devices are retained by XenDesktop and separated by commas. For example, Storage 1, Storage 2, Storage 3. If a storage name includes a comma (for instance, ‘Storage1,East’) PVS erroneously recognizes this as two separate storage devices.