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Create a Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager catalog

February 15, 2024
Contributed by: 
C

Create machine catalogs describes the wizards that create a machine catalog. The following information covers details specific to Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) virtualization environments.

Note:

Before creating a VMM catalog, you need to finish creating a connection to VMM. See Connection to Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager.

Create a master VM

  • Install a VDA on the master VM, and select the option to optimize the desktop. This improves performance.
  • Take a snapshot of the master VM to use as a backup.
  • Create virtual desktops.

MCS on SMB 3 file shares

For machine catalogs created with MCS on SMB 3 file shares for VM storage, credentials must meet the following requirements to ensure that calls from the XenServer Communications Library (HCL) connect successfully to SMB storage.

  • VMM user credentials must include full read write access to the SMB storage.
  • Storage-virtual disk operations during VM lifecycle events are performed through the Hyper-V server using the VMM user credentials.

For more information on SMB 3, see Overview of file sharing using the SMB 3 protocol in Windows Server.

When using VMM 2012 SP1 with Hyper-V on Windows Server 2012: When using SMB as storage, enable the Authentication Credential Security Support Provider (CredSSP) from the Cloud Connector to individual Hyper-V machines. For more information, see CTX137465.

Using a standard PowerShell V3 remote session, the HCL in the Cloud Connector uses CredSSP to open a connection to the Hyper-V machine. This feature passes Kerberos-encrypted user credentials to the Hyper-V machine, and the PowerShell commands in the session on the remote Hyper-V machine run with the credentials provided (in this case, those of the VMM user), so that communication commands to storage work correctly.

The following tasks use PowerShell scripts that originate in the HCL. The scripts are then sent to the Hyper-V machine to act on the SMB 3.0 storage.

Consolidate Master Image: An image creates a new MCS provisioning scheme (machine catalog). It clones and flattens the master VM ready for creating new VMs from the new disk created (and removes dependency on the original master VM).

ConvertVirtualHardDisk on the root\virtualization\v2 namespace

Example:

$ims = Get-WmiObject -class $class -namespace "root\\virtualization\\v2";
$result = $ims.ConvertVirtualHardDisk($diskName, $vhdastext)
$result
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Create differencing disk: Creates a differencing disk from the image generated by consolidating the image. The differencing disk is then attached to a new VM.

CreateVirtualHardDisk on the root\virtualization\v2 namespace

Example:

$ims = Get-WmiObject -class $class -namespace "root\\virtualization\\v2";
$result = $ims.CreateVirtualHardDisk($vhdastext);
$result
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Upload identity disks: The HCL cannot directly upload the identity disk to SMB storage. Therefore, the Hyper-V machine must upload and copy the identity disk to the storage. Because the Hyper-V machine cannot read the disk from the Cloud Connector, the HCL must first copy the identity disk through the Hyper-V machine as follows.

  1. The HCL uploads the Identity to the Hyper-V machine through the administrator share.

  2. The Hyper-V machine copies the disk to the SMB storage through a PowerShell script running in the PowerShell remote session.

    A folder is created on the Hyper-V machine and the permissions on that folder are locked for the VMM user only (through the remote PowerShell connection).

  3. The HCL deletes the file from the administrator share.
  4. When the HCL completes the identity disk upload to the Hyper-V machine, the remote PowerShell session copies the identity disks to SMB storage, and then deletes it from the Hyper-V machine.

The identity disk folder is recreated if deleted to make it available for reuse.

Download identity disks: As with uploads, the identity disks pass through the Hyper-V machine to the HCL. The following process creates a folder that has only VMM user permissions on the Hyper-V server if it does not exist.

  1. The HyperV machine copies the disk from the SMB storage to local Hyper-V storage using a PowerShell script running in the PowerShell V3 remote session.
  2. HCL reads the disk from the Hyper-V machine’s administrator share into memory.
  3. HCL deletes the file from the administrator share.

Create a catalog with a machine profile

You can use a machine profile to create and update an MCS machine catalog in System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) environments. You can also enable nested virtualization and vTPM.

Important considerations

  • Master image can only be a snapshot and not a VM.
  • You can only use VM as the machine profile source.
  • You can configure VTPM from the Hyper-V console and not from the SCVMM console.
  • If the master image has vTPM enabled, then you must enable the vTPM on the machine profile source.
  • vTPM is only supported on Generation 2 machines.

  • The following parameters overwrite the values captured in a machine profile if provided separately:

    • VMCpuCount
    • VMMemoryMB
    • Disk storage
  • You can update an existing catalog using the Set-ProvScheme command.

Steps to create a catalog using a machine profile

  1. Create a VM to be a machine profile source. For more information, see Provision virtual machines in the VMM fabric. You cannot change the Generation once selected.

    • If you want to enable nested virtualization, select the Enable Nested Virtualization checkbox on the Select Source page.
    • If you want to enable vTPM, then after you create the VM, log in to the Hyper-V host and find your VM under the Hyper-V Manager. Right-click the VM, then go to Settings. Under Security, select the Enable Trusted Platform Module checkbox.
  2. Open a PowerShell window.
  3. Run asnp citrix* to load the Citrix-specific PowerShell modules.
  4. Create a Broker catalog. This catalog is populated with machines which are about to be created.
  5. Create an identity pool. This becomes a container for AD accounts created for the machines that are to be created.

  6. Create a provisioning scheme with the machine profile. For example:

    New-ProvScheme -HostingUnitName "<hostingunit name>"
-IdentityPoolName "ID1" -MasterImageVM "XDHyp:\HostingUnits\HU1\<path to the checkpoint/snapshot>"
-ProvisioningSchemeName "<catalogname>"  -MachineProfile "XDHyp:\<path to the machine profile VM>"
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  7. Updates the Broker catalog with the unique Id of the provisioning scheme.
  8. Create and add VMs to the catalog.

You can update an existing catalog using the Set-ProvScheme command. For example:

Set-ProvScheme -ProvisioningSchemeName "<catalogname>" -MachineProfile "XDHyp:\<path to the machine profile VM>"
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Where to go next

More information

Create a Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager catalog
February 15, 2024
Contributed by: 
C
February 15, 2024
Contributed by: 
C

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