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XenServer

Oct 09, 2015

This topic provides an example of how to set up a Citrix XenServer virtual machine (along with the machine on which AppDNA runs) for use with Install Capture when migrating from Windows XP to Windows 8.1. This example shows one possible approach. For the generic setup requirements, see Set up a virtual machine.

Pre-requisites

  1. XenServer is already installed and configured on a separate machine from the one on which AppDNA is running.
  2. A XenServer virtual machine with a clean build of Windows XP already exists for use with Install Capture. For information about creating a XenServer virtual machine, refer to the Citrix XenCenter documentation. (XenCenter is a desktop tool that you can use to manage your XenServer environment and deploy, manage, and monitor virtual machines from your Windows desktop machine.)
  3. The virtual machine is connected to the same network as the machine on which you are running AppDNA (called the AppDNA machine).
  4. The virtual machine is not connected to a domain. For instructions for removing the virtual machine from a domain, see Remove the Virtual Machine from the Domain
  5. You know the IP address or DNS name of the XenServer host server and have the username and password of an account that enables you to connect to XenServer and perform advanced virtual machine operations (including creating and rolling back snapshots).
  6. You have the username and password of an administrative user account for the guest operating system.
  7. The user account has advanced operations" permissions. Typically this means that the user account must have at least the "VM power admin" role.

Open the VM in XenCenter

This section provides instructions for logging on to the virtual machine in the console in XenCenter so that you can set up the virtual machine. If you do not have access to XenCenter, you can do the setup steps when you work through the AppDNA Virtual Machine Configuration wizard. (The wizard opens the virtual machine in a console.)

To open the virtual machine in the console in XenCenter:

  1. On the Windows Start menu, choose All Programs > Citrix > Citrix XenCenter. If prompted, enter the connection details.
  2. In the Resources pane on the left side, right-click the virtual machine, and choose Start.
  3. Click the Console tab, and log on to the virtual machine as an administrative user.

You are now ready to perform the virtual machine setup tasks that are described below.

Create a user on the AppDNA machine and the virtual machine

  1. Create an administrator user account called, for example, appdna, on the AppDNA machine and give it a password that never expires. For example:
    1. Open Control Panel. If necessary switch to Classic View.
    2. In the Administrative Tools group, double-click Computer Management.
    3. Expand the tree in the left pane like this: System Tools > Local Users and Groups > Users.
    4. Click Users and from the Action menu, choose New user.
    5. Type the appropriate information in the dialog box.
    6. Click Create, and then click Close.
    7. Right-click the user and from the shortcut menu, choose Properties.
    8. Click the Member Of tab.
    9. Click Add and then type Administrators in the Enter the object names to select box.
    10. Click Check Names and then click OK.
  2. If necessary power on the virtual machine, and use the equivalent steps to create an identical administrator user account on the virtual machine, also with a password that never expires.

Configure the virtual machine for automatic log on

This is an optional step. It speeds up Install Capture because it means that you do not need to log on manually every time the virtual machine starts up.

  1. On the virtual machine, open a Windows command window.
  2. In the window, enter: control userpasswords2.
  3. In the User Accounts dialog box, clear the Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer check box, and then click OK.
  4. In the Automatically Log On dialog box, enter the Install Capture user's name and password, and then click OK.
  5. If you are using an operating system that supports UAC, disable UAC. See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/975787.
Note: For an alternative method of setting up automatic logon, see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315231. You must use this mechanism for a domain user account.

Turn off simple file sharing on the AppDNA and virtual machines

Carry out the following steps on both the AppDNA machine and the virtual machine.

  1. In Windows Explorer, from the menus choose Tools > Folder Options. (On Windows 8.1, from the Windows Explorer Organize menu, choose Folder and Search Options.)
  2. In the Folder Options dialog box, click the View tab.
  3. Clear the Use simple file sharing (Recommended) check box. (For Windows 8.1, clear the Use Sharing Wizard (Recommended) check box.)
  4. Click OK.

Create the shared folder on the AppDNA machine

These instructions describe how to create a folder on the AppDNA machine and share it so that the virtual machine can read and write to it.

  1. Create a folder (for example, C:\AppDNAOutput) on the AppDNA machine to store the Install Capture output.
  2. Share the folder and give everyone read and write permissions. For example:
    1. Open Windows Explorer and locate the folder that you want to share.
    2. Right-click the folder and from the shortcut menu, choose Sharing > Advanced Sharing.
    3. Click Advanced Sharing and then in the Advanced Sharing dialog box, select the Share this folder check box.
    4. Click Permissions.
    5. In the Permissions dialog box, click Everyone, and then for Full Control, Change, and Read, select the Allow check box.
    6. Click OK twice.
Note: The virtual machine also needs access to the location of the input files. To use an existing shared folder that contains the applications deployed within your organization, ensure that it is accessible from within the virtual machine. Otherwise you can either store these input files in the same folder as the output, or you can create a separate shared folder for the input files. In all cases the virtual machine must have read access to the input files.

Anti-virus configuration on the AppDNA machine

You must configure the anti-virus software on the AppDNA machine to disable on-access scanning of the Install Capture output and input folders. For example, for Norton Anti-Virus, you disable the auto-protect option for the AppDNA output and input folders.

Verify access to the shared folder

You now need to check that the virtual machine can access the shared folder that you created earlier on the AppDNA machine.

On the virtual machine, type the following into the Windows Start > Run prompt: 
\\<AppDNA machine name>\AppDNAOutput

Where <AppDNA machine name> is the name of the AppDNA machine.

If this opens the shared folder on the AppDNA machine, it verifies that the virtual machine can access it. For troubleshooting tips, see Troubleshooting Access to a Shared Folder from the Virtual Machine.

Install the AppDNA VM Configuration MSI on the virtual machine

To do this, you need the installer (called Citrix AppDNA VM Configuration.msi). This comes with AppDNA. It is copied into a Tools subfolder of the AppDNA installation folder when you install AppDNA. The default location is C:\Program Files\Citrix\AppDNA\Tools (C:\Program Files (x86)\Citrix\AppDNA\Tools on a 64-bit machine).

  1. Install the Citrix AppDNA VM Configuration MSI within the virtual machine, accepting the default file location.
  2. Restart the virtual machine.
Important: Ensure that the AppDNA VM Configuration MSI has the same version number as the version of AppDNA that you are using. This means that you need to upgrade the VM Configuration on the virtual machine when you upgrade AppDNA.

Take a snapshot of the virtual machine

This step requires access to XenCenter. If you do not have access to XenCenter, the AppDNA Virtual Machine Configuration wizard provides an option to create a snapshot.

  1. Select the virtual machine in the Resources pane on the left side of the XenCenter window.
  2. Click the Snapshots tab.
  3. On the toolbar, click Take Snapshot.
  4. In the Take Snapshot dialog box, enter the Name of the new snapshot and optionally a Description.
  5. Under Snapshot mode, select the Snapshot the virtual machine's disks and memory option if it is available. Otherwise select the Snapshot the virtual machine's disks option. The Snapshot mode options depend on the XenServer license.
  6. Click Take Snapshot.

You are now ready to use the AppDNA Virtual Machine Configuration wizard to set up a virtual machine configuration for use with Install Capture. See Configure a XenServer VM for step-by-step instructions.