Citrix VDI Handbook and Best Practices Xenapp and Xendesktop 7.15
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Citrix VDI Handbook and Best Practices XenApp and XenDesktop 7.15 Long Term Service Release Version 2.01 Citrix VDI Handbook - XenApp and XenDesktop 7.15 LTSR Table of Contents Section 1: Overview ................................................................................................................................................ 10 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 10 Methodology ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 11 Section 2: Assess ...................................................................................................................................................... 12 Overview ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 12 Step 1: Define the Organization .................................................................................................................................................. 12 Step 2: Define the User Groups .................................................................................................................................................... 13 Step 4: Define the Applications .................................................................................................................................................... 21 Step 5: Define the Project Team .................................................................................................................................................. 23 Section 3: Design ..................................................................................................................................................... 32 Overview ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 32 Layer 0: Conceptual Architecture ................................................................................................................................................ 32 Layer 1: The User Layer ....................................................................................................................................................................... 37 Layer 2: The Access Layer .................................................................................................................................................................. 45 Layer 3: The Resource Layer ............................................................................................................................................................ 63 Layer 4: The Control Layer ................................................................................................................................................................ 93 Layer 5: The Hardware Layer ....................................................................................................................................................... 131 Section 4: Monitor ................................................................................................................................................ 141 Overview .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 141 Process 1: Support ............................................................................................................................................................................. 141 Process 2: Operations ...................................................................................................................................................................... 153 Process 3: Monitoring ...................................................................................................................................................................... 165 Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................................... 179 Authors ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 179 Subject Matter Experts .................................................................................................................................................................... 179 Revision History ................................................................................................................................................................................... 180 Citrix VDI Handbook - XenApp and XenDesktop 7.15 LTSR Disclaimer This document is furnished "AS IS". Citrix Systems, Inc. disclaims all warranties regarding the contents of this document, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for any particular purpose. This document may contain technical or other inaccuracies or typographical errors. Citrix Systems, Inc. reserves the right to revise the information in this document at any time without notice. This document and the software described in this document constitute confidential information of Citrix Systems, Inc. and its licensors, and are furnished under a license from Citrix Systems, Inc. This document and the software may be used and copied only as agreed upon by the Beta or Technical Preview Agreement About Citrix Citrix (NASDAQ:CTXS) is leading the transition to software-defining the workplace, uniting virtualization, mobility management, networking and SaaS solutions to enable new ways for businesses and people to work better. Citrix solutions power business mobility through secure, mobile workspaces that provide people with instant access to apps, desktops, data and communications on any device, over any network and cloud. With annual revenue in 2015 of $3.28 billion, Citrix solutions are in use at more than 330,000 organizations and by over 100 million users globally. Learn more at www.citrix.com. Copyright © 2016 Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Citrix, Citrix Receiver, and StoreFront are trademarks of Citrix Systems, Inc. and/or one of its subsidiaries, and may be registered in the U.S. and other countries. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies. Citrix VDI Handbook - XenApp and XenDesktop 7.15 LTSR Section 1: Overview Introduction In traditional business environments, workers suffer from productivity loss in many ways, including downtime during PC refreshes, patches and updates, or simply when they are away from the office. Application and desktop virtualization centralizes apps and desktops in the datacenter, rather than on local devices. This allows IT to deliver apps and desktops to users on demand, to any device, anywhere. Take the following response from a desktop virtualization user: Experience from the Field As a remote employee for [company], I struggled every time I needed to access the company’s intranet, which forced me to VPN into the network. I also kept data on my local device because trying to access it over my broadband connection was too slow. Some coworkers did the same and lost data due to a virus, thankfully I was luckier. Depending on my mood (and the weather), changing devices and locations was a challenge as I had to have my applications and data copied to many different endpoints. I know this was unsecure, but I didn’t care because I was more concerned with flexibility. Since moving to a virtual desktop, I’m able to use any device. I’m able to work from any location. And best of all, I don’t have to worry about copying my data and applications onto all of my personal devices. Unfortunately, organizations sometimes struggle to achieve this level of success. Why does one organization succeed while another organization struggles? If we compare the factors between success and failure between desktop virtualization and other technology related projects, we see that there is little difference: 1. Lack of justification – Without a solid business reason, desktop virtualization is simply a new way to deliver a desktop. A business justification gives the project team a goal to strive towards. 2. Lack of a methodology – Many people who try and struggle to deploy a desktop virtualization solution do so because they jump right in without understanding or implementing the appropriate prerequisites. A structured methodology provides the path for the project. 3. Lack of experience – For many who embark on a desktop virtualization project, there is a lack of experience, which creates a lack of confidence in the design. Architects begin to second-guess themselves and the project stalls. Our hope is that this handbook can alleviate the anxiety associated with desktop virtualization by showing how challenges can be resolved in a manner that is technically sound, but also feasible and effective for organizations facing deadlines and other organizational challenges. Citrix has successfully employed the methodology, experience and best practices