Citrix XenServer ® 6.2.0 Quick Start Guide Published Tuesday, 25 June 2013 1.
Citrix XenServer ® 6.2.0 Quick Start Guide Copyright © 2013 Citrix Systems. Inc. All Rights Reserved. Version: 6.2.0 Citrix, Inc. 851 West Cypress Creek Road Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309 United States of America Disclaimers This document is furnished "AS IS." Citrix, 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.
Contents 1. Welcome ....................................................................................................... 1 2. Installing XenServer and XenCenter .............................................................. 3 2.1. Installing the XenServer Host ........................................................................................ 3 2.2. Installing XenCenter ..................................................................................................... 5 2.3.
Chapter 1. Welcome The XenServer Quick Start Guide steps through the installation and configuration essentials to get XenServer and its graphical, Windows-based user interface, XenCenter, up and running. After installation, it takes you through the process of creating Windows virtual machines (VMs) and then making customized virtual machine templates from which you can quickly create multiple, similar VMs.
XenServer lets you create VMs, take VM disk snapshots and manage VM workloads. XenCenter is a graphical, Windows-based user interface. XenCenter allows you to manage XenServer hosts, pools and shared storage, and to deploy, manage and monitor VMs from your Windows desktop machine. The XenCenter Help is also a great resource for getting started with XenCenter. References [XS Guest] Citrix XenServer 6.2.0 Virtual Machine User's Guide. [XS Admin] Citrix XenServer 6.2.0 Administrator's Guide.
Chapter 2. Installing XenServer and XenCenter This chapter steps through installing XenServer on a single physical host, installing XenCenter on a Windows computer, and connecting them to form the infrastructure for creating and running virtual machines (VMs). To get started, you need at least two separate physical computers: one to be the XenServer host and the other to run the XenCenter application.
. Select Ok to perform a clean installation. Note: If this is an upgrade, see the XenServer Installation Guide for details. 8. If you have multiple hard disks, choose a Primary Disk for the installation. Select Ok. Choose which disk(s) you would like to use for virtual machine storage. Choose Ok. 9. Select Local media as your installation source. Note: For information on using HTTP, FTP, or NFS as your installation source, see the XenServer Installation Guide. 10.
2.2. Installing XenCenter XenCenter is typically installed on your local workstation or laptop. To install XenCenter 1. Insert the main installation CD into the DVD drive of the computer which you want to run XenCenter. 2. Open the client_install folder on the CD. Double-click XenCenter.msi to begin the installation. 3. Follow the Setup wizard, which allows you to modify the default destination folder and then to install XenCenter. 2.3.
2. Click the ADD a server icon to open the Add New Server dialog box. In the Server field, enter the IP address of the host. Enter the root username and password that you set during XenServer installation. Choose Add. Note: The first time you add a new host, the Save and Restore Connection State dialog box appears. This enables you to set your preferences for storing your host connection information and automatically restoring server connections. 2.3.1.
Chapter 3. Creating a Pool of XenServer Hosts A resource pool is composed of multiple XenServer host installations, bound together as a single managed entity. Resource pools let you view multiple servers and their connected shared storage as a single unified resource, enabling flexible deployment of virtual machines based on their resource needs and business priorities.
The default host should be adequate for getting started. 4. Select the second host to place in the new pool from the Additional members list. 5. Click Create Pool. The new pool appears in the Resources pane. 3.2. Setting Up Networks for the Pool When you install XenServer, you create a network connection‒typically on the first NIC in the pool where you specified an IP address (during Setup). However, you may need to connect your pool to VLANs and other physical networks.
4. On the Select Type page, select External Network, and click Next. 5. On the Name page, enter a meaningful name for the network and description. 6. On the Network settings page, specify the following: • NIC. Select the NIC that you want XenServer to use to send and receive data from the network. • VLAN. If the network is a VLAN, enter the VLAN ID (or "tag"). • MTU. If the network uses jumbo frames, enter a value for the Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) between 1500 to 9216.
3. Select the NICs you want to bond together. To select a NIC, select its check box in the list. Up to four NICs may be selected in this list. Clear the check box to deselect a NIC. To maintain a flexible and secure network, You can bond either two, three, or four NICs when vSwitch is the network stack, whereas you can only bond two NICs when Linux bridge is the network stack. 4.
This section steps through setting up two types of shared SRs for a pool of hosts: NFS and iSCSI. Before you create a new SR, you need to configure your NFS or iSCSI storage array. Setup differs depending on the type of storage solution that you use, so it is best to refer to your vendor documentation for details. Generally, before you begin, if you are creating an: • iSCSI SR. You must have created a volume and a LUN on the storage array. • NFS VHD. You must have created the volume on the storage device.
a. Enter a name for the new SR and the name of the share where it is located. Click Scan to have the wizard scan for existing NFS SRs in the specified location. Note: The NFS server must be configured to export the specified path to all XenServer hosts in the pool. b. Click Finish. The new SR appears in the Resources pane, within the pool. 3. If you choose iSCSI: a. Enter a name for the new SR and then the IP address or DNS name of the iSCSI target.
Chapter 4. Creating Virtual Machines Through XenCenter, you can create virtual machines in a number of ways, according to your deployment needs. Whether you need to deploy individual VMs with distinct configurations and features or groups of multiple, similar VMs, XenCenter can get you up and running in a just a few steps. XenServer also provides an easy way to convert batches of virtual machines from VMware.
2. Select a VM template and click Next. Each template contains the setup information needed to create a new VM with a specific guest operating system (OS), and with optimum storage. This list reflects the templates that XenServer currently supports. Note: If the OS that you intend to install on your new VM is compatible only with the original hardware (for example, an OS installation CD that was packaged with a specific computer), check the Copy host BIOS strings to VM box. 3.
7. Configure storage for the new VM. Click Next to select the default allocation (24 GB) and configuration, or you may wish to: a. Change the name, description or size of your virtual disk by clicking Properties. b. Add a new virtual disk by selecting Add. Note: When you create a pool of XenServer hosts, as you do in the next chapter, you can configure shared storage at this point if creating a new VM. 8. Configure networking on the new VM.
11. Once the OS installation completes and the VM reboots, install the XenServer Tools. XenServer Tools provide high-speed I/O for enhanced disk and network performance. XenServer Tools must be installed on each VM in order for the VM to have a fully-supported configuration. A VM will function without them, but performance will be significantly hampered. XenServer Tools also enable certain functions and features, including cleanly shutting down, rebooting, suspending and live migrating VMs.
b. Click the text to open the XenServer Tools setup wizard on the VM console. c. Click the Install XenServer Tools button, and then Run Xensetup.exe. d. When prompted, click Yes to allow the program to make changes to the computer. e. Accept the License Agreement, and click Next to continue. f. Choose a destination folder and click Install Tools. g. Select Restart Now, and then Done to complete the installation.
3. The migrated VM displays under the new host in the Resources pane. 4.3. Making VM Templates There are a number of ways to make a VM template from an existing Windows VM, each with its individual benefits. This section focuses on two methods: converting an existing VM into a template, and creating a template from a snapshot of a VM. In both cases, the VM template preserves the customized configuration of the original VM or VM snapshot and can then be used to quickly create new, similar VMs.
4. Enter Sysprep. This runs the Sysprep tool. The VM will shut down when it completes. 4.3.1. Creating a VM Template from an Existing VM To create a VM template from an existing VM: Warning: When you create a new template from an existing VM, the original VM will be replaced by the new template. The VM will no longer exist. 1. Shut down the VM that you wish to convert. 2. On the Resources pane, right-click the VM, and select Convert to Template. 3. Click Convert to confirm.
The New VM wizard opens. 2. Follow the New VM wizard to create a VM from the selected template. Note: When the wizard prompts you for an OS installation media source, select the default and continue. The new VM will appear in the Resources pane. If you are using a template created from an existing VM, you also have the option to select Quick Create.
Appendix A. System Requirements A.1. System Requirements XenServer requires at least two separate physical x86 computers: one to be the XenServer host and the other to run the XenCenter application. The XenServer host computer is dedicated entirely to the task of running XenServer — hosting VMs — and is not used for other applications. Warning: The installation of any third party software directly on the XenServer host (i.e.
RAM 2GB minimum, 4GB or more recommended Disk Space Locally attached storage (PATA, SATA, SCSI) with 16GB of disk space minimum, 60GB of disk space recommended, or SAN via HBA (not via software) if installing with multipath boot from SAN (see http://hcl.vmd.citrix.com for a detailed list of compatible storage solutions). Product installation creates two 4GB partitions for the XenServer host control domain. Network 100Mbit/s or faster NIC.
• All CPUs have virtualization enabled (for running Windows VMs) or all CPUs have virtualization disabled (must be consistent across hosts in the pool) • All hosts in the pool run the same version of XenServer software, at the same patch level • All hosts in the pool have the same type of XenServer product license • All hosts in the pool be configured with the same supplemental packs Before a XenServer host joins a pool, it must also: • Not be a member of an existing pool • Have no shared storage configured
