IBM X3650 UEFI Causes XenServer 5.6 Boot Issues

I have been installing XenServer on to some new IBM X3650 M3 Servers recently and have experienced very slow boot times and also issues in connecting to Fibre attached storage.

Symptom:

It takes some 10-20+ minutes every boot for the QLogic cards to present all the LUNS/Paths to the UEFI before continuing the ordinary boot-sequence.

When XenServer is installed without any HBA cards installed the servers will boot without issue. When the HBA cards are installed the XenServer fails to boot.

Issue:

The new Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) which replaces BIOS causes issues. The problem is that XenServer does not support UEFI Yet!

The problem happened when we assigned a LUN to the Qlogic FC, after that, the server won't boot into local drive, which is where XenServer is installed.

Resolution:

To fix this, you need
1. Press F1 to get into uefi bios
2. Add "legacy only" as a boot option
3. set "legacy only" as the first in boot order
4. commit to all the changes

Finding a Better Way to Estimate IOPS for VDI

 

Great article from Paul Wilson at Citrix on IOPS calcualtions for VDI. Well worth a read.

http://community.citrix.com/display/ocb/2010/10/31/Finding+a+Better+Way+to+Estimate+IOPS+for+VDI

Citrix Project GoldenGate

Has anybody tried out Project GoldenGate?

Project GoldenGate

Available to download from mycitrix

Technology Concept Release

As part of this research Citrix Labs is pleased to announce the availability of Project GoldenGate Technology Concept Release.

GoldenGate incorporates email, calendaring, contact, and collaboration capabilities into a single Micro App that runs securely in the data center and is delivered to mobile devices by Citrix XenApp.

As this is a new capability for Citrix, we have chosen to assess market interest and opportunity via a Technology Concept Release.  As yet, no decisions have been made around commercialization of this technology.

XIV Storage Configuration Demo

Excellent web site showing how easy it is to configure the IBM XIV storage platform.

I have been designing the Pools and Volumes on this platform this week and looks like one of the most dynamic and easy to configure shared storage platforms around at the moment.

http://www.xivstorage.com/demo/GUI_Demo.html

Access Gateway VPX 5.0 NEW!

Access Gateway VPX 5.0 is a virtual appliance for Citrix XenServer or VMWare ESX/ESXi that provides secure access to virtual desktops, applications and data while allowing users to work from anywhere. It offers the same capabilities as an Access Gateway physical appliance (Model 2010) while giving greater flexibility and more deployment options to IT administrators. Access Gateway VPX is the best choice for organizations who need to rapidly provision secure access, reduce infrastructure requirements, and minimize power consumption.

New Features
Some of the key new features available in Access Gateway version 5.0 include:

• Access Gateway VPX for VMWare ESX/ESXi — Access Gateway VPX running on VMware ESX and ESXi hypervisors allows organizations to leverage their existing server virtualization investments and provides additional deployment flexibility.
• Simple and Intuitive Administration — Access Gateway 5.0 uses a new Flash-based administration tool for the appliance that makes it easy to install certificates, configure access control and monitor activity from any Flash-enabled web browser.
• Basic High Availability support for Model 2010 and VPX appliances — Two Access Gateway appliances can be configured as a failover pair. The appliances operate in active/passive mode, with the primary appliance servicing all user connections and the secondary appliance monitoring the primary and synchronizing session information. If the primary appliance fails, the secondary appliance takes over.
• Variable Logon Points — Each Access Gateway appliance can host multiple logon points for support of different features or different user communities. Basic logon points enable unlimited logins for secure access to Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop only and are enabled by the free Access Gateway platform license; SmartAccess logon points enable rich access control features such as network-layer VPN, endpoint analysis, clientless access to web sites and file shares, and adaptive access control.
• Endpoint Remediation — When users fail to access the system because of a failed endpoint analysis scan, you can provide a customized HTML message informing them of why they failed and what steps to take for remediation.
• Improved architecture — Significant updates have been made to the appliance firmware and Access Controller web services in this release to improve the overall performance, stability and feature set of Access Gateway.

Important Licensing Changes
Platform License Required
Each appliance running Access Gateway 5.0 requires a platform license in order to function. Without the platform license installed, the gateway will not allow logins after a 48-hour grace period. Platform licenses are delivered electronically when an appliance is ordered. If you have an existing Access Gateway Model 2010 appliance covered by Warranty, you can obtain your Access Gateway Platform License using the Upgrade My Products toolbox on MyCitrix.
User Licenses Optional
The required Access Gateway platform license enables unlimited logins through Basic logon points. Each concurrent login to a SmartAccess logon point requires an Access Gateway user license. Access Gateway Standard Edition or Access Gateway Universal licenses may be used for this purpose.
Subscription Advantage Eligibility Date
To use your existing Access Gateway licenses with this version, the Subscription Advantage on those licenses must be valid on or after September 1, 2010.
Supported Platforms
Access Gateway 5.0 is supported only on the following appliance platforms:

• Access Gateway Model 2010
• Access Gateway VPX

Citrix Online Plug-in 12.1 for Windows Released!

http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX126965

What's New

• ICA File Signing. Helps protect users from unauthorized application or desktop launches by digitally signing .ICA files. You can configure the online plug-in security policy and digital-signing requirements using Group Policy Objects or the Citrix Merchandising Server with the online plug-in. The online plug-in verifies that a trusted source generated the application launch and based on administrative policy, protects against application launches from untrusted servers.
• Enhanced printing performance. Improves user printing performance and speed when printing to redirected client printers. Install the XenApp Printing Optimization Pack on the server running XenApp 6 for Windows Server 2008 R2 and configure the server-side policy settings for:
  • Dynamic Client Printer Mapping. Redirected printers are discovered dynamically and created automatically.
  • Optimized EMF Universal Print Driver. Reduction in bandwidth consumption for the most demanding printing applications.
  • Enhanced XPS Universal Print Driver. Improved printing performance on Window 7 clients.
• New decoder for HDX 3D Pro Graphics. A new deep compression codec is included in the online plug-in to receive 3D professional graphics over low bandwidths. For details about HDX 3D Pro Graphics, see http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX124443

XenServer Peformance: Disable Checksum Offload on PIF's/VIF's

Please create a backup copy of the xapi database.
You can do it using the following command:
xe pool-dump-database file-name=/tmp/xapi1.xml

Please use WinSCP to download the file xapi1.xml from the /tmp location to your workstation and keep it in a safe place.

We need to disable all the checksum offloading on all the interfaces in XenServer (this one will require XenServer reboot – do it in a maintenance window):

Please upload the unzipped script attached, into. e.g. /root directory and execute it, using the following guide:
Please note this file will generate a error if it is modified in windows and contains CR/LF.

if-set

Change directory
cd /root
Allow the script to be executed:
chmod u+x if-set
Execute:
./if-set
Now, script is disabling all the offload settings for all PIF and VIF interfaces. 

It is necessary to reboot the XenServer afterwards.