XenServer SR-IOV Support for Provisioning Services Virtual Machines

Overview

As companies virtualize more and more of their server infrastructure they are increasingly interested in virtualizing Provisioning Services hosts. However, the significant level of network IO that occurs on a Provisioning Services host can be challenging for the virtualization platform. This article describes how to virtualize Provisioning Services hosts with maximum performance and scalability by leveraging Single Route I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV) capabilities of Intel Niantic NICs with XenServer (versions 5.6 and later).

Requirements

To make use of this capability, you must have a host server in which a SR-IOV capable network device is installed. The device tested for this article is the Intel® 82599 10 Gigabit Ethernet Controller. Note: The setup procedure below requires that the 10 GigE NIC not be used as the management interface for the host. A second physical NIC must be installed on the system for that purpose.

Process

The following procedure is a detailed step-by-step guide for configuring an SR-IOV-enabled Provisioning Services virtual machine on XenServer 5.6, provided that your system meets the hardware and firmware requirements described above.

1.     Enable iommu on the host by running the following command within the domain 0 console:
/opt/xensource/libexec/xen-cmdline --set-xen iommu=1

2.     Reboot the host.

3.     Assign one or more VFs to a virtual machine. Obtain a list of VFs in the system by executing the lspci command in the XenServer console. You should see many (such as 120) devices like this:

07:10.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82559 Ethernet Controller Virtual Function (rev 01)

4.     Assign one of these VFs to the target virtual machine executing the following command:
xe vm-param-set other-config:pci=0/0000:07:10.0 uuid=uuid_of_the_VM

Substitute 07:10.0 in the example above with the pci bus address of the VF you want to assign.

5.     Boot the virtual machine and install the correct VF driver in it.

Once the driver is installed, Provisioning Services should be installed and configured as normal

This information is available at the following link:

http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX126624

Citrix Receiver 4.2.2 for iPad released

What's New In Version 4.2.2

4.2.2
• Stability Enhancements
• URL Setup support

4.2.1
• iOS 4.2 Support
• On Screen trackpad
• Simplified gestures
• 2.5x faster session performance
• Self-service enterprise apps
• Web Interface support
• Access Gateway 5 support
• Third-party authentication support
• Enhanced video out display
• Bluetooth keyboard support
• International keyboard support

http://itunes.apple.com/ie/app/citrix-receiver-for-ipad/id363501921?mt=8

Single Sign-On 4.8 and XenDesktop 5

Single Sign-On Support for XenDesktop 5. Nice support article from Citrix.

http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX127811

Happy New Year

It has been a hectic couple of months so there have not been as many posts as I would have hoped. A new year and a new start so hopefully there will be plenty of interesting posts on the way.

I am currently looking at writing a piece on the configuration of BNT switches in conjunction with IBM H-Class Blade chassis and Extreme Network with XenServer as this is a challenge I am currently working on.

If anyone else has any areas they are interested in discussing or if there are any specific areas of interest then let me know.

XenServer 5.6 Update 1 Released

Hi all,

The entire XenServer team is pleased to announce the release of Citrix XenServer 5.6 Feature Pack 1  to Citrix.com and MyCitrix.com.

Customers and partners can find the downloads on MyCitrix: https://www.citrix.com/English/SS/downloads/details.asp?downloadId=2306109&productId=683148 as well as through the trial download section from http://www.citrix.com/xenserver

What’s New in this release

Highlights for this release are:

·         Distributed Virtual Switching. Provides distributed, fine-grained networking configuration and control policies, which increase visibility into XenServer virtual networks. Support for the vSwitch has been added as a post-install option on XenServer hosts, as well as a Controller for administration of multiple vSwitches and cross-server internal networks.
Jumbo Frames are now supported for storage networks when the vSwitch is used.

·         VM Protection and Recovery. Configure scheduled snapshots and (optional) archive of virtual machines.

·         Web Self-Service. Provides browser-based access to selected virtual machines by delegated administrators.

·         Boot from SAN with multipathing support. Boot XenServer hosts with HBAs from a SAN, with multipathing support.

·         HA Restart Priority. Configure HA policies to restart specific VM(s) first.

·         Enhanced XenCenter. Including StorageLink configuration entirely within XenCenter, workload reporting for VM utilization and chargeback.

·         Improved MPP RDAC multipathing including path health reporting and alerting in XenCenter.

·         Snapshot improvements. Improved reclamation of space after VM snapshots are deleted, even if the VM is running.

·         Enhanced guest OS support for Windows 7 SP1, Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, and Suse Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 11 SP1.

·         Generic Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 5.x support. RHEL / CentOS / Oracle Enterprise Linux versions 5.0 to 5.5 support with a generic .RHEL 5. template.

·         Brocade HBA drivers and command-line tools are included in XenServer.

·         Provisioning Services improvements to Windows volume license (MAK and KMS) support.

·         XenDesktop platform enhancements. Provides local host caching of VM images to reduce storage TCO for XenDesktop VDI deployments. (Note: these platform enhancements will be enabled by a future version of XenDesktop).

·         Lab Manager 3.9 Service Pack 1 which includes various updates and bugfixes

More details can be found in the Release notes on the Knowledge Base: http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX127362. Full documentation is accessible through the MyCitrix download page, or on the KB here: http://support.citrix.com/product/xens/v5.6/component/fp1/#tab-doc. Internal deliverables will be made available by the Product Marketing team through MyCitrite.

Defender Elite by Kanguru now Citrix Raedy

This looks like a great product that will meet the stringent security requirements for data transfer for goverment, forces, education, etc.

Highly secure, hardware encrypted flash drives meeting government, healthcare and financial industry standards.  • 256-bit AES Hardware Encrypted • Central/Remote Management Ready  • Windows, Mac and Linux Compatible • Real-time Antivirus Scanning  • On Chip Password Matching • FIPS 140-2 Certified  • HIPAA, SOX and GLB Compliant

View product page here https://www.kanguru.com/index.php/kanguru-defender-elite

Cisco, VMware unveil Desktop Virtualization product

Since my post regarding Citrix and Cisco taking on VMware:
http://virtualben.blogspot.com/2010/09/cisco-citrix-and-netapp-vs-vmwareding.html

It looks like Cisco have since decided to widen the market and jump into bed with VMware.
"Cisco and virtualisation software specialist VMware have unveiled a Desktop Virtualization product based on Cisco Unified Computing System and VMware ViewTM 4.5. Cisco and VMware are supporting this product with new channel initiatives that will enable channel partners accelerate deployment of virtual desktop products. Cisco Desktop Virtualisation with VMware View will simplify the physical and virtual infrastructure and management associated with desktop deployments."
Please read the full article here:
http://www.telecompaper.com/news/cisco-vmware-unveil-desktop-virtualization-product