Designing your xen app 7.5 environment
- 1. Designing your XenApp 7.5 Environment April 2014 Andy Baker Senior Architect Thomas Berger Senior Architect
- 3. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute Agenda 3 • Methodology • XenApp Overview • Key Design Decisions ᵒ User Layer ᵒ Access Layer ᵒ Resource Layer ᵒ Control Layer ᵒ Hardware Layer • Design Resources • Questions
- 4. Methodology
- 5. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute 2Assess 4Deploy 3Design 5Monitor1Define Methodology
- 6. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute Methodology 2Assess 4Deploy 3Design 5Monitor Assist in the definition of the strategy that will help your business take full advantage of these technologies 1Define
- 7. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute 1Define Methodology 4Deploy 3Design 5Monitor Review your current environment, identify use cases and gather detailed requirements for the project. 2Assess
- 8. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute 1Define Methodology 2Assess 4Deploy 5Monitor Define the architecture and operational processes required to implement and maintain the production environment that will satisfy your success criteria. 3Design
- 9. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute 3Design 1Define Methodology 2Assess 5Monitor Create and configure the environment to meet specifications from the Design phase. 4Deploy
- 10. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute 4Deploy 3Design 1Define Methodology 2Assess 5Monitor Perform the continued monitoring and administrative tasks in several different capacities.
- 11. XenApp Overview
- 12. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute Session Virtualization Desktop Virtualization Session Virtualization Resource Layer User Layer Hardware Layer Access Layer
- 13. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute Delivery Services Console XenApp 6.5 Farm (IMA) XenDesktop 5.6 FP1 Site (FMA) Citrix Studio Web Interface Receiver DB DB IMA IMA CBP XenApp Controller Server OS Workers Desktop OS Workers Delivery Controller Power & Capacity Mgmt Provisioning ServicesPVS WMI PVS Console PCM Console Today: Separation of Owners & Roles Different Desktops & Apps Architectures EdgeSight Console VDA
- 14. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute Citrix Studio Storefront / Receiver for Web / Web Interface Receiver DB Server OS Workers Desktop OS Workers Delivery ControllerProvisioning Services FlexCast: Unified Service Delivery Team FlexCast Management Architecture VDA VDA Citrix Director Provisioning Console XenDesktop / XenApp Site (FMA)
- 15. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute Key Benefits of FMA • Unified Management Infrastructure • Citrix (Desktop) Director • Simplified Upgrades ᵒ +/- one major version • Unified Provisioning ᵒ MCS and PVS ᵒ Hybrid Cloud Provisioning
- 16. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute XenApp 7.5 – New Features • Eliminate CAPEX for seasonal needs • Leverage global clouds for proximity to users • Same management consoles and skillsets • Easier than competitors to deploy and manage • Publish dozens of apps in less than a minute • Built-in performance monitoring • Up to 8% more users per server compared to previous versions • Multi-touch experience • High-performance over mobile networks • Application compatibility • Application remediation • P2V App Migration Hybrid cloud provisioning Simple deployment & management Platinum Mobility Promotions AppDNA Complete App Migration Toolkit HDX Mobile Optimization technologies Free XenMobile MDM or 20% off XenMobile Enterprise
- 18. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute Who are the users and what are our requirements How do users gain access to our resources What resources will we deliver How will we manage and maintain the solution What do I need to make this happen The 5-layer model User Layer Access Layer Resource Layer Control Layer Hardware Layer
- 19. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute The Flexibility of the 5-Layer Model User Layer Hardware Layer Resource Layer Control Layer Access Layer User Layer Resource Layer Access Layer User Layer Resource Layer Access Layer User Layer Access Layer Resource Layer
- 20. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute ********** User Layer – Endpoint • Provide each user group with appropriate endpoint • Desktop Lock: ᵒ Provides seamless user experience ᵒ Auto-connect to user’s personal virtual desktop ᵒ Only administrator access to local desktop
- 21. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute User Layer – Bandwidth 21 • Bandwidth requirements fluctuate based on application • Seamless apps require less bandwidth • Use the following formula to estimate bandwidth requirements H = Users with video without Flash Redirection D = Users with video with Flash Redirection X = Users that require 3D graphics Z = Additional 1000 to 2000kbps to support peaks (<10 users)
- 22. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute Access Layer - Architecture Site 2 HA Pair or scale-out cluster NetScaler Gateway Storefront Services Site 1 Scale-out cluster with web LB SaaS / Mobile
- 23. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute •Virtual appliance with same functionality as NG MPX •Designed to upgrade Secure Gateway •Capacity for medium-size deployments (500 users per appliance) •Available for Citrix XenServer, VmWare ESX, Microsoft HyperV hypervisors •Designed for secure access •High capacity (5,000 users per appliance) •Upgradable to NetScaler for additional functionality •Multi-function appliance (secure access, load-balancing, acceleration) •Highest capacity (10,000+ users per appliance) •Most reliable hardware •Ideal for business continuity across multiple datacenters Access Layer – Appliance Options NetScaler Gateway VPX NetScaler SDX 88xx or higher NetScaler Gateway MPX
- 24. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute Access Layer – Failover Challenges StoreFront • DNS round robin commonly used • Lacks intelligence • Sporadic service denials
- 25. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute Access Layer – Automated Failover StoreFront Delivery Controller NetScaler • Validates functional services on functional servers • Adds/removes services automatically • Built-in configuration wizards
- 26. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute Access Layer – StoreFront Multi Site • Homogenous aggregated sites • Heterogeneous site aggregation • Site selection using AD Group (‘Home Farm’) • Disaster recovery sites sites US Disaster Recovery EU DR1 sites US1 US2 EU1 EU2 sites SFEU SFUS Dev
- 27. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute Access Layer – StoreFront Optimized Routing Without optimization With optimization
- 28. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute Access Layer – StoreFront Location Aware Gateway Connect Direct Connect No Connect
- 29. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute Access Layer – StoreFront Sizing 29 Test CPU Activities per Second Activities per Hour One Server 75% 291 17,519 90% 375 22,525 Two Servers 75% 529 31,789 90% 681 40,872 • StoreFront servers configured with 4 vCPUs and 4GB of RAM • Heavy usage (means logon, enumerate, subscribe, unsubscribe, logoff) • StoreFront is CPU intensive, not memory
- 30. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute Resource Layer – XenApp VM Specification 30 • vCPUs per VM will vary according to NUMA architecture • 1 vCPU = 1 virtual core with hyper threading • 2 * 8 pCore = 16 pCores * 2 = 32 vCores / 4 vCPU = 8 2008 R2 VMs & 128GB • 2 * 8 pCore = 16 pCores * 2 = 32 vCores / 8 vCPU = 4 2008 R2 VMs & 128GB Operating System vCPU RAM Master Image Write Cache / Difference Disk Medium Users per VM Server 2008 R2 4 16 60 15GB 25 Server 2012 R2 8 32 60 30GB 55
- 31. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute Control Layer– Image Management (MCS) VDI SHVD • Top 3 hypervisors XenServer Hyper-V vSphere • Workloads ᵒ Desktop VM ᵒ Server VM • Management time ᵒ 30 min for 1,000 VMs • Medium-low storage I/O impact MCS
- 32. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute Control Layer – Image Management (PVS) VDI SHVD Physical Servers Physical PCs PVS • Top 3 hypervisors ᵒ XenServer ᵒ Hyper-V ᵒ vSphere • Workloads ᵒ Desktop VM ᵒ Server VM ᵒ Physical Server ᵒ Physical PC • Low storage I/O impact • Management time ᵒ 15 min for 1,000 VMs ᵒ Reboot speed rollbacks ᵒ Automated image updates
- 33. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute Control Layer – SQL 2012 Edition 33 Feature Enterprise Business Intelligence Standard Web Express Scalability and performance Compute capacity OS maximum 4 Sockets or 16 cores 4 Sockets or 16 cores 4 Sockets or 16 cores 1 Socket or 4 cores Maximum memory utilized OS maximum 64GB 64GB 64GB 1GB Maximum database size 524PB 524PB 524PB 524PB 10GB High availability AlwaysOn failover cluster instances Yes Yes (2 nodes) Yes (2 nodes) - - AlwaysOn availability groups Yes - - - - Database mirroring Yes Yes (synchronous only) Yes (synchronous only) Witness Only Witness Only
- 34. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute Control Layer –Sizing 34 Component Number vCPU RAM Storage NetScaler Gateway 2 2 2 3.2 StoreFront 2 2 4 60 Delivery Controllers 2 2 4 60 SQL Servers 3 2 4 60 License Server 1 2 4 60 Hyper-V SCVMM 1 2 4 100 • Infrastructure sizing example for 500 user deployment • 2 x Dual Xeon E5-2690 2.9GHz servers can host infrastructure and 385 users!
- 35. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute Hardware Layer – Storage 35 Storage Type Benefits Concerns Appropriate For… Local Storage • Inexpensive • Simple to deploy • Virtual machines are inaccessible if physical server is offline • Limited number of disk spindles (based on server design) • Longer operational processes as each local store must be updates Rack servers Direct Attached Storage • Moderate expense • Virtual machine migration when server is offline • Failure on DAS array can impact multiple physical servers • DAS interconnects consume valuable space in a blade chassis • Limited number of connections to a DAS array Rack servers Centralized Storage • Shared master image across physical servers • Virtual machine migration when physical server is offline • Simple expansion • Advanced features to help offset costs • Expensive • Complex • Often requires storage tiers to control hosts Blade servers
- 36. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute Hardware Layer – IOPS per User 36 • PVS typically generates less IOPS than MCS • MCS generates less IOPS for Server 2012 on Hyper-V due to larger block sizes with VHDX files 0 5 10 15 20 25 Windows 7 Windows 8 Windows 2012 IOPS Peak Average Steady State IOPS (95th Percentile) Provisioning Services Machine Creation Services
- 37. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute Hardware Layer – Read / Write Ratio 37 • PVS and MCS are very similar on Windows Server 2012 • Optimize XenApp write cache storage for writes and not reads 0% 20% 40% 60% 80%100% Windows 7 - MCS Windows 7 - PVS Windows 8 - MCS Windows 8 - PVS Windows 2012 - MCS Windows 2012 - PVS Percent Read/Write Ratio Read Write
- 38. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute Hardware Layer – Users per Server 38 • Based on Dual Xeon E5-2690 2.9GHz (16 total cores) • XenApp hosts ~25% more users that XenDesktop • Server 2012 hosts ~10% more users than Server 2008 R2 • Decrease by ~10-20% for AV • Decrease by 20% for Office 2013 not Office 20070 50 100 150 200 250 300 Win 7 Win 8 Win 2008r2 Win 2012 UsersperServer Optimized for Scale Optimized for UX
- 39. Design Resources
- 40. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute XenApp Blueprint 40 http://www.citrix.com/products/xenapp/tech-info.html • High-level architectures based on common scenarios • Provides descriptive design guidance • Based on Citrix Consulting leading practices and in-depth validation by Citrix Solutions Lab
- 41. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute Project Accelerator 41 http://project.citrix.com • Allows key design decisions to be changed • Based on Citrix Consulting leading practices and in-depth validation by Citrix Solutions Lab • Generates architectural diagram and sizing plan • ~14,000 projects
- 42. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute Virtual Desktop Handbook 42 http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX139331 • Detailed information on design decisions • Based on Citrix Consulting leading practices and in-depth validation by Citrix Solutions Lab • Provides useful tips and experience from the field • 4:3 aspect ratio • More than 55,000 downloads
- 43. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute Next Webinar: XenDesktop Design • Title: Designing your XenDesktop 7.5 Environment • Description: This webinar will touch on the architectural changes in XenApp 7.5. The session will also cover the Citrix Consulting Methodology, which focuses on ensuring that projects are properly planned and designed before implementation begins. • When: April 29th & 30th • April 29th – Register Now • April 30th – Register Now
- 44. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute Fuel your talent with continuous learning. •Citrix Education offers the following technical training for professionals: • CXA-103: Citrix XenApp 7.5 Architecture and New Features • CXA-207: Citrix XenApp 7.5 Skills Update •Visit bit.ly/CTXTRAINING to save 10%* •*Offer expires 90 days from receipt of this message. Not valid with any other promotions, packages or discounts. Applies only to new purchases. Regional limitations may apply.
- 45. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute Simplify your journey, let us guide you. •Accelerate your implementation and minimize risk by taking advantage of Citrix Consulting. You’ll get the expertise of seasoned Citrix Consulting Architects to successfully deploy Citrix solutions in any phase of your project. • Visit bit.ly/CTXCONCULTING to learn more about our proven methodology.
- 46. © 2014 Citrix | Confidential – Do Not Distribute Citrix Support Program Options • Access to Technical Support Engineers when you need it … Unlimited 24x7x365 Citrix Worldwide Technical Support • Flexible to meet your changing organizational needs … Unlimited number of technical contacts from your team • Assist your teams with support tools and knowledge …. Learn best practices for optimizing your Citrix infrastructure • Affordable Technical Support direct from Citrix … Per-license pricing model allows you to pay as you grow • Enterprise Support … Available for over 2500 licenses • Technical Resource Management … Single point of contact dedicated to your IT environment Visit bit.ly/CTXSUPPORT to learn more about our proven methodology.
- 47. Work better. Live better.