PowerPoint Presentation

Pablo LegorretaWilliam ElvingtonBrian Tannous

XenServer Master ClassAutomated End-to-End Deployment of XenServer 2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not DistributePablo introduction slide:Talk about the purpose of the presentationIntroduce the presenters1CiscoSize and timeline1000+ XenServer Host DesignThree weeksCiscos vision for UCSCreated scripting cookbookFramework of scripts

2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute2Applied Materials

Size and timeline200+ XenServer w/HDX 3D Pro Design & Build Three weeksAutomated process neededInstalled & configured servers in < 2 weeks! 2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute3AgendaBusiness Cases for AutomationSimple XenServer DeploymentAdvanced XenServer DeploymentAutomating XenServer DeploymentsDemonstration

2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute4Business Cases for Automation 2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute5Manual Deployment ProcessHost powered onBoot via installation mediaConfigure initial settingsInstall hotfixesConfigure post-install settingsXenServer deployed 2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute6Manual Installation Pain PointsProne to human error and inconsistenciesIncreased installation times at scaleIncreased patching and configuration timesManual rollback of installationManual media management

2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute7Business Cases for Automated InstallationRapid deployment of XenServers Scaling out productionDeploy sandbox environmentsScaling disaster recovery sitesIntroducing new configurations and maintaining uniformityRolling back new configurationsReduce human error 2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute8Simple XenServer Deployment 2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute9Installation Method: From CDProcess:Mount and boot to ISO Configure initial settings via wizardInstall hotfixes via consoleConfigure post-install settings via consolePros:Simplest method to implementCons:Prone to human error and inconsistenciesSlowest method to install at scale

2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute10Initial SettingsBoot diskRoot passwordDOM0 vCPU and memoryHostnameManagement IP and interfaceDNS nameNTP serverTime zone

2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute11Post-installation: Host ConfigurationsXenServer hotfixesDriver updatesNetworkingStorageVirtual machines

2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute12Post-installation: Resource Pool CreationRequirementsHomogeneous serversStatic IPNTP serverNo running VMsLengthy processJoin servers seriallyServer reboot recommendedMembers receive pool configuration

2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not DistributeHomogeneousEach CPU same vendorEach CPU same modelEach CPU has the same feature flags13Advanced XenServer Deployment 2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute14Installation Method: From NetworkProcess:Boot from network: DHCP/PXE/TFTP/HTTPConfigure initial settings Install hotfixesConfigure post-install settings Pros:Centralized installation repositoryPositioned to automate installation processCons:Requires networking components

2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute15Installation From Network: Boot RequirementsDHCP ServiceProvide IP configuration to hostsBoot Image Deployment:DHCP option 66 and 67PXE Service: Port 67,68, or 4011TFTP Service: Port 69PXELINUX boot environmentHTTP Service: Port 80 and 443XenServer installation mediaunattend.xmlAutomation scripts

2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute16Installation From Network: PXELINUXUsed to network boot Linux: pxe + linux (Xen)Boot file: pxelinux.0XenServer PXELINUXCopy all to TFTP root directoryLocation: XenServer Install Media\boot\pxelinux

2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not DistributeTTY device represents console connections etcDefault configurations specify TTY, COM1, console protocol.

Answerfile and Answerfile device = optional17Installation From Network: PXELINUX ConfigurationConfiguration: pxelinux.cfg/defaultCreate this directory and file in TFTP rootProvides initial installation configurationsunattend.XML location (optional)DOM0 configurationCPUMemoryDefault installation configuration (console, boot file, install, etc.)

2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not DistributeTTY device represents console connections etcDefault configurations specify TTY, COM1, console protocol.

Answerfile and Answerfile device = optional18AutomatingXenServer Deployments 2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute19Automating XenServer DeploymentsUtilize network installation methodAutomation Opportunities:Silent installXenServer updatesDriver updatesCreate and configure virtual machinesXenServer resource pool creationScaling outServer can be reimaged

2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute20Automated Deployment Process 2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not DistributeExplain colors:Purple = what has been doneBlue = currentGreen = next steps21Installation Automation: Unattend.XMLReferenced via pxelinux.cfg/defaultConfigurationsPrimary diskGuest diskKeymapRoot passwordInstallation source locationDriver source locationPost installation scriptAdmin network interfaceTime zoneName serverHostnameNTP server

2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not DistributeConfiguration details in the installation guide

Post installation script

22Automated Deployment ProcessPost install script 2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not DistributeInstallation Automation: Post Install ScriptReferenced via unattend.xmlRuns at end of installation before first rebootPurposeDownloads first boot scriptSets first boot script to execute on each boot

2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute24Automated Deployment ProcessPost install scriptFirst boot script 2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute

Post-Installation Automation: First Boot ScriptReferenced via post install scriptPurposeRun during each bootPerform post-installation configuration via xe and shell commandsClean up after itselfPotential post installation configurationsSpecify license and license serverPerform hotfixesDriver updatesConfigure network settingsImport virtual machinesConfigure resources poolsAnything that can be done via xe 2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not DistributeWhy each boot?

26Automated Deployment Process 2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not DistributeXenServerAutomated Installation 2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute28

2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not DistributeDemonstration:Start Installation 2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute30Automated Install Process: Installation Process 2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute31Automated Install Process: first-boot-script.sh 2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute32Automated Install Process: first-boot-script.sh 2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute33

XenServer Deployed! 2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not DistributeHow to Get StartedDownload package to Windows Server: http://bit.ly/XSAIMExecute XSAIMunpack.exeCopy required files(details in appendix):XenServer 6.1 installation mediaXenServer hotfixesVirtual machine templateConfigure environment specificsXSPools.csvGet creative!SCAN THIS!

2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute35Questions 2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute36Work better. Live better.Work better. Live better. 2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute37Appendix 2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute38Documentationhttp://docs.vmd.citrix.com/XenServer/6.1.0/1.0/en_gb/http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX134586

2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not DistributePXE Setup/pxelinux Documentationhttp://www.syslinux.org/wiki/index.php/PXELINUXhttp://support.citrix.com/article/CTX116021http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX137332

2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not DistributeXSAIM Tool details: Directory templateRoot directoryNWA_PXEXS61XenServer installation media copied herebootpxelinux mboot.c32menu.c32pxelinux.0pxelinux.cfgdefaultXSScriptsScripts go here (First boot, post install, ect.)XSTemplatesVM template exported from XenServer goes hereXSUpdatesxsupdate files go hereServa.chmServa.evcServa.iniServa32.exe 2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute41XSAIM Tool details: TFTP Server DirectoryThe TFTP server root directory is configured to serve from the ROOT\NWA_PXE\XS61 directory. The TFTP server root directory contains a copy of the following files listed below:XenServer 6.1 install image filesXenServer 6.1 install image\boot\pxelinux\pxelinux.cfgXenServer 6.1 install image\boot\pxelinux\mboot.c32XenServer 6.1 install image\boot\pxelinux\menu.c32XenServer 6.1 install image\boot\pxelinux\pxelinux.0 2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute42XSAIM Tool details: HTTP Server DirectoryXS61. The contents of this directory are described in the TFTP Server section above.XSScripts. This directory contains the scripts required for the XenServer automated installation. These files are as follows:first-boot-script.sh hostname.shpost-script.shXSPool.csvXSTemplates. This directory contains the virtual machine template required for virtual machine creation.XSUpdates. This directory contains the XenServer update files, which are applied in alphabetical order.unattend.xml. Used for unattended installation configuration 2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute43XSAIM Tool details: XSScripts detailsdefault file. The XenServer default is a configuration file that allows for an unattended installation of XenServer. The pxe boot configuration as well as a location to the unattend.xml file. unattend.xml answer file. The XenServer unattend.xml is a configuration file that allows for an unattended installation of XenServer. This file contains the keymap settings, local storage configuration, root password, installation media and post-installation locations, as well as network time configurations. A full list of the unattended.xml configurations can be found at: CTX130421. post-script.sh. The post-script.sh script runs at the very end of the XenServer installation. This script is only used to download and configure the first-boot-script.sh to run at startup of the XenServer host. Note: This file must be saved using UNIX format line endings (LF). 2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute44XSAIM Tool details: XSScripts detailsfirst-boot-script.sh. The first-boot-script.sh script runs after the newly imaged XenServers first boot. This script is used to automatically configure a newly imaged XenServer host. Firstly, the XenServer host will download XenServer update files from the HTTP server, assign a license, and set the hostname. After a reboot, the host will continue by patching itself using updates downloaded in the previous step in order by file name. If a given update requires a reboot or a XAPI restart the required action will be preformed and the host will continue where it left off. After patched, the host will then download a virtual machine template from the HTTP server, clone two virtual machines from the template, and assign the appropriate networks to these virtual machines. Next, the XenServer host will join its pool by using the information assigned within the XSPools.csv inventory file. Finally, the host will preform a cleanup of the installation method. Note: This file must be saved using UNIX format line endings (LF). 2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute45XSAIM Tool details: XSScripts detailshostname.sh. The hostname.sh script downloads the XSPools.csv inventory file and searches for the hosts hostname. If the hosts management IP address matches a machine in the inventory, the hostname and name-label of the XenServer host will be configured as per the inventory file. Note: This file must be saved using UNIX format line endings (LF).XSPools.csv. The XSPools.csv inventory file is a list of XenServer hostnames, management IP addresses, and its pool masters IP addresses. Note: This file must be saved using UNIX format line endings (LF). 2013 Citrix | Confidential Do Not Distribute46