Target devices 编辑

After you install and configure provisioning components, a vDisk is created from a device’s hard drive. This disk is created from a snapshot of the OS and application image, it then stores that image as a vDisk file on the network. The device that is used during this process is seen as a main target device. The devices that use those vDisks are called target devices.

Configuring target devices that use vDisks

Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops with vDisk technology is a high-performance enterprise desktop virtualization solution that makes VDI accessible to workers requiring personalized desktops using pooled, static virtual machines.

Target devices that use personal vDisks are created using the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktop Setup Wizard. In a Citrix Provisioning farm, the wizard creates and adds target devices with personal vDisks to an existing site’s collection. It then assigns an existing shared-mode vDisk to that device.

The wizard also creates virtual machines to associate with each device. A type of catalog in Citrix Studio allows you to preserve the assignment of users to desktops (static assignment). The same users are assigned the same desktop for later sessions. In addition, the wizard creates a dedicated storage disk (before logon) for each user so they can store all personalization’s to their desktop. Personalizations include changes to the vDisk image or desktop that are not made as a result of an image update. These personalizations include application settings, adds, deletes, modifications, and documents.

Target devices that use personal vDisks can only inherit properties from another device that uses personal vDisks.

Tip:

Use the Device with Personal vDisk Properties dialog to configure, view, or modify the properties of a target device using a Personal vDisk.

Target device operation and performance statistics

Use Citrix Provisioning to view target device operations and performance statistics, including:

• a WMI provider for static information about the target device.
• a performance counter provider for dynamic information about the target device.
• an external application running on the target device or the remote machine. This application queries objects using a WMI API to determine if they are running on a provisioned target and to gather information related to the configuration and state of the device.

As part of the standard Citrix Provisioning target device installation, a WMI provider DLL is installed and registered on each provisioned target device. This DLL obtains target device information from the BNIStack driver.

How it works

The provider creates the PVS_Target and PVS_VDisk WMI objects in the root/Citrix/PVS namespace. Each provisioned target device has a single instance of the PVS_Target object. The PVS_Target object provides information about the installed Citrix Provisioning version, and statistics for the latest boot operation.

If no instance of PVS_Target exists when the WMI provider queries the target device, either the device is not a Citrix Provision target device, or it is running an older Citrix Provisioning version of the target device software.

The PVS_Target object

The following table provides information about the PVS_Target object:

The PVS_VDisk object

One instance of the PVS_VDisk object exists on the provisioned target device. This object contains information about the vDisk, the write cache mode and cache disk size.

The table below provides information about the PVS_VDisk object:

Updated performance counters

Citrix Provisioning includes a performance counter that is automatically installed and registered on each provisioned target device.

The BNIStack driver provides the following performance counters:

Consider the following:

• The provisioned target device installer registers the WMI and performance counter providers. No additional installation options require configuration on the provisioned target device.
• The current CVhdMp performance counter provider only supports VHDX for target devices using Cache in device RAM with overflow on hard drive.

Performance counters provided by the CVhdMp driver

• use the Citrix Provisioning Imaging Wizard. In the Microsoft Volume Licensing screen, click the appropriate license management option for the vDisk. Click the Key Management Service (KMS) radio button, then click the Accelerated Office Activation check box. Select Next to apply the configuration change to the vDisk and continue configuring it.

Obtaining target device information

The following sections provide information about the Device with Personal vDisk Properties dialog.

General tab

When you update read-only fields, the device needs to be deleted and re-created with the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Setup Wizard.

Personality tab

Status tab

The following target device status information appears:

• Status: status of this device (active or inactive).
• IP Address: provides the IP Address or unknown.
• Server: the provisioning server communicating with this device.
• Retries: the number of retries to permit when connecting to this device.
• vDisk: provides the name of the vDisk or displays as unknown.
• vDisk version: version of this vDisk currently being accessed.
• vDisk full name: the full file name for the version currently being accessed.
• vDisk access: identifies that the version is in Production (it cannot be in Maintenance or Test).
• License information. Depending on the device vendor, this field displays product licensing information. It includes: n/a, Desktop License, data center License, XenApp License, or Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops License.

Logging tab

Select the logging level or select Off to disable logging:

• Off — Default logging level. Logging is disabled for this provisioning server.
• Fatal— Logs information about an operation that the system might not recover from.
• Error— Logs information about an operation that produces an error condition.
• Warning— Logs information about an operation that completes successfully, but there are issues with the operation.
• Info— Logs information about workflow, which generally explains how operations occur.
• Debug— Logs details related to a specific operation and is the highest level of logging. If logging is set to DEBUG, all other levels of logging information are displayed in the log file.
• Trace— Logs all valid operations.

Personal vDisk test mode

Use the personal vDisks test device to test vDisk updates for a device that uses personal vDisks within a test environment. Using the PvD production environment, you can then test for compatibility with your actual environment.

Considerations

• Personal vDisk devices can be test or production devices.
• Citrix Provisioning displays an appropriate error message when trying to boot a private image or a maintenance version with a Personal vDisk device. Only devices without personal vDisks disk can boot a private image or maintenance version.
• You can change the vDisk assignment in the Citrix Provisioning console with these methods:
  • Change assignment with Target Device properties vDisk tab.
  • Copy and paste target device properties.
  • Drag a vDisk to a collection or a view.
• Informational warning displays when changing vDisk assignment for Personal vDisk devices.
• Changing Personal vDisk device type requires extra privileges for the soap/stream services user.
  • Local administrator on the Citrix Provisioning server system.
  • Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops full administrator.
  • Full permission to the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops database (a Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops requirement).
• For merging, Citrix Provisioning automatically reboots devices and Personal vDisk runs inventory when needed.
• Citrix recommends that you dedicate a small group of Personal vDisk devices for test mode in their own catalog. Also, keep this desktop group in maintenance mode when not used. Otherwise, Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops power management is in control and turns devices on and off. This configuration potentially interferes with merging.
• By default, Citrix Studio does not show the Personal vDisk stage.
• The personal vDisks test mode environment requires that two catalogs are available: one for Personal vDisk test devices and the other for Personal vDisk production devices. If you want to use this feature in an environment where both Personal vDisk test and production devices exist in one catalog, consider changing a production Personal vDisk device to test. This configuration causes all devices in that catalog to reboot. Change the production personal vDisks devices to test devices before creating any test version vDisk.

SCCM interoperability

When using SCCM and a provisioned device:

• Add the command C:\Program Files\Citrix\personal vDisk\Bin\CtxPvd.exe to the shutdown script
• Updates typically require numerous reboots, as a result, you must inventory all provisioned devices each time you reboot or shutdown a device.

About Personal vDisk test devices

Use the information in this section when using Personal vDisk devices in a provisioned environment:

• Personal vDisk devices are either be in test or production mode.
• Citrix Provisioning displays an error message when you try to boot a private or maintenance version with a Personal vDisk device. Only devices without a Personal vDisk disk can boot a private image or maintenance version.
• A vDisk assignment can be changed in the Citrix Provisioning console using the following methods:
  • Changing the assignment using the device’s properties.
  • Copying and pasting the device’s properties.
  • Dragging and dropping the vDisk to a collection or a view.
• Citrix Provisioning displays an informational warning when you change the vDisk assignment for a Personal vDisk device.
• Changing the Personal vDisk device type requires more privileges for the SOAP/Stream Service user:
  • Local administrator privileges on the provisioning server system.
  • Full administrator privileges on the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops system, including the database
• When merging, Citrix Provisioning automatically reboots devices. A Personal vDisk device runs an inventory, as needed.
• Citrix recommends that you allocate a small group of Personal vDisk devices for test mode. This group of Personal vDisk devices are kept in maintenance mode when not in use. Otherwise the Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops power management feature initializes these devices, potentially interfering with the merge process.

Consider:

• this environment is suitable when two catalogs are available, one for PVD test and another for Personal vDisk production devices. If you want to use this feature in an environment where both Personal vDisk test and production devices exist in the same catalog, change a production Personal vDisk device to test. This process causes all devices in that catalog to reboot.
• changing production Personal vDisk devices to test before creating any test versions of a vDisk.

Assign or reassign a vDisk to a target device that uses a Personal vDisk

You can assign a different vDisk to a target device that uses a Personal vDisk if that vDisk is from the same base (.vhdx) vDisk lineage. For example, to update an existing vDisk you can make a copy of the target device’s currently assigned vDisk. Update the new vDisk, then assign the updated vDisk to the device.

To assign or reassign a vDisk:

1. On the Device with Personal vDisk Properties dialog’s General tab, click Change…. By default, the Assign vDisk dialog displays the current vDisks Store location. It also lists all vDisks available from that Store, except for the currently assigned vDisk.

2. In the Filter section, optionally:

   a. Change the Store location from which to select vDisks from.

   b. Filter vDisks that display in the list based on the server’s that can deliver them.

3. Select the vDisk to assign to this target device.

Adding target devices to the database

To create target device entries in the Citrix Provisioning database, select one of the following methods:

• Using the console to Manually Create Target Device Entries
• Using Auto-add to Create Target Device Entries
• Importing Target Device Entries

After the target device exists in the database, you can assign a vDisk to the device. See assign a vDisk to the device for more details.

Using the console to manually create target device entries

1. In the console, right-click on the Device Collection where this target device is to become a member, then select the Create Device menu option. The Create Device dialog appears.
2. Type a name, description, and the MAC address for this target device in the appropriate text boxes.

   Note:

   If the target device is a domain member, use the same name as in the Windows domain. When the target device boots from the vDisk, the machine name of the device becomes the name entered. For more information about target devices and Active Directory or NT 4.0 domains, see Enabling Automatic Password Management.

3. Optionally, if a collection template exists for this collection, enable the check box next to Apply the collection template to this new device.
4. Click the Add device button. The target device inherits all the template properties except for the target device name and MAC address.
5. Click OK to close the dialog box. The target device is created and assigned to a vDisk.

Importing target device entries

Target device entries can be imported into any device collection from a .csv file. The imported target devices can then inherit the properties of the template target device that is associated with that collection. For more details, see Importing Target Devices into Collections.

Using the auto-add wizard

The auto-add wizard automates the configuration of rules that automatically add new target devices to the Citrix Provisioning database using the auto-add feature.

The Auto-Add Wizard can be started at the Farm, Site, Collection, or Device level. When started at a level lower than farm, the wizard uses that choice as the default choice. For example, if it is started on a particular target device, it will:

• Select the Site for that device as the Default Site choice in the combo-box.
• Select the Collection for that device as the Default Collection choice in the combo-box.
• Select that device as the Template Device choice in the combo-box.

The wizard displays each page with choices pre-selected based on the location from which the auto-add wizard was started.

A provisioning farm administrator turns auto-add on or off and selects the default site.

A site administrator selects the default site if it is a site in which that administrator controls. If the site administrator is not the administrator of the currently selected default Site, then that administrator can only configure sites to which they have access.

To configure Auto-Add settings (the default collection of a site, template device for the default collection and target device naming rules):

1. On the console, right-click on the farm, then select the Auto-Add wizard. The Welcome to the Auto-Add Wizard page appears.

2. Click Next. The Enable Auto-Add dialog appears.

   Note:

   Only a farm administrator can change settings on this page.

3. Check the box next to Enable Auto-Add to enable this feature, then click Next. The Select Site page appears.

   Note:

   Site administrators can only select sites to which they have permissions.

4. From the Site menu, select the site where devices are added, then select Next. The Select Collection page displays with the default collection selected.

5. Accept the default collection or select a different collection from the Collection menu, then click Next. The Select Template Devices page appears.

6. Select the device to use as a template, so that new devices inherit the existing target device’s basic property settings, then click Next.

7. To view the selected device’s properties, click Properties. A read-only dialog displays the selected device’s properties. Close the dialog after reviewing the properties.

8. Click Next. The Device Name page displays.

9. Enter a static prefix that helps identify all devices that are being added to this collection. For example: ‘Boston’ to indicate devices located in Boston.

   Note:

   The prefix can be used with the suffix, but is not required if a suffix is provided. The entire device name can have a maximum of 15 characters (the prefix length + number length + suffix length). For example, the following device names are considered valid:

   • Boston000Floor2 (prefix, incrementing number length, and suffix provided. The maximum of 15 characters has been reached)
   • Boston000 (no suffix is provided)
   • 000Floor2 (no prefix is provided)

   The prefix cannot end with a digit.

10. Enter the length of the incrementing number to associate with the devices being added to this collection. This number is incremented as each device is added. For example, if the number length is set to 3, naming starts at 001 and stops naming or adding devices after the number reaches 999.

Note:

Enable the Zero fill option to automatically add the necessary number of preceding zeros to a numbers length. For example, if the numbers length is set to ‘4’, then the first target device number would be assigned as ‘0001’.

The number length must have a minimum of three digits and a maximum of 9 digits.

Enter a static suffix that helps to identify all devices being added to this collection. For example: Boston001Floor2 might be helpful to indicate the floor where these devices reside.

The suffix can be used with the prefix, but is not required if a prefix is provided.

The entire device name can have a maximum of 15 characters (the prefix length + number length + suffix length).

The suffix cannot start with a digit.

The prefix and suffix combination must be unique in each collection.

1. Click Next. The Finish dialog appears.

2. Review all Auto-Add wizard settings, then click Finish. Auto-Add is now configured.

Disabling a target device

The Disable Target Device feature prevents a new target device from booting. Each time a new target device boots with the auto-add option enabled, a new record is automatically created in the database. The following message appears on the target device:

This target device has been disabled. Please Contact your system administrator.

Once contacted, the system administrator can validate the target device. After the administrator disables the option, the target device can boot successfully.

To disable or enable a target device, in the console, right-click on the target device. Select the Disable or Enable menu option.

Tip:

To disable all target devices added to a collection, enable the Disable target device option on the template target device.

Deleting a target device

To delete a target device:

1. In the Console, right-click on the target devices you want to delete within the collection.Multiple selections can be made in the Details view. Select the Delete menu option.
2. Click Yes to confirm the delete request. The target device is deleted from the collection and any associated views. However, the vDisk image file for the target device still exists.

Improving performance with asynchronous I/O streaming

In Citrix Provisioning releases before version 1808, a target device served incoming operating system storage requests by traversing through three different layers: RAM cache, VHDX file, and network streaming. This process occurred sequentially to complete a request. This traversing led to less than optimal performance due to the latency introduced when waiting for sub-I/O completion, before submitting a new sub-I/O request.

Target devices support asynchronous I/O in all three layers of provisioning write cache components: RAM cache, the VHDX file, and network streaming, effectively improving performance.

Important:

Asynchronous I/O streaming provides better performance, but comes with higher, temporary memory consumption. Citrix recommends that you test this feature in a non-production environment to verify that the performance is favorable before deploying to production.

The following vDisk cache modes support asynchronous I/O:

• Cache in device RAM with overflow on hard drive
• Cache on server persistent

Note:

The Cache on hard disk feature option currently appears in the product but does not function.

Enable asynchronous I/O using the provisioning console

This release improves asynchronous I/O streaming functionality by allowing you to enable it for a vDisk directly from the Provisioning Console. In the vDisk properties screen, select Asynchronous IO.