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This document is furnished "AS IS." Citrix, Inc. disclaims all warranties regarding the contents of this document,
including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for any particular purpose. This
document may contain technical or other inaccuracies or typographical errors. Citrix, Inc. reserves the right to
revise the information in this document at any time without notice. This document and the software described
in this document constitute confidential information of Citrix, Inc. and its licensors, and are furnished under a
license from Citrix, Inc.
Citrix Systems, Inc., the Citrix logo, Citrix XenServer and Citrix XenCenter, are trademarks of Citrix Systems, Inc.
and/or one or more of its subsidiaries, and may be registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office
and in other countries. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.
9.3. Additional Licensing Information ................................................................................. 37
iv
A. Troubleshooting .......................................................................................... 39
B. Boot From SAN Environments .................................................................... 40
C. PXE Boot Installations ................................................................................. 41
C.1. Configuring your PXE Environment for XenServer Installation ........................................ 41
C.2. Creating an answer file for unattended PXE installation ................................................ 42
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Chapter 1. Welcome
1.1. About This Document
This document is an installation guide for Citrix XenServer®, the complete server virtualization platform from
Citrix®. It contains procedures to guide you through the installation, configuration, and initial operation of
XenServer. This document also contains information about troubleshooting problems that might occur during
installation and points you to additional resources.
This document is primarily aimed at system administrators who wish to set up XenServer hosts on physical servers.
1.2. Introducing XenServer
Citrix XenServer® is the complete server virtualization platform from Citrix®. The XenServer package contains
all you need to create and manage a deployment of virtual x86 computers running on Xen®, the open-source
paravirtualizing hypervisor with near-native performance. XenServer is optimized for both Windows and Linux
virtual servers.
XenServer runs directly on server hardware without requiring an underlying operating system, which results in
an efficient and scalable system. XenServer works by abstracting elements from the physical machine (such as
hard drives, resources and ports) and allocating them to the virtual machines running on it.
A virtual machine (VM) is a computer composed entirely of software that can run its own operating system and
applications as if it were a physical computer. A VM behaves exactly like a physical computer and contains its own
virtual (software-based) CPU, RAM, hard disk and network interface card (NIC).
XenServer lets you create VMs, take VM disk snapshots and manage VM workloads. For a comprehensive list of
major XenServer features and editions, visit www.citrix.com/xenserver.
• Reducing the number of separate disk images that need to be managed
• Allowing for easy integration with existing networking and storage infrastructures
Using XenServer increases flexibility by:
• Allowing you to schedule zero downtime maintenance by using XenMotion to live migrate VMs between
XenServer hosts
• Increasing availability of VMs by using High Availability to configure policies that restart VMs on another
XenServer host if one fails
• Increasing portability of VM images, as one VM image will work on a range of deployment infrastructures
1.2.2. Administering XenServer
There are two methods by which to administer XenServer: XenCenter and the XenServer Command-Line Interface
(CLI).
XenCenter is a graphical, Windows-based user interface. XenCenter allows you to manage XenServer hosts, pools
and shared storage, and to deploy, manage and monitor VMs from your Windows desktop machine.
The XenCenter Help is a great resource for getting started with XenCenter.
The XenServer Command-line Interface (CLI) allows you to administer XenServer using the Linux-based xe
commands.
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For a comprehensive list of xe commands and descriptions, see the XenServer Administrator's Guide.
1.2.3. XenServer Editions
The features available in XenServer depend on the edition. The four editions of XenServer are:
• Citrix XenServer (Free): Proven virtualization platform that delivers uncompromised performance, scale, and
flexibility at no cost.
• Citrix XenServer Advanced Edition: Key high availability and advanced management tools that take virtual
infrastructure to the next level.
• Citrix XenServer Enterprise Edition: Essential integration and optimization capabilities for production
deployments of virtual machines.
• Citrix XenServer Platinum Edition: Advanced automation and cloud computing features for enterprise-wide
virtual environments.
For more information about how the XenServer edition affects the features available, visit www.citrix.com/
xenserver.
1.3. New Features in XenServer 6.1.0
XenServer 6.1.0 includes a number of new features and ongoing improvements, including:
Storage XenMotion:
Storage XenMotion allows VMs to be moved from one host to another, where the VMs are not located on storage
shared between the two hosts. This enables system administrators to:
• Rebalance or move VMs between XenServer pools - for example promoting a VM from a development
environment to a production environment;
• Perform software maintenance - for example upgrading or updating standalone XenServer hosts without VM
downtime;
• Perform hardware maintenance - for example upgrading standalone XenServer host hardware without VM
downtime;
• Reduce deployment costs by using local storage.
For more information, refer to the XenServer 6.1.0 Virtual Machine User's Guide and the XenCenter online help.
Live VDI Migration:
Live VDI Migration allows the system administrator to relocate the VM's Virtual Disk Image (VDI) without shutting
down the VM. This enables system administrators to:
• Move a VM from cheap local storage to fast, resilient, array-backed storage;
• Move a VM from a development to a production environment;
• Move between tiers of storage when a VM is limited by storage capacity;
• Perform storage array upgrades.
Networking Enhancements
• Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) support: enables the use of industry-standard network bonding
features to provide fault-tolerance and load balancing of network traffic.
• Source Load Balancing (SLB) improvements: allows up to 4 NICs to be used in an active-active bond. This
improves total network throughput and increases fault tolerance in the event of hardware failures. The SLB
rebalancing algorithm has been optimized to reduce load on switches in large deployments.
• Multi-Tenancy improvements: allows XenServer administrators to restrict a VM to sending and receiving traffic
on a specific MAC address and a number of IPv4 or IPv6 addresses without relying on VLANs and switch
2
management software. When these extensions are deployed, VMs cannot impersonate any other VM, or
intercept traffic intended for any other VM, increasing security in environments where VMs cannot be fully
trusted. For a White Paper discussion, refer to CTX134787.
• VLAN Scalability improvements: removes a previous limitation which caused VM deployment delays when
large numbers of VLANs were in use. This improvement enables administrators using XenServer 6.1.0 to deploy
hundreds of VLANs in a XenServer pool quickly.
• Emergency Network Reset: provides a simple mechanism to recover and reset a host's networking, allowing
system administrators to revert XenServer hosts to a known good networking state. Refer to CTX131972 for
detailed information.
• IPv6 Guest Support: enables the use of IPv6 addresses within guests allowing network administrators to plan
for network growth.
Guest Enhancements:
• Citrix XenServer Conversion Manager: enables batch import of VMs created with VMware products into a
XenServer pool, to reduce costs of converting to a XenServer environment. Refer to the XenServer Conversion
Manager Guide.
• New Installation Mechanism for XenServer Tools: XenServer Tools are now delivered as industry-standard
Windows Installer MSI files. This enables the use of third-party tools to deliver and manage the installation
and upgrade of the XenServer device drivers. For more information on MSI files, refer to http://
Enhanced Guest OS Support: Newly Supported Guests:
• Ubuntu 12.04
• CentOS: 5.7, 6.0, 6.1, 6.2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.7, 6.1, 6.2
• Oracle Enterprise Linux 5.7, 6.1, 6.2
Ongoing Improvements:
• XenCenter: performance graphs simplified, layout changes are now more intuitive for IP address configuration,
filters are enabled for System Alerts.
• XenServer Tools: guests running Windows operating systems can now make use of either Microsoft .NET 3.5
or .NET 4.0 when installing XenServer Tools.
• Simplified mechanism to adjust Control Domain ("dom0") vCPUs. Refer to CTX134738 for details.
• Updated Open vSwitch: v1.4.2 provides stability and performance improvements. For more information, refer
to http://openvswitch.org.
• Integrated StorageLink (iSL) support for EMC VNX series arrays (SMI-S)
.
• GPU Pass-Through: support for up to 4 GPUs per host.
• Interoperability extensions for Third-Party Tools: additional Asynchronous XenAPI C language bindings,
Workload Balancing (WLB) extensions and general improvements.
• Automated Server Hardware Test Kit - reduces the time spent running certification tests - refer to the
Verification Test Kits & Forms for Citrix XenServer for more information.
• Support for hypervisor monitoring (vhostmd) allows SAP software to run inside a XenServer VM, refer to
CTX134790 for configuration details.
1.4. XenServer Documentation
XenServer documentation shipped with this release includes:
• Release Notes cover known issues that affect this release.
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• XenServer Quick Start Guide provides an introduction for new users to the XenServer environment and
components. This guide steps through the installation and configuration essentials to get XenServer and the
XenCenter management console up and running quickly. After installation, it demonstrates how to create a
Windows VM, VM template and pool of XenServer hosts. It introduces basic administrative tasks and advanced
features, such as shared storage, VM snapshots and XenMotion live migration.
• XenServer Installation Guide steps through the installation, configuration and initial operation of XenServer
and the XenCenter management console.
• XenServer Virtual Machine User's Guide describes how to install Windows and Linux VMs within a XenServer
environment. This guide explains how to create new VMs from installation media, from VM templates included
in the XenServer package and from existing physical machines (P2V). It explains how to import disk images and
how to import and export appliances.
• XenServer Administrator's Guide gives an in-depth description of the tasks involved in configuring a XenServer
deployment, including setting up storage, networking and pools. It describes how to administer XenServer
using the xe Command Line Interface.
• vSwitch Controller User's Guide is a comprehensive user guide to the vSwitch Controller for XenServer.
• Supplemental Packs and the DDK introduces the XenServer Driver Development Kit, which can be used to
modify and extend the functionality of XenServer.
• XenServer Software Development Kit Guide presents an overview of the XenServer SDK. It includes code
samples that demonstrate how to write applications that interface with XenServer hosts.
• XenAPI Specification is a reference guide for programmers to the XenServer API.
For additional resources, visit the Citrix Knowledge Center.
XenServer requires at least two separate physical x86 computers: one to be the XenServer host and the other
to run the XenCenter application. The XenServer host computer is dedicated entirely to the task of running
XenServer — hosting VMs — and is not used for other applications.
Warning:
The installation of any third party software directly on the XenServer host (i.e. into the dom0
control domain) is not supported, except where it is supplied as a supplemental pack and is
explicitly endorsed by Citrix.
The computer that runs XenCenter can be any general-purpose Windows computer that satisfies the hardware
requirements and can be used to run other applications.
2.1.1. XenServer Host System Requirements
While XenServer will generally be deployed on server-class hardware, XenServer is also compatible with many
models of workstations and laptops. For a comprehensive XenServer hardware compatibility list, see http://
www.citrix.com/xenserver/hcl. The following describes the recommended XenServer hardware specifications.
The XenServer host should be a 64-bit x86 server-class machine devoted to hosting VMs. This machine should
run an optimized and hardened Linux partition with a Xen-enabled kernel which controls the interaction between
the virtualized devices seen by VMs and the physical hardware.
XenServer can make use of:
• up to 1 TB of RAM
• up to 16 NICs
• up to 160 logical processors per host (Note: The maximum number of logical processors supported differs by
CPU. Consult the XenServer Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) for more details.
The system requirements for the XenServer host are:
CPUsOne or more 64-bit x86 CPU(s), 1.5 GHz minimum, 2 GHz or faster multicore CPU
recommended
To support VMs running Windows, an Intel VT or AMD-V 64-bit x86-based system with one
or more CPU(s) is required.
Note:
To run Windows VMs, hardware support for virtualization must be
enabled on the XenServer host. This is an option in the BIOS. It is
possible your BIOS might have virtualization support disabled. Consult
your BIOS documentation for more details.
To support VMs running supported paravirtualized Linux, a standard 64-bit x86-based
system with one or more CPU(s) is required.
RAM2 GB minimum, 4 GB or more recommended
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Disk SpaceLocally attached storage (PATA, SATA, SCSI) with 16 GB of disk space minimum, 60 GB of disk
space recommended, or SAN via HBA (not via software) if installing with multipath boot
from SAN (see http://hcl.vmd.citrix.com for a detailed list of compatible storage solutions).
Product installation creates two 4 GB partitions for the XenServer host control domain.
Network100 Mbit/s or faster NIC. One or more gigabit NIC(s) is recommended for faster P2V and
export/import data transfers and VM live migration.
For redundancy, multiple NICs are recommended. The configuration of NICs will differ
depending on the storage type. See vendor documentation for details.
Note:
In some support cases, serial console access is required for debug purposes. Therefore,
when setting up a XenServer configuration, it is recommended that serial console access
is configured. For hosts that do not have physical serial port (such as a Blade server) or
where suitable physical infrastructure is not available, customers should investigate if an
embedded management device, such as Dell DRAC or HP iLO can be configured. For more
information on setting up serial console access, see CTX121442 , How to Set Up a Serial Cable
for Troubleshooting on XenServer.
2.1.2. XenCenter System Requirements
The system requirements for XenCenter are:
Operating
System
.NET
Framework
CPU Speed750 MHz minimum, 1 GHz or faster recommended
RAM1 GB minimum, 2 GB or more recommended
Disk Space100 MB minimum
Network100Mb or faster NIC
Screen
Resolution
Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008,
Windows Server 2008 R2 (all editions and versions)
Version 3.5
1024x768 pixels, minimum
2.1.3. Supported Guest Operating Systems
For a list of supported VM operating systems, see the XenServer Virtual Machine User's Guide.
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Chapter 3. Installing XenServer and
XenCenter
This chapter steps through installing the XenServer host software on physical servers, installing XenCenter on
Windows workstations and connecting them to form the infrastructure for creating and running virtual machines
(VMs).
After guiding you through installation, this chapter describes a selection of common installation and deployment
scenarios.
3.1. Installation Media and Methods
The XenServer host consists of a Xen-enabled Linux operating system, a management agent, VM templates, and a
local storage repository reserved for VMs. The XenServer host must be installed on a dedicated 64-bit x86 server.
Note:
Do not install any other operating system in a dual-boot configuration with the XenServer
host; this is an unsupported configuration.
Installation Media
Installers for both the XenServer host and XenCenter are located on the installation media. The installation media
also includes the Readme First, which provides descriptions of and links to helpful resources, including product
documentation for XenServer and XenServer components.
Installation Methods
There are three methods by which to install the XenServer host:
• From a CD
You can download the installer (ISO file format) and burn it to a CD. To download the installer, visit
www.citrix.com/xenserver.
The main XenServer installation file contains the basic packages required to set up XenServer on your host and
install XenCenter on your Windows computer, in conjunction with the desired Windows installation media.
• Set up a network-accessible TFTP server to boot using PXE
For details about setting up an TFTP server for PXE-booting the installer, see Appendix C, PXE Boot Installations.
• Install XenServer to a remote disk on a SAN to enable boot from SAN
For details, see Appendix B, Boot From SAN Environments.
Supplemental Packs
You can install any required supplemental pack after installing XenServer. To do so, mount the appropriate
installation media on the XenServer host, and then run the script install.sh, located in the root directory of the CD.
Upgrades
The installer presents the option to upgrade if it detects a previously installed version of XenServer. The upgrade
process follows the first-time installation process, but several setup steps are bypassed. The existing settings are
retained, including networking configuration, system time and so on.
Important:
7
Upgrading requires careful planning and attention. For detailed information about upgrading
individual XenServer hosts and pools, see Chapter 7, Upgrading XenServer.
3.2. Installing the XenServer Host
Warning:
Installing XenServer will overwrite data on any hard drives that you select to use for the
installation. Back up data that you wish to preserve before proceeding.
To install or upgrade the XenServer host:
1.Boot the computer from the installation CD or PXE-boot from your TFTP server, if applicable.
2.Following the initial boot messages and the Welcome to XenServer screen, select your keyboard layout for
the installation.
Tip:
Throughout the installation, quickly advance to the next screen by pressing F12. Use Tab to
move between elements, and Space or Enter to select. For general help, press F1.
Note:
If a System Hardware warning screen is displayed and you suspect that hardware
virtualization assist support is available on your system, check the support site of your
hardware manufacturer for BIOS upgrades.
3.The Welcome to XenServer Setup screen is displayed.
XenServer ships with a broad driver set that supports most modern server hardware configurations.
However, if you have been provided with any supplemental packs containing additional essential drivers,
press F9. The installer will then step you through installing the necessary drivers.
Once you have installed all of the required drivers, select Ok to proceed.
4.The XenServer End User License Agreement (EULA) is displayed. Use the Page Up and Page Down keys to
scroll through and read the agreement. Choose Accept EULA to proceed.
5.Select an installation action, as appropriate. You may see any of the following options:
• Perform clean installation
• Upgrade: if the installer detects a previously-installed version of XenServer, it offers the option to upgrade.
For details on upgrading your XenServer host, see Chapter 7, Upgrading XenServer.
• Restore: if the installer detects a previously-created backup installation, it offers the option to restore
XenServer from the backup. For details, see the XenServer Administrator's Guide.
Make your selection, and choose Ok to proceed.
6.If you have multiple local hard disks, choose a Primary Disk for the installation. Select Ok.
7.Choose which disk(s) you would like to use for virtual machine storage. Information about a specific disk
can be viewed by pressing F5.
If you want to use Thin Provisioning to optimize the utilization of available storage, select Enable thinprovisioning. XenDesktop users are strongly recommended to select this option in order for local caching to
work properly. For details, see Chapter 5, XenServer and IntelliCache.
Choose Ok.
8.Select your installation media source.
If installing from a CD, choose Local media. If installing using PXE, select HTTP or FTP or NFS, as appropriate.
Choose Ok to proceed.
8
If you select Local media, the next screen asks if you want to install any supplemental packs from a CD. If
you plan to install any supplemental packs provided by your hardware supplier, choose Yes.
If you select HTTP or FTP or NFS:
a.Set up networking so that the installer can connect to the XenServer installation media files.
If the computer has multiple NICs, select one of them to be used to access the XenServer installation
media files, and then choose Ok to proceed.
b.Choose Automatic configuration (DHCP) to configure the NIC using DHCP, or Static configuration to
configure the NIC manually. If you choose Static configuration, enter details as appropriate.
c.If you choose HTTP or FTP, you are then prompted to provide the URL for your HTTP or FTP repository,
and a username and password, if appropriate.
If you choose NFS, you are prompted to provide the server and path of your NFS share.
Select Ok to proceed.
9.Indicate if you want to verify the integrity of the installation media. If you select Verify installation source,
the MD5 checksum of the packages is calculated and checked against the known value. Verification may take
some time. Make your selection and choose Ok to proceed.
10. Set and confirm a root password, which XenCenter will use to connect to the XenServer host. You will also
use this password (with username "root") to log into xsconsole, the system configuration console.
11. Set up the primary management interface that will be used to connect to XenCenter.
If your computer has multiple NICs, select the NIC which you wish to use for management. Choose Ok to
proceed.
12. Configure the Management NIC IP address by choosing Automatic configuration (DHCP) to configure the
NIC using DHCP, or Static configuration to manually configure the NIC.
Note:
To be part of a pool, XenServer hosts must have static IP addresses or be DNS addressable.
When using DHCP, ensure that a static DHCP reservation policy is in place.
13. Specify the hostname and the DNS configuration, manually or automatically via DHCP.
In the Hostname Configuration section, select Automatically set via DHCP to have the DHCP server provide
the hostname along with the IP address. If you select Manually specify, enter the desired hostname for the
server in the field provided.
Note:
If manually specifying the hostname, enter a short hostname and not the fully qualified
domain name (FQDN). Entering an FQDN may cause external authentication to fail.
In the DNS Configuration section, choose Automatically set via DHCP to get name service configuration
using DHCP. If you select Manually specify, enter the IP address(es) of your primary (required), secondary
(optional), and tertiary (optional) DNS servers in the fields provided.
Select Ok to proceed.
14. Select your time zone — the geographical area and then city. You can type the first letter of the desired
locale to jump to the first entry that begins with this letter. Choose Ok to proceed.
15. Specify how you would like the server to determine local time: using NTP or manual time entry. Make your
selection, and choose Ok to proceed.
16. If using NTP, either select NTP is configured by my DHCP server to have DHCP set the time server or enter
at least one NTP server name or IP address in the fields below. Choose Ok.
9
Note:
XenServer assumes that the time setting in the BIOS of the server is the current time in UTC.
17. Select Install XenServer.
If you elected to set the date and time manually, you will be prompted to do so during the installation. Once
set, choose Ok to proceed.
18. If you are installing from a CD and elected to include supplemental packs, you will be prompted to insert
them. Eject the XenServer installation CD, and insert the supplemental pack CD. Choose Ok.
Select Use media to proceed with the installation.
Repeat for each pack to be installed.
19. From the Installation Complete screen, eject the installation CD (if installing from CD) and select Ok to
reboot the server.
After the server reboots, XenServer displays xsconsole, a system configuration console. To access a local
shell from xsconsole, press Alt+F3; to return to xsconsole, press Alt+F1
Note:
Make note of the IP address displayed. You will use this when you connect XenCenter to the
XenServer host.
3.2.1. Host Partition Format
Previous versions of XenServer used DOS partition tables to separate the root filesystem and backups from the
local storage. This limited the local storage to use only the first 2TB of disk space. New installations of XenServer
6.1.0 instead use GUID partition tables to separate root filesystem, backup and local storage. This increases the
limit and enables local storage to use the entire disk.
Updates of XenServer 5.6 Feature Pack 1 will continue to use the existing DOS partitioning so as not to destroy
existing local storage. Additionally new XenServer 6.1.0 installations to machines which have a mandatory initial
partition that must be preserved, such as the Dell Utility Partition, will continue to use the DOS partitioning
scheme.
The GUID partition table can be used with the gdisk utility in Dom0.
3.3. Installing XenCenter
XenCenter must be installed on a remote Windows machine that can connect to the XenServer host through your
network. The .NET framework version 3.5 must also be installed on this workstation.
The XenCenter installation media is bundled with the XenServer installation media. You can also download the
latest version of XenCenter from www.citrix.com/xenserver.
To install XenCenter:
1.Before installing XenCenter, be sure to uninstall any previous version.
2.Launch the installer.
If installing from a XenServer installation CD:
a.Insert the CD into the DVD drive of the computer which you want to run XenCenter.
b.Open the client_install folder on the CD. Double-click XenCenter.msi to begin the
installation.
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3.Follow the Setup wizard, which allows you to modify the default destination folder and then to install
XenCenter.
3.4. Connecting XenCenter to the XenServer Host
To connect XenCenter to the XenServer host:
1.Launch XenCenter. The program opens to the Home tab.
2.Click the Add New Server icon.
3.Enter the IP address of the XenServer host in the Server field. Type the root username and password that
you set during XenServer installation. Click Add.
4.The first time you add a new host, the Save and Restore Connection State dialog box appears. This enables
you to set your preferences for storing your host connection information and automatically restoring host
connections.
If you later need to change your preferences, you can do so using XenCenter or the Windows Registry Editor.
To do so in XenCenter: from the main menu, select Tools and then Options. The Options dialog box opens.
Select the Save and Restore tab and set your preferences. Click OK to save your changes.
To do so using the Windows Registry Editor, navigate to the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software
\Citrix\XenCenter (if you installed XenServer for use by all users) and add a key named
AllowCredentialSave with the string value true or false.
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