Getting
Started
with
XenServer

Thank
you
for
downloading
Citrix
XenServer.

This
guide
will
help
you
get
started
and

will
show
you
the
powerful
virtualization
capabilities
of
this
powerful,
free
virtualization

infrastructure
software.




1. Select
your
hardware
platform.



Consult
the
XenServer
Hardware

Compatibility
List
(for
hardware
tested
by

Citrix)
and
the
Citrix
Ready
Community

Verified
Site
(for
hardware
verified
by
other

users)
to
check
for
your
system
hardware,

including
controllers,
as
well
as
your

networked
storage.

You’ll
find
a
rich
set
of

supported
systems
–
not
only
server‐class

systems
for
production
deployments,
but
also

workstations
(and
even
notebooks)
for

evaluation,
development,
testing,
and

demonstration.

You’ll
also
find
many
choices

for
direct
attached
storage
as
well
as
rich

support
for
Fibre
Channel
and
iSCSI
SAN
and

NFS
NAS
shared
storage.

You’ll
also
need
to
identify
a
Windows
system



on
which
to
run
XenCenter,
the
powerful

centralized
multi‐server
management

interface
that’s
included
with
XenServer.

This
doesn’t
have
to
be
a
dedicated
machine
–

any
system
running
a
supported
version
of
Windows
can
be
used,
even
your
personal

work
desktop.

2. Get
the
software.



Unless
you’ve
received
the
software
on

CDROMs,
you’ll
need
to
download
it.


The
main
XenServer
software
is
distributed
in

the
form
of
two
CDROM
ISO
images.
The
first

disk,
the
Main
Install
disk,
is
required
for
all

systems.
If
you
want
to
run
Linux
virtual

machines
on
your
system,
you’ll
also
need
to

install
the
Linux
Support
Pack
when

prompted.

(Don’t
worry
if
you
decide
not
to

install
it
and
change
your
mind
later
–
it’s

easy
to
add
it
at
any
time.)

On
the
download
page,
you’ll
also
find
many

other
helpful
resources,
including
the
 

XenCenter
installer
(which
can
also
be
found

on
the
Main
Install
CDROM),
the
XenConvert

migration
tool,
the
product
documentation,
the
Software
Development
Kit
(for
building

your
own
management
tools),
the
Driver
Development
Kit
(for
adding
device
drivers),

and
more.

But
you
can
get
started
with
just
the
Main
Install
and
Linux
Support
Pack

CDROMs.

To
be
sure
your
download
was
not
corrupted,
you
should
verify
the
checksums
of
the

files.

Instructions
on
how
to
do
so
can
be
found
on
the
download
page.

You’ll
need
to
burn
the
images
onto
CDROM
media,
or
if
your
server’s
management

interface
supports
booting
from
a
virtual
CD
drive,
you
can
use
these
images
directly

with
it.

(As
you
expand
your
XenServer
infrastructure,
you
may
find
you
wish
to
install

XenServer
using
a
network
boot
approach.

You’ll
find
directions
for
doing
so
in
the

documentation
and
KnowledgeCenter.)

3. Install
the
XenServer
software.



XenServer
runs
directly
on
the
server
hardware,

in
a
“bare
metal”
configuration.
This
accounts

for
its
high
performance
and
ease
of
use,
but
it

also
means
you’ll
need
to
dedicate
your
systems

for
use
with
XenServer
(expect
for
the

management
desktop,
of
course,
which
can
run

XenCenter
alongside
other
applications).

Insert
the
Main
Install
CD
into
the
server’s
drive

(or
set
up
your
management
card
to
use
the

ISO)
and
boot
the
system.


During
the
installation,
you’ll
be
asked
to

configure
some
of
the
basic
settings
for
your

XenServer
host,
including
keymap,
installation

source
(for
use
of
a
network
repository
for

repetitive
or
unattended
installations),
whether

you
intend
to
use
the
Linux
Support
Pack,

hostname
and
network
information.



The
installer
will
ask
you
to
accept
or
decline
the

Citrix
End
User
License
Agreement
(EULA);
you’ll

need
to
accept
the
terms
of
the
EULA
to

continue
with
the
installation.

You’ll
also
be
prompted
to
verify
the
CDROM

media.
It’s
a
good
idea
to
do
so
the
first
time

you
use
them,
as
well
as
periodically
over
the

time
you
use
the
CDs,
to
be
sure
they
are
valid

and
properly
burned.


The
administrative
(“root”)
password
for
the

system
will
be
requested.
This
password
will
be

used
to
authenticate
for
administrative

operations.

If
you’re
installing
more
than
one

host
with
shared
storage
and
configuring
a

resource
pool,
use
the
same
password
for
all

hosts
in
the
pool.

 

When
the
installation
is
complete,
your
XenServer
host
will
reboot,
and
will
be
ready
for

use.

4. Install
the
XenCenter
administrative
interface
on
a
Windows
desktop.



To
manage
your
XenServer
virtual
infrastructure,
you’ll
install
the
XenCenter

administrative
interface
on
any
supported

Windows
desktop.



You
don’t
need
a
dedicated
management
host

for
XenServer
–
the
administrative
interface

can
run
on
your
personal
machine,
or
a

common
administrative
station.

It
can
even

run
in
a
XenDesktop
virtual
desktop,
a
XenApp

published
desktop,
or
as
a
published
or

streamed
XenApp
application.

The

configuration,
performance,
and
other

management
information
is
stored

redundantly
on
all
of
the
managed
servers,
so

if
you
have
multiple
systems,
the
risk
of
a

single
point
of
failure
is
greatly
reduced.

You
can
download
the
XenCenter
installer

from
the
download
page,
or
you
can
run
it

directly
from
the
main
install
CD.

(If
you
have

autorun
enabled,
the
installer
will
launch

when
you
mount
the
CD
on
your
Windows

system.)








5. Configure
your
servers
(and
optional
resource
pool).



First,
identify
the
servers
you’re
going
to

manage
to
XenServer,
by
choosing
“Add

Server”
in
the
toolbar
(or
“Server‐>Add”
in

the
menu)
and
entering
the
DNS
hostname
or

IP
address
of
the
server,
as
well
as
the

administrative
(“root”)
password
you
gave
it

when
you
installed
XenServer.
Do
this
step

once
for
each
server
you
plan
to
manage

from
this
XenCenter
interface.

Next,
consider
whether
you
are
going
to

manage
your
systems
as
isolated
hosts,
or
 

configure
them
along
with
shared
storage

into
a
resource
pool.

Resource
pools
make
it

possible
to:

• take
advantage
of
multiple
servers
as

a
common
resource

• start
your
virtual
machines
on
any

server
with
sufficient
capacity
in

order
to
balance
the
workload

• use
XenMotion
to
migrate
virtual
 

machines
from
server
to
server

without
downtime,
to
perform

maintenance
without
interrupting

users

• automatically
provide
high
availability

services
to
bring
applications
back

online
in
the
event
of
server
failure

(with
the
addition
of
Citrix
Essentials

for
XenServer)

To
configure
a
resource
pool,
right‐click
on

the
root
of
the
XenServer
“tree”
and
select

“New
Pool”
(or
click
“New
Pool”
in
the

toolbar).

You’ll
be
asked
to
supply
a
name
for

the
pool.
Then
you
identify
one
of
the
hosts

to
become
the
pool
master
node,
and
check

the
systems
you
wish
to
add
as
pool

members.

You’ll
now
see
the
servers
in
the

tree
as
members
of
the
pool.






6. Configure
your
storage.



To
take
advantage
of
the
power
of
resource

pools,
you
should
configure
SAN
or
NFS
shared

storage
(as
what
XenServer
calls
a
“storage

repository”
or
SR)
and
add
it
to
the
resource

pool.

(If
you
have
only
one
server,
you
can
either
use

the
server’s
local
storage
or
configure
SAN
or

NFS
storage
the
same
way
as
for
a
pool,
but
if
it

is
connected
only
to
a
single
host,
it
cannot
be

used
to
enable
XenMotion,
automatic

placement,
or
high
availability.)
 



First,
get
the
essential
identifying
information

for
your
storage.
If
you’re
using
Fibre
Channel

(FC),
it
is
the
World
Wide
Name
(WWN)
of
the

storage
LUN
you’re
accessing;
if
iSCSI,
it
is
the

IP
address;
if
NFS,
it
is
the
hostname
or
IP

address
and
export
path.

Next,
be
sure
your
storage
network
is
properly

configured
to
allow
access
to
the
servers.

Your

switches
may
need
to
be
configured
properly,

and
your
storage
systems
may
need
to
be
told

the
WWN
(for
FC)
or
IQN
(for
iSCSI)
of
the

servers.

(To
find
each
server’s
IQN,
select
it
in

the
tree,
and
choose
the
General
tab.)

Select
the
pool
(for
shared
storage)
or
the

server
(for
non‐shared)
and
click
the
“New

Storage”
button.

You
can
then
choose
the
type

of
storage
to
add:
NFS,
iSCSI
using
the
built‐in

software
iSCSI
implementation,
or
iSCSI
or
Fibre

Channel
using
an
HBA.

(You
can
also
choose

special
plug‐ins
for
NetApp
and
Dell
EqualLogic

storage,
which
enable
intelligent
management
 

capabilities
directly
in
those
arrays.)


Next,
enter
the
address
information
for
the
storage
(and,
for
NFS
storage,
the
path),
as

well
as
authentication
data
if
required.

XenCenter
can
then
discover
and
display
the

IQNs
or
WWNs
on
the
SAN
storage,
discover
configured
LUNs,
and
allow
you
to
identify

the
storage
you
wish
to
use.
You’ll
also
be
able
to
format
the
storage
for
use
with

XenServer,
and
after
some
time,
it
will
be
ready
to
use.



7. Configure
your
installation
ISO
repository.



To
get
ready
to
configure
new
virtual

machines,
you’ll
need
to
configure
a
storage

repository
to
hold
the
installation
images.

This
repository
should
be
a
network
file

share,
and
can
be
accessed
either
by
NFS
or

by
Windows
file
services,
also
known
as
CIFS.

To
create
the
new
repository,
be
sure
you

have
exported
a
share
with
read/write

permission.

Then
follow
the
steps
above,
but

choose
the
right
type
under
“ISO
library”
on

the
type
chooser.



Then
enter
the
share
path,
as
well
as
 



credentials
that
can
be
used
for
XenServer
to

access
the
share.

Using
your
PC
or
another
system,
load
the

ISOs
for
your
Windows
or
Linux
operating

systems
into
the
share.



If
you
then
select
the
ISO
library
storage

repository
in
the
tree
and
select
the
Storage

tab,
you’ll
see
your
ISO
images
listed.




8. Create
a
new
virtual
machine.



First,
select
the
resource
pool
(or,
in
a
non‐
pooled
environment,
a
server)
in
the
tree,

right‐click
on
it,
and
choose
“New
VM.”

Choose
the
pre‐built
installation
template
for

the
workload
(an
operating
system,
or
Citrix

XenApp)
you
wish
to
install.


Then
give
the
new
virtual
machine
a
name

(and,
of
you
desire,
a
longer
description).

Next,
specify
the
installation
source.

For

most
guest
operating
systems,
you
can
 

choose
the
physical
CD/DVD
drive
of
a
server,
 

or,
for
more
flexibility,
an
image
from
the
ISO

library
you
created.
Some
guest
operating

systems
can
also
be
installed
from
a
network

copy
of
the
installation
tree.

Identify
a
server
to
run
the
new
virtual

machine,
or
allow
XenServer
to
start
it
on
any

server
in
the
pool
with
sufficient
resources.

Configure
the
number
of
virtual
CPUs
(vCPUs)

to
be
used,
as
well
as
the
amount
of
RAM
to

allocate.

Most
workloads
are
most
efficiently

configured
with
a
single
vCPU,
but
some

multi‐threaded
ones
will
perform
well
with

more
than
one.

Next,
choose
the
storage
repository
in
which

the
virtual
machine
should
be
created,
and

change
the
default
virtual
disk
size
to
reflect

your
workload’s
needs.




Allocate
one
or
more
virtual
network

interfaces.
Each
virtual
interface
can
be

connected
to
a
physical
interface
to
provide

external
access,
or
it
can
be
connected
to

an
internal
virtual
switch,
to
provide

isolated
communication
between
virtual

machines
on
the
same
server.

Finally,
decide
if
you
wish
the
virtual

machine
to
start
automatically.

Once
you’ve
completed
the
New
VM

wizard,
you
can
look
at
the
pool’s
(or
 

server’s)
Logs
tab
to
see
the
operation
 

proceed.

To
perform
the
steps
required
for

interactive
installation,
choose
the
virtual

machine’s
Console
tab.
Then
install
the

guest
operating
system
as
if
you
were

installing
it
on
a
physical
server.

The
same
steps
will
work
for
most
Linux

virtual
machines.
For
Novell
SUSE
Linux,

consult
the
XenServer
documentation
to

see
if
you
need
to
use
a
network
installation

tree.

For
a
quicker
start
for
Linux
virtual

machines,
XenServer
includes
templates
for

Debian
Linux
that
can
be
used
without
any

external
installation
source
to
build
you

virtual
machines.






9. Install
XenServer
Tools
in
the
virtual
machine.



For
Windows
virtual
machines,
you
will
need

to
install
XenServer
Tools,
which
provides

optimized
network
and
disk
drivers
in
the

virtual
machine,
as
well
as
a
management

agent.

(In
Linux
virtual
machines,
the
tools

installation
enables
the
management
agent,

and
for
some
versions,
updates
the
operating

system
kernel.)

To
install
XenServer
Tools,
select
the
entry

called
“xs‐tools.iso”
in
the
pulldown
at
the
top

of
the
console
window.

The
installation
will
 

start
automatically.
 

You
will
be
prompted
to
accept
the
Citrix

EULA.
The
installation
will
proceed,
after

which
you
will
be
prompted
to
reboot
the

virtual
machine.

Once
XenServer
Tools
is
installed
in
your

Windows
virtual
machine,
you’ll
be
able
to
use

Remote
Desktop
to
access
the
virtual

machine.
This
provides
a
smoother
interactive

experience.


Enable
Remote
Desktop
access
in
the

Properties
settings
on
My
Computer,
just
as

you
would
for
a
physical
machine.

Once
you

do,
the
button
at
the
upper
right
of
the

console
window
is
enabled.




10. Manage
server
and
virtual
machine
states.



You
can
manage
the
running
state
of
your
virtual
machines,
and
even
shut
down
or

reboot
your
physical
servers,
right
from

XenCenter.

If
you
right‐click
on
a
physical
server
or
on
a

virtual
machine,
you’ll
find
the
operations
you

can
perform
to
manage
your
resources.


These
include:

For
virtual
machines:

• Start

• Shut
Down
 



• Suspend

• Resume

• Reboot

• Migrate

• Copy
VM

• Export
as
Backup

• Convert
to
Template

• Force
Shutdown

• Force
Reboot

For
physical
servers:

• Reboot

• Shut
Down

• Enter
Maintenance
Mode

• Import
VM

You’ll
also
find
a
more
complete
set
of
operations
on
the
Pool,
Server,
VM,
Storage,

Templates,
and
Tools
menus.




11. Migrate
running
VMs
using
XenMotion.



You
can
move
virtual
machines
between

servers
in
a
pool
without
interrupting
users
or

services.
This
makes
it
possible
to
perform

scheduled
maintenance
without
imposing

downtime
on
the
user
community.

It’s
easy
to
move
a
virtual
machine
using

XenMotion.
You
simply
right‐click
on
the
virtual

machine,
choose
Migrate,
and
select
the
server

to
which
you
wish
to
move
it.

(Or
you
can
do
it
even
more
easily
by
dragging
 

the
virtual
machine
from
its
current
server
and
 

dropping
it
on
the
target
server
in
the
tree!)






12. Explore
the
power
of
XenServer
and
the
XenServer
community.



Not
only
are
there
lots
more
capabilities
in
the
new
free
XenServer
–
there
is
a
rich
set

of
resources
available
to
help
you
experience
XenServer’s
power
and
ease
of
use.

For
a
complete
look
at
XenServer’s
features,
including:

• Templates
for
fast
replicated
virtual
machine
deployment

• Flexible
networking
including
bonded
interfaces
and
VLANs

• Physical‐to‐virtual
(P2V)
and
virtual‐to‐virtual
(V2V)
conversion
tools

• A
powerful
command
line
interface
and
a
rich
multi‐language
API

• The
ability
to
add
Citrix
Essentials
for
XenServer,
with
high
availability,
dynamic

provisioning,
automated
lab
management,
and
deep
integration
with
the
native

power
of
storage
systems

…you
should
take
advantage
of
a
wide
range
of
online
resources,
including:

• Product
information,
Citrix
Ready
partner
solutions,
and
customer
case
studies

at
www.citrix.com

• Free
community
support
forums
and
the
Citrix
KnowledgeCenter
at

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resources
at
community.citrix.com

• Tips,
tricks,
solutions,
and
other
experiences
from
Citrix
staff
at
blogs.citrix.com