Windows Server 2012 VDI (with a little Citrix)

Corey Hynes

Agenda/Outline• Lot of things to cover…• VDI in 2013, BYOD, COIT• What’s new in RDS• RDS Architecture/Deployment/High Availability• Personalizing the User Experience• Optimizing the User Experience• Licensing• Role of Citrix

Applications

Data

Operating

SystemHardware

Separating the desktop computing layersMicrosoft delivers a broad range of desktop virtualization offerings to address your unique business and IT challenges

• Folder Redirection• Roaming Profiles• User Experience Virtualization

(UE-V)• Profile disks• Application Virtualization (App-

V)• RemoteApp• Virtual Desktop Infrastructure• Remote Desktop Services

session-based desktops

Data & User Settings

Applications

Operating System

Embracing BYOD/COIT

FIREWALL

VirtualDesktop

Infrastructure (VDI)

Office 365

WINDOWS 8 ADVANCEMENTS• High fidelity RemoteFX experience

on LAN / WAN• Multi-touch support for modern

applications and devices• Support for local USB, Lync, etc.

BENEFITS• Secure, fast browsing• Rich user experience; • Touch enabled with

Windows 8 devices• Centralized

management of app & data (IT)

• Enhanced security and compliance (IT)

• Great choice of Windows-based devices

Hosted Applications(RemoteApp)

Powered by Remote Desktop Services (RDS)

The times, they are a changing…..

Your computer IS your tool for work

Your computer CONTAINS your tool for work

Circle of influence is shrinking….

From this….

…. To this

Well its really a square…..

Rich multimedia experiences

Benefits of Microsoft VDIRich experience everywhere

Best value for virtual desktops

Efficient management

True USB and multi-touch remoting

Consistently rich performance

Simplified wizard

In-box management console

Fairshare

Lower-cost storage

User disks

Intelligently patching

Windows Server 2012 RDS – What’s New? (For the admin)

Administration Experience• New Server Manager based tools• Most existing tools retired/removed• Some things can only be done via Group Policy now

• Central Admin Console• Expanded PowerShell• Expanded GPO Support• Change in Firewall rules• UDP and TCP

Low Cost Deployment• Leverage revised 2012 Storage• Storage Spaces• Clustering• SMB Storage• Teaming

• Automated management of pooled desktops• All components highly available• Patching

Low Cost Deployment 2/2• Scenario based configurations• In Server Manager

• Simplified Evaluation/Testing• Single Server (Quick Start) deployments

• Central Publishing• Simplified Interface

SMB, SANs, or direct attached local storage

Windows Server 2012 RDSArchitectural Components

High Availability

Database

Remote Desktop

Connection Broker

High availability for all RDS roles

Remote Desktop Web

Access

Remote Desktop Gateway

Remote Desktop Licensing

Remote Desktop Session Host

Remote Desktop Virtualization

Host

Remote Desktop Web

Access

Remote Desktop Gateway

Remote Desktop Gateway

Remote Desktop Virtualization

Host

Remote Desktop Virtualization

Host

Remote Desktop Session HostRemote Desktop

Session Host

Remote Desktop Licensing

Remote Desktop Licensing

Hyper-V cluster

Web farm

Cluster

Remote Desktop Session Host

farm

Remote Desktop

Connection Broker

SQL Server Clustering

Remote Desktop

Connection Broker

Remote Desktop

Connection Broker

•Active/active high availability mode for brokers

• Scale-out File Server and resiliency

•Requires Microsoft SQL Server

•Automatic data migration from single instance to high availability

New in Windows Server 2012

Remote Desktop Web

Access

Web farm

Configuring RD Connection Broker for high availability

Remote Desktop

Connection Broker

01

Remote Desktop

Connection Broker

02

Remote Desktop

Connection Broker

03

SQL Server Cluster

RD Virtualizatio

n Host

Hyper-V

cluster

Remote Desktop

Session Host

DNS

HA Central Certificate Store

RD Client

RD Gateway

RD Gateway

Farm

RD Session Host Farm

High Availability - RD Connection Broker configuration prerequisites• SQL Server (at least SQL Server 2008 R2) for connection broker servers to use

• SQL server configured with full permissions granted to connection broker servers

• Windows firewall on SQL server configured to “Allow SQL Server Access” from connection brokers

• Network folder to store SQL database files (can be created on SQL server computer)

• SQL client installed on connection brokers

• Static IP addresses configured on the connection broker servers.

• DNS “A” resource records for each of the static IP addresses that point to the same, shared name (enables DNS round robin)

HA Configuration Broker Configuration

• Starting point for enabling HA is to configure a single RD connection broker for either virtual machine or session-based deployment

• In Server Manager, configure RD connection broker for high availability

• Enter SQL connection string, database folder, and DNS round-robin name

HA RD connection broker results• Local connection broker data migrated to SQL and the connection

broker will start using SQL for data immediately• In Server Manager, the option to add additional connection broker

servers to is enabled• If the connection broker role service is not already added to server, it will be

added automatically

• RD connection brokers use SQL to store data• The RD virtual host, session host and Web access (end nodes) are

configured with all the RD connection broker server names• Will choose a connection broker name at random to connect to

• RDP clients use the DNS round-robin name• If any RD connection broker loses connection to SQL, all connected

end nodes immediately disconnected and will try to establish connection with other connection brokers

Deployment

Virtual desktop deployment choices

FIREWALL

1 platform • 1 experience • 3 deployment choices

Desktop Session

sCorporate Office

Branch Office

Library / Coffee house

Home

Powered by Windows Server 2012

Pooled VMs

Personal VMs

• The computer must be a member of a domain• The RD Connection Broker role service cannot be

installed on the same computer as Active Directory Domain Services

• Administrator must belong to the local administrators security group

• A network share configured for storing user profile disks is required• All RD Virtualization Host computer accounts must have

the ability to read and write to this location

Session Virtualization Requirements

• The server must have hardware-assisted virtualization• The computer must be domain-joined• The RD Connection Broker role service cannot be installed on the same computer

as Active Directory Domain Services• Administrator must belong to the local administrators security group• A network share configured for storing user profile disks is required• All RD Virtualization Host computer accounts must have the ability to read and

write to this location• VDI Quick Start• The virtual desktop template (a virtual hard disk)

• Must be generalized by using Sysprep (Virtual Machine Mode), and then shut down

• A virtual switch must NOT be created on the server running Hyper-V (the Quick Start deployment type creates one)

• VDI standard deployment• The virtual desktop template must

• Have the correct virtual switch selected• Be generalized using Sysprep (Virtual Machine Mode), and then shut down

VDI Infrastructure Requirements

Desktop virtualization (VDI) deployment modes• Desktop Virtualization (VDI)• Standard• Installs appropriate roles on separate computers

• Quick Start• Installs the RD Connection Broker and RD Web Access role

services on a single computer• Creates a pooled virtual desktop collection with two pooled virtual

desktops based on a virtual hard disk that’s the virtual desktop template

• Creates a Hyper-V network switch named RDS Virtual

1

2

3a

3b

a - VDIb - Session

Standard Deployment

a - VDIb - Session

4a5

4b6

Standard Deployment (cont.)

a - VDIb - Session

7b

7a

8

If compatibility check succeeds, deployment proceeds

Standard Deployment (cont.)

1

2

3a

3b

a - VDIb - Session

Quick Start Deployment

4a

4b

a - VDIb - Session

5a [Need screen shot

of virtual desktop template from a machine with hardware virtualization enabled]

Quick Start Deployment (cont.)

Preparing the Master or Gold VM (Virtual Desktop Template)• Configure a desktop virtual machine on the Hyper-V server

• Snapshots ARE supported for the template VM• The VDI creation process will use the currently active (“Now”) snapshot

• If static memory is configured, the minimum amount is 1024 MBs; if dynamic memory is configured, the maximum memory must be at least 1024 MBs

• If using the standard deployment model, the master VM must be connected to a virtual switch that can communicate with a domain controller• Note: Quick Start creates a virtual switch

• Install the operating system and any applications that need to be included in the template VM• OS must be at least Windows 7 with SP1 or Windows 8

• Installed in a workgroup• VMs are automatically joined to the domain specified in the VDI wizard

• Apply any patches or updates to the VM as required

• Make any other configuration changes as required• For example, you can create a customized default profile. Note that this would require you to use Sysprep and an

unattend.xml file with the CopyProfile setting set to TRUE in the specialize phase of Windows setup

• In this case, you must generalize the image and then run through Out-of-the-box experience (OOBE) set up again before the final preparation of the image

• In the virtual machine run the following command from Windows\System32\Sysprep directory:• Sysprep /oobe /generalize /mode: vm

Personalizing the UX

Choosing the Right VDI Architecture

Detail: Personal vs. Pooled VMs

• Created in Remote Desktop Services tool of Server Manager*

• 2 types of collections• Personal desktop

• Update with WSUS• Shared (“pooled”) desktop

• Update automatically using a VDI template

• Connect to a collection with Internet Explorerhttps://<FQDN of server>/RDWeb

*Session collections can also be created

Virtual Desktop Collections with User Profile Disks

Personalization with User Profile Disk• Benefits• Available with pooled virtual

machine collections and RDSH collections

• Stores all user settings and data

• Container for:• Roaming User Profile• Folder Redirection cache• User Environment

Virtualization• Roams with user within

collection• Appears as local disk,

improves app compatibility

User Profile Disk with pooled virtual

machine collections

User Profile Disk with RDSH collections

What should I deploy?• User profile disk with every

virtual machine pool and RDSH collection

• UEV to roam settings across collections

• FR to roam user data across collections

• FR to centralize user data backup

Optimizing the UX

Hardware and software GPUs

Rich multimedia

USB redirection

Multitouch

WAN acceleration

Single sign-on

Corporate LAN

RemoteFX over LAN or WANRemoteFX delivers a consistently rich user experience to users over

LAN or WAN(regardless of deployment model)

Internet or WAN

• Enables the delivery of a full Windows user experience to a range of client devices • Includes rich clients, thin clients,

and ultrathin clients• Delivers a rich user experience for:• Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

• Provides a 3D virtual adapter, intelligent codecs, and the ability to redirect USB devices in virtual machines

• Session-based desktops and RemoteApp programs to a broad range of client devices

• Integrates with the RDP protocol• Enables shared encryption,

authentication, management, and device support

• Improved WAN performance• Multitouch support• Configured through Group Policy

RemoteFX – Improved User Experience

Unifying of the remoting experience• All features of RDP are available to both sessions and VMs

WAN Improvements• Progressive download, H.264 encoding for video compression, and UDP

as needed to reduce networking overheadSimplified connection• Users can connect to their personal collection of VMs and RemoteApp

programs assigned to them by logging in with their email address and password

Improved user personalization• User profile disks allow users to preserve user personalization settings

across session collections and pooled virtual desktop collectionsMore integrated local and remote experience • Remoting of a broad range of USB devices (such as an all-in-one printer,

a scanner, a biometric reader, a webcam, or a VoIP headset)

Windows 8 RemoteFXImproved User Experience

Support for multi-touch and gesture remoting Simpler logins• Single sign-on for Remote App programs extended to include VMs

assigned to a userEvenly distributed allocation of resources to everyone on a RD Session Host server• No single user can consume all resources

Concurrent reconnection• You can disconnect, go home, and then reconnect to the

RemoteApp programs and VMs that you were using all at once, saving time as you restore your work environment

Windows 8 RemoteFXImproved User Experience, cont.

Text Content

RemoteFX adaptive graphics

Image Content

Video/Animations

RemoteFX progressive rendering

Fair Share

Help ensure high performance across user virtual machines and sessions

Apply to both sessions and virtual machines

Dynamically distribute resources (bandwidth, CPU, and I/O)

Spending MoneyLicensing

Please don’t ask any questionsNo I don’t know what your company has worked outI’m pretty much scared to even mention thisI DO NOT ACTUALLY WORK FOR MICROSOFT

VDI Licensing componentsTwo main components:• License for connecting to the VDI Infrastructure: RDS CAL• For any solution using any of the Remote Desktop or RemoteFX services, including Citrix

XenDesktop, Citrix XenApp, etc.

• RDS CAL licensed per user or per device

• Includes rights to use App-V with Remote Desktop sessions

• License to access a virtual instance of a Windows Client OS: • Software Assurance (SA)

• Virtual Desktop Access (VDA)

• Windows Intune

• Companion Subscription License (CSL)

A license to access a virtualized instance of a client OS is always required• The circumstances and context determine what kind of license (SA, VDA, CSL,

etc) is required

Software Assurance VDI Benefits• Access to Windows 8 Enterprise edition• Access rights for up to 4 VMs concurrently (local or

remote)• Roaming Rights for access from non-corporate device• Access to Windows Thin PC for free• Option to purchase MDOP• 24*7 support, training vouchers and other benefits

VDA (Virtual Desktop Access)

• Rights to access virtual copies of Windows via devices that don’t qualify for SA:• Thin Clients• Consumer Devices (e.g. iPads)• Third party devices (contractor PCs)• PCs not covered by SA

• Licensed Per Device• Annual Subscription

Companion Subscription License• Optional add-on for primary user of SA or VDA licensed

devices• Is for companion (non-primary) devices• Single license covers up to 4 additional devices• Eligible for any personally owned and/or non-x86 corp-owned

devices anywhere (on/off-prem)• Includes Windows To Go and VDA rights• No local install rights• Offered in EA, EA subscription, Select Plus, and EES/CASA

programs• No companywide commitment required and can be purchased

in any quantity• Included with any Windows RT device

Primary work device? (regardless of ownership

and location)

x86/x64 PC(w/ Qualifying OS)

Other(Thin Client, iOS,

Windows RT)

Yes

SA

VDA

Corp owned?No

x86/x64 PC(w/ Qualifying OS)

Windows RT(No License Required

for VDI)

Other(iOS, Android, etc)

Yes

Primary User of SA/VDA licensed device?

Yes

CSL

No

No On Premises?

Yes

No

Any Device(Roaming Rights: No

License Required)

Licensing Windows SA, VDA, and CSL

And now Citrix

V-Alliance: Microsoft and Citrix

Market Leader for Desktop VirtualizationFlexible access to all apps, data and desktops in one productProven scale for 100s to 100,000s of usersWindows desktops and apps on PCs, Macs, iPads, Android and smartphones

Market Leader for DesktopsBest in Class Application VirtualizationA modern server platform to transform today’s infrastructure with virtualization built-inPeople-centric management of devices, desktops, and virtual assets, in the cloud or on premises

User State VirtualizationApplication Virtualization

OS Virtualization

Jointly Integrated, Unified Management

Jointly Integrated, Unified Management

Why Citrix for desktop virtualization? Work anywhere, made anywhere

If you need…

• a mix of Windows Server 2003, 2008, 2008 R2 & 2012

• a mix of Windows XP, Windows 7 & Windows 8 virtual desktops

• a mix of Windows & non-Windows user devices

• a mix of private, service provider and hybrid desktop infrastructures

• a mix of use cases (e.g. VDI, streamed OS, remote, offline, 3D, apps…)

• to scale hosted desktop, sessions, apps from hundreds to many thousands of end-points

• to support heterogeneous hypervisors in the datacenter

…then you need enterprise class desktop virtualization from Citrix

Improved High Availability

Citrix Partnership

Summary

VDI Simplified

RDS Improved

RemoteFXEnhanced

© 2012 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries.The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.