Citrix Desktop Virtualization Fast Track Mahboula, Ahmadi

Course details

Overview

This fast-paced course provides the foundation necessary for students to effectively centralize and manage desktops and applications in the datacenter and deliver them as a service to users anywhere. Students will learn how to build XenApp and XenDesktop environments; assign virtual desktops; deliver published resources and printers to users; use policies to customize farm settings and the user experience; and administer the environments. In addition, students will learn how to build a Provisioning services farm to enable single-image desktop management.

Audience

This course is intended for IT professionals, such as server, network, and systems administrators familiar with Microsoft Windows environments, including Windows 2008 R2 administrators. Existing Citrix XenApp administrators interested in increasing their desktop virtualization skills with Citrix XenDesktop, are ideal candidates. Systems engineers, sales engineers, analysts, consultants, and architects are also appropriate candidates for this course.

Instructional Method

This course is offered as an instructor-led training course that focuses on the practical application of XenApp and XenDesktop concepts and administrative tasks through hands-on exercises in a lab environment. Students are expected to self-study select modules of the course content after classroom hours each day. Regularly scheduled Question and Answer sessions will occur daily to address students’ questions arising from the self-study sessions.

Preparatory Recommendations

Before taking this course, Citrix recommends that students have a basic understanding of the following technologies:

• Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 and Remote Desktop Services
• Network and storage devices, device drivers, and operating systems
• Networking concepts, such as DNS, DHCP, IIS, load balancing, and file and printing services
• Active Directory and group policy
• Server, desktop, and application virtualization concepts
• Citrix XenApp

Key Skills

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Install and configure a Citrix license server, import Citrix licenses, configure license monitoring, and view license usage trends.
• Install and configure Citrix XenApp to create a new farm or join an existing farm.
• Create administrator accounts and assign custom administrative permissions to the accounts.
• Configure the logging of administrative changes to a database.
• Create and apply worker groups that simplify the administration of published resources and policies.
• Install the Web Interface role.
• Create and configure XenApp Web and XenApp Services web sites.
• Customize the layout, content, and appearance of a XenApp Web site.
• Publish application and server desktop resources for access by users and verify that workspace control works correctly.
• View and manage user sessions from the administrative console.
• Install profiling software, profile an application for streaming, and link dependent profiles to allow interaction between streamed applications.
• Publish a streamed application and verify that the streamed application works correctly.
• Create policies to improve performance, restrict user access, and shadow user sessions.
• Test policies to verify that they produce the desired effect.
• Configure custom load evaluators and apply them to servers and applications.
• Configure and test failover using a load balancing policy.
• Install Citrix Receiver, configure and deliver a plug-in package, and verify that self-service applications can be added from a client device.
• Configure printing including, printer auto-creation, driver compatibility lists, session printers, and printing policies.
• Configure a XenApp Web site to use an ICA proxy.
• Identify tools that can be used to monitor XenApp servers and sessions.
• Identify additional components included with Citrix XenApp Platinum edition.
• Configure a XenServer host for desktop delivery.
• Adjust virtual machine properties.
• Backup virtual machine metadata to shared storage.
• Import a virtual machine.
• Install XenDesktop.
• Add a controller to an existing site.
• Install, configure and secure Web Interface.
• Delegate XenDesktop administration.
• Prepare a master virtual machine.
• Assign users to pooled virtual desktops and dedicated virtual desktops.
• Modify desktop catalogs, groups, and a master virtual machine.
• Use policies and Profile Management to restrict and allow XenDesktop features.
• Monitor XenDesktop sessions.
• Shadow XenDesktop sessions.
• Install and configure Provisioning services.
• Create a shared vDisk.
• Create streamed virtual desktops using Provisioning services.
• Update a vDisk.
• Identify key features of XenDesktop 5.5.