Citrix XenServer 7.1 LTSR Administration

Build a new skill set around Citrix XenServer 7.x focusing on the 7.1 Long Term Services Release, which delivers optimized server virtualization for all datacenter workloads. In this five-day course, you’ll learn how to install, manage, secure, size and troubleshoot an enterprise XenServer implementation. The course will walk you through configuration and administration of the environment, from architecture and virtual machines to resource pools, storage and networking. Key topics will include capabilities such as virtual CPU optimization, VM management, and high availability/disaster recovery, and features such as Intellicache and XenMotion. This course is designed for IT professionals with little or no XenServer experience.

What you’ll learn:

• Understand XenServer architecture, features, and eading practices
• Configure and manage virtual machines
• Install, configure, and manage XenServer and the XenServer environment
• Configure Resource Pools and high availability in the XenServer environment
• Configure network, storage, and security for XenServer
• Troubleshoot the XenServer environment

Is this course for you?

Built for IT Professionals who need to design, deploy, manage, and support Citrix XenServer. Potential students include administrators, engineers, or architects working with Citrix XenServer for both XenApp and XenDesktop workloads as well as general infrastructure use.

Prerequisite Knowledge:

This course requires little to no previous experience with Citrix XenServer.

Citrix Versions Covered:

This course is currently based on XenServer 7.1 Long Term Service Release however a review of newer features is covered in the course.

Course Modules

Module 1: XenServer Architecture

• Describing the XenServer virtualization platform
• Product editions and entitlements
• XenServer architecture
• XenServer key components

Module 2: Managing Virtual Machines

• Virtualization techniques
• XenTools
• Creating virtual machines
• Managing virtual machines
• Understanding vApps
• Managing snapshot

Module 3: Installing XenServer

• Hardware requirements
• Licensing
• Available installation methods
• XenServer supplemental packs

Module 4: Managing a XenServer Environment

• Deploying hotfixes
• Upgrading XenServer
• Upgrading XenTools
• Monitoring and alerting
• Pool metadata backups

Module 5: Resource Pools

• Understanding resource pools
• XenServer pool master
• Pool master election
• Workload balancing

Module 6: Networking

• XenServer networking architecture
• Virtual network types
• Network interface bonds
• XenServer physical connectivity

Module 7: Storage

• XenServer storage architecture
• Understanding thick and thin provisioning
• Storage locations
• File based and block based storage
• Storage multipathing
• XenServer Intellicache
• XenServer in-memory read caching
• XenApp and XenDesktop Provisioning enhancements

Module 8: High Availability

• Purpose of high availability
• High availability recommendations
• Detecting a host failure
• High availability recovery proces

Module 9: Security

• Integrating with Active Directory
• Understanding role-based access
• Minimizing the attack surface
• Certificates and SSL with XenServer
• XenServer Hypervisor Introspection Direct Inspect API

Module 10: Sizing and Optimizations

• Dom0 sizing
• Dom0 in-memory reach caching
• Virtual CPU optimization
• Device pass-through
• Dynamic memory control
• Resource scheduling
• Network QoS
• Disk prioritization
• XenServer vGPU and GPU pass-through

Module 11: Troubleshooting

• XenServer maintenance mode
• Host logs and event notifications
• Xsconsole
• XenTop
• Command line and PowerShell commands
• Using Citrix Insight Services
• Network tracing