About this Course

This course provides students an accelerated path to obtain the skills required to successfully deploy and support a complete Citrix hosted application and desktop virtualization solution in a Windows Server 2012 R2 environment.

Throughout this course, students will learn how to configure an environment that includes the following Citrix components: XenApp and XenDesktop, XenServer, Citrix License Server, MCS, Provisioning Services (PVS), Personal vDisk, StoreFront, NetScaler (including NetScaler Gateway), and Citrix Receiver. Upon course completion, students will be able to build a XenApp and XenDesktop 7.6 environment from scratch, test the implementation to ensure that all components work as expected, and successfully manage, monitor, and troubleshoot a XenApp and XenDesktop 7.6 solution.

Audience Profile

This course is recommended for Architects, Consultants, Engineers, and Administrators. Students will gain hands-on experience installing, configuring, and managing hosted application and desktop virtualization solutions from the ground up. Upon completion of the course, students will have the skills required to successfully deploy and support XenDesktop 7.5 solutions that the majority of Citrix customers implement today.

At Course Completion

Upon successful completion of this course, learners are able to:

• Understand the XenDesktop 7.5 architecture, components, and communication
• Set up the hypervisor
• Set up and manage the XenDesktop 7.5 infrastructure
• Create and manage machine catalogs and Delivery Groups
• Configure and manage StoreFront
• Configure and manage policies and end-user profiles
• Manage sessions, sites, and end users with Director
• Manage printing
• Set up and Manage Provisioning Services
• Validate the Implementation
• Set up NetScaler to provide external access to XenDesktop 7.5 resources

Prerequisites

Before taking this course, Citrix recommends that students have:

• An understanding of server, desktop and application virtualization concepts
• Experience with Windows Server 2012 R2, specifically:
  • Active Directory
    • Domains
    • Groups and User Accounts
    • Organizational Units
    • Group Policy Objects
• Experience with Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 user interfaces Basic storage knowledge (manage existing storage types, add new storage)
• Basics of Citrix licensing
• Familiarity with at least one hypervisor (XenServer, Hyper-V, or vSphere) Basic understanding of the different types of profiles (local, roaming, mandatory)
• Completed the following courses or can demonstrate equivalent knowledge:
  • CXD-102 Introduction to XenDesktop 7

Course Outline

Module 1: Understanding the XenApp and XenDesktop Architecture

• Understanding the Architecture of a XenApp and XenDesktop Solution
• XenApp and XenDesktop Virtualization Technologies
• Infrastructure Components
• Citrix Components
• Designing a XenApp and XenDesktop Implementation

Module 2: Hypervisor Considerations

• Setting up the Hypervisor
• Installing the Hypervisor
• Installing the Hypervisor Management Console
• Configuring the Hypervisor
• Creating Templates

Module 3: Infrastructure Considerations and Setup

• Setting Up the Infrastructure Components
• Domain Controllers
• Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
• Certificate Authority
• File Servers
• Setting Up SQL Server 2012
• Setting Up SQL Server Mirroring

Module 4: Setting Up Citrix Components

• Setting Up Citrix Components
• Setting Up the Citrix License Server
• Setting Up a XenApp and XenDesktop Site
• XenApp and XenDesktop Delegated Administration
• Setting Up the Citrix Universal Print Server
• Setting Up a StoreFront Server Group
• Setting Up Citrix Receiver
• Troubleshooting Receiver
• Troubleshooting StoreFront

Module 5: Setting Up XenApp and XenDesktop Resources

• Setting Up XenApp and XenDesktop Resources
• Preparing the Master Virtual Machine
• Setting Up a Server OS Master Image
• Setting Up a Desktop OS Master Image
• Creating Machine Catalogs
• Creating Delivery Groups
• Troubleshooting: Managing Desktops and Applications

Module 6: Managing Policies and Profiles

• Setting Up Policies
• Policy Precedence (Studio vs. Group Policy Objects)
• Creating Policies Using Studio
• Creating Policies Using Group Policy
• Obtaining the Resultant Set of Policy Using Group Policy Objects
• Managing End-User Profiles
• Troubleshooting: Profile Management

Module 7: Managing Printing

• Managing Printing
• Default Printing Behavior
• Configuring Client Printing
• Managing Printer Drivers
• Optimizing Printing Performance
• Setting Up and Managing the Universal Print Server

Module 8: Setting Up Provisioning Services

• Setting Up Provisioning Services
• Provisioning Services Architecture
• Setting Up a Provisioning Services Server
• Installing the Provisioning Services Console
• Configuring Boot from Network
• Setting Up a Second Provisioning Services Server
• Configuring the BootStrap File for High Availability
• Configuring the Master Target Device
• Creating the vDisk
• Assigning a vDisk to a Target Device
• Creating the Machine Catalog
• Creating the Delivery Group

Module 9:Managing and Monitoring Sessions, Sites, and End Users with Director

• Citrix Director Overview
• Monitoring within the Director Dashboard
• Monitoring and Managing End-User Sessions
• Troubleshooting: Managing Sites, Sessions and End Users with Director

Module 10: Setting Up NetScaler

• Setting Up NetScaler
• Performing the Initial NetScaler Configuration
• Configuring NTP
• Setting Up DNS
• Creating Certificates for NetScaler
• Load Balancing StoreFront Servers
• Configuring NetScaler for Remote Access
• Modifying StoreFront to Integrate with NetScaler
• Configuring ICA Proxy
• Configuring Authentication Policies
• Configuring NetScaler for Email-Based Account Discovery