Citrix XenServer host in a pool showing "No interface present"

If a host in your pool is showing "No interface present", you can perform the following steps

1. Check if the host is in emergency mode

xe host-is-in-emergency-mode 

2. If the output is "True" then change it to "False" by running

xe pool-emergency-transition-to-master

3. Ensure host is no longer in emergency mode

4. Restart toolstack

xe-toolstack-restart

Applying updates on open source version of Citrix XenServer 6.2

Citrix XenServer 6.2 is now open source therefore for support and maintenance you will have to get the paid version which basically means buying a license for your XenServer.

Although all features are enable on the open source version of XenServer itself, some features are disabled when it comes to managing them using Citrix tools like XenCenter and one of the affected feature is the installation of patches. You will notice that the option to apply patches on your servers are greyed out.

You can however apply the patches manually. All your need to do is the get to the server console and run a few commands.

Before that, transfer the updates to the server or pool master using transfer tools like Filezilla and then run the following command

xe patch-upload file-name=‹filename location›

The command above will provide you with a UUID which you will use when you run the next command, if you are applying on a pool

xe patch-pool-apply uuid=‹UUID›

If you are applying for a single server, then you will need the host UUID which you can find through 
XenCenter. The command will then be

xe patch-apply uuid=‹UUID› host-uuid=‹host-UUID›

You can monitor the updates progress in XenCenter. If the server is showing the arrow down icon, the updates are being applied will turn back to a green circle icon once it is done. 

For can find more details here

Installing and Configuring Citrix XenApp 6.0 Fundamentals

Citrix XenApp 6.0 Fundamentals

System Requirements

1. Citrix XenServer 6.0
2. Citrix XenApp 6.0 Fundamentals (XAF6)
1. With Hotfix Rollup Pack 1 for Citrix XenApp 6 for Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2
3. Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard Virtual Machine (for XenApp)
1. without XenServer Tools installed
2. without Service Pack 1
3. with .Net Framework 3.5.1 Roles
4. with Remote Desktop Services (Remote Desktop Session Host and Remote Desktop Licensing) Role
5. with Internet Information Services (IIS)  Manager Role
4. Windows Active Directory Domain Controller (DC)
1. with Certificate Authority (CA)

Installation Procedure

Preparing host machine for virtual machines

1. Install XenServer 6.0

Creating a Windows Server VM (for DC)

1. Install a compatible Windows Server operating system that can act as an Active Directory Domain Controller with hostname DC

2. Launch dcpromo and configure domain

3. Install and configure DHCP
1. Configure scope to issue DNS pointing to DC’s IP address

4. Install and configure CA

Creating a XAF6 VM

1. Install Windows Server 2008 R2 (without SP1) with hostname XAF6

2. Join domain as a member.

3. Request for Web Server certificate from DC CA using CA Web Services at https://CAServer/certsrv

1. Enter Name with server FQDN
2. Download and install server certificate into Local Computer > Personal folder
3. Download and install CA certificate into Trusted Root Certification Authorities

5. Install .Net Framework 3.5 Role

6. Install Remote Desktop Services (Remote Desktop Session Host and Remote Desktop Licensing) Role
1. Configure Remote Desktop Licensing

7. Download and install Citrix XenApp 6.0 Fundamentals trial.
1. Enter a valid email address during registration to receive the license code

Configuring XAF6

1. Trial License Allocation
1. Login to MyCitrix (or create a new account if you do not have one)
2. After login, go to: My tools>Choose a Toolbox>Manage Licenses>Allocate.
3. Select the Don't see your product? link located at the top right corner of the Allocate web key page.
4. Enter the license code(s) displayed above in the Find your license dialog box and click Continue. When the Host Name warning page displays, select Continue.
5. Enter the actual server hostname
6. Download the license file
7. Launch Citrix XenApp Quick Start > Licensing and install the license

2. XenApp Agent to accept SSL
1. Launch IIS Manager and edit Bindings for Default Web Site to add https port 443 with server certificate downloaded earlier selected

3. Publishing Applications
1. Install applications on XAF6
2. Go to Publish Applications and choose the application to publish.
3. Select the users to publish the application to

4. Publishing Printers
1. Install printer(s) on XAF6
2. Go to Publish printers and choose the printers to publish
3. Select the users to publish the printers to

GUI for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server guests in Citrix XenServer

To enable GUI on SLES VM in Citrix Xenserver, you need to edit /etc/xinit.d/vnc and change the Port from 5901 to 5900

service vnc1
{
        type            = UNLISTED
        port            = 5900
        socket_type     = stream
        protocol        = tcp
        wait            = no
        user            = nobody
        server          = /usr/bin/Xvnc
        server_args     = -noreset -inetd -once -query localhost -geometry 1024x768 -securitytypes none
        disable         = yes

Installing OMSA on Citrix XenServer

Latest version of OMSA differs from previous versions.

Instead of the server hosting a web service on port 1311, OMSA now operates by a client-server basis, in which you will use a remote management system web service instead to access the management service on the XenServer. In other words, you will need to configure the server as well as a client.

Below details the installation steps and how to remote manage your server.

1. Download the ISO file v7.3 for XenServer here

# wget http://downloads.dell.com/FOLDER01557095M/1/OM-SrvAdmin-Dell-Web-LX-7.3.0-357_A00.XenServer62.iso

2. Install OMSA

# xe-install-supplemental-pack OM-SrvAdmin-Dell-Web-LX-7.3.0-357_A00.XenServer62.iso

3. Post installation configuration
# cd /opt/dell/srvadmin/etc 
#./autoconf_cim_component.sh -p 5986# service iptables save
# /etc/init.d/openwsmand restart
# /etc/init.d/sfcb restart
# iptables -I RH-Firewall-1-INPUT -p tcp --destination-port 5986 -j ACCEPT

4.Start the OMSA service

# cd /opt/dell/srvadmin/sbin
# ./srvadmin-services.sh start
Starting Systems Management Device Drivers:
Starting dell_rbu:[ OK ]
Starting ipmi driver: Already started[ OK ]
Starting Systems Management Data Engine:
Starting dsm_sa_datamgrd: [ OK ]
Starting dsm_sa_eventmgrd: [ OK ]
Starting dsm_sa_snmpd: [ OK ]
Starting DSM SA Shared Services: [ OK ]

5. Download another version of OMSA for your remote management system (the client) eg if you are using Windows, then download the Windows version here and install OMSA as per default

6. Open up a browser and type in the address as below.

https://client-system-ip:1311

If you are using your own system to access, then you can type https://localhost:1311

7. On the Managed System Login screen, type the credentials of the XenServer system you want to access, 

and then click Submit.

– Hostname / IP address: Hostname or IP address of the XenServer in the format 'Hostname:5986', or 'IP address:5986', as shown below.

Note: Tick on 'Ignore certificate warnings'

Cloning SLES in Citrix Xen

Virtualisation is not only great in production environment but also the best way when it comes to development.

One of the most common and extremely useful feature is cloning of another virtual machine as it will save you a lot of time and also resources. However, when you clone using the the 'Fast' method, you will face problem with the network card as the MAC address will be similar. This affects mostly Linux distros as Windows will boot the NIC as a new card and take in the MAC address assigned by the XenServer.

For SLES, there are a couple of things you need to do overcome this. First, take note of the correct MAC address which is displayed at the network tab of the cloned VM.

Once you have the info, move the network card configuration file to reflect the right MAC address, eg

cd /etc/sysconfig/network/
mv ifcfg-eth-id-5e\:7f\:45\:e6\:46\:29 ifcfg-eth-id-aa\:fa\:53\:65\:40\:92

If you want to make the network card as a DHCP client, then edit the /var/lib/dhcpcd/dhcpcd-eth0.info file. At the bottom of the file, update the entry with the correct MAC address, eg

CLIENTID=AA:FA:53:65:40:92

Save the file, then run the network configuration wizard using YaST and you're good to go.