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Dell DVS Simplified Appliance Reference Architecture
platform that maximizes guest density and performance. The premium editions of
XenServer extend the platform to enable organizations of any size to integrate and
automate management processes, delivering a virtual data center solution.
Citrix XenServer 6.0.2 will be installed with thin provisioning enabled.
Click
HERE
for a Citrix XenServer product overview.
Click
HERE
for Citrix XenServer documentation and FAQ.
5.3
Microsoft Licensing with DVS Simplified
5.3.1
Microsoft Windows Licensing
VDI-in-a-Box 5.x supports both KMS and MAK Volume Licensing for Windows 7 desktops.
Volume Activation methods were introduced with Windows 7 and do not apply to
Windows XP. VDI-in-a-Box only supports Volume Licensed versions of Windows XP,
which do not require activation with Microsoft. KMS activation is the preferred method for
most customers that have at least 25 unique Windows activations across both physical
and virtual (VDI-in-a-Box) machines every 30 days. KMS allows for unlimited number of
activations, can be easily managed a KMS host and VAMT and usually requires no change
to the golden image.
VDI-in-a-Box 5.1 offers a new setting at the template level to reset the KMS activation
timer. Leaving this unchecked implies that the image‖s activation clock is not rearmed
during prepare. Checking the box implies that the image‖s activation clock is rearmed
during prepare, decrementing the activation count. If the image‖s activation clock is
rearmed more than 3 times before the image is activated by KMS (Microsoft activation Key
Management Service), the image cannot be prepared because the /generalize will fail.
If your environment is already using a KMS Host, the only thing an administrator needs to
do is ensure the DNS SRV records are available to the VDI-in-a-Box virtual desktops. The
administrator can also configure the golden image to contact a KMS Host manually. For
these details and more information on Windows KMS activation, please refer to the “VDI-
in-a-Box Best Practices for Windows Activation:”
http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX134349
5.3.2
Microsoft Office Licensing
Microsoft Office 2010 can be activated using the same KMS Host used by the Windows
machines using KMS activations. Unlike Windows 7 activations which require at least 25
requests to activate, Office 2010 only requires 5 requests to activate when using KMS.
Using KMS for both Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office works like a charm and
typically requires no modification of the Office installation. However, it is important to
trigger the activation on the golden image before publishing it.
For more information, please refer to “VDI-in-a-Box Best Practices for Microsoft Office
Activation:”
http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX134351.
5.4
Citrix Desktop Receiver
The Citrix Desktop Receiver is a client-based plug-in that is installed on the user‖s
endpoint device. This is to be used in-conjunction with Citrix VDI-in-a-box when the user
