System Requirements

2011 Citrix Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Terms of Use | Trademarks | Privacy Statement

Contents

System Requirements Requirements for Controllers Database Requirements Separate Component Requirements Active Directory Requirements Virtual Desktop Agent Requirements Host Requirements Requirements for Machine Creation Services

3 4 6 7 10 11 12 13

XenDesktop 5 System Requirements

These topics describe the requirements for installing XenDesktop components, including the Controller, database, Desktop Studio, Desktop Director, Citrix Licensing, and the Virtual Desktop Agent. Active Directory and host requirements are also described. For the requirements for installing other XenDesktop components, see the product-specific documentation for each component. Important: Some requirements are third-party components supplied on the XenDesktop installation media. Before using XenDesktop, check whether there are any security updates available from the third party, and install any such updates immediately. For the Java Runtime Environment, Citrix strongly recommends that you install an update immediately before using XenDesktop.

Requirements for Controllers

If you intend installing all XenDesktop server-side components on a single server, then this server must meet all the requirements detailed in this topic. Servers must meet the following requirements:
q

One of the following operating systems:

q

Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Standard or Enterprise Edition, with Service Pack 2 installed (32- and 64-bit)

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2, Standard or Enterprise Edition (64-bit only) Note that you can mix operating systems within a site.
q q

Microsoft .NET Framework, Version 3.5, with Service Pack 1. If you do not have this on your server, it is installed automatically for you. The XenDesktop installation media also contain this installer in the Support\DotNet35 folder.

Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) and ASP.NET 2.0. IIS is required only if you are installing the Web Interface, the License Server, or Desktop Director:
q

For Windows Server 2008, Microsoft IIS Version 7.0.

For Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft IIS Version 7.5. If you do not have these on your server, you may be prompted for the Windows Server installation media, and they are installed for you.
q q

Microsoft Visual J# 2.0 Redistributable Package, Second Edition. This is required only if Web Interface is installed on the server. If you do not have this on your server, it is installed automatically for you. The XenDesktop installation media also contain this installer in the Support\JSharp20SE folder.

Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 with Service Pack 1 Redistributable Package. If you do not have this on your server, it is installed automatically for you. The XenDesktop installation media also contain this installer in the Support\vcredist folder.

Microsoft Windows PowerShell version 2.0. If you are using Windows Server 2008 (not Windows Server 2008 R2), Microsoft Windows Management Framework is installed automatically if not already present on the computer, and this download includes Microsoft Powershell 2.0. However, the installation needs to download Microsoft Windows Management Framework, so ensure an internet connection is available or pre-install Microsoft Windows Management Framework.

Internet Explorer 7.0 or later if you are running the license server on the controller.

Requirements for Controllers

q

Disk space requirements:

q

100 MB for the Controller and SDKs 50 MB for Desktop Studio 50 MB for Desktop Director 40 MB for the licensing components 100 MB for Web Interface (and clients included in the installation)

Database Requirements
The Controller supports the following versions of the Microsoft SQL Server database:
q

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Express Edition (this is installed automatically) Microsoft SQL Server 2008 with Service Pack 1 or later

Both 32- and 64-bit versions are supported in stand-alone, clustered and mirrored mode (except for SQL Server 2008 R2 Express, which is supported in stand-alone mode only). Note that you must use Windows authentication when connecting from XenDesktop 5 to an SQL database.

Separate Component Requirements

These topics describe requirements for components that can be installed either on the same server as the controller or individually, such as Citrix Licensing and Desktop Studio. Web Interface can also be installed separately; for information about Web Interface requirements, see the Web Interface documentation. Clients are required only as part of Web Interface installation, to enable Web Interface to deliver these to user devices.

Licensing Requirements
You must use version 11.6.1 of the license server and console supplied with XenDesktop 5; XenDesktop 5 will not work with older license servers. Before installing Citrix Licensing, see Licensing Your Product for further details and possible updates to licensing requirements.

Desktop Studio Requirements

Computers running Desktop Studio must meet the following criteria:
q

One of the following operating systems:

q

Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 3 (32- and 64-bit versions). Windows Vista (32- and 64-bit versions). Windows 7 (32- and 64-bit versions), all editions. Microsoft Windows Server 2008 (32- and 64-bit versions).

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2. Microsoft .NET Framework, Version 3.5, with Service Pack 1.
q

If you do not have this on your computer, it is installed automatically for you. The XenDesktop installation media also contain this installer in the Support\DotNet35 folder.
q

Microsoft Management Console 3.0 (MMC 3.0) must be installed. Disk space requirements: 75 MB. Microsoft Windows PowerShell version 2.0. If you do not have this on your computer, it is installed automatically for you.

Separate Component Requirements

Desktop Director Requirements

You can install Desktop Director on the same server as the XenDesktop Controller or standalone. In either case the system requirements are the same. To install Desktop Director, computers must meet the following criteria:
q

One of the following operating systems:

q

Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Standard or Enterprise Edition, with Service Pack 2 installed (32- and 64-bit)

q Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2, Standard or Enterprise Edition (64-bit only) Microsoft .NET Framework, Version 3.5, with Service Pack 1.

If you do not have this on your server, it is installed automatically for you. The XenDesktop installation media also contain this installer in the Support\DotNet35 folder.
q

Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) and ASP.NET 2.0:

q

For Windows Server 2008, Microsoft IIS Version 7.0.

q For Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft IIS Version 7.5. If you do not have these on your server, you are prompted for the Windows Server installation media, and they are installed for you.

Microsoft WinRM 1.1 or above. WinRM 2.0 is installed automatically by the installer as part of Microsoft Windows PowerShell version 2.0 / Windows Management Framework (WinRM 1.1 for Windows 2008 Service Pack 2; WinRM 2.0 for Windows 2008 R2).

To view the Web-based Desktop Director, you must use one of the following browsers:
q

On Windows, Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 and 8.0, and Mozilla Firefox 3.5. On Macintosh, Apple Safari 4 and Mozilla Firefox 3.5. Adobe Flash Player 9 must be installed to view the graphs.

Microsoft Group Policy Management Console Requirements

Microsoft Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) is required only if Citrix policy information is to be stored in Active Directory, and not in the database. For information on the Windows platforms that GPMC is supported on, see your Microsoft documentation.

Client Requirements
The following clients are supplied with XenDesktop 5:
q

Citrix online plug-in 12.1

Separate Component Requirements

q

Citrix Receiver for Linux 11.100 Citrix online plug-in for Macintosh 11.2

For full XenDesktop 5 functionality, use the Desktop Viewer in the Citrix online plug-in 12.1. Other clients provide differing levels of functionality: see the specific client documentation for details. Note: .NET Framework Requirements. To use the Desktop Viewer, .NET 2.0 Service Pack 1 or later is required. This version is required because, if Internet access is not available, certificate revocation checks slow down connection startup times. The checks can be turned off and startup times improved with this version of the Framework but not with .NET 2.0. The Desktop Viewer Embedded Edition does not require the .NET Framework to be installed.

Active Directory Requirements

Active Directory is required for XenDesktop. For more information about how Active Directory and XenDesktop interact, and about the different Active Directory topologies supported, see Active Directory Considerations. If Citrix policy information is to be stored in Active Directory, and not in the database, the domain controller can be at "Windows 2000 native" functional level or higher. However, to use Policy Modeling, the domain controller must be running on a server whose operating system is W2003 or higher; this does not affect the domain functional level, which can still be "Windows 2000 native" or higher

10

Virtual Desktop Agent Requirements

Virtual machines must run one of the following:
q

Windows XP 32-bit with Service Pack 3 or later. Windows XP 64-bit with Service Pack 2 or later. If virtual machines are to run Windows XP and you intend using Desktop Director in your deployment, you must install Microsoft WinRM (version 1.1 or above) on the virtual machine before installing the Virtual Desktop Agent.

Windows Vista (non-Aero) 32-bit or 64-bit with Service Pack 2 or later. Windows 7 (non-Aero) 32-bit or 64-bit.

Support components, such as .NET Framework 3.5 and the Visual C++ 2005 Runtime Library, are installed automatically if they are not already on the desktop.

11

Host Requirements
XenDesktop enables you to manage virtual desktops supported on the following hosts. For more information on hypervisor support in XenDesktop, see http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX131239. Note: If you plan to use Machine Creation Services, see the Requirements for Machine Creation Services for specific requirements for host and storage technologies.
q

Citrix XenServer 5.6 Standard and Enterprise editions. For information on system requirements, see the XenServer Administrator's Guide and the XenServer Installation Guide. Note: You must use Citrix XenServer 5.6 if you intend using Machine Creation Services.

Citrix XenServer 5.5 Update 2 Standard and Enterprise editions. Note: Machine Creation Services will not work with this version of XenServer. For information on system requirements, see the XenServer Administrator's Guide and the XenServer Installation Guide.

VMware vSphere 4.1 (ESX 4.1 and vCenter 4.1, and ESXi 4.1 and vCenter 4.1). For information on system requirements, see the VMware documentation at http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vs_pubs.html/ VMware vSphere 4 Update 1 (ESX 4.0 and vCenter 4.0). For information on system requirements, see the VMware documentation at http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vs_pubs.html/ Note: No support is provided for vSphere vCenter 'Linked Mode' operation (see http://www.vmware.com/products/vcenter-server/features.html).

Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2; Hyper-V (Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise and Standard Edition; Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Edition). For information on system requirements, see the Microsoft documentation at http://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter/virtualmachinemanager/en/us/default.aspx/

12

Requirements for Machine Creation Services

Machine Creation Services and run-time Active Directory account injection into VMs is supported on:
q

Citrix XenServer 5.6 Standard and Enterprise editions. Note: Machine Creation Services will not work with earlier versions of XenServer. For information on system requirements, see the XenServer Administrator's Guide and the XenServer Installation Guide.

VMware vSphere 4.1 (ESX 4.1 and vCenter 4.1, and ESXi 4.1 and vCenter 4.1) VMware vSphere 4 (with ESX 4.x). Note: No support is provided for vSphere vCenter 'Linked Mode' operation (see http://www.vmware.com/products/vcenter-server/features.html). For information on system requirements, see the VMware documentation at: http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vs_pubs.html/

Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 (with Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V).

Host and Storage Technologies

The following combinations of host and storage technology are supported: XenServer ESX Local Disks Yes1 Yes
4

NFS Yes (R) Yes (R) No

Block Storage Yes Yes Yes3 (R)

Storage Link No No No

Hyper-V Yes2 (R) = Recommended protocol. Notes:

1. Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) on Logical Volume Manager (LVM) only; this is the default for XenServer 5.5 and 5.6. VMs created in this deployment will not support XenMotion or dynamic placement. If you have multiple XenServers in a pool just using local disks, Machine Creation Services will fail. 2. Available if there is only a single Hyper-V server in the hosting unit. 3. Microsoft Cluster Shared Volumes are required. 4. No support for vMotion or Dynamic placement.

13

Requirements for Machine Creation Services

14