In these series of articles related to Citrix Hypervisor (XenServer), we will learn how to install XenServer 8, Configure shared storage, and update it. We will then look at different feature XenServer has to offer such as HA, Workload Balancing and vSwitch controller etc.
Before starting with the XenServer series, I would highly recommend going through the VMware Home Lab series below. This will help you setup the different networks zones, Domain Contorller and DNS server, pfSense virtual firewall and the Openfiler shared storage appliance which we will be referencing throughout.
https://virtshinobi.blog/how-to-create-vmware-vsphere-8-home-lab/
In this article we will start with installing Citrix Hypervisor (XenServer) 8 on VMware workstation 17. Open VMware Workstation, Go to File menu and select New Virtual Machine.
Select Typical and click Next.
Select Use ISO image and browse and select the Citrix XenServer 8 ISO file. Click Next to continue.
Select Guest Operating System as VMware ESXi and version as VMware ESXi 8. Click Next to continue.
Enter the desired virtual machine name, for example XENHOST01. Click Next.
Enter the disk size as 60GB, Select Store virtual disk as a single file. Click Next.
Click on Customize Hardware.
Leave the CPU to default 2 and change the Memory to 8 GB. Click on Network Adapter and select Custom. Select vmnet1 virtual network from the drop down menu. Click on Add to add additional network interfaces.
Select Network Adapter and click Finish.
Click on Custom and select vmnet1 virtual network from the drop down menu.
Click on Add to add additional network interfaces and configure them as shown below and click on Close once done.
As shown above, we have configured the network adapter 1 and 2 as VMNet1 (MGMT), adapter 3 and 4 as VMnet 2 (iSCSI / Backup), adapter 5 and 6 as VMNet 3 (Web / DMZ), adapter 7 and 8 as VMnet 4 (APP / DB) and adapter 9 and 10 as VMnet 5 (Client) zone.
Click Finish to close the New Virtual Machine Wizard and power on the virtual machine.
Once the virtual machine boots and the XenServer installation starts, Select the keyboard layout and hit Enter to continue.
To begin the installation process hit Enter to continue.
Use the TAB key to highlight the button Accept EULA and hit Enter key to accept it and continue.
Next select the hard disk and use the TAB key to the option OK and hit Enter to continue.
Leave the default option selected if you want to create a Local repository to store virtual machines and hit OK to continue.
Select the option to Enable thin provisioning if you plan to host Citrix XenDesktop VMs on this Storage repository and hit OK.
Leave Local media selected, hit the Enter key to continue.
Use the arrow key to select Skip verification and hit Enter to continue.
Enter the password for the root account twice and hit Enter to continue.
Select eth0 for the management network and hit to continue.
Use the TAB key to move around and use SPACEBAR key to select Static configuration and enter the IP address details to use. Hit Enter to continue.
| IP Address | Netmask | Gateway |
|---|---|---|
| 10.100.1.101 | 255.255.255.0 | 10.100.1.11 |
Enter the hostname as xenhost01 and DNS server details as below. Hit Enter.
Use arrow key to select the timezone and hit Enter key.
Select city and hit Enter key to continue.
Select Provide NTP servers manually and hit Enter key.
Enter 10.100.1.21 as the IP address for the first NTP server. This is the IP address for the Domain Controller (MASTERDC) I have built for my home lab which we will be using as the NTP server. You can follow the below article from the VMware Home Lab Series set up one for your own lab.
Use the TAB key to move to Install XenServer and hit Enter to begin the XenServer installation.
We will not be installing any supplemental packs. Hit Enter to continue.
Once the installation is complete, hit Enter key to reboot the virtual machine.
Once the virtual machine has rebooted you will see the below console. Explore the different options available.
Create one more XenServer virtual machine following this article and name it as XENHOST02. Configure the IP address for the management interface as 10.100.1.102 as shown below.
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