Citrix XenServer 6.0 Administration Essential Guide

Virtualization helps an organization reduce costs and achieve low maintenance. It is fast becoming an important skill for all administrators. Citrix’s XenServer is one of the leading virtualization solutions for enterprises and helps companies reduce costs while allowing them to integrate, automate and easily manage their datacenters. It comes with a steep learning curve, but the results are well worth the effort.

This practical guide on XenServer administration shows you how to manage XenServer pools; create, configure and manage virtual machines and a datacenter. With the help of real-world examples in this book, you will be able to apply these concepts directly in your everyday life. Packed with author’s tips and helpful advice; the book is your best choice for anything related to XenServer administration.

This is the only book that focuses on the most vital aspect of XenServer–administration. You don’t have to struggle through the lesser-documented tasks anymore, this book will provide all the information you need to create and run a perfectly designed datacenter using XenServer.

You will begin your journey towards becoming an expert XenServer administrator by configuring XenServer pools and managing role-based user authentication. Your next step is to create and manage virtual machines. In the following chapters you will learn to configure storage. The book discusses some of the more difficult tasks like configuring and managing VM memory. In the end you will be capable of handling your datacenter and virtual machines through a network, and you will learn how to monitor and backup your XenServer setup. All through the book, the author adds his helpful tips and advice that will help you choose the best options for your setup.

What you will learn from this book

• Create and manage XenServer resource pools to manage your XenServer host as a unique identity
• Use XenServer features like XenMotion to move the VM from one host to another without downtime
• Manage user authentication using role-based access control
• Configure Storage Repository and Networking
• Create, Import and Export Virtual Machines
• Convert physical machines to virtual using XenConvert
• Manage Virtual Machines memory and snapshots with dynamic memory control and optimize Xen memory usage
• Enable and manage High Availability in your XenServer
• Integrate and configure XenServer with Microsoft Active Directory
• Manage backups of XenServer host, protection, and the high-availability of virtual machines

Approach
This is a practical, concise step-by-step tutorial with screenshots for carrying out tasks showing you how to manage and administer a XenServer in your business. The author brings his own extensive knowledge of XenServer. The book is full of best practices and tips that will help you benefit from the author’s experience in working with XenServer.

Who this book is for
If you are an administrator working on XenServer, this book is for you. The book assumes that you have a basic understanding of XenServer administration, but need not have working experience with XenServer. You must be well aware of virtualization concepts as the book does not cover that.

IT consultants, service providers and architects, who want to approach XenServer as a virtualization platform will also find this book useful.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introducing XenServer Resource Pools
Chapter 2: Managing User Authentication
Chapter 3: Managing Storage Repositories
Chapter 4: Creating Virtual Machines
Chapter 5: Managing Virtual Machines
Chapter 6: Managing XenServer and Virtual Machine Memory
Chapter 7: Managing XenServer Networking
Chapter 8: Managing High Availability and Snapshots
Chapter 9: Protecting and Monitoring XenServer
Appendix A: Supported Guest Operating Systems and Virtual Machine Templates
Appendix B: Applying Updates and Hotfixes