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Paul WagnerFlag for United States of America

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XenDesktop PvD with KMS - What order to run inventory?

We have XenDesktop VDAs deployed with PvD. Our environment uses KMS via DNS.

I am having trouble remembering in what order to rearm the master image and run inventory.

Options:
- Rearm and immediately run inventory, then reboot
- Rearm, reboot and run inventory
- Inventory, reboot and rearm

These articles do not explain PvD at all!
https://support.citrix.com/article/CTX128580

https://support.citrix.com/article/CTX128276
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Carl Webster
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Are you using PVS or MCS?
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ASKER

PVS 7.6
In the 7.7 article, and in the 7.12 article I am writing now, this is what I say:

Everything is now complete. Before running the PvD Inventory, follow your standard procedure for sealing the image. This process is unique to every environment. For my lab, I have no antivirus software and I am not using WSUS so I have no registry keys to clear out.

This is the point where you will also configure KMS licensing for Windows and Office. Please follow the instructions from Citrix in Configuring KMS Licensing for Windows and Office 2010 and 2013. Manually run the PvD Inventory.
=====

After this is when you run the XenDesktop setup wizard.
Our issue is that all of the VMs lose their Windows product key licensing on reboot. I was thinking that by rearming the master image and relicensing the VMs through VAMT, the loss of the product key would be fixed.

Update just now: I tried creating a new vdisk version, rearming, running inventory and then promoting it to Test. I booted a couple VMs to the test vdisk version and updated their product key in VAMT. They were licensed, but after a reboot they lost their product key again.

I'm not sure what to do at this point since the vDisk Pool is in production. Make a new vDisk Pool using a copy of the same vdisk but start over again with KMS licensing? Thoughts?
Do you have the vDisk set to KMS licensing?
Yes
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Carl Webster
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Update just now: I tried creating a new vdisk version,

Correction:
Update just now: I tried creating a new maintenance version of the vdisk...
Windows and Office.
I'm kind of bummed to have to do it all over again, but you're right, that is the nice thing about vdisks.

So, from what you can tell, there's no fixing the current vdisk set?
I wouldn't trust the current vDisk. Do you have a copy of the vDisk from before you started?

Follow the directions in your second link very carefully. I personally know the two guys who wrote that article. They spent a lot of hours working through the various scenarios of exactly what to do in what precise order.

Heck, if you have the original master image still, follow one of my articles (probably the 7.7 one since it mentions KMS) and follow the steps I used. That series of articles has been viewed over 150,000 time and Citrix used one of them as official PvD product documentation (after I removed all my sarcasm and snarky humor).
The KMS change must be made to the original vDisk in Private image mode, not a Maintenance version.
Do you have a copy of the vDisk from before you started?

Yes, I have the original vdisk in the file store without the version changes (zero version). Is that what you mean? Or do you mean, do I have a vdisk copy from before I deployed it? (Yes, I have that, too.)
zero version vDisk. Start over just to make sure KMS is done correctly.
Not the answer that I wanted to hear, but it was what I saw coming. Thanks for the help and for your articles.
One more question:
Once I get it all rolling in the new vdisk and I want to make maintenance version updates, do I need to do anything with KMS or just perform the updates, run inventory and then deploy a test version?
My articles are very detailed so hopefully they answer any question you may have. Other than using Win10, the 7.7 article is what I would recommend you follow. You can leave out the stuff about having to manually do the write cache and PvD drives. That was based on some customers having different data stores for those drives and they wanted to use those. The XD Setup Wizard does not allow you to specify a separate data store for the write cache drive.

The article I am in the process of doing for XD 7.12 and PVS 7.11 does not use the manually created WC and PvD drives.
NEVER EVER touch KMS again. Maint version, update, promote to test, test, promote to production and done. NEVER EVER touch KMS again.
Aye, sir!
Carl,

I need some clarification. You said to follow your 7.7 article and that it would answer my original question:
I am having trouble remembering in what order to rearm the master image and run inventory.

In your article, you say:
This is the point where you will also configure KMS licensing for Windows and Office. Please follow the instructions from Citrix in Configuring KMS Licensing for Windows and Office 2010 and 2013. Manually run the PvD Inventory.

When I go to that article and follow Scenario 1, it has me shut down in step 5.
Do I run PvD inventory before step 5 or do I power the VM back on and run inventory?
Run the inventory as part of step 5. When you manually run the inventory, the option to shut down is already selected. When the inventory completes, you will get a popup telling you that if you shut down, no one can access the system. No problem. Allow the VM to shut down and continue on with that article's step 6.
Cool. That's the part that even Citrix support couldn't answer for me. (They wanted to test lab it!)

Got it. Thanks, Carl!
Paul,

I just published the newest version in this article series. I put in info for the KMS questions you asked.

Citrix XenDesktop 7.12, Provisioning Services 7.11 and the XenDesktop Setup Wizard with Personal vDisk Drives

Thanks

Webster
You da' man!!