This is the bit I was expecting in the Preview Kit but it wasn't there. This is the Integration between XenDesktop, Provisioning Server and Xenserver. So I put all the components onto VMware Workstation on my laptop.
Xenserver:
Provisioning Server:
XenDesktop Beta:
Prerequisites:
MMC 3.0 - WindowsServer2003-KB907265-x86-ENU.exe
PVS-SDK.exe (under MISC)
CitrixXenDesktopSetupToolBeta.msi (Also under MISC)
And - note to Citrix - the word Management is misspelt - resulting in it going under Managment Consoles :)
You will need to have created a VDisk first using Provisioning Server (but thats a whole other story)
We next, next next through the wizard, and pick a VDisk from the provisioning server point it at the Xenserver and it creates all the bits for us, even publishing the desktop/ group of desktops in the XenDesktop GUI. So what is it doing?- it is tying one or more desktops (already on PVS), using Xenserver to host them, and Brokering them through Xendesktop. Quite a slick little tool.
No Support for VMware then Citrix? Well I don't know if we should really expect that to be in the next release.
I really like this, it provides the automation to roll this lot out to a large environment.
I do believe that any VDI solution would benefit from the PVS/Ardence component, imagine savings you can have on your SAN if all your Virtual Desktops could share the same disk ( or at least groups of them). The disk contention issue needs to be tested, but in my experience if you throw a fair bit of memory at it most of the OS requirements are satisfied by what is already loaded in memory.
So for example here is a 4GB VDisk:
With Write Cache being used by two machines sharing the VDisk:
I have also created a half hour PVS jumpstart video: - hmmm... now if I could just have the bandwidth to upload it :)
P.S. before someone asks me, no I have not managed to get VMware workstation to present the Hardware Assist in the virtual bios - this Xenserver would not start a Windows host, you will need a proper physical Xenserver for that. The virtual Xenserver does however respond to the tool and create the machine under VM Workstation. I created my VDisks and ran my XP VDI workstations as individual VMs under VM Workstation.