Readiness

1. Readiness Overview

Now that we have built the system, we are ready to move to the readiness phase. In this phase, you will verify that your implementation meets the objectives of the project vision and a start to prepare the environment for the new MetaFrame Farm. This is accomplished through the following:

       Testing your new MetaFrame farm

       Pilot Implementation

       Rollout any remaining MetaFrame servers

       Implement Change Management policies and procedures

2. Testing your New MetaFrame Environment

You will now need to test your new MetaFrame environment to identify and correct any issues with the MetaFrame XP architecture and implementation prior to the production rollout. You will be tasked to test the functionality and stability of the new farm.

Keeping with the scope of this document you will not be required to perform full regression testing. Instead, you will need to test all of the components / features to verify they meet the requirements set forth in achieving the vision of the project as well as allow room for growth.

This is done by testing all the features of MetaFrame from a variety of clients that you will be supporting. You will also want to clean up any error messages that might appear in the Event Viewer of a MetaFrame Server.

In the following sections, you will find a pilot / test user that I feel is a great starting point for testing your farm. If you pass all the questions and have completed any additional testing that may be required, you will be ready to move on to a pilot rollout. A pilot will is important in that it provides a real world test environment.

If you will be required to do more regression and scalability testing then you can leverage the Citrix Server Test Kit to your advantage. The Citrix Server Test Kit is an automated tool that allows you to run various user load tests. The CSTK allows the Citrix administrator to simulate various user loads by using application simulation scripts. The scripts simulate various usages of typical software applications and run without any user interaction.

For more information and to download please visit: http://apps.citrix.com/cdn/SDK/cstk_sdk.asp

If anyone out there has any expertise with the CSTK and would like to contribute a how to for this document then please email dbrown@dabcc.com.

3. Pilot Implementation

Now we are ready to present the new MetaFrame farm to a select group of end-users in the form of a Pilot rollout. A pilot implementation will help further the process of testing and at the same time, be a proving ground for the MetaFrame implementation. The pilot consists of an actual production environment with live users. The pilot provides the baseline environment on which additional enhancements can be tested.

Throughout the Pilot, you will want to verify and document the following:

      User experience.

      Business functionality.

       Overall usability

This is accomplished by putting real end-users to work and the polling them on the above topics. You will need to work with your customer to develop a list of appropriate end-users needed to test the environment. This means that you will not want only the most savvy users testing the farm, but some middle of the road users as well as a few of the most remedial. This will give your polling data a well-rounded edge and more accurate results.

End-user polling results can be derived through a multitude of ways. The following are just a few:

      Provide the end-users with a evaluation sheet that asks them their perception of their new environment

      Go out, talk to the end-user base face-to-face, and get their true opinions.

Once you have completed the pilot testing, you will be ready to compile the results and present them to the customer in a formal move on to the rollout phase.

3. 1.        Test Schema for pilot user / test user

The following tables are a good starting point to verify the stability and functionality of your new MetaFrame farm.

The following is an example of a Help Desk Feedback form.

The following in an example of a Test-user Feedback Form.

4. Rollout Any Remaining Servers

Once that you have fully tested a few servers and verified that the installation procedures followed were correct, you will be ready to deploy any remaining servers. This is accomplished by following the installation procedures and rapid server deployment procedures documented during the implementation phase. Follow these installation procedures to rollout any remaining servers.

Once you have completed the installation of all the servers you need to retest the farm and then perform a full Pilot to analyze the completed farm for any issues. Once completed, you are ready to continue with the rollout phase and proceed to go live day.

4. 1.        How to Activate Licenses through the Citrix Management Console

Now that you have successfully installed and tested MetaFrame XP with Feature Release 2, you will need to activate the MetaFrame licenses through www.mycitrix.com

The following details how to activate the necessary MetaFrame XP with Feature Release 2 licenses.

1.       Open the Citrix Management Console click Licenses click to select the License Numbers tab.

2.       Right click on a license that is unactivated and click Activate.

3.       Click the Copy to Clipboard button.

4.       Log on to www.mycitrix.com. If you do not already have a login ID then click New User in the top right hand corner of the page.

5.       Click the Citrix Activation System link

6.       Click the Activate Licenses link on the top left of the page.

7.       Enter the license and click Continue.

8.       Following the on line instructions until you are presented with an activation code. You will now want to refer back to the Citrix Management Consoles Activate License screen and enter the activation code. Click OK

You have now sucessfully activated one of your MetaFrame licenses. From what you learned from above you will need to activate the rest of your licenses.

5. Implement Change Management Policies and Procedures

When administering a MetaFrame XP environment, it is important to have a stringent change control process in place. An unmanaged MetaFrame environment creates instability and is difficult to maintain and support.

Throughout the lifespan of a deployment, many changes are made to the environment and the servers themselves. Changes such as additional services brought on line, additional hardware or software and changes to the MetaFrame servers themselves. These changes directly impact the stability of the MetaFrame farm. With this in mind, it is your responsibility to implement a change process to track these changes in order to insure the stability of the MetaFrame environment.

Keeping with the scope of this document, I recommend sticking with these basic rules.

1.      Test all software on a test MetaFrame server prior to installing on the production network

2.      Implement a change management log for all the MetaFrame servers. Every change made to a server should be documented. You will find a MetaFrame Log Book template located in the templates folder of the MIAB2.1.ZIP file. (downloaded from: http://www.dabcc.com/projectinabox/MIAB2.1.ZIP)

Note: For more information on change management, please view the following presentation. Change Management in a MetaFrame XP environment Presented by: Rick Dehlinger and Norm Erlendson: E

6. Readiness Phase - Checkpoint

Hey, hey, we made it! OK, now we have created a vision, defined the scope, filled out the scope in to a full fledge project plan, designed and documented the MetaFrame environment, built and tested it and have finished the pilot. You have successfully completed another phase and arrived at the next checkpoint.

Now that you have completed the Readiness phase you will be ready to call another meeting, present your findings and gain approval to move on to the Rollout Phase.

You will find the following Readiness Phase examples and templates located in Methodology in a Box 2.1. (MIAB2.1.ZIP)

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