P Cubed Quick Start Guide: March 2012

P Cubed Quick Start Guide
March 2012
About this guide
Edition notice
This edition applies to Version 5 of the Pivot3 vSTAC® Operating System and to any subsequent releases
until otherwise indicated in new editions.
Notification of Use Intent
This document contains information confidential and proprietary to Pivot3, Inc. and shall not be
reproduced or transferred to other documents or disclosed to others or used for any purpose other
than that for which it was obtained without the expressed written consent by Pivot3, Inc.
Pivot3 EULA and Open Source Notices
During the installation of all Pivot3 software components, a copy of the Pivot3 End User License
Agreement will be placed in a subdirectory called “Documentation” located under the primary
installation directory. If applicable, the Pivot3 Open Source Notices document will also be found in the
Documentation subdirectory.
© Copyright 2007-2012 Pivot3, Inc.
All rights reserved. Specifications are subject to change without notice. Pivot3, RAIGE, Pivot3 STAC,
vBank, CloudBank, DataBank, and High-Definition Storage are trademarks or registered trademarks of
Pivot3. All other brands or products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders
and should be treated as such.
| | www.pivot3.com March 2012 | 2

Table of Contents
What’s in P Cubed.................................................................................................................. 4
Quick Start............................................................................................................................. 6
Quick Reference .................................................................................................................... 7
User Name / Passwords ............................................................................................................................ 7
Networks................................................................................................................................................... 7
Licensing ................................................................................................................................................... 8
Pilot Deployment Steps.......................................................................................................... 9
Installation ................................................................................................................................................ 9
Network Resolution .................................................................................................................................. 9
vCenter Licensing .................................................................................................................................... 11
Add Host ................................................................................................................................................. 20
View Administrator ................................................................................................................................. 28
View Client .............................................................................................................................................. 34
Customize SampleDesktop Pool ............................................................................................................. 35
Appendix A: Document References ...................................................................................... 51
Date Summary Who
11/21/2011 Initial Document Greg Pellegrino/Khang Nguyen
12/16/2011 Final Draft for review Greg Pellegrino
2/10/2012 Final Greg Pellegrino
3/28/2012 Streamline Quick Start steps Greg Pellegrino

What’s in P Cubed
Pivot3 P Cubed provides a complete VMware View 5.0 management system
Components
 AD01 is Microsoft Active Directory, DHCP, DNS
 ManagementStation includes vSTAC Manager, etc

vSTAC Manager is the configuration and management software for Pivot3 STACs.
 vCenter is VMware Virtual Center for Virtual Desktops

The vCenter Server is a server that acts as a central administrator for ESX/ESXi hosts that are
connected on a network. A vCenter Server provides the central point for configuring, provisioning,
and managing virtual machines in the datacenter.
View Composer is installed as a software service on the vCenter to allow VMware View to rapidly
deploy multiple linked-clone desktops from a single centralized base image.
 ViewConnection is VMware View Connection Server

The VMware View Connection server is a software service that acts as a broker for client
connections by authenticating and then directing incoming user requests to the appropriate virtual
desktop.
 Golden_Desktop is reference desktop for Windows 7

The Virtual Desktop has a View Agent that is a software service that is installed on all guest virtual
machines in order to allow them to be managed by VMware View.
 Pivot3_VM is Pivot3 Storage Virtual Appliance

The Pivot3_ VM contains the vSTAC operating system (vSTAC OS) provides an intuitive appliance
approach as it manages data distribution across Pivot3 vSTAC Appliances to provide scalable
availability, performance and capacity. The vSTAC OS runs on each appliance to aggregate the
physical resources of the appliances, automatically load balance across the appliances and protect
against component failures.
Advanced disk protection from the vSTAC OS includes RAID 5e, RAID 6e and RAID 6x:
- With RAID 5e, one disk failure or one appliance failure will not affect data
- With RAID 6e, up to 3 simultaneous disk failures will not affect data
- RAID 6e also protects data in the case of an entire appliance failure and up to 1 drive failure
- With RAID 6x, up to 5 simultaneous disk failures will not affect data
- RAID 6x also protects data in the case of an entire appliance failure and up to 2 drive failures
As with any centralized resource, it is important that the data stored be available and accessible.
The Pivot3 storage-centric approach for application environments characterized by high-capacity
needs and I/O-intensive workloads offers higher performance, lower cost and higher availability
than traditional alternatives.
P Cubed has four Network Interface Card (NIC) ports. The NICs for vmnic0 and vmnic1 are Gigabit
Ethernet. The NICs for vmnic2 and vnmic3 are 10 Gigabit Ethernet.
vmnic0 is the VMware management network. The NIC allows connections for vSphere Client and a path
to the ManagementStation.
vmnic1 is to be connected to the customer’s production network. The NIC allows access to the View
Connection server.
vmnic2 and vmnic3 are unused by a P Cubed Pilot deployment. Scaling the system with additional
vSTAC VDI appliances will require usage of NIC 2 and NIC 3 for Storage Networks and desktop
connections.

Quick Start
1. Installation (Refer to Installation on page 9)
Unbox
Connect networks
Power on
2. Network Resolution (Refer to Network Resolution on page 9.)

Set management IP address
Connect with vSphere Client
Power up VMs; ManagementStation, AD01, vCenter, ViewConnection
Set VM IP addresses for Production and Management Networks (see worksheet)
Set DNS address of host in AD01
Flush DNS in each VM
3. Apply VMware View Premier Evaluation Licenses (Refer to vCenter Licensing on page 11)
Connect with vCenter
Enter vCenter and vSphere evaluation licenses
Apply vCenter license
4. Connect the P Cubed appliance to vCenter (Refer to Add Host on page 20)
Add host pcubeesxi.pcube.local to vCenter
Assign vSphere evaluation license
Move VMs into folders
5. Enable the SampleDesktop Pool (Refer to View Administrator on page 28)

Connect to View/Admin with IE
Apply View Premier evaluation license
Set ViewConnection PCoIP External URL with Production IP address
Uncheck “Use Secure Tunnel…”, check “Use PCoIP Secure Gateway…”
Enable the SampleDesktop Pool
6. Connect to a sample desktop (Refer to View Client on page 34)

Connect via View Client
Optional: Customize the sample desktops (Refer to Customize SampleDesktop Pool on page 35)
Activate Windows 7 trial in GoldenDesktop
Create “activation” snapshot
Recompose SampleDesktop Pool
Increase the number of sample desktops

Quick Reference
User Name / Passwords
Component Login Password
vSphere Client to ESXi root vSphereP3
Pivot3_VM setip p3setip pivot3
ManagementStation pcube\administrator Pivot3!
vSTAC Manager Administrator Pivot3!
SampleDesktop ViewUsers viewuser1, viewuser2, … viewuser5 viewuser
Networks
ESXi Host
Management □DHCP □Static IP_______._______._______._______
ManagementStation
Production (adapter #5) □DHCP □Static IP_______._______._______._______

(Disable the Production adapter if Production and Management are on the same subnet)
Management (adapter #4) □DHCP □Static IP_______._______._______._______
PCubed (adapter #3) √DHCP □Static IP__192__.__168__.___1___.___24__
SAN0 (adapter #1) □DHCP √Static IP____1__.____1__.___1___.___11__
SAN1 (adapter #2) □DHCP √Static IP____1__.____1__.___2___.___11__
AD01
PCubed (adapter #1) √DHCP □Static IP__192__.__168__.___1___.___10__
vCenter
Management (adapter #1) □DHCP □Static IP_______._______._______._______
PCubed (adapter #2) √DHCP □Static IP__192__.__168__.___1___.____9__
ViewConnection
Production (adapter #2) □DHCP □Static IP_______._______._______._______
PCubed (adapter #1) √DHCP □Static IP__192__.__168__.___1___.____3__

Licensing
Windows Server Licenses – The View infrastructure VMs contained fully licensed Windows 2008 R2
installs. These VMs are AD01, vCenter, ViewConnection, and Management Station.
VMware View – A 60 day evaluation of VMware View 5 Premier 100 pack is provided. A license email
will be sent to the customer point-of-contact. The evaluation period will begin upon license
registration.
Windows 7 -- The Golden_Desktop image is a Windows 7 Enterprise 90-day Trial. The trial period
begins upon activation. The Golden_Desktop has been supplied unactivated.
Microsoft Virtual Desktop Access – VDA lets use access virtual desktops from Software Assurance
covered PCs. Refer to Appendix A: Document References for a link with more information.

Pilot Deployment Steps

Installation
1. Connect the network connection vmnic 0 into the VMware management network.
2. Connect the network connection vmnic 1 into the production network. This network may be the
same as the VMware management network.
3. Power on the appliance.
4. Plug keyboard, video, and mouse (KVM) into the appliance.
Network Resolution
1. After the vSphere completes boot, press F2. Login with root / vSphereP3.
2. Configure the management port based on the management network; use DHCP or set a static
address. Return to the main screen. Make a note of this management IP address.
3. On a computer connected to the management network launch vSphere Client. Connect to the
appliances management IP address. Login as root.
4. The vSphere Client will show the loaded VMs.

5. Right click on the icons to Power Up each VM in the following order.

a. ManagementStation
b. AD01
c. vCenter
d. ViewConnection
e. replica-…, sample-1 through sample-5
6. Open the console for the ManagementStation. Login with the pcube\administrator account.
7. Use Control Panel  Network to set valid IPv4 IP addresses for the NICs on both the Management
and Production networks.
8. Open the console for ViewConnection. Login with the pcube\administrator account.
9. Use Control Panel  Network to set a valid IPv4 address for the NIC on the Production Network.
10. Open the console for AD01. Login with the pcube\administrator account.
11. Open DNS. Navigate to AD01pCube.local. Edit the IP address for pCubeESXi to match the
appliance management IP address.

12. In each VM console, open a command prompt. Type ipconfig /flushdns. Now ensure that
pcubeesxi.pcube.local answers a ping. Note that the Windows Server VMs will not answer pings
due to firewall protection.
vCenter Licensing
1. Return to the ManagementStation console. The ManagementStation’s desktop has four icons. A
brief explanation of each icon is:

a. Pivot3 vSTAC Manager is Pivot3’s storage management software.

b. VMware View Client will be used to connect to the View Connection server.
c. VMware vSphere Client will be used to connect to the vCenter server.
d. Microsoft Internet Explorer has homepage to connect to the View Administrator console.
2. Open the vSphere Client and connect to vcenter.pcube.local. Use the administrator account.

3. Navigate to HomeAdministrationLicensing. Click on Manage vSphere Licenses…

4. Refer to your VMware email for the View5 Evaluation Pack of 100 desktops.

5. Enter licenses for VMware vSphere 5 Enterprise Plus for Desktop, and VMware vCenter Server 5
Standard for View 5.

6. Click Add License Keys. Click Next.

7. In Assign Licenses, under the vCenter Server tab, click the button to assign vCenter Server 5
Standard license.

8. In Remove License Keys, click Next.

9. In Confirm Changes, verify license assignment, click Finish.

Add Host
1. In the ManagementStation, with vCenter open, right click on the pCube datacenter. Choose Add
Host…

2. In Connection Settings Authorization, specify the root login. Click Next.

3. In the Security Alert, Choose Yes.
4. In Host Summary, click Next.

5. In Assign Licenses, under the ESX tab, click the button to assign the VMware vSphere 5 Desktop
Host license.

6. In Lockdown Mode, click Next.

7. In Virtual Machine Location, click Next.

8. In Ready to Complete, click Finish.

9. vCenter will now have pcubeesxi and the P Cubed VMs attached.
10. Navigate to HomeInventoryVMs and Templates.

11. Drag and drop each VM into a folder as pictured.
View Administrator
1. In the ManagementStation console, open Internet Explorer. Click Continue to this website.

2. Login to VMware View Administrator with the pcube/administrator account.
3. Navigate to View Configuration  Product Licensing and Usage. Click Edit License…

4. Locate the VMware View 5.x license from the VMware license email. Enter it in the prompt.
5. Verify that the evaluation license is enabled for View Composer.


6. Navigate to View Configuration  Servers. Highlight the VIEWCONNECTION server and click Edit…

7. Under the General tab, set the PCoIP Secure Gateway ‘s External URL to the IP address of the
ViewConnection server’s Production NIC.
8. Under HTTP(s) Secure Tunnel, uncheck “Use Secure Tunnel…”
9. Under PCoIP Secure Gateway, check “Use PCoIP Secure Gateway…” Click OK.
10. Navigate to InventoryPools. Highlight the SampleDesktops pool. Select Status, Enable Pool…

11. On the Enable Pool pop-up, click OK.
View Client
1. The SampleDesktop pool should now be active. Launch the VMware View Client from the desktop
shortcut. Specify viewconnection.pcube.local, click Connect.

2. Click Continue.
3. Specify a viewuser account. For example, viewuser1. Click Login.
4. Highlight the SampleDesktop pool. Click Connect.
5. The desktop session will now launch.
Customize SampleDesktop Pool

1. From the vSphere Client, right click on the Golden_Desktop, click Edit Settings.
2. Under the Hardware tab, click Add…

3. In Device Type, select Ethernet Adapter, click Next.
4. In Network connection, set Type: to VMXNET3. Set Network connection to either VM Network or
Production Network. This is a network external to P Cubed and must have a DCHP server.

5. In Ready to Complete, click Finish.

6. Right click on the Golden_Desktop, click on Power, Power On.
7. Login to the Golden_Desktop with the pcube/administrator account.
8. In Windows Activation, click on Activate now.

9. Select Activate Windows online now.

10. Wait for Windows Activation to complete.

11. The Windows 7 desktop should now indicate in the lower right corner that the Windows License
has been activated for 90 days.
12. Make any additional customization settings desired. This can include loading applications,
configuring application settings, changing Windows settings, and installing Windows Updates.
Perform and Windows reboots necessary. These settings will remain valid through the 90 day
Windows evaluation period.
13. From the Windows Start menu, shutdown Windows.
14. On the open console, navigate to VMSnapshot, click Take Snapshot…

15. In Take Virtual Machine Snapshot provide a unique name for the snapshot. The example screens
will use Activated Image. Click OK.
16. On the open console, navigate to VMSnapshot, click Snapshot Manager… This will display the
Golden_Deskstop’s snapshot history. The Activated Image snapshot is indicate as “You are here”.
Click Close.

17. In the ManagementStation, start Internet Explorer. Login to View Adminstrator with the
pcube/administrator account. Navigate to InventoryPools, click on the SampleDesktop in the ID
column.

18. Select ViewComposerRecompose.
19. In Image, select Change.

20. In select Parent VM, select Golden_Desktop and click OK.
21. In Image, highlight the new snapshot. In the example screens it is named LicenseActivation. Click

Next.
22. In Scheduling, click Next.

23. In Ready to Complete, click Finish. The SampleDesktop pool will now be recomposed to the new
snapshot.
24. Monitor the vCenter task bar for progress and completion.
25. In the ManagementStation, start Internet Explorer. Login to View Adminstrator with the
pcube/administrator account. Navigate to InventoryPools, click on the SampleDesktop in the ID
column.

26. Choose Edit.

27. Under the Provisioning Settings tab, set Max Number of desktops and Number of spare (powered
on) desktops. Click OK.

28. Monitor the vCenter task bar for progress and completion.

Appendix A: Document References

VMware View 5.0 Documentation
http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/view_pubs.html
VMware View Optimization Guide for Windows 7
http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/VMware-View-OptimizationGuideWindows7-EN.pdf
Microsoft Windows 7 Enterprise 90-day Trail
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/cc442495
Microsoft Windows Virtual Desktop Access
http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/software-assurance/windows-virtualization.aspx
Microsoft Software Assurance Desktop Virtualization Brochure
http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/c/7/5c727885-ec15-4920-818b-
4d140ec6c38a/SA_Customer_Virtual_Desktop_Brochure.pdf

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About this guide

Notification of Use Intent

Pivot3 EULA and Open Source Notices

© Copyright 2007-2012 Pivot3, Inc.

| | www.pivot3.com March 2012 | 2

Date Summary Who

11/21/2011 Initial Document Greg Pellegrino/Khang Nguyen

12/16/2011 Final Draft for review Greg Pellegrino

2/10/2012 Final Greg Pellegrino

3/28/2012 Streamline Quick Start steps Greg Pellegrino

| | www.pivot3.com March 2012 | 3

 AD01 is Microsoft Active Directory, DHCP, DNS

 ManagementStation includes vSTAC Manager, etc

 vCenter is VMware Virtual Center for Virtual Desktops

 ViewConnection is VMware View Connection Server

| | www.pivot3.com March 2012 | 4

 Golden_Desktop is reference desktop for Windows 7

 Pivot3_VM is Pivot3 Storage Virtual Appliance

| | www.pivot3.com March 2012 | 5

2. Network Resolution (Refer to Network Resolution on page 9.)

5. Enable the SampleDesktop Pool (Refer to View Administrator on page 28)

6. Connect to a sample desktop (Refer to View Client on page 34)

| | www.pivot3.com March 2012 | 6

vSphere Client to ESXi root vSphereP3

Pivot3_VM setip p3setip pivot3

ManagementStation pcube\administrator Pivot3!

vSTAC Manager Administrator Pivot3!

SampleDesktop ViewUsers viewuser1, viewuser2, … viewuser5 viewuser

Management □DHCP □Static IP_______._______._______._______

Production (adapter #5) □DHCP □Static IP_______._______._______._______

Management (adapter #4) □DHCP □Static IP_______._______._______._______

PCubed (adapter #3) √DHCP □Static IP__192__.__168__.___1___.___24__

SAN0 (adapter #1) □DHCP √Static IP____1__.____1__.___1___.___11__

SAN1 (adapter #2) □DHCP √Static IP____1__.____1__.___2___.___11__

PCubed (adapter #1) √DHCP □Static IP__192__.__168__.___1___.___10__

Management (adapter #1) □DHCP □Static IP_______._______._______._______

PCubed (adapter #2) √DHCP □Static IP__192__.__168__.___1___.____9__

Production (adapter #2) □DHCP □Static IP_______._______._______._______

PCubed (adapter #1) √DHCP □Static IP__192__.__168__.___1___.____3__

| | www.pivot3.com March 2012 | 7

| | www.pivot3.com March 2012 | 8

Pilot Deployment Steps

4. The vSphere Client will show the loaded VMs.

| | www.pivot3.com March 2012 | 9

5. Right click on the icons to Power Up each VM in the following order.

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a. Pivot3 vSTAC Manager is Pivot3’s storage management software.

| | www.pivot3.com March 2012 | 12

3. Navigate to HomeAdministrationLicensing. Click on Manage vSphere Licenses…

| | www.pivot3.com March 2012 | 13

| | www.pivot3.com March 2012 | 14

| | www.pivot3.com March 2012 | 15

6. Click Add License Keys. Click Next.

| | www.pivot3.com March 2012 | 16

| | www.pivot3.com March 2012 | 17

8. In Remove License Keys, click Next.

| | www.pivot3.com March 2012 | 18

Management □DHCP □Static IP___._._.___

Production (adapter #5) □DHCP □Static IP___._._.___

Management (adapter #4) □DHCP □Static IP___._._.___

PCubed (adapter #3) √DHCP □Static IP192.168._1_._24

SAN0 (adapter #1) □DHCP √Static IP1.1._1_._11

SAN1 (adapter #2) □DHCP √Static IP1.1._2_._11

PCubed (adapter #1) √DHCP □Static IP192.168._1_._10

Management (adapter #1) □DHCP □Static IP___._._.___

PCubed (adapter #2) √DHCP □Static IP192.168._1_.__9

Production (adapter #2) □DHCP □Static IP___._._.___

PCubed (adapter #1) √DHCP □Static IP192.168._1_.__3