Install Linux Virtual Delivery Agent for SUSE

You can choose to follow the steps in this article for manual installation or use easy install for automatic installation and configuration. Easy install saves time and labor and is less error-prone than the manual installation.

Note:

Use easy install only for fresh installations. Do not use easy install to update an existing installation.

Step 1: Prepare for installation

Step 1a: Launch the YaST tool

The SUSE Linux Enterprise YaST tool is used for configuring all aspects of the operating system.

To launch the text-based YaST tool:

su -

yast
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Alternatively, launch the UI-based YaST tool:

su -

yast2 &
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Step 1b: Configure networking

The following sections provide information on configuring the various networking settings and services used by the Linux VDA. Configuring networking is carried out via the YaST tool, not via other methods such as Network Manager. These instructions are based on using the UI-based YaST tool. The text-based YaST tool can be used but has a different method of navigation that is not documented here.

Configure host name and DNS

1. Open YaST Network Settings.
2. SLED 12 Only: On the Global Options tab, change the Network Setup Method to Wicked Service.
3. Open the Hostname/DNS tab.
4. Clear Change hostname via DHCP.
5. Check Assign Hostname to Loopback IP.
6. Edit the following to reflect your networking setup:
   • Host name – Add the DNS host name of the machine.
   • Domain name – Add the DNS domain name of the machine.
   • Name server – Add the IP address of the DNS server. It is typically the IP address of the AD Domain Controller.
   • Domain search list – Add the DNS domain name.

Note:

The Linux VDA currently does not support NetBIOS name truncation. Therefore, the host name must not exceed 15 characters. Tip:

Use a–z, A–Z, 0–9, and hyphen (-) characters only. Avoid underscores (_), spaces, and other symbols. Do not start a host name with a number and do not end with a hyphen. This rule also applies to Delivery Controller host names.

Disable multicast DNS

On SLED only, the default settings have multicast DNS (mDNS) enabled, which can lead to inconsistent name resolution results. mDNS is not enabled on SLES by default, so no action is required.

To disable mDNS, edit /etc/nsswitch.conf and change the line containing:

hosts: files mdns_minimal [NOTFOUND=return] dns

To:

hosts: files dns

Check the host name

Verify that the host name is set correctly:

hostname
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This command returns only the machine’s host name and not its fully qualified domain name (FQDN).

Verify that the FQDN is set correctly:

hostname -f
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This command returns the machine’s FQDN.

Check name resolution and service reachability

Verify that you can resolve the FQDN and ping the domain controller and Delivery Controller:

nslookup domain-controller-fqdn

ping domain-controller-fqdn

nslookup delivery-controller-fqdn

ping delivery-controller-fqdn
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If you cannot resolve the FQDN or ping either of these machines, review the steps before proceeding.

Step 1c: Configure the NTP service

It is crucial to maintain accurate clock synchronization between the VDAs, Delivery Controllers, and domain controllers. Hosting the Linux VDA as a virtual machine can cause clock skew problems. For this reason, maintaining time using a remote NTP service is preferred. Some changes might be required to the default NTP settings:

1. Open YaST NTP Configuration and select the General Settings tab.
2. In the Start NTP Daemon section, check Now and on Boot.
3. If present, select the Undisciplined Local Clock (LOCAL) item and click Delete.
4. Add an entry for an NTP server by clicking Add.
5. Select the Server Type and click Next.
6. Type the DNS name of the NTP server in the Address field. This service is normally hosted on the Active Directory domain controller.
7. Leave the Options field unchanged.
8. Click Test to check that the NTP service is reachable.
9. Click OK through the set of windows to save the changes.

Note:

For SLES 12 implementations, the NTP daemon might fail to start due to a known SUSE issue with AppArmor policies. Follow the resolution for additional information.

Step 1d: Install Linux VDA dependent packages

The Linux VDA software for SUSE Linux Enterprise depends on the following packages:

• PostgreSQL
  • SLED/SLES 11: Version 9.1 or later
  • SLED/SLES 12: Version 9.3 or later
• OpenJDK 1.7.0
• OpenMotif Runtime Environment 2.3.1 or later
• Cups
  • SLED/SLES 11: Version 1.3.7 or later
  • SLED/SLES 12: Version 1.6.0 or later
• Foomatic filters
  • SLED/SLES 11: Version 3.0.0 or later
  • SLED/SLES 12: Version 1.0.0 or later
• ImageMagick
  • SLED/SLES 11: Version 6.4.3.6 or later
  • SLED/SLES 12: Version 6.8 or later

Add repositories

Some required packages are not available in all SUSE Linux Enterprise repositories:

• SLED 11: PostgreSQL is available for SLES 11 but not SLED 11.
• SLES 11: OpenJDK and OpenMotif are available for SLED 11 but not SLES 11.
• SLED 12: PostgreSQL is available for SLES 12 but not SLED 12. ImageMagick is available via the SLE 12 SDK ISO or online repository.
• SLES 12: There are no issues. All packages are available. ImageMagick is available via the SLE 12 SDK ISO or online repository.

To resolve the issue, obtain missing packages from the media for the alternative edition of SLE from which you are installing. That is, on SLED install missing packages from the SLES media, and on SLES install missing packages from the SLED media. The following approach mounts both SLED and SLES ISO media files and adds repositories.

• On SLED 11, run the commands:

sudo mkdir -p /mnt/sles

sudo mount -t iso9660 path-to-iso/SLES-11-SP4-DVD-x86_64-GM-DVD1.iso /mnt/sles

sudo zypper ar -f /mnt/sles sles
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• On SLES 11, run the commands:

sudo mkdir -p /mnt/sled

sudo mount -t iso9660 path-to-iso/SLED-11-SP4-DVD-x86_64-GM-DVD1.iso /mnt/sled

sudo zypper ar -f /mnt/sled sled
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• On SLED 12, run the commands:

sudo mkdir -p /mnt/sles

sudo mount -t iso9660 path-to-iso/SLES-12-SP2-DVD-x86_64-GM-DVD1.iso /mnt/sles

sudo zypper ar -f /mnt/sles sles
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• On SLED/SLES 12, run the commands:

sudo mkdir -p /mnt/sdk

sudo mount -t iso9660 path-to-iso/SLE-12-SP3-SDK-DVD-x86_64-GM-DVD1.iso /mnt/sdk

sudo zypper ar -f /mnt/sdk sdk
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Install the Kerberos client

Install the Kerberos client for mutual authentication between the Linux VDA and the Delivery Controllers:

sudo zypper install krb5-client
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The Kerberos client configuration depends on which Active Directory integration approach is used. See the following description.

Install OpenJDK

The Linux VDA depends on OpenJDK 1.7.0.

Tip:

To avoid problems, ensure that you installed only OpenJDK Version 1.7.0. Remove all other versions of Java on your system.

• SLED:

1. On SLED, the Java runtime environment is typically installed with the operating system. Check whether it has been installed:

   sudo zypper info java-1_7_0-openjdk
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2. Update to the latest version if the status is reported as out-of-date:

   sudo zypper update java-1_7_0-openjdk
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3. Check the Java version:

   java -version
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• SLES:

1. On SLES, install the Java runtime environment:

   sudo zypper install java-1_7_0-openjdk
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2. Check the Java version:

   java -version
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Install PostgreSQL

• On SLED/SLES 11, install the packages:

   sudo zypper install libecpg6
  
   sudo zypper install postgresql-init
  
   sudo zypper install postgresql
  
   sudo zypper install postgresql-server
  
   sudo zypper install postgresql-jdbc
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  Post-installation steps are required to initialize the database service and to ensure that PostgreSQL is started upon machine startup:

   sudo /sbin/insserv postgresql
  
   sudo /etc/init.d/postgresql restart
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• On SLED/SLES 12, install the packages:

   sudo zypper install postgresql-init
  
   sudo zypper install postgresql-server
  
   sudo zypper install postgresql-jdbc
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  Post-installation steps are required to initialize the database service and to ensure that PostgreSQL is started upon machine startup:

   sudo systemctl enable postgresql
  
   sudo systemctl restart postgresql
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  Database files locate at /var/lib/pgsql/data.

Remove repositories

With dependent packages installed, the alternative edition repositories set up earlier can now be removed and the media unmounted:

• on SLED 11, run the commands to remove the packages:

   sudo zypper rr sles
  
   sudo umount /mnt/sles
  
   sudo rmdir /mnt/sles
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• on SLES 11, run the commands to remove the packages:

   sudo zypper rr sled
  
   sudo umount /mnt/sled
  
   sudo rmdir /mnt/sled
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• on SLED 12, run the commands to remove the packages:

   sudo zypper rr sles
  
   sudo umount /mnt/sles
  
   sudo rmdir /mnt/sles
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• on SLED/SLES 12, run the commands to remove the packages:

   sudo zypper rr sdk
  
   sudo umount /mnt/sdk
  
   sudo rmdir /mnt/sd
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Step 2: Prepare Linux VM for Hypervisor

Some changes are required when running the Linux VDA as a virtual machine on a supported hypervisor. Make the following changes according to the hypervisor platform in use. No changes are required if you are running the Linux machine on bare metal hardware.

Fix time synchronization on Citrix XenServer

If the XenServer Time Sync feature is enabled, within each paravirtualized Linux VM you experience issues with NTP and XenServer both trying to manage the system clock. To avoid the clock becoming out of sync with other servers, the system clock within each Linux guest must be synchronized with NTP. This case requires disabling host time synchronization. No changes are required in HVM mode.

On some Linux distributions, if you are running a paravirtualized Linux kernel with XenServer Tools installed, you can check whether the XenServer Time Sync feature is present and enabled from within the Linux VM:

su -



cat /proc/sys/xen/independent_wallclock
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This command returns 0 or 1:

• 0 - The time sync feature is enabled, and must be disabled.
• 1 - The time sync feature is disabled, and no further action is required.

If the /proc/sys/xen/indepent_wallclock file is not present, the following steps are not required.

If enabled, disable the time sync feature by writing 1 to the file:

sudo echo 1 > /proc/sys/xen/independent_wallclock
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To make this change permanent and persistent after restart, edit the /etc/sysctl.conf file and add the line:

xen.independent_wallclock = 1

To verify these changes, restart the system:

reboot
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After restart, check that the setting is correct:

su -
cat /proc/sys/xen/independent_wallclock
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This command returns the value 1.

Fix time synchronization on Microsoft Hyper-V

Linux VMs with Hyper-V Linux Integration Services installed can apply the Hyper-V time synchronization feature to use the host operating system’s time. To ensure that the system clock remains accurate, enable this feature alongside the NTP services.

From the management operating system:

1. Open the Hyper-V Manager console.
2. For the settings of a Linux VM, select Integration Services.
3. Ensure that Time synchronization is selected.

Note:

This approach is different from VMware and XenServer, where host time synchronization is disabled to avoid conflicts with NTP. Hyper-V time synchronization can coexist and supplement NTP time synchronization.

Fix time synchronization on ESX and ESXi

If the VMware Time Synchronization feature is enabled, within each paravirtualized Linux VM you experience issues with NTP and the hypervisor both trying to synchronize the system clock. To avoid the clock becoming out of sync with other servers, the system clock within each Linux guest must be synchronized with NTP. This case requires disabling host time synchronization.

If you are running a paravirtualized Linux kernel with VMware Tools installed:

1. Open the vSphere Client.
2. Edit settings for the Linux VM.
3. In the Virtual Machine Properties dialog, open the Options tab.
4. Select VMware Tools.
5. In the Advanced box, clear Synchronize guest time with host.

Step 3: Add the Linux virtual machine (VM) to the Windows domain

The Linux VDA supports several methods for adding Linux machines to the Active Directory (AD) domain:

• Samba Winbind
• Quest Authentication Service
• Centrify DirectControl

Follow instructions based on your chosen method.

Samba Winbind

Join Windows domain

Your domain controller must be reachable and you must have an Active Directory user account with permissions to add machines to the domain:

1. Open YaST Windows Domain Membership.

2. Make the following changes:

   • Set the Domain or Workgroup to the name of your Active Directory domain or the IP address of the domain controller. Ensure that the domain name is in uppercase.
   • Check Also Use SMB information for Linux Authentication.
   • Check Create Home Directory on Login.
   • Check Single Sign-on for SSH.
   • Ensure that Offline Authentication is not checked. This option is not compatible with the Linux VDA.

3. Click OK. If prompted to install some packages, click Install.

4. If a domain controller is found, it asks whether you want to join the domain. Click Yes.

5. When prompted, type the credentials of a domain user with permission to add computers to the domain and click OK.

6. A message indicating success is displayed.

7. If prompted to install some samba and krb5 packages, click Install.

YaST might have indicated that these changes require some services or the machine to be restarted. We recommend you restart the machine:

su -

reboot
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SLED/SLES 12 Only: Patch Kerberos credential cache name

SLED/SLES 12 has changed the default Kerberos credential cache name specification from the usual FILE:/tmp/krb5cc_%{uid} to DIR:/run/user/%{uid}/krb5cc. This new DIR caching method is not compatible with the Linux VDA and must be manually changed. As a root user, edit /etc/krb5.conf and add the following setting under the [libdefaults] section if not set:

default_ccache_name = FILE:/tmp/krb5cc_%{uid}

Verify domain membership

The Delivery Controller requires that all VDA machines (Windows and Linux VDAs) have a computer object in Active Directory.

Run the net ads command of Samba to verify that the machine is joined to a domain:

sudo net ads testjoin
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Run the following command to verify extra domain and computer object information:

sudo net ads info
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Verify Kerberos configuration

To ensure that Kerberos is configured correctly for use with the Linux VDA, check that the system keytab file has been created and contains valid keys:

sudo klist –ke
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This command displays the list of keys available for the various combinations of principal names and cipher suites. Run the Kerberos kinit command to authenticate the machine with the domain controller using these keys:

sudo kinit -k MACHINE\$@REALM
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The machine and realm names must be specified in uppercase. The dollar sign ($) must be escaped with a backslash (\) to prevent shell substitution. In some environments, the DNS domain name is different from the Kerberos realm name. Ensure that the realm name is used. If this command is successful, no output is displayed.

Verify that the TGT ticket for the machine account has been cached using:

sudo klist
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Examine the machine account details using:

sudo net ads status
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Verify user authentication

Use the wbinfo tool to verify that domain users can authenticate with the domain:

wbinfo --krb5auth=domain\\username%password
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The domain specified here is the AD domain name, not the Kerberos realm name. For the bash shell, the backslash (\) character must be escaped with another backslash. This command returns a message indicating success or failure.

To verify that the Winbind PAM module is configured correctly, use a domain user account to log on to the Linux VDA. The domain user account has not been used before.

ssh localhost -l domain\\username

id -u
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Check that a corresponding Kerberos credential cache file was created for the uid returned by the id -u command:

ls /tmp/krb5cc_uid
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Check that the tickets in the user’s Kerberos credential cache are valid and not expired:

klist
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Exit the session

exit
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A similar test can be performed by logging on to the Gnome or KDE console directly. Proceed to Step 4: Install the Linux VDA after the domain joining verification.

Quest authentication service

Configure Quest on domain controller

Assume that you have installed and configured the Quest software on the Active Directory domain controllers, and have been granted administrative privileges to create computer objects in Active Directory.

Enable domain users to log on to Linux VDA machines

To enable domain users to establish HDX sessions on a Linux VDA machine:

1. In the Active Directory Users and Computers management console, open Active Directory user properties for that user account.
2. Select the Unix Account tab.
3. Check Unix-enabled.
4. Set the Primary GID Number to the group ID of an actual domain user group.

Note:

These instructions are equivalent for setting up domain users for logon using the console, RDP, SSH, or any other remoting protocol.

Configure Quest on Linux VDA

Configure VAS daemon

Auto-renewal of Kerberos tickets must be enabled and disconnected. Authentication (offline logon) must be disabled:

sudo /opt/quest/bin/vastool configure vas vasd auto-ticket-renew-interval 32400

sudo /opt/quest/bin/vastool configure vas vas_auth allow-disconnected-auth false
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This command sets the renewal interval to nine hours (32,400 seconds) which is one hour less than the default 10-hour ticket lifetime. Set this parameter to a lower value on systems with a shorter ticket lifetime.

Configure PAM and NSS

To enable domain user logon through HDX and other services such as su, ssh, and RDP, run the following commands to manually configure PAM and NSS:

sudo /opt/quest/bin/vastool configure pam

sudo /opt/quest/bin/vastool configure nss
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Join Windows domain

Join the Linux machine to the Active Directory domain using the Quest vastool command:

sudo /opt/quest/bin/vastool -u user join domain-name
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The user is any domain user who has permissions to join computers to the Active Directory domain. The domain-name is the DNS name of the domain, for example, example.com.

Verify domain membership

The Delivery Controller requires that all VDA machines (Windows and Linux VDAs) have a computer object in Active Directory. To verify that a Quest-joined Linux machine is on the domain:

sudo /opt/quest/bin/vastool info domain
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If the machine is joined to a domain, this command returns the domain name. If the machine is not joined to any domain, the following error appears:

ERROR: No domain could be found.
ERROR: VAS_ERR_CONFIG: at ctx.c:414 in _ctx_init_default_realm
default_realm not configured in vas.conf. Computer may not be joined to domain

Verify user authentication

To verify that Quest can authenticate domain users through PAM, use a domain user account to log on to the Linux VDA. The domain user account has not been used before.

ssh localhost -l domain\\username

id -u
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Check that a corresponding Kerberos credential cache file was created for the uid returned by the id -u command:

ls /tmp/krb5cc_uid
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Check that the tickets in the Kerberos credential cache are valid and not expired:

/opt/quest/bin/vastool klist
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Exit the session.

exit
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A similar test can be performed by logging on to the Gnome or KDE console directly. Proceed to Step 4: Install the Linux VDA after the domain joining verification.

Centrify DirectControl

Join Windows domain

With the Centrify DirectControl Agent installed, join the Linux machine to the Active Directory domain using the Centrify adjoin command:

su –

adjoin -w -V -u user domain-name
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The user is any Active Directory domain user who has permissions to join computers to the Active Directory domain. The domain-name is the name of the domain to join the Linux machine to.

Verify domain membership

The Delivery Controller requires that all VDA machines (Windows and Linux VDAs) have a computer object in Active Directory. To verify that a Centrify-joined Linux machine is on the domain:

su –

adinfo
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Check that the Joined to domain value is valid and the CentrifyDC mode returns connected. If the mode remains stuck in the starting state, then the Centrify client is experiencing server connection or authentication problems.

More comprehensive system and diagnostic information is available using:

adinfo --sysinfo all

adinfo –diag
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Test connectivity to the various Active Directory and Kerberos services.

adinfo --test
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Proceed to Step 4: Install the Linux VDA after the domain joining verification.

Step 4: Install the Linux VDA

Step 4a: Uninstall the old version

If you installed an earlier version other than the previous two and an LTSR release, uninstall it before installing the new version.

1. Stop the Linux VDA services:

   sudo /sbin/service ctxvda stop
   
   sudo /sbin/service ctxhdx stop
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2. Uninstall the package:

   sudo rpm -e XenDesktopVDA
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Important:

Upgrading from the previous two versions is supported.

Note:

Installation components are located in /opt/Citrix/VDA/.

To run a command, the full path is needed; alternatively, you can add /opt/Citrix/VDA/sbin and /opt/Citrix/VDA/bin to the system path.

Step 4b: Download the Linux VDA package

Go to the Citrix website and download the appropriate Linux VDA package based on your Linux distribution.

Step 4c: Install the Linux VDA

Install the Linux VDA software using Zypper:

For SUSE 12:

sudo zypper install XenDesktopVDA-7.15.0.404-1.sle12_2.x86_64.rpm
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For SUSE 11:

sudo zypper install XenDesktopVDA-7.15.0.404-1.sle11_4.x86_64.rpm
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Install the Linux VDA software using the RPM package manager. Before doing so, resolve the following dependencies:

For SUSE 12:

sudo rpm -i XenDesktopVDA-7.15.0.404-1.sle12_2.x86_64.rpm
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For SUSE 11:

sudo rpm -i XenDesktopVDA-7.15.0.404-1.sle11_4.x86_64.rpm
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Step 4d: Upgrade the Linux VDA (optional)

You can upgrade the Linux VDA software from Versions 7.14 and 7.13 using the RPM package manager:

For SUSE 12:

sudo rpm -U XenDesktopVDA-7.15.0.404-1.sle12_2.x86_64.rpm
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For SUSE 11:

sudo rpm -U XenDesktopVDA-7.15.0.404-1.sle11_4.x86_64.rpm
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RPM Dependency list for SUSE 12:

postgresql-server >= 9.3

postgresql-jdbc >= 9.2

java-1.7.0-openjdk >= 1.7.0

ImageMagick >= 6.8

dbus-1 >= 1.8.8

dbus-1-x11 >= 1.8.8

libXpm4 >= 3.5.11

libXrandr2 >= 1.4.2

libXtst6 >= 1.2.2

motif >= 2.3

pam >= 1.1.8

bash >= 4.2

findutils >= 4.5

gawk >= 4.1

sed >= 4.2

cups >= 1.6.0

cups-filters-foomatic-rip >= 1.0.0

openldap2 >= 2.4

cyrus-sasl >= 2.1

cyrus-sasl-gssapi >= 2.1

libxml2 >= 2.9

python-requests >= 2.8.1

rpmlib(PayloadFilesHavePrefix) <= 4.0-1

rpmlib(CompressedFileNames) <= 3.0.4-1

rpmlib(PayloadIsLzma) <= 4.4.6-1
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RPM Dependency list for SUSE 11:

postgresql-server >= 9.1.

postgresql-jdbc >= 9.1

java-1_7_0-openjdk >= 1.7.0.6

ImageMagick >= 6.4.3.6

ConsoleKit >= 0.2.10

dbus-1 >= 1.2.10

dbus-1-x11 >= 1.2.10

xorg-x11-libXpm >= 7.4

xorg-x11-libs >= 7.4

openmotif-libs >= 2.3.1

pam >= 1.1.5

libdrm >= 2.4.41

libpixman-1-0 >= 0.24.4

Mesa >= 9.0

openssl >= 0.9.8j

xorg-x11 >= 7.4

xorg-x11-fonts-core >= 7.4

xorg-x11-libXau >= 7.4

xorg-x11-libXdmcp >= 7.4

bash >= 3.2

findutils >= 4.4

gawk >= 3.1

sed >= 4.1

cups >= 1.3.7

foomatic-filters >= 3.0.0

openldap2 >= 2.4

cyrus-sasl >= 2.1

cyrus-sasl-gssapi >= 2.1

libxml2 >= 2.7

python-requests >= 2.0.1

rpmlib(PayloadFilesHavePrefix) <= 4.0-1

rpmlib(CompressedFileNames) <= 3.0.4-1

rpmlib(PayloadIsLzma) <= 4.4.6-1
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Important:

Restart the Linux VDA machine after upgrading.

Step 5: Configure the Linux VDA

After installing the package, you must configure the Linux VDA by running the ctxsetup.sh script. Before making any changes, the script verifies the environment and ensures that all dependencies are installed. If necessary, you can rerun the script at any time to change settings.

You can run the script manually with prompting, or automatically with preconfigured responses. Review Help about the script before proceeding:

sudo /opt/Citrix/VDA/sbin/ctxsetup.sh –help
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Prompted configuration

Run a manual configuration with prompted questions:

sudo /opt/Citrix/VDA/sbin/ctxsetup.sh
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Automated configuration

For an automated installation, provide the options required by the setup script with environment variables. If all required variables are present, the script does not prompt for any information.

Supported environment variables include:

• CTX_XDL_SUPPORT_DDC_AS_CNAME = Y | N – The Linux VDA supports specifying a Delivery Controller name using a DNS CNAME record. Set to N by default.
• CTX_XDL_DDC_LIST = list-ddc-fqdns – The Linux VDA requires a space-separated list of Delivery Controller Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDNs) to use for registering with a Delivery Controller. At least one FQDN or CNAME alias must be specified.
• CTX_XDL_VDA_PORT = port-number – The Linux VDA communicates with Delivery Controllers through a TCP/IP port, which is port 80 by default.
• CTX_XDL_REGISTER_SERVICE = Y | N - The Linux Virtual Desktop services are started after machine startup. The value is set to Y by default.
• CTX_XDL_ADD_FIREWALL_RULES = Y | N – The Linux Virtual Desktop services require incoming network connections to be allowed through the system firewall. You can automatically open the required ports (ports 80 and 1494 by default) in the system firewall for the Linux Virtual Desktop. Set to Y by default.
• CTX_XDL_AD_INTEGRATION = 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 – The Linux VDA requires Kerberos configuration settings to authenticate with the Delivery Controllers. The Kerberos configuration is determined from the installed and configured Active Directory integration tool on the system. Specify the supported Active Directory integration method to use:
  • 1 – Samba Winbind
  • 2 – Quest Authentication Service
  • 3 – Centrify DirectControl
  • 4 – SSSD
• CTX_XDL_HDX_3D_PRO= Y | N – The Linux VDA supports HDX 3D Pro, a set of GPU acceleration technologies designed to optimize the virtualization of rich graphics applications. If HDX 3D Pro is selected, the Virtual Delivery Agent is configured for VDI desktops (single-session) mode – (that is, CTX_XDL_VDI_MODE=Y).
• CTX_XDL_VDI_MODE = Y | N – Whether to configure the machine as a dedicated desktop delivery model (VDI) or hosted shared desktop delivery model. For HDX 3D Pro environments, set this variable to Y. This variable is set to N by default.
• CTX_XDL_SITE_NAME = dns-name – The Linux VDA discovers LDAP servers through DNS. To limit the DNS search results to a local site, specify a DNS site name. This variable is set to <none> by default.
• CTX_XDL_LDAP_LIST = list-ldap-servers – The Linux VDA queries DNS to discover LDAP servers. If DNS cannot provide LDAP service records, you can provide a space-separated list of LDAP FQDNs with LDAP port. For example, ad1.mycompany.com:389. This variable is set to <none> by default.
• CTX_XDL_SEARCH_BASE = search-base-set – The Linux VDA queries LDAP through a search base set to the root of the Active Directory Domain (for example, DC=mycompany,DC=com). To improve search performance, you can specify a search base (for example, OU=VDI,DC=mycompany,DC=com). This variable is set to <none> by default.
• CTX_XDL_START_SERVICE = Y | N – Whether or not the Linux VDA services are started when the Linux VDA configuration is complete. Set to Y by default.

Set the environment variable and run the configure script:

export CTX_XDL_SUPPORT_DDC_AS_CNAME=Y|N

export CTX_XDL_DDC_LIST=list-ddc-fqdns

export CTX_XDL_VDA_PORT=port-number

export CTX_XDL_REGISTER_SERVICE=Y|N

export CTX_XDL_ADD_FIREWALL_RULES=Y|N

export CTX_XDL_AD_INTEGRATION=1|2|3|4

export CTX_XDL_HDX_3D_PRO=Y|N

export CTX_XDL_VDI_MODE=Y|N

export CTX_XDL_SITE_NAME=dns-name

export CTX_XDL_LDAP_LIST=list-ldap-servers

export CTX_XDL_SEARCH_BASE=search-base-set

export CTX_XDL_START_SERVICE=Y|N

sudo -E /opt/Citrix/VDA/sbin/ctxsetup.sh
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When running the sudo command, type the -E option to pass the existing environment variables to the new shell it creates. Citrix recommends that you create a shell script file from the preceding commands with #!/bin/bash as the first line.

Alternatively, you can specify all parameters by using a single command:

sudo CTX_XDL_SUPPORT_DDC_AS_CNAME=Y|N \

CTX_XDL_DDC_LIST=list-ddc-fqdns \

CTX_XDL_VDA_PORT=port-number \

CTX_XDL_REGISTER_SERVICE=Y|N \

CTX_XDL_ADD_FIREWALL_RULES=Y|N \

CTX_XDL_AD_INTEGRATION=1|2|3|4 \

CTX_XDL_HDX_3D_PRO=Y|N \

CTX_XDL_VDI_MODE=Y|N \

CTX_XDL_SITE_NAME=dns-name \

CTX_XDL_LDAP_LIST=list-ldap-servers \

CTX_XDL_SEARCH_BASE=search-base-set \

CTX_XDL_START_SERVICE=Y|N \

/opt/Citrix/VDA/sbin/ctxsetup.sh
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Remove configuration changes

In some scenarios, you might have to remove the configuration changes made by the ctxsetup.sh script without uninstalling the Linux VDA package.

Review Help about this script before proceeding:

sudo /usr/local/sbin/ctxcleanup.sh --help
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To remove configuration changes:

sudo /usr/local/sbin/ctxcleanup.sh
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Important:

This script deletes all configuration data from the database and renders the Linux VDA inoperable.

Configuration logs

The ctxsetup.sh and ctxcleanup.sh scripts display errors on the console, with additional information written to a configuration log file:

/tmp/xdl.configure.log

Restart the Linux VDA services to have the changes take effect.

Step 6: Run the Linux VDA

After configuring the Linux VDA by using the ctxsetup.sh script, you can run the following commands to control the Linux VDA.

Start the Linux VDA:

To start the Linux VDA services:

sudo /sbin/service ctxhdx start

sudo /sbin/service ctxvda start
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Stop the Linux VDA:

To stop the Linux VDA services:

sudo /sbin/service ctxvda stop

sudo /sbin/service ctxhdx stop
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Restart the Linux VDA:

To restart the Linux VDA services:

sudo /sbin/service ctxvda stop

sudo /sbin/service ctxhdx restart

sudo /sbin/service ctxvda start
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Check the Linux VDA status:

To check the running status of the Linux VDA services:

sudo /sbin/service ctxvda status

sudo /sbin/service ctxhdx status
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Step 7: Create the machine catalog in XenApp or XenDesktop

The process for creating machine catalogs and adding Linux VDA machines is similar to the traditional Windows VDA approach. For a more detailed description of how to complete these tasks, see Create machine catalogs and Manage machine catalogs.

For creating machine catalogs that contain Linux VDA machines, there are a few restrictions that differentiate the process from creating machine catalogs for Windows VDA machines:

• For the operating system, select:
  • The Server OS option for a hosted shared desktops delivery model.
  • The Desktop OS option for a VDI dedicated desktop delivery model.
• Ensure that machines are set as not power managed.
• Because MCS is not supported for Linux VDAs, choose PVS or the Another service or technology (existing images) deployment method.
• Do not mix Linux and Windows VDA machines in the same machine catalog.

Note:

Early versions of Citrix Studio did not support the notion of a “Linux OS.” However, selecting the Windows Server OS or Server OS option implies an equivalent hosted shared desktops delivery model. Selecting the Windows Desktop OS or Desktop OS option implies a single user per machine delivery model.

Tip:

If you remove and rejoin a machine to the Active Directory domain, you must remove and add the machine to the machine catalog again.

Step 8: Create the delivery group in XenApp or XenDesktop

The process for creating a delivery group and adding machine catalogs containing Linux VDA machines is almost identical to Windows VDA machines. For a more detailed description of how to complete these tasks, see Create Delivery Groups.

For creating delivery groups that contain Linux VDA machine catalogs, the following restrictions apply:

• For delivery type, select Desktops or Applications.
• Ensure that the AD users and groups you select have been properly configured to log on to the Linux VDA machines.
• Do not allow logon of unauthenticated (anonymous) users.
• Do not mix the delivery group with machine catalogs that contain Windows machines.

Important:

Publishing applications is supported with Linux VDA Version 1.4 and later. However, the Linux VDA does not support the delivery of desktops and apps to the same machine.