XenServer Fundamentals Training

Module 2: Installation and Initial Configuration

Hands-on lab exercise guide

Worldwide Support Readiness
April, 2015

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Table of Contents
Table of Contents .............................................................................................................................................. 2

Overview............................................................................................................................................................. 3

Exercise 1: Installing XenServer ..................................................................................................................... 5

Exercise 2: Upgrading XenCenter ................................................................................................................ 10

Exercise 3: Licensing XenServer ................................................................................................................... 13

Exercise 4: Managing XenServer Users ....................................................................................................... 18

Exercise 5: Creating a Virtual Machine ........................................................................................................ 21

Exercise 6: Converting a Virtual Machine into a Template ...................................................................... 26

Exercise 7: Modifying Virtual Machine Properties..................................................................................... 29

Exercise 8: Creating a vApp........................................................................................................................... 33

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Overview
Hands-on Training Module
This training module has the following details:

Objective  Provide hands on experience with common tasks in XenServer

Audience  Primary: Citrix Technical Support new hires

Lab Environment Details

In the lab environment, a single XenServer host that can be accessed across the Internet is assigned
to each student. The XenServer host runs various virtual machines including virtualized XenServer
hosts to create a complete lab environment for all the exercises.

Machine IP Address OS Details

XenServer Will be provided XenServer Hosts virtual machines
after you login to 6.2
the lab portal site
Router (hidden) 192.168.10.1 Vyatta Lab Router
Virtual Machines

StudentDesktop 192.168.10.10 Windows 7 Landing desktop

(hidden)
AD.training.lab 192.168.10.11 Windows Domain Controller/DNS Server
2012 R2
vStorage 192.168.10.12 CentOS 6.6 NFS/iSCSI target
DVSC 192.168.10.13 Debian 6.0.2 DVSC 6.5
Workload 192.168.10.14 CentOS 5.10 WLB 6.5
Balancing Server
vXS01 192.168.10.21 XenServer Virtualized XenServer host
6.1
vXS02 192.168.10.22 XenServer Virtualized XenServer host
6.1
vXS03 192.168.10.23 XenServer Virtualized XenServer host
6.1

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Required Lab Credentials
The login credentials required to connect to the workshop system and complete the lab exercises are
as follows:

Machine Username Password

XAStudent administrator Citrix123
AD.training.lab training\administrator Citrix123
DVSC root Citrix123
vStorage root Citrix123
WLB root Citrix123
vXS01 root Citrix123
vXS02 root Citrix123
vXS03 root Citrix123

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Exercise 1: Installing XenServer
Overview
In this exercise, you will create a virtual XenServer host and install XenServer.

Step-by-step guidance
Estimated time to complete this lab: [30 minutes]
Step Action
Installing XenServer on a virtualized host
1. Open XenCenter on the landing machine.
2. Click New VM in XenCenter and select Other install media as the template.

3. Name the VM as Virtual XenServer 4 and click Next.

4. Select the XenServer 6.5 iso image from the drop-down list, and click Next.

If the XenServer 6.5 iso image is not listed, cancel the New VM wizard, go to the Storage
tab of ISO Library and click Rescan.
Step Action
5. Leave default selected on the home server screen and click Next.
6. Change the Number of CPUs to 4, and the initial memory size to 7168 MB. Click Next.
7. Click Add on the storage screen, type First disk in the Name field and set the disk size as
100 GB. Select NFS virtual disk storage as the storage location. Click Add and then Next.

8. Delete networks other than “Internal”, add two more new “Internal” networks and then
click Next. Leave default on the Add Virtual Interface screen.

9. Review the settings on the Finish screen and click on Create Now. Confirm Start VM
Automatically is checked.
10. The New VM Wizard disappears and the VM creation begins.
11. Select Virtual XenServer 4 in the left pane and then click the Console tab in the right pane.
12. Hit the Enter key at the initial boot message if it has not started booting.
Step Action
13. Select the desired keymap and click OK. If you are not certain about your keyboard layout,
accept the default keymap [qwerty] us.

14. Click Ok to start installation on the welcome screen.

15. Choose and hit Accept EULA.
16. Click Ok on the System Hardware screen. The problem on the screen is reported as the
virtualized CPU does not support hardware virtualization and thus Windows VMs cannot
be created on the virtualized XenServer host.
Step Action
17. Leave the default disk selected on the Virtual Machine Storage screen and click Ok to
proceed.

18. Select Local media as the installation source.

19. Select “No” on the supplemental packs screen as you won’t install any supplemental packs
in this exercise.
20. Select Skip verification and click Ok.

21. Enter Password Citrix123 and confirm. Choose Ok.

22. Select eth0 as the management network interface and click Ok.
23. Select Static Configuration and enter the following values in each field:
IP Address: 192.168.10.24
Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.10.1
Click Ok.
Step Action
24. Enter vXS04 in the hostname configuration field, and 192.168.10.11 in the DNS server
1 field. Click Ok to proceed.

25. Select the desired geographical area and click Ok.

26. Select the desired city/area in the Select Time Zone screen and click Ok.
27. Select Using NTP and click Ok. The NTP Configuration screen appears.
28. Enter 0.xenserver.pool.ntp.org into the NTP server 1 field, and click Ok.

29. Choose Install XenServer. Wait for the installation to complete.

30. Click Ok when the Installation Complete screen appears, then the system reboots.

Summary
Key The key takeaways for this exercise are:
Takeaways  Discovering how to perform a fresh XenServer installation
 You can create virtualized XenServer hosts on XenServer 6.2 and later
NOTES
Exercise 2: Upgrading XenCenter
Overview
In this exercise, you will upgrade XenCenter using the XenCenter installer, and add the XenServer
host you installed in the previous exercise. The XenCenter installation steps are almost the same as t
the upgrade process.

Step-by-step guidance
Estimated time to complete this lab: [10 minutes]
Step Action
Upgrading XenCenter
1. Launch a browser on the landing machine and type http://192.168.10.24 in the address bar.
2. Click on XenCenter installer and run XenCenter.msi from 192.168.10.24.

3. Click Next on the welcome screen and follow the instructions on the setup wizard to
upgrade XenCenter.

You need to close XenCenter during the installation.

You can close your browser once you have finished upgrading XenCenter.
Adding XenServer hosts to XenCenter
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Step Action
4. Launch XenCenter. Select Help -> About XenCenter and verify that the XenCenter
version is 6.5.

Click OK to close the screen.

5. Right click your assigned XenServer host in the left pane and reconnect to the host by
selecting connect and entering the credentials provided on the lab portal page.

Be aware that the username is not root, but “admin”.

6. Click on Add New Server.
7. Enter the following information in the Add New Server dialog box:
Server 192.168.10.24
Username root
Password Citrix123
Click on Add.

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Step Action
8. The virtual XenServer host you installed in the previous exercise is added to XenCenter and
appears in the resource tree in XenCenter.

Summary
Key The key takeaways for this exercise are:
Takeaways  You can install/upgrade XenCenter by accessing a XenServer host via http
using a browser
NOTES You can also download the XenCenter installation module from the Citrix
download web site.

It is also possible to install XenCenter on the other Windows machines in the lab,
such as AD.training.lab and add the virtualized XenServer host to the XenCenter
instance.

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Exercise 3: Licensing XenServer
Overview
In this exercise, you will apply a license to your XenServer host using XenCenter.

Step-by-step guidance
Estimated time to complete this lab: [10 minutes]
Step Action
Import the Citrix License Server virtual appliance
1. Click File > Import in XenCenter.
2. Click Browse and browse to \\ad\software.
Use the following credentials if you are asked for username and password:
Username: training\administrator
Password: Citrix123

3. Select the Citrix_License_Server_Virtual_Appliance_11.12.1_Build_14005.xva file and

click Open.
4. Click Next.
5. Select your assigned XenServer (192.168.10.5) as the home server and click Next.
6. Select NFS virtual disk storage as the storage for the new virtual machine and click Import.

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Step Action
7. Ensure that interface 0 is listed as the only virtual network interface, select Internal for
Network, and click Next.

8. Verify Start VM(s) after import is selected and click Finish. A virtual machine appears in
the resource pane.
9. Rename the virtual appliance by right-clicking the imported virtual appliance and typing
LicenseServerVPX in the Name field of the properties.

Configuring the Citrix License Server virtual appliance

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Step Action
10. Access the console of the LicenseServerVPX virtual machine from the console tab.

11. Click in the console and press Enter.

12. Type Citrix123 and press Enter to set the root password.
13. Type Citrix123 again to confirm the password and press Enter.
14. Type license-server as the host name and press Enter.
15. Type training.lab for the domain suffix and press Enter.
16. Type n and press Enter to ensure DHCP is not used for the network settings.
17. Set the IP, subnet address, and gateway as follows:
IP Address: 192.168.10.15
Netmask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.10.1
18. Verifying the configuration and press y.
19. Enter admin for the user name and set Citrix123 as password.
Importing a license into the Citrix License Server virtual appliance
20. Launch Internet Explorer and browse to http://192.168.10.15:80802 to access the license
server console.
21. Click Administration in the upper-right hand portion of the screen.

22. Login with the admin/Citrix123 credentials. If you get a message saying you must change
your password, then type Citrix123 for old and new password.

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Step Action
23. Click Vendor Daemon Configuration and click Import License.

24. Click Browse and browse to

\\ftpvtc.citrixvirtualclassroom.com\student\XenServerFundamentals.
Use the student/student credentials if you are asked for username and password.
25. Select XenServerPlatinum.lic and click Open.
26. Click Import License and click OK.

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Step Action
27. Verify that the license was installed correctly:
1. Click Dashboard in the license management console.
2. Verify that a license exists for Citrix XenServer Platinum.

If it does not appear in Dashboard, get back to the Vendor Daemon Configuration, Select
CITRIX, and click Reread License Files.

28. Click Log out in the upper portion of the console, and close Internet Explorer.

Summary
Key The key takeaways for this exercise are:
Takeaways  You can download and import the Citrix License Server virtual appliance
and use it to act as your own license server.
NOTES When you are on the citrate intranet, you can use the license server shared
across the worldwide technical support teams. Refer to the below internal KB
article for the license server details:
http://kb.citrite.net/article/ctx120007

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Exercise 4: Managing XenServer Users
Overview
In this exercise, you will enable the Active Directory integration feature and add XenServer users
other than Local Super User (root). You will also configure access rights of different administrators to
your XenServer host.

Step-by-step guidance
Estimated time to complete this lab: [15 minutes]
Step Action
Enabling Active Directory Authentication
1. Open XenCenter.
2. Select vXS04 located at the top of the resource tree and click the Users tab.
3. Click Join Domain.
4. Type training.lab in the Domain field.
5. Type administrator as the User name and Citrix123 as the Password.

6. Click OK.
Adding User Accounts and Assigning Rights
7. Click Add in the Users tab.

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Step Action
8. Type training\user1, training\user2.

9. Click Grant Access and click Close.

10. Change the role of training\user1 to grant Pool Admin access.
1. Click User One in the Users and Groups with Access list and click Change Role.
2. Select Pool Admin and click Save.
Note: Review the permissions allowed for each role at CTX126442.
11. Change the role of training\user2 to grant Read Only access.
1. Click User Two and click Change Role.
2. Select Read Only and click Save.
Verifying User Roles
12. Reconnect to vXS04 as training\user2 (Read Only).
1. Right-click vXS04 in XenCenter and select Reconnect as.

2. Login using the training\user2/Citrix123 credentials.

You will be connected to vXS04 as the training\user2 user.

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Step Action
13. Attempt to access the vXS04 host server console and perform pool operations.
1. Click vXS04 and click the Console tab.
You see a permission warning shown on the tab.
2. Right-click vXS04 and select Enter Maintenance Mode.
You are prompted with a warning that your current role is not authorized to perform this
action.
3. Click Cancel on the prompt window.
14. Reconnect to vXS04 as training\test1 (Pool Admin).
1. Right-click vXS04 in XenCenter and select Reconnect as.
2. Login using the training\user1/Citrix123 credentials.
You will be connected to vXS04 as the training\user1 user.
15. Attempt to access the vXS04 host server console.
1. Click vXS04 and click the Console tab.
You can access the console now.
Leaving the Domain
16. Leave the training.lab domain.
1. Right-click vXS04 in XenCenter and select Reconnect as.
2. Login using the root/Citrix123 credentials.
3. Select vXS04 and click the Users tab.
4. Click Leave Domain.
5. Click Yes on the warning message.
6. Enter the administrator/Citrix123 credentials and click Disable.
vXS04 is removed from the training.lab domain.

Summary
Key The key takeaways for this exercise are:
Takeaways  Discovering how to integrate XenServer with Active Directory
 Discovering how to add user accounts and assign roles through XenCenter’s
User’s tab
NOTES You can have multiple user accounts on a XenServer host or a pool by enabling
Active Directory integration.

You can review the assigned permissions for each role in the XenServer
Administrator’s guide or CTX126442.

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Exercise 5: Creating a Virtual Machine
Overview
In this exercise, you will create a Windows virtual machine on a XenServer host.

Step-by-step guidance
Estimated time to complete this lab: [30 minutes]
Step Action
Creating a Windows Virtual Machine
1. Click New VM on the toolbar. The New VM wizard launches.
2. Select the Windows 7 (32-bit) XenServer template and click Next.

3. Type Windows 7 in the Name Field and click Next.

4. Select Windows_7_Pro_32bit_English.ISO from the Install from ISO library or DVD
drive drop-down list and click Next.

5. Click Next on the Home Server screen.

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Step Action
6. Accept the default Number of vCPUs (1) and the Memory (2048 MB). Click Next.

7. Click Next on the Storage screen.

8. Delete network interfaces other than Internal and click Next on the Networking screen.

9. Verify that Start the new VM automatically is selected and that all virtual machine
properties are correct.
10. Click Create Now.
11. Select the Windows 7 virtual machine and click the Console tab.

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Step Action
12. Verify that the virtual machine booted from the Windows installation ISO.

13. Install Windows by following the installation wizard instructions:

1. Accept the default language settings and click Next.
2. Click Install Now.
3. Respond to the license agreement and click Next.
4. Click Custom (advanced) for the installation type.
5. Select Disk 0 Unallocated Space as the installation location and click Next.
Wait for the installation to complete.
14. Type user1 for the user name, and click Next to set the user’s password.
15. Type Citrix123 into the Password and the password hint fields and click Next.
16. Select Use recommended settings.
17. Click Next on the time and date settings screen.
18. Select Work network.
19. Wait for finalizing the settings.
Installing the XenServer Tools

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Step Action
20. Right-click the Windows 7 virtual machine and confirm that grace shutdown/reboot and
suspend operations are not available.

21. Select xs-tools.iso from the DVD Drive 1 drop-down menu.

22. Click Run xensetup.exe from the AutoPlay dialog box.

23. Follow the on-screen instructions and install XenServer Tools.

24. Click Restart Now.
25. Wait for the Windows 7 virtual machine to complete the restart.
26. Click Windows 7 virtual machine and click the General tab.

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Step Action
27. Ensure that the virtualization state says “Optimized (version 6.2 installed)”.

28. Right-click the Windows 7 virtual machine and ensure that grace shutdown/suspended and
reboot operations are now available.

Summary
Key The key takeaways for this exercise are:
Takeaways  Discovering how to create a Windows virtual machine from a XenServer
template
 Discovering how to install XenServer tools on a Windows virtual machine
NOTES Running a virtual machine without installing XenServer tools is not supported.

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Exercise 6: Converting a Virtual Machine into
a Template
Overview
In this exercise, you will convert your virtual machine to a custom template and create another virtual
machine from the template.

Step-by-step guidance
Estimated time to complete this lab: [30 minutes]
Step Action
Performing a Sysprep on the Windows 7 virtual machine
1. Click the Windows 7 virtual machine in XenCenter and click the Console tab.
2. Click Send Ctrl+Alt+Del and log on to the virtual machine with the user1/Citrix123
credentials.
3. Click Start > Computer and browse to c:\Windows\System32\sysprep.
4. Double-click the sysprep file.
5. Select Enter System Out-of-Box Experience (OOBE) from the System Cleanup Action
drop-down menu.
6. Select the Generalize checkbox.
7. Select Shutdown from the Shutdown Options drop-down menu.

8. Click OK to perform the sysprep.

9. Wait for the sysprep process to complete and the virtual machine to shut down before
continuing.
Converting the Virtual Machine into Template

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Step Action
10. Right-click the Windows 7 virtual machine and click Convert to Template.

11. Click Convert in the Convert VM to Template warning.

Note: This operation is one-way and you cannot ever revert a template to a virtual machine.
Deploying a New Virtual Machine from a Template
12. Right-click Windows 7 template and click New VM Wizard.
13. Select the Windows 7 template and click Next.
14. Type Win7-1 in the Name field and click Next.
15. Leave <empty> as the Installation Media and click Next.
16. Click Next on the Home Server screen.
17. Accept the default values for the vCPUs and Memory fields and click Next.
18. Click Next on the Storage screen.
19. Click Next on the Networking screen.
20. Verify that Start the New VM automatically is selected and that all virtual machine
properties are correct.
21. Click Finish.
Recovering from Sysprep
22. Click the Win7-1 virtual machine and click the Console tab.
23. Wait for the virtual machine to begin the Windows setup wizard. This may take several
minutes.
24. Accept the defaults for Country or region, Time and currency, and Keyboard layout
and click Next.
25. Type user2 as the username, and enter Win7-1 in the computer name field. Click Next.
26. Click OK. Type Citrix123 in the password and password hint fields. Click Next.
27. Accept the license terms and then click Next.
28. Select Use recommended settings.
29. Click Next on the time and date settings screen.
30. Select Work network.
Creating one more Windows VM
31. Repeat steps in 12 – 30 and create one another VM named Win7-2.

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Step Action
32. Shutdown Win7-2.

Summary
Key The key takeaways for this exercise are:
Takeaways  Discovering how to convert a Windows virtual machine into a template
 You need to run sysprep before creating a Windows virtual machine clone
NOTES SYSPREP is a tool that prepares an installation of Windows for duplication,
auditing, and customer delivery.

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Exercise 7: Modifying Virtual Machine
Properties
Overview
You can easily add resources such as storage, networking, CPU and memory to your machines as
required in virtualized environments. In this exercise, you will add additional resources (CPU and a
disk).

Step-by-step guidance
Estimated time to complete this lab: [15 minutes]
Step Action
Adding a Virtual CPU and Virtual Disk
1. Right-click the Win7-1 virtual machine and select Shut Down.
2. Click Yes to confirm.
3. Click the General tab of the virtual machine and click Properties.
4. Click the CPU category. View the number of vCPUs assigned to the virtual machine.
5. Type 2 in the Number of vCPUs field and click OK.
6. Click the Storage tab of the virtual machine.

7. View the current virtual disks attached to the virtual machine.

8. Click Add.
9. Type vDisk Storage in the Name field.

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Step Action
10. Type 50 in the Size field and ensure that GB is selected.

11. Click Add.

12. Start the Win7-1 virtual machine.
13. Allow the virtual machine to boot before continuing.
14. Click the Console tab of the Win7-1 virtual machine.
15. Click Send Ctrl+Alt+Del and log on with the user2/Citrix123 credentials.
16. Click Start and type Computer Management in the search box and launch the Computer
Management console.
17. Launch Computer Management.
18. Expand the Storage node and click Disk Management.
19. Click OK on the Initialize Disk window.
20. Observe that an unformatted disk is attached to the machine.

21. Close the Computer Management console.

Configuring Memory and Observing How Dynamic Memory Control Works

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Step Action
22. Click the memory tab of Win7-1.

23. Click Edit. Select “Automatically allocate memory within this range” and set the minimum
memory to 1024MB.

Note: You cannot set the minimum memory size lower than the minimum memory
required for the guest. The 32-bit Windows 7 guest operating system requires 1GB memory
at minimum. You can check the minimum memory size required for each supported guest
operating system in the XenServer Virtual Machine User’s guide.
e.g. CTX137830 XenServer 6.2.0 Virtual Machine User's Guide - 3.1. Supported Guests,
Virtual Memory, and Disk Size Limits
24. Click OK to close the memory settings window.
25. Repeat step 23-24 with Win7-2.
26. Select your assigned XenServer in XenCenter and click the Memory tab.

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Step Action
27. Start Win7-2 and observer what happens.
Note: It isn’t until the XenTools become available that the dynamic maximum can be set.
Watch the effects of this as the machines boot up.
28. Login to Win7-1 and Win7-2 and launch Task Manager. Compare the total/available
physical memory displayed in Task Manager of Win7-1 and Win7-2 to what XenCenter
displays.

Summary
Key The key takeaways for this exercise are:
Takeaways  You can reconfigure resources like vCPU/Memory/Strage/Networking for
virtual machines as needed.
 Discovering how Dynamic Memory Control works.
NOTES

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Exercise 8: Creating a vApp
Overview
You can manage some sets of virtual machines that work together exclusively as a single entity using
the vApp feature. In this exercise, you will make a group of virtual machines into vApp, and set a boot
order.

Step-by-step guidance
Estimated time to complete this lab: [15 minutes]
Step Action
Creating a vApp
1. Turn to XenCenter on the landing machine.
2. Select your assigned XenServer host in the resource pane.
3. Click Pool > Manage vApps on the toolbar to open the Manage vApps dialog box.

4. Click New vApp. Type My VMs vApp in the Name field and click Next.
5. Select the Win7-1 and Win7-2 check boxes and click Next.

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Step Action
6. Change the VM start order so that Win7-1 starts first, and then Win7-2 with a 120 second
delay.
1. Select Win7-1 from the VM Startup list
2. Type 120 in the Attempt to start next VM after field
3. Select Win7-2 from the VM Startup list
4. Type 1 in the Start order field
5. Click Next.

7. Click Finish to create the vApp. Verify the vApp name, and the selected virtual machines
are included and click Close.
Verifying the vApp
8. Click Pool > Manage vApps on the toolbar to open the Manage vApps dialog box.
9. Click My VMs vApp and click Shut down.
10. Click Yes to confirm the shutdown operation.
Note that the virtual machines automatically shut down in the reverse order of how they
were set to start up.
11. Wait for the VMs to completely shut down.
12. Click My VMs vApp and click Start.
13. Wait for the VMs to fully start. Observe that the VMs are started in the start order you
defined when creating the vApp.

Summary
Key The key takeaways for this exercise are:
Takeaways  Discovering how vApp works.
NOTES vApp can be imported/exported from the Manage vApps dialog box.

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Revision History
Revisio Change Description Updated By Date
n
1.0 Original Version Miho Hoshino, 4/23/2015
Dian Kotze

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